The Wit & Grit of it

Jaison from sickpandaband and myself used this recipe at the link below to make Butternut Squash + Acorn Squash Soup with homemade croutons! YUM! 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/butternut-and-acorn-squash-soup/

We added nutmeg, cumin, parsley, and cinnamon with a cilantro garnish. We used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. 

Coffee meeting at Capogiro 

Incredible lunch at Dim Sum Garden in Chinatown. First off, it was so delicious I made a reservation on-site for Mother's Day. Secondly, I was at a Type/Asian meet-up. This is the one group/place that I can connect with other Asian American women in a meaningful way. It's a group of thoughtful, strong women who all share heritage together. 

Let Us Turn Up the Beat Dance Party happened in the evening at Impact Hub. My company, Witty Gritty, helped support on some of the messaging and planning for this event, which kicks off a month long campaign for Project Kitchen. 

Oh! And we got our Witty Gritty Thank You cards from the printer...which you can see #Ava215 and Nicole Woods modeling below. 

Found out my kid sis won 2nd place in the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta Art Contest. She'll receive an award and a cash prize this Friday at the Mayor's press conference! 

Iced coffee at Elixr and some catch-up with a friend. 

Stopped by Sunday Breakfast Club event, for a honest and interesting interview with Archbishop Charles Chaput. 

Headed back to Impact Hub to catch the end of Unpacking Equality and Connected Learning with Spiral Q. How does technology support and/or strain connected learning? 

I (clearly) infrequently post to this blog. Here's an attempt to (potentially) post an assortment of notable things that happened (daily-ish?). 

Breakfast at Dutch Eating Place at Reading Terminal Market with Anne Tillema, who I met working on a conference for Mobilize.org last fall. She's now doing consulting work with a focus on fundraising/development and she's really good at it! Plus, found out you can get sauerkraut on your homefries when dining Amish-style. 

Attended Painted Bride Dance with the Bride committee meeting. Tickets on sale. $100/each. Support #PHLArts! 

Went to my first Girl Develop It class, Intro to Google Analytics. Learned the basics, hope to take the 'next level' class when/if it's offered. 

Saw one of my favorite bands in concert, Against Me! at the Trocadero. 

It's #givingtuesday in Philadelphia and across the country. During a season that I love (non-stop B101.1 for me), it sure does get materialistic and all too flashy, too quick. Don't get me wrong, I took advantage of some online shopping deals (The Grommet + Uncommon Goods are two favorites right now...triple bottom line-minded) and indulged in plenty of pie and turkey...but now I can take today to cleanse. 

I cleanse by GIVING on this #givingtuesday. It's important that we take a minute to think about the value of a dollar. Think about the dollars you spend all year long at the bar, dining out, around the holidays for gifts, on vacations, etc. Now think about the things you think are important. To me, these include social justice, giving kids access to programs that enrich their lives (writing, music, etc), and giving those less fortunate the opportunity to do great things. 

You can argue that EVERYDAY can be a day to give but TODAY is day to unite and reflect around the causes we feel are important to us, to our communities, and to the people we love. 

So today I give and will continue to give time, attention, and dollars to the causes that are close to me...here are a few that I gave to today!

Spiral Q: Spiral Q builds strong and equitable communities characterized by creativity, joy, can-do attitudes, and the courage to act on their convictions. 

Girls Rock Philly: Girls Rock Philly™ (GRP) is a volunteer-based non-profit music and mentoring organization dedicated to empowering girls and young women.

InLiquid: Juvenile in Justice: As part of a month long (Nov-Dec) photography and advocacy exhibition in Philadelphia called Juvenile In Justice, hosted by InLiquid, we will be discussing the issues challenging our youth and the ways we can work collaboratively to reform the juvenile justice system.

Capping off the exhibition, on #GivingTuesday Dec 3rd, Philadelphia will host Pennsylvania's first ever Juvenile Record Expungement Clinic. An expungement clinic is a simple process that clears past offenses from an offenders record. But it is a process that few past offenders have access to.

AND tomorrow, I plan to support the Rail Park at this kickass fundraiser and show at Union Transfer. If you come, I'll buy you a beer : )

http://www.utphilly.com/event/413103-walkmen-sun-ra-arkestra-philadelphia/

A local and very talented musician I've done work with, Ryan Tennis, sent out an email to his list with some thoughts that I felt were worth sharing. It's a reminder that people aren't born stars and getting good sometimes feels awkward, kinda like puberty ; )

"I recently read the following gem from Ira Glass - host of NPR's "This American Life" and one of my personal heroes - and it sparked some thoughts...(see below)

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” 

------------------------

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine who's an accomplished, passionate, in-demand musician, and he was wondering why it is that the sub-par players are always the ones crassly forcing their music on people and missing clear social cues during jam sessions.  I knew just what he was talking about, not only cause I've seen it in all it's raw awkwardness, but because I've been that person in my adult life.  

I went on to tell him some about my development as a musician.  I told him that, while I had a background of singing in school and could play a little guitar, I didn't really discover my passion for music until after college (and football).  I had almost never hung around musicians or artists, and that whole way of being was foreign to me, but so appealing and exciting at the same time.  I started learning some of my favorite songs (a lot of Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Guster, and Dave Matthews songs), and I was so unbelievably excited and pleased with myself for doing it. Next I started writing songs, and I could feel the music so deeply that I was certain that something cosmically special was happening.  

While 23-year-old Ryan was a relatively capable adult with at least the basic college-level social skills, artist Ryan was only a couple years old - and he acted like it (somehow it's not so cute when you don't look like a toddler)!  I had discoverd this new passion that was burning so hotlly, and I just had to share it.  That desire was so strong that it blinded me to social cues I otherwise would have noticed.  God, I'm cringing now as I remember breaking out the guitar at parties and having friends roll their eyes or people leave the room, or the time I played a new song when I was hanging out one-on-one with my friend who, in retrospect, was clearly uncomfortable.  Oooh, or a little later when I made some rudimentary recordings and pushed them on anyone who would humor me (and plenty who wouldn't).  I don't know how you write the sound for an embarrassed shudder, but that's what I'm doing right now.

Like Ira said, the music just wasn't that good.  A few kind souls encouraged me, and after practicing and floundering and painfully, awkwardly blundering forward, I began to develop and become more palatable, good even.  At the same time I started to be more comfortable and strategic about my desire to be heard, and I learned how to hold back sometimes.  It was NOT easy.

I think that everyone who's passionate about music (or any kind of creation) has gone through this phase at some point, but lifelong musicians like my friend were lucky enough to go through it as kids when the other musicians around them were just starting out too (although as he told me, being an artsy creative middle-schooler had more than it's share of challenges).  

I've been involved with Girls Rock Philly for many years. First, lending a guitar amp or turntables during camp week for a year or two and eventually joining the board in the Fall of 2010. I even got my youngest sister involved at one point, playing guitar and drums, respectively for two years. 

My 'moment' in getting involved with work involving girls rocking probably started when I used to go 'clubbing' as a teenager on Delaware Ave, but that's a whole other story that we don't need to get into...which involved animal print, backless shirts, glitter, and other 'Joyce Leslie' inspired outfits. 

Once at Drexel, and at the time with a wide-open course sheet, I took lessons in guitar, bass, and piano for credits along with some music courses- History of Jazz, History of Rock n' Roll, and a miserably failed attempt at Music Theory. I should also mention I played clarinet from grades 6-8. With all that said, I never stuck by any of my instruments (but still do have my clarinet from grade school in the case anyone wants to get 'Kenny G' with me). 

With all that booty shakin' music dabbling, I think I really started to apply my passion for music to a more focused cause when I took a weekend DJ Bootcamp hosted by the now defunct Girls' DJ Collective. It was a jammed-pack weekend where a class of about seven of us led by two lady DJs - DJ Giggles (Rashida Holmes) and DJ Meow (Carolyn Chernoff).

The feeling I got over that weekend and as we hit the 'ones and twos' during our closing party at Fluid Nightclub (which has one bad ass DJ booth) still remains up there. It's the feeling I had after I went to this leadership conference in Valley Forge when I was 16. I was nervous and excited at first. By the end of my time at the conference, I left feeling empowered, smarter, and with so many amazing relationships of people who I still recall to this day. Hell, I even ended up dating a guy I met there and took him to my junior prom! 

Leaving this DJ Bootcamp that week, back in 2005, has resonated with me and every time I see a camper at Girls Rock Philly or Ladies Rock Camp and watch the girls and ladies rock in their bands during the showcase, I like to think that I know exactly what they are feeling and how they will too remember their experience at rock camp just as I did when DJ Teriyaki rocked the turntables during that closing party so many years ago. 

And because I am nearing 30 and am jonesin' for that feeling once again, I have signed up for Ladies Rock Camp, which is coincidently on my birthday weekend this year. I will take up keyboard or drums, join a band, write an original song with said band, and play in my first ever rock show at Milkboy in Center City...all in one weekend. 

No prior musical experience is required to sign up and you need to be at least 19 but, don't be fooled, mamas, baby's mamas, and grandmamas are all welcome. Plus, your camp tuition money goes to provide a scholarship for a youth camper to attend Girls Rock Philly camp in August. 

Deadline to register is March 1. Ladies, consider rocking out with me during Ladies Rock Camp this year, and lady lovers, consider giving the 'gift of rock' to a special lady in your life by paying her way to rock camp. It's a great way to get your inner rockstar moving and an even better way to support a truly inspiring organization and program that mentors and empowers girls and young women in the Philadelphia area. 

To register and to learn more about Ladies Rock Camp, please head over to: www.girlsrockphilly.org. 

Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 6:30pm

The budget crisis and ongoing policy debates in Washington, D.C. have a profound impact on state and local governments and citizens. In this climate of gridlock and partisanship, how do politicians and policy experts create and implement a transportation strategy for the 21st century? Practically speaking, it’s a matter of federalism. David B. Thornburgh, executive director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, leads a conversation with the following panelists about the budget and policy decisions that affect how people and goods move throughout the country.

Panelists: James Simpson, Commissioner, NJ Department of Transportation Joshua Schank, President & CEO, Eno Transportation Foundation and former Transportation Policy Advisor to Senator Hillary Clinton Dr. Martin Wachs, Professor at UC Berkeley and member of the Advisory Committee on Research and Development for the California Department of Transportation Jack Basso, COO, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Please RSVP here. http://www.fels.upenn.edu/event/moving-people-practically-speaking The National Constitution Center and Fels are partnering on a series of public conversations beginning with this kick-off event.

The “Practically Speaking” program series honors Fels’ 75th anniversary and is generously supported by David Seltzer WG '76 and Poor Richard's Charitable Trust.

Location

National Constitution Center

525 Arch Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

United States

Mayor @Michael_Nutter Signs New Zoning Code

The first comprehensive zoning code reform in 50 years

Philadelphia, December 22, 2011 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter signed legislation that comprehensively rewrites and modernizes Philadelphia’s zoning code for the first time in fifty years. The four-year code rewrite process included 50 public meetings of the Zoning Code Commission (ZCC); two public hearings in City Council chambers; 36 community-based meetings; seven Stakeholder X-Change meetings; two public meetings to discuss why the Commission adopted, rejected, or modified a group’s proposal; interviews with 125 professional zoning code users and surveys of nearly 2,000 individuals on components of the proposed new zoning code.

The Zoning Code, which was passed by City Council unanimously, codifies the City’s development regulations and sets expectations regarding land use. In February 2007, City Council unanimously approved a resolution proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create the Zoning Code Commission, and providing for the submission of the amendment to the voters of Philadelphia. The measure was overwhelmingly approved by voters, with 80 percent of citizens voting in favor of reforming the City’s Zoning Code.

“I am delighted to sign this once-in-a-generation legislation that makes Philadelphia more attractive to developers, promotes growth, and brings our zoning code into the 21st century,” said Mayor Nutter. “Good planning is our best way to preserve the past and to anticipate the future. This modern code will help Philadelphia, in the years to come, to ensure healthy, sustainable development that protects our neighborhoods and grows our city.”

The new zoning code includes changes to the City’s development regulations and approval procedures such as:

Making the zoning code more user-friendly;

Reduced number of zoning classifications;

Incorporation of a civic design review process; and

Establishing the role of citizens in the zoning approval process.

In June 2008, Mayor Nutter offered his vision for planning in Philadelphia in the years to come. He returned the Philadelphia City Planning Commission as the authority for broad planning and development-related decisions, established the Design Review Advisory Board to provide guidance to the Planning Commission when evaluating aesthetics, form and community context for proposed projects, placed sustainability as a central factor in evaluating development proposals, and the directed the ZCC to complete the first comprehensive code reform in 35 years. Since then there has been much progress:

The Planning Commission has adopted the Citywide Vision component of thePhiladelphia2035 Comprehensive Plan and initiated the first two of 18 district plans;

Greenworks Philadelphia, the City’s comprehensive sustainability plan has been released and will reach its midway review in 2012;

The Office of Property Assessment (OPA) is currently undergoing a city-wide property reassessment process; and

In 2010, the Planning Commission established the Citizens Planning Institute (CPI), with funding from the William Penn Foundation and Office of Housing and Community Development, to educate Philadelphia residents to become “citizen planners” in their neighborhoods and communities. Since then, 90 Philadelphians have graduated.

“Our new code will help to attract investment to Philadelphia, and will also give our communities an organized means for their thoughts, concerns and input to be considered in the planning process,” said Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger. “This transformative code will prevent many of the road blocks that currently inhibit growth and will make Philadelphia’s development and planning more coherent, consistent and predictable in the future.”