ARTS . Culture Shock

Things That Matter To People Who Matter

Spring Garden Market | SparkPeople.com | Micropedia Great Civilizations | Lindy Hop and blues dancing


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Published: Apr 16, 2008

Spring Garden Market

James Saul

If you work in nonprofit arts, you don't need the Fed to tell you that we're in an inflationary recession. My wife and I have watched our ShopRite bill reach Whole Foods levels. Yikes. To the rescue: Spring Garden Market (400 Spring Garden St., 215-928-1288), Asian emporium extraordinaire. It has left us eating healthier, fresher food, and our rent check gets in a little closer to on time. The tumbleweeds in our fridge have been replaced by acres of bok choy, the freshest of fish and tofu so firm you could bounce a quarter off it. Domo arigato, Spring Garden Market.

—Robert Wuilfe

Curator, Landmarks Contemporary Projects

SparkPeople.com

I recently came across a Web site that changed my daily diet. SparkPeople.com allows me to track everything I consume in a day and breaks it down by calories and nutrients. Eat the same thing for lunch every day? Add it to the favorites. Whiskey? In my favorites. Do it for two days and you are hooked. What did I notice? I can consume a lot more in a day than I had thought. The result: Brownies are now a staple of my diet.

—Ryan Kerrigan

Guitarist, Prowler

Micropedia Great Civilizations

I've been time-traveling recently with the Micropedia Great Civilizations (Paragon) that I snagged from a bargain bin. It's a great compact book that really puts human folly and accomplishment into perspective. It's intriguing to look into different times when the sun's energy determined how much you ate and battles were fought without bullets. Certainly running themes appear: Religion, greed and power sparking wars; revolutions warping social and political landscapes; and what it is to exist and keep on keeping on.

—Steve Surgalski

Guitarist, vocalist, Controlled Storms

Lindy Hop and blues dancing

When I'm not diggin' on the righteous Philly music scene, I can usually be found adoring Lindy Hop and blues dancing. You may have heard of Lindy — made famous (again) by a mid-'90s Gap commercial — but few know the merits of blues dancing. Like Lindy, blues is a vintage partner dance, based on improvisational leading and following. Unlike Lindy, blues is done to blues music, and is as sultry, slow and sexy as the music would suggest.

—Carsie Blanton

Singer-songwriter