Wednesday, September 19th, 2012 from 9pm(ish) until 12(or later) at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!
Project: Crafting with Snacks!
$2 Processing Fee
$4 Cosmopolitans: If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the Cosmo.
Massage Therapist ON DUTY! (Sky’s current deal is 15 minutes for 14 bucks = A STEAL!)
Snacks at the bar, snacks on your table, edible crafts is the name the game, decidedly savory and totally weird. This is the last week of summer, and we’re going to go out with a SNACK BANG, by making sculptures and what-not out of some of America’s bagged munchies that will be held together with the mortar of, you guessed it: bean dip.
The last time we did this, I believe Josh Fielstra made the ark of the covenant out of pretzels and doritos. I’m sort of hoping for more of the same this round, except maybe we’ll get a Starship Enterprise, or a locomotive, or perhaps a presidential portrait. One can only hope. I’ll have as many shapes as I can find in order to enable the most varied results for your projects. You can even EAT your masterpiece when you’re done! I’m not sure I can say it’ll be a good idea, but CraftNight prides itself on bad ideas, so there you are.
In other news, it has been confirmed that less and less people are smiling at strangers. I think the top three reasons for not smiling at strangers are:
1.) Self-centeredness – Lost in thought, staring at phone, texting, anything that is not attached to the here and now, the distracted existence of the scattered brain is disinterested in immediate surroundings and the people who inhabit it.
2.) You hate everything – Having a bad day, feeling insular, not wanting to interact, none of these make you want to crack a smile at anyone, and forcing it seems inauthentic, so why bother.
3.) Inundation – If you smile at someone they might start talking to you, and try to become your best friend, or take up your time with their pointless and boring drivel.
These three reasons for not smiling at strangers are TOTAL BUNKUS.
1.) We’re turning into a nation of distracted ROBOTS, put down the goddamn phone and force yourself to interact with your environment! Everyone you see is another star in the sky, no less or more important than you. Next time you’re in line at the bank, don’t check your phone, just wait, and see how impatient you have become. Look around you, use your senses. Part of being carefree and alive is being here right now.
2.) Hating everything is natural and normal. Smiling isn’t always the answer, but on less crappy days, you could make a difference in not just your own life, but someone else’s. You can’t fake a smile, people know a fake smile instantly, but what’s interesting is that, out of the two possible smiles there are that can be made (real or fake) no matter which one you transmit: It still gets you a little bit out of the doldrums. Caring for a stranger even in the tiniest way makes both you and the stranger feel better.
3.) And OMG the WORST is this fear of unwanted interaction that might be brought on by smiling. COME ON. If you aren’t adult enough to smile at someone for fear of them talking to you, you’re never going to develop and hone your skills in building real boundaries in friend, family and work situations where interaction, communication and articulation are crucial. Hiding and shirking isn’t the answer, be BRAVE, start small, start with strangers! You can smile at a stranger and keep walking, you can smile and wave, you can keep your cherished privacy and identity and important time and schedule and yadda yadda yadda… but not unless you can get over yourself first. And remember: strangers are just as scared as you as you are of them, they think you’re going to want to be their best friend, follow them home and eat all their food in the fridge… how silly is that? Mmmm hmmmm….
Smiling at strangers is one small thing you can do consistently to make your fellow inhabitants of planet earth feel important and cared for, it makes people feel human. It costs nothing, it’s easy to do, and as our technology advances and our manners disappear, it is more important than ever to connect in real space, in real time. It’s totally old school, but it totally works. Don’t be a chickenshit! Try it!
See you at the craft table, JP Craft Captain
