Vote for designer of Buy Fresh, Buy Local logo for AIGA award!

buy-fresh-buy-localIf you don’t know Cara Cox personally, if you’ve been around Philly for a while you probably at least know her work. Two of her logo designs–Buy Fresh Buy Local and Buy Local Philly–can be seen throughout the city. Actually, variations of the Buy Fresh logo (above) have been used in cities nation wide.

A few of Cara’s design pieces are up for an AIGA (the professional design association) People’s Choice awards. She’s a brilliant designer who, like many talented artists I know, is sometimes too modest about her own work. So I’m giving her a shout out here and encouraging folks to take a second to vote for her design here before the end of the month: http://pc.aigapda.com/#326.

Perception and Context: Mira Nair’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”

120830VeniceFundamentalist_6602707This weekend I saw Mira Nair‘s (The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala) newest film The Reluctant Fundamentalist based on the novel by Mohsin Hamid. The film tells the story of a young Pakistani man living in the US and pursuing the American dream–working his way up a financial firm and dating a wealthy all American girl–who becomes disenchanted with the US after 9/11.

The film’s story line is really more wide reaching than that short summary–but honestly to say more will be a total spoiler for a film that relies heavily on the twists and turns it provides. What I can say in more general terms without giving too much away is that this film is very much about how perception is altered by context and how that relates to our attitudes and policies on terrorism and security. There are several instances where as an audience you experience the situation at hand from the vantage point of the American investigative reporter in the story only to find that his/your perception is limited to only a portion of the reality, calling you out on how your expectations alters your ability to see the reality.

The film took Nair five years to make after many rounds of financing challenges, including being told by financiers that she couldn’t get more money for a film that features a Muslim main character. She ended up having to shoot the film for almost half of its original budget. The end result is an engaging film and worth a watch at the theaters where it opened in select cities this weekend.

“Under My Skin: Artists Explore Race in the 21st Century” On Display In Seattle Through November

I’m so proud of my long time friend and creative collaborator Naima Lowe, who is one of the featured artists in this exhibit at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, WA that opens this evening. The exhibit will be on display through November 2013.

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“Grounded” Short Sci Fi Film–Impressive Visuals Shot With Canon DSLR

Grounded-FilmI’m repeatedly impressed by the visual capabilities of the  everyday Canon DSLR cameras. This award winning 7 minute sci-fi short film by Kevin Margo is really impressive both for its cinematography and visual effects. After watching it you can watch this 4 minute video on how they did the effects, which is as interesting as the film itself.

April 30-May 1: Eye of the Storm: The Films of Michelle Parkerson

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Join Scribe Video Center Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1 as they present a series of retrospective screenings and a Master Class to celebrate Michelle Parkerson’s groundbreaking film work. Among the first African American women filmmakers to explore the intersections between race, gender, LGBT sexual identity, and class, Michelle Parkerson’s impressive body of work contains portraits of some of the most extraordinary artists of the last half of the 20th century, including the jazz musician vocalist Betty Carter, the a cappella innovators Sweet Honey in the Rock, and the extraordinary poet/essayist Audre Lorde.

Presented in partnership with International House Philadelphia, Third World Newsreel, Women Make Movies, Department of Film & Media Arts at Temple University, Leeway Foundation, and BlackStar Film Festival.

 

Learn How To Use Your DSLR Camera In New Workshop By Gralin Hughes!

Have a DSLR camera but don’t quite know how to use all the buttons to get the look you want? My mister, Gralin Hughes, is offering a series of photography workshops along with his pal Josh Howard (who is a National Geographic photographer). The first one will focus on landscape imagery, long exposures in nature,macro-photography, specialized filters and lenses for the outdoors, and photographic theory on lighting and composition. I know I’m a little biased on how great Gralin is, but he’s been rated a top trainer in the region at his day job for several years and is much beloved by his students as well. Please help spread the word by passing this info on to anyone you know who might be interested!

Rates: $135 per person (paypal or credit card)
4 people minimum, 10 people maximum (up-charges may apply if minimum is not met)
When: Sunday, May 12
Where: Hickory Run State Park, Northern PAClick here to reserve a spot

Details on transportation and logistics will be emailed once you register, but do not hesitate to contact me with questions. You can also request a private workshop at a location of your choice to focus on what you specifically want to learn. (prices will vary based on these details)

Wonder Women! Online Social Screening This Wednesday

WBIMG_OVEE_WW_397x225_2Join Women and Girls Lead for a free online social screening of the Wonder Women! documentary Wednesday, April 24th, 1-2pm PT / 4-5 pm ET at bit.ly/WonderWomenScreening

Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, Wonder Women! looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation.

Watch and chat live with the filmmakers, comic experts, everyday superheroines, and fans of Wonder Woman. Director Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Producer Kelcey Edwards will be in conversation with a dynamic group of comic insiders, including Zoe Chevat, comic artist and contributor to The Mary Sue, Jewels Smith, author of (H)afrocentric, Grace Gipson, researcher on race/gender in film and comic books, and Mike Madrid, author of The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines.

By the end of the discussion, your super-hero alter-ego should be ready to launch. RSVP for the screening today on Facebook and commence saving the universe!

“Expensify” App Is Going To Make Next April So Much Easier

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Having recently finally slogged through my taxes (which can be extra special as a consultant, especially when it comes to Philadelphia city taxes) I’ve got expense reports on my mind.

I’ve used a hodge-podge of apps on my phone this past year or so to try to be better and documenting items I can list as expenses for taxes, but none of them were ideal. Last weekend my accountant introduced me Expensify, which has totally been rocking my mundane duties as a responsible adult human world.

Expensify, whose tag line reads “Expense Reports That Don’t Suck” is a free way to track receipts and milage all in one (before I was using two different apps). For expenses you can snap a smart photo of your receipt and it pulls the information from the text into your expenses (as well as saving a copy of the receipt). For the milage tracker, it actually has a GPS function, so instead of having to write my miles at the start and end of a trip (which as simple as it sounds, I often forget to do) you just press a start button and it tracks your milage for you. And it recognizes most businesses so if I drive from my house to Staples, it recognizes that I’m going to Staples and writes that in as the destination.

Each year my taxes are slightly less of an overwhelming experience. Here’s to being even better organized next year!