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Archive: March, 2009
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I've always loved the idea of science and art colliding like two supernovas. Like our own CHF's exhibits or National Geographic's photographs, it just feels nice and interdisciplinary when the two get together.
In Miro Dance Theatre's dance performance Spooky Action, the company is doing just that. Inspired by their time at the Fermilab national accelerator laboratory, choreographer Amanda Miller and her troupe see quantum entanglement not as a boring, esoteric subject you'd read about in a textbook but as a love affair between two particles.
Viewing it this way allows scientific ideas to spread to the masses or if not to the masses, at least to people who wouldn't usually read up on physics. Rebecca Davis Dance Co. recently worked on a similar concept but instead of focusing on the hard sciences, they found inspiration in economics so I hope it's a growing trend. Perhaps someone can write a soundtrack to the Big Bang next?
Thu., March 19, 6:30 p.m., free, Miro Studio, Girard College, 2101 S. College Ave., 215-962-4773, mirodancetheater.org
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If you're curious but a wee bit nervous about attending L'Etage's Erotic Literary Salon, consider this: Susana Mayer's 91-year-old mother will be there. And if she's got the, ahem, balls to do it, then you should too. Taking place for almost a year now, the event features discussions on how to sell and write erotica. And, of course, it's a space to read your favorite erotic pieces or your very own dirty works out loud. Tonight, Deborah Castellano will be on hand to chat about writing hot-under-the-collar works for a living. Think that "erotica" won't be racy enough for your pornographic mind? Mayer says otherwise. "Not everybody claims that erotica arouses them," she says. "But to me, unless you're writing and you're getting aroused, it's probably not erotic."
Every third Tue, 7:30-10:30pm, $8-$10, L'Etage, 6th & Bainbridge sts., 215-592-0656, creperie-beaumonde.com.
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Contrary to what its hippie-dippie name suggests, the Flower Travellin' Band does not perform shitty classic rock covers in Allentown. Oh, no. It's a '70s psych-rock band from Japan actually, it's the '70s psych-rock band from Japan. Imagine if Led Zeppelin reuinted (and John Bonham never died), and the members decided to play in a tiny ass venue, and you'll begin to understand how enthusiastic you should be that the Flower Travellin' Band is performing at JB's. Think that psych-rock is only for burnt-out Phish fans? The Japenese do it quite differently. Unlike, say, Pink Floyd or Grateful Dead, which are brilliant but often mopey and mellow, the Flower Travellin' Band is feverish and strongly influenced by early metal. As Grace Slick might say, it's like American psych-rock being shot through a cannon.
Mon., March 16, 9 p.m., $13-$16, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com
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You like freaks, beasts and fiends, right? Of course you do. You're a Philadelphian. We live (or should I say die?) for the weirdos. This weekend's Monster-Mania Con, which kicks off tonight, will feature of a slew of them including Alice Cooper, the cast from Friday the 13th and the Wild World of Wrestling fighters. I'm guessing lots of comic books, Texas Chainsaw Massacre posters and leather will also be available at the conference. Not to mention a bevy of kick-ass masks for next Halloween. Between this and William Shakespeare's Land of the Dead, Friday the 13th is far from being "so last month." I don't know what you're talking about, Eichel.
Fri., March 13, 6-9:30 p.m.; Sat., March 14, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sun., March 15, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., $20-$200, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2349 W. Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, N.J., 888-444-0401, monstermania.net
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At first, I resented that a coworker called me a hippie for liking the West Philadelphia Orchestra. But, in a certain kind of way, the band is our city's Phish. The members tour around Philly like it's a vice, and their live show is far superior to their albums. (That doesn't mean I think Phish's albums are good just that they're worse than the band's performances.) But the analogy ends there the WPO are far from slow-jammers, and they'll never, ever put you to sleep. To the contrary they play old-timey Eastern European music, with a gaggle of trumpets, tenor horns, sousaphones, saxes, clarinets, violins, violas and drums. It 's nervously quick, almost manic and makes you want to dance.
Thu., March 12, 10 p.m., $5, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475, tritonebar.com
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| Ceiling Cat/God is watching you. |
| latimes.com |
Maybe you blame God for the crappy economy. Maybe you just watched Religulous and want to make like Bill Maher travel the world, simultaneously piss people off/make them laugh, and preach agnosticism. Or maybe you always thought that religion was a poor excuse for people to get together on the weekend. Whatever the case may be, you'll probably be interested in Gerisimos Simotas' dicussion tonight. A member of Veterans for Peace, Simotas will be pontificating on the trouble we get ourselves into when we attribute human characteristics to God. (For example, dude got so angry he flooded the earth and shipped the one worthy human off to sea? WTF? Also: these schmucks.) If we continue to do this, he says, the wars and violence will keep on a comin'. And what would that be good for?
Wed., March 11, 7 p.m., free, Essene Market & Cafe, 719 S. 4th St., 215-922-1146, essenemarket.com.
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| Random House, $30. |
In these egalitarian days, just about as many male and female writers make the bestseller lists. But, when you count up the short stories published in the New Yorker and the books covered in the New York Review of Books, dude authors outnumber lady ones 2 to 1.
So what? Well, some would argue that it suggests that women writers aren't getting enough respect. In A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers From Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx, Elaine Showalter tries to make up for this by chronicling all the Jane Austens of the world. That includes lesser known folk like Anzia Yezierska and Jessie Redmon Fauset, too.
As a scholar who's always advocated being less esoteric and more available to the general public, she'll be speaking about her book at the Free Library tonight. Don't expect a militant feminist, though: While she'd certainly call herself a fem, she's known for her lighthearted manner. Which is just what we need when addressing such heavy stuff.
Tue, March 10, 7:30pm, free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322.
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| The man with the plan. |
| nymag.com |
I know the coverage of dying newspapers by other newspapers is getting tiresome (and perhaps, if I'm to believe other cynics in the media, something no one cares about but us), but David Carr's piece on the issue is worth a second look. In The New York Times, he details his fantasy of having publishers and editors across the country get together and scheme to save the industry. Their manifesto in Carr's wildest dreams would look something like this:
-No more free content. The Web has become the primary delivery mechanism for quality newsrooms across the country, and consumers will have to participate in financing the newsgathering process if it is to continue.
-No more free ride to aggregators. Google announced that it would begin selling ads against Google News, with almost no financial accommodation to the organizations that generate that news.
-No more commoditized ads.
-Throw out the Newspaper Preservation Act. Regulatory reform will allow the industry to consolidate to an economically feasible model and preserve newsgathering.
Among other things. So why is this common-sense approach impossible? Because of antitrust laws, which were rational when newspapers were the dominant medium for ads, but are out of touch in today's competitive market. Maybe if this article (which I recommend reading in its entirety) is circulated to enough people, it'll prompt a secret, possibly illegal meeting between editors and publishers across the land. Or maybe we'll forget about it once another blog post goes up. Wah-wah.
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
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| This guy could have a good idea. Doubt it was as great as the Bucklette, though. |
| flickr.com/photos/ideablob |
I always thought it was bullshit when people said that economic downturns were hotbeds for great entrepreneurial ideas. (When people get bored and lose their jobs, don't most of them drink not think more?) But, judging by this week's events, maybe there's something to it. As covered in the Agenda section, Studio 34 is putting on Philly Pecha Kucha this Saturday, in which people present their ideas (on anything from show cats to Clark Park) in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Tonight, Rembrandt's is hosting a similarly themed event called Bloblive. Essentially a live version of the Web site ideablob.com, it allows people to present their business plans, pie-in-the-sky hopes and thoughts to a room full of thinkers. There was a Bloblive held in Philly this January, and if it's any indication of what tonight's event will be like, you should definitely start brainstorming. Ideas ranged from eco-friendly pipe dreams (a social e-commerce platform) to stuff that actually ended up happening (this month's Twestival) to the hilariously silly (the "Bucklette," a comination of a belt and a wallet.) Too bad the spork's already taken.
Thu., March 5, 6-9 p.m., Rembrandt's, 741 N. 23rd St., 215-763-2228, rembrandts.com.
Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.
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| A damn good doodle. |
| sketchbookproject.blogspot.com |
I don't know about you, but I can't let go of my sketchbooks. I've got a few from elementary school and more recent years lying around, but my most prized one is that which I shared with a friend in eighth grade. Essentially an extended note passed to each other between classes, it contains cartoons of beloved and despised teachers, a "Most Overrated Things of All Time" list and other artifacts of teenage angst.
That collaborative, notebook-loving vibe also seems to define The Sketchbook Project, a traveling exhibit that's stopping at Philly's Chris' Jazz Café for one night only. Thought up by the Art House Gallery in Atlanta, Ga., it invited artists from across the country to fill up their notebooks with doodles, thoughts and words. Some people opted to share their Moleskines with fellow artists (which is the route I would have taken), while others kept their drawings to themselves. Either way, many of the pieces are reminiscent of middle school in the best way possible and the dreamy, imaginative and bored way it makes you feel. My favorite part of the exhibit is the fact that you get to actually pick up the art with your hands and examine it up-close. You surely can't do that at the PMA.
Wed., March 4, 5-7 p.m., Chris' Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, arthousecoop.com/sketchbookproject.
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