CLOSE UP by Brian Rudnick

Shuttle from auto service shop

At 8:00 am sharp two courtesy shuttle vans, divide up Conicelli Auto customers who've driven their cars to the Conshohocken shop for service and shuttle them to their destinations which could be home or work. Your reporter was hoping for a quick ride back to Chestnut Hill but was on the tail end of the loop which winded through the beautiful Main Line and beyond. Jeanette Berstein of Eagleville got dropped off at her workplace in Wayne and recalled the driver, John Duliah, from the last time she had taken the shuttle eight years ago. Duliah, retired from a tobacco company 11 years ago was looking for part time work and began to drive for Conicelli. He didn't mind that the work evolved into full time because he loves to drive. Despite the increase in traffic in recent years, he still finds driving relaxing. Later in the day, customers get a telephone call from the shop with the good and bad news about what was wrong with their cars and how much it cost to fix. Then Duliah's back on the road picking up the customers to retrieve their cars. Watch video here.

Dali (String) Quartet entertains, educates

The Dali (string) Quartet, whose repertoire consists of both traditional classical music and Latin American chamber  music, presented an educational concert at the Jenks School Monday morning. They are seen here at the Chestnut Hill Coffee shop, near their Chestnut Hill office, after the concert satisfying their hunger and planning their schedule for the next two years. From left to right, Jesus Morales, Cello, Adriana Linares, Viola, Luigi Mazzocchi, Violin, Carlos Rubio, Violin. Visit them at daliquartet.com Watch video here.

Young Friends Dine and Street Dance in Chestnut Hill

Young friends from the suburbs came down to Chestnut Hill of an evening to dine at Osaka and afterwards, hang out and practice their dance moves on the Germantown Avenue sidewalk outside Quelque Chose. Cori and Sam of Ambler on the ends, Will of Harleysville and Jenny of Springfield in the middle. Watch video here.

Toastmasting

In the Chestnut Hill Library meeting room last Wednesday there was speechgiving. The Toastmasters Club based at the New Covenant Church in Mount Airy has moved to the Chestnut Hill and Lovett libraries this summer to take advantage of air-conditioning.

Members take turns giving speeches, often drawing on their own personal experiences, and get feedback from evaluators. These include an “Ah” counter and a grammarian. With personal performance at its core, Toastmasters bears much similarity with the story slams popular among the twenty-somethings but there are significant differences. Speakers don’t compete and whereas slammers are often irreverent, a Toastmasters evening has religious and patriotic overtones.

Before the meeting, Deborah Cureton, VP of education and Vicki Lander, VP of membership, demonstrated a “table top” speech; this is an impromptu speech on a topic one is given on the spot. The only time to prepare is the time it takes to get up from one’s seat and arrive at the podium.

The Wednesday event drew several regulars and some newcomers Cureton originally associated the organization with toasting at the drinking of wine but found it right up her alley when she discovered what it really was about. At the front of the room, she gave a “pocket speech” (a 5 minute practice speech) on the topic of change employing vocal variety and other techniques that Toastmasters helps develop.

According to literature, Toastmasters International has focused on building people’s public speaking and leadership abilities since 1924 and boasts more than12,000 clubs in more than 100 countries.

In the photo: Cureton, left and Lander, right.

Watch video here.

Springtime for lovers

Suzanne Poncen talks about how she met Dan Jessen, not pictured, on Match.com at a party in Germantown. Watch video here

 

Julia Staico of Chestnut Hill, a stylist at the Hair Cuttery in Flourtown, is in love. Watch video here.

Tasting like a lion

Guests sample six different concoctions to understand how animals taste. Cats don't taste sweet so a sweet substance was tasted followed by a sweet blocker followed by another draft of the same sweet substance- which tasted like not worth eating or drinking! At the Philadelphia Science Festival event at Rembrandt's Restaurant produced by the Philadelphia Zoo and Monell Center where they study the sense of taste. Watch video here.

Body odors signal threat?

Amy Gordon,left, a first year grad student who works at the Monell Center, welcomed guests to a Philadelphia Science Festival program on how animals, smell and taste at Rembrandt's Restaurant and Bar. Gordon studies how humans communicate with body odor, especially how a stranger's body odor may influence threatening visual stimuli from the stranger. Fairmount neighborhood, Philadelphia.Watch video here.

Something for everyone at Chestnut Hill Garden Fest

Arnie Shiffrin, a wine consultant from Bala Cynwyd, entertains garden fest goers and himself, dancing to the sounds of Melissa Martin and the Mighty Rhythm Kings.  Watch video here.

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Pharmacist Carl Dean of Chestnut Hill Pharmacy who overcame some trouble last year says things are looking up and getting better every day for his personal service oriented shop. Watch video here.

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Certified Zentangle art teacher Terry Greenberg demonstrates Zentangle's meditative technique of making intricate patterns. Watch video here.