Things That Matter To People Who Matter

Amy Butler fabrics | Interactive murder map | Summer reading | Gnocchi al pesto at Pesto

Amy Butler fabrics

For a few years now, I have been a really huge fan of Reprodepot Fabrics. When I lived in Seattle, they had a shop in West Seattle and then moved to online business only at www.reprodepotfabrics.com. For the past four years since I've been in Philly and ordering from them online, I discovered they are now in Massachusetts � so it's quite fast shipping for my fabric fix. My latest obsession has been fabric designer Amy Butler, who has a fabulous new line at Reprodepot. With a floral damask wallpaper aesthetic, her patterns inspire me every time. Although I just buy the fabric for backgrounds in my photographs, they make me want to buy up the lot and sew pillows, curtains and skirts to my heart's content. Maybe someday.

Interactive murder map

Here in Killadelphia, summer breezes carry in the fresh scent of murder. Some folks are too busy standing in line to buy their iPhones to smell the mortuary melange. Others are far away sending some of the finest young people our country has to offer to their deaths. I'm loving the 2006 interactive murder map, courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer). Hours of real learnin' can be had by changing the map to reflect the sex, races or ages of the murderees ... and you can even pick what weapons were used to commit the dirty deeds. Just when you thought the Internet was only good for scoring a penis growth patch or reading snarky blogs by snarky blobs, here's the toe tag for a major metropolitan city.

Summer reading

My daughter, Helen, received from her school a summer reading list � and she proposed that we read the books on the list together. I agreed. We have both read First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung and An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina. These books were devastating to read, but I learned a lot from them. I better understand the historical, political and human context of Cambodia during the 1970s and Rwanda in 1994. Helen and I had conversations about war, poverty, hatred and courage. Knowing her Philadelphia public high school is courageous enough to ask students to read such complex books gives me hope.

Gnocchi al pesto at Pesto

The Capitol Years are foodies. We like to eat, and you might even be able to pick out the band member who entered his "Fat Elvis" phase a couple of years ago. One spot we like to take our ladies to is Pesto (1915 S. Broad St.), and one dish in particular that prevents me from sampling the rest of the menu is their pesto gnocchi. Homemade and otherworldy, the Varallo family's take on this Italian standard is a super-light potato dumpling smothered in a rich, creamy pesto sauce. Do yourself a favor: Ignore etiquette and sprinkle some crushed red pepper on this sucker. Wash it down with some Chianti. Wait a month. Repeat.