Center City : In The News

Philadelphia designer and printmaker Jack Zylkin, a regular in the Hive76 community of makers and crafters, has created and made available a USB Typewriter that Geek With Laptop just loves.

The USB Typewriter describes itself as a "groundbreaking innovation in the field of obsolescence", and frankly, I couldn't have put it better myself. To be serious for a minute though, some people do still prefer the touch and feel of a manual typewriter over a computer keyboard, and many people have old models that they are still very attached to.

In true open source tradition, Jack Zylkin, the man behind this project, even provides instructions to people who want to build their own USB Typewriter from scratch. So that makes a total of three different options available; making one from scratch yourself, buying a DIY kit to install yourself, and buying a completed typewriter from the website. Oh, I almost forgot, you can also send in your existing typewriter for Jack to convert.

The USBTypewriter is based on Arduino, and works with three main components. There is a sensor board made from metal contacts, a USB interface board with a Atemega Arduino chip, and Reed switches to detect any keys that don't strike the crossbar. Amazingly, the entire project only needs 11 wires to operate, nine of which lie underneath the chassis.

Original source: Geek With Laptop
Read the full story here.

The Opera Company of Philadelphia has taken another innovative step, partnering with two other groups on a world-premiere libretto that tackles polygamy, reports The Washington Post

(Hot young composer Nico) Muhly will oversee the premiere of another new opera, "Dark Sisters," which will have its world premiere in New York in November, 2011, courtesy of Gotham Chamber Opera, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the Music-Theatre Group.

This venture is partly possible because Muhly is tremendously prolific; not many composers can turn out two new operas fast enough to see world premieres in June and November of the same year. But however the opera itself pans out, it's already an exciting example of the possibilities of collaboration, and the way that smaller companies have the flexibility of scheduling and programming to get a jump on bigger ones. Get your tickets now.

Original source: The Washington Post
Read the full story here.

Beauty and style editor Ysolt Usigan goes on a whirlwind tour of our city, dispelling the New York elitist notion that we're its "sixth borough," reports The Huffington Post.

When it came to partying, two speakeasies, and I was had! Once defined as "an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages" in the '20s and '30s, I discovered two venues with that feel nestled in Philadelphia's Penn Center neighborhood. First stop: the sexy Ranstead Room. With entrances through El Rey's kitchen and outside on the street (just look for the door marked with double Rs), I had cocktails with names so complicated I can't even remember them. Even though it was quite dim inside, the naked ladies gracing the walls were hard to miss. The venue is hot, to say the least.

From vintage shops to lux salons, even vast department stores with plenty of preppy and chic options to boot, there's no question--Philly knows style. I picked the best time to visit the city, too, with the Philadelphia Collection 2010 series underway. From September 23 to October 2, the city's many boutiques, stylists, designers and modeling agencies were hosting various independently produced events.

Original source: The Huffington Post
Read the full story here.

Our sister publication Keystone Edge writes about Malvern biopharmacetucial startup Recro Pharma, among the new breed of companies presenting at the annual Biotech 2010 conference in Philadelphia.

There's no denying that the down economy has been rough for the life sciences sector. When industry news website FiercePharma listed the 10 companies that laid off the most workers in 2009, seven firms on the list had a presence in the Keystone State. But Chris Molineaux, president of the statewide advocacy group Pennsylvania Bio that is hosting its annual Biotech 2010 event next week, says the upheaval of Big Pharma represents a new model for the industry.

No longer will huge companies try to do every task under one corporate banner, Molineaux says. Already, it's increasingly common to outsource tasks like information technology, financing and the administrative aspects of clinical drug trials. Researchers remain in-house or come to a company through an acquisition.

"It's going to be more of a patchwork. We're not going to have 15 large pharmaceutical companies," Molineaux says. "We'll probably have 50 medium-sized pharmaceutical companies and dozens of these smaller contractors."

Original source: Keystone Edge
Read the full story here.

Havertown-based military history publisher Casemate expects its first mobile applications, courtesy of Philadelphia firm Ebooq, to be available in both the Apple App Store and Google's Android Market, reports Publisher's Weekly.

The creation of its own apps is an outgrowth of Casemate's digital strategy, which it began implementing at the beginning of 2010. Farnsworth said that when he decided to enter the e-book market, he wanted Casemate to do its own e-books, and he put together an in-house staff. During the recruiting process, Farnsworth heard about a Philadelphia startup (Casemate is based in nearby Havertown, Pa.) and, after doing his due diligence, decided not only to give his app business to the company but also to make an investment in the firm, called Ebooq. The first 10 apps will be low priced--probably $2.99  and will be a straight conversion of text, but Farnsworth said he expects to develop more sophisticated apps later in 2011.

While Farnsworth is exploring the best ways Casemate can grow its digital business, he has also started using one of publishing's oldest marketing techniques to sell its 4,000 print books--a mail-order catalog. The first edition of "The Warrior" went to 50,000 customers in May, and the second is planned for around Thanksgiving. Farnsworth said response to the first mailing was "not bad," but added he is hoping for improvement from the next one.

Original source: Publisher's Weekly
Read the full story here.

Nurses at Thomas Jefferson University hospitals in Philadelphia will be able to solve practice problems, promote quality improvement and conduct research projects through a new evidence-based practice model, reports Nurse.com.

Jefferson's Evidence-Based Practice and Research Staff Nurse Leadership Committee is overseeing the model's implementation.

"By using evidence-based practice, staff nurses can develop important skills to design and implement clinical projects that improve nurse-sensitive and patient outcome indicators," Meg Bourbonniere, RN, PhD, Jefferson's vice president for nursing research, said in a news release.

Original source: Nurse.com
Read the full story here.

Leadership of the National Museum of American Jewish History earned CNN's attention with its decision to remain open on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, but do its best to avoid financial transactions, which are among those things the religion forbids on that day.

"We chose to embrace this as a teachable moment that reflects not only the tradition itself but also the tensions that are at the core of the American Jewish experience," Rosenzweig told CNN Sunday night.

"We're a Jewish institution, but we're not a religious institution," (Museum president Michael) Rosenzweig said. "We want to be sensitive to Jewish tradition but we also recognized that a significant number of visitors will be non-Jewish."

Though the museum will open on Saturdays, tickets will be available only online and at sites outside the museum, which are yet to be determined, Rosenzweig said.

Original source: CNN
Read the full story here. 

Edge Boston, part of a network of LGBT news/entertainment online publications, gives Mayor Michael Nutter and Philadelphia big props for being one of the largest cities in the country to fly the rainbow flag at a government building, City Hall.

And when mayoral LGBT liaison Gloria Casarez approached Nutter with the idea, he was more than eager to make it a reality. She added the event became especially symbolic after the recent number of LGBT teen suicides.

"There's been a lot of conversation around the five or six young men who have taken their lives as a result of harassment and bullying," Casarez told EDGE. "We in Philadelphia have violence and bullying as well, but I don't want the message to get lost that we're especially concerned about violence against trans people. We've seen some recent cases of violence right on the streets of Philadelphia. As much as we're celebrating LGBT History Month, we have to be focus on the business of assuring that people report crime and that when they report it we're funneling them through the proper channels."

Original source: Edge Boston
Read the full story here.

The Wall Street Journal breaks down the movie madness in Philadelphia, where the 19th annual Philadelphia Film Festival kicked off last week with a visit from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky.

Festival organizers were clearly hoping to open the festival with a bang and overshadow the confusion over Philly's cinematic scene that sprouted two years ago. Originally, TLA Entertainment and the Philadelphia Film Society (PFS) sponsored the Festival. In late 2008, creative differences arose between PFS founder Ray Murray and PFS members. There were also arguments over how to approach fundraising.

According to Claire Kohler, the director of production of Philadelphia Cinema Alliance, when the "personality clashes" and differences became "pronounced," Murray and TLA formed the Philadelphia Cinema Alliance (PCA), a competing organization that would also produce its own film festival called CineFest. In short, PFS puts on the Philadelphia Film Festival, which runs in the fall, and PCA puts on CineFest, which took a break in 2010 but which will run in spring 2011.

Original source: Wall Street Journal
Read the full story here.

The Associated Press profiles David Borgenicht and the indie publishing outfit he founded, Quirk Books, which is expanding its niche with a hybrid mashup genre combining classics with horror and kitsch.

Quirk, an independent publisher that started with a series of tongue-in-cheek guides for surviving highly unlikely misfortunes, has established the hybrid "mashup" genre bending of out-of-copyright classics and horror-fied kitsch.

"It has in a way become kind of a modern, or a postmodern, classic," said Quirk president and founder David Borgenicht, whose 15-person staff works in an inconspicuous building on a cobblestone-paved side street in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood. "That wasn't at all our intent. It was simply too crazy not to publish."
 
Original source: Associated Press
Read the full story here.

The travel section at Ireland's Herald.ie is high on Philadelphia for a variety of reasons, imploring the Irish to visit for our safe downtown, good eats and arts and culture.

It's puzzling why Philly isn't on most Irish people's radar. It's more historic than Boston, as Irish as Chicago, 30pc cheaper to live in than New York and has a food culture to match San Francisco.

The city centre proper, (known as Center City) is thriving, unlike many US urban areas. Sections of 15th Street are hubs of restaurants and nightlife, while the area's aptly titled Avenue of the Arts is the local equivalent of London's West End or New York's Broadway theatre districts. The best bit? It feels perfectly safe to walk around, by day or night (don't try this at home, kids).

Original source: Herald.ie
Read the full story here.

A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts indicates an encouraging trend of more people moving into Philadelphia since 1993, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Pew report, the number of people moving into the city has increased steadily, up from 31,837 in 1993 to 42,250 in 2008.

Overall, the number of people moving out of the city is growing less rapidly, increasing slightly from 47,291 in 1993 to 52,096 in 2008.

"I would say the trend is looking as if we may be seeing a reversal of long-term decline in city population," said David Elesh, sociologist and demography expert with the Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project at Temple University.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read the full story here.

Composer Jennifer Higdon and violinist Hilary Hahn, who were teacher and student, respectively, at Curtis Institute of Music, are collaborating in a big way, reports PBS.

Jennifer Higdon came to Curtis in 1994 as a teacher. She and Hahn actually crossed paths in a course on 20th century music. She's now one of the most widely-commissioned and performed contemporary composers.

But Higdon was no child prodigy. She grew up in a small town in Eastern Tennessee, taught herself the flute at 15, old age by Curtis standards, and didn't begin studying composition until college. At home, she says, it was all rock 'n' roll and bluegrass.

Now 30, Hilary Hahn first came here, already a gifted player, at age 10, and studied with renowned violinist and teacher Jascha Brodsky.

Original source: PBS
Read the full story here.

The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is hosting seven Career Development Program Fellows from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Their work represents a small cross-section of the 21 artists awarded a career development fellowship, a two-year program that gives participating artists an opportunity to experience a full exhibition schedule, receive career counseling and mentorship, teach in the community and participate in numerous professional development opportunities.

"This exhibition exchange is part of an ongoing collaboration by CFEVA and PF/PCA created in order to strengthen the artistic dialogue between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia," Welch says.

The title of the show, "Context Ingeminate," attempts to "marry the passive and the active, the viewer and the creator," Welch says, which it does flawlessly thanks to engaging works like Yoon's "Structure of Shadow."

Original source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Read the full story here.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch travel section mentions booing Santa Claus but quickly moves on, digging deeper than most national media last week to reveal the insider's view of Philadelphia.

Once you get beyond the fighting fa�ade, Philadelphia is a city of tiny secret gardens, a diverse art and theater scene, a crazy diverse food/pub scene and a thousand walkable historical monuments and museums. Also, it's cheap as can be. You've got to work to spend $15 on a martini.

I moved here six years ago from St. Louis. The things I loved about St. Louis are the same things I love about Philadelphia--people are friendly, the streets have the same names (you copycats!) and there's no need to go to any chain restaurant ever.

Original source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read the full story here.