Update: According to Sateesh Daniel of the West Philadelphia office of Organizing for America, all the tickets for Michelle Obama appearance at the National Constitution Center are already gone at his office.
Michelle Obama is speaking on Wednesday at the National Constitution Center. Tickets for the event are first-come, first-serve. They will be available beginning at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow at five Organizing for America offices in the city.
For those in West Philly, the best bet is the office at 209 S. 52nd Street.
The doors to the event will open at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Thom Lessner’s piano will be on display in Drexel Park (32nd & Powelton) from June 7-17.
The idea is simple: eight beautifully decorated pianos, in public places, for anyone to play. This is the essence of University City District’s initiative, Heart & Soul: The University City Public Piano Project which will run from June 7-17, 2012. It is an interactive public art exhibition featuring eight artist-decorated pianos on sidewalks and in parks and public spaces throughout University City. Eight artists or collectives were chosen to visually re-interpret the pianos, transforming each into a unique piece of visual art: Terry Adkins, Joe Boruchow, Justin Duerr, Melissa Maddoni Haims, The Heads of State, Kali Yuga Zoo Brigade, Katie Holeman, and Thom Lessner.
UCD will hold an opening reception and launch party on Wednesday, June 6 at 6pm at The Porch at 30th Street Station, where all eight pianos will debut. The launch party will also celebrate the opening of Hakoniwa: A Site Specific Public Art Installation at the Porch. Pew Fellow Nami Yamamoto has “responded to The Porch’s concrete planters creating a ‘garden’ that extends the reach of the colorful forms within each planter. But rather than representing the flora seen around The Porch, Yamamoto has selected objects from her daily life, and reproduced them in colorful silhouettes at once abstract and recognizable to passersby.”
From June 7-17, the pianos will then be placed throughout the neighborhood at the following locations: The Porch at 30th Street Station, Drexel Park (32nd and Powelton), Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore), Drexel Dragon Statue (33rd and Market), University Square (36th and Walnut), Locust Walk, The Radian Plaza (3925 Walnut), and The Science Center (37th Street Pedestrian Mall, at Market St.).
Update (06/04): Grady was found and returned to the owner (see comments below).
A former City Kitty, Grady, is missing. He is a gray tabby male, approximately two years old, neutered, and is wearing a collar. He is very friendly. He was last seen on May 31 near 48th and Warrington. If you see him please contact Shari immediately (sharibones[at]gmail.com, or 510-772-8102) or contact City Kitties. Since he is so friendly, feel free to take him in before you call.
Han Dynasty, one of the city’s premier Chinese restaurants, has quietly opened its West Philadelphia location. The restaurant had a soft opening two weeks ago at 3711 Market Street, the former MidAtlantic restaurant’s space.
The restaurant specializes in authentic Chinese (Sichuan-style) cuisine and recently has been included in the list of the 50 best Chinese restaurants in the U.S. It serves lunch and dinner (no buffet), and offers takeout.
See the menu here. Stay tuned for set hours or call 215-222-3711.
The Mural Arts Program and Warrior Writers, a veteran-focused arts organization that fosters artistic exploration and expression, is hosting a community barbecue on Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Woodland Avenue between 41st and 42nd Streets – the future site of the mural “Our City, Our Vets.”
The event is part of an ongoing effort to gather community support for veterans returning to Philadelphia. Veterans are encouraged to share their stories through visual art and writing in projects that will help the public better understand what they have been through. You can see some of the artwork created so far here.
Veterans have been attending workshops at Studio 34 since January to create their own pieces and help artists Willis Humphrey and Phillip Adams come up with a design for the mural, which will be installed on a wall at 4129 Woodland Ave. (the location of Saturday’s barbecue) in the fall.
During the barbecue the Mural Arts program will project images of the proposed mural and other art work by veterans. There will also be poetry reading storytelling and the chance to create some art of your own.
Suspecting Yassin M. Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain of conspiring to aid a terrorist group and provide support for weapons of mass destruction, money laundering, and supporting a foreign terrorist organization, the Albany (New York) Counter-Terrorism Task Force and Federal carried out a sting operation in 2004 to investigate the two men, ultimately sentencing them both to 15 years in jail. Filmmaker Ellie Bernstein documents the case in his 2008 film Waiting for Mercy, which will be screened in Clark Park (45th & Regent) Friday night at 8 p.m. If it rains, the program will be moved to Calvary Church (48th & Baltimore).
The Philadelphia International Action Center will sponsor the free outdoor screening, the first in the 2012 Clark Park Summer Film Series. Representing Project SALAM, a support and legal advocacy group for Muslims, Lynne Jackson will introduce the film and lead a question and answer session after the screening. Bring movie snacks and a blanket, and prepare your mind for a film that boldly reveals a case of religious discrimination and racial profiling in the United States.
Neither Aref nor Hossain had any previous criminal record. According to the Albany Times Union, the investigation was allegedly sparked by an entry listing Aref’s name, phone number, and address in a notebook found in a bombed Iraqi encampment. Government officials originally claimed that the word “commander” had been written next to Aref’s name in the notebook, but when pressed by the judge of the case to see the entry in the notebook, the officials admitted they had mistranslated the Kurdish word “kak” which means “brother.”
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