Thursday’s Thread Swap

Thursday, the 18th of June, was the Thread Swap, hosted by Alex at the Black Box Collective.  I was offered an area to sell vegan baked goods at, and so, I baked up a little army of edibles to sell at the event.

Before showing up on the 18th, I’d never been to the Black Box Collective, nor really knew what it was all about.  I had heard about it from a handful of people, but nothing really cohesive or that really painted a picture of what Black Box is and what it’s all about.

That evening, I had been running late because I was hungry and stopped for a sandwich at Pom-Pom’s.  When I got to the place at 7 pm, Alex was the only one there amid bags of used clothes, slowly being sorted and strewn about.  The Black Box Collective is housed in a warehouse, and it reminded me a lot of what the Stone Soup Collective used to be like: no a/c and a DIY attitude.  A few leaks from the recent rain dripped onto the floor, so we had to alter some of the placement of clothes draped upon the donated church pews.  The doors were wide open to let any cooler breezes into the building.  I helped Alex set out some clothing as people began to trickle in, then I set up shop on a table by one of the entrances.

It turned out to be a really awesome evening of digging through clothes, drinking beer, meeting people, listening to music, selling baked goods and hanging out, despite the insane heat that permeated the building once more people started showing up.  I made chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cupcakes with coconut icing, chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing, blackberry scones and all spice crumb-topped muffins.  All the items were vegan and made from scratch.  The goods sold well, considering the clientele of the fashionably broke and that Jorge was selling $2 beer at the Black Box Bar.  I overbaked a bit this time around, but my coworkers at the library were jolly at having some of the excess cookies at work.

The musical side to the evening was fantastic.  Dani Shay started the evening out with her guitar and witty banter, followed by the acoustic talents of Amy White and then an excellent performance by Open Windows.  If you missed out on seeing any of these three acts, you should check out their MySpace pages to look up where they will be next, because all of them had fantastic performances, and I feel really lucky to have been able to see all three of them.  I stayed at Black Box a lot longer than I had originally intended because I enjoyed the company and the performances so much.  Mollie joined in after she got out of class, so that was an extra bonus.

I had a great time at the Black Box, and would love to hold another bake sale again, especially if I get to pick through the discarded outfits of others and score finds on the same level as I did on the 18th.  If you’re interested in seeing what’s going to be coming up in the future at the venue, why not visit the Black Box Collective’s website, or see them on Facebook or MySpace.  After speaking with Jorge that night, there’s a lot in store for Black Box’s future, and if I wasn’t moving to London, I’d definitely want in on it, because it sounds really exciting.  There’s an online forum on the website as well, so go hobnobb.

RS21 and Audubon Hobnobbery

Last Friday, the 30th of May, was a big day.  There was quite a bit of action going on around town, and I was out to claim a modest piece of it, even if that piece consisted of events which overlapped each other.

The opening of RS21 at the Maitland Art Center was that evening from 6 to 8, showcasing work from such installation artists as Andrew White, Brigan Gresh, Doug Rhodehamel and Martha Lent among many others.  Also, from 6 pm until 8 pm, Audubon Park Garden District was having its thing known as “That Friday Thing.”  This month was a Beer Tasting with promises of hot dogs and pretzels.  Clark, my roommate, is an avid fan of beer, hot dogs and pretzels, so he was the one who acquired the small flyer for this event and affixed it to our fridge.

Oh boy.  Two events, one evening.  Can Doreen make it to both?!

The answer: Yes… for the most part.

After getting home from work, I kinda fancied up and drove over to the RS21 opening at the Maitland Art Center.  It was my first time being at the center, so I was quite lucky I was able to find it without getting lost, considering I forgot to consult with the Google before departing from my house.  The entry fee was five bucks, which gave me access to the interior-exterior, or rather, the courtyard which was soon to be the nucleus of the hobnobbing, but at the time I got there, was an open area with a food table set out and the little bar table slowly  being set up.

I wandered around a bit, taking in the rather charming environment that makes up the Maitland Art Center, and then came upon an unexpected sight:

Doug’s work is the only work I have photos of because it was outside.  I didn’t take photographs of the other installation work inside the meandering rooms of the art center, as my camera is completely crap and wouldn’t have taken a decent picture even if Man Ray was holding the damn thing.  By the by, did you know Man Ray and I share a birthday?  Just thought I’d mention it.

Also thought I’d mention that the food at the event was amazing!  Seriously, I went back for seconds, or maybe even thirds.  Delicious veggie quesadilla triangles coupled with delectable dips, little goat cheese tartlets and a super-tasty raspberry thing were just amazing.  My gosh, just thinking about it all makes me want to eat again.  I don’t know who the caterers were, but I hope they continue to cater the shows I happen to go to.  Delish!

If you’d like a far better account of what went on opening night at RS21, have a look at this article from the Winter Park Examiner.  The show will be running until the 13th of July, so you have the whole month to go and peep in a peephole, speak into a microphone, or trod clumsily over a clay animal.  For a full list of artists, have a look at the Facebook RS21 event posting.

On to the Beer Tasting…

Audubon Park Garden District is a relatively recent entity, at least to me, although the organisation makes sense.  There are some pretty awesome businesses along Corrine, some of whom I hadn’t visited prior to the Beer Tasting, so the event was quite successful in getting new people coming into stores.  Although I don’t really see myself getting anything from the bridal store (ever), Sweet Boutique seems like a wonderful place for cute dresses–although if I were to buy any more clothes, I think Marie or Clark would have me in a headlock. Even if those bodies in the stores getting swigs of beer don’t ever visit again, should later conversation bring up a query of where to get some good fishing equipment, Orlando Outfitters would be brought up, or something along those lines.

Clark and I arrived on the Audubon scene late at a bit past 7 o’clock, thanks to my previous engagement at the RS21 opening, which didn’t leave us much time for the beer scavenger hunt we were to embark on.  Yes, beer scavenger hunt.  Our tickets for the event consisted of a map of the Garden District along with a list of participating stores, bars, restaurants and cafes where we would receive beer tastings and a signature from the proprietor, shop assistant or whomever on duty.  Get all the signatures, and you get a free draft beer at Big Daddy’s or Redlight Redlight.  Score, right?

Well, not exactly.  Due our belated entry into the tasting and to some dilly-dallying in Park Ave CDs, where Redlight representative extraordinaire Teege was pouring out the tastiness and the regular cast of characters in Park Ave were being their usual brand of awesome, Clark and I were unable to complete our beer cards prior to some of the businesses closing for the day.  Also, the hot dogs much promised to Clark were sadly sold out by the time he stood in line for them.  As Clark helplessly watched a woman walk away with the last FOUR hot dogs, and I tutted at the closed status of three businesses, we both walked away from the event slightly disappointed.  An event such as this shouldn’t be only two hours long, especially when the point is to entice potential shoppers to poke around one’s wares and perhaps enjoy a sandwich or slice of pizza while on the walk.  Even people who had been there since 6 o’clock were a little disgruntled because they had spent too much time in one store or another, or finding out that, hey, there’s signatures they could gather for more beer, as one group had belatedly realised.  After noticing ourselves that we had only twenty minutes to get a whole gang of signatures from places scattered along Corrine, I was beginning to pop into these shops, barely stopping to give an appreciative nod at the products for sale, before running out again to the next shop on the list.  I didn’t have time to even finish my beer tastes before bustling into the next store.

Boo for that.

But still, there was fun to be had, whether poking around Park Ave CDs with beer in hand or noshing on warm pretzels at Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux.  Nyam, nyam.  Clark and I eventually met up with Joe and Fran at Big Daddy’s, where we hung out before I drifted over to Stardust, which was really busy that night thanks to the walk and also because of the Critical Mass group, along with the regulars whom I see there every day… because I go there every day.  Afterwards, it was back home before going out (yet again) to Peacock Room.  Friday night was a busy night.  I hope I won’t have to repeat that type of “power hobnobbery” anytime soon.

Doug’s LARVA at Will’s Pub, and Asia Argento

Yesterday I walked to Will’s Pub in the rain to behold the spectacle that was local bigshot (oh yes) Doug Rhodehamel’s latest work, LARVA.  The three-hour show featured a giant, inflated larva-esque creature spanning the length of the second (ie band) room at Will’s Pub, composed of plastic, balloons, glowing paint and air.  There was even a mini-larva encased in the larger larva, and it was fun to poke at the giant, inflatable installation work with its wonderful day-glo designs.

*poke, poke*

After waiting to get a beer, then failing, then leaving the bar area to go poke the larva, then waiting to get a beer, I got a beer–Woodchuck Granny Smith cider, actually–and, after sitting around and not really knowing anyone on a conversational level aside from Doug (who was hobnobbing elsewhere, that bigshot), I stepped up to one of the pinball machines at Will’s.

Now, once upon a time I was a pinball wizard.  Okay, maybe not a wizard, but a savant… okay, maybe I did really well on that one Hook pinball game that was on Kadena Air Force Base that one time when I was in middle school.  Anyway, it’s been a while since I played pinball, so I dropped 50 cents into the Monopoly pinball, never to see it again.  Actually, I should say I was dropping a quarter and then another coin I thought was a quarter until I realised it was a British Ten Pence, which must have been given back to me as change by some odd (but cool) mistake.  Anyway, I think the pinball machine was possessed, as the Monopoly man on the pinball game had his pupils blacked out, so he would stare back at you with this dead stare of his in a sinister, mocking fashion.  As I watched the steel ball freefall outside of my flippery grasps, the young gentleman drinking a Bavik next to me at the South Park pinball machine asks, “Has anyone told you that you look like Asia Argento?”

Actually, I did get that once.  Years ago, when I was at Whole Foods, my cashier seemed rather curiously transfixed as he scanned my groceries.

Whole Foods guy: “Do you know who Asia Argento is?”

Me: “No.”

Whole Foods guy: “Well, you look just like Asia Argento.”

Whole Foods guy then proceeded to try and tell me what movies she had been in–none I’d ever seen–as he hands my groceries off to the bagger.  Curious to see if this woman does really indeed look like me, I went home and looked her up on IMDB.  She has quite a filmography, but of movies I have never seen, which means I lose some cinemaphile points among some crowds.  At the time, I didn’t catch any of the films she was in, so her name fell out of my mind’s periphery until Marie Antoinette, in which Asia Argento plays Madame du Berry.  Her role was sort of smallish, but all the same, Ms Argento was in the film and had some awesome costume action, and thus far, it’s the only film I’ve seen her in.

Since the nice gent at the other pinball machine has reminded me of my celebrity likeness, which I kinda see… but kinda don’t, this evening I went to Stardust and rooted around for The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, a movie directed by Asia Argento based on JT LeRoy’s novel of the same name.  We had it in, and now I have the DVD in my bag, ready to watch it tomorrow for the likely event the Winter Park Popcorn Flicks will get cancelled due to rain.  King Kong vs Godzilla is set to screen, but given the rain we’ve been getting, I’m thinking it won’t be happening.  Pity, as it would be awesome to watch it.

The Hangover After the Storm

I’m still a little hungover, but I’ll feel better once I eat something, I think.

How did I get in such a wretched state?  Well, folks, let’s look back around sixteen hours ago.  I was at home, waiting on word from a couple of friends who had planned on going over to view a.thunderstorm.  This was the work of creative artist and nice guy Doug Rhodehamel, whose ’shroomy spores you may already be familiar with.

It was eight o’clock when I got a text from Jeff, saying he would be there “more like 9.”  Which was fine, as the venue, SAY IT LOUD, is walking distance from my house.  So, I made myself a drink  and, upon finishing it, started down the road to the evening’s event.  Now, the drink I made, a Fitzgerald, was a little on the strong side because I wound up finishing the rest of the Hendricks I had on hand.  The amount of gin didn’t look like much at first, but upon sipping, this cocktail had some muscle.  Some Mr T-sized muscle.

So, I was a little sauced-up as I walked the sidewalks of Colonialtown, and what was… well, worse or better, depending on your view, I had a bottle of Spanish cava in my bag as my admission fee.  Per the event description, “2 dollars OR one bottle of cheap wine gets you in the door,” so I brought some bubbley wine in the form of semi-sweet cava.  For those of you unfamiliar with cava, think of it as Spanish champagne.  The bottle set me back no more than ten bucks; cava is generally an inexpensive alternative to champagne, and I’ve grown fond of it, since I’m looking for an inexpensive alternative to just about everything.

It was my first time being in the building, and it was very spacious and interesting.  Doug Rhodehamel’s mother made delicious buckeyes for the evening, which were on the table next to many bottles of wine.  I popped open the cork for the cava and poured myself a glass, along with another glass for Katie who was minding the admission table.  She deserved it, for she was working very hard, taking money from people and giving them a little red info sheet in return.  She deserved some cava.  We all do.

The thundercloud, made from heaps and loads of videotape, was situated off to the side with little glowing “droplets” hanging down from it.  For a further description, I shall now quote Mr Rhodehamel’s little red paper:

about this installation:

every now and then, my creations don’t go quite exactly as i planned.  welcome to one of those times.  this installation was supposed to feature a large thundercloud made from the magnetic tape of hundreds of video and cassette tapes.  about halfway through assembly, it began to shift and sag and morph into something much different.  i sat for awhile trying to convince myself it still looked like a cloud.  i couldn’t and it doesn’t.  it looks like a giant larva.  so that’s what i’m calling it.

welcome to a.larva

And… okay, it looked like a larva.  From afar.  But when an observer of the installation got up close, underneath the mass of tangled black tape,  and looked up, it did look like a shiny, black rain cloud.  And isn’t that how we generally look at clouds anyway, by looking up at them?  The best way to look at clouds is to look up, whether watching them languidly roll by, or seeing them gather into a dark storm.  Looking across or down at them from an airplane erases all the magic and mystery of clouds.  It isn’t as much fun as lying down on the grass and looking up, imagining the different shapes they may take: a bunny, a dog, a larva.

So, it was a good night, introducing and reintroducing myself to people who may think of me now as “that girl who got drunk at Doug’s show and wrapped a spool of videotape around her neck.”  Because, yeah, that’s what I did.  To explain, there was a pile of the discarded plastic shells and spools in the middle of the floor.  Apparently some people were treating this pile of rubbish as another art piece.  Which, perhaps, it could have been.  I saw it as a pile of souvenirs, and took one spool for myself and gave one to someone else.  My spool still had a bit of tape in it, and so, seeing as how it was a perfectly logical thing to do, I wrapped it around my neck as one would a skinny scarf.  With a spool at the end.

Art show attendee: “What?!  What are you doing?  Where did you get that?”

I point.  ”From the pile there.  It’s my souvenir.”

“My God!  Do you go to MOMA and just take stuff from the walls as souvenirs?!”

I shrug.  ”Doug won’t mind.”

And Doug didn’t mind, in fact he encouraged me to take more from the pile of VHS debris (I didn’t).  As the evening wore on, and it became further difficult to stand in heels, I bid adieu to the looming larva-cloud and stumbled on home, calling up Clark to meet me halfway, videotape still wrapped around my neck.

At 2 am, I woke up in bed still wearing my dress, and decided to properly get ready for bed.  As I got out of bed, my foot hit the spool of tape, which had snaked a trail to my bed from my bedroom door.  This souvenir from a.thunderstorm will actually be recycled into the work I will be doing for Blunder Bungle on Wednesday, a show organised by awesome lady Jessica Earley.  Maybe I’ll try and be sober this time.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy a drink:

Fitzgerald, my variation

• 1 1/2 ~ 2 ounces Hendrick’s gin (or more, if you want some Mr T muscle)
• 1 ounce simple syrup (Stirrings has a good one, or you can make your own)
• fresh juice of one lemon, watch out for seeds
• some happy dashes of Angostura bitters

Pour ingredients into an old fashioned glass over three or four cubes of ice.  Stir and drink.

Hobnobbing it up at Will’s Pub

On the 21st of February, our friend Brian was playing with his band at Will’s Pub.  Clark and I made plans to go, and we enlisted the company of the art-awesome supercouple of Orlando, Mike and Marie.  Because Will’s Pub was so close, we opted to walk from M&M’s abode, which took all of perhaps ten minutes or so.  In the meantime, we walked past what was no doubt a happening night at the Orange Building on Mills, and crossed Mills Avenue in a haphazard fashion.  Hao would be join us later in the evening.

Unfortunately, by the time my friends and I got to Will’s, Brian’s band had already played, and we didn’t even see him in the bar.  We saw his blue car parked outside, but it was the only evidence we had that he was there.

Alas.

Still, the other bands we did catch playing at Will’s Pub that evening were exceptionally good.  But first, let’s talk about Will’s Pub.

After a long wait, Will’s Pub has reopened down the street from its old location on Mills to a new location, also on Mills.  The new set-up is a little similar, yet a little different, from the old place.  The first room one enters is the pool room, then the next room is where the shows are held, and then, in the back, is the room with the bar.  Unlike the old Will’s, the new one doesn’t have a glass door to block out the music if you so chose to avoid the band that night.  Also unlike the old Will’s, the bar placement is towards the back of the area, not the front, so there was a bit of confusion as the four of us wandered in, trying to find the bar.  Still, considering the way the rooms/building was set up, I don’t think they could have done it any other way, so I don’t think it’s a proper complaint, all things considered.  My only real valid complaint is the lack of a proper website.  People!  Stop using MySpace as your sole web presence!  Get a proper website, or even a blog!  Anything is better than MySpace!  There are a few other places guilty of using their MySpace profile as a website–Redlight and Stardust come to mind.

The new Will’s Pub has brought the old clientele with it, which is good, although I had to kind of keep my eye on this one guy who was more than a little drunk.  He nearly bumped into me, then spilt a whole entire pint of beer on the Monopoly pinball game.  What a waste of beer!  Unless, of course, it was bad beer.  On the subject of places to relieve oneself (aside from the street outside), I counted three bathroom facilities total, and the night I went, wait time was minimal, so hurrah for that.  The beer stock seemed good enough–not extensive, but quite adequate for a neighbourhood bar.  I was able to get a Hitachino Nest White Ale for my first round, but had to switch to a Woodchuck Granny Smith cider when the bar sold out of HN White Ale bottles.  It’s okay, I guess someone else also enjoys one of my favourite beers.

And now, the bands.  Unfortunately I can’t comment on Brian’s band, but I am certain they were wonderful, despite his later claims otherwise.  However, I would like to talk about Kingsbury, an excellent local band whose music seems to fit into the post-rock genre, although no doubt someone can come up with a better description far more intricate than mine.  They were very good, and I enjoyed their set incredibly.  If you want to hear them, you can get mp3s off their website, kingsburymusic.net.  These mp3s are free, but the band requests that you donate a bit of funds to help the band keep up with band stuff, so it’s the least you can do.  Remember what Radiohead did with In Rainbows?  It’s a little like that.  You can read a review from another blog writer on Kingsbury’s latest EP, Lie To Me, here: Confessions of a Would-be Hipster.

Khann was next, and this band was more for the Mike-Marie-Clark crowd of metal enthusiasts.  At this point I discovered there were 6 credits on the machine at the bar, and got hooked on this game involving pipes and some weird cartoon Einstein character.  I barely noticed Clark leaving, then Mike and Marie left, then Pontiak started and Hao went to go check them out.  I’m kicking myself now for missing much of Pontiak’s show, because they were amazing.  If I could redo the night, I would have stopped after game #2 with Einstein and the pipes and caught the Pontiak show properly.  And I would have avoided getting bumped into (seemingly on purpose) by another drunken guy.  Seriously, he squished me against the wall as I stood behind Hao, who was oblivious, so I shared a “WTF?  Who is this guy?” look with some other young gentleman who did happen to see the bizarre physical near-altercation.  In the end, I just moved away from Mr Bumper, and that was that.  He probably also spilt beer on the Monopoly pinball game, too, as far as I know.

Should Pontiak ever return to Orlando, I shall give them the captive audience that is their due.  If you’d like to read up more about them, here is their band profile on Thrill Jockey.  In the meantime, I’m pleased to have Will’s Pub so close to my ‘hood, and hope to be making the walk there again soon.  I just have to be ready for weirdos who feel the need to bump into me.  I seem to be a magnet for that sort of thing.