“As I’ve often said, ‘There’s no such thing as a dumb dog, but God knows there are continents filled with dumb people,’” said Rita Mae Brown in an interview with Sally Friedman from the Courier-Post. Rita Mae Brown is what I like to call a whippersnapper, a term I reserve for only the best and brightest. Her vivacious voice and character shines through in her writing and interviews. Her newest book is about the life lessons she has learned from animals – things like trusting her instincts, appreciating all of her senses, and most of all, playing.

The Courier’s article makes for a great read, and an even better preview to meeting Rita in person. She’ll be giving a presentation, question and answer session, and book signing, Saturday November 7th from 4-5 PM.
And if that’s not enough to entice you, PAWS will be having a pet adoption going on before and after the event, so there will be no shortage of animal appreciation. Grab your tickets here.

Yes Men have got everyone buzzing about environmental issues that plague our country. Before you see them at our festival, get warmed up at the October GreenPeace Philly Meeting this Wednesday at 7 PM.

What: October Greenpeace Philly Meeting

When: Wednesday October 28th at 7:00pm

Where: Greenpeace Office – 232 S. 4th Street – 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 525-0145
Why: We’ll be discussing some upcoming plans and volunteer opportunities, as
well as hearing an update from our climate campaign.

Why Else: Because the Yes Men would approve, and yes, we love them.

As Chris Hyams said in an antimusic.com review, “Still Bill is one of those rare documentaries that delivers what it promises: an incredible journey into the life of a legendary artist.”

Many people might wonder what happened to Bill Withers. After coming out with some of the most popular songs of the decade, Bill Withers stepped out of the spotlight, refusing interviews for 23 years. But that was before documentary filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack convinced him to share his story. Now, their documentary gives us a deeper look into the life of Bill and his decision to stop performing.

You can read what the press is saying about the film here.

The film screening occurs Sunday November 8th, the final day of our Festival!
And did I mention Motown legend Jimmy Ingram joins the event? The ticket price includes Ingram’s live concert after the film. Tickets cost $30 for the general public, and as always we treat our First Person Members to a discount – only $20 no matter when you order tickets! Become a member and buy tickets today!

What could be better than playing with adorable puppies? Combining it with an awesome Annual Festival event of course. Saturday, November 7th, PAWS, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving Philadelphia’s homeless, abandoned, and unwanted animals, will join us at the Painted Bride to help welcome Rita Mae Brown – author of Animal Magnetism. PAWS will host an animal adoption  at the Painted Bride from 3-6 P.M. that day.

If you simply can’t wait that long to show your animal appreciation, come to the PAWS Mutt Strut October 31 at FDR Park in Philadelphia. Bring a furry four-legged friend to walk or come “rent” a PAWS dog for the day.

Dog walk and adoption festival, includes: “Ask the Vet,” pet portraits, pet costume contest, “spooky” obstacle course & bobbing for bones, training tips, pet grooming, plus music, food & fun for the whole family!

You’ll be helping to raise funds and awareness for PAWS’ efforts to save
Philadelphia’s homeless, abandoned and unwanted animals. People looking to
adopt a pet will be able to find a lifelong friend. All participants get a
PAWS eco-bag and dog bandana on day of event and will be eligible to win even more prizes!

Registration fee: $25 per person ($10 for children 12 and under).

To register: http://www.firstgiving.com/phillypaws

When: Saturday, October 31, 2009. Check-in/registration begins at 10am;start strutting at 11am!

Where: FDR Park (1900 Pattison Avenue, across from the sports complex).

Plenty of free parking!

Ryan Brandenberg is a photojournalist living in West Philadelphia. He has a degree in photojournalism from the University of Pittsburgh and a degree in documentary photography from Temple University.
Ryan feels that photography captures situations that might otherwise be difficult to access; he likes the immediacy of it and feels it’s the easiest way to interact with the world around him and preserve a situation.

Ryan has produced a book that brings together text and images he took of those people most adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina, those in the 9th Ward.

Here’s a short, but sweet, review of Rita Mae Brown’s latest memoir, Animal Magnestism on Boston.com, :

ANIMAL MAGNETISM: My Life with Creatures Great and Small
By Rita Mae Brown
Ballantine Books, 256 pp., $25

Sneaky Pie, the cat collaborator on Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy mystery series, signed book contracts with “Fuzzy paw prints, dipped in stamp ink.’’ Brown confides that Sneaky “was a true business partner. Quite tight with her money, too.’’ This cutesy tone dominates Brown’s memoir of animal lore and love.

Growing up on a farm with hounds and horses, Brown was most comfortable and content with animals. Removed at the age of 10 to Florida with her family, she learned to appreciate sea turtles and parrots. Studying at New York University, she adopted cats. Now a best-selling author and successful screenwriter, she owns a horse farm in Virginia, where she breeds thoroughbreds and foxhounds.

The many important lessons she has learned from animals – from manatees, that beauty is only skin deep; from beagles, that love restores; from horses, the power of birth and rebirth; from many breeds, that animals do not know how to compromise – are all recounted here.

Somewhere along the way, she also learned to survive in Hollywood and to invest in real estate, difficult and daunting skills that suggest that behind the cutesy tone lies clever calculation.

In this case, it’d be wrong to say a dog is a man’s best friend. It’d be more accurate to say approximately 70 foxhounds and 19 hunting bassets are a woman’s best friends. The woman I’m talking about is Rita Mae Brown, who is widely known for her novel Rubyfruit Jungle. More recently she has written a memoir called Animal Magnetism, detailing the lessons she has learned throughout her life from animals. Her book is catching attention nation-wide, in fact an article was just published about her which you can read here.

Brown grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, and after spending some time in LA and NYC she decided farm life was her true calling. She then moved to rural Virginia and grabbed a 1,000 acre parcel of land. There, she raised 40 horses, 11 cats, and the dogs mentioned above. The lessons she has drawn from these experiences have shaped her life and thus her memoir chronicles how she learned trust, strength, and compassion from these animals.

This gutsy farm girl has a lot to say, and her poetic voice makes it all the more poignant. Come hear her speak about her life and sign books on Saturday November 7th from 4-5 pm at the Painted Bride Art Gallery.

Buy tickets in advance! $15 before 10/15, $20 after. Tickets are $12 for members of First Person Arts.

Don’t Forget! Rita was recently written about in the news! Take a look at the article published today in Pridesource, mentioning her and her new memoir. Read it here.

Well it’s nice to know that everyone in the food blog community is as excited as us about the Edible World Foobooz Burger Cruise on November 3! Check out these stories from our friends at Unbreaded, and of course, Foobooz, then get your tickets here – this Saturday, October 25, is the last day for Early Bird pricing, and there aren’t many tickets available, so make sure you get your spot!

Oh, did we mention that not one, not two, but THREE of Philadelphia Magazine’s Best Burgers in Philadelphia are on the menu? Because they are. We’re going to be sampling the Barclay Prime’s legendary sliders, the savory Pub & Kitchen burger (it’s also Unbreaded’s Best Burger in Philly), and of course Good Dog – plus a special surprise stop that we’ll let you know about later, maybe when you’re on the tour!

UPDATE: From Art Etchell’s post… “Noble: American Cookery’s beet topped burger joins Good Dog, Pub & Kitchen and Barclay Prime in our ground meat tour.”

Why, yes, it IS yet another Best of Philly Burger!

While most of the blogosphere seems to be pretty sympathetic to the Yes Men’s recent prank on the US Chamber of Commerce, but not Philly.com apparently – who just posted this opinion piece on the dangers of pranking to journalism. We think that the Yes Men have a point to make, and that if the Chamber (or any of their other targets) aren’t willing to talk about it, these pranks are a legitimate – and hilarious – way to start people talking about topics that some would rather sweep under the carpet. We hope the Philly.com staff can make it to the Yes Men’s Festival appearance here in Philadelphia on Thursday, November 5, – where the Yes Men will be talking about what they do – and how all of us can effect change in the world right now. See you there!

Here’s a bonus video of Fox News falling for the prank: