July 20 marked the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission when the United States first set foot on the moon.
If you know me well enough, you’d know that I’m a huge space geek. I always have been since I was about 8 or 9 years old. For all of my childhood, I was convinced that I would join the US Air Force and then become an astronaut. I even went to Space Camp. It’s true! In fact, this Sunday marks my 20th anniversary of going there! I could have told you the name of every fighter jet from a single glimpse, the names of the astronauts and what mission they were on, and every little detail about space and space history. (Please don’t ask me now, that was way too long ago! :P) So what happened? Well, when I was about 17 or 18, I came to the realization that my eye sight wasn’t good enough and the space program seemed to be on a decline with little advancement on manned missions. (And coincidentally there hasn’t been any progress with putting man into space for over 20 years now) Maybe just every kid wants to be an astronaut when they grow up.
With the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin released a new book called Magnificent Desolation, the words that he used to describe the moon when he set foot upon it in 1969. The Free Library of Philadelphia often has authors come to give a talk and have a book signing and wouldn’t you know that Buzz Aldrin was one of them! Buzz Aldrin was one of my idols when I was growing up because he made so many marks in history when he was a pilot and an astronaut and still continued to help with the advancement of space technology after his glory days. The talk was pretty good…and funny. I got to meet Mr. Aldrin afterward and have him sign my book. Buzz Aldrin is the second astronaut that I’ve met who has been to the moon. The first was Charlie Duke who was the tenth man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. Anyway, it was a pretty good night for this geek girl. 
The 3rd Ignite Philly will be happening at Johnny Brenda’s next Saturday, May 2. Ignite Philly is an event that provides an opportunity for people to give 5 minute presentations about something new and innovative that they are doing in Philadelphia. The upcoming Ignite Philly will include a bunch of scientists, artists, entertainers and more!
I will be giving a talk at this upcoming Ignite Philly on behalf of the Philadelphia Grid Project. If you’ve been following my blog, you have seen some of my photos from the project. The talk will include some information about the project with a display of 20 of the members’ photos that have been taken for the project over the course of the last 16 months.
I attended the last Ignite Philly and it was awesome. The event will be jammed packed so get there early to assure a good spot in the house (it’s on the 2nd floor of JB’s)! Here is the information and the Ignite Philly website! The event is FREE!
Saturday May 2, 2009
Doors open at 7pm
Presentations start at 8pm
Johnny Brenda’s
1201 N. Frankford Ave, Philadelphia
On the first Saturday of every month, the amazing duo of Marisa and Scott, provide a live cooking demonstration at Foster’s. This past Saturday, they whipped up beer braised brisket as a tribute to Beer Week here in Philadelphia! Marisa is an extremely talented chef and prepares some of the most amazing food I’ve ever eaten. You may know her writings from slashfood. Scott is her sidekick and provides the comedic lines of the show. I had previously written about his new book back in December.
So if you happen to be in center city Philadelphia on an upcoming first Saturday, check them out at Foster’s at 2pm. You can also check out the Fork You! website with videos of their previous live demonstrations and other interesting food tidbits.
To those of you who were planning to come to the Main Line Art Center to see my work in One Night Stand tomorrow night:
I WILL NOT BE THERE
Due to more important situations, I will not be making it out to the show. And because this is only for one night, my work will not be there either. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Congratulations to my cousin Dustin and his beautiful wife, Rande!
**Please note that I am NOT a wedding photographer.
Last Tuesday, September 23, was the second IgnitePhilly event at Johnny Brenda’s. IgnitePhilly is a series of speakers that give a short 5 minute presentations about the innovative and inspiring projects. I had missed the first one a few months ago when I was out of town so I’m glad that I was able to catch this event and run into some friends who I hadn’t seen in a while.
There was a brief intermission with 8static, a group of artists who bring you incredible, danceable 8bit tunes and imagery!
And we all got to make and throw paper airplanes courtesy of Far McKon! Aerogami!
If you’re looking for something to do tonight, my friends’ band, Lost Eras in Aviation, is having their hometown debut at the M Room here in Philly. Here are the details:
M Room, 15 West Girard Avenue: Right off the Girard stop on El. The M Room has a dinner menu now — make it a date!
9pm, 21+, $8
The lineup:
Last Sunday was my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. The day had come and gone…with my parents thinking that their children forgot about the milestone. aha! Little did they know…
We had a big surprise party for them on Saturday night. It took a lot of planning and hush hush, but they were surprised and they had a good time seeing family and friends…many whom they hadn’t seen in years.
Lucky for us, we didn’t need to hire a photographer. The photos from the night can be viewed here.
I never got around to posting the photos from the April 24 5K walk/run event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that benefited United Cerebral Palsy. Here are a select bunch from the night. If you would like to give a donation to United Cerebral Palsy of Philadelphia or if you would like to participate in one of the upcoming benefit events, please check out the UCP Philadelphia website.
