Our cat, Sara, has developed a strange new habit since we moved here, or more accurately, since Sue unpacked this white little animal pelt (pictured here) that she got when she was younger. It's some sort of weasel-like creature and Sara located it, or I guess we could say "hunted" it rather quickly and claimed it for herself. It's obviously brought out the latent huntress in her, because now, every night without fail, she runs around the apartment with it in her mouth and wines and cries until we congratulate her on her kill. She brings it to our bed and presents it for us much the way outdoor cats do with more recently living things.  And then we hang her upside down and squirble her (also pictured here). Look at that kitty! Silly kitty. 

Anyway! Where was I? Last night Sue and I went to a nifty dance 

recital held at local studio: Safira's World Dance, featuring belly dancing and flamenco. The flamenco portion was courtesy of Alicia Harris, a visiting dancer from Spain (by way of 

Oklahoma City). Didn't bring my camera to the event but I found this pic of some of the dancers online. 

The most fun for me was joining in on the syncopated clapping, which will have to satisfy my percussionist fix since the Old Town Square Drum Circle is probably calling it quits for the winter. If I haven't mentioned them before, they met every Friday and Saturday night in the middle of the Square with plenty of drums available for those who didn't bring their own. I joined them one night when Sue was in New York and it was fun, though I haven't had the chance again since and they probably won't meet again until it gets warm. 

Meanwhile, playing guitar in a rock band has been an interesting experience so far. I'm not used to playing that style so it's forced me to actually learn how to play real chords and stuff, maybe even shred! Picking up nifty little tricks like D-Tuning my guitar. That's when you tune the low E string to an even lower D. It gives the guitar a lower sound but also makes it easier 

to play certain chords and riffs. Also started singing backup on some of the songs which has reminded me how long it's been since I've had to sing in a live band. Still rips my throat up for now, but I'm sure I'll get stronger again. 

Challenge of the Day! Tell me what this sign means. What is a "MEATPADDL" and how wrong is it that it involves kids? And does the involvement of a clown make what's happening Wed at 6 more scary or more scary? The closest guess wins a prize. 

Sue is entering the final few weeks of the semester which means she is grumbling to herself and twitching a lot. But we've managed to get most of our Thank You cards out. Some of you have already received them but for those who haven't, don't worry, they're

coming! Meanwhile, I'm close to completing the enrollment process at Newman and hope to take a couple classes next semester. Just waiting for one more set of transcripts before I can continue. I've decided on Graphic Art & Design as my major. I'd been considering a few other things, but I'd studied Art originally and it seemed to be the one thing I'd really love doing above all else. Wish me luck dusting off my long neglected skills.  

So, I can't not mention the election, which was pretty spectacular. Of course, I don't know how you go from calling Obama a terrorist supporting, secret muslim, socialist one day and graciously congratulate him on his "historic" victory twenty four hours later. It's not like those sentiments are going to go away over night, which would explain the rash of racist hate crimes that have been reported since the election. Maybe when Obama turns out not to be the anti-Christ, and ends up doing a halfway better job than Bush (and how hard could that be, 

really) it'll all blow over. Hahaha, yeah, I know, that sounded funny when I was typing it. I can dream. 

Anyway! On to subjects that we can all celebrate like the fact that Sue and I have found GOOD PIZZA in Wichita! I *bleep* you not! Il Vicino serves entirely decent wood-oven pizza, good crust, tasty sauce, big-ass calzones. It's true, it's not bad! Sue and I were so excited that we went back the following night and then had the leftovers again the night after that. It's not New York style, but it'll more than do.  

Finally, I've posted another video to YouTube for the new tune Badman Dub. This vid is spiced up with various silliness from around the web, so it's a bit more interesting to watch than the others may have been. If you get a sec, check it out. And check out the three new tunes I've posted to my Garageband site: Grasshopper Vs Mantis, Truly, and Badman Dub. All my trax are posted there for checking out or downloading. 

Anyway, we'll talk to you all soon and Sue says "Damn papers (grumble, curse)" which I think means "Talk to you soon." 

Love, Sonny & Sue.  

Taking a deep breath

WOOHOO!!!

Hey again everyone and a Happy Halloween! I hope you've all had a fun one. I have to admit, I haven't gotten dressed up for Halloween in years, and this one was no exception. But even Prof. Crane was lazy on that front this year. Here she is as Crazy Woman With A Pumpkin Tattoo On Her Neck. 

Ghoul Day fell on Final Friday here in Wichita. Like many cities,

Wichita has one night a month set aside when all their art galleries are open late and many offer snacks and wine and other goodies. I'm happy to find that it's a happening event here and the city has a very vibrant artist community. There are around thirty galleries participating around the city and we only got to visit a handful in one section but they were crowded and the art was fun.

My favorite was the Robots exhibit,  

featuring many homemade and automated creations, like a robot made from car parts that reacts to people moving near it 

and talks and a machine that creates music by

hurling a rock and rattling chains against sheet-metal. Many of the

galleries are located in those cool old warehouse buildings. The section we visited is Commerce Street, which is a brick paved ally that stretches along a block of converted warehouses. There were 

musicians playing outside and one space was used as a makeshift

concert venue. And the din of noise coming

 from the venue was the most evil sounding music I've heard here, which, from my perspective, was a promising surprise. And of course, there were many people dressed in costume. 

Last saturday I performed with the Grace Wu Kung Fu School at the annual Asian Festival. The event is held every year at the convention center downtown and features food, music and culture from the

many Asian countries represented in the city. The Grace Wu School performance is usually the big hit of the fest. Some were surprised that I would jump into a performance after only a couple months at the school, but my experience at Shaolin Temple, and the 

number of performances I've done for them, left me with plenty of forms I could handle more or less. As it turned out I just did a small part of a form for my solo stint, not feeling comfortable doing the whole thing and I participated in a group form with other students.  Here is a shot of us all posing at the end of our performance like a bunch of hotshots. I seem

to be having trouble posting videos to this blog, so here is a link to my personal MySpace Page with a video of my short form where I look like a formless blob, and a video of the group form which looks a bit better. My short form is from a form called Swallow (the bird not the motor reflex, wise-guy). 

So I guess that's it for now. 

We love you guys and will see you soon hopefully! 

Love, Sonny & Sue.