Guest: Colin Helb

Topics: Joys of Canned Beer, Pop Culture, Reality TV, Old Guy Section at Rock Shows, Musicians’ Day Jobs, Comic-Con, Green Super Heroes, 3-D Movies, Jeff is Not a Fan of G. Love, Local Philly Celebrities, Crying During “Annie,” and Michelob Ginger Wheat Detergent Beer

Playlist: We Are Scientists, 1000000 A.D., Adam Franklin and The Bolts of Melody, Vertinsky Dogs

Play Now: http://www.usedwigs.com/pod/podcast77.mp3

iTunes: Download, Listen and Subscribe (more…)

The formidable Formation Skateboard Company recently overhauled and overpopulated its online store with scores of toddmarrone.c0m-designed and custom painted skate decks. Limit 10 per customer, unless you want more.

Marker Drawing by Emily • 9″ x 12″ • Private Collection

A multitude of moons ago, I posted my contribution to the long-running international doodleography archive called The Scribble Project. Last school year, I encouraged my 7th and 8th grade art students to try their (drawing) hand at the same assignment. Seven contributors were selected by Lisa “The Curator” Currie and featured on the site this July.

Congratulations to Emma, Jesse, Emily, Mary, Nathan, Casey and Victoria for making waves in the World Wide Web!

All the World Cafe Live’s a Stage

I recently shared this case of Miss-fakin’-identity via First Person Arts’ StorySlam at World Cafe Live.

Paper Collage • 9″ x 8″ • Available

Matisse believed that collage was a lot like improvisational jazz. Audubon believed that birds couldn’t play the piano.

In 29 short years, MTV has ruined music, television, New Jersey and birthday parties. That’s literally a bold statement, allow me to build my case:

Exhibit A) Sure, image, marketing and visual appearance have always had their places in pop music… but it wasn’t until the popularization of the music video that those things completely eclipsed musicianship. Janis Joplin would NOT have a record contract in a post-MTV world, nor would Justin Bieber in a pre-MTV world.

Exhibit B) The first season of The Real World aired in 1992. Arguably, the series’s success was instrumental in America’s reality TV explosion. It is the illegitimate father of The Simple Life, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Hills and any number of little person, human litter-raising and/or cake decorating docu-crapperies. The majority of reality TV programs celebrate the worst of humanity and grant celebrity status to dismal people for doing dispicable things.

Exhibit C) New Jersey has long had its problems but Bon Jovi and Jersey Shore is a one-two punch from which the garden state may never recover. A conservative estimate is that 80% of all Jerseyites idolize and/or emmulate one or both.

Exhibit D) My Super Sweet Sixteen taught us that a birthday party isn’t a celebratory gathering of loved ones nor ritualistic rite of passage… it’s a pissing match for rich people.

Case closed. The floor is open for debate.

Topics: Boring Weather Talk, Meeting Will Smith, MySpace Graveyard, Great Vacations, Harrowing Tales of Dangerous Driving, Abandoned Amusement Parks, Autograph Seekers are Idiots, Toy Story 3 Review and Rush Documentary Rules

Playlist: Defiance, Ohio, Dignan Porch, Red Collar, Rubik, The Gentle Guest

Play Now: http://www.usedwigs.com/pod/podcast76.mp3

iTunes: Download, Listen and Subscribe (more…)

Acrylic Painting by Heather Hall • 12″ x 16″ • Family Heirloom

There are dozens of paintings hanging in our home but this is, by far, my favorite. A number of years ago, my wife (who actually does have strong drawing skills) set out to try her hand at painting. Like most burgeoning painters, she first attempted to paint a 3/4 portrait of a startled, topless, bald man with a goatee. To her dismay and my delight, the goatee resembled an unfortunate stain… thus the title.