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Valentine’s Day is creeping up, and if you don’t already have romantic plans, chances are you might not be able to make any at all. Despite what Hallmark may say, there are plenty of other things to do on Valentine’s Day besides canoodling, cuddling and cooing. One of those great opportunities is waiting for you at the corner of Passyunk and Dickinson in South Philly. My pal Mike Fleming“”one of Philadelphia’s most talented young photographers“”is having a show at B2.

Mike’s photos hold an optimistic realism representative of people and places we’ve all know and visited. His honest snapshots always make me a bit nostalgic and remind me to take a closer look at the miscellany and innocuity of my own daily life. I’m going to be stopping in before my V-Day plans start, and since the opening show begins at 6 pm, you’ll probably have time to drop in too!

Swing by B2, grab a coffee and peruse the goods. All of Mike’s photos are priced to sell, so you can even grab a last minute gift for your sweetie before your big date.

Get acquainted with Mike before you stop by:

www.mikeflem.blogspot.com
www.mikeflemingphotography.com
www.flickr.com/mikeflem
www.mikefleming.myphotoalbum.com

Opening Reception at B2
February 14th from 6-8 pm
Exhibition runs until March 12, 2009

B2
1500 E. Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 271-5520

Crowd from last year’s Fun-A-Day

This time of year can be ho-hum: the holidays are over, and spring is a long way off. But the West-Philly-based Artclash! collective encourages people to get productive during the winter doldrums with its annual Fun-A-Day project.

Here’s how it works: anyone and everyone is invited to create a piece of art (and “art” has a very flexible definition here) each day throughout January. In early February, participants submit their projects, and everything gets displayed in gallery show at Studio 34 a week later. Not even the Artclash members know the number or nature of projects that will be contributed until the submission date. In its four years of existence, over 200 artists have submitted over 6,500 pieces of art, and the show is so popular that it has spawned sister events in San Francisco and Pittsburgh.

Participants contribute to the show for vastly different reasons–to try something new, to finally do something they’ve been meaning to work on, to challenge themselves, or just for fun. At the show, simple and funny shares space with complex and elaborate. Past projects have included a table of 31 baked goods, documentation of 31 days of home-improvement projects, and 31 photos of stray cats, along with more traditional, you know, artwork.

At this year’s show, Artclash is hoping to distribute a zine that will include some of the highlights from the first four years, including past fliers, a comprehensive list of past projects, and some of the art itself. While it’s too late to start a project for this year’s Fun-A-Day, you can get inspiration and start planning for next year at the show on February 14th.

Fun-A-Day Gallery Show @ Studio 34
4522 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143
(215) 387-3434
artclash.com

What better way to pre-celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a little spook and gore? On Friday the 13th visit the Eat Your Heart Out art premiere at Shouk Lounge, located at 622 S. 6th Street between South and Bainbridge in Queen Village.

Show coordinator and contributing artist Angry Jane gathers 25 local Philadelphia artists and photographers (Jesse Rinyu, Pat Woods, Nick Mesaric, Saga Mor, and Kristin Scholz to name a few) and two out-of-towners, to create a mock gallery offering visual stimulus in a variety of media.

Between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., cruise the showroom floor of this free event to talk with artists, sip on $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon, and indulge in complimentary pudding. Bill Cosby won’t get his wiggle on at Eat Your Heart Out, but you can as Philly spinster DJ Fenicx satiates your groove with beats.

If you want to take a break from the show, grab friends or make new ones to relax with Shouk’s renowned hookah. Amidst light, smooth fruity smoke, enjoy a cocktail or some Middle Eastern tapas.

While making plans for tonight, consider Eat Your Heart Out’s motto: Who Needs Love When You Have Art?

Shouk Lounge
622 S. 6th Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19195
(215) 627-3344
www.angryjane.com/shouk

Modo Mio, the Italian BYOB on Girard Avenue, keeps getting rave reviews. Making their “Menu Turista” prix fixe offering (above) a truly great deal.

You get to choose any one item from each of the four sections of their regular menu for the fixed price of $32. By my math, that’s a sweet deal.

CLICK HERE for more info and the full menu at the Modo Mio website.

Ansill is awesome. I wish it were on my way home from work so I could take advantage of this happy hour deal more often.

“Monday through Friday from 6 – 8 p.m., Ansill serves up Happy Hour like no other with $1 oysters, $5 Finlandia martinis, $5 Prosecco sparkling wine and $3 Yards Philadelphia draft beer.”

That’s:

- $1 Oysters
- $3 Yards Drafts
- $5 Martinis
- $5 Proseccos

CLICK HERE for more info on the Ansill Food + Wine website.

Quite a deal at Le Bec Fin.

The Express Lunch at Le Bec Fin is $15.23. It includes “a choice of either the Soup du Jour or the Field Greens Salad followed by Chef Perrier’s Burger Lyonnais which is a grilled prime burger served on a brioche bun with caramelized onion puree, cherry tomato confiture, and pomme frites.”

Yes, please.

CLICK HERE for the Le Bec Fin website.

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romantic love; it’s also about feeling your love for your dog, your parents, your car, your (dare I say it?) landlord…the works.

So South Philly’s Midwives Collective & Gallery is celebrating all things amorous with “I Found Love,” an exhibition that kicks off tonight (Feb. 13th) from 6-10 p.m and runs through March 7th.

The artworks seen here were either found out in the wild (on the street, in the house, at the bottom of someone’s locker) or inspired by these randomly beautiful things that, in some way or another, are evocative of that famous four-letter word.

CLICK HERE for more info at the Midwives Web site.

Wondering where to pick-up fancy chocolates for your sweetheart? Teuscher (pronounced toy-sure) Chocolates of Switzerland recently opened a new chocolate boutique at 1616 Walnut Street, the follow-up to their popular flagship store at The Shops at The Bellevue.

The 75-year-old company uses its original recipes to produces hundreds of chocolate variations using the finest ingredients “” with no chemicals, additives or preservatives (that makes them healthy, right?). Produced in Switzerland, the chocolates are delivered fresh weekly to stores in United States.

Offering special premium chocolate boxes for Valentines day, the 1616 Walnut Tuescher boutique also offers Antica Tostatura Triestina espresso and breakfast pastries from Le Bec Fin to satisfy your morning sweet tooth.

Teuscher Chocolate
1616 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 546-7600
www.teuscherphiladelphia.com

I invite you to take a trip into the mind of CAConrad “” a mysterious place where teapots talk and hats chuckle, where queer is not so queer. A surreal world that is both magical and disturbing where imaginary becomes the reality.

CAConrad, a fixture of the Philadelphia literary elite, will read passages from “The Book of Frank,” this Sunday, February 15 at Giovanni’s Room.

His writings are wrought with fantasy, amid a candid portrayal of human cruelty. And “Frank,” the protagonist of his many poems, dances on the verge of insanity in a materialistic and mad world.
That being said, this poetry reading is sure to amaze and maybe even horrify your senses, but I assure you “” with CA’s droll sense of humor “” you’ll laugh-out-loud and completely enjoy yourself. There is something so truthful about his candid thoughts.

Be sure to pick up a copy of CAConrad’s “The Book of Frank,” it’s a real page turner.

Giovanni’s Room
345 S 12th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 923-2960
www.giovannisroom.com

Details above.

CLICK HERE for more info the Valanni website.