Uwishunu.com

(Photo courtesy of OwlSports.com)

This Saturday (November 21st) Temple fans have a lot to root for, as both their football team and men’s basketball team are in action.

At 1pm,  the red-hot Owls football team (winners of eight in a row and eligible for their first bowl appearance in 30 years) take on Kent St. in their home finale at Lincoln Financial field, and at 7pm the action’s at the Liacouras Center for the men’s basketball home opener vs. Siena.

And for you “super-fans”, McFadden’s is offering a “Super Saturday” food and ticket package, which includes tickets to both games and a tailgate party from 4-6pm. Call (215) 204-6710 for details.

Temple vs. Kent. St
Lincoln Financial Field, 1pm

Temple vs. Siena
Liacouras Center, 7pm

For tickets and more information, visit OwlSports.com.

GO OWLS!

(Clockwise from bottom left) Magill Library at Haverford College; a recreation of Robert Indiana's LOVE statue on Penn's campus; and Milkboy Coffee, a popular study spot for Main Line students. (Photos by R. Kennedy, K. Ciappa and G. Widman)

Did you know that many of us at uwishunu went to college and/or graduate school in Greater Philadelphia? Our diplomas read: Arcadia, Drexel, Haverford, Moore, the University of Pennsylvania, St. Joseph’s, Temple and Villanova. (Phew! That’s a lot of homework.) And are we ever thankful for the education we received here — both in the classroom and in the city. Graduation caps off to ya, Philly.

Dear Teachers,

Pop quiz! Where’s the best place to reach for higher education?

1.  With more than 80 colleges and universities in the region, Philadelphia is “One Big Campus.”

2.  More than 360,000 students are enrolled in higher education programs here.

3.  In addition to the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, three more of the nation’s top 25 liberal arts colleges, as named by U.S. News & World Report, are in the Philadelphia region: Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College and Swarthmore College.

4.  One out of every six doctors trained in Philadelphia.

5.  Each year, Philadelphia-area institutions of higher learning award more than 55,000 degrees.

(From left) College students at the 2008 POPPED! Music Festival on Drexel's campus; and the beautiful Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. (Photos by M. Kennedy and R. Kennedy)

6.  Philadelphia’s Free Library system catalogues more than seven million items, including magazines, research materials, videos, art, music, films and, of course, books.

7.  In 2008, The Wall Street Journal article entitled “And the Best Executive M.B.A. Programs Are…” rated The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School second in the nation.

8.  With more than 1,000 students, the Drexel University College of Medicine is the largest private medical school in the nation.

9.  The region ranks third in the country for the number of health profession and related degrees conferred.

This Thanksgiving, We’re Thankful For… [uwishunu]

The Official Philly Brag Book [gophila.com]

These days I am all about trans-formable, trans-wearable, trans-seasonal pieces to extend the life of my clothes and keep me fabulously fashionable.

Local designer Nic Fish has mastered the art of transformative clothing with her popular transformable jumpers, dresses and tops.

One of my current faves is the Studded Flip Crop Top that you can flip upside down for two totally different looks. This style has a dropped armhole, embellished with gold studs that will make you look like a star any way you wear it!

To get this look in your closet, check out the following spots:

Nestology (Pop-up indie artist market)
King of Prussia Mall – Pavilion
Route 202 at Mall Boulevard, Suite 2700
King of Prussia, PA

Topstitch Boutique
54 North 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA
www.myspace.com/topstitch

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Check out more of Rakia’s fashion tips HERE and HERE.

Philly 360° Fashion and Top Boutiques [gophila.com]

www.gophila.com/philly360
www.twitter.com/philly360

The bar in Stir. Photo by HughE Dillon of Philly Chit Chat

Next Wednesday, Philadelphia’s own Nightlifegay has organized the annual Pink Pub Crawl, a bar crawl that visits some of the most hip and happening places in Philly’s Gayborhood. This year’s crawl route is definitely a good one, check it out:

9:00pm – 10:25pm @ Stir (1705 Chancellor St)
10:30pm – 11:30pm @ Q Lounge (13th & Locust St)
11:30pm – 12:30am @ Woody’s (13th & Walnut St)
12:30am – 1:30am @ Voyeur (1221 St. James St)

Crawlers along the route get 1 drink (beer or wine) at Stir, Q, and Woody’s, as well as free admission to Voyeur and Woody’s dance floor.

Tickets are only $20 if you’re dressed in pink and $30 if not. One major piece of clothing (shirt, jacket, pants, boa, whatever!) has to be pink in order to take advantage of the discount. You can pick up your tickets the night of the event at Stir and the Q Lounge.

Prizes at the event include free memberships to the 12th Street Gym, free dinner for two to a popular restaurant in the area (it’s a surprise!), free t-shirts, and more. The crawl kicks off at 9PM at Stir, and wraps up at 1:30AM at Yoyeur. For more info on the event, visit Nightlifegay’s official website.

The Pink Pub Crawl
Wednesday, November 25, 2009,  9:00pm

Stir Lounge
1705 Chancellor St, Philadelphia, PA 19103-6104
(215) 732-2700
www.stirphilly.com

Set in the National Constitution Center's dramatic, circular theater, Freedom Rising tells the story of "We The People" through moving videos, sounds and a one-person performance. (Photos by G. Widman)

Another view of Freedom Rising:

The performance is the perfect preamble to your experience at the Center.

National Constitution Center [gophila.com]

Tonight, our good friends Art in the Age will be hosting Camila Rivera-Tinsley, the environmental educator from The Schuylkill Center. She’ll be teaching guests how to create their very own vermicomposting box at home, which will transform your food waste into all-natural fertilizer. Guests will learn about the process of decomposition, biology, and how to care for the little squiggly worms that’ll be living in their compost bin.

With Thanksgiving coming up, the holiday that arguably provides the most leftovers, this could prove to be a useful class! Plus, Art in the Age will be serving their signature ROOT cocktails during the talk.

As of this posting, they still had space available, so if you’re interested, please contact Nicole Hutnyk at nicole[at]artintheage.com.

Vermicomposting at Art in the Age
November 18th, 2009

Art in the Age
116 N. 3rd St, Philadelphia, PA
www.artintheage.com

Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC

This Saturday, Giovanni’s Room, the oldest LGBT bookstore in the country, is hosting a Read-a-thon fundraiser. The store has been faced with a lot of financial challenges while restoring the shop’s front wall and as a result, they’ve been hosting a lot of fundraisers lately, with plenty more coming up.

Over twenty authors are stopping by to support the shop this Saturday, including Steve Berman, S. Renee Bess, Perry Brass, Tim Brough, Victoria Brownworth, Rob Byrnes, David Carter, Mark Hardy, Ken Harvey, Bill Konigsberg, Livia Lllewellyn, Malinda Lo, Bobbi Marolt, Mark Merlis, Thom Nickles, Radclyffe, Paul Russell, Scott Sherman and Bob Smith.

The Read-a-thon is being thrown in conjunction with the Lambda Literary Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting LGBT writers. 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales are going towards the two sponsors, and the suggested donation is $25, with tickets available at the door.

The event kicks off at 7:30PM and runs until 10PM. Wine and snacks will be served. Stop by and support an important institution in Philadelphia’s LGBT community.

Read-a-thon Fundraiser @ Giovanni’s Room
Saturday, November 21st, 2009, 7:30PM

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

Images courtesy of the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collections, Jan Van Rymsdyk Anatomical Drawings

Before there was modern medical imaging, doctors and the students they trained depended on hand-drawn images for reference and study. One of the preeminent illustrators in this field was a man by the name of Jan Van Rymsdyk. Beginning on December 1, 2009, Pennsylvania Hospital will, for the first time, display their complete collection of 16 anatomical drawings done by Van Rymsdyk.

These drawings were donated to the hospital in 1762 and have been carefully preserved for the past 247 years. This exhibition will be on display through December 2010 and is certain to be of interest to anyone who has an interest in anatomical drawing and medical history.

From Pastels to PDA’s: Medical Education from the 18th to the 21st Century
Pennsylvania Hospital
December 1, 2009 through December 2010

I moved to Philadelphia just after college, with only the barest working knowledge of food. Living alone on a very tight budget, the only way I could feed myself and still pay my rent was by really learning to cook. I turned to an ancient edition of the Joy of Cooking, Nigella Lawson’s first book and a copy of the Frog Commissary Cookbook that had once belonged to my grandmother.

I was delighted to learn recently that Steve Poses, one of the authors of the Frog Commissary Cookbook and a founder of both those restaurants, recently penned a new cookbook. Called At Home: A Caterer’s Guide to Cooking & Entertaining, it feels both wonderfully familiar and joyously new.

The goal of the book is to help people entertain at home and to make cooking feel like a natural and relaxed activity. It starts by offering the home cook advice on how to set up a kitchen, best practices on plating food (for both individual plates and family-style meals) and lots of tips on how to plan out your menu. Only after that does Poses proceed to the recipes (and such recipes!).

For those of you who are looking for a unique, Philadelphia-centric holiday gift this season, this book is a good contender. Just take note, it’s only available for online purchase through Poses’ website, which you can access by clicking here. It costs $29.95 for the soft cover version and $39.95 for the hard bound one. And happy entertaining!

Photo courtesy Hudson Beach Glass

The ever-so-talented crew down at Hudson Beach Glass in Old City are hosting a flower arranging workshop with Michele C. Spence, a winner of the Chelsea Flower Show, next Tuesday, November 24th.

Spence is a celebrated expert in floral design, and for the past ten years, has traveled around giving floral design demonstrations.  Her work has been on display at the Chelsea’s flower show, and our very own Philadelphia flower show. Her designs have even found their way into the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archeology and Anthropology and Longwood Gardens.

Sean Gilvey, the owner of Hudson Beach Glass, will be creating the beautiful, handmade glass bowls you’ll be placing your floral arrangements in. Sean will sign and date each bowl used for the event, and you’ll have your choice of purple, copper, and green.

The workshop falls right before Thanksgiving, giving you plenty of time to work on your own arrangement for the dinner table. Space in limited, and tickets cost $150. The price of the ticket includes your handmade glass bowl, the flowers, the class, and refreshments.

For more information about Hudson Beach Glass, be sure to visit their official website, or check out this video we shot of them earlier this year, right after the jump!

Flower Arranging Workshop @ Hudson Beach
November 24th, 2009

Hudson Beach Glass
26 S. Strawberry St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.hudsonbeachglasspa.com

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