Tomorrow night, Tim and I are honored to join The Neiman Group and Neo-Pangea at PhilaMade’s third show and tell. Not just because the PhilaMade folks made an incredible looking flyer (look at that thing!), but because PhilaMade is made up of a community we absolutely adore.

What are PhilaMade’s Show & Tell panels all about? They’re about folks who have, according to them, “launched amazing projects [and] what’s behind the curtain.” The technology and research involved, and how the final concept came together. Tim and I will be talking about the blog and the Philadelphia Geek Awards.

This event is part of DesignPhiladelphia, and will be at the Stupid Easy Gallery, 307 Market Street, from 6pm to 9pm. Food and drinks to be enjoyed by all, courtesy of Swig.

If tickets are still available, you can snag ‘em here. See you there.

Inside the Wagner

Yes, Halloween is almost here. And we all know Philadelphia isn’t lacking in an array of ways to dress up, get drunk and make a fool out of yourself. There’s even this one party going down at Tattooed Mom next week. You should go. Maybe grow some facial hair.

Well, for those of you seeking a slightly tamer Halloween celebration with the family, you might want to check out this event over at the Wagner Institute. Entitled Fangs! A Spooky Creature Feature, the Wagner is hosting a fun, family friendly open house with live fanged animals from the Elmwood Park Zoo. Alligators, tarantulas, bats, snakes, chinchillas, etc.

Awards, kids will get to wander about the museum, make crafts and will even get a goodie bag full of candy that you can steal from them and devour later on. Great event for you geeks with tykes. Check it out.

Fangs! A Spooky Creature Feature
October 22nd, 2011, 12 – 4pm

Wagner Free Institute of Science
1700 West Montgomery Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19121
(215) 763-6529
www.wagnerfreeinstitute.org

The Philadelphia Film Festival is back from October 20th to November 3rd presenting a number of films that you honestly couldn’t see anywhere else. I am going to give you my top 8 films not to be missed at this year’s festival. After running through their schedule of over 140 films, it wasn’t easy to choose.

But these are definitely the ones not to be missed if you’re any kind of film geek.

1. Battle Royale: This film definitely sits in my top five films of all time, and I can’t wait to finally see it on the big screen. With Hunger Games mania slowly building it’s a very timely screening of the film that predated the young adult phenomenon and is eerily similar.

The film is about a not so distant future where as part of the Battle Royale Act a class of students is picked at random lottery, put on an island, armed with a random weapon and only one can survive. Its the last film by Kinji Fukasaku that jump started the careers of youngsters Chiaki Kuriyama (Go-Go Yubari in Kill Bill) and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Light in the Death Note films).

The film was NEVER legitimately available in the US due to its controversial subject matter, also because it was released around the same time as the tragedy at Columbine.

2. Melancholia: I have to honestly believe the people who were offended by Lars Von Trier’s remarks at Cannes had never seen his previous film Anti-christ. The Dutch director is well known for being more than a little eccentric, but he makes great films and this is no different. Kirsten Dunst stars in this apocalyptic film, about two sisters who find their strained relationship pushed even further as a planet is on trajectory to collide with the earth. (more…)

Now every Tuesday at the Irish Pol in Olde City, you can grab a beer and loudly mock and talk about some of your favorite movies with Tuesday Night Movie Club. Hosted by local DJ Sleazy E, October has already offered up Fast Time at Ridgemont High and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Subsequent movies this month includes the Blue Brothers and Johnny Dangerously.

Word on the street is that local comic Danny Ozark is known to show up and crack up the crowd with some hilarious commentary. So get some grub, some drinks and practice your own film heckling skills.

Be sure to check out the fan page on Facebook to make your own suggestions for future movies.

Tuesday Night Movie Club is a 21+ event, completely FREE(!) and starts at 7:30pm. Join in on the fun!

DesignPhiladelphia, the annual festival that offers a unique insight to the area’s creative industries, has so many awesome events this year. But one that seemed particularly interesting is their hour with Roughdraft Books designer and founder on October 15th at Anthropologie’s 18th and Walnut location.

Roughdraft Books is a one-woman studio in Philadelphia that creates journals and notebooks that are hand-made, hand-sewn works of art. Attendees will get a chance to make their own custom book under e bond’s tutelage.

DesignPhiladelphia: Custom Book Workshop
October 15th, 10am-11am

Anthropologie
1801 Walnut Street
RSVP anthroevents@anthropologie.com

Live out your Sherlock Holmes detective fantasy with 1st Annual “Philly Finds” Scavenger Hunt

Do you have a smartphone permanently glued to your hand? Would you enjoy frantically exploring this lovely city of ours in search of hidden treasures and jealously kept secrets? Then you should download the Scavenger Hunt with Friends app and prepare for the 1st Annual Philly Finds Scavenger Hunt hosted by Hotel Palomar Philadelphia.

Polish up that monocle, comb that mustache (real or fake), tap out your Sherlock Holmes Pipe that blows bubbles, and a nickname one of your friends Dr. Watson because you need to be ready bright and early. The hunt starts at 8:00 a.m. on October 14th. Your phone will be your trusty notepad providing you with a list of everything you need to find. From famous food to landmarks, this scavenger hunt will have you exploring every nook and cranny of the city.

When you find one of the items, you will more than likely be out of breath from sprinting 15 blocks and smashing smartphones out of random pedestrian’s unsuspecting hands. Next you need to snag a picture of the item and upload it to the app. Frame up that shot carefully because tie-breakers will be judged on the creativity of the photo. This looks to be the perfect opportunity for some epic planking.

In order to win, you need to find photos of all the items on the list by noon on October 17th. You have a weekend of exploration that might just be rewarded. One winner will receive their choice of a new iPhone or iPad 2 along with a weekend hotel stay at any Kimpton hotel in the country (worth $1200). A special Philadelphian will be the judge and will also crown the Scavenger Hunt winner at the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia on October 19 at 3:30 pm. I’m hoping that they’ve reanimated Ben Franklin because we all knew that wild guy would have enjoyed a good scavenger hunt. The winner will also be announced on Hotel Palomar’s Facebook page.

I’ll leave you with some geeky encouragement from General Adama who was known to say on occasion, “Good hunting.”

Philadelphia better get ready for Hollywood Babble-On with legendary filmmaker, writer, storyteller, Kevin Smith and actor, man with many voices, and radio show host, Ralph Garman. Nothing in Hollywood is safe from ridicule when Kevin and Ralph step up to the mics. Monday October 17th, you can watch these two record Hollywood Babble-On at World Cafe Live!

In addition to making the jarringly visceral horror movie Red State, Kevin Smith has recently created a podcast empire called SModcast Internet Radio (S.I.R). Featuring dozens of shows, S.I.R provides more laughs per minute than anything else on the internet.

Hollywood Babble-On is made up of Kevin and Ralph commenting on the weekly goings on in Hollywood. They start every show with shout-outs to people who have come a long way to see them. Ralph entertains each fan with a shout-out in a voice from his enormous bag of impressions. From the awkward pauses of Shatner to the exclamation of “WHOOAH!” from Pacino, Garman never fails to deliver the laughs. He even has an Ed Wynn impression that always likes to remind us that “life is for the living.” If you ever wanted to hear Sean Connery talk dirty or simply hear Ralph scream his famous movie line, “DAMN YOU SHARKTOPUS!”, then Babble-On is the show for you.

Kevin and Ralph are huge geeks themselves and can’t resist having a segment entitled “Geek News” complete with a Batman-esque theme song. These guys highlight the only news that is really important to us geeks. Sure the Greek economy has collapsed, but who cares when some dude in Oregon is riding a unicycle in a kilt while playing the Star Wars theme on bagpipes!

Join the legion of Kevin’s fans and enlist in the Garmy while you try not to fall out of your seat laughing when you are at World Cafe Live! October 17th. Ralph is from Philly, so show the returning local boy some love. Just don’t get it on him.

Tickets are $50 & $60 Which you can purchase here.

Hollywood Babble-On @ World Cafe Live
Monday, October 17th, 2011
Ticket Details: Here

DesignPhiladelphia is in its 7th year of putting together amazing programs and events that highlight the creative industries in Philadelphia. This year, there’s an event at the amazing Chemical Heritage Foundation exploring the 1960s intersection of chemistry and design that is not to be missed.

Join design historian Regina Lee Blaszczyk on October 17th at 6pm, when she will discuss how the new materials created by Philadelphia’s chemical industry inspired the designers of the 1960s. Blaszczyk is a researcher and writer who focuses on corporations, marketing, innovation, design, fashion, history, visual and material culture studies, anthropology, and the sociology of culture.

Be sure to check out CHF’s newest exhibit, Elemental Matters: Artists Imagine Chemistry, on display one hour before the lecture. Plus, CHF’s permanent exhibit, Making Modernity, will also be open for viewing. Mad Men attire is optional, but this is definitely a place where it would be appreciated.

Mad Men Chic: Molecules on Madison Avenue
October 17, 6pm-7pm

Chemical Heritage Foundation
315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
www.chemheritage.org

Our friends over at Seamless are launching the CRAVED Restaurant Awards, it’s a program that allows you the chance to honor your favorite Seamless restaurants. Nominations are currently happening and continuing through this Saturday, October 15th. Between the 16th and the 30th, you’ll be able to vote on the restaurants with the most nominations in each category.

My nominations/votes would probably go to Philly establishments such as Tiffin, Machismo and Mr. Chicken, provided their wings are as good as I remember.

To get the CRAVED Restaurant Awards their proper kick-off in Philadelphia, the folks over at Seamless are happily giving away a $20 gift code credit. In order to participate, just simply comment below with a valid email address and tell me… What Seamless restaurant would you nominate?

Comment away. I’ll be contacting a random winner at the end of this week, just in time for CRAVE Restaurant Awards voting to begin. To learn more about Seamless, the nation’s leading digital service for ordering delivery and takeout, visit their official website. They’ve got over 250 Philly restaurants listed.

You could be one of these guys.

Do you think you’re the nerdiest, geekiest, smartiest geek in Philadelphia? How about Pennsylvania? How about, the entire US? You do? Well, have I found the opportunity for you!

The producers of Mythbusters, Survivor, & the Amazing Race are looking for intellectually savvy guys and girls to be on Reality TV!

They’re looking for geeks ages 21-30 to participate in a competition-based reality show entitled KING OF THE NERDS. This show is honoring passionate geeks around the country. They’re looking for geeks who excel in mathematics, physics, build robots for fun, and are Sci-Fi fanatics!

All you need to do is e-mail kingofthenerdscasting@gmail.com with your name, age, photo, contact information, and a brief bio describing why YOU deserve to be King of the Nerds.

I already sent in my information and would love to see more of Philadelphia’s “geek elite” step up to the challenge! Let’s face it. Ain’t no geek like a Geekadelphia geek cause a Geekadelphia geek don’t stop.

Source: Craigslist

Previously on Geekadelphia, Jeffro Kilpatrick has been a Geek of the Week and given us a look at his Harry Potter/Doctor Who and Rushmore themed t-shirts. But now Jeffro is going where he never has before. He is going back…to the future! For today only, the Fishtown based artist’s Back to the Future II-inspired design will be available for a mere $10 at TeeFury.

For those of you whose memory may be a little rusty on the Back to the Future films, the second entry in the trilogy had Marty McFly travelling to the futuristic year of 2015 and discovering that gravity defying skateboards — known as hoverboards, natch — are all the rage. While he tooled around Hill Valley on a dinky Mattel hoverboard, Biff Tannen had a souped up version known as a Pitbull. Thus the idea for this T-shirt was born. (It should be noted that the good karma that results from buying one of these shirts guarantees you won’t have any Biff-esque run ins with manure trucks).

If the movies are to be trusted, we are a mere four years away from hoverboards. But as far as Jeffro’s concerned, they can’t come quick enough. “The cost of parking in Center City is killing me,” he adds. Amen to that. But hey, Nike recently released some self-lacing shoes like the ones featured in the flick, so I suppose anything is possible, right?

Man, I really want a hoverboard. Don’t you?

Computers, the Internet and social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become an integral part of everyday life for most people. I have a few friends who can’t go more than 10 minutes with out checking their Facebook page. But these have also become very important tools for people who want to make changes to not only their lives, but the world at large.

As the events in Egypt and the Middle East have shown, social media and the internet have become the apparatus of choice for activists who are looking to organize and stay in contact. But who else might be reading or listening to your efforts? Do you really know who has access to your information?

On Saturday, October 15th a group of local activists are putting on the Freedom of the Word and Computer Security workshop try and educate local community activists about ways to stay safer in the online world. They will show you what threats might be out there, how to avoid them and what you have at risk.

The workshop will run from 9:30 AM – 2 PM at LAVA (4134 Lancaster Ave, West Philly) and is free and open to anyone who wants to stay informed about threats to your online activities and how to stay safe, and keeping fellow activists safer, online.

Freedom of the Word and Computer Security
More Info: Aids Policy Project’s Blogspot