creative kitchen, the game

Have your own Master Chef competitions! The game, from the good folks who teach cooking skills at the Starfish Cafe here in Savannah, proposes to allow you to get creative and develop your own recipes. Sounds tasty to me!
I look forward to receiving the game, and colorful coasters, in the near future.
What a glorious way to pass time on a new year's eve!

billy brown, in my house!

This has to be some kind of record!
So, I had told you about the project on kickstarter in mid-October.
Of this year.
Then, I shared the updates from the filmmaker, Andrew.
Apparently, before he even made goal on the 18th of October, he had started getting everything lined up for the shoot. Shortly after the very successful end of his kickstarter drive on October 28th, he was in search of extras, having all else in place.
By the 14th of November, all filming for "Billy Brown" was complete and the editing began. Again, that's November of this year.
When the 5th of December - this month, this year - came around, he had finished editing and was getting addresses to ship out the rewards.
Today, I received the film, professionally packaged, as if I had gone to a video store and purchased it.
The T-shirt is fabulous, too.
So, Merry Christmas to me!
And color me very impressed, Mr. Andrew Morgan. You took a film project from dream to reality in just a little over two months.
Very impressive.
Let's hope I soon find some time to watch this gem.

christmas at cafe murder

Merry Christmas, to me, from those sweethearts at Beaver Toad Software. Well, to me and the seventy other backers of their kickstarter project to develop the game "Cafe Murder".
This was simply too good not to share with the world!

christmas with cthulhu

I have just returned home from making a special delivery!
Woohoo!
When I supported this kickstarter project just last month, the creator had proposed delivery of rewards in December. What an absolute delight that his proposed date has become a reality!
After admiring it yesterday, once the postman had delivered it to my waiting hands, I knew what I had to do. This paper needed to find its way around Christmas gifts, ASAP!
Not for me - Cthulhu is a bit too horrific for my tastes.
Not for any of my family members... yet. I do have a niece and a nephew who are gaining interest in the mythology of the psychic oceanic terror.
However, my dear friend Jin-Hi has a brother whose gifts beg to be hidden 'neath these blood-colored waves... as I am sure she will gladly do! She was thrilled to receive the goods this afternoon!
Intrigued?
Check it out here. For a mere $10, you can have thirty square feet of the above Cthulhu-bedecked crimson.
(Look for it at the bottom of the page... just when you thought you were safe... BWAH ha ha!!!)

a "rolling greek temple" of brilliant raconteurs

This project was launched by a group of literary folks - readers, writers, teachers, publishers - right here in Savannah, Georgia. Woohoo! I know of them, even though I have not been to one of their presentations.
They want to bring storytelling back to the front porches of the Southeast.
But no one really sits on front porches and does that anymore. Many folks don't even have front porches on their residences, these days. Oh, sure, nearly everyone in a house or street-level dwelling has some porch-like structure adjacent to the front door, to keep the rain off while they are trying to get the door opened.
But that is not a real porch.
Oh, no.
A genuine porch has room for a few chairs, or a porch swing, and is a place where people can gather and share vignettes of their lives.
Nowadays, the coffeehouses take the place of porches as gathering sites.
To bring more people out of their homes and into the small coffeehouses, Unchained travels around to the smaller towns, bringing stories from life to life.
But their 1975 bus, their rolling Greek temple, called it quits last summer, curtailing their spreading of the joy of tales and tunes. Now, a new motor is needed, as well as a few other odds and ends, to make the Bluebird soar once more.
That's where kickstarter comes in.
Me, too.
I heard about this through a dear friend and immediately sought it out.
I'm really looking forward to seeing a future show - and wearing my new T-shirt, too.
Hope to see you there!

dollops and pinches, oh my!

I arrived home and the cookbooks were here!!!
WOW! Most impressive! I do have them in time for Christmas!

Her inscription in my cookbook reads:
To Faustina -
the only you in the world -
Dea
Isn't that lovely?
As is her handwriting, too
- very nice cursive.

The cookbooks are fabulous! Full of recipes, sure, but also stories about the recipes, and suggested menus for "special events". Oh, like anniversaries and birthdays and such? Oh, my, no!!! We're looking at "A Night in Paris", "Tastings of the Titanic", "St. Paddy's Night". Sure, there's a "Sweetheart Dinner" and that could be for an anniversary...but a menu for those occasions when you might be on a sinking ship? You won't find that anywhere else!
I'm serious about that menu for the Titanic diners. Dea Irby traditionally serves that dinner in April, near the 14th, to commemorate that sad day in shipping history.
Definitely different!
If your appetite is whetted, you can have your own copy of the book, here.
Bon appetit, mon freres!

venturing out on the road to rehab

Yesterday, the thirty-nine backers of this project, received good news!

Update #2
Dec 11, 2011
You backed a fantastic event!
Hello Kickstarter backers,
Just wanted to let you know that the Venturing Out event you funded, "The Castle" -- originally called "Road to Rehabilitation" -- was a fantastic hit when it was performed last Thursday evening. I thought you might like to read a little bit of the publicity the event generated, to see the enthusiastic reception to our cause, namely, to help men and women achieve economic independence after incarceration.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/morning/venturing-out
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/editorspick_mobile/x1285894671/True-Stories-The-Castle-tells-of-life-after-prison
Thank you very much for your visionary support of this project. It is greatly appreciated!
Laura Winig, Executive Director, Venturing Out

The presentation at Babson College, of ex-offenders reading the dramatic monologues of other ex-offenders, had been a success for all involved. Venturing Out, the group that, with the aid of the college, educates soon-to-be-released prisoners on how to be entrepreneurs, gained much positive publicity and, hopefully, more financial support to bring their teachings to hundreds of other prisoners in the Massachusetts. The audience, which included some at-risk youth, gained knowledge from the panel discussion after the dramatic readings.
And all viewers, both at the live reading and of these videos posted on vimeo.com, walk away with a more realistic vision of the bad choices which land people like themselves in prison - and how to better accept the proud new taxpayers back into society... and keep them there.

david lareau's debut ep: hugs from distant neighbors

I do love a guy with a sense of humor.
David Lareau certainly is that! Even when he is pleading for funds to help turn his recorded album into a finely mixed product - by no less a force than John Kurzweg - he still manages to throw some jokes in there to liven the mood.
Very much appreciated!
Based in Tallahassee, where my dear cousin Penny and her family live, I actually may be able to go hear him & The Copperpots perform live someday. That would be a treat! To be able to visit with family and share some of their local musical talent!
So, how is it that a guy in Florida knows such powerhouses as Kurzweg and Noel Hartough in the music biz?
Let me tell you!
Primarily, they're all musicians who have played club gigs in Tallahassee for years. Tall'ee, as its known, is a rather small town, even though it is the capital of Florida. Don't believe me? Go there when the government is out of session and the Florida Seminoles are gone for summer vacation - definitely a small town.
Also, these three men have all had their bids with the major record labels and found that life unsatisfying. When Lareau was in his late teens, he was signed to a big label, had his flash with them, then was dropped for the "next big thing."
Ouch.
Now, he's older (though not by very much) and wiser (by quite a bit) and back with new music. All he needs is a little money to create the type of album that showcases his voice, his humor, and his ethos.
I may be joining the party late - but I am joining the party.
Maybe I'll even get an autograph when I see the band perform!

join the laundromat documentary journey!

Change takes time.
Trying to convince second- and third-generation Asian-Americans to speak up and speak out about "dirty laundry" is a hard task. After all, the sins of the daughters and sons may bring shame upon the family - and that is not tolerated.
However, not having an outlet to discuss problems causes far too many young people to choose suicide over talking.
Vanessa Yee has set a goal to change that mindset of silence.
Together with Judy Phu and Sun Kim, she is interviewing three Asian-American friends about their hopes and dreams and fears, their history and cultural roots... and how their parents view speaking out.
She was driven to do this in response to her own actions of subterfuge and silence when her mother was gravely ill and hospitalized. Rather than share this problem with her professors at the university, she found herself hiding the truth. She, who had thought herself so modernized, had fallen into the habits of her more traditional elders.
In her words, “I call my movie “˜The Laundromat’ because it’s this third-party operation where you go wash your (dirty) laundry. You’re anonymous … you go there because you don’t have your own laundry machines,” Yee said. “I wanted it to be about creating a space for people to bring their laundry and secrets.”
I can relate to these concerns. When I was young, with an alcoholic and physically abusive father, I knew the life I was living was not that of those I knew at school. And I kept my mouth shut about the problems at home. After my parents divorced, when I was 15 years old, it was as if a dark cloud had been lifted from my life. I tentatively talked about the divorce and the way life had been to others - and found they had similar stories. That was a learning experience about sharing and support.
I must also admit to being drawn to the use of the laundromat motif. I do not own a washer and dryer, never have. Every three weeks or so, I bundle up my clothes and go to the laundromat owned by Nami, a Vietnamese woman.
I have been going there since April of 1996. I was working down the street from her establishment and could easily go there either before or after work.
I watched as her youngest son grew from the boy who helped her mop and sweep to the young man who had a job of his own. Then he married and moved out of town and had children. Nami would put up photos of the children as they were born and as they grew and she and I would talk about them.
She and I talk about a lot of things. My mother's death, my father's death, my stepdad's death. The births of my first great-niece and first great-nephew. My travels to here, there, everywhere. My divorce. My youngest brother's incarceration. Her teen-aged son, her daughter-in-law, the house in Atlanta. Her husband and his health and her frustration with his actions. Her sister's failing health. Her daughter's death.
She told me once that I am the only person she talks to about these things.
I'm glad to be there for her, as she is for me.
In honor of Nami, I have pledged my age for the Laundromat Care Package.
And when I'm asked how I wish to be listed in the film's end credits, I'll have her name with mine and we will watch the film together.
But the T-shirt will be mine alone.
(smile)

silencer, advent of technology

I think Blaxstone would have approved.
Ethan Wright has a dream of creating a new superhero, a college student.
And he has brought that dream to kickstarter to garner the needed funds.
I managed to clock in just under the wire with my backing of his cause.
Whew!
This is my first funding of a comic book.
No, no, no, you may say. What about Chromazoid?
Ah, there is a difference, mi amigo. That was an anthology, which means multiple artists submitted their individual comics for the collection.
THIS will be a single story line, from one group of artists/writers.
A unique story line, I might add.
I'm going to look forward to that very much.
I only wish The Comic Box was still around so I could share it with the good folks there.

cthulhu wrap

Timing is everything.
It really is.
If I had seen this project just six months ago, it would have blipped right off of my radar.
The name simply would have had no cachet for me.
But, thanks to a fundraiser in July, I am now familiar with H.P. Lovecraft and his creature.
So, thank you, Erik Bauer, for wanting to design a wrapping paper based on Cthulhu. Thank you for waiting until now to present your kickstarter project. Thank you for having a prompt delivery timetable for the rewards.
I'm signing on for a roll of the finished product. And the wrapping paper will arrive in plenty of time to make a lovely Christmas gift to a dear friend, who will, no doubt, give it to her brother, crafting love.
Let's hope this project gets funded, first. Still two full days to go before its deadline, but it doesn't yet have 50% of the money for its goal.
I'll keep my fingers crossed...

art house cinema 502

Not very likely that I'll ever go to Ogden, Utah, home of this kickstarter project.
But I do like T-shirts from odd places.
So, I ventured a double-sawbuck, westerly, toward the Art House Cinema 502.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
I'm backing them pretty early on, too. Mostly, I'm doing this with a nod to our locally-grown art house film group, the Psychotronic Film Society of Savannah. Partly, I am also supporting this project in honor of The Cinematique, my favorite film venue in Daytona Beach. Neither of them have the following of this place in Utah (hint: its capacity is given in its name), but those of us who attend the offerings of these smaller purveyors of indie, foreign, and otherwise odd films are quite devoted to them.
I think this is going to make for a fine story to my fellow film-loving friends.

research. - a web series

Hi, I'm Faustina and I'm a science nerd.
Hi, Faustina.
I must admit, the reason I'm here is because of my addiction to "Sudden Death!"
Er... okay. But you realize this project is not a musical, right?
Yes. Sadly. But I have hopes that a song or two may spring into existence along the way.
Yeah, I get you. A girl can dream.
Damn Skippy.
Damn Skippy!
So, now that that is out of my system, why am I investing a goodly chunk of money into this West Coast kickstarter project?
Weren't you listening??? I already told you: I want, need, MUST HAVE that special edition dvd of "Sudden Death!"!!! Ever since the Savannah Film Festival brought it to town in 2010, I have been hooked, craving more, more, MORE!!!
Pardon me while I straighten my clothes... and regain composure....
(deep breath)
Now, Adam Hall, who I saw in the queestion-and-answer session after the film screened on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, at 9:30 AM in the Trustees Theatre, right here in Savannah, Georgia - whew! - well, he's opened the funding doors for this dream of a webseries, opened those doors wide open, so folks like me can stroll on in and make ourselves at home, like big ol' producers. Nice, right?
AND.. get this, the webseries is going to be about scientists doing research about everything you ever wanted to know anything about ever. Sounds like fun to me!
And I'll get that special edition dvd of "Sudden Death!"!!!
And mad producer credits on each episode!
And that special edition dvd of "Sudden Death!"!!!
Of course, that will only happen if the project hits its funding goal. Which is in two days. And they aren't quite there yet.
But they have to succeed, they just have to!
Or how will I ever see "Sudden Death!" again?
I'll only have the promotional postcard from the film festival, the postcard that has graced my office wall ever since I saw the film.
That would be so very sad, now that I know the dvd is within my grasp.
Let me see if I can get some other folks to help out!
Later!

hand & wing

"Tricking kids into a love of writing since 2007."
The kickstarter funding campaign, initiated by Manuel Gonzales, is more than a literacy program: the focus is on expression of self, for kids. The group, Austin Bat Cave (abc - get it?), is based in Texas, but got its inspiration from 826 National, which has chapters in eight major metropolitan cities in the United States.
I, myself, have experience with such a group right here in Savannah. The Deep Center is a nonprofit organization that links creative folks with middle-school children, encouraging their creativity and then publishing their collective works in books, books for them to keep and books which can be sold to raise funds to continue the program in another middle school. I've purchased several of those books at fundraisers here in town, then given the books to my nieces and nephews.
Austin Bat Cave doesn't seem to be age-specific. Its programs are offered at all grade levels.
I like that.
Diversity is good.
So, to encourage them, I opted to "buy a word" with $11 (November, right).
They're going to write a haiku for me, too.
Awesome!

hypothes.is: taking peer review to the internet

Good information is all over the internet, but so is poor information, old wives' tales, misinformation, and flat-out lies. it takes a lot of effort, and much double- and triple-checking, to verify the truths from the hogwash.
That's where Hypothes.is strives to make a difference. Dan Whaley wants to establish an open-source site for reliable information and needs help funding his dream.
$100,000 of help.
I know, that seems like a lot of money, but for such a website, with knowledgeable staff, that sum is actually reasonable.
I've added my two bits, or 0.101 %, to the amount amassed thus far.
Hopefully, that little bit will serve them well.

warrior writers: third anthology

Straight up: I backed this one because it's ending on Veteran's Day and is of benefit to veterans. I'm a veteran myself, of the United States Navy, and I have several friends who are counselors for military clients.
This "Global War on Terror" has taken some serious tolls on our young people. Every one of the soldiers who return have damage, whether it's visible or not. Many times, that invisible wear and tear on the human psyche is far more difficult to repair.
That's where this kickstarter campaign comes in. Warrior Writers, an organization in Philadelphia, has already published two collections of works by GWOT veterans and is trying to get volume three into hands where it can help, heal, and inspire. Amazingly, this nonprofit had its origin in 2007, as did my life after divorce...as did my beach on these virtual shores.
Yet another reason for me to support this project. I know firsthand how helpful my writing has been for me. In times of stress, I can fight my invisible trees amid the clouds of ether - and, if not vanquish them, at least quell their assault on my mind.
Here's hoping that others will be able to benefit from this third anthology - as well as the ones before it, and the ones which will surely follow.

life and death on an answering machine

What an ingenious idea! Another great-sounding (all puns intended!) kickstarter project from Athens, Georgia, "Arkadelphia" tells the story of life and death - through the messages left on an answering machine. Pretty nifty, right?
I certainly think so!
Here's the opening set up: Two hoodlums are in an apartment, in the same room where two dead bodies lie on the floor and a red telephone/answering machine sits on a stand in the corner. Then the camera rolls, in real time, as the messages start coming in for Jay, who may or may not be one of the dead bodies now drawing flies.
Cool, right?!
Stephen Sandlin, part of Film Crew UGA, is onto something big, I do believe, and so I've put up some big money where my mouth is. Enough so that I will be named a Producer of the finished film!!!
Oh, and I'll get the T-shirt and, of course, my special copy of the dvd.
And I'll be a PRODUCER!!!
I'm so excited about this funding opportunity!

concrete justice: street poetry

Poetry by homeless people?
You bet.
Everyone has music in their souls, words that need release, thoughts to be freed.
That's part of the reason I blog. The outlet is good for me, whether anyone else ever reads the words or not.
Concrete Justice, a group in New York, have been performing their works on the stage for the past year and a half. Now, they want to share their message about homelessness, from a personal perspective, with a broader audience.
Enter kickstarter. As they say, they're taking their stories "from the street to the stage to the page" - to the world. The book will contain not just poetry, but also drawings, photographs, and prose.
But books require a good deal of money to become reality, especially on the scale these folks are attempting to achieve. So, I've joined the others backing this project by throwing my Benjamin into the pile.
We'll all find out tomorrow if they are successful.
I hope so. I'd like to be able to share the book with my middle brother. He's had bouts of homelessness for the last ten years - maybe even more than that. Once upon a time, we worried quite a lot about him, but being in a tent in the woods was fine with him. No rules but his, thank you very much.
But last year, he had a TMI while he was with his then-girlfriend. Thank God she called 911 and notified my older brother and myself. On her phone. He had no phone at the time, rebelling against the tether to others.
Now, he still has bouts of homelessness, periods when he wants no rules but his. But he has a phone. I have insisted on that one item in his pocket. I even pay for it every month, so he will always have a lifeline to use if he needs it. He even calls me once in a while.
I wonder what he will think of this book?
I'll have to ask him when I get my copy of it.

allegheny creek

When you go to the kickstarter page, the tagline tells you right away that this is a serious piece. A man, newly released from prison, is trying to start over with his estranged family.
Why he went to prison is not the focus.
He performed a crime, did his time, and is trying to be a better man.
This story is from the perspective of the mother of his son. Written by, and starring, Sashia Dumont, and directed by Paul Robinson, Sen3Productions is clearly a family affair. I expect the finished film to have a story with a lot of heart, a lot of hope, and a large dose of reality.
I seem to be finding these prison projects quite a bit lately... or maybe they are finding me. This makes the third one I've backed in as many weeks. (You can see here and here.)
I look forward to seeing the film, though I'll have to wait for the postman to deliver.
I'm sure these folks in New York will.
It was a close call on the funding, but my last-minute $50 has done its job.

chromazoid: comics anthology and mix tape

Okay, I thought about just putting in the widget, but the video rocks!
So, that's what I chose.
How did I choose this project, of all the possibilities on kickstarter?
Well, I was cruising through the "Ending Soon" ventures and there it was, with its lurid, day-glo colors and crazy name and promise of music to accompany my reading enjoyment.
Say what?
That's right: as far as I know, this is the first-ever deliberate creation of a soundtrack for reading comics. Moreover, for the nine comics in the Chromazoid anthology, there will be nine songs, each inspired by the comic for which they will be background music. Isn't that WILD??? Reading-enhancement soundtracks - what a novel idea!!!
Here's its bloglink so you can follow along, too.
And here's a teaser of things to come, posted in their "updates" on kickstarter:
Update #2
Oct 24, 2011
51 BACKERS!

Thanks to all of you who've backed this project so far! We've passed the 50 backer mark, and I hope we'll pass the 100 backer mark too! Please tell others about Chromazoid!

Here's an impassioned description of some of the stories in the book by our very own Nick Jackson:

"tales of English schoolchildren, domestic strife between a cat and a snake, a tragic opera of love and betrayal between dog and master, we're talking stories about cosmic blood-borne pathogens, about catching mer-apes in fishing nets, about crystals. It includes a mix-tape of artists across the country- all music directly inspired by the comics- folkies, sludge-punks, an experimental clarinetist, wailing brass- it's there."

How could I resist?
I could not.
Yeah!!!

"in the pink", launch the 1,000,000 people art project

"THINK globally, ACT locally."
Connie Noyes, a young woman who looks like a sprite from "The Dark Crystal", not only quotes a slogan from the 1970's, but also wholeheartedly believes in it.
Me, too!
Of course, I come by it naturally - I was in high school in the mid-'70's, when the dream was world-conscious actions at local levels and beyond. I realize now that such concepts take a few generations to become reality, to be part of the norm. I am so thankful that recycling has finally been realized on a nearly global level.
Back to this kickstarter project.
Her dream is to involve one million people in her art project, IN the PINK, which is billed as a multifaceted, multimedia space in which people all over the world can post their passions.
No, not that kind of passion! I'm talking about ideas which light your internal fire, ideas which can improve the world, ideas which benefit others, locally and/or globally.
Wow. Very ambitious!
Reminds me of another project I backed last month. That project has, like this one, a focus on world involvement and world improvement.
So, you think people will contribute to her art project? Do you think it will attain its funding goal of five thousand dollars?
Oh, yes, yes I do. And so do fifty-one other supporters. In fact, I've joined this project very near the deadline for its goal - only fifteen minutes remain!
But it has met, and surpassed, its goal!
In return, I am now a member of the ONE MILLION PINK website and can make a contibution to the world.
I'll get a nifty button, too, and an autographed copy of the PINKSpace catalog.
I'll send you a photo when I have it!

shaking spears

Shaking up the Shakespeare with ... Britney Spears????
Wow!
Thsi could be either really, really good... or bone-crushingly bad.
Either way, I'm supporting the madness! You bet!
In the introductory trailer (check it here), we learn that Hamlet has only one question: to dance or not to dance - woohoo!
So here is the premise for this kickstarter venture: take four of the tragedies penned by the British Bard, mix liberally with the music of the tragic Britney, stir frantically, and BOOM! Comedy ensues!
The plays are all fairly common in high school literature classes: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Julius Ceasar. I don't know which tunes of Ms. Spears will be used.
Apparently, Erika Grotto was sharing her script with some theatre friends, just to feel them out on it... and they wanted to know when would they be doing the show for real! Serendipity, pure serendipidity.
Sadly, no vidoe or soundtrack will be available as rewards. Dratted copyright laws... mumble, mumble... but I will get a T-shirt, so that's good. And I know that I will because I've joined this party late, meaning the funding goal has already been met. Still, I joined in for moral support! Yeah, and the T-shirt. (Smile!)
Sure wish I could be there for the show. It's to be performed in a 75-seat venue, much like that of Muse Arts Warehouse, one of my favorite places here. Nice intimate space like that will make for quite a memorable theatre experience for all!

road to rehabilitation: dramatic monologues by ex-offenders

The good folks at Venturing Out have taken on "The Castle", to perform live on December 8 at the Sorenson Center for the Arts.
Why did I choose to be a backer of this kickstarter project from Massachusetts?
Especially since it had already reached its funding goal, meaning the show would go on?
Well, the theatrical work they are performing was written by four ex-convicts about trying to regain a life in American society, after doing time in New York prisons.
The group which is performing the theatrical work teaches entrepreneurship and business skills to soon-to-be ex-convicts, so they can be self-employed owners of micro-businesses when they leave the prison walls.
The off-Broadway play will be performed at a college which has the #1 MBA program for entrepreneurship in the United States.
All of that is quite impressive, but why did I join in?
My youngest brother is in prison, and has been since 2007. One day in 2020, if not before, he will be released on parole and will need to find employment.
I am concerned about his ability to do so.
This project gives me hope that his future will be brighter than his past.

rescued art stories

The subtitle is "Saving Beauty From Dusty Places". Rather nice, n'est-ce pas?
Rodney Parrott is a man determined to search out the gems in garage sales, thrift stores, and estate sales. Not just any art - paintings, sketches, drawings. Why does he spend so much time doing this?
He believes "All people deserve art."
So, he rescues the artwork from their dusty graves, then posts the pieces for sale on his website, to share with the world. Many of the pieces have stories attached to them, stories which have garnered interest to the website and its galleries. Those stories are now to be collected and published.
I want in on that.
This find was in the "Ending Soon" category on kickstarter, so I acted quickly.
My reward will be a signed copy of the book, with its thirty stories of "prints, places, and people." Not that my funding was needed - it's already made goal - but because I want to be part of this sharing of art with the world.
And I want the book, with its promise of colorful tales.
That will be some nice late-night reading, my friends.

venice, italy printmaking residency

My bff's favorite place is Venice, Italy. She and her family vacationed there several years ago, while her husband was working overseas. She and the children took advantage of his time there to visit never-met family in Germany, the treasures of The Louvre, and Harry Potter in England.
But her favorite place was Venice.
I have a fondness for Italy, too. I've been to the Tuscany region, with its rolling hills and lush greenery; Napoli and the isle of Capri, home of lemons as large as grapefruits and Limoncello; Roma, with its rich history and the building in the Forum which bears my name.
But I have never been to Venice.
Rachel Singel wants to travel from my neck of the woods to Italy to learn printmaking in Italy. Well, not exactly my neck of the woods - she's in Virginia. And, not exactly to learn printmaking - she already does that - but to participate in an international residency at the Venice Printmaking Studio.
To which she was invited.
That's a high honor.
She came to kickstarter to garner funds for the trip. All she is wanting is 50% of the daily residency fees for her four-week residency. She has already made that goal. I'm joining her current backers to help her cover more of her residency fees.
I can think of no better way for my meager $50 donation to travel to Italy. In return, I receive her thanks - and a book that she will make in Venice.
Motto bene!

iSteadi camera gadget

What a nifty little piece of technology! Speaking of which, this is the second kickstarter project I've backed in the "technology" piece of the pie. I've added my Benjamin to the growing pile of folks who want this helpful item to hit the market.
Part of the reason I want it to do so is this: a side effect of the hypertension medication I take is a tremor in the left hand. It's a pretty mild side effect, as those go, but it can affect my photo-taking skills. This little device, and its adapter for my non-iPhone, would add steadiness - and focus - to my photography.
Christmas is the other reason I have backed this Southern-state project. You see, to reward my generosity and belief in their dream, I will receive two of these devices, and protective cases, right in time to be gifts for at least one of my nieces and nephews. (Maybe two, if I don't keep one of the mounts!)
I do wish them much success in meeting their goal.

samsara: the hand-painted animation

The artistry involved here appeals to me. The concept, birth, is approached using a series of still pictures, newly created, to tell the story and convey the emotion. The pictures I've seen by Erica Farrel are quite lovely and fantastical, with swirling colors, swirling shapes, swirling backdrops. Life in motion.
I'll have to let you know about the finished project next summer, when it is, at last, born into this world and shared with all. Please remind me, should I forget!
I should then be the proud owner of the dvd of the completed work, as well as one of the 6000 - or more - of the paintings used to compose the film.
Imagine - I'll be able to stop the film and the image on the screen will be the same as the painting on my wall.
That will be quite magical!

I'm hoping for one of these under-the-sea paintings -
that will be perfect in my Ocean Room!

Celebration in the Garden

Why id I became involved with this kickstarter project?
I had been searching for local projects to support, in particular, projects in Georgia. This one caught my heart, promising to delight both my palate and my soul with tales which connect daughters to their mothers and the recipes of their younger days.
What a beautiful concept!
Stories of love through the generations, with a family recipe to add to the warmth of a mother's touch.
I know my mother would have very much approved of this use of her money.
I just wish she could share the Julia Glenn Carter's finished book with me.

hephaestus

Wow!!! This is the first animated film project on kickstarter that I've been truly drawn to. It speaks to me, of good versus evil, of the strong defending the weak, of brute power with tender heart.
I like the feel of the name in my mouth, too.
Old-timey, days of Roman and Greek gods, epic saga stuff.
But Sci-fi style, with a robot as the hero.
You just don't know how much and how loudly this speaks to me.
My friend Sam Johnson would have been all over it with me. A love story between an aging battlefield robot and a motherless 9-year-old girl? And it's animated? Wild horses couldn't keep us away.
One of the best things about it? The folks doing it are all local.
Alex even blogs about the progress on his webpage, so I can watch the work come together. He even has his storyboards, both of them, posted there. So, I have a good idea of the action to occur, but not the dialogue or music cues or sound effects.
I saw a trailer for the film during a student showcase (!!!), but that just whet my appetite fiercely.
Oh, I am so eagerly waiting for this one...

global village construction set

Marcin Jakubowski is living in the heartland of the United States and wants to help the world live better. To that end, he founded Open Source Ecology, a network of farmers, engineers, and supporters. Together, they have designed equipment that can be easily built on-site anywhere in the world, with the versatile pieces in a kit.
That's right: build you own tractor, using parts from a kit. Build your own brick press - to construct houses - with the pieces from that same kit. And the list of industrial machines goes on and on, to fifty total.
That's right: fifty machines to build a village, from one kit.
The Global Village Construction Set.
Much cheaper than having to buy something premade and then having it shipped.
Much easier means of turning subsistence into a livable life.
From bakery ovens and bulldozers to well-drilling rigs and wind turbines - the instructions will be available to all, as well as any pieces which cannot be easily manufactured.
I want to see Factor e Farm, the place where it all comes to life.
That's the funding level I chose.
The privilege of visiting the site in Missouri. The GVCS deluxe dvd with the instructions to build the Tractor, the Compressed Earth Brick (CEB) Press, the Power Cube, and the Soil Pulverizer. The punch-out magnet, formed by the fabrication of the CEB Press and Tractor. The video thank-you.
I want to truly be part of this worthy and needed endeavor.
Maybe they'll even let me help build something when I visit.

time travel adventures

Yep, believe it or not, we have an author in Decatur who wants to encourage kids to read science books! To that worthy goal, he has written two books, In The Nick Of Time and The Time Of His Life, about space travel and has them geared toward the home-schooling market in particular. The books have an entertaining story with science, math, history, and other topics sprinkled in right under the kids' noses.
With this project, he's trying to get them published.
Hopefully he'll be successful in this funding venture.

flutterby

Andrea Kay's father has Alzheimer's Disease, a type of dementia, and he is dying. Her dilemma was how to connect to him, even when he was not aware of who she was.
Connection. Connection to the man he once was, through the man he had become.
Before he was gone forever.
When I was searching out new projects on kickstarter, looking for local ventures, this one came up. But wait! She's in Ohio! That's twelve hours away, by car!
Oh, I see. She is gathering money to take her work on tour, starting with a health professionals conference in Atlanta. Okay, I can definitely relate to this.
After all, my father died in April of 2009, just a few weeks after his birthday.
My stepdad just died in August of this year.
So, when she spoke of trying to keep her relationship to her father intact, even though his relationship to her was not, I could definitely relate and thank God that dementia was not present in either Daddy or Frank. We all knew each other right to the end.
That's a blessing that not all enjoy.
So, I gladly added my money to the funds she was nurturing.
I know her work will, in turn, nurture so many who have not been as blessed as I.

billy brown

"Everyone has a hurt worth laughing about."
What a tagline.
He also posted a link to a sweet video called "Climbing To The Moon". That just may have tipped the balance (all puns intended - watch the video) in his favor.
Even though Andrew Morgan is out in California, I decided his project had much merit and warranted my backing. Even though he is not here in Georgia.
(smile)
But he is planning to enter the film in the Atlanta Film Festival, so that will work out well.
And just in case I cannot make it to that festival, I threw a Benjamin into the pot, so he would share the dvd with me. I'll also get my name in the credits, which I really like as a reward, I must say!
And, as an extra bonus, a bright T-shirt to wear about town.
Oh, yeah, bragging rights will be mine!

real outdoorsmen - a documentary

I must say, when I first stumbled across this project, I thought of my cousin Penny's cousin, Jeff. He's a fisherman and even has (or had) his own fishing show, up in the great white Nebraska. He's been very good to me over the past few years and even sent me his Garmin when he read on facebook of my driving lost, yet again.
Here's the setup: Nick and his buddy, both filmmakers in California, come to the Blue Ridge mountains of Georgia. Their goal? To produce pictures and a film that are through the eyes of a regular hiker, not some expert scientist or historian.
That sounds like a hike I would enjoy - not chiggers or ticks or sand gnats tormenting my flesh. But I would still be able to see the same sights.
Okay! Let's go!

fairtax, the musical

Well, alrighty then! A musical about politics!
Actually, Fairtax: The Musical is theatre and marks the second theatrical project I've backed on kickstarter. I hope it does as well with its funding as the summer venture here in Savannah did!
This one's home base is about four hours from me, so, when the play is eventually produced - estimated as July 2012! - I'll easily be able to drive up to see it. Maybe my best friend and her family will even be able to join me! Marietta is just an hour away for them.
Actually, when I know the specifics of the performance dates, I'll have to see if some of the Drinking Liberally chapters want to make it a group venture. THAT sounds like it would be a lot of fun and certainly lead to some good discussions at our meetings.
This portrayal of an ideal America, where everyone contributes their 23% for the benefit of all, should be quite entertaining. As it begins, everyone who buys anything, whether goods or services, is paying into the federal government. (No word about state or local taxes in this play. Hey, one thing at a time!)
A rather utopian manner of tax collection it is, until the politicians abolish it in favor of a more complex, progressive income tax... like we currently have.
Don Goodman is a man on a mission, a mission to change the income tax system, one song at a time!
I'll be listening for every note, too.

chalk talk

When I saw this project on kickstarter, I immediately thought of my stepdad.
So, I have backed this, a local Georgia film, in memory of him.
I only wish I could share a screening of it in his den when I receive my award.
Yes, I believe it is worth every bit of a Benjamin to own this piece of history, to be created by SCAD student Chris Durenberger, in honor of aging veterans.
Nicely done.
No dialogue. Morse code, as interpreted through contacts of chalk on a board, transmitted from one classroom to another through the wall.
You never know what time travel machine will be used to transport memories.

cafe murder opens

Wow! My very first game project on kickstarter! And it's local!
Well, not in Savannah, itself, but in Athens, Georgia, so that's close.
I'm curious to see how long it takes for an electronic game to be developed.
My ex has a long-time family friend who is in that business. He's known Jimmy Adams since they were in pre-kindergarten together in Michigan. I think Jimmy lives in Arizona or New Mexico now. (I know his mom, but I'm not sure I've ever met him, except in photos on facebook.) As I recall, he had something to do with "The Watchmen" graphic novel (which I did not read, but I loved the movie).
Anywho... This is not a graphic novel, but a very colorful, engaging bit of entertainment which looks to be suitable for most ages. Including mine!
Looks fun to me! I'm looking forward to having my very own copy of the game.
And I'll get a T-shirt, too... awesome!

a dollop and a pinch wants to get cooking

Well, well, well! My first project in the publishing category of kickstarter! Why this one and not some other? Well, in keeping with my desire to "buy local', Dea Irby promised just that. Located in Georgia, she was the one-time owner of a tea room called The Baron York. After seven years, she decided to close up shop, only to find herself beset upon by folks clamoring for her recipes.
Enter kickstarter. Here, she could ask the recipe-seekers to put their money - and that of others - where their craving mouths were. Truthfully, I joined the project late, after it had already garnered all of its funding, but still had four days to go until the deadline. I jumped on the bandwagon anyway.
Say what? They allow folks to do that?
Yes, they do.
So why did I?
Well, November of 2009, I found myself having Thanksgiving dinner in Augusta at the home of one of my cousins. She is a long-lost cousin on my father's side, pushed to the wayside when her mom and my mom, once best friends, had a falling out with each other. That was around Christmas of 1967 or 1968, as I recall. By a chance meeting with her best friend from high school at a festival in Jekyll Island, Beverly and I had been reunited and I had made the trip to visit her for the first time in almost forty years.
She is a very fine cook. She does a bit of catering and loves to throw dinner parties, too.
She is the reason I signed on to back this cookbook.
You see, for the paltry sum of $59 dollars, or just a little more than my cellphone bill, I will be granted two autographed copies of the cookbook. One for me, one for Beverly.
What a priceless Christmas gift for both of us!

assisted loving

I think Sam Queen may be on to something here. He must have some beloved elderly folks in his world to dream up this story.
It's about taking a chance on love, even when you're elderly and in an assisted living environment. Knowing there is a risk of someone saying "no" and asking anyway. After all, no one ever died from being told "no", right?
As he describes the film, it has everything he likes in movies: "action, comedy, suspense, and romance." Coincidentally, those are also the things I like in movies!
I do enjoy backing these student shorts! They are not afraid to try any idea, and the more innovative, the better. That's the way I cook, too. Throw some odd items together and see how it turns out! Sometimes, it's a fabulous new dish to add to the repertoire; other times, it's best not repeated.
I look forward to seeing how this dish will taste.
Especially as my name will be in the credits!

portraits of the solidarity economy

I like that word: solidarity.
People standing together, as a unified front, against selfishness and greed.
I especially like that.
But in New York City? Home of rudeness and ruthlessness?
Well, Caroline Woolard is dispelling that line of thinking. Using filmed segments with seven economic innovators in that Big Apple, she is wanting to reveal the intactness of the old values: justice, democracy, sustainability, and cooperation.
I can stand with her on that. And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is, too.
In return, I'll get the DVD of those interviews, to maybe show others how to do business differently, more fairly, in this hard economy.
I'm going to look forward to that. My eldest brother has his own business and, until last year, I was working with him, getting the files computerized, being his Gal Friday. Then business soured and I was fortunate enough to find work elsewhere, in a different field. He is still limping along, but the reason he even still has work is this: he and the other floor men look out for each other.
That's what this project is all about.

the red thread

Duston Spear and Michael Minard are crafting a film about a woman in prison. Actually, about a woman serving thirty years to life behind bars.
And they're doing it with poetry and operatic music.
Wow.
What woman? What did she do? How long has she been in prison?
We aren't told any of that. The film to introduce the project on kickstarter indicates that she has been locked up for about thirty years, so far. That means she's been in prison for more than half of her life.
My youngest brother is in prison and has been for four years now. He has nine more years ahead of him, unless he is fortunate enough to earn parole before 2020.
I think this is going to be an interesting ride.

gypped

This looks like fun!
Having served seven years in the United States Navy, as a woman in a traditional male job, I certainly know about sexual harassment. That said, I also grew up an only girl with three brothers, so I've learned to take it in stride. Most of the time. As long as the guys don't get touchy-feely without my permission.
(Smile.)
I'm trying to stay mostly local with my funding of projects. More opportunity for me to potentially reap the benefits of seeing the completed projects in a nearby venue.
I wonder how long it'll take for this one to be completed?
Well, that's if it gets more funding than my Benjamin. I hope so!

crucifaxe 2: the immaculate deception

"Bad habits are hard to break."
Seriously. That's the tagline for this film!
It's the Bad Habits versus the Protestants and the Mother Superior has made a deal with the Devil herself!
Definitely a bit of lighthearted stuff and nonsense, so very much needed after my stepdad's death in August.
I'll keep my finger crossed for its funding.
I very much look forward to owning this short film.

the flight

Wow. A film about daring to hope for more, daring to believe a different truth, daring to venture into the unknown.
This young woman seems to have crafted a fine science fiction/ post-apocalytic tale with a protagonist who is also a young woman.
A young lesbian woman.
But her sexuality is not the focus here. Her sexuality is simply one facet of her life.
As one's sexuality should be.
Brava!
I have chosen to use a generous chunk of money to help this project come to life.
I do wish it much success!

flissening

This year, I begin something new, something I've wanted to do for some time. This year, I help promote the artistic endeavors of the hard-working creative folk which dwell in this fine city by the sea.
What? Haven't I been helping all along, perhaps more so these past four years? Hasn't being part of the audience always been my dominant form of support? Hasn't responding to the art in a visual and audible way been reward enough for the efforts of those enriching the culture of this town?
Well, maybe it has been sufficient reward for some, and it has certainly been rewarding to me as well (by enhancing my enjoyment of life and allowing me to experience delight!). But times they are a-changin', as a song once said, and I'm changing, too. Being part of the audience and passively waiting for new ventures to come forth simply isn't enough anymore. I want to be PART of the forces bringing new art, new tales, new viewpoints to my hometown.
That said, I still prefer to be part of the support group, not one of the players. Perhaps my experiences have led me in that direction. After all, I have had an audience to "perform" to for the past eighteen years and currently do so five days a week for most of the year. So, allowing others to take the foreground for enlightenment and entertainment is preferable when I am out and about.
I have been blessed to find a new way to be in the background of these events I so love: angels. Specifically, the angels in my life: Mama, Frank, Grandmama, Daddy, Grandpa, and others who have taught me their love of the creative spirit. This new group of angels, known as "fliss", are taking on projects in film, theatre, art, and music, not only here in my fair town, but elsewhere in this country. Film Lovers In Scenic Savannah are not limited to cinema efforts, having their first engagement with a theatrical project last May - but film is certainly a primary focus of the group.
Why film? Film allows many people to share a life-changing, life-engaging, and life-affirming experience within a small time frame. Film allows many people who don't have the time to devour the knowledge in books to still gain the benefits of that knowledge. Film allows many people to realize they are not alone in dealing with a particular problem, a type of person, or troubling experience - films show the methods of others tackling, and perhaps solving, the same issues as those of the film-goers. Film allows many people to travel to other towns, other countries, other worlds - and all you need is the cost of admission to the cinema.
I'm looking forward to sharing the efforts of this group. I'll try to document some of their efforts here along the way, as I attempt to pay it forward for the years of delight I have already enjoyed from others.

lovecrafted

Tonight, and last night, too, I attended the fundraisers for Muse Arts Warehouse. Each evening, I was in different company, though there were some who were repeat attendees like myself. Why, you ask? What was the big attraction?
Honestly, I was there for moral support of the indomitable JinHi Soucy Rand, mistress supreme of Muse Arts. I have been friends with her since the days before she and Mark wed. I was even at their wedding uder the oaks of Officers Row on Tybee, back in 2000. She is very talented, both on and off the stage, and has been in several movies filmed locally (Forrest Gump and The Gingerbread Man immediately spring to mind).
She and Mark took over the space in the old Seaboard Freight building early last year, initially naming it Indigo Arts Center. Concerned that the name of an art gallery in town might lead to confusion with both those performing and those attending events, the space was rechristened as Muse Arts Warehouse on July 1, 2010.
The space is available to all artists and has been a home for SCAD seniors with final art shows, films by cinema groups, music from bands and solo performers near and far, and, of course, theatre works by various local groups. It's one of the most versatile places in town! Also, unlike many other downtown venues, it has on-site, free, and abundant parking. That alone makes it unique.
As one would expect, for such a large space, large money is needed, on a regular basis, to keep the lights on and rent paid.
To the rescue ride the Drama Bums, a local repertory troupe, which is said to consist mostly of SCAD staff and students. For this fundraiser, they performed "Lovecrafted: An Evening With Cthulhu". Briefly, the event consisted of a series of staged readings of the written works of H.P. Lovecraft, with Chris Soucy giving introductions to the pieces and lending filial support.
There were also various unique pieces of art, inspired by that horror fiction, and some other oddities, available to the highest bidder at the silent auctions. I had mentioned the event to my best friend Paul and his wife and they had professed themselves - and her brother, too! - to be avid fans of Lovecraft and tasked me with informing them of what items were present so they could bid, from El Cerrito, CA, through me. Sure, I could do that for them!
Now, just to set the record straight, I am not a Lovecraft fan or a follower of Cthulhu. (You cannot imagine how much I had to practice just to say that name!) No. That is largely because I am not a fan of horror. Nope, not really. Sure, I like Twilight Zone and Tales From The Crypt, I have to leave Stephen King and Freddie Krueger to other folks.
Like I said earlier, I was there as a supporter of the venue.
And along the way, I found there were some short stories by Lovecraft that held some appeal for me. I especially liked "The White Ship", most likely for its nautical theme, but also for its haunted lyrical qualities.
I did "win" several of the auctions, too, with my biggest prize, in every sense of the word, being the Cthulhu mask shown above. Marvelous, isn't it? I obtained all of the pieces I had bid on for the Wests out West, too - what a coup!

But my favorite piece, I do believe, is this.
It's an electronic vacuum tube,
similar to those that powered the refrigerator-sized main-frames
I maintained in the US Navy.
But that's not its function! No sir!
It's used in a theremin!
You know, those musical instruments
that are used for spooky sound effects?
And now I have a theremin's spooky tooth.
Very cool.

the first time

The first time is always special, n'est-ce pas?
Last month, one of my new friends had posted a link on his blog, a link to a proposed festival of short plays. I clicked the link - and was hooked! Titled "A Midsummer Night's Play Festival", it promised a unique experience. Actors, writers, directors would be granted only twenty-hour hours to create, script, direct, and learn the lines of brand-new ten-minute plays. WOW! Even better, the Festival would take place at my favorite new venue in town. Sweet! And it would include the artistic renderings of several folks I know. Hey, how could I possibly resist being part of that myself???
The link also served to introduce me to Kickstarter. Billing itself as "the world's largest funding platform for creative projects", Kickstarter allows the populace at large to "put their money where their mouth is". See a project there that you think is a good idea? Well, buddy, YOU can become a backer with just a few clicks of your mouse and taps of your fingers on the keyboard. If that project is deemed worthy by sufficient folks' pledges, then it gets funded and becomes reality; if the project does not reach its funding goal, then you have lost nothing from your wallet.
Kickstarter allows each of us multiple opportunities to be part of something greater than ourselves, a unique new endeavor, a creative good. And, as if being part of such would-be works wasn't reward enough, each project allows its donors gifts at each participation level. Just have a couple of bucks to throw into the pile? You might be granted a shout-out at the event, a handwritten thank-you, a grateful email. Want to donate the cost of movie popcorn and soda toward new art? You just might get a dvd of the short film, a painted magnet, a special weblink to the new music. At the highest gift levels, you might find yourself an honorary director, a character in a new video game, the owner of a truly one-of-a-kind painting.
Go on, check it out - www.kickstarter.com. You never know what you might find or how a project you help fund might impact the world.
Now, I have wonderful memories of a fun evening with so many thespians and writers and directors, some I know and some new to me.
I also own a physical memento: a signed artwork by the designer of the poster and program.
What a great birthday gift to myself!