Erik Moe Art & Design

For some reason, the first perfect days of Spring weather always seem to coincide with the opening of the Philadelphia Film Festival. Faced with a choice between biking past blooming cherry blossom trees and sitting in a darkened theater watching strange tales from far flung places, I’ll go for the dark theater almost every time. In past years, I’ve volunteered for the fest in order to see as many films as I could. This year, my gig with About.com means I’m seeing as many documentaries as I can.

This Film is Not Yet Rated, and 51 Birch Street are high on my list. I’m also excited about some of the music documentaries playing at the fest, including Danielson: A Family Story (pictured), The Devil and Daniel Johnston, and Beijing Bubbles (about China’s emerging protest punk scene). Of course, there is plenty of fiction on the bill as well. Anyone up for Alexander Sokurov’s take on the relationship between Emperor Hirohito and General MacArthur? Something lighter maybe? How about Wassup Rockers about “L.A. Chicano punk skateboarders?”

Rachel and I spotted this giant metallic dragonfly heading west on Spring Garden Street yesterday.

I have no idea where where it came from or where it was going, but it provided a brief moment of magic after a Sunday morning brunch in Northern Liberties. Presumably it is some kind of public art installation (click images for enlargements).

As we filmgoers gear up for the 13-day monsoon known as the Philadelphia Film Festival. City Paper’s Sam Adams reminds us of the drought we endure the rest of the year and has frustrating news about the future of International House following the departure of director of film programs Michael Chaiken.

International House is the leading venue for independent and repertory film in the city despite the fact that they only average maybe ten film events per month (outside of film festival screenings). The program staff there are great people dedicated to film, but Adams’ article makes it clear that I-House management has no interest in developing the program beyond its current modest niche. As the de-facto leader in the region, I-House CEO Oliver St. Clair Franklin’s comments about not replacing Chaiken are embarrassing:

“Why should you replace him when he’s in New York?” Franklin says. “Can you do better?” Chaiken, Franklin explained, will still be booking programs from his new perch, with staffers Robert Cargni and Jesse Pires increasing their contributions to the calendar…. Franklin says Chaiken will “be doing the same thing up there that he was doing down here — except up there, he’ll be in the center of the action.”

Can you do better than have an ex-staffer occasionally arrange for a few prints to be shipped to Philly while the rest of the staff does more work for the same amount of money? Um. Yes.

Chaiken is a great guy, and New York is a good place to be for a film devotee, but he is clearly not thinking of Philadelphia audiences first and foremost. He may have left on good terms, but he is working what sounds like a more-than-full-time job at a startup program in Harlem serving the Harlem community.

If I-House takes its role in the Philadelphia film community at all seriously, it needs a full-time director of film programs that can build on existing relationships with Chaiken and others. Such a position is essential if the program is to grow. There is no reason that Philly can’t support a year-round calendar featuring both the “esoteric” films Chaiken loved to program as well as the classic and contemporary films that draw dedicated audiences to non-profit cinemas in cities much smaller than Philadelphia. With decent leadership, I-House is well positioned to grow into the premier venue for repertory, documentary, and independent cinema that Philadelphia sorely lacks.

At least they are installing more comfortable seats this year.

Not long ago, I was complaining about the complete lack of openness surrounding Philly elections. The veil of near-secrecy surrounding campaign contributions was officially lifted this week when the City Controller’s office posted PDF scans of donation reports from mayoral candidates. This Inquirer article suggests that a more useful searchable database of contributions will follow before long (I can only hope that some enterprising young Geography junkies will find some creative ways to present the data).

In glancing through the lists of donors, I noticed that all the moneyed names I used to spellcheck during my years working in the non-profits arts sector seem to be behind Michael Nutter’s campaign. Meanwhile, Chakah Fattah’s “exploratory” campaign is being bankrolled by a $200,000 check from Comcast’s H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest. Anyone for “campaign finance reform?”

Inky: Lenfest donation raises eyebrows

A dilligent young gumshoe covering the tough church basement concert beat cornered me and Rachel on Sunday. At least one of these people knows how to have fun.

Philly Future – a great hub for Philly political blogging – is pitting three local blogs against each other for the coveted crown of “next featured blog.” All three competitors are deserving of the title, but I cast my vote for Fables of the Reconstruction if only for this recent post directing my attention to this video clip of Howard Dean befuddling Wolf Blitzer regarding the Abramoff scandals. Fun fun fun.

P.S. Cast your vote here.

It wasn’t too long ago that Philly was ahead of the curve in talking about a smoking ban. Today, the Daily News points out that with New Jersey’s smoking ban taking effect we are now an island surrounded by smoke-free territory (New York and Delaware have had bans in effect for some time).

Why have Mayor Street and the city council been dragging their feet on this? After all, fewer than 20% of voters smoke. The answer is surely that a much bigger percentage of campaign dollars come from restaurant owners. The last time a ban was making progress, there was talk of phasing it in over five or ten years so as not to offend any big restauranteurs in this political lifetime (this would also leave open plenty of time for repealing the ban).

What is the big deal here? Why is there no leadership on this no-brainer of an issue? In the past year I’ve visited smoke-free territory in Massachusetts, New York, Minneapolis, and the DC suburbs. It is incredibly refreshing to hang out at coffeeshops and restaurants without worrying about reeking of smoke for the rest of the day.

Unless things change radically very soon, it looks unlikely that I’ll have the same pleasant experience in this neighborhood before I move away with my girlfriend to smoke-free Chicago or Massachusetts.

Of course, this isn’t just about me not wanting to smell bad. It’s about safe workplaces. I have worked in plenty of restaurants (thankfully these were mostly smoke-free) and I understand the trap many workers are in. Many feel that they have no other option than to wait tables, tend bar, make espresso, or bus dishes. Asking for clean air (or health insurance, for that matter) is not an option for these workers.

STANDINGS:
TEAM---------------W-L--PCT-GB-Streak
Phila. Frustration-5-4-.556--0-Won 2
Phila. Phanatics---4-5-.444--1-Lost 2

My old coffee-making buddy Pete was featured in this AP story on winter bicycle commuting in Minneapolis. I wouldn’t be surprised if the story was picked up by papers in fair-weather cities and run with a the headline, “Minnesotans: Loony as Ever.” The fact of the matter is that it isn’t really a big deal to bike in the cold. Smart layers of clothing will keep you warm – even sweaty if you aren’t careful. My favorite part of the article is the talk of how cycling gets you to your destination charged up and ready for work in a way that only fellow cyclists understand.

I did my share of sub-freezing cycling when I lived in Minneapolis, but when the shoulders and bike lanes were slushy or icy, I gave myself a break and rode MetroTransit. I can deal with the cold, but the possibility of my tires slipping out from under me in heavy traffic is more of a risk than I care to take.

Still – while here in Minny for the holidays I’ve noticed plenty of cyclists on the roads, and it has me missing some of my old routes. I had forgotten just how many major streets here have lanes set aside for bicycles. It’s definitely a special thing. Philly is a good biking city, but largely by accident. The skinny streets and downtown gridlock make bike travel surprisingly safe and simple, but I understand those who are wary of biking Philly for the same reasons.

I’m going to have to see what I can do to get cycling back into my routine when I get back to Philly. The major drawback of my new work-at-home lifestyle is the lack of that pre-work adrenaline rush from a speedy two-wheeled zip across town.

Phillyist notes that Self Magazine has again given Philly the title of “worst environment” in the country. Ouch!

Given the small portion of this large city that I tend to see in any given week, it is easy to forget about the toxic sites and littered lots that dominate many neighborhoods. When I first moved here from Minneapolis, it was a bit of a shock to see the litter, the abandoned cars, the completely non-functional recycling program, and the scarcity of green space. Though the city seems in many ways to be improving and is seeing a major building boom, environmental concerns like setting aside green space don’t seem to be part of the equation. Are condos better for the environment than vacant lots?

The Schuylkill River Park is really the only bright spot on the environmental front in Philly that comes immediately to mind. Maybe someday CSX trains carrying hazardous materials will stop parking on the entrances to it.

STANDINGS:
                    W L  PCT GB Streak
Phila. Phanatics:   4 4 .500  - Lost 1
Phila. Frustration: 4 4 .500  - Won 1


If you are in Philadelphia this weekend, check out Rachel’s show on the 3rd floor of the Gilbert building (where Vox Populi, Highwire Gallery, and the Fabric Workshop are). She is showing some of her yarn creations and paintings. She says that the other artists are going to be superstars someday (t00), so you should buy their work now.