Yes, this is how Michael Elkin described the Yes Men, as inconoclastic irritants. But hey, famous ones at that! The Yes Men have had yet another article published about them – I’m beginning to lose count. Clearly their tricky schemes to make the public reevaluate corporations is getting the press it deserves.

Andy (left) and Mike recruit a golden skeleton to help "The Yes Men Fix the World," coming to the First Person Festival.

“We are the world — and what a greedy, grifting, money-grubbing cesspool we are, say the duo. Who would disagree with such Yes Men? Hard to tell when you’re laughing so hard,” said Micheal Elkin, author of article Yes They Can. Make sure to read this excellent article, its got some juicy details on the Yes Men and their stunning pranks. Moral of the story? Pranks aren’t just for kids.

Come see the Yes Men in the flesh and find out with the hype is all about. They’ll be in Philadelphia for our First Person Annual Festival Thursday, November 5th from 8:30 to 10:30. Who can say no to the yes men?

Art Eschels + Burgers + Brews = a Foobooz Burger Cruise!
Mark your calendars for Tuesday November 3rd when Art, the author of the leading food blog in Philadelphia will be giving a tasty tour of the city’s best burgers and booze. You’ll stop at delicious restaurants like Good Dog, Pub & Kitchen, Noble, and Barclay Prime. As the article on Foobooz mentions – don’t fear, you won’t miss the World Series, Tuesday is an off day.
**Advanced Reservation Required

32AA, 24″ waist, 42″ hips – Chase spared no details in telling the hilarious, raucous story of her nighttime job at a topless bar. The whole crowd was howling with laughter, as she went on. My favorite quote was probably: “I wore glasses but I took them off, because I did not want to see them suckers looking at me!” Really, to get the full effect you have to watch the video, I can’t do it justice.

Kendra is sillier than putty, and we love her for it. Apparently our judges did too, because amongst the many amazing stories told at our StorySlam she was the winner. Her authentic quirky storytelling style gave her tons of stage presence. Watch her tell her story of songwriting fame – a perfect topic for our monthly theme of “Showing Off.”

Art by one of our Salon Artists - Jennifer Baker

The Salon du Festival is not like the Salons you studied in school – there are no Marie Antoinette costumes or George Washington-esque wigs required. They are our way of letting artists share and dicuss their work.

Our next Salon is no run-of-the-mill event. When.com wrote about the all-star line up of artists presenting at our Salon Du Festival on Thursday November 5th. The event, hosted by the Painted Bride, will be one of our most impressive salons, and a must see for all first person fans. As one of our most popular events, make sure to book your tickets ahead of time, they will sell out! Read the article to get a sense of the artists and their amazing work.

Sadia Shepard

Meet Sadia Shepard. She knows the complexities of a multi-cultural family. She grew up with an American father and  a Pakastani mother before discovering her grandmother’s Jewish heritage.  This promted her to journey to India to discover her Jewish history.  She shares with us her memoir The Girl From Foreign, and her film “In search of the Bene Israel” which were born out of that experience. The event includes a presentation, film screening, Q & A, lunch from Ekta India Restaurant and a concert by the Lenny Seidman Tabla Choir. Come from 12-2 Sunday November 8th to the Painted Bride for this amazing event.

If you are interested in more events focusing on Indian culture you can check out events hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of Network of Indian Professionals. They put on wonderful events year round. Also check out their partner online magazine The Desi Diva for Indian Women.  Look for an interview with Sadia in next month’s issue before you come to the Festival. The October issue is out now!

I take forever to decide what to order at a restaurant. I just read through the menu, salivating at every option. That’s why I like buffets, you can get a little bit of everything. (Or more likely, a LOT of everything.) So when the menu for America Eats was released I was practically drooling:

Pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches, grilled vegetable salad, mac & cheese, and cooked greens. To top it off,  Jacks Firehouse is making a specialty Booya stew, a popular “big supper” dish from the 1930’s, which has lots of oxtail, veal, soup bons; chicken, tons of veggies and did I mention oxtail? I am dying to try that. Plus there will be spiked lemonade a-plenty. All of these dishes will be prepared by Jack’s Firehouse, featuring the award winning food of nationally renowned Chef Jack McDavid.

Come to the Painted Bride next Wednesday, November 4th, at 6 PM. Grab a plate (or two… or seven) of delicious comfort food, and listen to Pat Willard talk about her newest book, and her journey through American cuisine.

Our final story slam of the year was an evening packed with fun. The stories were flowing better than beer on tap, (and that’s saying something when you are at a wonderful bar like L’Etage.) Our theme for the event was “Showing Off” and this went in a lot of different directions – from showing off at the strip club, to a father blowing up a table to impress his son, the stories were fun and a little wild.

To spice things up even more, we decided that for our last story slam we’d give away some free tickets to our upcoming festival, a little thanks for all the support our audience gives us all year. So we picked volunteers from the audience. To win a ticket they had to pull a slip of paper from the hat and act out the task. This meant, we got to see one man beat his chest and make gorilla noise, and another woman sing the YMCA a capella. A little public humiliation never hurts right? Well it turns out our audience members are so talented that no embarrassment was even involved.

Check out this wonderful clip of an audience member singing the national anthem – while the whole audience joined in. It was American bonding at its best, and a great preview for how our Karaoke Obsessed event.

What makes someone officially incredible? I’d say having a day named after them qualifies. Meet E. Patrick Johnson, (his day is July 20th.) Thus he is officially amazing. Let me explain. Johnson is a writer, scholar, artist and department chair of African American Studies at Northwestern University. Most recently he has written a book called Sweet Tea which details the life experiences of gay men living in the South. He traveled collecting these stories in person and documenting them. After, he even created a performance peice, Pouring Tea which lets the audience see more of the interview process.
Best of all he is coming to Philadelphia to share with us. He’ll give a presentation, allow for Q and A, and have a book signing – Sunday Nov. 8th 6-7pm at the Painted Bride. Johnson was also interviewed by the University of North Carolina Press; here’s a taste of the what the author has to say about his book.

Q:What does the title refer to?
A: In the black gay community, “tea” refers to “gossip.” Also, sweetened iced tea is a staple drink of the South. And since some black gay men in the South are often disparagingly referred to as “Sweet Thing” or as having a little “sugar in the blood,” I thought that Sweet Tea would be an appropriate title to combine all of those references.

Q: How wide a variety of informants did you have? What age ranges and which southern states are represented?
A: The informant age range was 19 to 93 at the time of the interviews, which began in 2004. Every southern state is represented, including Oklahoma and Missouri, which were slave-holding states at one point.

Q: You’ve chosen to tell this story through oral histories. Why?
A: Unlike my colleagues in literary studies, I like doing research on living people! Seriously, I’m invested not only in the content of the story, but also how the story is told. In other words, I look at oral histories as performance. For me, it means something if someone pauses or hesitates when telling a particular story, or if they take delight in it. I also wanted to have a “living archive” of these men’s stories—to have them share their
stories in their own words.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with the publication of Sweet Tea?
A: First and foremost, I hope these men’s lives are affirmed. Every one of us has a story to tell, but we often we don’t get to tell it. Why? Because no one has bothered to ask. Hopefully, because I bothered to ask, these men will feel some sense of affirmation. Also, I hope that these stories will help other gay men—of all colors and regions—who might be struggling with their sexuality—to let them know that they are not alone.
Finally, I hope that the book will debunk some myths about what it might mean to be black and gay in the South.

Q: What do you think gave rise to the myth that it’s more difficult to be a black gay man in the South?
A: I think most people think that sexual expression of any variety is difficult in the South because it is known as such a repressive space because of religion. Thus, it follows that people would think that homosexuality would be even more taboo. But, just like most things in the South that are considered taboo, homosexuality flourishes. Ironically,
one of the places that black gay men have found community is in the black church.

Q: Lastly, your hometown of Hickory, NC has named an “E. Patrick Johnson Day” in your honor. What’s the story behind this?
A: I’m the first African American born and raised in Hickory to receive a PhD. Because of this accomplishment, the black community decided that it wanted to celebrate that and convinced the city council to honor me with my own day. So, on July 20, 1996, I was honored with my own day in my hometown. It was quite a moving occasion.

You’ll have to wait until July to celebrate E. Patrick Johnson Day, but don’t wait to get tickets to see the man himself! Get them before they run out!

Ruth Reichl Quiz

Which of the following statements about Ruth Reichl’s early career as a food writer is false?

A) She published her first cookbook at age 21.
B) She wanted her first gig as a food critic so she could satisfy the fellow members of her commune with free food.
C) She crafted her early restaurant reviews as if they were plots out of film noir and sci-fi flicks.
D) All three statements are true.

The answer is D.

Reichl shared the tale of her unconventional start as a writer at last night’s First Taste Preview Dinner. A packed house at Supper listened as Reichl joked about her early days in Berkeley and her wobbly transition to the big leagues at the LA Times. Despite her eccentric beginnings, she ultimately crafted a career as one of the top food journalists in America without so much as a degree in writing or journalism. (She has a master’s degree in art history.)

Some of the most touching remarks of the evening came from Mitch Prensky, chef and owner of Supper. He admitted that his childhood was not a typical one. With parents in the food business, average family outings included trips to Zabar’s and Dean and Deluca. Prensky also acknowledged the influence that the California cuisine movement of the 70’s (and Reichl herself) had on his own cooking style. It was obvious that Reichl is a food hero to Prensky and he was clearly honored to be preparing a meal for her.

Of course, the Q & A visited upon the recent (and controversial) decision by Condé Nast to stop publishing Gourmet after 68 years in print. Reichl handled the questions with grace, though it was clear that she was saddened by the change.

The rest of the evening included a four-course meal prepared by Prensky and ended with a book signing. It was a lovely kick-off to the 8th Annual Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art, featuring the wit and humor of one of our top food writers and memoirists.

-Karina Kacala, First Person Arts Volunteer Coordinator