Listen to Orson Welles: "The Mercury Theater on the Air"

Orson Welles

Last night I watched an old B & W thriller from 1946 called "The Stranger"on PBS. The movie starred the great Orson Welles, Loretta Young and Edward G. Robinson. After the movie, I did an online search on Orson Welles. LINK

I read about his marriages, affairs, films, etc. and I came across a great website of his early work in radio.

"The Mercury Theater on the Air" was a radio show started in 1938 which featured the New York drama company founded by Welles and John Houseman. It was later called Campbell Playhouse when Campbell's Soup began to sponsor it. Many of the shows are classic dramas: Dracula, Treasure Island, A Tale of Two Cities, 39 Steps, The Count of Monte Cristo, Rebecca, Our Town, War of the Worlds, etc. Here is a link to over 60 radio shows:

THE MERCURY THEATER ON THE AIR

(link to history)

(Thanks, Kim Scarborough for creating this page).

Ten Hokum Scorchers Songs

Here's the LINK to ten of our songs that were recorded in the 1990s. We play various instruments on these recordings. This is traditional hokum music: jug band, blues and rags. The Hokum Scorchers is a duo comprised of Lou Reimuller and Amy Crehore. We played at Bumbershoot, Seattle Folklife, Ken Kesey's events and other festivals and venues in the northwest. And, in 2009, we played at my solo art show opening in L.A.

P.S. There are also a couple more songs on my website (scroll down to play): LINK

I may add more in days to come.

Thanks for the mention BOINGBOING!

R Crumb Will Stay Home and Eat Aline's Cake

Screen shot of the negative article in The Telegraph which caused R Crumb's decision to stay home.Image via Dylan Horrocks

The Sydney Morning Herald has published a letter by R Crumb explaining why he won't go to Sydney to appear at Graphic (a festival of illustration arts):"Sorry, folks. I do feel bad, as I hate letting people down. But I decided I’d rather bear the pain of letting people down than subjecting my long-suffering wife to a 10-day period of dread and anxiety for my well-being. She’s been awfully nice to me since I told her I wasn’t going! She baked a chocolate cake even!" READ MORE of R Crumb's letter HERE: LINK
I don't blame R Crumb for cancelling his upcoming gig in Australia. He doesn't need to appear at events that upset his equilibrium. Life is too short for Crumb to be used for other people's political agendas. If Aline's gut says "no", it's a good idea to trust it.

The Lou Brooks Blog

An illustrator colleague, Lou Brooks, has a new blog.

Have a LOOK.

It's a very enjoyable website by a funny fellow.

Photo of the Day: Duchamp as Mercury

"Duchamp with Shaving Lather for Monte Carlo Bond"

(copyright Man Ray Trust, Loaned from Philadelphia Art Museum)

Soapsuds transformed Duchamp into Mercury. Image by Man Ray from the Inventing Marcel Duchamp exhibit at National Portrait Gallery (2009)

Amy Crehore's Tickler Ukulele #2

Here are some photos of Tickler Ukulele #2. Click to enlarge.

I designed and painted this uke. Luthier Lou Reimuller built it from scratch. It has a lot of cool details and different kinds of wood. For a full written description and a few more photos follow this link:

TICKLER UKULELE NUMBER TWO

The Art of Amy Crehore

P.S. I am re-posting this from May 2009 because I don't think that many people saw this ukulele that I designed myself and had built. I'm happy to say that my Tickler Uke # 3 (a new custom concert model that I designed) is getting done. So excited about it!

LINK to glimpse of construction.

The Wildwood Chronicles Book

Colin Meloy wrote it and Carson Ellis (his wife) illustrated it. Here's the WEBSITE . Kind of cool that they are both in Portland, OR. He's the lead vocalist of the band Decemberists. The book is due out Aug 30, but you can pre-order it from Powells and get a signed copy. It was written for middle school kids, but it looks like a beautiful keepsake book for anyone. They will also have a release party at the Bagdad Theater, Portland on Aug 30, 2011. I'm glad to be living here in Oregon myself. We've been having the best summer weather.

The Art of Amy Crehore