Geeks of Providence, Unite!

Great new organization where my pocket protector side will feel right at home!

“The goal of Providence Geeks is to help Rhode Island’s digital innovators connect, collaborate, and ultimately make the City-State and its geeks info-technology leaders.”

They have dinners, they judge robot competitions, they have a community bulletin board (although no wiki-- come on geeks, get with it!)

In general, it looks like a really cool thing that's going on-- getting the info-digital community of Rhode Island together.

So, put some extra tape on those glasses, button that top button, calculate the square root of pi, check out their website, and subscribe to their RSS feed.

You'll be smarter for it.

Old Fashioned Robot Store!

Wow!

A shop focused on Computer Controlled Robotics for Hobbyists.

This is next to the CJ Fox building in Federal Hill. The weird thing is that about 15 years ago I looked at this building (to buy, when I was looking for loft space) and placed an offer on it, but the seller removed it from the market.)

The store is basically a hobby studio, with a store attached.

There's also a project room, where the owner works on projects, and a conference room for robotic enthusiast meetings.

I haven't been, but it sounds like this guy is living his dream. Best of luck to you, sir!

Check out the website: http://oldfashionroboticstore.com

Winner of Waterfront Park Design competition

Waterfront Park Design Competition

The award winning landscape architectural firm of Brown, Richardson & Rowe, Inc. has been selected as the winner of the Waterfront Park Design Competition. This design was chosen by the 11-member Waterfront Design Selection Committee appointed by Mayor Cicilline.

Key elements of the winning park design feature the Ember House – a beautiful, transparent, free-standing structure along the riverwalk inspired by Waterfire that could be used as a café or gathering space; a sculpture garden; terraced amphitheatre; a centrally located granite disk that reflects the history of the Providence River; and the Fish Playground featuring artist-designed play equipment including wave slides, turtles, fish and shells found in the Providence River.

Although the park will not be built until 2012, it looks like this proposal has a lot of great elements to it.

Find out more about it by clicking here

Jewelry District Meeting

The Jewelry District Annual Meeting & Cocktail Party is tomorrow

Tuesday, March 13th, 5-7pm
at the Providence Children's Museum
100 South Street in the District.

The Annual meeting will include:

· A presentation by the city on the Providence 2020 plan
· A presentation by two landscape architects about greenway possibilities along the waterfront to connect India Point and the District
· A performance by Sit Down Baby , a great local blues band
· Hors d'ouevres courtesy of MuMu Cuisine (220 Atwells Ave.), a fabulous new Chinese restaurant
· Cash bar courtesy of Lot401
· As well as the usual Annual Meeting business
Join us as we celebrate the past year, prepare for the coming year, thank our outgoing board members and welcome in the new. We hope to see you all there!

City Planning Charretts

This week the Providence Planning Department (PPD) will hold a Charette to gather ideas on citywide planning issues. It’s a preliminary part of updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan and revising the Zoning Code, changes that will steer development for years to come.

We have an opportunity to participate in the redevelopment of Providence, and to encourage smart planning, smart parking, and smart renovation and reconstruction.

Find out more about the process

Pixelirations [v.3]

PIXILERATIONS [v.3] is a digital arts showcase taking place within the FirstWorksProv Festival. It features works in digital media and interactive performance by Brown and RISD faculty, students, graduates, and select artists from the digital artist community. Pixilerations [v.3] events are planned to take place in downtown Providence at 191 Westminster Street and other locations to be announced.

Pixilerations [v.3] will help celebrate the opening of the FirstWorksProv Festival on Friday, September 29 at 5pm with an evening of events in each space. Following the opening, Pixilerations [v.3] will be open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through October 14. Interactive performance works will be programmed on the opening evening, Friday, September 29 and on Friday, October 13.

For more information, visit pixilerations.org

Behold the Wonder of... Pizza!

If you live on the East Side, one of the Pizzas that you probably have bought is from Pizza Pie-er. I interviewed them once back when they were Pizza Pizza (so you know it was a long time ago) It's a good operation, they make excellent pizza, and they've got a new sideshow campaign that a good friend of mine drew. [
CORRECTION: I'm not sure if I made this clear-- these are sculptures, not illustrations. Erminio made these puppets/creatures, which were then photographed for the ads.]

My friend (Erminio Pinque of Big Nazo>) is an accomplished artist, illustrator and genius puppetmaker (he does all of the posters for Bright Night) Pizza Pie-er had a crazy idea to create a series of sideshow freak vegetables as an ad campaign. Naturally, Erminio was the right guy for the job...


I'm not sure if it's working (do you really want to eat Freakish vegetables?) but I love the idea, I love the concept, I love the execution, and I absolutely love that they hired my friend and local artists in general re (a few years ago, they hired another friend of mine as a local mascot/street performer who would hand out stuff to college students and entertain at local events as a representative of Pizza Pie-er.)

Have to say-- that's good community thinking!

And their pizza is good-- not sure if it's freakishly good, but it's well worth eating.

Here's two more edible freaks for your viewing pleasure:

Just One Word For You... Plastics

Interesting stuff from that liberal arts university up on College Hill.... Apparently they have some pretty good engineers, too!

Brown Engineers Build a Better Battery- With Plastic

It's thin, light, flexible-- and plastic. Brown University engineers Hyun-Kon Song and Tayhas Palmore have created a prototype polymer-based battery that packs more power than a standard alkaline battery and more storage capacity than a double-layered capacitor. Their work, published in Advanced Materials, will be of interest to the energy, defense and aerospace industries, which are looking at more efficient ways to deliver electricity.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

An Inquiry into the Providence Public Library

Tom Sgouros over at RI Policy Reporter published a very interesting letter from a CPA who investigated the Providence Public Library's finances.

Suffice to say, things are a little murkier and not as clearcut as "We are out of money, give us more."

Read the letter from Ellen Schwartz, CPA to get the full scoop. Here's a brief sample:

Is the Library Really Broke? From Ellen Schwartz, a Providence CPA: I am a resident of Washington Park and a volunteer tutor with the after school homework club that used to meet at the Washington Park Branch of the Providence Public Library (PPL). When the library informed the residents that it was closing the branch because of structural damage to the building due to an unrepaired leak in the roof, I could see first hand the terrible effect it would have on the neighborhood. I am also a Certified Public Accountant so I decided to take a look at their financial statements to see why they had been too broke to fix the roof. All non-profit organizations have to file an informational tax return called Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service. All of the information in this article is from tax forms filed by the PPL, which are open to public inspection, and which are available on the Internet at www.fndcenter.org. For the most recent year posted, June 30, 2004, the PPL had an excess of revenue over expenses (called profit in the business world) of over $2.6 million. For an institution with an annual budget of around $10 million, this is not an indication of financial crisis-quite the contrary. But since a single year could be misleading, I also looked at the tax returns for the two previous years. Those two years also showed "profits" of $710,000 and $459,000. But the PPL claims there is a crisis so I decided to look further. READ MORE

La Laiterie at Farmstead Opens

Farmstead of Wayland Square is one of the best places around to purchase cheese, olives, and other gourmet food stuffs around. It's always a pleasure to walk through their store and see what's new. And they've been named the best cheese shop in Rhode Island by a couple of different places, including Rhode Island Monthly.

They've opened a new restaurant next door that serves beer, wine, cheese, and food. By chance, I ended up at the first night opening last night. Had some great beer (The Ayinger Celebrator was particularly good, and came in a Celebrator glass), but unfortunately they'd run out of the burger on their menu that sounded great (organic beef with shallot jam and a special kind of bleu cheese. It's an $11 burger, but I'm betting it's a lot better than Wendy's! (I've posted their menu below)

Farmstead is at 186 Wayland Ave. Providence RI 02906
phone: 401-274-7177 fax: 401-521-4691
WEBSITE: farmsteadinc.com
La Laiterie is right next door and will currently only be open for dinner at 5 pm.

WaterFront Meeting

Design Matters: The Providence Waterfront/Old Harbor District
WHERE: RISD BEB, ROOM 106-- 231 South Main St, Providence, RI
WHEN: Monday, 5/22 5:30-9 pm
COST: FREE-- PLEASE RSVP BY CLICKING HERE

SPACE IS LIMITED Registration does not guarantee you a seat. Arrive early for best seating.

Please join the Rhode Island Chapter of the AIA for a fascinating and educational evening looking at the following:

HISTORY of the 195 Relocation and Old Harbor Project
OBJECTIVES and PLANNING PRINCIPLES of the Original Old Harbor Plan
DESCRIPTIONS of Components Being Built
VISIONS of the Area over the years
FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE.

If you have questions, you should contact R. Drayton Fair by email

But will he survive... Inside?

One of Rhode Island's most notorious villains (Richard Hatch, original survivor winner) is being held in protective custody in prison while awaiting sentence.

I think it would be awful, but bizarre to have a Survivor... Alacatraz where the survivors are in prison. Kind of like Oz, but with prizes.

Okay, I know it's twisted, but it would be funny/bizarre.

(As equally twisted as Survivor...Plaza Hotel where you get voted out for ordering the wrong wine, not using the salad fork, and throwing a so-so high tea.)

Motif Magazine- Now Online!

Motif Magazine,Rhode Island's newest free Arts weekly, has now, finally got an online presence. They offer all the A&E info you’ll need enhance your cultural experience.

One of the key new things Motif Magazine has created is a section called “Get Out.” You’ll find a large icon on their main web page. Click on it, and there’s a long calendar of live Music, Theatre, Art exhibits, Indie Films, etc that their staff says are some of the area’s best.

Motif really focuses on local arts and local news, and is an excellent source of information about what's going on. They've been very supportive of local arts organizations and artists (including Bright Night, and I highly recommend that you check them out online-- http://www.motifmagazine.net

Proudly, I'm Publicizing Something... Call for Submissions

PIPSWORKS

The Providence Initiative for Psychogeographic Studies (PIPS) is looking for experimental projects in contemporary urban exploration and public art. Provflux brings together a wide range of artists, thinkers, and thrillseekers for a weekend of interventions, discussions, explorations, and citywide entertainment.

The projects can take any form, providing it engages notions of urban space and the public's interaction with it. Interventions, actions, urban installations, presentations, and any other projects of this nature will all be considered. All disciplines are encouraged to submit material.


Deadline is May 1.  
To submit, visit www.pipsworks.com

PIPS could also mean People Involved in Providence Sculpture, Personages Invading Public Schools, and/or Popular, Interesting, Persuasive, and Sexy.

Part of the pips AESTHETIC is fluidness of meaning, and a sense of humor about the work.

I haven't been to any of the other festivals, but I'm going to try to be at this one!


More about PIPS

Providence Chamber of Commerce and Arts & Business Council of RI Part ways

Interesting things afoot-- the Arts & Business Council of RI (ABC/RI) very ably run by Peter Bramante, a former dancer with Groundwerx) and the Chamber of Commerce are splitting ways.

ABC/RI is the founder of ArtTix, which recently lost its chief staff member/developer-- Richard DeFlumeri, who left to take a great job with Yale University. ArtTix is a much need resource for RI theatres and artists, and there would be a big hole in the theatre world of RI if ArtTix couldn't continue. (Not to mention all of the other good programs that ABC/RI runs)

As the article says-- the independence will be good, but fundraising will have to increase. "Fundraising will have to increase" is sadly a familiar restrain in the local arts world lately.

From the article:

Charles T. Francis, chairman of the Chamber’s board of directors, said in an interview last week that the organization will no longer fall under the governance of the Chamber, which has provided an office and services to the council since its creation nearly 17 years ago.

“The Arts and Business Council and the Chamber have decided to go separate ways,” Francis said. “We wish the council the very best … I think they would like their independence, and we’ve helped them to get their independence.”

Council Executive Director Peter N. Bramante said the group views the change as a positive one that could give it a greater, re-energized face in the community.

“We’ve been grateful for our affiliation with the Chamber,” Bramante said. “That connection to the business community has been an important one that we think will continue. But now, we will be a direct go-to for the business community and our member organizations.”

The most immediate and physical change resulting from the divestiture is the location of the council’s offices. In the upcoming weeks, the council will complete its move from the Chamber to the Dorrance Street home of ArtTix, a service of the council that provides information, marketing and ticketing services for arts and cultural organizations in the region.

The council’s advisory board, which includes several past and present members of the Chamber’s board and staff, will become a governance board with power over the council’s direction. James DeRentis, executive vice president of retail banking and marketing for Bank Rhode Island, will serve as chair of that board, Bramante said.

The level of the members’ involvement also will likely increase, he said.

“I think the independence that comes with this divestiture from the Chamber is going to create a greater investment from the members on the board,” Bramante said.

Other changes are not immediately known. Bramante said the arts council would lose the services provided by the Chamber, and fund-raising efforts will have to increase as a result.

Read Full Article in Providence Business News (Note-- Articles are not archived for long-- read quickly!)

See the ABC/RI website

The Prize is Right Extravaganza on March 5, 2006

The Providence Hebrew Day School is having a fundraiser on March 5, 2006. It features great klezmer music, food, a silent auction, and lots of other stuff. To find out more visit http://www.phds-event.com

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NEW YEAR'S EVE HEADLINERS WON'T DROP THE BALL

Sensational Jugglers The Passing Zone to Perform
for Bright Night Providence

PROVIDENCE, RI., 12/3/05
This year Bright Night Providence, the artist-run New Year’s Eve Festival now in its third year, will feature two men with rather unusual credentials. Yes, they have 5 Guinness world records between them, have shared the stage with such celebrities as George Carlin, Penn & Teller, Bob Hope, and Tony Bennett, and have been featured on film and television, but their real claim to fame is their remarkable ability to juggle and manipulate three running chain saws. Yes, real, running, gas-powered chain saws.

The men are Owen Morse and Jon Wee, and they have been performing their blend of juggling comedy together as The Passing Zone for over 17 years. “We met at a juggling convention in 1986”, says Wee, “and neither of us wanted to get a real job.” The duo have been juggling together ever since.

"The Passing Zone is one of the top juggling acts in the country" says Adam Gertsacov, director of the festival. "I met them this summer in Boulder Colorado when we were performing at the same festival. They were a big hit in Boulder. What I thought was so amazing about their act is that not only are they phenomenal jugglers, they are also incredibly funny. And when I saw their finale (a chainsaw-juggling ballet), I knew that The Passing Zone was something that would really rock Providence.”

“Their eyes lit up when I told them about our homegrown New Year’s Eve festival,” Gertsacov adds, “They were really excited about the artist-run aspect of Bright Night. "

“We are really looking forward to our shows in Providence,” says Morse. “Bright Night seems like a great way for people to get out and have fun, and our show is perfect for people of all ages."

The Passing Zone will perform three shows in Providence as part of Bright Night. In addition to the chainsaws, they will also juggle bowling balls, Chia pets, Garden Weasels, Thighmasters, and just about anything else they can throw. The shows will be performed at 6, 8, and 10 pm. Your Bright Night ticket (a Tyvek wristband) will guarantee you admission to one of those performances, plus more than 50 other performances at 17 other venues throughout the day (on a space available basis) For a complete schedule of performances, visit http://www.brightnight.org


Tickets to Bright Night will be available in early December at www.ArtTixRI.com, and available at all BankRI locations. all OOP! stores, and at the EastSide Marketplace . For more information about tickets call 401-621-6123 or visit http://www.brightnight.org
.

To find out more about the Passing Zone, visit http://www.passingzone.com.

Demolition and Destruction on Westminster

There's been some amazing changes on Westminster (site of the former Traveller's Aid Building. They are tearing down the whole block, and going to put up a huge parking lot with retail on the sides. It's a NY style parking garage, I think, and desperately needed in the area. I believe the owners of the lot are Cornish associates

http://www.woneffe.com/ has some great demolition shots, one of which is below.

Visit http://www.woneffe.com/

My 104 year old Grandmother's Multimillion dollar idea

What kind of multi-million dollar idea can a centenarian hatch? Read and learn. It's a slightly long story,a tale of love, family, and the spunk of one very sharp old lady.

My 104 year old grandmother (who passed away in December 2004) was a really sharp lady. She had an eighth grade education, but was smart and funny and educated and ... she had moxie. She basically owned her own pearl stringing business for over 50 years, and as a single mother raised her three children in poverty during the 1930's 40's, and 50's.


She was a woman with a curious mind, who was always wondering about the world. In 2003, she came up with the idea for a new kind of men's dress-shirt - one that didn't have buttons ("Men don't want to fiddle around with the buttons in the morning," Granny would remark). She talked to one of my brothers (the one that went to the Harvard Business School) about this as a business idea. After lots of work by seamstresses in three countries, a prototype of the shirt was made and ultimately approved by Granny. Unfortunately, she passed away before she could see the shirt in production. (There's more to the story, and you can read the whole thing on the website www.grannyshirt.com)

The shirts are now ready, and are being sold as an entrepreneurial memorial to Granny.

Why would you want to purchase a Grannyshirt?

The Grannyshirt has style- its kind of a cross between a Cuban "Guayabera" and an Indian "Kurta" - you could wear it out for a nice evening on the town or for business casual.

The Grannyshirt is custom-made - our own professional tailor in Thailand will make one just for you, in your size and in various colors. You just pick what you want and we'll have it custom-made, then shipped to your door.

The Grannyshirt is made of a light fabric, perfect for any season and, although designed for men, it is a loose-fitted shirt, so women can wear it too (order one size smaller).

The Grannyshirt has an amazing story - it will be a great conversation starter when somebody asks you "Hey, where did you get that cool shirt?"

10% of every Grannyshirt purchase will be donated to a charity in Providence, RI (the city where Granny was born, lived and died) The charity will help people fight their way out of poverty-- which is exactly what Granny did.

The shirts are reasonably priced at $60 each (this price is a family and friends holiday price-- orders must be made by November 25 to get them in time for the holidays.

If you'd like to find out more about the shirt, visit the website www.grannyshirt.com

Blood From A Turnip

Blood From a Turnip, Rhode Island's oldest late night puppet salon, starts its
NINTH season on Friday November 18th at 10pm at its customary home at Perishable Theatre, 95 Empire Street, downtown Providence.

Join hostesses Vanessa Gilbert and Marsian as they present the widest range in puppetry for adult style people, ranging from the video ventriloquism of BfaT
favorite Evan O'Television to the puppet pastie moves of burlesque artist Lady Miss Iris. Physical theatre performer Marya Errin Jones and reluctant puppeteer,
BfaT founder Vanessa Gilbert, will show object works in progress. Fall River native and sock puppeteer Dan Goldrick, will provide charming and personable musical interludes. An eclectic program for eclectic times.

All seats are $5-10pm show, doors at 9:30pm-no reservations taken.

Visit perishable.org for slightly more information, but more importantly, just show up! You'll have loads of fun