I just got an anonymous tip that supposedly, a major motion picture will be filming extensively on Penn's campus this summer.

Click to find out which film!

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Friday, November 9, 2007
8am-5pm
PA Convention Center

The time has come for us to stop talking about the problems in our neighborhoods and start acting. This year’s conference is inspired by the community activists and youth leaders who work hard to make our neighborhoods places of opportunities where people excel, ideas grow and dreams are realized. By bringing together young people ages 14-21 and adults from around the region, we will begin to create real solutions to the many challenges in our communities. Workshops and interactive sessions will empower youth to effectively address the challenges they face everyday and enhance adults’ capacity to nurture the potential of every youth. We invite everyone, both youth and adults, interested in making a positive and lasting impact in their community to “Step Up!” and “Be the Change”.

**This year’s conference will feature an exciting keynote speech by Ephren W. Taylor, CEO of City Capital Corporation and the youngest African-American CEO of a publicly traded company ever!**

*The conference will also feature a lunchtime comedy performance by Philadelphia’s own Keith from Up Da Block!*

For more information, or to register, visit us online at www.greatsettlements.org or call Amanda at 215-925-7875.

What Do You Do After You Pray:
The Church's Response to Gun-Violence in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA – With more than 250 murders after the first half of 2007, the city once known as the City of Brotherly Love has instead quickly become known as Kill-a-delphia, forcing many residents to live and operate in fear as a result of the gun-violence inflicting the city.

On Saturday, August 25, 2007, Philly Koinonia Ministries (pronounced koy-no-NEE-yah) will organize its initial effort dealing with this problem, the "2007 Gun-drive and City Fellowship". This will be an outdoor effort beginning at 10 a.m. taking place at the Dorothy Emmanuel Recreation Center, located in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. To effectuate a change in our culture, we must not solely rely on the power of prayer, but also take responsibility with our actions to address the stronghold embattling our city; for our actions speak louder than our words. The organization identifies fear as the stronghold that simultaneously creates gun-violence, and results from gun-violence, and therefore will focus using this effort to present an understanding of God’s love to combat the stronghold of fear dwelling in this city as a result of gun violence; for God is love (1John 4:16) and in love there is no fear (1John 4:18).

In addition to the gun-drive (individuals will receive a gift card in exchange for their gun), this effort will also include an appearance by Mayoral Candidate Michael Nutter; messages given by local Pastors, such as: Bishop Keith W. Reed, Pastor Kevin M. Aiken, Pastor Chandra I. Williams, Pastor Daniel Sutton, Pastor Larry Anderson, Pastor Eric Mason, among others; performances by local choirs and other guest artists; and also a nonprofit/vendor area featuring more than 30 tables of advocates, businesses, and non-profit organizations that offer programs and services related to the focus of this effort.

For more information, please visit www.PhillyKoinonia.org.

Tomorrow night, local photogs (well, suburban) Dustin Fenstermacher and Laura Kicey are hosting an opening reception for their new photo show: Joints. They are an incredibly talented duo taking on similar scenes through two very different perspectives.

The show went up on the 4th and runs through March 4th and the work is hung in Mugshots up on 21/Fairmount Ave.

Lady and I are the proud owners of a photo of each of theirs. I don't have the money right now to pick up another couple, but I plan to head over to wish them luck and undoubtedly see some local photog friends.

Laura was interviewed here at Philly Future in October of 2005.

It's nasty outside, yes, but what makes me feel better? Taking a stroll through Brad Maule's photos at Philly Skyline. And even better? Seeing them in person. I saw them over at Darling's Cafe [20/Pine] a couple weeks ago and then I even sat down and had a few beers with Brad at Tritone. And now, he and fellow Philly photog Mark Adams [All Proper] are taking their show on the road, specifically, down the street and over a few blocks.

Tonight at Day by Day [21/Sansom] at 7.30 is the opening night of their travelling show. I'm planning on being there to take a gander at the photos. It's always a pleasure to look at photos in the flesh after staring at them on a monitor. They really jump out at you on paper.

I interviewed Brad in November here on Philly Future, peep the interview and take a click through his photos and then head on down to see the show!

Philly has long been a great city to picture-taking. I've even tried it myself. However, one man's site has almost perfected the art. From Manayunk to Mantua(by Steve Ives) to the Forgotten Bottom, there is scarcely a spot in Philly that has gone unseen or unsearched. There's also tons of photo essays that are themed, but the best part of the site are probably the building essays, such as the PSFS Building. Brad, the owner of the site, isn't even originally from Philly(he is from Tyrone PA, which shines through in his most recent update about the Steelers), but he sees the city in a way that connects people to the neighborhoods they live in. Other photographers also grace the site with their impressions of Philly, all of them good, and all of them with a slightly different take on the same city.

For anyone that truly loves Philly or photography, this site should be a weekly, if not daily, viewing.

linkage: http://www.phillyskyline.com/

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor ice storm will keep Brad from getting out to document happenings in Philadephia as this series simply titled Snow II shows. The shot at right is of Market St during January's 10.5" of snow. It's a great shot showing people having a little bit of fun during a snowy weekend right in the middle of a deserted, unplowed Market St.

White and grey landscapes dominate this series punctuated by scenes of snow falling so hard and quickly, they are reduced to streaks in front of his lens instead of individual flakes falling. People scurry across streets to take cover around the corners of buildings huddled against the harsh wind while others play in Rittenhouse Square with friends and dogs. Take this essay as a reminder of what is to come in the next few months. I woke up to below freezing temperatures just on the other side of my wall. The 75° from Wednesday is already a distant memory. But Brad has plenty of warm weather shots to keep us thinking positive through the cold to come.

Please take a minute and take a click through Brad's photoblog: PhillySkyline.com. Stay for a minute, an hour, a year! This is the last segment of this fortnight, but click through the previous four installments below and through Brad's extensive archives.

Part 1, 2, 3, 4 of the series.

This shot is from Brad's criss-crossing journey of the state of Pennsylvania this past summer, specifically, Pittsburgh. A stately skyscraper framed against the clear blue sky by another building or two.

Brad drove from Philadelphia to Tyrone to Pittsburgh to Potter County to Tioga County to Pottsville to Philadelphia. A week seeing the beauty of the state outside of our little corner here in Philadelphia. His shots of Pittsburgh are the ones I'm drawn to most off the bat because it is a second major city in this large state of ours, but from what I'm told, a very different feel. Steel country. Steelers country! With famous sandwich shops, some serious sports action and a gorgeous city to boot, I really would love to make it out there myself, but the approximately seven hour trek is a barrier. Not for Brad.

Please take a minute and take a click through Brad's photoblog. Stay for a minute, an hour, a year! His photos will be in the spotlight here for the next fortnight. So come on back to see some highlights from his archives.

Part 1, 2, 3, 5 of the series.

And what would an interview with the man behind PhillySkyline.com be without one of his trademark Philly skyline shots? This shot from the Grays Ferry Bridge area presents a view that I've never seen before. That's one reason that I keep going back week after week. Brad covers the city so tirelessly, that he's always in places and taking photos of things that I want to quickly follow up on myself.

In his Test Drive in 20D series [from which this photo is from], Brad borrowed his friend's Canon 20D, a step up from his own camera, and covered more ground than I can fathom doing in a weekend. Center City, Elmwood, Grays Ferry, East Falls, Allegheny West, Italian Market, 60th/Woodland and even out to Tinicum — that's only in the first two pages of the essay! He's an inspiration to me and to all to get out there! A Philadelphia treasure, he is, BLove.

Please take a minute and take a click through Brad's photoblog. Stay for a minute, an hour, a year! His photos will be in the spotlight here for the next fortnight. So come on back to see some highlights from his archives.

Part 1, 3, 4, 5 of the series.

R. Bradley Maule, aka B Love, has been documenting the streets of Philadelphia and beyond for several years and has been sharing his discoveries at PhillySkyline since 2004. I've been clicking through his images, feverishly, since early 2005. I'm always awaiting the next photo essay of a neighborhood that I soon want to explore myself.

A documentarian and street photographer, his style is right up my alley, but there's more to his photos than simply holding up a mirror. Exposing bit by bit, parts of Philadelphia newcomers like me have never heard of and neighborhoods I've walked through over and over again, he always finds something intriguing. With no further ado, the third installment of Philly Future's Photoblogger Fortnight series.

Albert/Philly Future [PF]: What got you started taking photos and when did taking photos take a more serious turn for you? Do you see yourself as a professional photographer down the line, photography being the sole source of your income?

R. Bradley Maule [Brad]: I got my first camera, a little plastic 110 film camera, for my 10th birthday, but I had actually taken pictures before that. I have a picture of (Chicago White Sox manager) Ozzie Guillen from his rookie season with the White Sox I took in Toronto as a 10 year old kid. I've always enjoyed taking pictures, but to be honest, I think going digital has totally changed my eye for framing, just because the quantity digital allows eventually leads to an improvement in quality, which in turn leads to better judgment. I'd like to say photography could be my primary career some day, but I don't want to assume anything.