Punslingers livened up SAK after the Holidays.

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Punslinges is a game show for word nerds held at SAK Comedy Lab (29 S Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida). Diana Rodriguez Portillo the theater operations manager at SAK Comedy Lab arranged to get me in to do a sketch. The audience was full of poets who I recognized from other poetry readings around town. The two hosts were soon to be married, and the coup seated in front of m snuggled during the show. 

Character and personality see just as important as slinging just the right puns. On the back wall of the stage, was a plastic gun which was the prize for the best punslinger. A pun is defined as a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the
fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. After the first few bouts the audience quickly warmed up with groans and laughter.

The next rodeo of Punslingers will be on Memorial Day, Monday May 30th!  Punslingers is a comedy game show where contestants come up with puns
to win the favor of the audience through laughs (and groans)! The
winners walk away with the title of Champion Punslinger and a mystery
prize!

Lovers of poetry, wordplay, Shakespeare, and
good-old-fashion ‘dad jokes’ will love it! Strap on your best western
clothes, saddle up, and be part of history at Orlando Punslingers!

Questions / Comments?
shammers@gmail.com or call (317) 426-6372

TICKETS: can be purchased at the door, or reserved online: *TICKET LINK COMING SOON*
TIME: Sign-Ups start at 7:00, show is at 7:30 so get there early!
PLACE: SAK Comedy Lab 29 S. Orange Ave. Orlando
PARKING: Bring your ticket from the Plaza Parking Garage and have it validated to bring the cost down to $4!

A Rally for Heroes in Winter Park.

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Operation American Dream officially launched in Florida, Georgia, and
Alabama on December 11, 2015.  The “Rally for the Heroes” was a salute
to military, law enforcement, and fire rescue personnel who have
sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.  The program featured
patriotic music, a 21-gun salute, speeches by Orlando Chief of Police
John Mina, Winter Park Fire Chief James White, and OAD Founder Chuck
Nadd.  Displays from local law enforcement and fire departments provided
a backdrop for the event.

On February 11, 2014, Orange County Florida Sheriff’s Deputy
Jonathan Scott Pine sacrificed his life in the line of duty while
pursuing a burglary suspect. Deputy Pine is survived by his wife and
three young children. As a native of Orange County
himself, Operation American Dream Founder Chuck Nadd felt called to
support Deputy Pine’s young family and rallied the local community
together to raise over $6,000.  Since then, Chuck has watched other
American heroes fall in the line of duty and has felt called to build
similar campaigns across the United States. This is how Operation
American Dream began.

 Operation American Dream invests in children of America’s fallen heroes. Funds are used for scholarships for the children of U.S. military, law enforcement, and
fire rescue personnel who have sacrificed their lives in the line of
duty. The organization rallies local communities around the gold-star families, reminding them that the sacrifice they have made will never be forgotten.

Ethos offers amazing vegan food and live music.

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Between sketch opportunities, I decided to have dinner at Ethos Vegan Kitchen (601 S New York Ave, Winter Park, FL.) A three piece band was setting up, so I sat at the end of the bar so that I was close enough to sketch. The bass players wife was at the bar next to me with her daughter. They had just been to the Orlando Science Center to see the Mummies Exhibit. The young girl had purchased tiny dinosaur pills that would grow when placed in water. She unwrapped the package and desperate waited for the waitress to bring her z cup of water. I of course warned her that dinosaurs are unbelievably large and it might not fit in the restaurant. The spongy dinosaur only grew to about an inch or two.

I had sketched the bass player before. He had a sheet of cardboard on the floor, and it was puncture full of holes from the bass stand. The music was in full swing, when the food arrived. I had a Sheppard’s Pie which consisted of mashed potatoes filled with vegetables in a dark gravy. It was tasty, but a bit dry. It came with extra bread which I couldn’t imagine eating since the dish was so large.

With the sketch done, I lingered a bit to hear the end of the set. The musicians then came | the bar to eat and I share the sketch. After they ate, they were going to do another set. I packed up and headed out.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for May 14th and 15th.

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Saturday May 14, 2016. 

Noon to 10pm. FREE Admission. FREE Parking. End of Days Film Festival. Gods and Monsters 5250 International Dr, Ste E8, Orlando, Florida. Screening Action, Sci-fi, Horror, and Comedy short films from around the world. View the schedule of films online.

7pm to 9pm. Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.

8pm to 11pm. Free but order food and drink. Jazz Saturdays. Cork and Fork American Grill5180 S. Conway Road, Belle Isle, FL. Jazz Saturdays will feature live entertainment by Jazzanova musicians.

Sunday May 15, 2016. 

10am to 4pm. Free. Lake Eola Farmer’s Market. South East Corner of Lake Eola Park.

1pm to 6pm Free. Ten10 Art Market. Ten 10 Brewing Company 1010 Virginia Dr, Orlando, Florida. Art..music..food..beer …plus other interesting things…

Every 3rd Sunday.

10pm to Midnight. Free, but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out and; laugh, or give it a try yourself.

The Last Speakeasy.

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July 25th was the last Speakeasy at Will’s Pub. Tod Caviness has hosted this monthly drunken literary event for years. At this final edition, someone had created cardboard cut out photos of Tod’s face on Popsicle sticks to be used as masks.

A documentary was made about the speakeasy when it went the way of the Dodo when Will’s Pub closed down years ago.The speakeasy rose from the ashes like a phoenix when Will’s re-opened in it’s present location (1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL).  

The Speakeasy is usually about poetry and spoken word but Tod introduced Drew who has performed his original acoustic guitar songs on the Speakeasy stage throughout the years. A Tod mask was shoved into the speaker. 

Drinks flowed and the poetry got edgier. I’ve sketched at a number of these events and sometimes the line between art and anarchy has been crossed. Some history need no be repeated. 

The Speak ease was form when there was a dis time vacuum in the Orlando Literary scene. Over the years however, spoken word events have popped up like mushrooms all over town. If only the visual arts community had a similar event to get artists out to meet and share ideas. There is a monthly artist critique, and an Artist’s Social but p true longstanding event hasn’t yet taken form.

Bombshell Creations presented, Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

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Bombshell Creations presented Why Do Fools Fall in Love, the Rockin’ ’60s Bachelorette Musical
Created by Roger Bean.  The show was presented at the ME Theatre (Marshall Ellis Theatre)
1300 La Quinta Drive, Suite 3, Orlando,
FL. Unfortunately, I had written the wrong time in my calendar, so by the time I arrived, the show was more this half over. What I did see was infectious fun. The actresses belted out the tunes with plenty of heart.

Millie’s getting married! At her impromptu bachelorette party, Millie and her best friends dive into age-old questions about love, marriage, and the overwhelming dating game. As the celebration picks up steam and the drinks flow, the girls reveal scintillating secrets about their love lives as they poke fun and challenge each other to take control of their lives. Featuring smash pop-hits from the 1960s such as “My Boy Lollipop,” “I Will Follow Him,” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” “Hey There Lonely Boy,” this uplifting show reaffirms that during life’s struggles, true friendship will unveil its everlasting strength, often with a real rockin’ beat!

Third Thursdays at Avalon Island Gallery.

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On Third Thursdays, the Orlando Downtown Galleries all have art openings. I usually stop at Avalon Island Gallery (39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL) since Patrick Greene hires musicians to perform on the small stage in the historic building. On this Thursday Transparent Trio was performing. This is a rare as where I simply drew in pencil rather than using a micron pen. I rather like the look. I need to sketch this loosely more often.

This room has small cabaret style tables, usually with a single rose in each vase. The tables make for a perfect spot to sketch from. There is a decorative wrought iron railing a round the stage, but I decided to leave it out of the sketch. From here, I walked over to City Arts Factory.

The Art of Breast Feeding.

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On a recent trip to New York City, Terry and I met with Leigh Anne O’Connor in a bustling lower East side bar.  Leigh Ann was a dear friend when we lived in NYC over 20 years ago. She is now an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Parenting Expert with over 17 years
experience working with families. She is the past President of New York
Lactation Consultant Association, a member of International
Lactation Consultant Association, United States Lactation
Consultant Association, and a past member of the Bank Street Head
Start Health Advisory Board.
When I expressed an interest in sketching nursing moms, she pulled out her phone and put out a message to that effect on Facebook. The next day, I was sketching Rebekah Grossman and her beautiful 11 week old, Harper. Leigh Anne’s job is to help moms who have difficulty getting the child to start feeding. Little Harper didn’t have enough suction at first. Rebekah told me that this was a perfect sketch opportunity because they could sit like this for hours. Once Harper was finished feeding he fell a sleep on her breast. After a long nap, he might feed again. The family dog slept at Rebekah’s feet.

Rebekah’s husband is an artist. He painted the walls of  baby’s area purple with white billowing clouds. Rebekah is facing the prospect of having to return to work as a political consultant. She wished she could stay home longer to bond with Harper. European countries give working moms much more maternity leave. Her mom is going to babysit while she is a work. In preparation she has been bottling her milk with a breast pump and storing her mill in the refrigerator.

Breast feeding is the most natural way to supply the needed nutrients to an infant. In the 1960s moms turned to bottled formula served in bottles with plastic nipples. There was no added benefit to the bottle feeding other than to the corporations who sold the formula and bottles. I suspect This is how I was fed as a baby.  Breast feeding has made a huge come back with working moms often having to feed on the go. There is some controversy as to weather it is appropriate to feed a child in public. Americans can be such prudes.What could be more natural? I heard of a case where a mom was asked to stop feeding her child in a fast food restaurant. The next week, 50 moms showed up in force to feed their children in the restaurant.

It was such an honor to sketch Rebekah and Harper in this quiet intimate moment. New York City is such an amazing place. I hope that I have the opportunity to do similar sketches in the future.

Robert Johnson performs at his Wedding Reception.

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Robert and Maria Johnson‘s wedding reception was an informal home grown community effort at Kimberly Buchheit‘s Farm in Sorrento, FL. Robert’s mother made delicious Filipino food, and a few other award winning “chefs” added to the menu. Kim’s garage functioned as the bar and a large tent covered all the picnic tables. A bonfire was lit after the sun set, an the hard core guests settled around the flames late into the night.

The stage was cobbled together I believe from former mushroom planters thus being known as the Mushroom Stage. The stage was just the right size to be covered by a single tent which was illuminated by strings of lights. Robert performed solo and then was joined by other musicians on strings and drums. One song that rang true for me was about an artist painting his masterpiece. Another rather funny original song, had to do with getting stuck in I-4 traffic. Between the fiery blaze and , music, it was a magical night.

Many guests were staying the night, laying sleeping bags in the grass, or finding shelter on Kim’s floor inside.  Some people simply stayed up all night, watching over the flames. The next morning there were muffins and mimosas at sunrise. As the day heated up, the stage tent was turned into a misting parlor to keep cool. I set up an outdoor lounge chair and enjoyed the wet spray. We all chipped in a bit with the basic clean up work but a crew would later rewove all the tables which were rented. The wedding couple had camp in Robert’s van and they looked so happy on their first day as a married couple together.

Guests could take home candles nestled on sand inside mason jars. Each candle had a saying tied to it with a ribbon.

“For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.” – Carl Sagan,

“Have courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” – Maya Angelou

“Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Come on baby light my fire.” – Jim Morrison

“All you need is love!” – John Lennon

El Potro Mexican Restauranl in Winter Park.

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I arrived in Winter Park an hour early before a sketch opportunity at a shaman healing workshop. I decided to get dinner at El Potro Mexican Restaurant (501 N Orlando Ave Winter Park, FL) in a nearby shopping mall. There is a daily lunch time buffet for a little under $13. The buffet was empty when I arrived so I ordered tacos and re-fried beans, it was decent meal at a very affordable price.

The paintings on the walls were by Dominican artist  Jose Calcano.  They depicted rural scenes with scarecrows and migrant workers in the fields in the fields. The Scarecrow was painted in 1974.he colors were hyper saturated. I must have arrived before the dinner rush because the couple in front of me were the only other people in the place.

I recently moved my studio to Winter Park and ironically this restaurant is right within walking distance. Another restaurant in the same shopping area however has caught my taste buds. It is an Indian Restaurant called Tamarind Indian Cuisine, (501 N Orlando Ave #149, Winter Park, FL). This place has a Vegetable Jalfrezi that is to die for.  It is a medley of fresh vegetables with onion pepper and curry sauce. If I was to be sent on a space mission spending five years travel.’ to another planet, the the Jalfreizi is what I would wan to lire on.  The Malai Kofta is also good, being mixed vegetable balls cooked in a rice green cream sauce. I tried a Dosa, which is a thin crispy crepe, but it was rather dry compared to the other dishes. I almost tasted Dosa once before but my sketching got me kicked 8 of the Indian Market, before I could taste it. My curiosity about Dosa has been satiated.

Both restaurants are incredibly affordable, with enough food as leftovers to last as lunch and dinner the next day.