Hilliard's Early Television Museum

According to museum employee, Larry, this is one of Hilliard’s best-kept secrets, though they do have a full page write up in the current edition of "Discover Hilliard."  https://earlytelevision.org/museum.html (I'm pretty sure they've also been mentioned in Ohio magazine).

When I visited there were only two other male guests that seemed a bit older than me, and I heard them chatting and reminiscing about the various sets. I pointed out an antenna adjuster of which my family had an identical model.

I told them I remembered the clicking noise it made as it rotated the antenna. Pretty primitive by today’s standards I guess.

I enjoyed quietly browsing all the art deco Bakelight models appreciating the craftsmanship that went into making each cabinet, back in the day when televisions were still a piece of furniture and more than just a piece of technology. I will always have fond memories of the console TV my family had that contained a radio and a turntable on opposite sides on top. Not sure how often we used either, but it was nice to have it all in one unit.

Of course there are many similar models in the TV museum as radios and record players were common features of some sets.

This TV is definitely one of my favorites, and apparently the cabinet was custom-designed, so it’s one-of-a-kind. I would happily trade in our 50”+ set and Ikea entertainment center for this one.

I also like this one as it was the only color (cabinet) floor model in the museum. I was telling Larry I would love to own one like it, and he said that model isn’t actually very expensive (perhaps because they’re quite plentiful; not sure).

There were some really cute TV paraphernalia items that were displayed in and amongst the televisions like this film strip viewer:

 And this miniature TV knick-knack:

I didn’t take the time to examine all the educational materials and advertisements or push any of the buttons to hear the history of the various eras of television, but plan to come back some time and perhaps spend a little longer. All I know is it felt very therapeutic wandering among part of the past when things were simpler and my worries were less. If you live in the greater Columbus area and you’ve never been to the Early Television Museum I would highly recommend it for an affordable afternoon out ($5 for adults; $2 children).

Dublin Arts Council 'Flow' Event

Last Saturday I ventured out to a new event being held at the Dublin Arts Council called ‘Flow.’ I heard about it from a postcard we received in the mail, but had discarded it since we were going to be out of town. However, a change of events meant I was able to attend, so I eagerly headed out to check out this Wellness event. I was most interested in the Typewriter Rodeo, but also Suminagashi (the art of Japanese paper marbling). Here’s a description of the event from the DAC website:

The second event in Dublin Arts Council’s Art & Wellness Discovery Series will occur on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the historic Dublin Arts Center, 7125 Riverside Drive in Dublin. Dublin Arts Center’s rolling landscape and sweeping views of the Scioto River inspire the event’s theme of “flow.” Components of the ‘flow’ experience are designed to promote immersion, focus and enjoyment while connecting members of the community in creative exploration.

During the Flow event, guests will be able to immerse themselves in visual art, sound and movement activities designed to promote calmness, deep enjoyment and a balanced feeling of well-being and tranquility.

During the entire event
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

• Creation of custom poems on vintage typewriters by Typewriter Rodeo of Austin, Texas
• Instruction by Sue Andrews in Suminagashi, the art of Japanese paper marbling
• Samples from the Seed to Serve Smoothie Bike
• Playing Through street piano

Typewriter Rodeo

https://typewriterrodeo.com/

After speaking to one of the volunteers, I quickly found my way to the room where the pair of typewriter poets were located. Each was sitting in front of a small vintage typewriter (the laptops of their day). Jodi was using a blue Imperial British typewriter she inherited from her mother-in-law; Hence, it had a pound symbol on it, which I thought was cool. I kind of want one now. However, the Remington Sean was using had a much nicer sound, so I was impressed by that.

Jodi told me they’ve been doing this for about six years ever since attending an event in their native Austin, TX. Due to the popularity of making up poems for people and then typing them on a vintage typewriter, they’ve continued this business venture. She told me someone was walking by and happened to ask, ‘what is this, some kind of typewriter rodeo?’ and the name kind of stuck.

I told her it reminded me of the scene in “Before Sunrise” when American traveler, Jessie meets Celine, a young Parisian, and they spend the night wandering the streets of Vienna. At one point they meet a street busker who offers to make up a poem for them on the spot. If they like it, they can make a donation, or not. Not surprisingly Celine was far more impressed with the results than cynical Jessie, but I think they still gave the busker a few quid.

I also asked Jodie whether or not they had ever seen ‘California Typewriter,’ a documentary that streams on Amazon.com all about the fading world of vintage typewriters, which features Tom Hanks in one of the longer segments. Apparently Hanks is a typewriter enthusiast who has been known to occasionally send a typewriter to a serious fan. Not only has Jodie seen the documentary, she actually received a fan letter from Hanks of which she let me see a copy of. She even wrote me a poem about it.

Hanks also wrote Uncommon Type, which contains a short story about a young lady who buys a typewriter at a garage sale only to discover it’s practically considered a toy by the owner of a vintage typewriter repair shop. If I remember correctly he convinces her to buy a more respectable model. The description of the sound the typewriter makes is spot on as Hanks definitely knows the difference between the cadence each model makes.

After buying their book and placing my poems inside for safe keeping, I walked to the rear patio where I tried my hand at Suminigashi, which is the Japanese art of paper marbling. Although the kind of ink and oil may differ, I believe the oil we used was from an oxen or something. The ink was some sort of black ink. I was told to dip a brush into each vat of oil and ink, wipe it off a little so none would drip off, then alternate dipping just the tip of each brush into the center of a shallow tray of water. Each time you dip the brush into the water you get a ring, much like what you might see on the ring of tree, or the contour lines on a topographic map.

It was suggested you could either let the wind form the direction of the rings or you could gently blow on the water. I did a little of both. When you’re satisfied with the results, you dip a piece of paper into the water, and then remove it once the ink has imprinted on it. They placed my print between some newspapers to let it dry, so I walked around to see what else was going on while I waited.

I tried a couple smoothie samples that were whipped up in a blender powered by pedal power (which, funnily enough, is how Ed Begley Jr., the ultimate environmentalist, makes his toast every morning).

I also tried to play a couple tunes on the piano.

Have a great week everyone!

Book Talk & Art Appreciation

I recently attended a book discussion at the Book Loft in German Village in which Columbus Dispatch columnist, Joe Blundo, and retired Columbus Dispatch sports writer and columnist, Bob Hunter, were promoting their new books: Does That Make Sense, by Joe Blundo and Players, Teams, and Stadium Ghosts by Bob Hunter.

Mr. Blundo immediately leapt in and decided to interview Mr. Hunter, which was nice for us, especially for me, since I know very little (nothing really, other than that he used to write for the paper) about him. Mr. Hunter is from Hamilton and graduated from Ohio University. According to the bio on the back of his book, “Bob Hunter was a sportswriter for the Columbus Dispatch for more than forty years, including the last twenty-four as sports columnist. He is the author of nine books, including Thurberville and A Historical Guidebook to Old Columbus.”

Probably his favorite column, which is on pp 193-198 is entitled, “Hall Would be Nice, but Rose is Hustling Frozen Pizzas Now.” Mr. Hunter said he had heard that Pete Rose would be at a local Kroger store ‘signing Pete Rose Ballpark Café Hit King Pizza cards in front of a three-door cooler of frozen pizzas of the same name.’

He said what was funny was that a guy came in and saw Pete and shouted over to him, “Hey Pete!” like as if they were old pals and it was the most normal thing in the world for former baseball legend, Pete Rose, to be sitting in the frozen foods section autographing pizza cards. Even funnier when Pete yelled back, “Come have some pizza!”

Mr. Blundo, a fellow Kent State alumnus, said he likes being a writer/columnist because he enjoys interviewing people who are passionate about what they do. Among other people he has interviewed, one of the less famous, but still well known in relevant circles is the man tasked with photographing the swine at the Ohio State Fair (though I couldn’t find a column about it in the book). Yes, someone actually has that job and is one of few who are officially in charge of doing that. Apparently he took over when his elder predecessor stepped down, so he saw the opportunity to fill his shoes. This sounds like the kind of story I might have written in my summer intern days back when I was writing for a group of small papers in Ashtabula County.

I asked the pair if their publishers gave them any kind of a limit as to how many columns they could contribute. They said that wasn’t the case, but the publishers did give them a deadline to submit them, of which Mr. Hunter said he kept submitting afterwards until finally the publisher told him enough was enough. Both agreed it was difficult to choose columns since each is like your child and it’s difficult to choose favorites.

Mr. Blundo said he tried to pick columns that weren’t dated, and not weigh it down too heavily with items about our President (which he said could easily fill a book). Mr. Hunter said he tried to provide a good balance between the Browns (of which there are easily more fans here in Columbus) and Bengals and the other state sports teams.

Leaving there, my driver dropped me at the Ohio Craft Museum where I joined my husband and in-laws who were viewing the (now finished) exhibit, “Shared Vision: Passions of the Human Spirit.” The art was all pieces ‘made in Ohio studios serving artists with disabilities. Participating organizations: Goodwill Art Studio, Planet Joy, Open Door Art Studio, Visionaries and Voices, Passion Works, Soaring Arts, Raymond Thunder Sky Gallery and Sunapple.’ (according to exhibit card)

We heard about the exhibit after watching a segment about it on the season opener of “Broad and High,” and as it was the last day for the exhibit, I’m glad we made it before it closed. There were definitely a few pieces I wouldn’t have minded owning, if perhaps I had a bit more space – like this couch -

This quilt was also one of my favorites (had I not just received a very nice one as a Christmas present last year from another art exhibit elsewhere) -

I was particularly fond of the members of Charlottesville who were part of a collection called ‘Welcome to Charlottesville’ (‘an imaginary town inhabited by colorful characters’) created by Columbus artist, Charlotte McGraw. Although the faces were all quirky and interesting, what I liked was what it said on the card each one held up – like one confessing he was a kleptomaniac and another one labeled ‘Grumpy Pants.’

Here’s the artist’s plaque:

I’m glad we have this little museum so close to home. Although parking could be more plentiful (welcome to life in the big city), it’s free if you should find a space. Next up at the Ohio Craft Museum: Christmas themed & other handmade craft items for sale November/December.

An Evening out at the Chocolate Cafe...

I recently had the pleasure of attending yet another mouth-watering event at the Chocolate Café. At last year’s autumn evening we made Pumpkin Truffles and Apple Pear Tarts. This year we made Buckeye apples, pumpkin spice cake pops, and learned how to properly pipe a cupcake. The only thing lacking was the cocktail part of the evening, unless you count the sample of Chai Apple Cider we each got (I had completely forgotten about the cocktails until one of my classmates mentioned it).

The apples were prepared first in which we each dripped peanut butter over our choice of either a Granny Smith or a red apple, then the apple was refrigerated to allow the peanut butter to set. Later the apples were brought back out and we took turns dipping them in the chocolate mixing machine. Peanuts and sprinkles were optional.

I opted for some simple autumn-themed sprinkles. Then our apples were chilled again before being bagged to take home.

Our next project was constructing cake pops out of little blobs of spice cake and some buttercream frosting. Although I’ve made my fair share of cake pops, it’s a delicate balance between the amount of cake (or brownie or whatever you’re using for the base) and frosting you add. We were allowed extra cake if necessary, so I opted for that.

Then we dipped our sticks in chocolate, and then stuck them into the pops before refrigerating again. Later we removed the chilled cake pops for a very quick dip into the chocolate fountain before decorating them with nuts or sprinkles. Again, I opted to keep it simple by just using some sprinkles.

Our third project was a lesson in piping so we could tastefully decorate our pair of cupcakes. The head chef at the Chocolate Café demonstrated the effect each different nozzle has on the appearance of the frosting so we could make an informed choice before choosing our frosting bag. I wasn’t too fussed either way just preferring one of the chocolate ones.

After all, I figured the cupcake wasn’t going to sit around too long before getting eaten. The piping wasn’t too tricky, and it’s easy to look like a professional if you’re only doing a cupcake. By the way, I only ate one cupcake and brought home the prettier one for my husband. Am I a good wife or what?

If anyone wants to join me at a future event at the café, don’t be shy and let me know. The more the merrier!