TEDxPhilly takes on the many different meanings of this year’s theme: The City. Speakers and participants are coming prepared to share ideas and explore the “greatest challenges, innovations, concepts and realities that shape and are shaped by the city and its inhabitants.”

When given the opportunity to preview one of TEDxPhilly’s speakers for the coming event, I found myself cherry picking from an incredible list of local innovators in Philadelphia. The result? A lovely chat with Yael Lehmann, the Executive Director of an organization that has spent two decades developing into an omnipresent resource and connector throughout Philadelphia: The Food Trust .

Philadelphia has been recently recognized for being one of the most progressive ‘food cities’ in America… and for once it has absolutely nothing to do with the cheesesteak. We’re being spotlighted for our city’s changing relationship with urban fresh food access. [The term 'food access' refers to the availability of fresh produce. That term may not phase many Geekadelphia readers as a daily notion past "Where should we lunch today?" but, unfortunately, is a more broad, serious issue across America referring to certain communities having limited access to grocery stores for socioeconomic and geographical reasons.]

All of The Food Trust’s their initiatives stem from a tenet to make affordable, healthy food available to everyone, and they achieve this by connecting and collaborating with communities, schools, grocers, farmers and policymakers.

Can you describe The Food Trust and your position?

Yael: Sure. I’m the Executive Director of The Food Trust, and we strive to make healthy food available to everyone. We see that in a number of different ways: we run farmer’s markets through out the city, we teach kids how to eat healthy in schools, we also work to improve the food choices at corner stores and to bring supermarkets and other healthy food retail into neighborhoods. (more…)

Among Internet hall of fame memes you might find a video about a Star Wars Subway Ride or The Ghostbusters ridding a New York City library of pesky ghosts. Improv Everywhere ambushes the public with silly scenarios and harmless pranks. The end result is smiles, laughter, and awesome YouTube videos.

Improv Everywhere is a New York City-based prank created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd. Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents.

Drexel University’s Urban Playground, a student organization that provides experience, tools, marketing, and a community centered approach to spread fun through flash mobs, social experiments, and playground restoration, is bringing Improv Everywhere to Philadelphia! Charlie Todd will be conducting an Improv Everywhere experiment right on Drexel’s campus, followed by a presentation and open discussion session.

Charlie Todd will be coming to Drexel University on Nov. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. to run an MP3 experiment followed by a presentation of behind the scenes stories and a question and answer session. Todd’s visit and experiment marks Improv Everywhere’s first visit to Philadelphia.

The MP3 Experiment is a social game where participants download a 45-minute MP3 file to their mobile devices, and head out to the same public location. At a specific, predetermined time, participants press play and begin to carry out coordinated instructions delivered to their headphones via the narrator, “Steve.” Those uninvolved will surely watch in wonder of the spontaneous coordination of such a large group.

Following the MP3 Experiment, Todd will be giving a hour long presentation highlighting how he pulled off his most successful stunts. The show will also feature clips of Improv Everywhere’s best videos with Charlie’s live commentary.

The MP3 Experiment will take place on Race Street Lawn at 5PM, and Charlie Todd will be speaking in Main Auditorium at 7PM.

Ever since Literary Death Match first arrived in our wonderful city last May, everyone has been wondering when it would return. Now at long last it can be told! Cancel your plans this evening, as Literary Death Match returns to World Café Live tonight!

Watch as poet Sean Toner, author Michael O’Hara, essayist Jamie-Lee Jossely and Courtney Bambrick throw down literary style in front of a panel of judges including Karina Kacala, Jonathan Valania (Editor-in-Chief of Phawker.com) and Cyrille Taillandier. Only one can emerge as the victor and claim the title of Philly Literary Death Match Champion! (Championship belt not included.)

So make sure you are there tonight at 7:00 PM for some serious literary smack talk. And at $10, it’s still cheaper than Wrestlemania.

Literary Death Match
www.literarydeathmatch.com

“Life is full of theories and benches. When your life is ruined , you sit on a lot of them.”

That’s the bleak yet totally relatable worldview behind My Ruined Life, a new project from Philadelphia’s Retro Peel Productions. The brainchild of writer/director/producer Lee Porter, the web series follows friends Brian and Nate as they sit on a bench and vent about their frustrations with life, work, being mistaken for sports and the world in general.

It’s brilliant in its simplicity really. Each of the planned six episodes will be filmed at a different bench throughout our city (here‘s hoping they make it to the awesome stainless steel twisty benches at the Septa Blue Line 8th Street Station), with our heroes taking a break from their “ruined” lives just long enough to share their comedic insights. Portraying Brian and Nate are Brian Cowden and Nathan Holt, staples on the local theater scene who, as the above trailer illustrates, are up to the challenge of playing their world weary characters.

Before it became the mega success it is today, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia started with a low-budget pilot that focused on the dialogue between the leads. It’s easy to envision My Ruined Life following such a trajectory. There’s a prevailing sense of disenchantment everywhere you go these days, if the series is able to tap into this Zeitgeist of disgust, Porter and company may find their own lives turning into anything but ruined.

Episodes will be debuting throughout the fall and winter. Here’s another trailer that provides an additional look at My Ruined Life.

Listen up geeks and nerds. Stop your fighting. Let’s unite and celebrate Nerd Nite, together. Because seriously, these guys are doing some really cool stuff.

Next week’s Nerd Nite Philadelphia takes over Frankford Hall in Fishtown on Wednesday, November 9th at 7:30pm. Guests can look forward to food and drink specials ($6 beer & pretzel, $8 beer & sausage), a live performance by the Philadelphia String Quartet, and of course, some awesome lectures. Oh, and its all free.

Speakers and their lectures include Jay Parrish (Imaging Technology & Deception in Fine Art), Caroline Ashurst (Physics & Metaphysics in Acupuncture) and Rocky Parker (How Snakes Make with the Sex). That last lecture title was from Nerd Nite’s press release. I wish I could make that stuff up.

Starts at 7:30pm. For more information, visit Nerd Nite Philadelphia’s official website.

Nerd Nite Philadelphia
Wednesday, November 9th, 7:30pm
philadelphia.nerdnite.com/updates

Last week, Season Two of the BCC’s amazing psychological drama, Luther, hit the streets on DVD. I first tuned into this show when I discovered that Idris Elba, the man who played Stringer Bell in HBO’s The Wire, was the main character. He was amazing on that show, and is just as fantastic in Luther. Unfamiliar with the story? Well here’s a synopsis.

The dark psychological drama starring Emmy nominee Idris Elba (The Wire, American Gangster) as John Luther, the near-genius detective struggling with his own demons, returns with two distinctive, thrilling crime stories. Devastated by the brutal murder of his wife, Luther returns to policing in a different world. His old unit has gone and he’s working in the newly created Serious and Serial unit, headed by former police complaints officer Martin Schenk. Luther quickly gathers together his team, rescuing his old partner Detective Justin Ripley from uniform.

It’s not long before they’re dealing with their first case. A masked man wanders the streets of London, carrying out ritualistic murders in historic locations, working his way up to one final masterpiece… Crackling with energy and beautifully shot this series sees Luther take bigger risks and face even darker challenges.

The folks over at the BCC were kind enough to provide me with a review copy and a giveaway. Review wise, there’s not much to say. I absolutely adore this show, and having it on DVD is great. End of story.

The two disc set, which consists of four, one hour episodes (this might seem short, but this is pretty standard for a BBC drama, just look at Sherlock), is certainly a must for any fan of the series. As with every high quality BBC show, its shot beautifully (again, look at Sherlock, or even the Robin Hood revamp). And Elba is just incredible. For more info, visit the BBC’s official website.

All that being said, I’ve got TWO copies of Luther: Season Two to giveaway to a lucky reader. Just leave a comment about your favorite BBC program, whether its Luther or Doctor Who, and I’ll select two of you at random at the end of next week. Good luck!

The Immortals is the newest film from director Tarsem Singh, who is probably best known for the 2000 film starring Jennifer Lopez The Cell.

The film is a 3D 300-esque take on the Greek myth of Theseus, a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion (played by Mickey Rourke), who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity

We are giving away 40 admit 2 passes for the film and we’re going to do it a bit differently this time.  To download a pass for two to see the film in stunning 3D on Thursday, Nov 10th @ 7:30PM at the UA Riverview, log on to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and enter code GEEKAD4AEM and enjoy. Only good while supplies last, so get ‘em fast.

In the meantime check out the trailer below.

Everywhere in the country art programs are being cut from school budgets. It’s a tragic, but there are programs springing up all over to combat this epidemic. Philadelphia’s Project Theater Project is one of those programs.

So what is Project Theater Project? Well, it aims to produce quality alternative amateur theater that fosters a positive social change, and cultural development by working with Philadelphia’s youth, elderly, and disabled. It produces one show a year, and uses the subject matter to educate the participants in, and tailor the roles specifically to each participant.

This year, Project Theater Project will organize a production of RENT for high school students. They plan to teach improvisation, conflict resolution, cooperation, and self-esteem. A ten-hour education session moderated by a Philly FIGHT peer educator will show the students a range of socially conscious topics that every teen should know. Workshops will provide young people with the knowledge and skills to maintain their sexual health and think about their social choices. This important education component will include a summary of the history of the early days of HIV/AIDS.

Today, Project Theater Project needs your help raising $3500 in order to put on this production and give Philadelphia’s teens the best experience possible. Please go to their IndieGoGo fundraising project, and help this production become possible! You’ll be contributing to the future of the arts in Philadelphia.

Opened in March of 2011, Microsoft’s Technology Center campus in Malvern, Pennsylvania is one of only eleven MTC’s in the United States. The Technology Centers themselves serve as collaborative environments where customers can envision, design and deploy their product while being provided access to innovative technology, specialists and Microsoft staff.

The idea behind these state-of-the-art Technology Centers is to utilize Microsoft resources in order to shorten time-to-market production while conceptualizing the best solutions for customers. By integrating Microsoft products and technologies, companies can benefit from such a powerful organizational resource.

I had the opportunity to take a personalized tour of the Malvern facility. And while I’m far from being Charlie Bucket and finding a golden ticket in my Wonka bar, Microsoft did their best Willy Wonka impression when they gave this geek the keys to their Chocolate Factory! (more…)

Hollywood Babble-On (HBO) is a podcast featuring the Sultan of SMod, Kevin Smith and Lord of Laughter and Vicar of Voices, Ralph Garman. Recently, the guys stopped by to do their show from World Cafe Live right here in Philadelphia. Ralph is local “Philly boy who went to Hollywood to sell his soul… and is still looking for a buyer.”

It seems that a few people may have purchased his soul, because Ralph lends his voice to Family Guy, is the entertainment reporter/impressionist for the Kevin and Bean radio show in LA, was also in the epic Sy-Fy monster flick, Sharktopus, and is a rather convincing psychopath featured in Kevin Smith’s new movie Red State.

I’m a huge fan of Hollywood Babble-On and listen religiously every week. Garman and Smith skewer anyone and everyone with their name in lights with their signature blend of obscenities and impersonations. Garman has the ability to mimic the likes of Al Pacino, Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, Ed Wynn, David Bowie, and many more. So instead of simply listening to Ralph on HBO, I actually got a chance to talk to the man that has kept my afternoons between class full of laughter.

How did you find yourself sitting down with Kevin Smith every week to record Hollywood Babble-On?

Ralph Garman: It’s sort of a long story. I’m on a morning radio show in LA and Kevin has been a frequent guest, so we got to be friends. I usually do a Hollywood news segment on the show where Kevin and I were just busting balls and cracking jokes. I pitched it as a whole show to the station and they said people were more interested in music so we just shelved the project. When Kevin started the SModcastle and the podcast network started to take off, we thought we would give the show a shot. It’s blown up from there and we are now doing the show at the Jon Lovitz Podcast Theater.

You have a big bag of incredible impressions, how do you go about learning a new impersonation?

Ralph Garman: It’s funny, I equate it to a party trick. I kind of have a knack for it. I would occasionally do skits on the radio show and do the voices along with it. I ‘d hear something and try to work on it. It would sound like someone and I would bring it out. I have picked a character before and tried to do a voice that way, but it is much more difficult coming in on it from the outside. (more…)

The great folks at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival were kind enough to give an advance look at some of the films playing this weekend.

They’ve got a lot of great stuff screening, and I am going to share with you my picks for this outstanding festival.

Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe (Friday Nov. 4^th @ 7pm)

If you enjoyed the Banksy Documentary Exit through the Gift Shop I highly suggest checking this one out, it’s definitely my favorite feature length of the festival.  Over 7 years in the making the film follows David Choe from obscurity to being one of the most well known street artists today.

The film is a very stark portrait of an eccentric, troubled artist. The documentary captures all the highlights and low points of his life and career, from being in prison in Japan to doing the mural for the Napster offices. The film doesn’t glamorize its subject at all, letting the audience make the decision for itself if this man is mad or a genius.

Geek rating 4.5/5
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In the opening moments of Melancholia we see the Earth destroyed as the planet Melancholia collides with it in a beautiful symphony of destruction as only Lars Von Trier can envision. In a series of beautiful slow motion vignettes we are given a brief yet very telling look into the destruction of our world and the lives of the characters who will be inhabiting our screen for the next two hours.

The film’s story is broken into 2 parts each centering on one of two very different sisters as they cope with their differences, copious amounts of family baggage and the end of the world together. In the first part we are introduced to Justine (Kirsten Dunst) on her wedding day.

In what starts out as a playful, perfect day turns into a portrait of a very dysfunctional and troubled young woman. We then switch gears half way through the film and are focusing on Justine’s seemingly more stable sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg) in the throws of a pending apocalypse in both a worldly and familial sense.

(more…)