Yesterday, Indy Hall’s Alex Hillman gave me the heads up that Brady Dale, who we know and love from his webcomic, is currently selling his massive collection of nearly 7,500 comic books.

And as you can see, there’s a video.

You’ve got to appreciate Dale’s organization and sorting skills, bordering on an almost High-Fidelity-esque obsessiveness that I seriously admire.

Head over to his website and scope out the details. And if you’re so inclined, buy his collection.

The other day, Jeff Lyons and his crew over at Used Wigs invited me to be a special guest on their hilarious podcast. The show recorded live upstairs at L’Etage in Queen Village, featured celebrated local artist Yis Goodwin, and was an absolute blast.

Topics range from New Orleans prostitutes to horrible weight loss tips, tertiary Star Wars characters to disbelief in penguins. I chatted about my famed Master Chief armor and gave away a few Quirk titles. All in all, a fabulous evening.

Give it a listen! And thanks for having me on guys!

Used Wigs Podcast: 93
www.usedwigs.com/podcast-93

Running through March 11th, the Philadelphia International Flower Show is part of the holy trinity of major draws at the Pennsylvania Convention Center that also includes the Auto Show and Wizard World. Unlike those other two events, the annual horticultural celebration has never had a hands-on tech component. Until now. Available for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and other compatible mobile devices, the new Flower Show App is a game changer in terms of how it allows visitors to experience the fragrant festivities.

Along with providing basic info like the show’s schedule, special guests and presentation lineup, the free app also features a detailed floor map, interactive trivia game, the ability to leave Yelp-like comments on each exhibit, and the opportunity to participate in real-time judging of the various competitions at the Designer’s Studio –which is likely the closest you will ever get to becoming a reality show judge.

The theme of this year’s show is Hawaii: Islands of Aloha, and as you can expect from previous flower shows, the usually drab Convention Center will be bursting with colors and smells unlike any other time of the year. (Expect maybe for Wizard World, though the scents wafting through the air then ain’t exactly pleasant).

The creation of an app to help navigate the show floor and present an abundance of info about the show has been long overdue. The fact that attendees can now take advantage of one that is so thoughtfully crafted brings an additional burst of joy to what is already one of Philly’s most celebrated events.

Click here to download the app.

The Philadelphia Flower Show
Through Sunday, March 11th.

Pennsylvania Convention Center
12th & Arch Streets

TCM, one of the finest channels on basic cable, will be making a stop in Philadelphia on its Road to Hollywood Tour. The tour is a build up for its “TCM Classic Film Festival” that will be held in Hollywood April 12-15th. TCM will be holding a free screening via an archival 35mm print of the 1959 Hitchcock classic North By Northwest at our very own Prince Music Theater introduced by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and actress Eva Marie Saint.

Tickets are free and can be picked up here. I am a huge fan of TCM and honestly cant wait for this screening! Check out the trailer below!

One of my all-time favorite Japanese punk trios Guitar Wolf will be coming to Philadelphia’s very own Johnny Brenda’s on Sunday, April 1st.  Guitar Wolf are probably best known for starring in the 2000 film Wild Zero, where armed with the power of ROCK AND ROLL they defeated an army of zombies and saved the planet.

Since then the band has become well-known for its almost constant world touring. In anticipation for their gig (which you can still buy tickets for here) Seiji the Guitar Wolf himself was nice enough to answer a few questions for the Geekadelphia readers. (more…)

Medium Rare Cinema, who were doing shows over at Mt. Airy’s Video Library, have now relocated and are now doing shows at Philly’s own Broad Street Ministry in Center City. Their first show at the new venue will be a screening of Burn! starring Marlon Brando. In the film Brando stars as a mercenary who deliberately instigates a slave revolt on an island in the Caribbean so he profit off the resulting improved sugar trade.

If you’re not familiar with Medium Rare Cinema their M.O. is they show cuts of films that are usually created for the screenings themselves, that didn’t exist before. When Burn! was originally released in the US in 1970, United Artists cut 20 minutes of political material for fear of alienating the Spanish government. The version being screened will have that footage re-inserted.

The screening will take place this Saturday, March 3rd at 6pm and tickets are a mere $5 and you can get more info here.  There will also be prizes and a post film discussion.

So you consider yourself an artist. I mean, you like to paint, draw, write and maybe even do some performing every now and then. Good for you. Give yourself a high five.

And then there’s you over there; the hackers. You like nothing better than to tear the guts out of something, see how it works, improve it and then put the whole mess back together. You believe you should do it yourself or not at all. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Now imagine if you could combine the two into one mad weekend of art meets hacking meets creativity. Well, the folks at Hive 76 thought that sounded like a brilliant idea and the result is the Art Hackathon. Hive 76 is going to supply piles and piles of recycled materials such as cardboard, glue, tubs of spackle and the ever present duct tape. Over the course of two days, participants will have to create a meaningful work of art using the materials provided according to a theme provided by the organizers.

So make sure all you creative types head over to Hive 76 at 915 Spring Garden (Suite 519) on March 10th and 11th from 3 to 7pm for an orgy of imagination and art. It will set you back $25 (which will cover the supplies and food) and you need to RSVP by March 6th by emailing smcbeth@hive76.org.

Remember, one of the tenets of the Hacker Ethic is “Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative!” Believe me, it’s not going to get much more hands on than this.

Hive 76
www.hive76.org

The Trailer Park Boys is one of those cult phenomena that either you know about and are a rabid fan, or you’ve probably never heard of. The Canadian mocumentary TV show spanned 7 seasons and followed the misadventures of a trio of ex-con trailer park residents that dealt drugs, loved kitties, robbed convenience stores, and couldn’t seem to stay out of jail.

Since the show completed its run the trio started another show The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour and still occasionally tour in character as our favorite residents from Sunnyvale Trailer Park. Their newest tour “The Ricky, Julian and Bubbles’ Community Service Variety Show” will be stopping at our very own Keswick Theater Wednesday, May 9th at 7:30pm.

I am a huge fan of the Trailer Park Boys and can’t wait to see what the live show is all aboot. Tickets for the show range from $28 to $40 and can be ordered online at KeswickTheatre.com, or you can pick them up at the Keswick box office, Monday-Saturday, noon-6pm and via all Ticketmaster locations.

It feels like just yesterday that Geekadelphia put out an open call, but our First Friday gallery show is already upon us. Join the Geekadelphians and some fantastic local artists for our first event at the Drink Philly gallery. Learn more about the showing artists on Drink Philly.

Join us for an evening of art, tunes, bites and sips. Also, what would a Geekadelphia event be without some blips, beeps and bloops? A Geekadelphia fav, Chipocrite, will be providing 8-bit jams to enjoy as you peruse about. BONUS: our buds at Black Heart Letter Press have some mischief lined up. This event is free and open to the public– just be sure to RSVP in advance.

And nothing else matters.

Kidding! Here are some other fun gallery events and exhibits around town: (more…)

Guest Post by Shannon Caulfield

Philadelphia, art and technology come together in a geek exhibition running all month long at Little Berlin.

This Friday, March 2nd, BYOBeamer opens free to the public. The exhibition, FlashFl00d, is an event featuring the BYOBeamer format created and open-sourced by Rafaël Rozendaal and produced internationally to fill the gallery.

“We’ve invited 25 artists and they’re bringing their own [art] on projectors.” said Kelani Nichole, a curator helping run the show. “It will be full of photos, gifs, videos, digital photography — it’s roughly considered Net.art, any digital file that can be part of the exhibit.”

A map will be featured in the gallery as well, indicating where the ‘dead drops’ are located around the city. The ‘dead drops’ themselves are the jump drives found across the city– they could be attributed to a “data glory hole” as it was so eloquently referenced by Nichole, as the drives are both public and anonymous. Educate yourselves about this peer-to-peer file sharing concept at Deaddrops.com.

“It’s opened up to the entire community. We’re celebrating and exposing Philadelphia to technology and art,” said Nichole. “We wanted to immerse Philly in net art.”

Catch the month-long geeky awesomeness at Little Berlin in Kensington around the corner from Philly Brewing Company. For more information on the exhibit, visit their Facebook event page or check out Little Berlin’s official website.

If you read this blog, chances are you already know about Guilded Age, the World of Warcraft-inspired webcomic created by T. Campbell, Phil Kahn (a recent Geek of the Week), and Erica Henderson. Begun as a way to put a spin on common fantasy stereotypes, the comic chronicled the exploits of an unlikely group of adventurers as they made their way through various tasks.

Those early tales are available now in book form in Guilded Age: Volume 1, which brings together the first comics as well as cast biographies and a bonus chapter about Byron Hackenslasher, more commonly known as Byron the Berserker.

Volume 1 details how the adventurers met – there’s Bandit Keynes, a gnome who makes off with more than she bargained for when she steals Syr’Nj’s hat. There’s Byron the Berserker, who is more rational than you would imagine. My favorite is foul-mouthed Frigg Akerfeldt, who taunts enemies, curses everyone out, and kills everything in her path.

Gravedust Deserthammer, a Savasi mystic, is a dwarf with the most badass name ever. Payet Best is an elven bard, singing and impregnating his way through towns. And let’s not forget the wood elf Syr’Nj – it rhymes with “orange” – who can “always do science to it.”

Campbell and Kahn have created distinct, lovable characters in Guilded Age, and this compilation of their first adventures together is one that should grace your shelf – be you a World of Warcraft nerd or just a lover of webcomics. Their off-the-wall humor is balanced with a solid storyline, giving the characters depth while not succumbing to common stereotypes. Fantasy can be funny, it can have a plot, and it can do all this while looking good.

Guilded Age is a comic that’s worth your time and your money – unless, of course, you’ve already spent all of your ralds on booze and wenches.

Leah Cevoli, producer, actress and resident Geekadelphia crush (you might remember her from a little thing called Robot Chicken) is asking for support for her latest project, JEDI CAMP.

The proposed series, starring Cevoli and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Camden Toy, sounds almost too cute to be real.

“The six-episode web series will follow a group of young Star Wars fans who embark on an adventure filled summer at the first ever sleep-away camp for Jedi. Throughout their summer, they’ll learn the ways of the Force and be tested by the Dark Side. When the youngest camper, Lucas discovers he has the Power of the Force, it enables him to conquer his fears and defeat his bully,” the producers explain.

The fictional series will feature many young and talented actors, with a heartwarming message about the implications of bullying, though the show’s message and content will appeal to all ages.

Jedi Camp is currently up on Kickstarter.com and has just one week left to reach its $8,500 goal. They’re about a quarter of the way there. To donate, head to Kickstarter and pledge your support to help back this project with The Force plus some cash (otherwise, all donations are returned if the fundraising level is not reached).