The Coolest Road Trip Mural Movie

called to walls stilltwo weeks ago jenny & i drove to liberty hall in lawrence to see called to walls. it’s a film that documents a team of artists who started painting murals in small midwestern communities over five years ago. we missed an earlier screening last november in joplin, mo, one of the towns with a mural. thanks to local media coverage, the movie’s popularity has only gotten bigger. we got two good seats in the balcony, and sat next to a couple from topeka. at the end of the movie there were 500 of us clapping. it was a sold out show.

What I Learned From Lazlo

novelloin the mid 1970′s don novello (pic above) was known as father guido sarducci on saturday night live. during that time he also mailed deranged letters to celebrities, corporations, and politicians under the alias lazlo toth. example: one letter is to TIMEX in regard to a commercial they aired that showed a woman who found a watch on a beach in malibu. lazlo writes: “i lost a watch a number of years ago, and i’m not sure, but i’m pretty sure it might be mine! i’ve never been to malibu but i figure a strong current could have carried it down there… could you please go through your lost and found box and see if it has the initials ‘LT’ on it, and also the inscription ‘in case of accident call an ambulance.’” he actually received a letter from TIMEX telling him that they don’t have a lost and found department, and suggesting that he buy a metal detector. lazlo (don novello) put all of his correspondence in a book, and called it the lazlo letters*2ndtryin his book lazlo says, “you send out letters, you get back letters, that’s for sure!” i took lazlo’s advice, and started sending emails and facebook messages to people in the film and print industry. so far i’ve made contact with one local author, and two independent film directors: jen mann, author of people i want to punch in the throatjoe medeiros, director of mona lisa is missing, and lloyd handwerker, writer and director of famous nathan.

*thanks chris mull for lending me your copy of this book!

Bamford and Kaufman

b_and_kas i type this blog entry, maria bamford has a comedy special on netflix. it’s called maria bamford: the special special special! the show is basically an awkward stand up routine in her own living room to an audience of two– her parents. i haven’t seen anything like this since andy kaufman had a heart to heart talk with howdy doody.
**ADDENDUMmy mom asked me if this was funny, and that IS a fair question since i didn’t include any audio or video, and only focused on the awkwardness of it. i’m going to rectify that situation now. hey mom, here are the last 3 minutes of the show, and i’ll answer your question: yeah, i thought it was funny.

Late To The Party

caryelwesi have seen a lot of movies, and the coolest ones left impressions so deep that it feels like i’m quoting from a tattoo. however there was one movie that i didn’t see until someone said “you have to see this movie!” the princess bride came out in 1987. it still holds a special place in many hearts, and i’ve added mine to that list. a couple of years ago one of the stars, cary elwes, wrote a book about the making of this movie. i love finding out how movies are made, so of course i’m reading that book now. i heard about the book on the wits radio show (it has since been canceled). here’s a little bit of that show featuring the author, cary elwes.

Local Life Beeps @ Salon Kitch

kitchbeepwe skipped january’s local life shenanigans last month, but when angie said she wanted to do beep goes the weasel in february @ salon kitch, i said “ok!” her art is also on display, and available for purchase! tomorrow night around 6pm we’ll wire up vegetables, plug in the theremin, and turn everyone into a robot. here’s a little sample of the last time we beeped at salon kitch.

Callin’ Oates

HallAndOatesHelplinefeeling sad? do you miss the sound of blue eyed soul? operators are standing by on the hall & oates emergency hotline! just call 719-26-OATES to hear one on one, rich girl, maneater, and private eyes. i tried it myself early this morning and it worked!

Back to O’Malley’s

zeke eddie and melast weekend molly and zeke drove down from wayne, NE to see the sights in KC. i had to work most of that time, but i was free saturday night, so zeke and i ditched the family after dinner and drove to o’malley’s in weston to see eddie delahunt. it’s been 20 years since i’ve seen eddie at o’malley’s. we caught up with each other in between sets, and a stranger outside the bathroom took our picture. later zeke and i drank stouts and sang along with eddie on songs like wagon wheel and the boxer. we shook the tables pounding out irish rhythms until our hands were sore and the music stopped. that was around midnight.theremin and wonder bra mollythe next day i took them both to see my studio space at IUAH. molly played the moog theremini, and zeke took her picture in front a huge wonder woman bra. molly would have come to weston with us the night before, but she was feeling tired from the trip.

Evening Stairwell Jam

IUAHstairwellbeeplast night angie came over to our house. it had been awhile since jenny and i had seen her. after a few hugs and dinner we got caught up. she told us about her artistic plans for the future, and jenny told her about her new job that starts next week. then angie and i went to IUAH to practice for our upcoming gig at salon kitch next friday. when we arrived, there was a quiet art therapy session going on in close proximity to our studio space, so we moved our gear into a stairwell that was far enough away so our music volume wouldn’t be an issue. i didn’t know angie took this pic until she posted it on facebook.

Third Friday Beeps @ Salon Kitch Again!

meandkitchbeep goes the weasel is coming back to salon kitch in two weeks for third fridays in old overland park. last december we coaxed some folks off of the sidewalk to jam with us, and februrary 19 we’ll do it again! click here to see the highlights from the last show, or just scroll down a little further to watch. here’s an added bonus: this time we’ll be surrounded by the artwork of my 2014 rocket grant collaborator: angie wolford!angies_art_at_kitchs_salonthese are just a few prints that she hung yesterday.

Things To Do On a Sunday

everythingdownload 9 more atari 2600 game by game podcasts: check
watch 44 minutes of classic mtv: check
stick 2 sweet potato roots up my nose: check
locate a friend’s geocache that was reported missing: check
whew! it’s been a busy afternoon! maybe it’s time for a nap– no wait, jenny says we need to go the grocery store while everyone else is hunkering down to watch the super bowl.