Author Archives: craft captain

This Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 it’s the AKBAR PRE-THANKSGIVING DANCE PARTY!!!
CraftNight will continue its regular programming on December 3rd, 2008

THANK YOU VERY MUCH:
1.) For AKBAR, the neighborhood oasis, the Sunset & Fountain haven where you can drink to trouble, talk about everyone else’s troubles, or make NEW trouble! The Akbar family network of friends and personnel makes CraftNight tick, from Ms. Mike Glass’s expert spinning and craft-tastic assistance week after week, Terry’s door-jammin’ hunkiness and help, Mikey, Stefan and Sophie pulling cocktails, Jeffrey, Ruth, David, Peter and Scott, and everyone else it’s a true miracle dream to call Akbar home.

2.) The KITCHEN! Oh hey, get yourself some macaroni and cheese from the kitchen! Winter goodness at its best! Of course, you can’t beat the chicken noodle soup either, oh jeez, just get in there, you’ll see what I mean! Thanks to Dave, Rochelle, kitchen staff, and of course, the Owner from Handsome, USA: Fred!

3.) For CRAFTERS! Because what’s CraftNight without you coming in and making stuff with us? We’d kist be gluing googly eyes to our foreheads and blathering nonsense all night! Thank you for those of you who have been coming in for the last 6 years since CraftNight’s inception, for those of you who jump in and start crafting before you even knew you sat down, for fearless and shy crafters, early and late crafters, crafters who might not always come to CraftNight… but who always read the bulletins!

4.) For CRAFT LIEUTENANTS! You guys keep the fire burning bright with your tireless efforts and generosity! And special thanks for those who have made craft supply donations, or whoever that troublemaker is that puts 20 dollars(!!!) in the donation skull from time to time, for those who send photos of CraftNight events, who bring in odd geegaws for crafting, for those of you who help me set up at the beginning of the evening and/or help me clean at the end of the night, thank you for your time and kindness, it’s a pleasure to have you.

5.) For THANKSGIVING! Because though it has totally bunkus roots in the historical sense (a robust nationwide feigned ignorance regarding nasty real-estate squabbles, pestilence, back-stabbing, muskets, dorky hats with buckles on them, maize…) it has another set of themes that endure year after year: togetherness, appreciation for the harvest and the theme of gratitude in general.

6.) For OBAMA!

7.) For everyone who worked hard to make a difference on NO on 8! Hey, remember prop 22? Though prop 8 passed, we’ve made so much more progress and made so many more people aware of gay rights! It’s only a matter of time, we’ll get there, let’s keep working!

8.) The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! REALLY REALLY BIG BALLOONS!

Okay then, I’m sure there’s so much more to be thankful for, make your list today!
If you don’t have any plans on Thanksgiving, take a peek at Gobble Gobble GIVE! Go schlep food to those in need, you’ll be better for it!

See you next week at the Craft Table!
Food, fun, family, friends, festivities,
JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Website

Akbar’s Website

This Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 from 9pm ’til midnight at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!
Project: HAND TURKEYS
$2 processing fee, please

Fact #1 – Your hands are your chief organs for physically manipulating your environment.
Fact # 2 – Wild turkeys are brightly-plumed cunning birds of flight.
Fact #3 – A hand turkey is a drawing of a turkey made by tracing your hand, typically using the thumb to represent the turkey’s head, and the fingers for feathers.

Grab your meat hooks and some construction paper, and take part in CraftNight’s Annual Autumn Tradition: THE GRAND AMERICAN HAND TURKEY.
Modify your turkey to suit chosen themes, personalities, moods!
Make a sparkly turkey, a robot turkey, a turkey in roller skates, a turkey that looks more like a lame duck, a pack of turkeys, a mini-turkey, a maxi-turkey… make any kind of turkey you want!

And then send it!
Send it to a friend, send it to an enemy!
Put it in a care package or place it on someone’s windshield, knock on someone’s door and run and hide, and make sure a hand turkey is taped to their doorway!

And speaking of turkeys, I designed a Thanksgiving card for Panorama Press that you can view right HERE!

AND, you can also view my Xmas design HERE!

Ye Olde CraftNighte Christmas Faire happens during December CraftNights 10th and 17th, if you want to sell your wares, contact me! Wooo!

See you at the Craft Table!
JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site

This Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 from 9pm to midnight at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!

Project: CraftNight GRAB BAG!

$2 processing fee, please.

Prices from 1981, projects from the future, CraftNight is the KEY to your good times! In all honesty, I’ve been doing CraftNight for 6 years now, which seems like complete fiction, but it’s not, it’s real. And you know what is really real? The MOUNTAINS of leftover crafts from all the projects I’ve devised from the last 6 years. The house fairly teeters with the beguiling flotsam and jetsam of glorious CraftNights past. So I’ve decided to make little mystery bags, little craft kits where you’ll just have to take a gamble and see what your project for the night just might be, and I guarantee that whatever you get will be experimental and begging for your vision.

And, just so you know, I’ve updated the CraftNight website, so you can go see what kind of projects are in the near future, as we start up the end of the year.

Also, the “Ye Olde CraftNighte Crafte Faire” is coming up, December 10th and 17th, so if you want to be a vendor and sell things, contact me.

Okay then, see you at the Craft Table,

JP Craft Captain

Akbar’s Website

CraftNight’s Website

This Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 from 9pm till midnight at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!
Project: Guy Fawkes Day Craft!
(And Happy Birthday Cristin Pescosolido! Wooo!)
$2 processing fee please

Remember Remember the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot!

Ah, Guy Fawkes, caught red-handed in 1605, and now the foiled fellow gets effigies of himself burned to a crisp year after year like a baked potato forever more.

If you want to find out more about Guy Fawkes, by all means, check it out!
But rest assured, in the United Kingdom, people are going to be munching on bonfire toffee and ginger cakes, enjoying pyrotechnic displays, causing a ruckus and lighting things on fire… and we’re going to join them in spirit by making a Guy Fawkes craft at Akbar!
I’ve designed a little “Guy Fawkes” doll for you to make, it involves coloring, cutting and gluing. And if you want to make some other kind of doll, go right ahead, just don’t light it on fire inside the bar!

And Now for the Political Segment
Our country has been given the short end of the stick for 8 years.
We’ve got 36 hours to try and help make a change. Have those difficult conversations with relatives and friends, make sure they know what is at stake, make sure they know all the facts, hand stuff out, stand on street corners with signs, make calls, etc.
Do what you can to make a difference, you’ll be glad you did. Here are three opportunities:

The Obama campaign has organized a phone bank near you to call voters in swing states. Volunteer here.

Volunteer for Election Visibility for NO on 8

Volunteer for Phone Banking for NO on 4

The day after elections, I hope we’ll be in good spirits.
Come in to CraftNight and get a hug either way.

See you at the Craft Table!
JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site

This Wednesday, Gothtober 29th, 2008 from 9pm to midnight at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!

Project: Días de los Muertos Sugar Skulls!

$2 Processing fee, please, as well as some extra cash for extra skulls you may want… we made a bunch of really cool ones in differing in design and detail.

I am so excited, because we sat down, mixed the egg white and the sugar, pressed it all  into the little molds, put them all in the oven to dry and VOILA, a veritable armada of beautiful little sugar skulls to decorate and take home with you. We’ll be celebrating the continuity of life, honoring the memory of our ancestors, and I’ll have made a little altar with some goodies on it, in case any dearly departed souls want to stop by and do some crafting. You are welcome to contribute to the little altar with photos or favorite little trinkets/treats in the memory of those who were called into the great beyond.

Speaking of departed, if you have time on Wednesday, go over to the Eagle (just down the street from Akbar) and spend some time at the very last night of SHOTGUN. Meredyth and Sarah, CraftNight salutes all your hard work and efforts in running one of the most wild and rowdy gritty eastside ladies nights the eastside has ever seen. We’ll miss SHOTGUN, and hope you’ll come raise a ruckus and cause trouble over our way in the future.

See you at the Craft Table!

JP Craft Captain

CraftNight’s Site

Akbar’s Site

———————————————————————

Now then.

A POLITICAL SUPPLEMENT FOR SWING VOTERS:

It has come to my attention that there are some of you who are not decided on whether to vote for Obama or McCain. CraftNight endorses Obama, but not in that “Obama’s a complete angel and makes poo made out of 24-karat gold” kind of way. All politicians are sleazy and power-hungry and egomaniacal, and you can’t really trust a donkey any more than you can trust an elephant when you get right to it. However, I think if CraftNight had to say it, the words from the following top-brass military fellows would put it best:

“It isn’t easy for me to disappoint Sen. McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that. But I firmly believe that at this point in America’s history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with the changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue basically the policies that we have been following in recent years,”
“I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change and that’s why I’m supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain.”
COLIN POWELL 65th United States Secretary of State, 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 16th National Security Advisor, Retired General

“The truth is that, in national security terms, he’s largely untested and untried. He’s never been responsible for policy formulation. He’s never had leadership in a crisis, or in anything larger than his own element on an aircraft carrier or [in managing] his own congressional staff. It’s not clear that this is going to be the strong suit that he thinks it is.”
FOUR STAR GENERAL WES CLARK, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO during the Kosovo War (speaking here in reference to McCain)

And I’d like to give you a few more nuggets (from reliable sources!) that send it home for me:

McCain opposes Roe versus Wade, he believes it should be overturned.

McCain received a ZERO from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

The Childrens Defense Fund voted McCain as the worst senator in congress for children.

McCain’s reputation is built on his opposition to torture. McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

Here’s what McCain has said about waterboarding in 2007

“Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak,”

“People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.”

And if this doesn’t resonate with you, here are places to go that might help you make your decision:

PolitiFact.com

Tube the Vote

Politico

Slate

Candidate Calculator

Candidate Match Game

The Washington Post

Where each candidate stands on Women’s issues

I wouldn’t normally nag you like this, but this election is kind of a big deal.

This concludes CraftNight’s political supplement for this bulletin. Thank you for reading!