Photo lovingly stolen from VisitPhilly

In a recent press release from GPTMC, Geekadelphia learned that the Hilton Inn at Penn is undergoing a serious renovation project. [Full Disclosure: Eric used to work at GPTMC, and misses the person who sent him this press release]. Touch ups started last week, and the hotel has plans to wrap things up sometime in early March 2011. They’ve got some new energy saving features, keycard systems, etc. coming this Spring.

Now, normally we wouldn’t care about this sort of thing. However, with the hotel’s plans to launch a virtual concierge using our favorite kind of tablet computer… well, we can throw some support behind this news.

Come March 2011, the Inn at Penn will install iPads in all the rooms to serve as virtual concierges. That’s right kids. We don’t have any details as to whether or not you’ll be able to download software or play games on the things, but if you can… let’s just say a lot of people will be spending romantic weekends playing Angry Birds.

To learn more about the hotel, check their official website.

Hilton Inn at Penn [ VisitPhilly ]

Thanksgiving!

It means a lot more than the birth of the first Turkey. Here in Philadelphia, you can celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with a weekend of dinosaurs at the Academy of Natural Sciences. After-all, the closest living relative to dinosaurs… happens to be birds.

Visitors to the museum will be treated to fossil preparation in the Academy’s Paleo Lab, bird shows in the auditorium, and plenty of activities for little geeks, including make-your-own fossil games and prehistoric face painting.

For more info, visit the Academy of Natural Sciences’ official website. Happy Thanksgiving.

Dinosaurs Days @ the Academy of Natural Sciences
November 26th – 28th, 2010, 10am – 4:30pm
www.ansp.org

Bring Your Own Philly, a networking event sponsored by Brolik, a branding and interactive agency here in Philly, has their next meetup scheduled this week. And you’re invited.

The event runs this Wednesday, November 17th, from 5:30 to 8:30pm, with wine and cocktails provided by Palateur Imports and Saint Max. I’m not sure who either of those beverage companies are, but I’m sure they will be perfectly capable of knocking this Geek on his donk. Guests can also look forward to fancy hors d’oeuvres. Nom.

Want to learn more about BYOP? Check out their website. And be sure to scope out Brolik. Hilarious name, fantastic agency.See you there.

Bring Your Own Philly @ Studio Christensen
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010, 5:30pm, $25
333 S. 20th St., Philadelphia PA 19103
www.byopphilly.com

Villanova University, not Disney World

This Wednesday, Villanova University is hosting their 2nd Annual Graphic Novel Event, entitled Superheroes & Scholars. Hosted at the Falvey Memorial Library, the event kicks off at 3pm, and brings a wealth of fantastic local talent to the Philadelphia school’s campus.

Dishing out the keynote address for the event is Philly based graphic novel writer, John Arcudi. Some of you geeks might know his name from Dark Horse Comics’ The Mask, which was made into that classic Jim Carey flick. He’s written for DC and Marvel, working with Superman, The Flash, and other classic characters.

Learn about graphic novels and meet an important artist based here in Philly? Sounds like a fantastic time. The event is free, open to the public, and there will be refreshments.

To learn more about the event, visit Villanova’s official website.

Superheroes & Scholars @ Villanova University
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 | 3pm
blog.library.villanova.edu/blog/2010/11/03/falvey-celebrates-the-graphic-novel

Comments closed! Winner emailed!

When I heard about Mafia II for the first time, I definitely made a face of sincere disapproval. I’m sorry, but after the first title, I really didn’t see the need for a sequel. The initial announcement got a hearty meh from me. I wrote it off as an inevitable soon-to-be-another-Godfather-II critical failure, and I didn’t pay a lot of mind to any other news about the title.

Well. Seems like I should have.

After a lot of impressive sales figures, some decent reviews, and a lot of chatter from the gaming blogs (notably that the game uses the word f*ck more than any other game in history), I popped a review copy of the game into my console (thank you, 2K), and found myself incredibly surprised. And while I’ve yet to finish the game, I wanted to share my impressions with you (and host a little contest).

Mafia II is a fun game, and sure, the game has flaws. The characters aren’t terribly well developed and the driving mechanics are weak (and there is a LOT of driving), but 2K knows how to craft a good game, and more importantly, an experience. We’re talking about the same studio that brought us Bioshock, produced Borderlands, The Darkness, and Civilization: Revolution. The setting is so well crafted. The era appropriate music, cars, buildings… while you’re frustratingly trying to handle a car, you’ll be awe struck looking at the scenery.

In fact, I was so into the graphics and the well researched backdrop, that I went out and purchased one of the limited edition copies of Mafia II for myself. This says a lot, considering I went from someone who couldn’t have cared less about the game, to someone who scoured eBay and Amazon trying to find a copy of this sold-out-at-every-Gamestop limited edition.

2K was kind enough to send me several extra large (?!?) Mafia II t-shirts to giveaway, as well as my review copy of the game. Want a chance to win? Just leave a comment about your favorite mobster film. I’ll pick three of you at random. Two folks will get a t-shirt to cry into, and the other will get the game (Xbox 360 version) AND a t-shirt.

I’ll close the comments next week. Good luck.

TEDxPhilly is hitting the Kimmel Center next Thursday, November 18th, and the crew at Geekadelphia are excited. Specifically our own Nicole Kline, who will be attending and blogging about the event. Unlike the traditional TED talks, according to a release from the organizers, this is an “independently organized TEDx event, an offshoot of the TED Conference and its mission of Ideas Worth Spreading.”

There are some fantastic speakers lined up to chat with the eager audience, with talks that will last no more than 18 minutes. The theme of the conference, Right Here, Right Now, will be explored “through multiple lenses: political, cultural, artistic, technological and economic.” No word as to whether or not they will incorporate the Fatboy Slim music video anywhere. One can only hope. Speakers include:

Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Author & poet
Jay Coen Gilbert, Co-founder of B Lab
Nic Esposito, Sustainable practices activist
Billie Faircloth, Research director for KieranTimberlake
Tanya Hamilton, Writer/director of Night Catches Us
Simon Hauger of the West Philly Hybrid X Team
Chris Lehmann, Founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy
Evan Malone, Founder of NextFab Studio
Robert J. Moore, Founder & CEO of RJ Metrics
Iyad Obeid, Director of the Neural Instrumentation Laboratory at Temple
Stephen Powers, Artist of A Love Letter for You
Ursula Rucker, Poet & performance artist
Michael Solomonov, Chef & co-owner of Zahav
Zoe Strauss, Executive director of Philadelphia Public Art Project
Stanford Thompson, Director of Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s Tune Up Philly
Dallas Vietty of the Musette Project

You can read all the biographies for each speaker at TEDxPhilly’s official website. Scope that out, here. While the deadline to apply for tickets has long since past, they’ve been releasing tickets on the website. So check back regularly to score a pair.

TEDxPhilly
Thursday, November 18th, 2010
www.TEDxPhilly.org

The first car drives over the South Street Bridge… in the bike lane.

On a terribly cold Fall afternoon this past Saturday, the South Street Bridge reopened, to the sounds of celebration and neighborhood folks drinking discounted pints at local pubs. What other city would throw a mini parade and get sauced to honor a bridge opening on time? Seriously, I love Philadelphia.

Colin Weir (of SEPTA Watch fame), Mikey Il (of once was in an advertisement for Words With Friends fame), and I joined in the festivities, Tweeted the afternoon away, and took a ton of photos. Have a look at Mikey’s gallery below.

The creative folks at MakePhilly are only having one meeting this Fall, and they’re looking to make it count.

Interested in product design and design thinking in the context of a startup? I’m looking at you, Technically Philly. Well, the next MakePhilly meeting plans to cover just that, with a special appearance by Peter Bressler. An award winning designer and the former President of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), he’s kind of a big deal. In a “many leather bound books” sort of way.

His talk, entitled Product Design in Entrepreneurial Ventures, will… well, here’s what MakePhilly has to say about it:

Peter Bressler, the founder and leader of the award winning design firm Bresslergroup will be giving a talk entitled Product Design in Entrepreneurial Ventures in which he will explore the following questions: What is the value of design to an entrepreneur? How should an entrepreneur use design? Can an entrepreneur afford design? In the process he will share experiences and case studies from his over 30 years of design experience spanning the consumer, medical, and industrial spaces. Peter’s expertise includes user research, human factors application, manufacturing processes and innovative criteria conflict resolution.

The meeting takes place this Thursday, November 11th, and kicks off at 7pm sharp. And as always, the event is free. Be there!

MakePhilly & Peter Bressler
Thursday, November 11th, 2010 @ 7PM sharp
University of the Arts, 211 S. Broad Street, Terra Hall, 5th Floor
Cost: Free

While walking home from work, I spotted someone dressed as Guy Fawkes, complete with a dapper outfit and proper signage. He / she was situation right across the street from the Liberty Bell Center, where folks stopped to take photos and exchange peace signs with the character.

Perhaps next year, Geekadelphia will host a mini Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night. Could be fun, kids.

Remember, remember…

Oh. My. God.

From the YouTube page:

Canadian couple Todd and Meaghan learned about the Mural Arts Program’s (MAP) Love Letter Tour and coordinated an extended layover in Philadelphia (while traveling to France) to experience this wildly popular tour.

Todd contacted the MAP tour office to let them know he wanted to propose to Meaghan on the tour and MAP offered a clever idea in making his marriage proposal extra special.

This video is a result of MAP’s partnership with The University of Pennsylvania — Penn Singers Light Opera Company and Penn Glee Club. We’re excited to share with you the biggest surprise of Meaghan’s life!

Amazing. Warmed my heart this chilly November afternoon.

Philly based artist (and frequent reader of the Geek) Eric Bresler is hosting his first solo show at the Atlantic Gallery in Kensington, an exhibit consisting entirely of Tezuka and Tezuka-inspired imagery. Those of you unfamiliar with Tezuka, he was the famed Japanese artist who created Astro Boy, Kimba the White Whale, and Black Jack.

According to Wikipedia, he’s often dubbed ‘the father of manga.” There are also unconfirmed reports of him rolling around in his grave after the release of the Astro Boy film.

But I digress.

According to Bresler, visitors who stop by for the opening night celebration this First Friday, will be treated to 1960′s Japanese rock and film screenings. To RSVP for the opening, you can check out the Facebook event page that Bresler has created. Or just show up and tell him Geekadelphia sent you.

Love after Tezuka : Eric Bresler’s First Solo Art Show
On Exhibit November 5th – December 4th
Atlantis: The Lost Bar, 2442 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA

Surprise! The annual Indy Hall & Geekadelphia Halloween bash was a massive success. Folks came out dressed to the nines (some to the Johnny Nines), tasty beverages were consumed, and fabulous prizes were dished out.

I’d like to thank Rob from Tattooed Mom, for (always) being a gracious host, the kind folks at Brave New Worlds for the fantastic prizes, the crazy crew at Indy Hall for again inviting us to join their costumed evening, the CityPaper for highlighting the party, and of course, everyone who came out and made the night special.

Vince Brown, known to the Internets as Attila, was our official photographer for the evening (after I yelled at him to get his camera from his car), and took some great images. Have a look at the Flickr gallery below, and visit Vince’s website.

Hire him or something, because I paid the guy in tater tots Saturday night.

I also may have ate them.