Writing

Take a deep breath, originally uploaded by cynthiacloskey.

My father turns 70 today. In our family, that means pyrotechnics.

We traditionally get our birthday cakes from Robert’s Bakery, in downtown Butler. My brother loaded up the cake with 70 candles, and Dad managed to get them all extinguished before the cake caught fire.

The icing did melt a bit though.

Happy birthday, Dad!

After a big project is finished, I like to reflect on it a bit. Guess Whose Hair I'm Wearing turned out very differently than I had planned. I don’t mean that in one of these effete writerly ways of, “Oh I just started writing and the characters took over” (which I find incredibly annoying), but rather in the scope of the play’s subject – Hildegarde and Franklin. I had originally imagined this as a play of Dolson talking about Dolson. A reveal, if you will, of how, what we now call, the Oil Heritage Region had shaped her as a person and a writer. But when people asked me what project I was currently working on, I would say a one woman show about Hildegarde Dolson I was usually, even here in Franklin, met with blank looks.

So, for the record, Hildegarde Dolson Lockridge was a poet, playwright, and novelist who wrote 14 books, including the one that people locally had heard of, if they had heard of any at all, The Great Oildoarado. She was born and grew up here in Franklin, Pennsylvania. August 31st would have been her 100th birthday. After a stint at Allegheny College, she moved to New York City, where she wrote hundreds of articles for the major magazines of the day New Yorker, Harper’s, and dozens of others.

San Francisco Chronicle critic J.H. Task wrote of her 1955 book, Sorry to be So Cheerful, “She can pick any subject, take a brief highly personal look at it and when she puts it down again it will never be quite the same. . . Dolson [writes]deftly, wittily and with just the right dash of residual common sense which makes a funny piece stick in the reader’s mind.”

Yet, today, she is largely forgotten in her hometown. So, with the help of the Barrow Civic Theater, my wife Amy, my daughter Paige, The Franklin Public Library, John McConnell, Rosie Petulla, Ronnie Beith, Senator Mary Jo White, Roland Davis and his wife (who gave me a personal tour of Dolson's childhood home)and others, I began to put together both the research, the writing, and the funding to write and produce the play.

As I began haunting online rare bookshops, buying and reading everything I could find the Dolson had written, I began to change my outline for the play. There seemed something very poignant in the years 1959-1964 in Dolson’s life. In retrospect, readers can see it as a beginning of a turning point in her career, where she will quit writing the sort of essays that brought her fame and adoration and switch to murder mysteries, when she will abandon her free-wheeling “That Girl” persona for marriage to a fellow writer in 1965 and acting as his literary agent. What, I began to wonder, what would it have been like if she came back to her hometown as an honored guest (with all the internal stress of returning home and being expected to perform, both as an artist and in the role of small town girl made good), that was actually a last huzzah before she moved into a new place in her life. I drew largely from her own published writings, adapting them for the stage, cutting out references that were too obscure while attempting to preserve the unique feel of the time, linking them together and trying to tease out the themes that connect all of her pre-detective story writings.

By 2010, this play will be published with a critical bibliography of Dolson’s work. By that time as well, a request for a Pennsylvania Historical Commission marker to acknowledge Dolson and her contribution will have been submitted. If anyone is interested in helping with either of these projects, please feel free in contacting me. Some of you already have and I was deeply heartened by it. Here in Western Pennsylvania, we do a great job of saving the Great White Males, but many other voices have been largely forgotten. It’s my hope that this project will be the first of many that help to reclaim those lost voices of the Oil Heritage Region.

DIY Image Transfer


Yesterday, I saw three people (all in different locations) wearing local band t-shirts (the RickDan band, Veteran Status, and Newmen to be precise). It really made me feel incredibly hopeful about the little nascent scene here.


Golly, wouldn't a Venango Zine Fest be fun?


Thirteen years ago, William Dranginis saw Bigfoot. Fifty grand, a van, and a camera in a log later, the quest continues.

Foot doctor Richard Dunlap has photographed a wide variety of the detritus left by the oil boom. Now, several of the pictures are featured in a new Oil 150 exhibit in the Venango Museum of Science, Industry and Technology in Oil City. The public unveiling is set during an open house from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday , tonight, at the museum.
I've become strangely entranced with Slinkachou's art.:

I can personally vouch for these two; pros through and through and nice people to boot. So why not spend 3 nights and days honing your photographic skills, taking great fall images in the Appalachian mountain area of North East Pennsylvania.

Instructors Jim and Jessica Kronmiller, nationally known photographers, will share their years of experience capturing stunning nature images with a limited class size of 6 students. Allowing for plenty of one on one instruction time.

This workshop will be held October 9th thru the 11th, on the Buck Valley Ranch, a year round resort, and will include lodging (2 or 3 students to a ranch room), a horseback ride, and meals. If you like country style images; old barns, country churches, beautiful landscapes, scenic streams & mountain views, this is the workshop for you. Come enjoy a great fall experience!

Costs: Only $599.00 - includes; meals, lodging, 2.5 hr horseback ride and in-depth instruction.

Reserve your spot for this years workshop before August 30, 2008!

For more information call : (814) 673-0900 or email

Yesterday, Paul Westerberg made available a 44-minute single MP3 file of a dozen-plus songs, dubbed "49," for 49 cents. Amazon.com is handling the commerce via a link from the Westerberg Web site Men Without Ties.


Free and Legal Downloads:

Tor.com lists free and legal downloadable science fiction and fantasy e-books. (via)

Mike Doughty Live at Artscape on July 19, 2008

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Live at All Good Music Festival on July 11, 2008

Explosions in the Sky Live at The Grey Eagle on March 14, 2007

The Black Angels Live at The Grey Eagle on July 4, 2008

Mission of Burma Live at The Bohemian National Home on July 19, 2008

Venangoland previews the Thursday's Silver Cornet band concert which will feature Jim Self:
This week's Franklin Silver Cornet Band concert will feature an appearance by tuba pro Jim Self.

Self was born in Franklin and raised in Oil City. Consequently, though he's come back and appeared in the area a few times, I'm not sure that people in these parts get how enormous he is in the biz. He's the heir-apparent to the great Tommy Johnson, the go-to guy for film scores-- Self has appeared in everything from his famous mother ship solo in Close Encounters to more recent films like Lemony Snicket, War of the Worlds, & Sin City. He has way over a thousand film credits, as well as recording credits with everyone from Leon Redbone to Maynard Fergusun to Barbra Streisand. He has worked with orchestras and jazz groups around the globe. He is without a doubt one of the top low brass players in the world.
Meadville's skate park needs some repairs. And no wonder:
According to the attendance report compiled by the complex, a total of 1,500 users made use of the skateboard facility during June. . . . far ahead of the 875 who used the baseball fields and the 750 who made use of the tennis courts during public sessions.

I guess it's really not a crime. Who knew?



I'm reading Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft by Simpon Houpt for the Franklin Public Library's Summer Reading Program for Grown-Ups - it's an exploration of art theft, both thuggy and institutionalized.


What's the future of photojournalism?

Art makes better doctors.


Yeats in the Digital Age

Tomorrow's father daughter project? A papercraft steampunk x wing kit.


Free and Legal Downloads:

Fiery Furnaces Live at East River Park, NY NY July 17, 2008

Retribution Gospel Choir Live at Bottom of the Hill on July 8, 2008

Hayseed Dixie Live at Stella Blue on May 7, 2008

“So, Susan, now that you’ve jumped out of an airplane, what are you going to do next?”

“Hmmm. Good question. I guess I should tell you I’m going to visit Mickey Mouse, but that’s so cliche. Why don’t we say I’m going to bust my ass at work, then take a few days off to hang with my sister and her brood, who are in from out of town, which means complete and utter family love and chaos, and then that I’ll go out of town on business for two days, all while fretting that I’m making little headway on my manuscript edits (or this blog, for that matter) — speaking of which, while I’ve gotten rejections to my query letter, I did get another request for a partial! And remember that column I’m writing? That’s due next week! No problem! No pressure, Susan, no pressure! Oh, and did I tell you I’m starting to get feeling back in my ass after 2 1/2 hours of watching The Dark Knight on Saturday? Really, it’s like Disney World, right?…” [insert Joker-like laughter] “Right?!”

“Uh, well, sure. Okay, thanks for the interview. I’m going to go –”

“Waaaaaaaaaait! Can you help me pack my suitcase?”

Mmm. I guess it’s looking to be another one of those “when it rains it pours” kind of weeks. I hope you have a good one!

PS. Thank you for your great comments on my last post and the skydiving videos. The video was made by my big strapping tandem master, who was wearing a small video camera on his left wrist in this kind of glove. Once we were back on the ground the skydiving gurus burned the video to DVD and added the songs, which I chose from a list of about 15 options, all in about 20-30 minutes. (The wait wasn’t a problem; Fly-Boy and I were practically passed out in our chairs after coming down from the adrenaline rush.) It’s a great keepsake, and I’m really pleased that I got it.

If you're coming to Guess Whose Hair I'm Wearing tonight or tomorrow make sure that you say "hi". I'll be the short fat ugly guy wearing black, a frantic expression on his face and a glass of box wine in his hand.

The Franklin Barrow Civic has made a fantastic move in offering a family friendly price package for all remaining shows in the current season. You can buy 2 adult tickets and 2 children's tickets for $50. About $12 per ticket. While I'd like to see a drop to $10 per ticket and maybe even a student rush program (Tickets drop to $5 for students in the last half hour before a show). This is a fabulous step in the right direction of making the arts available and accessibly to everyone in Venango County.

Speaking of the Barrow, Dave the tech guy (no last names please) is moving to a new position at Joy Manufacturing (with the very talented Linda Henderson of the Latonia Theatre). He will be missed.

The two most fabulous things I saw in downtown Franklin this week?

A fully-loaded for-touring Rivendell Atlantis bicycle bizarrely leaning in front of Spanky's Tobacco Emporium and a guy with a homemade prison style Tippy the Turtle Tattoo

I wonder if they were related somehow?



Venangoland has been updated with an essay on "Schools vs the Real World".



Aluminum Lego Key Chains? Yes. Yes. And yes.



The Erie Times News profiles the Chaffee Gathering Music Festival.



Pittsburgh's Irish and Classical Theatre is presenting the complete plays of John Synge. Wow.



Chatham University has announced thier "Bridges to Other Worlds: An International Literary Festival." from Oct. 4-5 will feature Robert Hass and, one of my daughter's favorite writers, Naomi Shahib Nye.


A new music festival in Pittsburgh is founded in memory of Alexander Berkman -- the anarchist who tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick.


Pittsburgh's Brillobox, recently profiled in the NYTimes, has gone to an all vegetarian menu.


Upcoming Shows Of Interest:

Guess Whose Hair I'm Wearing? at the Barrow Civic Theatre Little Theatre 91223 Liberty St, Franklin, PA) Doors open at 6:30, show starts at 7pm. Tickets $5 at the door - free for students and seniors with ID.

An Evening of Ragtime And Klezmer - 8pm Saturday and 3 pm Sunday at Foxburg PA's Lincoln Hall. $15 at the door.


The Butler Art Center's open mic Spirit Cafe runs Friday from 8-10

Gypsy Dave and the Stumpjumpers play Meadville's Artist Cup Cafe Fridy at 9 pm. No cover.

Newmen play a free show at Meadville's at 9 pm Saturday.

The Cellar Dwellers bring improv to Seneca's Brother Bean Saturday night from 7-9 pm. No cover.

Free and Legal Downloads

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Live at All Good Music Festival on July 11, 2008

Animal Collective Live at Lux Frágil on May 28, 2008

Spin Doctors Live at Fiesta Days on July 12, 2008

Slammed by work, just a quick one.

I have iminta beta invites. If you want one, email me.

Oil Heritage is going regional.

indie.tv streams independent films, documentaries, and more.

Writer's Mug is a collection of woodblock print portraits of writers.

It's good to see that nice Feist girl getting some work


Free and Legal Downloads:

..And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead Live at Illini Media Building (WPGU 107.1 Studios) on November 9, 2007

The Black Angels Live at Logan Square Auditorium on June 20, 2008

Ok, here’s the low-down on my skydiving adventure. I’ll try not to bore you with the details. Or maybe I will. Hey, I did a tandem jump and you didn’t (presumably), so I can do what I want!

The Back Story

I met a woman, Georgia, through a women’s networking lunch group a few years ago and we really hit it off. I was in her office one day shortly after we met and noticed photos of her in skydiving gear. It turns out that Georgia’s son was a jump master/skydiver dude and that she had done her first jump in her 40’s. Cool!

Flashing forward to about 2 months ago, Georgia and I were emailing each other about getting together one of these days, and I mentioned I was interested in going skydiving (cuckoo) and could she recommend a place. She mentioned that a group of friends was going to a place in Canton, OH for a day of jumping on July 13th and would I like to come along? Voila! My idea had now crossed over into reality (or insanity).

You should also know about a month ago I started dating someone, who for purposes of this post I will call Fly-Boy because, well, he came along with me skydiving. It wasn’t a prerequisite to date me or anything like that, but when I casually inquired whether he had ever done a jump before (trust me, this came up naturally in conversation…at least I think it did), he said, “No, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Hmmm. (Are the gods o’ wacky ideas testing me?)

I mentioned my July plans to Fly-Boy and half-jokingly asked him if he wanted to come along. Turns out he did and a week and a $30 refundable deposit later, he was signed up, too.

By the way, when he said he wanted to go I warned him there were no guarantees about how I might act under duress, that I might do something horrible like vomit on him. He said it wouldn’t be the first time.

How sweet is that?

The Big Day

On Sunday morning we drove the 90 minutes in the rain watching the gray, dismal, cloudy skies the whole way. We arrived, met everyone and then waited. And waited. And waited for a good 2 and a half hours, praying that the skies would clear so we could do this STUPID SKYDIVING BEFORE I CHICKEN OUT. And you know what? The skies cleared for us; you can see in the photos just how blue the sky was, but let me tell you it looked quite stormy in the morning.

So the place came alive and they started prepping us and our fellow tandem jumpers. We went through a short training with Mike, who claimed to be the perfect instructor and ended up being my tandem master. (To be honest, I would have called him God as long as he got me down in one piece.)

A little later, after the first 4 people went up (they could take 2 in a plane at a time), I went to the bathroom about 15 times and then we got suited up:

We looked very top gun-ish, don’t you think? And dorky. Fly-Boy looks quite serious about the whole thing, but he apparently has a policy of not smiling in photos. Especially those before he is going to jump out of an airplane.

Then our boys helped us into our S&M/Lifesaving harnesses.

We were ready.

An Overview of the Experience

The bottom line: it takes 20 minutes for the plane to get up to altitude at 10K feet. About halfway through your ride up in the comfy (cough-cough) cabin, which is the size of the terribly small closet you can only use to store your underwear, you turn around and kneel in front of the person responsible for your life so he/she can hook you up to him/her. Then, when the time is right, the tandem master going first opens the door and looks out to find the right locale and conditions for the jump, or something like that. All I know is that you are going 80 mph, the wind is blowing and HELLO! the door is open.

When it’s good to go, you are instructed to place your right foot on a wee-little step next to the professional’s (this entails you looking to see that your leg is now outside of the plane), hang your left knee over the edge of the door, cross your arms — and, after your jump buddy pushes off, buh-bye. After jumping you have to kick your legs back, hold your head up, pray a lot and off you go. Fall. Whatever. A few seconds and a tap on the shoulder later, you can open your arms for the rest of the free-fall, which only takes about 30 seconds. The parachute ride is about 6 minutes. You can help steer, which is cool.

Live Vicariously, If You Dare

I think converting the video to the right format and uploading it was even more harrowing than doing the jump itself. But if you want to experience a lot of dorky, nervous giggling before, during and after I throw myself out of a perfectly good aircraft, you can watch it here. The second video clip is the free fall in real time — about 30 seconds. You know, at a rate of 120 mph from 10,000 feet.

A few notes:

1. My apologies to all of Ohio for previously saying your topography is boring. Up in a plane on a clear day, it is actually quite picturesque and lovely. During the free-fall I couldn’t really comment.

2. Despite the silly giggling, I swear to you I really wasn’t “nervous-nervous,” even when the door opened or stepping my foot out on the little step, which freaked out some of the other jumpers. That said, I experienced sheer terror when we did the nosedive out of the plane and somersaulted until righting ourselves. For some reason I wasn’t expecting that. Sheer. Terror. for 2 seconds.

3. The video is proof that I am a) a dork, which we’ve established; and b) need to lose some weight to avoid having a double chin recorded in future videos. Oh, and my teeth appear much bigger than normal (which means big!) when my gums are literally flapping in the breeze. Ah, well. What can I say? I jumped out of a plane and you (presumably) didn’t, so there.

4. The only part that upset my stomach was doing a spiral. One of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” moments. Kind of screwed with me for a good hour afterwards. Fly-Boy got carried away and did 3 spirals! That really caught up with him after he landed.

All right, so here they are, if you care to watch:

In real time:

Did I hear someone say kuh-ray-zee?

PS. Georgia asked what Fly-Boy and I were going to do for our next date. We both agreed the movies might be a good idea!

 

So about a year ago I had this idea.

An idea that I have NO idea why it came to me and then wouldn’t go away. I get ideas in my head at times, as I’ve alluded to, but certainly nothing like this.

It might be because I turn 40 next month.

It might be another example of me trying to expand my horizons and enjoy life — barreling or bumbling through it, depending on the day.

It might be that, as Drama Girl told me this evening after all was said and done:

You’re the craziest mom ever!

Yep, that might be it.

I told my mom about this a few weeks ago because I needed her to baby-sit for the day. Her eyes got wide and she said, “Oh, Susan!” A few of my friends and my boss responded the same exact way when I told them about my plans for the weekend.

But, crazy or not, today I did something I wanted to do.

Did you?

PS. I’ll write and post more photos tomorrow. I’m also trying to upload video, but it’s not working out at the moment. Or I’m not patient enough. Either way, I’m headed to bed because the day’s experience has wiped me out… fortunately, without me wiping out.

Let me tell ya, there’s nothing else like it!

I still have some free tickets (good for any day for this weekend's show at the Barrow Civic's Little Theatre - Guess Whose Hair I’m Wearing! – based on the writings of Hildegarde Dolson. July 18th & 19th at 7pm

Dolson is the most famous writer to come from Venango County, Pennsylvania. Her sidesplitting essays, published in the leading magazines of the day, like The New Yorker, captivated and brought America to tears with their quirky tales of a big city career woman who was still a small town girl at heart.

This show is appropriate for all ages. Tickets are $5 at the door, students and senior citizens admission is free with ID.

Email me to claim them


The book I'm reading this week for the Franklin Public Library's Summer Reading Program for Grown ups? The Graphic Novel, The Rabbi's Cat




Pittsburgh Opera is looking for an African-American boy between the ages of 8 and 13 whose voice has not yet changed for the role of ‘Starving Boy’ in The Grapes of Wrath. Auditions take place on Monday, July 21 at the Pittsburgh Opera offices located at 2425 Liberty Avenue in the Strip District. Each candidate must be present at 5:30 pm for the group instruction and be prepared to stay until 7:30 pm.

Candidates must be able to act, sing solo vocal lines, and project their voices from the stage. Participation in the opera also includes being part of the ensemble (chorus). Candidates must be prepared to sing 16 measures of a song of their choosing. They will also be taught a brief excerpt from the opera in a group setting. Each will then be heard separately, performing his song and the excerpt.

For more information or to schedule an audition, please email Iris Lin or call 412-281-0912 ext. 266.

$10 bike cam? No problem.



Read Print offers thousands of free online books.



Lyle Lovett says he has "never made a dime" from album sales during his two-decade career.


My underwater protrait of my daughter, called "The Selkie" was named a "hot photo" by JPG Magazine on Saturday.

10 Best Practices of Online Music Promotion

Free and Legal Downloads:

Civil Disobedience & Life Without Principle by Thoreau (e-book)

Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) poetry performance March 9, 2006

Little Feat Live at House Of Blues on June 17, 2008

I’ve fallen off the Twitter bandwagon. At first I stopped twittering in righteous indignation at the amount of time that the site goes down, or shuts down services because it’s overloaded. If I’m using something to stay in touch with people, I want it to work reliably. Otherwise, what’s the point?

I have an account on Pownce, and I thought I might use that as my Twitter alternative: a place to post short things that aren’t quite ready-for-blog-time, and to see what my friends are up to. It’s fine for that, except there’s not a critical mass of my curent friends there. Using Pownce felt like being the first one at a party, standing around holding a drink and waiting for everyone else to show up — and feeling sure that everyone has decided to go instead to another party across town (or stay at the party (Twitter) that they were already at).

So I didn’t use anything for a while. This turned out to be a lonely but brilliant idea. Lonely, because I was disconnected from the on-going conversations that everyone is continuing to have, doing perfectly fine without my interjections. Brilliant, because not being part of these conversations freed up oodles of time during the work day, time that I used to get real, paying work done.

And it turned out that, while those missed conversations were fun, I was still able to keep in enough touch with people to maintain friendships and feel sufficiently connected.

Still and all, I missed having an outlet for small observations, and I wished for a way to keep a little bit in the loop. I tried just dipping into Twitter and jumping back out, but the glitches and outages still seem to be going on. And the conversations are addictive; I don’t think my willpower is strong enough for small sips at the firehose.

I noticed a few people talking about Plurk. Yet another social networking site? Yes. I like its interface, especially how easy it is to see a thread of conversations (a big problem in Twitter). Plurk also doesn’t promise to be instantaneous, so it feels different from Twitter and instant messaging. The odd cartoony graphics are intriguing.

I’m especially interested in how they’ve integrated a concept of karma. The more you do with Plurk, the more karma you build; you ca also lose karma in various ways. The more karma you have, the more features you have access to. This matches one of the important principles for building a good social network (one which I first heard about from Brad King): No free rides. If you want to play, you have to contribute.

(Now that I think about it, Plurk karma is kind of like one of the rules of Fight Club: If this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight. Interesting.)

Anyway, one big way to build Plurk karma is to invite others to join. So…

Accept my invitation to Plurk!

This looks interesting:
A Transom Special Feature with Art Outlet’s SELF Program & FLIK International Movie Festival What is SELF?

SELF is a forum created by Art Outlet where artists explore self-portraiture in traditional and non-traditional media. It can be a memory, a vignette from life, an interesting dream that affected you, an experience of moving to a new culture, a story your mother once told you, an event that changed your notion of identity, a meditation on a certain theme in your life…

Transom, in association with Art Outlet and the FLIK International Movie Festival, is seeking multi-media self-portraits to be featured at the festival and on the site. We’ll offer honoraria to those we put on Transom. All stories must be non-fiction, under five minutes, and include both audio and visual components. The visual can literally reflect the story, or complement it – your choice. Along with your soundtrack, you can use photo slideshows, cut up old films and videos, animation, footage of locations or related imagery, or even a series of hand drawings. Whatever works for the story. (By the way, Transom is pleased to be working on this project with our original Web Director, Josh Barlow).

The video embedded above is a submission for the project, from Renee Shaw. It’s titled “My Best Friend Mark.”

Special announcement, with a deal for Pittsburgh-area bloggers:

Area bloggers are invited free of charge to Quantum Theatre’s performance of Shakepeare’s Cymbeline:

Preview Performance (they will be testing the techie workings of the production)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Mellon Park (Point Breeze/Shadyside neighborhood)
8PM (no late seating, gates lock at 8 sharp)

Quantum Theatre’s upcoming production is Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, which runs in Mellon Park from July 31-Aug 24. It is truly innovative in that Karla Boos — the director and Quantum founder — is collaborating with Illah Nourbakhsh at the Robotics Institute at CMU to integrate interactive technology into the production.

We can’t spill any more secrets than that, except to say that this event is sure to be a wonder.

Find out about Quantum Theatre at their website: www.quantumtheatre.com.

RSVP required; cancellations appreciated. Please RSVP to Rene Conrad at rconrad@quantumtheatre.com or 412.697.2929.

On the right hand side of the blog today, you'll see a new addition - a widget for something called "Chip- In".

I've been thinking a lot about Arts Funding in a rural, economically depressed area like the Oil Heritage Region (See what a team player I am? Even though I loathe the petro-fetishism of the area, I'll use the brand to promote). We have some stellar events and spaces. Yet, I think that places like the Barrow, for instance, price their performances too highly for the natives to attend regularly.

$45 (not counting to glasses of box wine at intermission – why don’t they sell local wine?) for my family of three to see my neighbors doing a show that I’ve seen am million times before? Probably not.The Barrow has big bills, I understand, and a lot of our large time honored cultural landmarks also benefit from the largess of the state (full disclosure: I have received a number of grants, local , state and federal, in support of my work). But for individual artists or new series just getting off the ground, finding that initial funding can be really difficult.

What I’m suggesting is an experiment – a technological twist on the tip jar, using Chip In's widget. The idea is that not only will a widget like this motivate donors, but the constant updates cut out the “middle man” and save time for volunteers seeking updates as well. Funds are processed through Paypal, which is very familiar to those donating on the internet already. People donating can be part of the “winning team” and feel that they are making a difference versus a small drop in a bucket that may never be filled (a la those gigantic tacky thermometers outside churches and United Way offices) .

For the experiment, I've chosen the 2008 Venango Digital Film Fest (Full Disclosure: I’m involved with planning of the fest).

The first annual Venango Digital Film Festival took place in November of 2007 and attracted 12 films of excellent quality which showcased the region and the region's filmmakers. This year, The Venango Digital Film Festival will be held in three beautiful restored historic theaters: the Crawford Center in Emlenton, PA (Friday, September 12), the Latonia Theater in Oil City, PA (Saturday, September 13), and the Barrow-Civic Theater in Franklin, PA (Sunday, September 14). People's Choice awards will be selected each evening, and the winner will be carried over to compete the following night. The top three films will receive cash prizes.

In addition, we are sponsoring a 10-15 minute screenplay competition with the theme of Oil Boom Days in Venango County, in conjunction with the 150th Anniversary of the Discovery of Oil. The two winning screenplays will be produced and screened over the weekend and over the two year period of the Oil 150 Celebration. The People's Choice winner will receive a cash prize and will be screened at the Great Lakes Film Festival. Now, last year, the Film Fest was free $5 – talent rich but cash poor, so in effect I’m projecting a model where the door stays free, but you pay ahead what you think it’s worth.

Consider this for a moment. With the door free of charge, you can choose, by using Chip-In, what you want or can pay. Last month, I took the family to see the inexplicably horrible Indiana Jones movie. Total cost (excluding popcorn) ~$25 (Yes, I realize that the city folk reading this have passed out at what you perceive as the inexpense. Once you recover, call Joann Wheeler and set up an appointment to buy a house and studio here. Seriously. We’d love to have you.) was it worth that amount of money. No. Not a chance. I would have, however, paid a total of $12 (or $4/person) to see it.

To me, last year’s fest was worth about a $5 door. So, I’ve dropped $10 (for my wife and myself) in the widget you see on the side. Donate whatever you feel is appropriate .25 to $2500. The goal I chose is $1000, an amount that I see as large, but not insurmountable.

I’ll keep track of it here, and then make the donation to the Film Fest on Sept 1, 2008. Even if you don't or cant or won't contribute, I'm interested to hear what you think of this as a model for fundraising for the arts in our area.

While Franklin's Farmer Market is disintegrating rapidly (on Wedensday when I went down to get some beans for yakni, there was only one stall and the City had "forgotten" to close off the street to traffic making it a death trap that I decided to skip) Titusville's is expanding in size and moving in location.

Submit your original 10-15 page screenplay on the theme Oil Boom Days in Venango County for filming. Your opportunity to produce and direct! Cash Prize! Screening September 14.

Deadline: August 1, 2008

FILMS

Submit your original short digital film by western PA filmmaker or about western PA themes. Cash Prizes for People’s Choice awards September 12-14.

Deadline: August 25, 2008

CAST, CREW, SUPPORT

Want to get in on the fun? We will need cast, volunteer film crews, costume and location help – just give us a call! Mark your calendars for

September 12, 13, and 14,

The Second Annual Venango Digital Film Festival

Details at www.artsoilcity.com or call 814-677-1260

If I get all my work done today (doutbtful) I'll be building this papermodel polar bear with a nodding, empty head and a beer tatoo on its butt. Kinda reminds me of a woman I used to know...



Free Four Color T-Shirt Printing Press Plans

Want to buy a Super Bowl Ring?

Since the music scene is slow this weekend, I'll be heading to Erie's 20th Annual Panegyri Greek Fest (today from 2:30 - 11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., and Sunday noon - 9 p.m.) at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church on 4376 West Lake Road. Free parking and admission. For more info call (814) 838-8808.

Speaking of Erie, The Erie County Historical Society will hold a Ghosts and Legends Tour tonight and every Friday at 8 p.m., now until September 26 (exception: September 5th). Discover the mysteries of downtown Erie with a 1 1/2 hour walking tour. Since the size of each group tour is limited, reservations are required; call (814) 454-1813, ext 0. Cost: $8 Adult, $4 Child.

The Cinema and Digital Arts Program of Point Park University is creating the CINEMA ACTORS DATABASE. This will be a catalog of actors and actresses who are interested in being cast in cinema student productions. The database will be accessible to the students of Point Park¹s Cinema and Digital Arts Program.

This is an opportunity for actors and actresses to participate in productions by some of the most talented film students in the Pittsburgh area.

Works by Point Park students have gone on to be exhibited at film festivals both nationally and internationally.

Anyone interested in submitting a headshot/resume can do so by emailing the materials to:

infocinema@pointpark.edu

Please put Actors Database in the subject line.

Hardcopies of headshots/resumes could be sent to:

Cinema and Digital Arts
Point Park University
201 Wood St.
Pittsburgh, Pa 15222
www.pointpark.edu

Further, any questions may be addressed to infocinema@pointpark.edu

Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservancy has acquired 26 pieces from the "Chihuly at Phipps: Gardens & Glass" exhibit,including 13 of these swirly, curly Amber Cattails:

Upcoming Shows of Interest:

Newmen plays Oil City's The Howling Dog Cafe tonight at 8 pm and Meadville's Artist Cup Cafe tomorrow at 9pm. Both shows are free.



Free and Legal Downloads:


Sharon Van Etten Live at Zebulon on June 25, 2008 Zebulon


Drive-By Truckers Live at 80/35 Festival on July 5, 2008

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Live at Penn's Peak on July 6, 2008

Crusty Rusty Bolts originally uploaded by mikeyexists

Friday evening and Saturday, bloggers from Pittsburgh, Erie, Youngstown, Cleveland, Buffalo, and other cities in this region will be meeting for the first Rust Belt Bloggers Summit.

Our primary goal — or at least, my view of our goal — is to meet and learn about each other and our common interests, with the hope of finding ways to work together. We share the desire to use social media to support and improve our communities; since the cities in the Rust Belt share history and characteristics, we should be able to find a lot in common.

City Paper previewed the event in an article today ("Bloggers to unite under common threads at conference"), with quotes from me and Doug Derda, as well as other thoughtful bloggers in other cities.

If you’re interested in attending, visit the Rust Belt Bloggers website to get details, and come join us. No registration needed; just show up.

Let’s shake off some of this rust, shall we?

The Silver Cornet band plays in Franklin's Bandstand Park tonight at 7:30 pm. Come see Venangoland scribe Pete Greene tootle his strumbungler. By which I mean play with one of the country's finest community bands.

This Saturday is another chance to take an orientation class at the Franklin Public Library for the Region's Grant Center. The free, one hour class starts at 2pm and runs for about an hour. Sign up calling (814) 432-5062.

The Beginner's Guide to Indie Hip-Hop

Anarchists need picnics too.

The Pittsburgh City Paper previews tomorrow's Rust Belt Bloggers Summit taking place in Erie on July 11-12.

Free and Legal Downloads:

The Evens Live at Ahimsa House on February 25, 2007

Mike Watt Live at Jillian's on February 6, 1998

The Ditty Bops Live at Freight & Salvage Coffee House on March 7, 2008

I spoke too soon when I said that AMC was the only cable network I needed. I forgot the USA Network.

Burn Notice, my favorite television guilty pleasure, returns Thursday for its second season.

Burn Notice combines the spy techniques and intra-agency backstabbing of the Jason Bourne movies with MacGuyver do-it-yourself surveillance tips, then it adds some Ferris Bueller-type tongue-in-cheek voiceovers, and finally it throws the whole thing on the beaches of Miami. There’s more than enough eye candy for viewers of any gender, and just the right amount of intrigue to keep things interesting.

And the co-stars include Bruce “The Chin” Campbell (of the Evil Dead series) and Sharon Gless (Cagney of the detective series Cagney & Lacey). An abundance of riches.

For a taste of the sensibility of the show, watch this longer, more explanatory promo. Or check out the “Ask a Spy” feature on the show’s website. The show’s lead, Michael Westen (played by the strangely compelling Jeffrey Donovan) answers questions you didn’t know you had. Like, how can I break out of a prison in Turkmenistan? and how can I avoid embarrassing myself when playing sports at a company retreat? Great stuff.

And did you notice the soundtrack of that promo I pasted in above? Yes, that’s Billy Squier singing. Oh yeah.

My son asked me this yesterday:

“You know when people get really old, do you think eating lots of chocolate helps them stay alive?”

My response: “I sure hope so.”

Seriously, I think it may work. I’m going to up my intake starting today.

Thursday, my lovely and talented wife, Amy will be participating in the Brown Baggin' series at Franklin's Fountain Park Gazebo at 12 noon. She'll be doing some sorytelling for grown ups from authors like Bill Bryson. It's free and open to the public.

So lovely and talented she is that she will also be preforming her hilarious one woman show – Guess Whose Hair I’m Wearing! – based on the writings of Hildegarde Dolson and adapted for the stage by, um, me...for two nights only- July 18th & 19th at 7pm

Dolson is the most famous writer to come from Venango County, Pennsylvania. Her sidesplitting essays, published in the leading magazines of the day, like The New Yorker, captivated and brought America to tears with their quirky tales of a big city career woman who was still a small town girl at heart.

This show is appropriate for all ages. Tickets are $5 at the door, students and senior citizens admission is free with ID. I also have some complimentary tickets to give away to blog readers. So, send me your name and address (via email or in the comments box if you're devil-may-care about privacy) by Monday July 14th at 10am, and I'll drop a pair in the mail for you, free, good for either day.

As an aside, if you're interested in bringing the show to your meeting, church, synagogue, mosque, trailer park, whatever, drop me an email for pricing and availability.

This project is being made possible in part through the Samuel and Edith C. Justus Charitable trust, the Elizabeth S. Black Charitable Trust, and the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), a local decision-making program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), a state agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Venango County Center for Creative Development.

The Titusville Herald previews Titanic, Titusville Summer Theater's 40th anniversary show. It plays at Titusville High School's Colestock Auditorium Thursday through Saturday night.

The Art of Amusement Parks show runs from July 1-Aug 22, 2008 at New Castle's Hoyt Institute for the Arts

Sisters In Healthcare History Project is a study of the hundreds of Roman Catholic Sisters who worked as nurses in Western PA from 1847-1969.

Pittsburgh's Cultural District Gallery Crawl is Friday from 5:30 - 9pm.

The Afro-Punk festival is underway in Brooklyn and includes screenings of The Upsetter: The Music and Genius of Lee Scratch Perry.

Topp.org is an interactive website that allows you track radio-tagged animals.

Animoto is an easy-peasy way to put together music videos.

Free and Legal Downloads:

Avett Brothers at Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 14th, 2008

Mason Jennings at the Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 14, 2008

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss at the Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 15, 2008

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings at the Bonnaroo Music Festival on June 15, 2008

Bradley's Almanac is featurng soundboard recordings from Sub Pop's 1992 Vermonstress Festival includes sets from Coedine, Velocity Girl, Pond, and Beat Happening

I wanted to show you a video of Ballboy performing “Something’s Going to Happen.” I envisioned that the title of my post would be “And no one will ever love you as much as I do.” It’s a perfect song for this evening.

Also: It’s true, you know. No one will ever love you as much as I do.

But YouTube doesn’t have a video of the band performing that song. They do have this lovely ditty though. The title is “I Lost You, But I Found Country Music,” and I think you’ll enjoy it.

You might also like this next song, especially the opening narrative. The song is “Avant Garde Music,” again by Ballboy.

Dear Peeps,

May I borrow the term “peeps” from my kids and call you that? Do I even have any peeps - or even a single peep - left after not blogging for a week?!

Then

Well, the last week kind of got away from me, so thanks to those of you for continuing to check in since my last post and return from Chicago. I got back from my trip last Sunday night, spent Monday trying to get organized (and squeezed in a date, too), and then launched into a short-but-crazy work week. (To quote a co-worker on Tuesday morning: “welcome back to the shit storm.” Oy.) I also got a call from the painter I talked to a few weeks earlier and surprise! he was ready to begin painting pratically my whole living space on Thursday! So, I spent Wednesday night taking stuff down and rearranging things, and spent Thursday and part of Friday in a complete mess that looked something like this:

(Note, however, that although we had no seating I had to hook up the TV right away so Drama Girl and T-Rex could go on living. )

The weekend was filled with lots of clean-up, fireworks, picnics, kids stuff, more clean-up, etc., etc.

Now

But that was then and this is now.

But Wait!

I never told you about Chicago, which was way, way back then, so let me recap my trip. In summary, it went like this:

Way Back Then

It was a blast, full of good food and company!

I flew in Thursday the 26th and spent the day with my cousin. We lunched downtown, drove around a bit sight-seeing, then headed to Andersonville, a great artsy neighborhood where he lives. After breakfast the next morning at a place that serves ooey, scrumptious cinnamon buns, he dropped me off at my hotel. I checked my bag and spent a few hours walking around Michigan Avenue.

Before my trip a lot of people asked me if I was going to shop, but I’m not a huge shopper so between visits I instead walked to Millennium Park. What’s in Millennium Park, you ask? Well, all sorts of interesting things…like the cool fountains with the faces of famous Chicagoans on them. Or at least I hear they’re famous.

They spit water out every five minutes or so.

And then there is the bean sculpture-thingamajig.

And the ampitheater and walkway to Lake Michigan.

After tooling around on my own, I took a break in the A/C to do some manuscript editing while I waited for the girls to arrive later that afternoon. They finally made it in after an unexpected 2 hour shuttle ride from O’Hare (note to first-time travelers: take the train instead!) We headed over to Taste of Chicago, a gastronomic feast for native Chicagoans and visitors alike. We sampled all sorts of things Friday night and again on Saturday. I’ll try just about anything (just about), so I was thrilled to partake in a little Sautéed Goat with Plantains from an African restaurant. (I told my one friend, “I have a blog. Of course I have to try the goat so I have something to write about!”) Very tasty, although the teenagers serving it to me were kind of laughing when I asked for it. I don’t know what that was all about. I ate it anyway. It was delish, similar to lamb.

At the festival we caught a bit of Chakka Khan’s and Stevie Wonder’s concerts, although the mix of sun, packed crowds, scavenging seagulls, and food (including the ice cream spilled on my back and hot sauce accidentally dumped on my friend’s shoes) was not for the fainthearted.

On Saturday we went to see the matinee performance of Wicked (wonderful - and I have tix to see it again when it comes here in the fall!) and then over to Navy Pier for dinner and fireworks. All in all, it was a great time catching up with everyone in a great city.

Now (Again)

I still feel like I’m in catch-up mode, especially with this whole manuscript business. I have some interesting things planned later this week, which I promise to blog about (I really will), but in the meantime…

Signed, sealed and delivered, I’m yours,

Susan