Weekend Top 6 Picks

Posted on October 18, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday October 19, 2013

10am to 2pm. 4th annual Asian Cultural EXPO. Free. Village Lake, Downtown Disney West Side Walt Disney World Resort. Showcase the Culture of China ● Japan ● Philippines ● Polynesia ● Taiwan through exhibitions, performances and crafts. Bring your lawn chair to enjoy these exciting performances. http://asiatrendmagazine.com/asian-cultural-expo.html

3pm to 7pm. Cruisin’ Downtown DeLand Car Show. Free. East Indiana Ave Downtown DeLand, Deland FL Classic cars & rods. Live DJ, giveaways, shopping & dining. Fun for the family! Every 3rd Saturday night.

7pm to 2am. Haunting at The Haven. Free. Haven Lounge 6700 Aloma Avenue, Winter Park, Fl. An all night, exclusive Costume Party. This 18 and up event will feature some of the hottest and most controversial artists in underground music as well as a costume contest with a grand prize of 2 FREE passes to Halloween Horror Nights 23 at Universal Studios Orlando! First runner up will receive a gift card of $25 to spend as they like!

Sunday October 20, 2013

5pm to 9pm. Orlando Food Truck Bazaar. Free to enter. Fashion Square Mall 3201 East Colonial Drive Orlando FL. http://www.thedailycity.com/2011/05/thedailycitycom-food-truck-bazaar.html

9pm to 11pm. Solo Acoustic Spoken Word. Free. Natura Coffee and Tea 12078 Collegiate Way. (407) 482-5000.

10pm to 12am. Sick Of It Presents: Rancid Karaoke Cover Set. Will’s Pub 1042 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, Fl. You come up out of the crowd and sing your favorite Rancid songs with a live band…YOU’RE the singer!

Sugar Skull Decorating Workshop

Posted on October 17, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Carolina Suarez-Garcia held a Sugar Skull Decorating Workshop in CityArts Factory (29 S. Orange Ave, Orlando FL). The dozen or so attendees learned how to make sugar skulls using sugar and then how to decorate the skulls using colored icings. Kattya Graham performed traditional songs on guitar as everyone worked on their skulls.

All the skulls decorated All were eligible to be exhibited in the 4th Annual Dia de los Muertos and Monster Factory Exhibit on October 17th. Carolina explained that sugar Skulls are decorated in a relatives memory. The relatives name is often written on the back of the skull. It is believed that the gates of heaven are opened at
midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased
children (angelitos) are allowed to reunite with their families
for 24 hours. On November 2, the spirits of the adults
come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them.

In most villages, beautiful altars (ofrendas) are made
in each home. They are decorated with candles, buckets of wild marigolds mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole,
stacks of tortillas and big Day-of-the-Dead breads called pan de muerto. The altar needs to have lots of food, bottles of soda,
hot cocoa and water for the weary spirits. The living feast on the alter at the end of the evening.

Sugar art was brought to the New World by Italian missionaries in the
17th century. The first Church mention of sugar art was from Palermo at
Easter time when little sugar lambs and angels were made to adorn the
side altars in the Catholic Church.

Boycott SeaWorld

Posted on October 14, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Recently I saw the documentary film Blackfish at the Enzian Theater (300 S Orlando Ave, Maitland, FL). The film is about Tilikum, (Tilly), a killer whale who killed a SeaWorld trainer several years ago. The film opens with the 911 call to retrieve the body. Tilly was captured in the wild. The killer whale pod split in two with the females and children going up one estuary while the males went another way avert the pursuing boats. Spotter planes however redirected the pursuit. In a horrible west coast floating sea park called Sea Land of the Pacific, Tilly had to spend each evening in a cramped pitch black holding module 20 feet deep and 28 feet in diameter with two adult killer whales who attacked him every night. Each morning he had new bloody wounds. Tilly attacked and killed a handler named Keltie Byrne at that park in 1991.

When that sea park folded, Sea World Orlando purchased Tilly on January 9th of 1992 because they didn’t have a male killer whale. Tilly was responsive and bright but his dorsal fin was misshapen, sagging sadly to the side. This never seen in the wild. It is not unusual for animals in circuses, zoos, traveling exhibits, and
amusement parks to injure or kill trainers. On July 6th 1999, Daniel P. Dukes a park patron hid and stayed in the Orlando SeaWorld park overnight. He had the brilliant idea to swim in Tilly’s enclosure. The next morning they found his nude dead body, on Tilly’s back as the killer whale did laps in his tiny cement pool. An autopsy of the body found multiple wounds, contusions, and abrasions,
and concluded he may have died from hypothermia and drowning. It also
noted “laceration and avulsion of the scrotum and testes”. In other words, his nuts were chewed off.

On February 24, 2010 Tilly killed the lead SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau. Sea World put a spin on the story released to the media,
blaming the Dawn, because she had a pony tail
that may have gotten caught in Tilikum’s teeth, stating further that the
trainer’s hair may have also been confused for a toy or a fish because Dawn had been holding a fish previously and may have touched her
hair afterwards, leaving the scent. SeaWorld would be innocent, if the trainer was seen to be at fault in the eye of public opinion. Video shows Tilly
dragging dawn by the arm. According to the six-page autopsy report, Dawn’s left arm and part of her
scalp were ripped off, she suffered spinal cord injuries, her ribs were
broken, as were bones in her legs, arms, and face, she had bruises and
cuts all over her body, and, ultimately, she was drowned.

Other SeaWorld trainers realized that they could be next, so they went on camera for the Blackfish documentary. One reason Tilly is still in captivity is because his sperm is needed to impregnate the female killer whales. 21 killer whales calves have been born in captivity using his sperm. He is actually masturbated by trainers rather than breed naturally. which violates the court order to keep trainers fron having contact with the killer whale.

Tilikum returned to performing on March 30, 2011 using his fluke everyday to soak the crowds of spectators who pay to see him swim in the tight enclosure. After every performance he is sent to solitary confinement. In the wild his dorsal fin would stand erect as it sliced through open water. He could be part of a social pod that hunted together. These aren’t cute plush toys to be exploited. They are killer whales that are majestic in the wild. They may follow orders from their captives to survive captivity but you can only push a killer whale so far before they snap. Any killer whale in captivity has psychological scars. People still pay, perhaps hoping to see the next one snap. Trainers are expendable but a killer whale is a gold mine.

On September 15th, over 50 people showed up for this demonstration standing in the blazing sun in front of the Sea World entrance to dissuade people from going inside. Unfortunately the park had been open for several hours so traffic was on the light side. Passers by honked in support. Others shouted out in anger that they would spend their money as they pleased.

PETA’s 5 Reasons to Boycott SeaWorld…

Twenty-four dead killer whales – and counting. Of the 24 killer whales who have died at SeaWorld since 1986, not one died of old age. Many of their deaths were caused by captivity-induced illnesses.
Life in a bathtub
drains marine mammals’ spirits. Forcing animals who naturally travel up
to 100 miles a day in the open ocean to swim in continuous circles in
tiny, barren concrete tanks causes stress-related behaviors, including
suicide.
SeaWorld tears families apart.
In the wild, dolphins spend their entire lives in a pod with their
mothers and sisters. Capturing even one dolphin disrupts the entire pod.
Dolphins born in captivity are often taken away from their loved ones
and shipped to other facilities.
Frustrated animals are dangerous to people.
Aside from the trainers killed by angry captive whales, the USDA has
cited SeaWorld for several instances in which dolphins injured people in
its swim-with-the-dolphins program.
If you don’t support the jailing of innocent people, you shouldn’t
support SeaWorld. Scientists at Emory University mapped the brains of
dolphins and concluded that they are second only to humans in intelligence.
Captivity is as hard on these sensitive animals as it is on people, but
the dolphins are being punished without having committed a crime.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Posted on October 11, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday October 12, 2013

6pm to 8pm Caroline Kole Concert. Free. Leesburg Towne Square 501 W Main Street Leesburg FL. Outdoor concert, bring lawn chairs.

3pm to 10pm 2013 ZombieFest: RESURRECTION. Free Downtown
Lakeland. The “ Outbreak Wristbands” will get you great discounts at
various Retail, restaurants and bars around Downtown Lakeland, in
addition to special perks during Zombiefest. Wristbands are $15 and
will be sold during the event.

7pm to 9pm Book Party and Launch: I Will Meet You at the River. Free. Quantum Leap Winery (1312 Wilfred Dr Orlando, FL). Come hear Suzannah Gilman read selected poems at the long-anticipated launch of my first chapbook of poetry. Of course, no book launch is complete without wine, so there will be plenty.

Sunday October 13, 2013

10am to 6pm Fashion Square Art Fair. Free. PREMIERE EVENT!! Starting October 13, 2013 on the 2nd Sunday of every month Gallery Fresh Art Markets and Orlando Fashion Square Mall proudly present our “Fashion Square Art Fair.” This is an indoor event showcasing 30 to 60 artists and fine crafts persons located throughout Fashion Square Mall.

1pm to 3pm Film Slam. $5 Enzian Theater 1300 S Orlando Ave Maitland, FL. Originally a project of University of Central Florida’s Downtown Media Arts Center, Enzian became the home of FilmSlam when DMAC closed in 2006. Now in its fifth year at Enzian, FilmSlam continues to be a popular outlet for indie and student filmmakers throughout the State of Florida. FilmSlam will usually be held on the second Sunday of each month at 1PM at Enzian.

9pm to 11pm Comedy Open Mic. Free. Austin’s Coffee (929 W Fairbanks Ave Winter Park, FL). Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

DiVerse Word

Posted on October 6, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

On September 10th I went to Dandelion Communitea Cafe for DiVerse Word hosted by Shawn Welcome. DiVerse Word is a weekly spoken word and poetry event that has been going strong for seven years. Three random individuals in the audience are picked to be judges. They score between one and ten with decimal points for subtlety. The competition begins at 8pm and goes till 10pm.

Sasha recited a poem about the excitement of the touch of a hand. Robbie Ramirez spoke of Star Wars. Tyler Conradi gave an astonishing performance of his poem “I Am” that had a dark Max Ginsberg universal reach. Tyler got my vote for the best poem of the evening. A police helicopter hoovered over the neighborhood with it’s spotlight blazing. Periodically the search light would flash over the crowd gathered in front of Dandelion and people would wave to the night sky. Shawn Welcome joked that we should all scatter the next time the spot light illuminated the crowd. Someone stated that when a chopper was in the air, there would also be a K9 dog unit searching on the ground. He wondered out loud what he would do if a criminal ran down the street in front of Dandelion. It would be best to let the police do their jobs.

Curtis Meyer closed out the night with his usual flair. Everyone was asked to share something they haa learned. Tim spoke of the long journey he and his wife took in their 40 years of marriage. They went from knowing EVERYTHING at age 21 to knowing NOTHING at age 61. Shawn closed out the evening with his salutation, “Peace, Love and Poetry”. As I walked to my car I saw two young poets kissing in the shadows of the building beside Dandelion. They were faintly illuminated in the setting moonlight. One shouted out “Good night Thor!” I smiled, and shouted back, “Good Night!”

Mark your calendar! DiVerse Word is every Tuesday at Dandelion Community Cafe (618 North Thornton Ave. Orlando FL) starting at 8pm. Share your thoughts or just listen and learn.

Ting Pagoda

Posted on October 5, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

In 1987 Mayor Bill Frederick added the pagoda style gazebo from Shanghai to Lake Eola park. The gazebo is 18 feet acres and 30 feet high, built by Nelson Ying who ran the China pavilion at Epcot. Ying also organized a trip for the mayor to China. Although the structure resembles a pagoda, it isn’t an official pagoda because it doesn’t have a second story. The total cost to add this structure to the park was $100,000. The pagoda hides a pollution control device in the lake.

The pagoda was fenced off when I sketched it because it was being pressure washed and wood was being repaired. The pagoda was then repainted and new LED lights were installed for night time viewing. All of the storm water in downtown Orlando drains into Lake Eola where it is treated and pollution filtered.

A group of joggers gathered on the benches around me. It should be noted that the benches were designed to be too small for transients to sleep in them. One joggers chronometer showed that he was running 5 minute miles but he had only been jogging at a relaxed pace. The application must have just wanted him to feel good about his performance.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Posted on October 4, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday October 5th, 2013

10am to 5pm Orlando Mini Maker Faire. $19 for adults and $13 for youth (ages 3 – 11). Orlando Science Center (777 E. Princeton St. Orlando, FL). Orlando Mini Maker Faire Celebrates Innovation, Invention and DIY Spirit in Central Florida! www.OrlandoMakerFaire.com

11am to 7pm Festival of Bacon. $25 Orlando Festival Park (2911 East Robinson Street Orlando, FL). This festival is where event goers enjoy bacon inspired treats from Central Florida’s top restaurants, live music from local acts, bacon beverages, and other family and pet friendly entertainment. We will boast 30+ top restaurants creating bacon-inspired samples, and competing to win the coveted “Best of Bacon” award. We anticipate on distributing over 5,000 pounds of bacon to a crowd of more than 2,000 bacon lovers who will travel far and wide to sink their teeth into dozens of delectable samples. (407) 246-2287

8pm to Midnight The Walking Dead Art Event! $10 cover. Acme Superstore (905 E. SR 434 #100, Longwood, Fl). the grownups can play from 8pm-12am with our Acme After Hours18+ Event!!! Free beer (21+ w/ID)! DJ Maus! Live Body Art! Zombie Cosplay Burlesque by Grotesque Burlesque! Cosplay Belly dancing! Costume Contest! Watch The Walking Dead episodes, Zombie Strippers and more!

Sunday October 6th, 2013

7pm to 10pm Art Under the Stars, The 37th Maitland Rotary Art Festival.Free. Beautiful Lake Lily Park in Maitland, Fl. Florida’s first and only night-time fine art festival. Subtle live entertainment adds to an ambiance that is conducive to doing the business of selling art and creates a date-night atmosphere. The 2013 show will be the best ever with the return of our TV partners and a Saturday night performance by the full symphonic orchestra!

9pm to 11pm Comedy Open Mic. Free. Austin’s Coffee: (929 W Fairbanks Ave Winter Park, FL). Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

12pm to 3pm Alborea Dances Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month . Free. Casa Feliz (656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL). Alborea Dances is a multicultural Entertainment Dance Company, created and directed by Jenny and Ernesto Caballero, who have been dedicated to the world of dance for more than 20 years. They have combined their experiences as dance educators, performers, choreographers and event coordinators, to present dances from Spain, Bolivia and Middle Eastern countries.

NV Bar and Lounge

Posted on September 30, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

On Third Thursday, September 19th, I went to NV to see the art opening for G. Lemus. Tr3 Mark Harris curates the shows at NV along with Brad Michael Biggs. The bar is gritty with a fantastic exposed wooden slat wall. G. Lemus came from Honduras and making art helped him adapt to a new culture where he didn’t know the language. In the military his comic sketches of the Drill Sargent were confiscated but he became the official platoon artist. He founded the B-side artists in Orlando with Swamburger. This group of artist were the first to bring art to the clubs and bars in Orlando.

G. Lemus was inspired by the expressive work of Jean-Michel Basquait. The work in this show featured thick rich paint. Many of the pieces were primarily black and white featuring images of aircraft and flight. In one painting titled “On the Trail of Greatness”, Luke Skywalker seemed to be flying a modern day jet instead of an X wing fighter. Another painting of a nautilus shaped craft was titled “Victory over Love is Flight”. The artist wore goggles as he moved around the opening talking to patrons. He was offered a mural assignment in which he would supervise middle school and high school kids to do the painting.

The artist hired beautiful women to pose as flight attendants. The whole idea of the show was based around flight. Take you dreams and let them sore. The artist was the pilot and the girls were the flight attendants passing out a menu (his art) with peanuts attached to it. The DJ brought her own equipment and set up at her station at the top of the staircase.

Tr3 and I were discussing a showing of my sketches at NV. Rumors circulated that evening about the possible show and it was quickly established through a quick series of texts, that the planned dates of the NV show were too close to the dates of a solo show still in the early planning stages at The Gallery at Avalon Island. Other than showing my work in a U-Haul (Mobile Art Show), this was my first experience in planning to show my work downtown. There seem to be unwritten codes of conduct that I overlooked. I’m hoping to have my work on some walls when my book on Urban Sketching comes out in early 2014.

Mark your Calendar, The G. Lemus show at NV (27 E Pine St Orlando, FL) can be seen anytime before Sunday October 13th at 2am. Grab a drink and see some art.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Posted on September 27, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday September 28th

11am to 7pm Harmony Music and Arts Festival. Free. Harmony Town Square. A wide variety of local professional artists and craftsmen along with a solid line-up of musicians on hand showcasing their talents. http://harmonyfl.com/Amenities/music-arts-festival

4pm to 11pm BLOODY JUG BAND. Donations will be gratefully accepted. The Tin House Ranch (3300 Stone Street Oviedo Fl).
We will be playing around the Five O’clock hour at this fun Venue along
with some Favorite Last century ROCKERS that DID NOT FADE AWAY ! In the
persons of~Birnam Wood~Rick Birbeck~POW’ R TRIP~and the mighty TIN HOUSE
! Featuring Mr. Floyd Radford and special guest Cat Valentine. This is a
Y’all come event, with camping, drum circle and dancing and
refreshments so bring the family and make a day/night /sleepover
adventure of it.The gates will be open at noon to accommodate campers.

8pm to Midnight Science Night Live! $15 and free parking in the parking garage. Admission is FREE for members! Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St Orlando, FL) An evening reserved only for adults, enjoy everything you love about Orlando Science Center with grown-up-inspired programming. View stars and planets through the giant refractor telescope in the Crosby Observatory (weather-permitting). Experience 3D films in the Digital Adventure Theater: A National Geographic Experience. Conduct lab experiments in Dr. Dare’s Laboratory. Delight in food, beer and wine available for purchase It’s an “adult swim” of the science variety! Join us and see how grown-ups do the Orlando Science Center!

Sunday September 29th

10am to noon Super Joy Riders. Free, bring your cape. The corner of East Central Blvd and North Eola Drive Orlando FL. You + Superhero Costume + Bike = Best Sunday Ever. Participants dress as superheroes and ride en mass around the city as they check off their scavenger hunt-like list of Do Gooder Duties; collecting litter, helping senior citizens cross the road, returning shopping carts, basically performing small acts of kindness for an hour and a half of hilarity and love.

4pm to 8pm DUSTOBERFEST 2013. Free, but be sure to order some bratwurst and beer. Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 E. Winter Park Road, Orlando, Fl). Come EAT! DRINK! DANCE! DRINK! EAT! DRINK! DRINK! and listen to oompapa music until you’re sick of it! It’s a special day for all as we present our Quazi-Deutschlander shenanigans… brats, kraut, beer and lot’s of people running about in their lederhosen! It’s like Oktoberfest… but really, really lame.

5pm to 7pm Celebration of the life and Talent of Artist Berto Ortega. Albin Polasek Museum And Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park, Fl). This event is a potluck gathering. Please bring an appetizer/finger food style dish, along with a beverage to share. For this event, we are urging those who are willing, to bring their Berto original art works in order to share with others at the event. This event will be a wonderful opportunity to see how many lives Berto touched.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Posted on September 13, 2013February 7, 2022 by Thor

Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday September 14, 2013

7am to 9am. Run. Party. ROCK! Free to watch. Lake Concord Park 95 Triplet Lake Drive Casselberry, FL. Rock n’ roll reigns supreme at the 2nd race of the Track Shack Running Series! The Autumn Rock n’ Run 5k features the high energy, live music runners and walkers love. Event proceeds benefit cultural arts organizations in Casselberry.

11am to 3pm. Galactic Encounter Day. $18 Saturday and Sunday. Orange County Regional History Center 65E. Central Blvd. Storm troopers and more! Star Wars Fangasm!

11:30am to 1:30pm. Rally In The Park To SAVE The Capen House. Winter Park’s Central Park, adjacent to the rose garden. They’ll be activities for the kids, speakers, music!

Sunday September 15, 2013

10am to Noon. SeaWorld protest!! We will gather in the grassy median at the entrance to SeaWorld SeaWorld Orlando 7007 SeaWorld Dr., Orlando, Fl. In the wild, Orcas live in large , intricate social groups and swim up to 100 miles a day in the open ocean. Orcas at SeaWorld are confined to enclosures that to them are like bathtubs, and these animals are unable to engage in most natural behaviors. Join ARFF in speaking out at this peaceful protest All signs and leaflets will be provided. Arffcentralfl@arff.org

4pm Southern Fried End of Summer Shake up. $10-$12 Mills 50 Venues, Wills Pub, Lil Indies, Peacock Room. Southern BBQ and live music.

9pm to 11pm Solo Acoustic Spoken Word. Free. Natura Coffee and Tea 12078 Collegiate Way Orlando FL. 407 482-5000