ANNUAL PRMP-A-THON $35.00 HAIRCUTS, $35.00 1/2 HOUR MASSAGE, AND $35.00 1/2 HOUR FACIALS SPACES LIMITED CALL NOW TO RESERVE YOUR APPOINTMENTS!!!!!

Please join The Clay Studio for First Friday with the team from DigPhilly and NBC 10 from 6 - 8 pm!

Opening Reception
May 2, 5-9pm

Small Favors: Benefit Exhibition and Sale
Exhibition runs May 1 - May 18
In the Harrison and Bonovitz Galleries

Heather Mae Erickson - The Industrial Hand: Tableware Design
Exhibition runs through June 1
In the Reed Smith Gallery

Clay in Mind
In the Kathryn E. Narrow Resource Center
Exhibition runs through May 10.

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AND DON'T MISS THE ANNUAL SALE:

Friday, May 2

5 - 8 pm
The Clay Studio's Annual Pot Sale is Friday, May 2nd! This event is held every year during First Friday in May. Proceeds benefit The Clay Studio's Equipment Fund.

If you would like to contribute pieces or volunteer your time for this year's pot sale, please contact Wendy by phone @ 215.925.3453 ext. 11, or email wendy@theclaystudio.org.

Delivery times for donated pieces are during gallery hours through Wednesday, April 30. Gallery hours are Tue - Sat from 11am - 7pm and Sun from 12 - 6pm.

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The Clay Studio

137 - 139 North Second Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

E: info@theclaystudio.org
P: 215.925.3453
W: http://www.theclaystudio.org

Getting a good car loan rate from an auto lender is not at all luck, but rather a skill that you should learn. there are good car loan rates available to you if you know the tricks of the trade and how to negotiate the best possible deal for yourself. Remember, you shouldn't be afraid or nervous when trying to negotiate for a loan from a national auto lender because you're going to be saving yourself money in the process. That should give the courage and motivation that you need to get the best possible low interest car loan rates available. Follow these easy suggestions in order to guide yourself in buying a new vehicle and negotiating your car loan rate of interest.

Tips #1 : Buy Your Car at The End of The Month

Typically car dealerships have contests and the winner of these contests get a good prize, whether it be money or some other reward. Usually these contests are a month long, so at the end of the money the sales people are scrambling to make a sale despite the price. So, with that said, you should be able to negotiate a better price on your vehicle during these sorts of competitions. The lower the cost of your car, the better the terms you should be able to get for your auto finance.

Apply for Better Car Loan Rates, NOW!!

Tips #2 : Have a Good Credit

Now this could very well seem obvious to you, but everyone isn't aware of how exactly their credit can affect their car loan rate quote. If you have excellent credit, go buy a car whenever you want because you have the reason to be able to negotiate a great rate immediately. If you have poor credit however, work on rebuilding your credit by utilizing a subprime auto loan lender. While you will end up paying a higher rate, this is only temporary because after a years time you should be in a great position to renegotiate your rates.

Tips #3 : Negotiate Your National Auto Loan

When you talk to national auto lenders be sure not to allow them to have the knowledge of how much money you are capable of spending per month on your auto loan. If you throw out the highest number available to you then this is going to be the starting point for them and is exactly what you want to avoid. Instead, negotiate with them, knowing your limits though. There are always other car dealers and lending institutions out there. You should never ever accept the first offer you receive without trying to first get a better deal then what is presented to you.

These simple tips can help you on your way to financial freedom and grant you the ability to get you the car of your dreams without the struggle that most people go through each day.

Nationwide Auto Finance lenders at Auto-Financed.Com are committed to help customers to get good national car loan rates, bad credit auto finance and pre-approved car loans with a choice of programs even with no credit, bad credit, poor credit or bankruptcy.

I went to Philadelphia's Constitution Center last night to hear Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps and regular radio producer for NPR talk about his work as a gatherer of stories. He said this is his life's work. How refreshing to hear of a man who has found his work, and that work is helping other people find their own stories and share them with the people they love. This is the human experience at its best.

Radio personalities are "different" from the bigger than life celebrities on television. Even though they have influenced me for much of my life, since I don't see them they don't project an overpowering sense of celebrity. So for example, Terri Gross introduced the evening. Wow. Terri Gross. I listen to her as many days as I can. She is like intellectual and cultural oxygen in an underwater world. And there she was a few feet away (I was sitting on the front row.) And Jane Eisner, Vice President for National Programs at the Constitution Center did the interview. I just stared at her, trying to understand how she could speak so intelligently, in complete sentences no less. Unlike politicians who speak in routine phrases or actors who read scripts, these public figures actually come up with intelligent observations. I love it. It turned out the "founder of Public Radio" was in the audience, an unassuming man, in an overcoat who started All Things Considered in 1971. (I didn't catch his name. Anyone know it? Bill Semring?) And he was just there, sitting in the audience.

Going into Philadelphia and sitting in a live audience a few feet away from live performers seems so retro, and yet so real. It's an treat, amidst my busy life, to occasionally experience these rather esoteric benefits of living within the orbit of this major metropolitan community.

If you're interested in storytelling or memoir writing, check out my blog entry on the topic at Memory Writers Network

Calling all designers/artists to…
The FLAT

WHAT IS IT?: The FLAT - Philly's Designer’s Market
WHEN: Every Other Saturday (Beginning Dec. 1st)
WHERE: The Neighborhood House
22 N. American Street (Off of 2nd & Market in Old City)
RENT: $100/space (includes table and chair)
TIME: 10a.m. – 5p.m.

*FREE Coffee Bar

For space availability or more info email: info@theflatphilly.com
jade@theflatphily.com

theflatphilly.com

Come check out our beautiful facitilty. Located at 200 Springarden St. We have free parking. Shuttle service. Baby-sitting. Many classes. State of the art equipment. And for all yoga lovers, $49.99 a month. Unlimited yoga classes. See for yourself! www.cityfitnessphilly.com

Themes of “Cohabitation” @ First Person StorySlams, Sept. 25th
Philadelphia Author Angel Hogan to host competitive storytelling series

WHEN: Tuesday, September 25th; doors open at 7:30 p.m., slam begins at 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: L'Etage; 6th & Bainbridge Streets, Philadelphia

ADMISSION: $5 admission, ages 21+. For more information, contact First Person Arts at (267) 402-2056 or www.firstpersonarts.org. For information about participating, email storyslams@firstpersonarts.org.

WHAT: On Tuesday, September 25th, First Person Arts’ wildly successful First Person StorySlams series returns with Philadelphia’s take on the theme of “Cohabitation.” Since April 2007, the monthly competitive storytelling series has captivated the city’s creative community, giving sold-out audiences a chance to tell and hear engaging real life stories. “Like TV's American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance, StorySlam turns a fun pastime into a tension-filled competition,” reports the Philadelphia City Paper. With only two slams remaining before November’s Grand Slam, the competition is heating up with storytellers vying for the last two spots to compete for the title of Philadelphia’s Best Storyteller.

Local Philadelphia writer and storyteller Angel Hogan will host the September Slam. Everyone with a true story and a little sense of competition is encouraged to participate. Storytellers are invited to interpret the theme as inventively as they’d like, sharing with the audience tales about live-in lovers, bad roommates or any real life experience that relates to the theme.

Previous slam competitor Ben Drinen took home the StorySlam Golden Ticket at the August slam with his poetic story springing from his experiences in social work. Other champion storytellers include R. Eric Thomas, who told a story with many twists and turns about coming to terms with coming out, Raeann Drew, who recounted a time in which she exploded beyond the "boiling point”, Kendra Gaeta, who disclosed how she appropriated a pair of undergarments from a certain My So Called Life starlet, and West Philadelphia resident Juliet Wayne, who recounted the bizarre occurrences on a new job.

Ten participants at each slam have the chance to step up to the mic and tell a story within a five minute time limit. Contestants are judged by their peers, and each month’s highest scorer wins an invitation to November’s Grand Slam, to compete for the title of Philadelphia’s Best Storyteller. The Grand Slam will be held during the sixth annual First Person Festival of memoir and documentary arts, November 7-11, 2007. To ensure admission and a chance to compete in the challenge, both participants and audience members are encouraged to arrive early.

First Person Arts is a nonprofit organization and producer of the annual First Person Festival and other programs that tap into the power of personal stories and speak to diverse audiences, including people whose voices are not often heard. First Person Arts is guided by the belief that the sharing of personal experience is a powerful way for people to celebrate uniqueness, bridge differences, and find common ground. For more information, please visit www.firstpersonarts.org.

First Person Arts StorySlams Events

Upcoming StorySlams Events
Tuesday, September 25; theme: Cohabitation
Tuesday, October 23; theme: Horror Stories
Saturday, November 10; GRAND SLAM – theme: “Musical Moments”

All StorySlams are held at L’Etage, 6th & Bainbridge Streets
Doors open at 7:30 p.m., slams begin at 8:30 p.m.
$5 admission, ages 21+

For more information, contact First Person Arts at (267) 402-2056 or www.firstpersonarts.org. For information about participating, email storyslams@firstpersonarts.org.

10 a.m., Fri., Oct. 5: the city of Philadelphia will dedicate a 9-foot bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin next to the Engine 8 firehouse at 4th and Arch Streets. Everyone's invited.

Commissioned by the city and sculpted by Philly artist James Peniston, "Keys To Community" will replace the one-of-a-kind "Penny Franklin," the 1971 acrylic sculpture that was covered with 80,000 pennies collected from schoolkids, and which was removed in 1996 after it began to deteriorate. In its place will go James' sculpture, a one-ton bronze bust that incorporates more than 1,000 keys he collected at local elementary schools while giving talks about Franklin. Some of your kids may have given keys or pennies -- in all, schoolchildren donated nearly 1.5 million one-cent pieces to help fund the work.

The sculpture also received funding from the Philadelphia Fire Department. During the casting, several firefighters placed the brass nameplates of fallen colleagues into the molten metal. See you at the dedication!

Well, this is my first posting on a blog and seeing where the day takes me on it.

We are the Distortion Arts Project, a group of 15 emerging artists from the Philly tri-state region who simply got tired of the same old-same old of the First Friday scenarios, Rittenhouse Arts Crawls and other things. We just wanted a place to do fun creative theater meets arts events around the city and came up with this creative fun!

So last Friday started out as well as Friday's can. Afternoon drinking with co-workers at North Bowl brought Brooklyn (and hash) browns, grilled cheese, corn dogs and sore fingers. I, alas, am a terrible bowler, and rather than suffer the humiliation of a string low double digit scores, I imbibed and imbibed to my livers dismay. So after a few frames and a few more pints, I relinquished my leased footwear and hit the streets heading homeward.

Once home I cracked a SlyFox can (I love that this beer comes in cans; I don't know why) when my lover, comrade and sister-in-arms informed me of her desire for some potent social lubrication and fried, tubed tubers. Now Philadelphia, for some reason, has a bevy of Belgian bars belied with a bounty of strong beers and fries. And the best, if I may opine, is Eulogy.

So off we went.

Our walk to Eulogy takes us through Society Hill and into Old City by way of 3rd st and allows a glimpse of many genres of the human animal. We cross mulleted street musicians strumming cheap guitars while pompous men with gelled hair and striped shirts hurry into clubs behind scantily clad, yet unfortunately dull, women. Hipsters hustle toward their haunts, aloof from the non-symmetrical hair-cutted and painfully loose-fitted jeans crowd around them as tourists with no style stop and stare at every menu on display. It's like some twisted scene from Céline, but much more alive and much more anxiety provoking.

So in we went.

Eulogy is small and I like it. The beer selection is to a drunk as a candy store is to a fat kid. I pour over the list like a connoisseur choosing bocks, trippels, dubbles and ales to burn my synapses while crisp fries with tangy sauces give all that liquid inside of me something to hang onto. The only problem with Eulogy is that, along with my knowledge of beer, came a tolerance to handle it. That wouldn’t be a problem if I weren’t poor, but since my wallet will drain faster than my bladder at that bar, we had to move on.

So out we went.

Stepping back out into the street with under a new light of further intoxication made Old City a bit friendlier, but not that friendly, so we quickly hurried up 2nd St., across Market and the consumptive homeless, swung a left at Church St. and walked toward Sugar Mom’s.

So down we went.

This is where all the hipsters were heading. I heard the first two tracks from the Cold War Kids CD about a half dozen times and even though Sierra Nevada’s taste good, I just couldn’t get the taste of pretentiousness out of my mouth. I needed something different.

So up we went.

We walked out into the warm starry night with a now noticeable inebriation, but nowhere near a night-ending drunk, so we walked back up 3rd St to a different breed of Philadelphia bar. National Mechanics, the big Greek building between Market and Chestnut, was our final destination. Inside we found some friends and sat down at the bar to as many Yards as my wallet could handle, which I assume, was quite a few. After countless drinks, drunken conversations with wheel-chair wheely-ing iPhone users, travel lusting artists, too-drunk-to-stand photographers and some shot-purchasing ladies we were finally in the right place. It may have been the cheap booze, but I was really loving this bar. It was like when your favorite song comes on, the light turns green and the slow driver in front of you turns; and it all happens at the same time. From there, however, the night faded to black. I woke the next day to a nasty hangover, an empty wallet and a hungry cat. I fed the cat, looked at my account and saw that I still had enough for rent and PECO.

So back to bed I went.

On Saturday night, Lady and I went to see SiCKO, the latest film by Michael Moore at the Ritz East. Lady's already put her up her thoughts on the film here. We loved it. And to make the experience extra cool, we filled out questionnaires from the studios because we were part of the first general screening audience to view the film; and according to Moore's website, every single sneak preview was sold out.

SiCKO is different from Moore's other films. There's less of his jowly face in it. There's a Rutgers hat on his head for lots of the film (in addition to his Michigan State Spartans hat of course). There is less (limited to about 15 minutes of the 2h 3m of the film) sensationalism in this film. This film is not partisan to either major political party.

This film is heartbreakingly sad to watch. If you've experienced life without healthcare coverage, it will be particularly touching. If you've experienced life without adequate coverage, it will be particularly touching. If you have the ability to relate to another human being's problems, this film will make you cry. I was tearing throughout the entire visit by the Americans to Cuba.

This film touches on the same topic as Karl's post from a little while ago.

Spring classes begin Monday, April 9 @ The Clay Studio

The Clay Studio offers classes in clay for the community year-round. Our wide range of classes - from beginner to advanced levels - are perfect for anyone looking to have a great time and learn all about ceramic art. You may sign sign up as a member at the same time that you register and receive the members price. For more information on becoming a member of The Clay Studio and receiving exclusive discounts on classes, workshops and the fantastic items in our retail shop, please visit http://www.theclaystudio.org/membership/

To register now for Spring classes on our secure website, please visit http://www.theclaystudio.org/classes/

The Clay Studio/Shaping the Future of Ceramics

“Cold Rock The Auction Block” to Benefit Philly’s Only Girls Rock ‘n’ Roll Summer Camp

WHEN: Friday, April 6th, 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. (auction winners announced at 9:30 p.m.)
WHERE: F.U.E.L., 249 Arch Street (3rd and Arch Streets), Philadelphia, PA
ADMISSION: Free admission, all ages
CONTACT: (215) 525-9927, info@girlsrockphilly.org, www.girlsrockphilly.org
WHAT: Girls Rock Philly, a non-profit organization presenting Philadelphia’s only rock camp for girls, will hold its second fundraising event, Cold Rock The Auction Block, on Friday, April 6th at 6:00 p.m. at F.U.E.L., located at 249 Arch Street (at 3rd Street).

A First Friday event, the fundraiser will feature a silent auction, free refreshments, and live musical performances by Rarebirds, Amy Pickard, Allison Polans & Friends, and Monarch (members of Relay & Aquila Rose), and DJs Dana Bitetti and Jill Carius. The Police sold-out concert at Citizens Bank Park; VIP tickets to a taping of The Colbert Report; Phillies tickets; tickets to Pig Iron Theatre Company’s newest production, Chekhov Lizardbrain; signed copies of Cinderella's Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground by music journalist Maria Raha; an autographed Cat Power CD; an exclusive sneak preview performance for an audience of three of Kate Watson-Wallace’s newest site-specific work, Car; a gift basket of fine wines; gift certificates from Ultra Salon; and a speech and language evaluation for a child. Additional items will be announced soon.

Girls Rock Philly (GRP) is an initiative to establish Philadelphia’s only rock camp exclusively for girls. The week-long summer day camp serving junior rockers ages 10-18 will be held in late July/early August 2007. Led by a team of all female instructors and band coaches, girls in the program learn how to play musical instruments, write songs, make their own band merchandise, discover other women in rock, and finesse their on-stage jump kicks.

Additional fundraising events are planned for the coming months, and donations are now being accepted online. To donate and for more information, please visit www.girlsrockphilly.org.

Press Contact:
Megan Wendell, Canary Promotion
ph: 215-242-6393
megan@canarypromo.com
www.girlsrockphilly.org

I've loved going to the Ritz Theatres as long as I've lived here in Philly. They show an incredible mix of indie releases which I would never otherwise see. I simply cannot browse through the [incredible] selection at TLA Video and go through and watch them as easily as I can head to a showing at one of the Ritz theatres and watch previews of upcoming releases.

I read late Friday, updated story Saturday, about the pending sale of the Ritz local chain to the Landmark Theatres group. I was saddened by the news. Yes, Landmark is the gold standard of a national chain sticking to indie releases, but still, the Ritz will simply not be the same, it can't. There will be change - maybe a slight shift in the films which are screened, maybe not. I don't know.

From the Inky:

"Of all the companies out there, Landmark is the best fit," said Jay Ayrton, director of operations for the Ritz Theatres, one of the last locally owned arthouses outside California. He informed his managers of an impending change in ownership by memo Wednesday night. Because Landmark shows the same mix of movies as the Ritz, the movie menu is unlikely to change.

Here's to hoping for continued excellence in programming at the Ritz Theatres in Philly. Anybody have any fond memories of indie films watched at the Ritz Theatres? And how do they compare to other moviehouses in the area?