Found this image looking around the web and am in love with it!

Hey everybody, my artwork has been featured today on Mr. X Stitch’s blog!!! It’s a great blog all about stitched art, mostly embroidery and cross stitch, but they’ve put my Beastie Boy portrait, They’re Crafted, up on the site.  Thanks guys!!

I’m very excited.  I’m all hopped up on me!

I found a blog recently, A Lonely Craftivist, that really inspired me.  The author is a crafter in the UK who uses her crafting politically.  I thought I’d jump on her band wagon, and so have done my first piece.

It’s on a bus stop on Melrose at the corner of Spaulding, in West Hollywood.  It came out even better than I hoped. The cops rolled by once while I was stitching (from 10.30pm until almost midnight), but didn’t hassle me.  What would they have said? “Ma’am, step away from the yarn?”  We’ll see how long it lasts.

Yay!

I’m blogging for my pals over at the Lek, here’s a piece I posted this morning:

Howdy all, Schinders here.  Been back in the online dating pool a few weeks now, and I’m finally adjusting to the temperature.  I’m beginning to remember how this all works.  I’ve also seen, and remembered, some things that just seem inexplicable.  So, here they are, my top five things that make me go Hmm, the stuff you don’t know why anyone would do, my Top Five Online Dating Mysteries!

1. A CONFUSING PHOTO – Why did you post that photo? You claim to be a non-smoker, yet in this picture you’re clearly smoking.  Or, I think that’s you in the picture, but it’s taken from so far away, who can tell?  Or, wow a picture of a group of guys… I wonder which one I’m communicating with… People, post a photo of you that looks like you, that’s clear, that’s attractive… this is common sense stuff folks…
2. THE DISAPPEARING SUITOR – We’ve been writing emails, you’ve asked for my number, and…. that’s all she wrote.  It happens a lot, at least fifty percent of the time I’d say, that someone asks to contact you in person, and then doesn’t.  I don’t know if it’s nerves, or just a game of how many numbers can I get, but it happens often enough to make me question it.
3. THE POUR SPELLER – Why would you post a profile with spelling and grammar errors? Just spell check, or ask a friend to look at it.  I don’t mean to be a dick, but people are judging you on this, put your best foot forward.
4. THE PEST – There are people out there who don’t want to accept a nice rejection, and will keep pestering a person until they are finally blocked.  “Why won’t you go out with me?” “How do you know we’re not a match if we haven’t met,” or my favorite, the angry pest who instigates a conversation, and then when rejected lashes out, “Oh yeah, well you’re not so hot!”  If someone actually took the time to respond, even if it’s not the answer you wanted, be respectful.
5. THE SILENT LURKER – This is the weirdest one to me, because supposedly we’re using these sites to actually meet someone, the person who looks at you every day, and I mean every day, but never contacts you.  Even if you find them attractive, and write to them first, they don’t respond… What is that???

There’s more I’m sure. What do you find frustrating or enigmatic about the process?

Again I have been remiss in the writing, but only because I’ve been making.  Behold, “Untitled Buddy Christ #9.”

Here’s a detail shot of the stitching:

If you’re in LA, it’ll be hanging at Gallery1988, in the Crazy4Cult show opening on Thurs, July 16th.

I’m in NYC at my Dad’s place.  I was looking at the downstairs, livingroom bookcase and came across a book from the mid 70’s on Duchamp.  I gave it a flip through, as I’ve always liked the readymades, and came across this poem, by Cage, on Duchamp:

let Me
hAve
youR baggage:
I will Carry it for you.
no nEed:
i’m wearing aLl of it.

Are you looking for a great summer read? Have a kid you’re trying to hook on a book? Loved Harry Potter, thought Twilight was eh, but you’re willing to suspend belief? Well I’ve got your summer series right here. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.  I’m late jumping on this band wagon, the fifth and final book in the series was just published, but hey, now we don’t have to wait for the next one.  I’ve read them back to back to back, great summer page turners.

I don’t want to say too much, because there are too many good reveals in the first book, The Lightning Theif, and I don’t want to spoil them.  I’ll just say that it’s a modern take on Greek Mythology, has a male protagonist – for all you parents of boys who won’t read “girl” books – with a female best friend, is fast paced and fun, and will make you want to go pick up a copy of D’Aulaire for nostalga’s sake.  And if you’re not nostalgic for it because you never had it, go treat yourself!

Are you listening to Zee Avi?  Why not? She’s great, jazzy, poppy, sweet. A friend said it’s the kind of stuff I would sing, if I could sing, so there’s that.  She’s one of those artists who’s so good businesses are using her music out of context for commercials. There’s a Walmart ad for summer with her la-la-la-ing, and it’s all summertime lazy day, but it’s actually from a song called Poppy, about how her boyfriend became addicted to heroine.  Ah summer.

Meant to post about this when it came to my attention, but life get’s busier than I’d like. So…

Ladies in the UK knitted a replica of their village!!!

How cool is that?

I used to work for a fansite which is now defunct, and while there I taped an interview with Kate Flannery, Meredith on The Office.  It occurs to me now that the site is dark the interview is nowhere on the web, so, to that end… here it is in transcript form. She’s a pretty funny and cool lady, and super talented. If you’re not already a fan, go check out The Lampshades; you’ll thank yourself for doing so.

Schinders Hi, I’m Schinders and I’m here with Kate Flannery, Meredith, on The Office.  Knowing that we are FanLib, the first thing I want to ask you is, what are you a fan of?
Kate I am a fan of the fans.  I like the fans. I talk to the fans. We all have these MySpace pages that we started the second season of The Office, only because our computers didn’t work the first season. And it’s actually been kind of cool to talk to people that are – actually having access to the people that they are admiring.  I mean I wish I’d have access – I still don’t even though I’m on the Office (laughs) but it’s kind of interesting.  I actually was a really big fan of Annie when I was a kid, and it’s so funny I just saw that documentary which is called … Life After Tomorrow, which  sounds like a soap opera – and it’s all these girls that I admired when I was a kid and it’s their lives now which is kind of a strange mix of not what anybody expected… and … it’s just really really weird – it’s like a weird thing – so it’s kind of a full circle for me.  I don’t know why I  mentioned that first, but I was always obsessed with that show so I wish I would have had the access back then that the kids today have now.

Schinders Since you’d brought up your fans, what is the oddest or best interaction
that you have had with fans.

Kate The oddest interaction I’ve had – I actually have a seventh grader who’s a big fan – who wants to party with Meredith – and somehow he got my phone number – this is before I moved – so if he’s passing it around, I want to stop that right now – I think his name is Sheldon – and his voice has not changed – and he called me – and then I thanked him for the call ‘cause I really appreciate the fact that he went through all that trouble to find my phone number -and then about 10 minutes later, someone else called with a similar high voice, who’s obviously voice hadn’t changed, and they were obviously… I said are you a friend of Sheldon’s?  You know, tell him to stop giving my number out – but thank him, but you know, you just have to be careful you know… some people get real stalkers, I get seventh graders from Florida who don’t realize that caller ID actually works (smirks).

Schinders There was the convention?

Kate There was the convention.  Yeah we actually were in Scranton for the The Office convention – which as we know there are two shows that have conventions… one is Star Trek and now The Office, so it’s kind of cool.  But literally there were 50,000 tickets sold I don’t know if 50,000 people were there at the same time, but it was pretty crazy.  Scranton is not a big town – now I am like this with the Mayor of Scranton, whichm is kind of cool – I can kind of go back any time I want.  You know I’m from Pennsylvania, I’m from outside Philadelphia, and so I know a lot of people from my high school who went to Scranton and they were…my nephew went to my high school, so he had friends that were there when I was – so it’s just sort of like a weird familiar thing to me, it’s also like a – I don’t know – it’s like I was getting calls from like my Mom’s friend’s grandson who wanted to just like hang out for a little bit – I mean it’s it’s pretty weird -  I mean I think the access thing is so different than the sort of old school – you know, the 70s, 80s world that I grew up around.  You know it’s like you can actually – we actually showed up – we were there, and we had a great time, and we did a little show for the crowd.  I got to sing with the band that performs the – the band that actually plays the theme to The Office.  They call themselves the Scrantones.  They’re like this awesome group of real musicians who sort of created this whole thing just for the convention.  It was really cool.

Schinders What did you perform?

Kate I sang a couple songs.  I do – well I have a comedy lounge act that I do so I’m no  stranger to singing, but I usually sing with a wig on – so I did not have a wig on – but I helped play the theme.  I got to play one of the keyboards which was totally cool – I totally felt like a musician.  And then I did a few songs – and one of them was sort of my sort of Meredith song of this year which was like “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” which was sort of dedicated to Michael Scott – so it was kind of silly.  I did one song from my act, I think we did Suspicious Minds, I don’t know – it was just like a total rock out.  Craig Robinson also performed Creed, Malora sang Ed Helms sang  Werewolves of Scranton, and Brian Baumgardner ended the whole thing by singing Roxeanne.

Schinders Were there people dressed as you?

Kate There were – and I actually got to meet the winner of the Meredith portion of the look-a-like contest.  She had a bat in her hair, she had a beer in her hand, and she looked like she was wearing a diaper – it was the pelvis cast – so I did get a picture with her of course, so it’s up on my MySpace page if you want to see it.

Schinders Were there any men?

Kate I don’t know, I don’t think so which is interesting because I would think it would be the little drag thing – sure why not. Yeah a little draggy.  Maybe next year.

Schinders We know that a lot of the actors on the show have written episodes, will there be a Kate Flannery penned episode?

Kate I don’t .. know.  Probably not – but I don’t know.  I don’t know.  I think – like I have written a lot of – you know I had my own comedy act so I write for myself in that respect but – I don’t know – we’ll see.  It’s a little intimidating – the bar is a little high.  It’s pretty high.  And I’m a realist, so not that I haven’t had some input from time to time, – and by some I mean almost none, but some.  But I don’t know, I feel like if it ain’t broke, so why try to fix it – you know what I mean?

Schinders If you could pair Meredith with any other character on the show, who would it be and who would Meredith choose?

Kate Pair as in – get it on with?

Schinders Sure.

Kate Well, I don’t know – it’s funny – I wonder about Kevin and I wonder about Creed.  Those are the two.  Because I kind of feel like – there was an episode where Meredith had a pact with some guy that the last day of work that they were going to get it on – and she thought it was Michael – and Michael was like “It wasn’t me” – and then she thought it was Toby and Toby’s like “It wasn’t me” – so (laughs) I feel like she’s uh – I don’t think she’s that desperate that she wouldn’t knock on the door again.  It’s sort of like – well.  She’s already been topless in front of Michael and then she sort of tried to … so I don’t think the Michael thing’s … no.  But she’s also obviously attracted to Jim because he was the first person that she asked to sign her cast.  So there’s a little something going on there – although, you know, Meredith is aware of her – uh, I don’t know, I think she’s… she’s… sad enough to… she’s sad enough to realize her own shortcomings but she’s sort of gutsy enough to ask anyway.  (shrugs)  A lot like myself.

Schinders Do you have a favorite episode?

Kate I actually had a great time doing booze cruise.  It was kind of hellish but I actually had fun.  Again, I’m mentioning a topless episode – but it was just kind of crazy – it was sort of like being in a spaceship for a couple days – so it was very strange, I had fun.  I don’t know, there have been so many really really fun episodes – I loved doing the Bad episode, that was hilarious and bizarre and I have felt – I mean I  really enjoyed the stunt portion of my character – it’s kind of weird.  Like I never though that I would be like the stunt – you know doing stunts.  It’s just kind of worked out that way.

Schinders Has there been anything that you’ve been intimidated to do or that you’ve thought, maybe we should get someone else?

Kate Not yet, although like sometimes they’ve had somebody else do part of it, and then I’m like no no no no no – I can do it, I can do it – cause I think it’s funnier when the real actor does it – I think it’s, you know, I was lucky enough to do the car – you know getting hit by the car thing – and I feel like after that, phew, bring it on.  (laughs)

Schinders Did Carrell try to make it up to you?

Kate (Laughs)  No.  It was a weird thing.  It was like a – I mean.  I don’t want to give it all away but – I’m sure you – obviously it was a cutaway, I was not actually hit by a car, but I did hit the glass and I did roll off the car and you know – I have the bruises – I had the bruises to prove it.  You know – I was like “Wow”  I understand why those stunt people get paid so much – they work it out – they earn it.

Schinders Is there any gossip or spoilers that you can share with us about what’s coming up in the rest of this truncated season. (this interview was mid writers’ strike)
Kate All I can say is that there’s a lot of emotional turmoil with the people who are in relationships on the show.  Is that vague enough?  I feel like there’s a lot of … emotion – that’s the only word I can come up with – so you can come to your own conclusions with that one.

Schinders Anything coming up for Meredith?

Kate There’s another accident… of sorts.  I’m doing my own stunt – but uh I don’t want to give it away too much – but (laughs) there’s a football involved and my face involved – so that’s all I’m going to say.

Schinders It’s very Marsha Brady.  That actually leads me to where I was going to go which is that you’ve actually done a lot of fannish work.  Because you were involved with the real Brady Bunch.

Kate Right, the Real Live Brady Bunch

Schinders You were involved with the live action Valley of the Dolls

Kate Live action – that’s hilarious.  It was a stage adaptation of the film.  It was a parody of the film, but we didn’t change any of the lines.  Same thing with the Brady Bunch – we didn’t change any of the lines – it was just, we just did it as it is and – it’s just so already heightened when you do it on stage and people knew the lines – they sort of say them right before you say them – it’s so Rocky Horror.

Schinders What Brady Bunch episode did you do?

Kate We did a ton.  And I actually played Alice – well first I was sort of like the non-Brady person in the cast, so I was like you know the wig sales lady when Jan buys the wig and like Margie Whipple or like Aunt Jenny – I did all those like – and then I took over for Alice  and then the original Alice came back – and then I was Carol’s understudy – so then I actually ended up doing Carol for a year on the road – one of my favorite Alice lines was (in character) “That’s my two way stretch – I think I just went three ways”.  (laugh) Like this whole slightly stupid… so you know I did love the Brady Bunch too – I feel like I didn’t really say much of what I’m a fan of but you know…

Schinders And what about Phacts of Life?

Kate That was also a stage adaptation of the show – although I will tell you that the show – Phacts of Life – spelled with a PH – if you’re going to look it up in the web – is … a lot of the girls are played by guys – so there’s a real drag element.  So I actually played the teen prostitute that tries to bring Tutti into the ring.

Schinders – I’d just like to point out that that’s the big difference between it and the original Facts of Life, the drag element, not the hooking.

Kate Right (laughs) Well Mike Hitchcock played the pimp to my teen prostitute there was like a six foot two Tutti – you know Bruce Daniels who opens for Margaret Cho – it was so goofy it was ridiculous – really fun though.   We actually called that episode Prostitutti.

Schinders So outside of The Office, you mentioned prior, when you were talking about the Scrantones, that you have a lounge act?

Kate I do, I have a comedy act called the Lampshades.

Schinders And what’s that about?

Kate It’s sort of two very sad – singers – it’s a dying lounge act – is really what it is – I mean it’s – it’s kind of like the … in real time – expeience of seeing these two characters on stage and  you kind of get to know them by what they don’t say – but their relationship sort of somehow gets revealed and it’s really just sort of sad and alcoholic and unrequited lovey and it’s just – just sad and strangely glamorous and kind of sexy but in a twisted weird like “really” – and also we do strange version sof songs that you already know.  Lioke we do Mandy and Brandy together and we have  a Mister Rogers medley with a little Marvin Gaye Sexual Healing – and then we also do a little thing called Hollywood obituaries where I sing Donna Summers Last Dance while my partner reads a list of the recent Hollywood dead.  You’ve got to be careful how soon you reveal the Hollywood dead – sometimes the audience starts moaning and that’s not so good.  It’s good in another way.

Schinders And you guys perform the first Saturday of every month here in Hollywood?

Kate Yes, at the Improv Olympic and then we also perform the first Wednesday of the month at the Steve Allen in the Rudy Casoni show.

Schinders Any plans to do a Lampshades national tour – world wide -?

Kate I would love that – no plans as of yet, but soon.  I mean we played Chicago last summer a lot of the emails I get are “Come to my town”  “Come to my town”  – so we’ve got to figure it out.  But hopefully soon.

Schinders And you teach Shakespeare to kids?

Kate I used to – I was actually the Musical Director of the Los Angeles Drama Club – and unfortunately my schedule doesn’t work out where I could do that anymore.    But it was really fun.  It was 5-6 year olds.  I mean -  actually it went from 5 to 8 – yeah but it was a great great group – really great, and you think you know something and then you teach kids and then you’re going “I don’t know anything”.  You know, it’s an odd – but it’s great – I mean, and kids really accept Shakespeare a lot more – more quickly than adults do.

Schinders Any advice to young performers – or people who want to be comics or…?

Kate Uh – you know, I actually.  My advice to anyone starting out is to really – just remember why you’re doing it and don’t worry the way things look so much.  I also think that for me I had to create my own show because I couldn’t stand waiting for the phone to ring – and my feeling is don’t wait for someone else to give this to you – give it to yourself – if you can – if you have the talent, if you have the inclination, and also … you know whatever it takes, I mean, I I’m a person that – you know, I waited tables up and through – up until and through the first season of The Office and some people are afraid of the way that looks and I really wasn’t and it kind of worked for me in my own way because I really wasn’t waiting for the phone to ring – and you know.  And also just like – just being a busy  person and being a busy actor being a busy writer – there’s so much stuff you can do- some people say “I won’t do anything until I get paid’ and my feeling is like you can – you’re missing out on a lot of opportunity if you are waiting for a paycheck for every little thing you do – cause really it’s like life school – you know, and it’s really up to you to what you get out  of your life and what you put in, definitely comes back.  so… does that sound too preachy?  (clenching teeth) Get out there and do it!  (laughs)  So bad.  What do I know? I mean I was a 40 year old waitress – don’t ask me – what do I know?

Schinders Now you’re in a hit sitcom.

Kate Now I’m on a hit sitcom – it’s fantastic.  I know – and actually I’m sort of the poster child for all the – all the aging waiters who are just like…  Well – it’s the one thing for some people is that, no you shouldn’t do it anymore – don’t,  stop stop stop, you know, whatever.  Everybody’s got to do what they’ve got to do – you know and I say don’t give up before the hit show comes along.  (laughs)

Schinders I wanted to ask you if Meredith, you spoke so much about how she flashed so much, if Meredith would flash us.

Kate You know something – Meredith’s not here (Schinders laughs) but I can call her – do you really want me to uh

Schinders Yeah

Kate Get her to –

Schinders – Do you mind?

Kate – uh – it’s going to cost you.  It’s going to cost you.

Schinders! We brought you an edible bouqet.

Kate No, I appreciate that, I love the (air quotes) edible part of that – that’s pretty sexy I have to say, uh – you know – so many people, people don’t actually ask me to flash – they actually ask to sign my cast – which is even sexier if you think about it – uh – so I’m going to (sits up to open shirt) how about if we – I’m so not going to do this.  (Schinders laughs) I only take my top off on the radio – I’m sorry, that’s such a bad joke  (laughs) – what do you want – you can draw your own.  I ‘m sorry, I just, I don’t want to scare anybody anymore than I have.  Is that fair? But thanks for asking.  It’s nice when people ask.