stellargirl returns

support new ways of working, learning & collaboration @indyhall

Today is a big day in the history of Independents Hall, the next milestone in a series of great moments the community has shared since its inception two years ago. 

Here's what's happening: the original Indy Hall space at 32 Strawberry Street in Old City is literally bursting at the seams. Membership has expanded by leaps and bounds. On a typical day, the space is at capacity. There is a waiting list for full time members, and the list of people curious to check out the space grows every day.

There's no avoiding that the time has come to move into a bigger space. As luck (or serendipity) would have it, Alex and Geoff found a completely ideal space for a bigger, better (faster) Indy Hall, and it's just one block away!

As you can imagine, bigger space also means bigger bills. That's where we, the community, come in. We've got TODAY to pull together and show our support, by committing to some form of membership.  I'll admit, I let my basic membership lapse over the last year, but I believe in this community in a big way, and I want to be a part of helping take it to the next level, so I signed myself up for some more Indy Hall.

After attending last week's Town Hall meeting, there was one element in particular that got me really excited. With a new space for Indy Hall, and a freshly signed lease on the old space, there's an opportunity to have a dedicated event space at 32 Strawberry Street.  Indy Hall has had some GREAT events over the years, movie nights, game nights, Net Tuesdays, failcamp, workshops, educational events, social events, and I'm merely scratching the surface here. The potential for this space, coupled with the new space, is pretty massive.  Want to learn jQuery? Be a better designer?  Rock out playing Rock Band?  Learn how to build iPhone apps? Indy Hall has established itself as ground zero for the people and the players to make these things happen.

Help continue to raise the profile of Philadelphia by investing in your own enrichment, in your fellow collaborators, in the future of Indy Hall -- and ultimately the future of Philadelphia.

Read more about today's membership drive on the Indy Hall website. 

Refresh Philly starts tonight!

Refresh Philly, part of the Refreshing Cities phenomenon, has come to our fine city, starting tonight!

The Refresh Manifesto is as follows:

• Let's Gather Great Minds
• Let's Share All Of Our Knowledge
• Let's All Grow And Learn
• Let's Promote Local Talent
• Let's Be More Than We Think Can Be
• Let's Make Our Cities Better

Our premiere event includes two great presentations. Tom Boutell of P'unk Ave will be leading a talk on Symfony and Phil Charron & Russ Starke of Think Brownstone will be inspiring us with Experience Design!

I am really excited to be a part of kicking off what will surely be an exciting series of speakers. Mark your calendars for future dates, Refresh Philly will take place on the first Monday of each month at the Comcast Center. January is the exception, but we'll be back again on February 2nd!

If you'd like to attend tonight, please RSVP on Facebook.  Stay tuned to @refreshphilly on Twitter for up to the minute updates and information, including a link to watch a live stream tonight!

REFRESH PHILLY
Tonight!
6:00 to 8:30pm
The Comcast Center

1701 John F Kennedy Blvd
RSVP REQUIRED

2008: the year of awesome

In no particular order, some cool things that happened this year:

• I experienced year one of home ownership. I made it through without any major incidents. I made a few small improvements here and there, mostly of the wall painting variety, but as 2008 comes to a close, I am now in the possession of a brand spanking new water heater. It's so nice to own a piece of Philadelphia and have my own space to roam and hide out. I've also gotten much more involved with my neighborhood civic association and helped organize our fall tree planting this year. Sadly, I can't have a tree in front of my house due to underground utilities, but I played a part in getting about 40 more trees planted in the neighborhood.

• I lost 15lbs. I feel kinda weird putting it all out there like that, but it was kind of a big deal to me! I moved back to Philly from NYC just over 3 years ago and had a hard time adjusting and finding a good fitness routine that I enjoyed, thus I packed on some good old fashioned Philly beer poundage. I'm still working on it, and December has actually been a really lazy month, but overall, I feel so much BETTER. I really think that physical activity is one of the keys to happiness. It affects your life in so many positive ways, and it's also something that you can share with others. I shared my love of fitness by organizing two 5K teams, one in the spring and one in the fall. It was fun training to improve my own pace as well as encourage friends to run their first race. I also discovered dailymile - a great way to train socially!

• I went to SXSW for the first time. I've wanted to go to SXSW for at least 5 years now but there has always been some reason why I wasn't able to make it. I have to give a special shout-out to my friend Joshua Lane for hooking me up with a free registration, he's totally the reason I decided to make the leap this year. I met so many awesome people at SXSW and heard amazing talks from many people who have inspired me for years. I find myself referring to Kathy Sierra's keynote over and over again, I want to make users (people!!) feel like they kick ass. Thanks, Kathy! I hope to make it back again in 2009.

• I helped put on BarCamp Philly. This was a pretty life-changing experience for me! My friend JP Toto and I started talking about BarCamp over the summer. He had recently attended BarCamp Orlando and I kept wondering, why hasn't Philly had a BarCamp? JP and I put our heads together and pulled it off without a hitch this past November. I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of (a long overdue experience) and met the most awesome people along the way. I am so STOKED to do BarCamp Philly 2009, I think it will completely ROCK. I am also extremely excited for other fun projects on the horizon like Geeks Who Give and Refresh Philly.

• I made even more amazing friends. Living in Philly has its perks. There are so many great events going on, particularly in the tech space, where I have met tons of new people: Junto, Ignite Philly, BarCamp Philly, DrupalCamp, Tweetups, Meetups, not to mention the proximity to the awesomeness of NYC and its denizens. I feel pretty lucky to walk into 2009 with new people to be inspired by, learn from and have good times with.

All in all, 2008 was an exciting and fun year. It feels good to step back and reflect on some of the highlights. I am hoping 2009 is off the charts amazing. I hope the same for all of you. Let's make it happen.

geeks who give: philabundance food drive & tweetup!

Mark your calendars! One week from today on Tuesday December 9th, will be the kickoff event for a new Philly group: Geeks Who Give!  The first event will be a Food Drive & Tweetup to benefit Philabundance.  Fork You will be doing a live demo and there will lots of fun prizes and drink specials. National Mechanics, our faithful friends, will play host to this exciting charity event!  The cost of admission is a minimum of 5 non-perishable food items (canned, boxed, no need of refrigeration).  Let's do all we can to help Philabundance help others! Hope to see you there!

Geeks Who Give
Philabundance Food Drive & Tweetup
Tuesday December 9
6 to 9pm
National Mechanics
22 S 3rd St

Cost of Admission: a minimum of 5 non-perishable food items (don't be afraid to bring more!)

BarCamp Philly = AWESOME

When I signed on to help plan BarCamp Philly this past summer, I couldn't have possibly known the huge impact it would have on my life.  I've been talking about this recap post to friends, and realizing that there's not much more I can say about how great the event actually went (it was AWESOME) because I have already said it all on the BarCamp Philly blog.  What I did want to write about was how I went into this event as one person and came out another. 

I've always considered myself very much of a team player, someone who likes to collaborate, build something together, stay behind the scenes.  I am still that person, but in doing BarCamp, I had the opportunity to take a greater responsibility for the outcome by being a leader of the project (I shared that role with JP Toto, who thankfully let me run wild with all of my crazy ideas and plans).  I hope it doesn't sound like I am tooting my own horn here, but for the last month, almost every minute of every day was consumed with a persistent thought, "What can I do to make this event completely AWESOME?"  I hope that came across to people who attended.

So how am I different? I guess because I saw a shred of what I am capable of.  Those of you that know me well, hopefully think of me as your biggest cheerleader, always trying to be supportive of your projects and endeavors.  I'll do anything to help my friends become aware of their potential, and I'm not afraid to place my foot firmly in your a$$ to remind you of the path to happiness that lies before you.  I don't always believe in myself enough, however, and this event served as one of those reminders to JUST EFFING DO IT.  And now, on the other side of things, I'm ready to DO a lot more. So watch out.

BarCamp really is about community and we couldn't possibly have gotten anywhere without the help of all of the superb volunteers and of course all of the people who attended this user-driven event.

I am especially grateful to my dear friend Geoff DiMasi for believing in me and always encouraging me to swim in deeper waters. I'd also like to thank the amazing Kelani Nichole for working side by side with me on so many aspects of the event, from shirts to signs to incredible superpowers (possessing them, that is).  To Matt Knell, for not only rallying the NYC crew, but for constantly brimming with enthusiasm towards BarCamp Philly, every step of the way.

To Gloria Bell and Melissa Thiessen, who signed every single person into BarCamp and completely held down the fort while we ran around attending sessions and managing the event. To Dave Konopka for offering indispensable WordPress knowledge and firing up the BarCamp Philly wiki. To Marion Summerville, for assembling the most beautiful grid of index cards for the analog schedule. To Carl Leiby for creating the famous digital schedule (which is now open source for all future BarCamps). To Arpit Murtha, Jim Cavanagh and Aaron Held for providing and designing video content for the 13th floor lobby.  To Kendall Schoenrock and Carsten Petzold of LTLprints.com for donating stickers for our sponsor wall. To Dana Vachon and Katie Regenye for baking us the most delicious Open Source Cupcakes.  To the CIM crew for representing in force, and for offering a helping hand wherever possible.

To UArts for donating a dynamic and inspirational environment for learning and sharing. To Indy Hall for letting us host several planning meetings and for being a major catalyst in the Philly tech community. To P'unk Ave, home of the Junto, for hosting a welcoming pre-party on Friday night. To National Mechanics for letting us throw it down like rockstars (complete with RockBand) and for chipping in a massive amount towards our rapidly diminishing bar tab.

To all of our generous sponsors for contributing to the costs associated with BarCamp Philly.  To all of the speakers, who brought knowledge and passion to each of their sessions. To all of the attendees who came with an open mind and a positive attitude. 

And finally, to all of the new friends I have made as a result of this event. I'm thrilled to know you all and look forward to many interesting collaborations and enjoyable moments in the future.

Thank you EVERYONE for making BarCamp Philly AWESOME.

are you coming to barcamp philly?

I've been a total blog slacker these last few weeks, but I actually have a pretty decent excuse. I've been really busy helping plan BarCamp Philly, happening on Saturday November 8th at UArts, as well as putting lots of effort into keeping the BCP website so fresh and so clean and totally up to date.

I am super excited about BarCamp and you should be too!  Chances are, if you know me personally, you've already heard me go on about it, but if you haven't, I will give you the nutshell summary.  BarCamp is an ad-hoc user-generated (un)conference where likeminded people come together, usually in a setting where people can break into groups (classroom situations are ideal), share thoughts and ideas, participate, collaborate, etc.  There are no pre-planned speakers or schedules. The attendees are the presenters (if they so choose).  Check out some of the people coming to BarCamp Philly!

The event is totally FREE to attend and you even get a t-shirt! You'll also get the opportunity to chat with people who are doing cool stuff all over the Philadelphia region. We've even got some great folks from NYC coming, and I am sure points further than that.  We have plenty of fun events in the works before and after the event, so be sure to visit the BarCamp Philly website often to stay on top of things.

Last but not least, registration is required. It's really key that we have a sense of how many people are attending and we do have to cap it at some point to make sure that we don't exceed capacity of the event location.  So if you are thinking of coming and haven't formally registered yet, please do it today!

need new threads? have a clothing swap!

If you're anything like me, you've probably got a closet full of clothes that you look at every day and say, "I have nothing to wear!" One of the best ways to deal with this is to go through all of your stuff and edit, removing anything that you haven't worn for a season, doesn't fit, etc. You can store some of it if you think your size might change or if it's off season, etc.

As for the rest of it, chances are that some clothing you may no longer like for yourself might look smashing on a friend of yours. That's why it's great to have a clothing swap!  I've been having clothing swaps, aka Naked Lady Parties, ever since I lived in Brooklyn, when all my crafty friends would come over and dump all their fashion treasures on my living room floor.

My clothing swap style is to separate all the items into piles: shirts, shoes, pants, skirts, dresses, accessories, etc. Then someone takes the emcee role, holds the item up and describes it, and whoever is interested shouts "me me me!" or something similar.You can also have a free-for-all sample sale style event, where everyone can just have at it. I prefer the former. According to my friends at Tiny Choices, the two different styles are East Coast and West Coast!! Who knew?

When the day is done, have a friend help you take all the leftovers to the Goodwill or a similar local thrift store.

So, your closet is leaner and cleaner, you've scored some great new threads, you had a super fun day and you've given a healthy donation to those less fortunate. Sounds like a win to me!

Check out pics from my last swap >>

NEWSFLASH! Mark your calendars! The Philly Sewing Collective is having a Swap-o-Rama-Rama on Sunday October 19th from 1 to 5pm.

Founded by Wendy Tremayne, Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of DIY workshops in which participants explore creative reuse from recycled clothing. Basically, you bring a bag of clothes and they get sorted into piles by volunteers. You get to sort through all the clothes and work at the various DIY stations and sewing stations to create new clothes!

all about the beer

Last night, P'unk Ave hosted another fantastic Junto.  This month's topic was Free Beer. And yes, there was plenty of free beer!  In bottles we had the Chris Matta wheat brew, and from Grain Star Brewery, a nice keg of luscious porter. 

The panel discussion centered around the Open Source movement.  The 3 panelists included: Howard Ross (homebrewer and web developer), Robert Hall (Adobe Community Expert and Flash master), and Tom Boutell (Open Source maniac).  The moderators were Kelani Nichole and Alex Gilbert. The panel discussion focused on the Open Source movement vs. proprietary software development and wandered into the maze of patents (a future Junto) and even touched on recipes: from the very microbrews we were drinking to food recipes.  Engaging conversation all around.  If you couldn't make it last night, check out this photoset on Flickr.

If you are now feeling crazy thirsty for some beer, you're in luck! A new Two Guys on Beer episode came out today!  Drink up!

art for the cash poor

Another fun event on the horizon in Philly is this weekend's Art for the Cash Poor.  It is occurring on Saturday and Sunday June 14th and 15th from 1 to 6pm each day at The Crane Arts Building. It's a great place to find new treasures for your home / yourself, gifts for friends, etc.  I went last year and there was live music, local microbrews flowing, and lots of friendly faces.  Here's the event description from InLiquid:

AFTCP is a chance to meet local artists and purchase artwork at bargain prices. View a vast array of media, including photographs, paintings, prints, jewelry, clothing, and hand-made books, with nothing priced above $199. There will be food from top local restaurants and libations available, and live music for your enjoyment while you peruse the artwork.

Art for the Cash Poor
June 14-15
1-6pm
Crane Arts Building
1400 N American St. (MAP)

reminder: ignite philly THIS wednesday 6/11!

Just a friendly reminder that Ignite Philly is mere days away! I know many of you already have it on your calendar and have intercepted it numerous ways across the blogosphere, but some of my readers aren't plugged in 24/7... so this is for you!

For more information, check out an article profiling the event in Friday's Philadelphia Business Journal. Also, the Ignite Philly website has completely up to date event and speaker information, and the twitter updates have been rolling in.

If you're still having doubts, you should come for this guy, Geoff DiMasi, an Ignite Philly founder and one of the Philly creative community's biggest champions: