stellargirl returns

BarCamp Philly = AWESOME

When I signed on to help plan BarCamp Philly this past summer, I couldn't have possibly known the huge impact it would have on my life.  I've been talking about this recap post to friends, and realizing that there's not much more I can say about how great the event actually went (it was AWESOME) because I have already said it all on the BarCamp Philly blog.  What I did want to write about was how I went into this event as one person and came out another. 

I've always considered myself very much of a team player, someone who likes to collaborate, build something together, stay behind the scenes.  I am still that person, but in doing BarCamp, I had the opportunity to take a greater responsibility for the outcome by being a leader of the project (I shared that role with JP Toto, who thankfully let me run wild with all of my crazy ideas and plans).  I hope it doesn't sound like I am tooting my own horn here, but for the last month, almost every minute of every day was consumed with a persistent thought, "What can I do to make this event completely AWESOME?"  I hope that came across to people who attended.

So how am I different? I guess because I saw a shred of what I am capable of.  Those of you that know me well, hopefully think of me as your biggest cheerleader, always trying to be supportive of your projects and endeavors.  I'll do anything to help my friends become aware of their potential, and I'm not afraid to place my foot firmly in your a$$ to remind you of the path to happiness that lies before you.  I don't always believe in myself enough, however, and this event served as one of those reminders to JUST EFFING DO IT.  And now, on the other side of things, I'm ready to DO a lot more. So watch out.

BarCamp really is about community and we couldn't possibly have gotten anywhere without the help of all of the superb volunteers and of course all of the people who attended this user-driven event.

I am especially grateful to my dear friend Geoff DiMasi for believing in me and always encouraging me to swim in deeper waters. I'd also like to thank the amazing Kelani Nichole for working side by side with me on so many aspects of the event, from shirts to signs to incredible superpowers (possessing them, that is).  To Matt Knell, for not only rallying the NYC crew, but for constantly brimming with enthusiasm towards BarCamp Philly, every step of the way.

To Gloria Bell and Melissa Thiessen, who signed every single person into BarCamp and completely held down the fort while we ran around attending sessions and managing the event. To Dave Konopka for offering indispensable WordPress knowledge and firing up the BarCamp Philly wiki. To Marion Summerville, for assembling the most beautiful grid of index cards for the analog schedule. To Carl Leiby for creating the famous digital schedule (which is now open source for all future BarCamps). To Arpit Murtha, Jim Cavanagh and Aaron Held for providing and designing video content for the 13th floor lobby.  To Kendall Schoenrock and Carsten Petzold of LTLprints.com for donating stickers for our sponsor wall. To Dana Vachon and Katie Regenye for baking us the most delicious Open Source Cupcakes.  To the CIM crew for representing in force, and for offering a helping hand wherever possible.

To UArts for donating a dynamic and inspirational environment for learning and sharing. To Indy Hall for letting us host several planning meetings and for being a major catalyst in the Philly tech community. To P'unk Ave, home of the Junto, for hosting a welcoming pre-party on Friday night. To National Mechanics for letting us throw it down like rockstars (complete with RockBand) and for chipping in a massive amount towards our rapidly diminishing bar tab.

To all of our generous sponsors for contributing to the costs associated with BarCamp Philly.  To all of the speakers, who brought knowledge and passion to each of their sessions. To all of the attendees who came with an open mind and a positive attitude. 

And finally, to all of the new friends I have made as a result of this event. I'm thrilled to know you all and look forward to many interesting collaborations and enjoyable moments in the future.

Thank you EVERYONE for making BarCamp Philly AWESOME.

vote for Obama and for Alex...

My friend Alex(andra) has been a tireless volunteer for Obama over the last year, but as it turns out, she is unable to vote tomorrow!

Here is what she has to say:

I am Roz's friend Alex, an American who has voted in every presidential election since I turned 18. I am also a dedicated Democrat. Due to some really ridiculous residency laws (I live in Puerto Rico now) I am not allowed to vote in this election. I want to urge everyone to vote and to vote for Obama, but mostly I want to convince someone to go vote who otherwise wouldn't have, so I feel like I voted. Please vote and let me or Roz know if you voted for Obama for me!

Let Alex know you voted by commenting on this post! Thank you!

(Photo by Jean Vidal Font)

the good stuff is going down in philly!

The Phillies win their first World Series since 1980! Philly pride is rampant in the city right now. I am so happy to be living in and loving Philly!

are you coming to barcamp philly?

I've been a total blog slacker these last few weeks, but I actually have a pretty decent excuse. I've been really busy helping plan BarCamp Philly, happening on Saturday November 8th at UArts, as well as putting lots of effort into keeping the BCP website so fresh and so clean and totally up to date.

I am super excited about BarCamp and you should be too!  Chances are, if you know me personally, you've already heard me go on about it, but if you haven't, I will give you the nutshell summary.  BarCamp is an ad-hoc user-generated (un)conference where likeminded people come together, usually in a setting where people can break into groups (classroom situations are ideal), share thoughts and ideas, participate, collaborate, etc.  There are no pre-planned speakers or schedules. The attendees are the presenters (if they so choose).  Check out some of the people coming to BarCamp Philly!

The event is totally FREE to attend and you even get a t-shirt! You'll also get the opportunity to chat with people who are doing cool stuff all over the Philadelphia region. We've even got some great folks from NYC coming, and I am sure points further than that.  We have plenty of fun events in the works before and after the event, so be sure to visit the BarCamp Philly website often to stay on top of things.

Last but not least, registration is required. It's really key that we have a sense of how many people are attending and we do have to cap it at some point to make sure that we don't exceed capacity of the event location.  So if you are thinking of coming and haven't formally registered yet, please do it today!

team tweet FTW!

Did I mention that Team Tweet totally kicked ass at the Parkway Run 5K this past Sunday?  Well we did. Even in the rain! There are a ton more 5K races this fall, please reply in the comments if you are interested in signing up for one!

new music: the swimmers

If you're in the mood for some new music, specifically some delicious indie rock, check out The Swimmers.  Hailing from Philly, they deliver a magnetic blend of layered vocals, playful keyboards and lush guitars. They've got a bit of a throwback sound, reminiscent of early Beach Boys and the more recent (relatively speaking) Lilys.  Good news, you can stream their full album directly from their website.

If you like what you hear, you're in luck, they will be playing live Wednesday October 8th at the Khyber!

need new threads? have a clothing swap!

If you're anything like me, you've probably got a closet full of clothes that you look at every day and say, "I have nothing to wear!" One of the best ways to deal with this is to go through all of your stuff and edit, removing anything that you haven't worn for a season, doesn't fit, etc. You can store some of it if you think your size might change or if it's off season, etc.

As for the rest of it, chances are that some clothing you may no longer like for yourself might look smashing on a friend of yours. That's why it's great to have a clothing swap!  I've been having clothing swaps, aka Naked Lady Parties, ever since I lived in Brooklyn, when all my crafty friends would come over and dump all their fashion treasures on my living room floor.

My clothing swap style is to separate all the items into piles: shirts, shoes, pants, skirts, dresses, accessories, etc. Then someone takes the emcee role, holds the item up and describes it, and whoever is interested shouts "me me me!" or something similar.You can also have a free-for-all sample sale style event, where everyone can just have at it. I prefer the former. According to my friends at Tiny Choices, the two different styles are East Coast and West Coast!! Who knew?

When the day is done, have a friend help you take all the leftovers to the Goodwill or a similar local thrift store.

So, your closet is leaner and cleaner, you've scored some great new threads, you had a super fun day and you've given a healthy donation to those less fortunate. Sounds like a win to me!

Check out pics from my last swap >>

NEWSFLASH! Mark your calendars! The Philly Sewing Collective is having a Swap-o-Rama-Rama on Sunday October 19th from 1 to 5pm.

Founded by Wendy Tremayne, Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of DIY workshops in which participants explore creative reuse from recycled clothing. Basically, you bring a bag of clothes and they get sorted into piles by volunteers. You get to sort through all the clothes and work at the various DIY stations and sewing stations to create new clothes!

from two feet to two wheels

I don't have a car, nor do I have a bike. Mostly I get around with my own two feet, with the help of SEPTA, or by the good grace of my beloved automobile-havin' friends. My system works fine, but I know I could do better.

If you ever came to Philly, you might pick up right away that this is a cycling town. Don't be confused though, this isn't a bike town in the sense that there are ample bike lanes and racks, more that there are a lot of people getting around on two wheels, fighting their way through traffic, traversing end to end of this fine city. I've been studying them from afar ever since I decided I wanted in. People from all walks of life get around on bikes... young and old, athletic, quirky, normal, completely bonkers. Bikes are an extension of a person's identity, a form of creative expression, and a means to an end... a destination, that is.

I'm pretty excited by the thought of entering the legion of folks who have a much more malleable relationship with Philadelphia, being able to get from neighborhood to neighborhood with nimble ease. I'm at a proverbial crossroads, however, in that I simply cannot decide which path I want to take: the sleek style of a single speed road bike, or the durable comfort of a hybrid cruiser.

My gut is telling me that I am meant to go the way of the cruiser, being a bike novice and all. Truth is, I just want to get out and about a bit more, a bit farther than I could walk, closer to some trees, and really... to the gym a little more quickly and safely on dark, cold mornings.

I'm giving myself a few more days to sleep on it, but I'd love to hear what your trusted mode of transport is and why. Hit me up in the comments.

(Coincidentally, the photo above was taken on the west side of manhattan, not philly)

photography and creative ownership

I've been taking photos for as long as I can remember. I started taking classes in the Fall of 1996 during my sophomore year of college. I spent the next three years avoiding sunlight by spending long hours in the darkroom soaking my fingers full of chemicals. I never once dreaded a critique, I was always totally amped about it, prepping for weeks, and ready to talk it out. I couldn't wait until it was my turn to be in the hot seat.

During those years, I was inspired by many photographers like Mary Ellen Mark, Sally Mann, Diane Arbus and plenty of others. I was always drawn to the photographers that studied people, either people they just met, or lengthy studies of a family or community. Artists like these inspired me to embrace my niche: candid portraiture.

Through photography class, I made the greatest of friends, learned how to analyze images, find inspiration, study people, talk about my work. Photography is even the reason why I work in web. I taught myself html so I could share my photos with my friends and family. I would spend hours scanning my negatives and making little online galleries. I couldn't get enough of it.

Now I'm lucky to use a tool like flickr to share my photos with the whole world. And I'm even luckier to be a part of a huge community of friends, both old and new, that I can study, share, tag, etc. I love that I can type in a friend's name and all of my photos from 2005 on will show up. I love that after there's a big party or social event, people know to check my flickr page. I love the recent activity emails I get for days after I post a large batch of images.

One thing I don't totally love, however, is when someone grabs one of my photos and uses it without giving proper credit. Addressing this comes as a result of it happening several times over the years. I've seen my photos on blogs and even in print without any attribution. Mostly I just shrug it off because I am not really into making a fuss over stuff like this. But after a while, I want people to understand, that everything that gets shot with my camera, no matter how shitty or amazing, is part of my body of work that I will spend the rest of my life creating. If anything, I want people to be aware of who I am, so that they know where to find me, and can see what I've been up to.

I still entertain the idea of pursuing photography on a more professional level one day. Right now I feel very hampered by my lack of decent equipment, and I am trying to work on that. In the meanwhile, I'm happy to see my photos out and about in the world. I just hope that in fine print I will see either a link to my flickr page or my blog, or simply my name, Roz Duffy.

Thanks for reading.

in transit

This is just a tiny post to test out the typepad iPhone app. So far so good!

I am also riding the bus, hence the photo.