The Tattoo Arts Convention rolled its way into Philadelphia and ink enthusiasts from all over the Philadelphia area lined up to see the work of some of the world’s best tattoo artists. After getting into the building and stepping through the doors of The Pennsylvania Convention Center the sound of buzzing tattoo machines can be heard echoing throughout the room.

As you made your way around the convention you encounters all walks of life. From old tattoo connoisseurs to new tattoo fanatics– this was where both worlds came together. Tattoo artists displayed their proudest tats and were ready to give anyone the new ink that they desired. The atmosphere was calm, yet at the same time the excitement for the lifestyle could be heard in the conversations floating around the room.

There was plenty of entertainment for those not getting a tattoo. Awards were given out throughout the weekend, artists were working on their latest paintings, and Rigor Mortis Review performed their delightfully morbid burlesque show. There were over 200 of the world’s best artists tattooing all weekend long, and Amy Niletto from LA Ink was tattooing her fans. All around, the Tattoo Arts Convention was a great time, and you should definitely check it out next year.

I tried to find the geekiest tattoos in the convention and put them in a video for your viewing pleasure! Think you have a better geeky tattoo? Comment below with a link to a photo. We’d love to see it!

For more information on the Tattoo Arts Convention go visit Villain Arts’ official website.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Given that Philly was the home of legendary noir writer David Goodis, it seems fitting that the latest show at South Street’s Phantom Hand gallery pays homage to our city’s dark and romantic underbelly.

Co-curated by former Geek of the Week Jeff Kilpatrick and local artist Eamon Doughtery, the Pulp Love exhibition spotlights works that look at romance as viewed through the prism of sordid fiction.

The pieces on display –from Kilpatrick and Dougherty as well as Sam Heimer, Christian Patchell, Concetta Barbera, Christine Larsen, Melissa Lomax and other Philadelphia-based illustrators — all draw inspiration from the “wealth of cheap and lurid culture” found in various pulp genres. Although individually different, they all offer a welcome contrast to the Hallmarkization of romance we all just had to endure with Valentine’s Day.

Count on seeing plenty of drawings of crooks and the dames who love them, as well as offbeat science fiction-themed illustrations that would make Kilgore Trout proud. All of the pieces will be available for purchase, so be sure to pick one or two up and support the artists and Phantom Hand.

When you’re done checking out the art, be sure to head to Tattooed Mom for a suitably booze-filled after party which will give you plenty of opportunities to create your own tales of love and loss.

Pulp Love
Opening Friday, February 24th. 6-10pm. Free. Through March 17th.

Phantom Hand
604 South Street
phantomhand.blogspot.com/2012/02/pulp-love-and-show-closing-double.html

Likes crepes? Drinks? Giveaways? Podcasts? Then stroll over to L’etage next week.

Our good friends Used Wigs are recording their annual live-podcast at L’etage, and have kindly asked Geekadelphia to be a special guest. I’ll hit the stage with celebrated local artist NoseGo, and chat about… well, whatever it is they want us to talk about. Video games, art, movies, generally geekery. Should be a good time.

Come on out! Oh and Jeff, I don’t wear the Master Chief suit to pick up bagels. Cheesesteaks only, please.

Used Wigs @ L’etage
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – 8:00pm

L’etage
624 South 6th Street (19147)

Everyone remembers DesignPhiladelphia, right? They’re the group that tries to show Philadelphians why design is so important and how it plays such a large part in our lives? You do? Good. Glad to hear it.

Well, they are working with the Corzo Center at the University of the Arts to present a series of lectures about design and this city we all call home. Each presents a different take on design by a person noted in the field, including topics ranging from pop culture to how cities should look and feel. I mean, just look at this line-up:

February 21st: Thaddeus Squire, President, CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia
March 20th: Dan Marcolina, Mad App Alchemist and author of “iPhone Obsessed”
April 3rd: Cynthia E. Smith, National Design Museum Curator

So if design and what it represents matter to you in any way, shape or form, make a point to check at least one of these out. You will learn a lot and maybe have a better understanding of the City of Brotherly Love in the process.

DesignPhiladelphia Lecture Series
www.designphiladelphia.org/?p=3716

Corzo Center at the University of the Arts
corzocenter.uarts.edu

If you live in Philadelphia and you love sports, then you are probably a Philadelphia Flyers fan. While the Eagles may have the bigger fanbase, Flyers fans are more like a cult; they are devoted to their team to a fault and will follow them through good and bad, thick or thin.

If the above is a good description of you, then you are going to be jealous as hell of this week’s Geek of the Week, Sarah Baicker. In addition to being in charge of all Flyers content on CSNPhilly.com, she gets to go to every game, interview players and handles social media for the team.

I was lucky enough to interview Sarah about the Flyers, Philly sports fans and what any of this has to do with little green dinosaurs.

Have you always been a sports fan?

I’ve definitely been a hockey fan for as long as I can remember. The other sports … well, they were slower to come.

I have this memory of being maybe 11 years old or so, and my dad had promised to take me ice skating – something I was very excited for, as I’d really jumped on the hockey bandwagon by that point – and his friend called him up and offered him two really good free tickets to an Eagles game. He pitched the idea to me, and I immediately rejected it.

We were going ice skating, come hell, high water, or free Birds tickets. These days, though, I’m pretty sure I’d take the tickets … even though the team didn’t live up to expectations this season. (Ugh, that’s a whole other issue!)

You do a lot of Flyers coverage for Comcast Sportsnet. What’s a typical day like?

It probably sounds cliché, but there’s no such thing as a typical day for me. Technically, I’m a digital producer responsible primarily for overseeing the Flyers coverage on CSNPhilly.com, Comcast SportsNet’s home on the Web. But … it would take me three days (or about 300 pages) to list everything I do. (more…)

The Geekadelphia crew have been going to Drink Philly First Fridays since they’ve been having them. The guys (and gal) at Drink Philly dish out delicious food and a lot of great beer, and pair them with local art, music, and wonderful people.

It’s been a long time coming, and this March, we’re teaming up with Drink Philly to help curate the art. We’ve already booked the music. Guests will enjoy the sweet chiptunes of local game music superstar Chipocrite.

Beverages for the evening will feature Spaten and Franziskaner from Germany and Staropramen from the Czech Republic. As always there’s no cover charge. The event runs from 5pm to 9pm on Friday, March 2nd.

To RSVP, subscribe to the Drink Philly newsletter here.

Now, are you artsy types interested in showcasing your geek-tastic art? We’re looking for any art that’s geek or technology themed to showcase at the Drink Philly office. Shoot us an email at [email protected] to show off your work.

The Academy of Natural Sciences’ annual Paleopalooza festival returns this weekend, bringing two days of family-friendly, dinosaur-related festivities with it.

Guests can look forward to browsing through the Academy’s “world-renowned collections as well as displays from the Delaware Valley Paleontological Society. Visitors will meet Academy scientists and learn what it’s like to reconstruct the past using fossils, imagination, and sound science.”

Other festivities include hands-on activities, arts and crafts, tours, interactive presentations (including a live show with Dr. Scott Sampson, star of the hit PBS children’s series Dinosaur Train), and more.

Tickets are a mere $7.50. For more information and to pick up tickets, visit the Academy’s official website.

Paleopalooza @ the Academy
February 18th & 19th, 2012
www.ansp.org/paleopalooza/advanced-non-members.php

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1009
www.ansp.org

8 Static returns this weekend at Studio 34. The chip-tune guru’s have quite a show planned for this month with a lineup that will have you dancing like a Dalek. They do the Brisbane Shuffle inside their tin can skirt.

If you like your chip-tunes a bit more experimental with songs like “My Girlfriend Left Me For a Tentacle Monster,” then be sure to catch SKGB. Their latest album “CondomTune” is being sold via digital download code printed on packages of multicolored glow-in-the-dark condoms. Hopefully they have enough for the tentacle monster if he shows is his ugly mug.

Rounding out the bill is a quirky duo called D&D Sluggers. Armed with a Super Nintendo, a keyboard with a strap, and a guitar, these guys are able to turn out some unbearably catchy songs. They were recently at Raleigh’s Hopscotch Festival, alongside acts like The Flaming Lips and Drive-By Truckers.

Philly’s own Animal Style is back in the seat behind the projector to delight your eyes and compliment the melodies pouring out of that old video game hardware. Warning, welding goggles might be necessary cause Animal Style’s visuals are so hot they might scorch your corneas.

To top it all off, Kitsch Bend has kindly offered up for raffle some sweet bits and bobs for the budding chip-tune composer/fan. They also have some incredible gear up for sale on their site like some custom GameBoy Advance and custom circuit cases.

Sadly, after three years of rocking West Philly, 8 Static is moving out of Studio 34. Lets be sure to pack the house for this stellar lineup and give the place a sendoff like it’s never heard before! Be sure to RSVP because this show is sure to be one the geeks will talk about for ages.

As always, tickets are $8 and $5 with and RSVP. The raffle tickets are going for $1 for 1 ticket, $5 for 8 tickets, $10 for 14 tickets.

Stay tuned and we’ll keep up to date with whats going on with 8 Static and where the next show will be.

His name was Colin, these are his papers…

The dream of the ‘90s will be alive in Philly this Sunday when Portlandia: The Tour rolls into town. While there’s no word yet if show masterminds Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein will attempt to pickle a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell, it’s a safe bet that they’ll be showcasing the offbeat humor that has made the IFC sketch series such a breakout hit.

What can attendees expect? Live tunes from Brownstein (cross your fingers for some Sleater-Kinney jams) and Armisen (who along with bringing the funny on Portlandia and Saturday Night Live is also an accomplished drummer whose indie cred was cemented when he performed with Les Savy Far a few years back), as well as performances from some surprise musical guests.

So far dates on the tour have included everything from full-band renditions of Portlandia’s signature tune, The Dream of the ‘90s is Alive in Portland, to a spirited cover of Salt-n-Pepa’s immortal classic “Push It.” In other words, anything goes.

Along with the music, there will be sketches featuring some of the series’ hipster-baiting characters and video clips aplenty. The 8pm show sold out so quickly that the Troc added a second performance later in the evening. If you go, just remember to save your ticket stub so you can take it home and make it all crafty like by putting a bird on it. Fred and Carrie would want it that way.

Portlandia: The Tour
Sunday, February 19th, 8 & 10:30pm $30

The Trocadero
1003 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
www.thetroc.com

You’re gonna hear a lot about love this week, some of it right here on Geekadelphia. But a lot of the time, the love that we all talk about is that Hollywood, “chick-flick”, shirtless Matthew McConaughey on horseback stuff that might be funny to watch, but really doesn’t have anything to do with the real world.

Ok, so maybe I watched The Wedding Planner recently.

Twice.

The point is, there’s a lot more to real love than that. It’s a complicated, sophisticated thing. This week’s Kickstarter, Maya, hopes to explore those nuances. Writer and director Dan Papa provides some details:

The Story: Maya is a story about love and the way it changes over time. It starts with the two main characters of Maya and Leo in a passionate relationship. They are intimately devoted and infatuated with each other. As time passes and they begin to move in different directions, they seek out attention from other people, and their dreams begin to reflect a new reality. Eventually they have to confront what the future will hold for their relationship. Maya is a Sanskrit word, used in Buddhism and Hinduism, that refers to the universe at large as a complex illusion or dream. This is one main theme that threads through the story.

The Style: We plan for the finished film to be in black and white. The performances will be guided by the script but we also plan to do a lot of improvisation, to capture real and truthful moments. We will also have mysterious surreal sequences that will reflect the inner workings of the characters. Shooting on locations in Philadelphia and Asbury Park NJ, we will give a strong sense of visual place to the movie. For music we will have an original improvisational jazz score.

The project is currently a little over half way funded and has a great shot at making it. With our annual celebration of the martyrdom of St. Valentine coming up tomorrow, what better time to help make this unique, Philadelphia-centric look at love a reality?

The Project: Maya, a film

Creator: Dan Papa

The Sweet Spot: $25 gets you a Kickstarter Producer credit and a DVD copy of the movie. Bump that up to $50 and you can score yourself free tickets to a screening of the movie as well.

Funding Deadline: March 1st, 2012

More Info: The main Kickstarter page expands on Dan’s thoughts above, and you can check out Dan’s blog, Sacred Geography, for more.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by locals. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact [email protected]

I love the Indie Humble Bundles. When it comes to picking up games off Steam for my Netbook, those discount packages are my go-to for scoring discount titles. And hey, proceeds go towards charity. You get games, help out some kids, everybody wins.

Well, thanks to local entrepreneur JP Toto, I found out about the Game Music Bundle, which is currently on its second package… and features a Philly based game!

Right now you can score the epic orchestral soundtrack to Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony, an award winning title from Philadelphia’s Final Form Games. You can pay-what-you-want for five awesome soundtracks (including Sword & Sworcery!), or pay $10 and pick up ten more soundtracks. TEN.

Definitely check it out, and donate what you can. A portion of the revenue goes towards the American Cancer Society.

Keynote Speaker Adel Ebeid, Photo via Tech Philly

Technology is cool. Seriously, I’m writing this article using technology. And while we might not have flying cars or moon cities (yet), we can play seventeen versions of Angry Birds on our phones. What an age we live in!

We all know that technology is essential to modern business. Companies must be willing to embrace new technologies in order to succeed. It’s for that reason that the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce is hosting Innovations in Technology: Changing the Way We Do Business.

Taking place between 8 and 10 AM this Wednesday, Innovations in Technology will feature folks from real companies discussing the benefits and disadvantages of adopting the most up-to-date technologies and suggesting strategies and techniques for implementing and managing new systems and programs, with an eye towards helping businesses of any size grow. The program includes keynote speaker Adel Ebeid, Philadelphia’s first Chief Innovation Officer (check out this Q&A with him via Technically Philly).

Pre-registration is necessary and ends February 14th. You can find more details about speakers and information on attendance by visiting the GPCC’s website.