Don’t you love when Penn randomly brings really awesome speakers to super low-key events? It’s happening with US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu tomorrow in the Wu and Chen Auditorium (the same place where SEAS casually brought a Reddit founder last year).
The star of the show is getting an award for being “a technological innovator who has made a lasting contribution to society” and is speaking to a first-come, first served crowd.
In honor of this great affair, we set out to find the real Steven Chu. And by that, we mean whatever fun facts we could dig up on the internet.
He has a Nobel Prize. It’s in Physics from 1997, for “development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light”. What! COOL! We don’t get it.
Finally, Frogro is getting the recognition it deserves. Progressivegrocer.com has bestowed upon our humble neighborhood store the 2011 Business Leadership Award for “its innovative approach to hiring and training workers, its dedication in supporting employees’ occupational and personal successes, and its recruitment and hiring partnership.”
Come November, the store will rake in the Outstanding Employer of the Year Award as well. Not kidding.
Frogro is also expected to win a clean sweep of other grocer awards, including “Freshest Sushi,” “Most Efficient Store Layout” and “Hardest to Steal From.”
Considering food trucks are such a big deal in Philly, you’ve probably wondered why there’s never been a head-to-head battle royale to determine who really rules the streets (and our stomachs) around here. But our insatiable appetites for both yummy street food and competition are about to be satisfied in one fell swoop. The Vendy Awards, a battle of the best street food vendors that started in NYC six years ago, is coming to Philly next weekend.
The finalists were announced today and three of the eight hail from our homeland: GiGi and Big R, Sugar Philly, and perennial favorite Magic Carpet will rep West Philly/University City while vying for the title of ULTIMATE. PHILLY. PHOOD TRUCK. Mayor Nutter will be among the judges of the cook-off showdown on Saturday, July 9 at the Piazza at Schmidts. Tickets will run you $65 if you want to go cheer on your favorite (or wave around those big foam noodle things to distract the other teams). Gooooo Magic Carpet!
Yay MERT! -- MERT won the National Collegiate EMS Organization of the Year this weekend at the convention of all the MERT-like organizations around the country. This further proves that despite the fact that we rarely think about MERT, holy shit they are legit.
Sure, the Oscars last night were a showcase of talent, creativity, and the top artistic genius across the film industry. But all of that pales in comparison to the main event of award season: our Penn edition. Join us as we highlight the films around campus we’ve had to suffer through all year. They made us laugh. They made us cry. They made us question reality. Without further ado, we present the winners in the following categories:
Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Music Video, Worst Video, Oldie But A Goodie and Best Overall Video.
Josh Dorfman, C’94 just nabbed a second season of his award-winning reality TV series “The Lazy Environmentalist,” which features low-maintenance “eco-solutions” for aspiring environmentalists. It’s basically a pain-free guide to greening your everyday routine.
Directed by none other than Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Co-creator Dave Metzler, the show premiered this past June on the Sundance Channel—and seems to have gained quite the following.
In fact, the Penn grad’s eco-show just won the honor of best reality TV series from the folks over at the Environmental Media Association—beating out other contenders ranging from Bravo’s “Top Design” to “Whale Wars” on the Discovery Channel. No word yet on why some other greatrealityTVseries didn’t make the cut.
Samson, just "kickin it" (hahaha), having "a ball" (LOLOLOL).
Good football-related news, guys! No, seriously, good Penn football-related news is a real thing – it’s just been a while. Anyway, Penn football landed four players on the College Sports News All-America teams. Bust out your big foam fingers, everyone! Senior Chris Wynn made third team and seniors Matt Schaefer and Jon Ganiprow both made honorable mentions, but most notable is junior kicker Andrew Samson who made the first team. He’s the only Ivy Leaguer on this most prestigious of All-American teams, right alongside players from schools who upset former national champions.
This continues the trend this summer of Penn athletic excellence and bodes well for continued success this fall. People who know much more about sports than us even think we could do all right. The football team received four first place votes in the Ivy preseason poll, so start getting ready for our home opener on September 19th against Villanova. It is looking more and more possible that any face paint will not be ruined by loser tears.
UTB loves awards. We love liveblogging the Oscars. We love voting for Best of Penn. Just this afternoon, we loved seeing the World Series Trophy, if only because Penn students (like infants, pirates and Gossip Girls) love shiny things. This Friday night is the Greater Philadelphia Student Film Festival (GSPFF). Doors open at 6:15, the show starts at 7, and at the Awards Ceremony, 17 of the best student films will be playing. Tickets are $10 online and $15 at the door; entry not only gets you entertainment but also free Qdoba and Honest Tea, plus a soundtrack provided by DJ Foxx Boogie, Penn’s own Langston Clement. For a preview, check out the trailer below:
The DPreports that senior Alexander Jacobs has snagged a Gates Scholarship. (“Snag” might not be the best verb choice for something so scholarly, but um, that’s why we didn’t win one.) At Cambridge, Alex will pursue an MPhil in History, Philosophy & Sociology of Science, Technology & Medicine. More importantly, as the article mentions, Alex is a onetime Street staffer–he used to edit the music and features sections, and we believe he still lives with at least one current staffer. He’s also really tall and some people call him A.J. and his Street articles are available here. Congratulations, Alex, you are officially the most successful former Street editor ever.
Street music editors Ben Rosen and Charlotte Borgen deserve a round of applause for watching the Grammys last night. (Yes, they’re still called the Grammys, like gramophone. C’mon, Steve Jobs, that’s definitely a missed branding opportunity: iPoddies? MP3ies? Get on it.) What follows is an account of the musical blasphemy they witnessed.
We braved 3 1/2 hours of Katy Perry in a Fruit Dress, John Mayer getting respect from BB King, and Coldplay’s Roy G. Biv inspired wardrobe just to find out that the Grammys are even more out of touch than we could have guessed. In case you missed it, which we hope you did, we’ve decided to hand out awards more relevant and just as meaningless as the Grammys themselves.
Best Public Display of Affection: Morgan Freeman and Kenny Chesney
Morgan Freeman introduced Kenny as “a poet, a pirate, a dreamer” and his best friend, leaving us wondering what kinds of things they pillage on play dates.
Best Display of “Caring About Shit”: Kid Rock
Photographs of homeless African children and confessional displays of your mug shot in concert are the ultimate proof that you may be partnering with a charitable organization in the future, and that if it helps you make a comeback, then so be it, but it is so totally not the point. Read the rest of this entry »
We braved 3 1/2 hours of Katy Perry in a Fruit Dress, John Mayer getting respect from BB King, and Coldplay’s Roy G. Biv inspired wardrobe just to find out that the Grammys are even more out of touch than we could have guessed. In case you missed it, which we hope you did, we’ve decided to hand out awards more relevant and just as meaningless as the Grammys themselves.