Uwishunu.com

If you’re reading uwishunu, you probably have at least a vague interest in the future of journalism, one of the most important pillars of our democracy.

I don’t mean to get all high-minded on you, but conversations about the methods of how you get your news and information are happening across the country right now. And, it turns out, one of the more accessible and meaningful of those conversations is going to happen in Philadelphia on Saturday. You can attend FOR FREE.

The national BarCamp for NewsInnovation is being held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Annenberg Hall of Temple University this Saturday, April 25th. The dialogue will be held in a style of un-conferences devoted to the concept that everyone has something worth saying and can voice it if he so chooses – how perfectly Quaker that sounds.

The beauty of it is anyone can attend – and more than 300 people already have committed to do so – and anyone can speak. That means, you, casual Philly blogger or even casual Philly-blog reader, can be mixing and mingling with staffers, tech-heads and administration from places like the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, Gatehouse Media and other reporters from as far away as Oregon and Florida.

Your grandchildren will likely hardly understand the concept of a newspaper. The future of news is being decided now. If that future is being discussed and debated a short trip up the Broad Street line for one day and for free, shouldn’t you be there?

Sign up here.

BarCamp NewsInnovation
Saturday, April 25, 2009, 10AM – 5PM
www.bcniphilly.com

Annenberg Hall @ Temple University
2020 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA

Photo courtesy of Le Bec-Fin

Make Mother’s Day a delicious one with Le Bec-Fin‘s three-course brunch (at a generous $50/person)!

First course buffet:
- Smoked salmon
- Fresh fruit
- Freshly baked pastries
- Assorted salads
- Omelets prepared by chef George Perrier

Second course (served):
- Scottish salmon
- Braised, wild striped bass
- Leg of lamb quinoa provençal
- Organic, white-feathered chicken
-5 oz. petite filet of beef

Third course:
- Selections from dessert cart

This is a great option for Mother’s Day. Given the relatively low price (this is Le Bec-Fin, after all) and bounty of delicious food given in return, this may be your most recession-proof Mother’s Day option.

To make reservations, please call (215) 567-1000 or visit www.lebecfin.com.

And check out OpenTable for even more Mother’s Day options.

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10. Mark it on your calendar! Now!

OpenTable has a nice collection of dining options for the holiday. But we’re especially taken with the decadent Mother’s Day brunch buffet at XIX. Every mother deserves to be treated like a queen, and this is certainly a restaurant fit for one.

XIX is offering a 20-item, $65/adult, $32/children brunch menu that includes the following luxury items:

- Raw Bar selections;
- Crab and hearts of palm salad with avocado and lemon curry dressing;
- Smoked chicken salad with honey tangerines and tarragon;
- Poached eggs and black forest ham on buttermilk biscuits with cheddar cheese sauce;
- Ricotta filled crepes with Granny Smith apples and raisins;
- Smoked prime rib with creamed spinach and mushroom sauce
- Maple-glazed, free-range turkey stuffed with chicken sausage with gravy and cornbread

Dessert:
- Strawberry shortcake parfait;
- Key lime bar,
- White chocolate-raspberry martini
- Blackberry panna cotta.

Your meal is paired with beautiful, skyline views of the city. Your mama will be proud of your exquisite taste.

Blues singer Frank Bey, who performs with his band Friday night at Germantown’s LaRose

Jazz and more… Where I’ll be and where you should be…

MONDAY 4/20/09
4/20 Showcase: Agent Moosehead, Bodega, The Last Emperor, Cheers Elephant, Si Senorita, Wineskin, Andy of the Future
World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.
7:30 p.m., $15

TUESDAY 4/21/09
Lucky Thompson & the Budesa Brothers’ Blue Tuesday Open Mic & Jam Session
(Leroy’s) Showcase Lounge, 4912 Baltimore Ave.
Veteran drummer Lucky Thompson has played with greats like Nina Simone and Patti LaBelle during his long career and led jam sessions all over the city (including at Natalie’s Lounge, where he was the music director for more than 10 years). Lucky and brothers Rich Budesa on keys and Rob Budesa on guitar are single-handedly keeping Philly’s great organ trio tradition alive. If you haven’t heard them play at the Showcase, a neighborhood bar with a friendly staff and a welcoming vibe, then you’re missing out on an essential part of Philly’s jazz scene.
8 p.m., FREE

WEDNESDAY 4/22/09
Ben Schachter’s re:Trio
TIME, 1315 Sansom St.
Tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter and his talented young bandmates, bassist Leon Boykins and drummer Matt Scarano, are good enough to be playing at the Village Vanguard in New York or in a concert hall in Europe, but instead they play every Wednesday right here in Philly, in TIME’s upstairs lounge.
9 p.m., $5

THURSDAY 4/23/09
Drake, the Naeema Band
Tritone, 1508 South St.
An early set and a late set from Drake, who play the 4th Thursday of every month at Tritone, with a set in the middle from Naeema Maddox’s band.
8:30 p.m., $5

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The bad news: Memphis Taproom’s laid-back dining room and pickle-deep-frying kitchen will be closed on Wed., April 22.

The good news: It’s because the Kensington gastro-pub is celebrating its one-year anniversary. That means the food is free and the beers are even more unique and delicious than usual. Swing by anytime after 5 p.m. to share your favorite MT stories from the past year and sip on the special beers on tap “” Taras Boulba, Schlenkerla Fastenbier and Cantillon Vignerrone, plus a few more surprises.

The best news: As with any good Memphis Taproom event, insiders know the real party starts the night before, when the bar offers killer deals on the current kegs to make way for the fancy new beers. That means Tues. night “” after 7 p.m. “” all of the already-delicious draught options will flow freely for cheap prices. Just don’t overdo it “” you’ve got more celebrating to do on Wed.

Memphis Taproom
2331 E. Cumberland Street, Philadelphia, PA
www.memphistaproom.com

The Please Touch Museum is opening its doors at no cost to children this Friday, April 24th. This special free admission for kids (ages 12 and under) includes interactive exhibit zones, Please Touch Playhouse Theater, and all activities related to April’s Celebrate Stories Month. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ride the restored Dentzel Carousel from Woodside Park.

The museum is located in Memorial Hall, which happens to be one of my absolute favorite buildings in the entire city. I cannot imagine a more perfect location. Regular admission is $15 (adults and children over 12), and their hours of operation are 9am to 5pm Mondays through Fridays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays. Growing up in a family of educators I not only understand but fully appreciate the mission of this museum “” that some of the best learning opportunities happen through play.

Additional information on Shire Day can either be found on their official website.

Please Touch Museum
4231 N. Concourse Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19131
(215) 334-3472
www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

Photos by Cory Frisco

“The only way to teach these people is to kill them.”

This line, uttered by a distraught, callous, seething and intractable veteran grifter in Theatre Exile’s production of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo,” perfectly captures the gritty tone of the play. As the final show of the company’s 12th season, it certainly ends it with a punch “” or a smack, a soul-crushing blow, a dream-flattening and a hope-sucking “” that seems as appropriate for our current times (and as difficult to watch) as it was for the mid-1970′s, when the play first opened to critical acclaim amidst disheartening societal upheaval.

The story centers around three men, petty criminals all, conspiring to steal a rare Buffalo Head nickel. The action takes place entirely within the confines of Don’s cluttered pawnshop, where the avuncular older man lords over the detritus of too many worthless lifetimes as he struggles to bestow a little kindness on the young ex-junkie Bob, while being a good friend and scheming partner to the hardened Teach…

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Lucero, playing at the First Unitarian Church on Friday

FRIDAY

Ape School, Buffalo Stance, The Armchairs
Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N Frankford
Ape School is the latest Philly oldhead to reinvent and drop a late-00s style psych/pop bomb; this is the record release show, go and say you were there. Buffalo Stance is Jamey from the late great Need New Body. 9pm, $10.

Lucero
First Unitarian Church, 22nd and Chestnut
My Brother’s Favorites weekend pick. Alt country rockers somewhere between Springsteen and Uncle Tupelo. 9pm, $14.

Outer Limits with Who We and Big Snax
Medusa Lounge, 22nd and Chestnut
Dance to electro. 10pm, free.

SATURDAY

Versus.
The Barbary, Frankford and Delaware
New(?) Barbary monthly(?) mega-jam with ambassadors from the Live Forever, Pex, 4AM and Shakedown crews. All styles represented. Dance battles encouraged(?). 10pm, $5.

Acid Mothers Temple, Sonic Suicide Squad
Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N Frankford
Contempary 70s heavy psych worship unit most likely to currently own a spaceship, Acid Mothers Temple, with DC upstarts/tour gear support Sonic Suicide Squad. Say hey to Justin Sounds from the Pocket on
merch! 9pm, $12.

Mr. Gay Philadelphia
Pure Nightclub, 1221 St James
Hosted by Frank DeCaro and Philly drag character Brittany Lynn with The Village Voice’s Michael Musto, Judge Daniel J. Anders, Mickey Boardman, Josh Rosenzweig, David Brown and Will Wikle as judges. James covered it at the link above. 10pm, $20/40.

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Looks like I’m not the only one who loved The Lantern Theatre Company’s production of Hamlet. Audience reaction and critical reviews of the Lantern’s production of Hamlet have prompted the theater to extend the play’s performance dates for five more days. Check out Geoff Sobelle as Hamlet in what The Philadelphia Inquirer calls “the performance of his life.”

Trust me, seeing Hamlet performed on the Lantern’s cozy stage is an experience not to be missed. My favorite part? The fight scene between Hamlet and Laertes in the finale. One word: rapiers. It doesn’t get any better than that, ladies and gentlemen.

So go get your Shakespeare on! Catch five extra days of Hamlet from May 13-May 17.

Hamlet @ The Lantern Theatre
Now extended though May 17
Tickets: $20-$35

The Lantern Theatre Company
10th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 829-0395
www.lanterntheatre.org

Spring festivals are usually about relaxation; about enjoying the dewy air, cooking some good food and maybe throwing a Frisbee around. Injecting politics into an atmosphere like this would be a serious buzzkill, unless you are the folks of Clark Park, who have been bringing amusement side by side with activism for years.

Let’s run down the list: Live music and dance, speakers, spoken word, and great food. Definitely fun. Free workshops on health, sustainability, gardening, and social justice, green information booths: more about learning.

But like many things of this ilk, there are equal amounts of overlap, from the Food Trust Farmers’ Market to the vendors selling everything from antiques and collectibles, ethnic arts and crafts and fashion, to bikes, books, records.

As usual, the Uhuru Movement is making sure all funds raised by the flea market go to worthy causes. This particular event benefits the African Village Survival Initiative, developing collective food, water, energy survival and economic self-reliance programs in response to the deep economic crisis.

AVSI has done work in many African American communities, helping create self reliance and economic independence. AVSI hopes now more than ever that their practices will be duplicated in other cities and other parts of the world.

So come be part of a springtime festival that is equal parts empowerment and entertainment, learning and lounging. Because you can only throw a Frisbee for so long.

Earth Day Flea Market
Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Clark Park
4300-4398 Chester Ave, Philadelphia, PA