Midweek News Podcast, Sonia Sanchez @ Barnes, PhotoLounge Gallery, Blah Blah Gallery art call, Walruses on the NYT, theater picks for the week and good Samaritans

Roberta: Hi everyone. It’s Roberta.

Ryan: And this is Ryan and this is the Midweek News

Roberta: On Artblog radio.

Ryan: Well, welcome to September. Yeah, we’re into September. We are getting going. Yeah. Fall might be in the air. Yes. This is very exciting. I’m excited about that.

Roberta: So is ragweed, so is ragweed, I want to say.

Ryan: Tell me about it.

Roberta: Yeah. Sneezing, coughing, runny nose, et cetera. We’re at peak ragweed at the moment, folks. So take shelter.

Ryan: I feel it. I have this elephant skin happening around my eyeballs.

Roberta: Oh yeah.

Ryan: Just the worst. Yes. Oh, this next three weeks is just a difficult time for breathing.

Roberta: So anyway, since we’re just sort of meandering around in our thoughts, I’m going to tell you what I came up with this week as something odd. Remember when I told you the New York Times was on a tear about…cleaning your ears? Didn’t we talk about that one time?

Ryan: Yeah. Gross

Roberta: There are all these stories in the New York Times. You know, they try to be your best friend forever on any possible subjects. So, how to clean your ears; why should you clean your ears; tools for cleaning your ears. Well, I just saw in the front page today that there’s a baby walrus that has been rescued – a newborn calf. Was found without its pack. Apparently something happened to the mom and the pack ran off and there’s this baby, dehydrated, several weeks old, and malnourished, 65 pounds only. That’s really small for a walrus. Apparently, the full grown female would be 2,700 pounds. Anyway, they’re resuscitating and cuddling (the baby walrus). Apparently, walruses are very cuddly. They love to cuddle in bunches, for warmth. They just kind of snuggle up against each other. I just Googled up “New York Times walrus” and what did I find? There are 10 walrus stories in the New York Times between 2015 and today. They just really want to tell you about walruses. [See also USA today, which likewise loves walruses.]

Ryan: Okay.

Roberta: So there have been walrus abandonments, and they’re generally found around the Arctic Circle somewhere off Alaska. And then what do they do with the rescued babies? They resuscitate them as best they can. People, veterinarians come in from all over the country. I guess there’s a walrus alert, like there’s, what do you call it, the Megan Alert? for the missing children.

Ryan: Amber alert.

Roberta: Yes, there’s a. Walrus alert and yes, there have been walruses that have wound up in New York, have been jet-setted to New York and are in the…I don’t know what aquarium New York has, but they’re in some aquarium there. Anyway, just a small tidbit about how the New York Times wants to be your best friend, all you animal lovers out there. I read that walrus story and I went, aww, aww. They showed a picture of a veterinarian cuddling with this little walrus calf. It was very sweet.

Ryan: I thought this was going to go into like an ear cleaning the walruses moment. I’m like, this is going to get gross. I was just waiting for it to get gross, but yeah. That sounds like a good story.

Roberta: I guess we should get serious for a moment. Talk about the news.

Ryan: Yes.

Roberta: All right. Well, I have three things that I want to talk about today. And I got them all on Instagram. I want to say that Instagram is a really good facilitator of information. Also crap, of course, but there is information there if you happen to be really focused on your news stream. So first off, I want to say that Sonia Sanchez, a really wonderful Philadelphia poet, turned 90 years old, and the Barnes Foundation apparently threw her a party, and so there was a very sweet reel on Instagram of this party with Sonia Sanchez and Ursula Rucker and all the poets and poet laureates and whatnot, and supporters of Sonya, and I thought, Bravo, Sonia Sanchez! She’s been an activist and a voice for her community for so long. It’s great to see her celebrate 90 years. Second, and this is really a head switch, so Photo Lounge, which has been a supporter of Artblog — we should say that just for the facts — We like them! But I have been sort of asleep at the wheel and did not realize that they had a gallery.

So they have a gallery now, people, it’s called PL130 Gallery, and it started in 2021. And right now they have a show up called Travel Logs kind of a play on travelog. And it’s photos, kind of what you did, where you went. And they’re not framed. And every photo is printed there.

They’re a printing service. Printing film, and. Developing and enlarging and all that kind of stuff, and they don’t frame them, but they’re on the wall. They’re for sale. It sounds like a really good show to go to, and it’s up now through mid-September, so, I wanted to mention that and give them a shout out. Photo lounges is on South 17th Street in Center City.

Finally, another gallery item is blah blah Gallery has an open call for its juried/curated show. The deadline is November 1st. They’re looking for emerging and mid-career, women and non-binary artists, blah, blah — to remind everybody is a woman and non-binary artist-focused gallery. There’s an interview on Artblog with Megan Gallardi, who founded the gallery. And she’s very pro (activist) in what she’s doing. She has a mission to support this population. They’re looking for work in any medium. And there are two jurors for the, the show. I didn’t write the names down, but we’ll put that into the transcript so you can know who the the jurors are. ( jurors are Anaïs Cooper-Hackman, Curator and Qualeasha Wood, Artist. More here.) Those are my three for today. Ryan, what do you have?

Ryan: So Artblog Connect has a lot of things going on as well. And my three this week are really going to be focused around First Friday. Paradigm has an opening that’s happening this Friday, and there’s a few other shows that are happening with pie galleries there.

I know I mentioned that one be before, that’s a little repetition — I like to see that one happen. And Arch Enemy’s always a lot of fun. If you haven’t been to Arch Enemy’s space and seen something a little bit different. That’s also a good one to see. First Friday, they have some new shows coming this Friday

And I always have a theater performance shout out. This one starts September 4th – On Buried Ground. This is at Neighborhood House. Mm. And this is a show that I’d like to see. It’s running from September 4th to September 14th and you can find tickets through Artblog Connect through the, the links. And that is my theater call that I’d like to see. If that looks interesting and if you see it, let me know what you think of it. I’d love to love to hear some of your feedback on it. Tickets are available now and that that’s going to be at 20 North American Street, On Buried Ground. So those are my three things. So First Friday, a couple events, and then my theater pick of the week.

Roberta: ALSO, we have a really good post up on Artblog this morning by Janice Denise Glasper. Janice is a very passionate writer of essays and commentary about her community – Black women and the Black community in general. And also she’s a PAFA graduate. She did a post baccalaureate there and an MFA, and she talked to some of her teachers and mentors, rounded up the interviews and wrote some passionate commentary on the future of PAFA, and I think you should check it out and see what you think. Janice is a very thoughtful writer, and I’m very happy to have her voice on Artblog. So, and we have other good content coming up. We have Joyce Chung, who is the curator at Asian Arts Initiative, who will be writing about Rachel Hsu, who’s work debuted on the Parkway recently, sponsored by the Association for Public Art.

All right, so, what do you want to go out on, Ryan?

Ryan: A high note?

Roberta: Okay.

Ryan: Do you have one to provide?

Roberta: I’m not sure I have one to provide.

Ryan: Yeah. So I went on this bike ride in Delaware County, and it was a 35 mile loop. It’s a nice, not too hard, not too fast, not too difficult, but just enough to make you feel good that you did it, you accomplished a thing.

Roberta: And you were with some people, right? You don’t bike 35 miles alone, do you?

Ryan: Well, sure. Biking is more fun to get as a group, right? That’s kind of the whole point. Doing things with friends is always more fun than doing things by yourself. This is true.

Roberta: Well, I don’t know. In most occasions, yeah…

Ryan: I was thinking, wait, there’s a caveat to that. Wow. Hold on a second. Now, private, personal time really can be restorative,

Roberta: beneficial.

Ryan: Oh yes. So I don’t mean to undersell the individual time. But yeah, cycling. Cycling is certainly a fun social event. So there were six of us and we had a nice ride. And you know, my kids were coming back on Monday night, Labor Day evening, and I was excited, and I want to give them some fun. Usually I give them like some fun special snacky things or some fun funky Japanese drinks that are fun. Because those are always like, you can’t read the label and you don’t know what you’re going to get…

Roberta: And you can’t get those in Michigan.

Ryan: You could. But they live so far out in the country that not there. Other spots in Michigan, I’m sure, but not where they are. I’m sure in Ann Arbor or Detroit you could come up with something like that, but not where they are. So yeah, so I went on this bike ride, and then Sunday morning, get up and get going and looking around like, where’s my wallet? Can’t find it anywhere. So then I texted the group and I said, Hey, has anybody seen my wallet? Which is usually a dread. And you know the answer’s going to be no, no one…If someone found it, they would’ve already told you. So then, I asked someone to check their spot, and then my other friend’s like, I’ll look in my yard where we were hanging out.

So I ended up going back to his house, looking in his yard with him, and I’m like, I don’t see it either. And then we made a list of the four spots that we stopped along the route. Retraced my steps and then there was one spot in Media that I remember I pulled over right after a snack stop. I had to stop because I had not zipped my bag. So I’m like, if it’s going to be anywhere, it’s going to be in this section. So I thought, for sure this is the area. I decided I would bike down there. And it’s a forested, heavily leafed, tiny little road that leads to a creek that just kind of dead ends. There really isn’t anything. Just a handful of houses that are on this tree lined, overgrown area. It’s beautiful. Like I would live there, but it’s a terrible place to look for a wallet. And then to make matters worse, my wallet is green and has mushroom images all over it. It looks like the earth.

You’re, oh boy. Find it in a bunch of leaves!  So I’m looking and I’m looking and I go up and I go back and I go up and I go back and I can’t find anything. And then I go to the third stop and the fourth stop and nothing. So I’ve just resigned myself that this wallet is lost and, and that’s that. So, you know it’s an annoyance and perturbance and, but you move on. It’s cancel your credit cards, reorder your driver’s license and your insurance cards and…

Roberta: Oh man,

Ryan: It’s the hassle, it’s the frustration. I like the wallet. But that’s the way it goes. And so yesterday, Labor Day comes up, so I thought I would at least check my emails and see what’s happening. Because, it’s your day off so you might as well, right?

Roberta: Right. I did a lot of work yesterday,

Ryan: So I was looking at my email and this guy Bob writes, “Hey, I think I found your wallet.” And I’m like, what? How is this possible, Bob? So I email him back.

Roberta: You don’t know Bob, this is a stranger? How did he get your email?

Ryan: Right? So I emailed him back and he’s like a electrician or a contractor. He had his direct line and office line. So I called his direct line and his direct line links to his work cell phone. So I left a message and I said, ‘Hey Bob, this is Ryan. I think you found my wallet.’

And I’m looking for my wallet. And 20 minutes later, he calls me back on his personal cell phone and says, ‘Yeah, I think I found your wallet.’ And he says he says, well, the story is I didn’t actually find your wallet. I saw a bunch of credit cards lying on the road, and that was really unusual. He says, ‘I saw one. And I thought, well, someone just threw out some trash. And then I saw another one and another one, and then I saw your id. And then I thought’… He put it all together like this is clearly a bigger package. And then he shuffled, kind of followed that trail and there’s my wallet, a mushroom covered wallet on a leafy, mushroom-covered street and collected all of the things, put it all back together for me.

And then he gave it to his son and said, ‘Hey, can you look this person up? He found me on the Artblog, sent me an email.

Roberta: Go, Artblog!

Ryan: Yes, he sent me an email and yesterday he said, ‘Let’s go meet in Media.’ Now, I don’t usually go to Media, and this week I’ve been there three times! And so I picked up my wallet. I’d already canceled my credit card, so I’m like, ‘Oh, this is useless.”  But at least that’s free. So it really didn’t cost me anything to get everything canceled and restarted. And my $28 in cash is still in my wallet!

Roberta: That is weird. It must have taken a tumble to make the credit cards jump out of the wallet and the i.d.

Ryan: Yeah. And you think I would’ve noticed. It’s my handlebar bag right in front of me. Yeah. You think it would’ve made some noise or a thunk or a kasplat of some kind, but nope. I wasn’t going very fast at that point either.It was very calm, easy going, but there’s a couple speed humps on that road.

And I guess that must’ve been the thing that triggered (it to fall out). But I haveeverything else, like all my snacks, are still in there in the bag. My first aid kit, my tubed tire patch repair kit. This wallet was the only thing that fell out. How is that the one thing?! Oh my gosh, I would’ve traded some other things.

Roberta: Wow. But you have a good Samaritan in Media! That’s good news. That’s really great. Thank you Bob.

Ryan: Thank you, Bob. So I’ll have to put Bob in the show notes. If you need a contractor or electricity. I forget what he does now, but yeah, I’ll put him in the show notes.

I said, is there any way to repay you? He said ‘Oh, no. It was Karma. What goes around, comes around. He had lost his wallet at a hotel and someone had found it and returned it to him, magically. But, the funny thing is, this is my second time this year of these kind of wild things happening. This is like getting hit by lightnening, but twice, because I told you about my kayaking event.

Roberta: No! I haven’t heard about that.

Ryan: Oh my, I didn’t share that story. Oh my goodness.

Roberta: No.

Ryan: Alright, well this one will be fast. My son (10 years old) and I went kayaking on the Platte River in Michigan. So not the one in Nebraska, but he one in Michigan. it’s a very popular tubing, kayaking, canoeing spot for people coming up for the weekend or whatever. It’s a really great spot for it. Salmon run. That’s where my oldest and I had done the fish hatcheries on that river. Yeah. And so my youngest and I went kayaking, and we decided where we’re going to go in and we put in, and then we started going and we’re in the kayak and I realized my backup pants are in front of me and getting a little bit wet, so I grab them to put them behind my seat, and in those pants are my car keys. And as I grab my pants and lift them over my head to throw them behind me in the dry space, in the kayak, the keys — I literally watched them fly out of the kayak into this river. And I thought, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me. How is this possible? Oh God. God.’ And so I say, ‘Oh my goodness, Reese, we have to stop. The keys just flew out of the kayak!’

Then, I jump out, and the river is shoulder depth and, and I think, ‘I’ve gotta feel (the river bottom) for my keys because I’m in Michigan. And I have a backup set, but they’re in Philly. I think, ‘Oh my God, this is just so difficult.’ And I’m looking, looking, looking. Couldn’t find them. Maybe they float? Maybe they don’t float? I’m playing the scenarios. Where should I look? I’m feeling around…

Roberta: When would car keys float?!

Ryan: Because I have a little plastic dongle piece on them. So I thought maybe this 3D printed piece would help it float. Maybe they would super sink. I didn’t know, but in a panic you kind of look for everything. So I spent an hour and 15 minutes scouring up and back, because some sections you could see (the bottom) pretty clearly even at that depth. And then some sections were too murky to see anything. And, people would come by — tubers — and say, ‘Oh no, that’s terrible news! You’ve lost your keys.’ And I’d say,’Yep, thanks. Thanks so much.’

Yeah, lot of drunk people on tubes, which, I appreciate what you’re doing. It’s just not very supportive. And then after about an hour and a half, I’m getting pretty low morale. I’m internalizing, not packing it in, yet, but it’s probably time to pack it in. And another group of tubers comes by and said, ‘Oh, what’d you lose?’

‘I said, I lost my keys.’ They say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible news.’ And then three guys jump out of their tubes,saying, ‘We’ll help you look.’  I say, ‘Oh, awesome!’ Finally, and within five minutes a guy pulls up my keys out of the bottom and says, ‘Are these them?’ Like there would be other keys down there.

So lightning has struck me twice this year. There’s no way you’re going to find keys at the bottom of a river. Wow. How, how? And then my wallet just magically…! I mean, it’s been a wild summer for me.

Roberta: I think you’re operating under a star of some sort that is allowing all this magic that’s really great. What stories!

Ryan: Nothing but happy endings. And the guy says, ‘Well here’s your keys, but I don’t think your key fobs are going to work anymore.’ I thought, Yeah, if that’s the worst, then that’s the least of my problems. I can start my car without the key fob. We finish our kayaking and I run back to the car and it behaves like nothing has ever happened. And I think, ‘Are you kidding me? How am I this lucky?!’ I love it. I mean, I don’t want to overstate it or whatever…

Roberta: Or jinx it for the future. You’re on a roll here. Let’s keep it going.

Ryan: I know. So anyway. I still look both ways before I cross the road, so let’s not get out of control.

Roberta: Yeah really, you can’t just let go of everything.

Ryan: I am extremely grateful for the luck and generosity of the, the universe and karma and whatever’s happening for me. I do appreciate it. Karma is really great when you get it.

Roberta: I haven’t had any really bad experiences losing a wallet or anything like that, or keys. Just the usual. You misplace them in the house and then you go crazy looking for them and you are hyperventilating and then they show up in your back pocket.

But I do tend to walk down the street and find money (on the sidewalk). I don’t know about you, but I have Dollar Bill Karma. Not a lot of money. And I think I passed it on to my oldest daughter because when she was, I don’t know, maybe eight years old, we were on a trip to Washington DC and we were in Union Station having a snack of some sort sitting at a table and she’s looking around and bopping up and down as kids do at that age. And she comes back and she’s got a wad of dollar bills in her hand, a huge wad of dollar bills. And my husband takes ’em and counts ’em up and there’s like 40 bucks.

Ryan: Oh wow.

Roberta: 40 bucks. Now what are you going to do? And of course, my son who was there, younger brother to Oona, says, well, ‘We’re going to split it between Oona and me, right?’ The wisdom of a 6-year-old, and my husband, the wisdom of a father says, ‘No, she found it, it’s hers.’ And that’s all I remember. And I don’t really remember the outcome, but they’re still good friends to this day, my daughter and son. Money finding. It’s another karma, but it is really a minor karma.

Ryan: Don’t look any gift karma in the mouth.

And we have our art market that is coming up in a little over a month. So that’s exciting. We’re ramping up there as well, so fall’s going to be a big fun time for us as well.

Roberta: Yes, it will indeed.

Shout out to Ulysses Books and to Partners and Son who will be tabling at our Art MKT along with Artblog. We’re going to be podcasting out of that Art MKT table. So come on in if you want, and participate in our podcast! We’s love it!  Anyway, I guess that’s it for me, Ryan. I’ll say, thank you everybody for listening! Bye-Bye. It’s Roberta.

Ryan: Thanks everyone, and this is Ryan, and this has been the Midweek News on Artblog radio. Bye-Bye.

Roberta: See you next time.