The End of Crosspital and Other Happenings at the June Episode of 40 Story Radio Tower

Hello hello!

"Known for their energetic live shows, the band leave every ounce of adrenaline on the stage floor when they finish a set. Definitely not background music at an uppity wine and dine spot. Think cranked guitar amplifiers sending shockwaves through the air of a massive stadium while the audience bobs up and down on the beer soaked ground." -the 40 Story website, obviously.

This month's post is going to be, admittedly, a short one. I, once again, invite you all out this Thursday, June 25, to the Mauch Chunk Opera House for the June Episode of 40 Story Radio Tower: The Monthly Recorded Live for Podcast Radio Show. The show starts at (roughly, not promptly) 8PM and the doors are open at 7. This month's featured band is Natural Stranger!

We are all incredibly excited to see this amazing band live, and YOU should be too!

Despite all the excitement, its with great sadness that I share with you, my dear few readers, that this month is featuring the finale of Crosspital, a series written by the founder of 40 Story Radio Tower, J. Ferron Hiatt. This will be one of our longest sketches, and probably our most exciting. Find out what happens to Mr. Crumbel, Dee, Disorderly, Nurse, and all of the other zany (well, lets be real, batshit crazy) characters in this thrilling and final installment of Crosspital.

This month's epsiode will also feature a new episode of the hilarious and poignant "Shitmouthtown", as well as poetry, flash fiction, and more. The weather is hot, the acts are hot, you're hot. You've got to see it. And please, my loves, if you've read this article and you do come see it, COME FIND ME. I'll buy you a drink (if you're into that) or just hug you aggressively.

Check us out on Itunes and Stitcher!

Have a gorgeous and wonderful week, and I hope to see you all on Thursday!!!

Bazaar Baltimore

Being that I live in Baltimore, there a tons of hidden gems in the city to visit. One of my favorite shops to frequent is Bazaar; a place filled with oddities, unusual antiques, and all the kinds of creepy things that I love. The owners, Brian and Greg, have sold me bats, doll parts, and lots of other little odds and ends. Greg was nice enough to chat with me about the shop.

For those who have never been to Bazaar, explain what the shop is like.

We're a curiosity gift shop in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore.  We carry taxidermy specimens, antique and vintage medical equipment, unusual jewelry, skulls, anatomical charts, air plants, and weird home decor.  The shop itself is very small, but we try and pack it full of strange items.

How did you guys meet and decide to open Bazaar?
We met several years prior to opening the shop.  We had both always been into the strange and unusual, and opening a shop was the perfect excuse to buy a lot of really cool stuff, haha.  Hampden is a really great neighborhood for shopping, and so when the space became available, we jumped on it.  And everything sort of fell into place rather quickly from there.

What's the most unusual item you have had in the shop?
That's a tough question, but it's probably the horse-woman sculpture made from pig intestines, gold stitching, and glass beads.  Artist and date are unknown.  It was found in the attic of an old farmhouse when they were cleaning it out, and it's about as creepy and unusual as it gets.

Favorite items?
One of my favorite items just sold - it was the severed head of fortune teller from a penny arcade automaton.  But at the moment, I'm really into our raccoon skull planters.  These are made from craft-grade skull tops of raccoons and stuffed with moss, dried flowers, and a live air plant.  The skulls are recycled from roadkill that would otherwise be incinerated or thrown away, and It's a really cool combo of both fauna and flora.  Because each one is unique and they are only $24 each, it's kind of like a no-brainer gift idea for anyone into natural history.

Has anything totally grossed you out?
Occasionally we will get specimens in that are too far gone to do anything with.  Too much rot to salvage anything.  At that point, all you can really do is clean it for the bones.  And that tends to be a stinky and unpleasant maceration process.  But other than that, I am not grossed out by anything on the shelves for sale.  You get accustomed to it, for sure.

How do you find the items you have in the shop?
Some things, like our incense, gag gifts, books, etc., can just be ordered wholesale like a normal retailer.  Some other items we make ourselves, like our greeting cards, soaps, and bone jewelry.  Sometimes we get really lucky and people bring us awesome stuff right to the shop.  But mostly, it's a lot of auctions, flea markets, private collections, picking through junk, etc.  We basically have to follow every lead we get.  Sometimes it's pure luck and we strike gold, sometimes it's a bust and we'll see a lot of things that are interesting, but not quite a fit for the shop.  We don't have a lot of space, so we have to be very discerning.

Anything new and exciting in the works for Bazaar?
Always!  We are putting together another taxidermy workshop on May 31st.  This time around, the class will be mounting European starlings.  It will be our first ever bird taxidermy class, and we are stoked!  We're also working on a very special event in September in conjunction with The Walters Art Museum, and it's going to be a blast!  More info on that very soon, so stay tuned.  Anyone who wants to keep up to date with our events and also see pictures of new items in the shop can follow us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/bazaarbaltimore - or on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr - @bazaarbaltimore.  We also have a small online store at www.bazaarbaltimore.com.

Date Night Ideas

Are you ever looking for something fun to do? Something that isn't the same old movie or dinner out? I highly suggest getting yourself out to do something like this.

The Tamaqua Community Art Center is Located 

125 Pine St 

Tamaqua, Pa 18252

(570) 668 - 1192

 To see a calender of events 

Tamaqua Community Arts Center runs Paint and Sip events 3 - 4 events a month.

OK let's be real here for a minute families or even just happy couples, "Date Night" can be fun, but sometimes it gets boring. We tend to do what we are comfortable with for my husband and myself it consists of a movie and dinner without our children being there, but conversation usually leads back to them in one form or another. Or its a group date to Buffalo Wild Wings to see a UFC fight night. We do not often do things that are out of our comfort zone. So for Valentine's Day this year I wanted to do something NEW something neither of us had done before. I had been hearing about these paint and sips that a bunch of my coworkers have been too, but was told that most of the time these were a bunch of women getting together. So when I heard about the couples one I was in I thought this is perfect something to do that is NEW!!!!!  It took a little time to convince my husband that we needed no actual artistic talents. We were both nervous neither of us claim to be artists, but we thought it would be something fun to do that we had never tried before. OH BOY am I glad we decided to give this a chance.

They started us with a basic sketch on a blank canvas and a palette of colors which if you asked they would help you  customize, as seen on  the right. The artist who was teaching us the techniques was a lot of fun and super helpful. She made us feel very comfortable.  

There were several stages to the process each one a little harder as we went along, but the instructor was right there to help you if you felt you made a mistake. Really the painting is designed that there really is no mistake that cannot be fixed, but she would help you make it more cohesive looking.

This event included a candlelit dinner which of course I forgot to take a picture of, but it was a nice simple catered meal. To have a meal that is not interrupted by wearing someones food(I have 2 toddlers I am always wearing some sort of food), screaming, or idle chat about the various Disney princesses is always a treat, but to have one so romantically put together was very nice.

After dinner we finished the painting see pictures above there were so many steps and each one needed time between, so Tamaqua Art Center Provided an little Photo booth to play with in the break times..

As the simple couple next door looking for something new and interesting to do for a date night or  just something fun for yourself. Go check out the paint and sips at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center they always have great events going on there. We had a blast and are planning another one soon.

Finished product and acting silly . 

Have a great time and take a sip for me.

Ceci Blu

#13thMoonThursday & Lancaster Punk Rock Flea Market

Photo: Portraits by Heather, Model: Jolie Kasar

Hey Everyone, Selena from 13th Moon here.  I'm gearing up for our next show, the Lancaster Punk Rock Flea Market this Saturday, June 20th, 2015.

I've been working on a new line of soaps to bring out just for this event, then there's always the customer favorites like our beer, wine, & milk soaps that will be there as well!  This is the first time we'll be bringing the full line of our own custom fragrance blends in 6 packs of wax (soy blend wax tarts), soy blend candles, and incense punks and cones.  Of course, I couldn't forget a variety of our famous long lasting lip balms!  Come on out and say hello, we'll be on the 2nd floor!

For more info, check out: Shop13thMoon.com!

How Full Is Your Glass?

Hello loves!

     I took a bit of a hiatus from the Internet in hopes to relieve some MAJOR amounts of stress in my life. I've come to the conclusion that this was completely necessary, but not because I wanted to be unsocial or cut people completely out of my life. I absolutely needed to reevaluate the way I looked at things. As funny as it may seem, it helped me realize how pessimistic I was with events that I could have, ultimately, taken control of in a healthier way.

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” 
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

     For instance, I was becoming self-doubtful in my career path and some choices I had made. I laid in bed one night, contemplating everything - pretty much on the verge of tossing everything away. In the midst of all of that, I hit a brick wall of realization. I had an epiphany! I knew I was looking at things in a negative light, so I just needed to switch that around. It seems so easy but when you’re stuck in a funk, man, you’re stuck. It really boils down to the determination you have to get the hell out of that sticking point and motivation to move forward towards greater things. I knew that if I wanted anything to change, I had to start with myself and how I was addressing situations.

     “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

     I got up and starting looking up motivational quotes, Pinterest is awesome for that, and researching how to become more optimistic. I stumbled upon a really great chart that narrowed down some unhealthy thinking styles. It’s funny how some of them I pointed to and said “Oh, I do that!” I knew that I had to improve on those at that point.

Find more at Health Central!

     Now don’t get me wrong, I am an optimistic person for things like solving issues related to my job and even for other people; however, I think we all hit snags in the road when it comes to ourselves. We just need to look at things differently. When a personal issue enters my life now, I do my best to stay focused on the solutions, get advice from other people or even try different approaches than I normally would of. It’s amazing what changes this has brought to my life since it has allowed me to see myself differently and communicate better with those who respect me and my time. I have also learned to not blame myself or personalize the situation when others leave my life for their reasons.

     I don’t think that being optimistic is so much about being positive but more about being motivated and persistent. It's about being able to look at a situation and seeing the good or just using the event to grow as a person in a positive light. Enough of my babbling! How full do you think your glass is??

xx

Jolie Kasar

The Blonde Leading the Blind

Have you ever seen that guy at a place that sells pet food and not only does he have a shopping cart, but it is practically overflowing with pet food? Not only is it overflowing, but the food isn’t even for one type of animal? I mean come on, what is this? Do you live on a farm or are you one of those crazy hoarders with fifty pets running around in the walls? Well, all joking aside, I have been “that guy” on more times than I can count. I am the proud owner of two dogs and two cats. My two dogs, Fidget and Coby, are 13 years old and my cats, Freddy and Nancy, are bout 5 and 6. I have had the dogs since they were puppies and I came to live with cats when my husband and I first started living together. It took a while for one of our cats to get used to the dogs, she still has her little kitty bitch fits and will whack one of the dogs, but apart from that, we are one big happy family.

Fidget on my skull bed, Coby and Nancy, Freddy and Nancy, Coby

My biggest concern has always been the dogs, and not just because I’ve had them since they were pups. Now that my dogs are getting up there in age, I start to worry more. The walks can’t be as long and the steps aren’t easy as they used to be, but none the less, they are doing fine. Or at least they were until this past January. This winter, I noticed that Fidget had dropped a significant amount of weight. He wouldn’t go up and down the stairs anymore and he was having accidents in the house. He was still eating regularly, but his thirst for water went up significantly. The next thing I noticed was his eyes were now cloudy. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize this dogs health was going down hill fast. He appeared to be blind and had something else wrong that we weren’t 100% sure of just yet. So, like any responsible pet owners, we took our sick critter to the vet.

Signs of Dog Diabetes from www.hillspet.com 

The vet asked us all of the standard questions to figure out what was wrong with our dog. We told the doctor everything we had noticed. She confirmed that our dog was blind from cataracts, which we had already guessed. When we told her about the weight loss, thirst, and accidents she told us that it sounded like our dog was diabetic. She wanted to do a blood test to confirm this, so I got to watch three people hold my 56 pound mutt to get a blood sample. Let me tell you, this sucked. Not only is my dog not a huge fan of the vet, but now the poor blind dog can’t even see what’s comin! Within 24 hours we got the results from the blood test and they came back positive for diabetes. The next visit sucked.

Me (with a tan for once) and Fidget before cataracs and diabetes

When we returned to the vet, we were told what new habits we had to get into now that we have a diabetic dog. The first thing they told us was to change his diet. He needed high protein/low fat dog food twice a day. To top that off, he would now need a shot of insulin to follow meals. We were told to feed the dog twice a day as close to 12 hours apart as possible. We were starting with a small dose of insulin to see how that goes and that in order to give it to him, we needed to make sure he had at least 3 bites of food. No big deal right… oh wait. You mean I have to give the old, blind dog the injection. Awesome… NOT! To make matters more nerve racking, they vet had my husband and I practice on Fidget. In the office. With water. And two other vet assistants watching. I am sorry for all of those times I was nervous for having to give a speech in class, this tops all of those minor anxiety attacks. I decided to go first, especially since I knew my husband wasn’t going to volunteer to be Doctor Satan to our dog first. The room was getting hot, so I took off my coat. The vet grabbed my dog by his scruff, making a “tent” with his loose skin. She moved the hair to find his skin, stuck in the needle, and pressed down on the plunger. “See, nothing to it. You’re turn!” I’m sweating like I’m high in church. I fill the syringe, grab his fur, find his skin, and give my dog the injection of water. It was over before I could pee my pants and the dog didn’t even move. It was like he couldn’t feel a thing or if he could, it didn’t bother him. After my husband left, we felt better about giving the shot, but were still worried.

Fidget, Winter 2015

The next few weeks were an adjustment and were beyond frustrating. We were given the small dose so that we could gradually work our way up to the perfect amount of insulin for our dog. This didn’t happen over night. It took weeks and weeks of vet visits, different dog foods, and pee pads as far as the eye can see. There have been days where I come home and I wanted to cry or pull out my hair. It sucks to come home and clean up pee. It sucks to give your dog shots everyday and to have to change your work schedule to accommodate this. It sucks to have to carry the blind dog up and down steps to go to the vet. What doesn’t suck? Seeing your dog happy and wagging his tail because he is feeling better. Watching him slowly get on your bed when he hasn’t done that in months. Seeing your cat, Freddy, try to lead your blind dog to the backdoor.

Fidget playing it off that he is camera shy

Having a blind dog with diabetes hasn’t been a cake walk. There are good days and there are bad days. My friend Rich put it best when he said, “All of the happiness you get from your pets will make taking care of them when they get sick worth it.” Rich is right. I had 12 years with Fidget where he was there for me and now it is my turn to be there for him in a big way. He may be blind, he may have diabetes, but he is happy, and as long as his tail is still wagging I think we will be just fine.

I found this tag while looking on Amazon.com, just in case the blind dog gets loose.

Here are some of my tips for anyone with a diabetic critter:

1. Ask your vet about what food to buy. They will know more brands that Joe Blow at a big chain pet store who is just there stocking shelves.

2. If you can't find a certain dog food, go to a specialty store. They will know more about the products and are more likely to be able to get in what you need even if they don't carry it in the store.

3. Pee pads are good, but not for big spills. While pee pads caught more of my dogs accidents, they weren't nearly big enough to not leak. I'm sure these work better with small dogs. I still use them because they do make it easier to clean up accidents as opposed to mopping up lakes of urine.

4. Walmart has best pricing for insulin and needles. For 100 needles and a vile of insulin I play under $40. Plus, you get to cut the line because it's not for a human!

5. Weekly trips to the vet until you have your pets dosage just right are necessary and don't cost nearly as much as a regular visit. 

6. Just breathe. You can do this! It does get better.

7. There are lots of sites that can help you if you have any questions about Dog Diabetes including Hills Pet and Pet Web MD.

Fidget

Thanks for reading about my trials and tribulations with Doggie Diabetes.

xoxo,
Krystal Lake

Opple Topple

What do you envision when you think of a music festival?  Tie-dye wearing hippies?  Psychedelic tapestries?  Cheap beer?

This all may be true at Opple Topple as well.  But this year at Opple Topple you will also be reminded of Morrocco.  Envision a tent out of Arabian nights.  White damask linens drape the tent.  At night the entire tent seems to glow.  Seductive belly dancers and exotic men entice you with mint tea and hookah pipes.  Decorative lanterns flicker in the candlelight.  An intoxicating perfume of incense is in the air.  A gypsy sits in the corner reading tarot cards.

Mint tea anyone?

If you are looking for something to do Father's Day weekend and you enjoy good music and camping.  Why not check out Opple Topple?  If you do go, make sure you stop by the Tea Party tent and say hello.

-NéNé