I generally don’t write about local music here on Geekadelphia, but when an event offers up a chance to cosplay or possibly LARP-it-up on South Street… well, I simply couldn’t resist.

To celebrate the release of her independently produced album Impulsive, and her music video for Vampire, Dani Mari, a Philadelphia based musician, is hosting a Vampire Bar Crawl down South Street.

The crawl kicks off at Lickety Split at 7pm and passes through Manny Browns, the Woolly Mammoth, Copabanan(ugh), and a favorite hangout of ours, Tattooed Mom.

The whole thing wraps up back at Lickety Split, where the bar will screen Dani Mari’s music video for Vampire at midnight. Participants can expect drink specials at all the locations, and are, of course, encouraged to dress as their favorite vampire.

Some of you Old City dwellers may have seen Dani perform at Triumph Brewing Company and at the open jam events at Lickety Split. She plays at these places every Sunday and Wednesday respectively.

To learn more about Dani and her music, scope out the following links.

Dani Mari’s Video for Vampire [ YouTube ] / Dani Mari’s MySpace Page [ MySpace ]

Does your love for insane micromanagement of miscellaneous bugs and aliens know no bounds? Do you enjoy sharing that love with others? Assuming you already know that we’re talking about Starcraft II, we’ll just say it:

Join our good friend Far Mckon and more at Hive 76 on Saturday, August 21 for some Starcraft and SCII LAN madness. The siege tank-rushing shindig starts at 5 PM and will go until your fingers cannot possibly strike another hotkey. Absolutely do not bring food, we’ll take care of it. What you do need are these essentials:

• A computer (an internet-ready laptop or desktop) capable of playing Starcraft and/or SCII
• Your own copy of Starcraft and/or Starcraft II to play with
• More vespene gas (kidding… sort of)

See you then and remember to bring your A-game!

Saturday, August 21
Hive 76, 915 Spring Garden (Suite 519) in the Spring Garden Arts building, Philadelphia PA
Free, bring your own game, laptop, snacks and beverages.

This Event is by Hive76 (Far McKon), Geekadelphia and several others

Walking into Scott Pilgrim vs. The World 2 weeks ago fresh off the buzz of San Diego Comic-Con, I was just a bit apprehensive. I had yet to hear a negative word about the film, and for all the hundreds treated to free advance screenings the weekend before, it had only piqued my curiosity; because I know geeks simply love to trash things they adore once it gets popular.

See, for a film based on a comic like this where any changes would be considered heresy, fans could easily start boycotting and trashing the film, which would also guarantee a quick death at the box office. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has done something very rare, and something most directors talk about but never really take to heart. While the film is quite different than the 6 volume series on which it is based, and takes quite a few liberties telling its story, Edgar Wright has captured the heart and spirit of Scott Pilgrim in his film beautifully.

More after the Jump!

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We all have our opinions on the classic Star Wars saga, and maybe we’d even like the opportunity to film our own take on our favorite scenes. That’s exactly the chance Star Wars: Uncut gave participants in its worldwide fan remake of A New Hope.

The folks over at website design shop P’unk Avenue strung the most popular submissions together in a full recreation of the film and will screen it tonight at their office. The result is an epic amalgam of re-shot scenes as seen through the lens of fandom.

Hit up the P’unk Avenue post and leave a comment to RSVP.

Star Wars: Uncut @ P’unk Avenue, 1168 East Passyunk Avenue
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
www.punkave.com

To all three of you who read my first two production diaries (this one and this one), I’d like to sincerely apologize for the amount of time it took to write up number three. I know you’ve been refreshing your browser every 30 seconds these past few weeks in anticipation, ignoring all basic human needs. Well refresh no more, our game officially has a website and is available in the App Store!

Where to even begin… to start, we named the game Brainarang, throwing away the working title of Zombies & Boomerangs. With so many zombie games in the App Store that are hopelessly grasping the coat tails of Plants vs. Zombies, we refused to be bunched up with them. We wanted to set ourselves apart. We actually made fun of the whole situation throughout our App… just read our description in the App Store.

When I wrote the second production diary, Brainarang was still completely silent. The process of adding sound really put into perspective how crucial sound is to the overall gaming experience. Our game took on an entirely different feel the moment you could hear a zombie get whacked (we used the sound of an old school kung fu movie punch). We had an absolute blast creating the sound effects for this game. Case in point, when you collect a power up your ears may or may not be graced by my scotch-induced attempt at an Robotic Australian accent. Like I said, fun times.

Learn more about Brainarang and how to win one of ten download codes, after the jump!

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I was almost starting to get worried that the game was over, and another piece lands in my mailbox. This week I got a postcard, once again from New Mexico but handwritten in Morse Code, in pencil no less.

Do we have any Boy Scouts out there who wanna take a stab at this? Check after the jump for artwork that has been retouched so it is easier to see the code and comment if you translate it!

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Presented as a surprise groom’s cake at a wedding in the Tyler Arboretum, this absolutely fantastic Tranzor Z cake is just… unbelievably awesome. Seriously Zoe, you outdid yourself.

Created by Philadelphia’s own Whipped Bakeshop, this cake was “all edible… all two and a half feet of him. The buildings, legs, torso and head of the robot (were) all made of chocolate fudge cake filled with raspberry Italian meringue buttercream. The rest (was) rice krispy treats, poured sugar “glass” and glittery fondant fire and such.” Oh, well everything was edible except the glowing blue LED eyes. I mean, you could eat them… but that would probably just end poorly.

For more photos (and a video!) of this awesome cake, visit Whipped Bakeshop’s official website. Well done Zoe.

Tranzor Z Cake [ www.whippedbakeshop.com ]

I know a lot of folks who refuse to donate money to the whole BP oil spill disaster, claiming that BP should have to pay for everything. And you know what? They are absolutely right. Unfortunately, all those funds from the untold number of lawsuits aren’t going to start trickling down right away, so its up to kind hearted people (like you!) to help make an immediate difference.

That being said, CitizenGulf is hosting a fundraiser event here in Philadelphia on August 25th, with varying levels of sponsorship and donation opportunities. Admission to the event is only $10, and there are individual and corporate sponsorship opportunities available. To learn more about that, visit CitizenGulf’s official Eventbrite page. As for the donations, here’s where they are going.

As part of our response to helping fishing families, Citizen Effect and Catholic Charities of New Orleans have created an education fund that will provide assistance to families in the form of school supplies and uniforms, as well as after school programming that includes tutoring and homework assistance, enrichment classes, recreational activities, and healthy snacks.

Sounds good? You bet it does. To learn more about how to participate and donate, visit CitizenGulf’s official Eventbrite page.

Citizen Gulf Philadelphia: August 25th, 2010 [ www.eventbrite.com ]

This is a thing. People voluntarily do this.

Question.

What inspires one to build a homemade flying machine and attempt to fly it off a 30-foot high deck… whilst fully aware that they are going to plummet into the watery depths of the Delaware River?

Well, apparently Red Bull inspires such behavior. Because this is happening on September 4th, and marks the first time the Red Bull Flugtag hits Philadelphia.

A number of Philadelphia teams are registered on Red Bull’s website for the Philly event, boasting Philadelphia-centric names like The Founding Flyers, It’s Always Sunny in Space, Let Freedom Wing, Phlying Phanatics, The Rocky 5, and more. Head over to the official website to scope out the teams’ personal sites, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, etc.

These teams will build hilarious flying creations in hopes to soar a couple of feet, before falling to the water below. According a press release issued by Red Bull, “teams are judged on three criteria: flight distance, creativity of the craft, and showmanship.”

For more information on the Flugtag, visit Red Bull’s official website… or better yet, check out this video below from a 2006 Flugtag. The Pac Man ghosts are my favorite. Try not to be offended when the cameraman zooms in on those girls.

Red Bull Flugtag: Philadelphia
September 4th, 2010
www.redbullflugtagusa.com/Philadelphia2010

Cheap Dinosaurs Performing @ 8static

It’s the last 8static bash of the Summer!

Come shake it up at Studio 34 in West Philadelphia, as the 8static crew welcomes LA’s Mr. Spastic and three chiptuners from New York City, glomag, Natty, and 8BK-OK. We won’t hold the fact that they are from NYC against them. The dude from LA on the other hand…

Visuals will be provided by Philadelphia’s own enso, and a pre-show event will teach you emerging chiptuners how to transcribe sheet music to LSDJ, which according to the 8static folk, is useful for covering songs. Neat!

To learn more about 8static, hit up their website.

August’s 8static @ Studio 34
Saturday, August 14th, 2010
www.8static.com

It’s only August, and the horror films are already starting to trickle out.

First up is The Last Exorcism a film produced by Eli Roth of Hostel and Cabin Fever fame. While the actual film is written by Huck Botko, Andrew Gurlandand and directed by Daniel Stamm – all relative newcomers – the film looks extremely promising and has been getting favorable buzz online so far.

The The Last Exorcism, which opens August 27, looks to be a mixture of Paranormal Activity and the Exorcist with a plot that goes something like this:

When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy.

Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers with their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.

The screening is Thursday, August 12th at the Ritz East at 7:30pm, and we have 25 Gofobo passes to give away. Want to come? Simply comment with your favorite paranormal horror film and why, and the first twenty-five will get a pass for two to see the film.

See ya there! Till then check out the trailer below!

By Chris O.

Well I asked for epic Scott Pilgrim fanart and I got EPIC Scott Pilgrim fanart! I was really floored by all the great entries we received for this contest, and I wanted to share them. I was really surprised at how much effort you put into these creations. Thanks again for entering and I hope you enjoyed the film last night!

By Kristy G.

Check out more great entries after the jump!

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