CLOSE UP by Brian Rudnick

Chef sculpts Ice New Year's Eve

I’m done with all the major cuts. It’s all the way through. Now it’s kind of add feature to the snowflake and know that I only have two feet that it’s standing on. This is going to be the tricky part to get all the detail in. We’ll finish the pedestal and we’ll call it a night. ARE YOU WORKING FROM A PATTERN? I am. All my templates I start with a paper pattern. That’s only one-dimensional. You get into the three-dimensional when you start cutting. HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT? I’m a chef by trade so this is part of my education.  You practice with every piece. Every one is very different. They all have their own kind of temperament, their own characteristics. WHAT’S THE TEMPERAMENT OF THIS ONE? This one is a little tougher, it is getting a little colder so it’s a little bit more of a fight than the “2012.” The “2012” cut like butter, it was a little earlier in the evening, this one’s a little tougher which is Okay.

Chef Tim Harris, First Night celebration, Carlisle, PA. [BYSTANDERS: What’s the best thing about ice cutting? Chainsaw!]

Watch video here.

A popular attraction at the 2012 First Night Carlilse celebration were the"Steppinwoofs" a group of ladies and their pet dogs who dance in choreographed routines: see video clip here.

 

DJwash5 plays hits of the seventies

David Bernard, also known as "DJ Wash 5", is seen here at Vernon Park in Germantown, talking about his radio concert series featuring hits of the seventies. Watch video here. David/DJwash5 can be found on Facebook here.

Kids dance to Jazz Flute

WHAT WAS IT LIKE HAVING DANCERS PERFORM WITH YOU? Wonderful. We always love to do this for the kids. I’m not doing this to get rich. I enjoy playing at libraries and schools and things like that for young people to perpetuate music. And the energy I get from the kids is wonderful. They interact with the band. Their response is very pure, very honest. It’s a joy to behold to see them dancing like that so I love it. Walter Bell, jazz flutist of the Latin Jazs Unit, Northeast Regional Library, Free Library of Philadelphia. Watch video here.

Vault is simple, safe church

The Gathering at the Vault in Salem Massachussets is a simple church that is "large on love and little on rules. We like to think of it as a 'safe' place" says Pastor Phil Wyman; the building houses a vault because it was once a bank. A Sunday morning sing-a-long was shaping up on a  recent Sunday mornin as families unhurriedly gathered for the morning service. Watch video here.

Saint Mad's Drummer also taps for the band

Audrey Bookspan of Wyndmoor is a longtime local dance teacher and performer. She once performed with the the Martha Graham Dance Company. She has been the percussionist with Jim Harris and Saint Mad since July 2010. They perform every first Friday at Crossroads Coffee House in Roxborough. Here she taps to "Nice and Easy Does It Every Time." Watch video here

 

Going Phish-ing

Scott Chassy of Washington,D.C. secures the wooden frame of a portable horseshoe bean-bag game to the roof of his car. He and seven friends were preparing for a tailgate party at the Phish concert across the river in Camden. They last saw Phish together fifteen years ago. 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.

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.

Jason Chuong leads Jenks Bucket Drumming Ensemble

  

"So please give a hand for the Jenks Bucket Drumming ensemble!...During the school year I start the kids with learning technique, with learning how to read music, music literacy and at the end of every period I have an enrichment section, lesson. They learn bucket drumming or they learn drum set, improvisation, composition. And basically the kids do bucket drumming. We compose pieces together, we improvise ….. I got an idea from the University of the Arts. I attended the University of the Arts. We started an experimental bucket drumming ensemble there that kind of took off. And now it’s developing all over the city. I have seven ensembles in the city that I started and it’s just taking off! That’s what we do here at Jenks. Each bucket is about two dollars and thirty seven cents. And it’s immediate gratification for the kids. So instead of spending months learning fingering and armature and technique for a saxophone or clarinet, you pick up a pair of sticks and immediately play and you sound OKAY." Philadelhia School District Music teacher with the J.S. Jenks Middle School bucket drumming ensemble at the winter concert.

Watch video here.

Art Miron sings impromptu at Kilian's Hardware

“This is the man you should be interviewing, seriously. You know Art Miron? He performs at 2 Mount Airy stations and he’s the best folksinger, he’s wonderful. TELL ME MORE ABOUT HIM. He has a beautiful voice, a great personality. And a lot of these songs are your own, aren’t they? OK, they’re not your own. You sit there, you smile a lot, delightful, very warm. Am I embarrassing you? And he collaborates with different people.” Linda Baldwin. DOES YOUR GROUP HAVE A NAME? No, my name’s Art Miron and I just play with another guy who plays with me. CAN YOU SING SOMETHING, A PREVIEW? You’re kidding, in here? ‘Hey, hey good looking, whatcha got cookin’? Hows about cooking something up with me?” Kilian’s Hardware. Watch video interview here.