Rodney Camarce, an artist in the city’s Mural Arts Program, will lay down some urban flair on eight pairs of sneakers today at 34th and Walnut from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Camarce’s custom paint jobs are part of the Keds company’s “How Do You Do?” road trip to colleges across the country.

The stop at Penn will also feature live music and, we suspect, many things sneaker related.

Penn’s Chinese Music Society is holding their annual spring concerts on Saturday and Sunday from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. in the Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall (3417 Houston Hall) on Penn’s campus.  Fifteen percent of the proceeds from the “Resonance of Spring” concert will go to the Japan Relief Fund.

Tickets for the concert are $7 at the door, $5 if bought from a vendor on Locust Walk this week or $4 for groups of five or more.

Penn’s student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, has a story today on the McDonald’s at 40th and Walnut Street, which Penn officials characterize as a scourge in the neighborhood around campus.

The article’s author, Rachel Baye, writes:

Those involved with past and present development of the corner say McDonald’s is a hot spot for crime and a source of malnutrition. Getting rid of it, they say, will bring economic growth and make the neighborhood safer.

Baye quotes many Penn officials as saying that they would love to oust McDonald’s and add more upscale housing and shops. McDonald’s, apparently, is not interested in moving. The Daily Pennsylvanian included an article last week on the problems with public transportation near campus as well. Race and class, of course, are at the heart of the conversation in both stories.

The Freinds of Clark Park has a new website. Brian Siano said in an e-mail today that the new site is designed to be more of a community discussion site than the old site. The site also offers the ability to share content on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

Here’s a sneak peak:

One of the mummies that will be on display at the Penn Museum beginning Friday.

As you might have heard, the mummies have made it. The Penn Museum’s “Secrets of the Silk Road” exhibit will be closed today through Friday, February 18 so that the museum can prepare artifacts and mummies from China that the Chinese government forbade it from displaying.

The exhibit opened to much fanfare last week, but about 100 pieces, including two mummies, were missing, prompting the museum to waive the $22.50 admission price when the exhibit opened on Feb. 5. The fragile artifacts are up to 3,800 years old.

The exhibit reopens on Friday at 1 p.m. mummies and all. The full exhibit runs through March 15. But then the mummies are back on the road and will not be part of the exhibit from March 17 to its close on March 28.

For the full background on the mummies controversy see this story from the Inquirer.

A large water main broke earlier today near 38th and Spruce Streets in West Philly. No injuries have been reported, but at least one car was submerged to the door handles. The southbound lanes of 38th Street between Market and Baltimore Avenue are closed and probably will remain closed well into the evening.

John Digiulio, a spokesman for the Water Department, said the crews on the scene are still unsure what caused the break in the 16-inch main pipe.

“The winter months are not very kind to our infrastructure,” he said.

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Digiulio said that construction crews had been working in the area before the break.

Residents in the area reported that water pressure dropped soon after the main break at about noon. Digiulio said water pressure should have returned to normal by now.

We recently returned (3:22 p.m.) from the corner of 38th and Spruce and traffic is already very gnarly. Steer clear of that area if possible. The water has receded but it’s going to be a tough rush hour around there.

Here is raw footage of the break shot at about noon today by Channel 6: