It’s Cherry Blossom time! DC is in the midst of their celebrations - and Philly’s is right around the corner. Stop by Fairmount park along Kelly drive or the Japanese House and Garden for a spectacular site.

Also of note, on April 17th there’s an amateur sushi contest at the Pyramid Club. I personally am a huge fan of sushi…not sure that I have the skills needed to make it on my own, but I’d guess this is a great chance to find out.

Contact:

4700 States Drive
Japanese House and Garden
Philadelphia, PA 19121

Link

(MapQuest)

(215) 790-3810
www.jasgp.org
Neighborhood: Fairmount Park / Parkside

Here

At noon today, all Starbucks stores on the East Coast will be handing out free cups of a new "everyday" brew called Pike Place Roast.

The rollout/handout will happen almost simultaneously nationwide, with free cups on the West Coast available at 9 a.m.

The 8-ounce samples will be free for just a half-hour.

The new regular and decaf drips will be offered daily at every U.S. location, countering the current confusion some customers have over types changing from week to week, a spokesman said.

Starbucks said nearly 1,500 hours of research involving nearly 1,000 customers went into creating the new product.

CEO Howard Schultz told reporters yesterday that Pike Place, with its smoother flavor and finish, is "the best coffee that we have created, maybe, in our history."

To find a Starbucks near you, got www.starbucks.com.

Interesting info for Amtrak commuters/riders in the Northeast corridor over at the Amtrak blog.

Ownership of tracks along the Northeast Corridor has never been totally clear to me. This picture helps a little bit:

(http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df2/df07162007a.jpg)

The stretch of track from Philly to NYC is owned all by Amtrak. Any improvements to this stretch will have to be borne by Amtrak I’m assuming. So to get better times for those regular travelers between Philly and NYC; pull for federal subsidies so Amtrak can get on with track modernization efforts.

Pic of who owns the train tracks along the NEC
Guy in NYC
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:59:00 GMT

Need new bed crap? People clean this time of year. Linens N’ Things makes that MUCH easier with this $40 8-piece bed set (plus $8 for shipping).

You need this coupon code: 26620000008

And yes, I realize I’m writing about a bed set, but dammit, everyone needs some new digs at some point. And frankly, $50 is almost how much it costs to dry clean a comforter, might as well just get a new one.

Wow! Nice score by Philadelphia. The Roots Picnic this July is going to be headlining The Roots (one of my favorite semi-underground bands) and Gnarls Barkley (singer of Crazy - aka the song that was stuck in everyone’s head last summer).

Tickets going on sale THIS Friday and I imagine they’ll go fast. This should be a good one.

Full details here.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for one of the summer’s most anticipated music festivals.

The Roots Picnic, on June 7 at the Festival Pier on the Waterfront, stars The Roots with Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Santogold, DeerHoof, and The Cool Kids.

The music will be continuous with Diplo and Esperanza featured at an additional tent. Other acts will be announced.

General admission is $49.50.

Everyone needs new decor for their apartment - and few places are better equipped to provide that contempo look than West Elm. Unfortunately the place is a tad pricey, but alas, their 70% sale can might not break your bank account and allow you to spruce up your place. Shipping starts at $5 bucks.

There’s over 15 pages of sale items so the selection pretty much runs the gambit.