Kansas is the land of beautiful sunsets, so here are a few, enjoy! 

Happy Easter and Passover to all! Here's hoping you had a lovely, relaxing weekend. We're having a rainy, cool day here but still got to enjoy the holiday with our friends Sonja and Michael at a nearby restaurant with some of their family. 

 The food was good and so was the company. And we've had a long weekend since we work for a Catholic University. Too bad Sue's had to get

 over another cold. A lot of people have been sick around here lately. Could have something to do with the fact that it's around freezing every morning and over 60 by the afternoon. 

I just completed a new tune. It's called Primordial and it's posted to my MySpace page if you'd like to go check it out. Let me know what you think! Some of you may remember the strange habit our cat developed after Sue left a real live (ok, dead) small animal pelt out one day.

Sara has claimed it for her own and hunts it repeatedly. Above, I have posted actual videographic proof of this nightly occurrence to silence the doubters. You can't really hear it on the video but there's a a meowling, growling sound that goes along with it. 

Even though I haven't taken an actual studio art class yet, Mary, the director of the Art Dept has seen to it that I get my hands dirty

learning all the various processes. Today Sue and I were carving designs on a pair of clay rattles, made by forming a pair of equal sized clay bowls, filling one half with several small pieces of clay wrapped in tissue paper and then joining the two halfs together. Once they're fired, we'll paint 'em up all snazzy like. Seen here is the result of my first print-making experience. Incase you were wondering, 住 zhù means "life" and 树 shū means "tree". 

Last weekend Newman held it's annual Literary Festival, the brain child of Bryan, one of Sue's coworkers

in the English Dept. Events went on  

from 9 in the morning to midnight Saturday and Sunday and all involved, including Sue, were exhausted. I divided my time between the Fest and fundraising for Project Vitamina with Sonja and other students at a local Sam's Club, which also went on all weekend. Sue did a presentation on Medieval Riddles, which I unfortunately couldn't attend (thankfully the couch is very comfortable). Cheryl, a former student of Sue's from Stony Brook also flew out just to present and stayed with us. But I think my favorite part of the fest was actually Bryan's reading which included poems from several of his published books on topics ranging from superheros, SciFi, horror movies and pop culture. Cool stuff (available now!).   

So, I promised myself I'd find space here at some point to give props to some of Wichita's cooler local establishments. Here are just a few. 

The Donut Whole - this new local joint is a cool addition to the scene. They offer a myriad of cake donuts (!) made in all sorts of

wacky and playful flavors such as Bacon & Maple (!!) and Fruity Pebbles (!!!). While some of these may sound a little scary, trust me, theyz gooood. The place has

 a cool kitschy look decorated with odd salvaged bits from the area's industrial past. It's a comfortable

place to savor a root-beer donut with a bottle of all-natural root-beer, or various coffees or teas or other sodas, enjoy the free wifi, listen to cool music and occasionally check out a live band on their modest stage.

     

Eighth Day Books - yes it sounds like a Christian bookstore (not that there's anything wrong with

that!), and I guess it technically is one, but this 

locally owned

establishment has an eclectic and

inspiring collection of books from all disciplines stuffed inside a cool old house (even the upstairs bathroom accommodates several bookshelves). The seating, mostly old church pews, isn't the most comfortable, but the staff are knowledgeable and passionate about books in a way you can only find at a small mom and pop store. In addition to loosing yourself in the deep stacks, you can attend the free Latin or Greek classes held there every other weekend. We hope they continue to hold the big chains at bay for a long time! 

The Spice Merchant - The spice must flow!!! Oh yes, another of Sue's favorites, this sprawling warehouse space with the cool turkish looking exterior, is home to a crazy assortment of raw spices and teas, coffee beans, and a great selection of hot sauces among other things. Sue has been known to get lost for hours (ok, it just seemed that long) walking the no-frills racks filled with odd and interesting cooking sauces. It's a hands on kind of place where they make or prepare a lot of the products themselves - you won't find the usual brands there - and like The Donut Whole, they're a big supporter of local producers. 

Perhaps we'll get the chance to take some of you on a tour of the local favs personally! Anyway, I hope you're all having a pleasant holiday and hope to speak to you all soon. 

Love, Sonny & Sue. 

 

 

That's right folks, we're still here, surviving the BLIZZARD OF OH NINE! We haven't had to resort to cannibalism or set fire to our couch to keep warm...yet. We only hope that there is a society for us to return to when the blinding whiteness dissipates. But that could be a while, I mean, there's like, oh, five or six inches out there. Why are you laughing at me? The dude on the news sounded, like, really worried. Anyway...

So, I finally figured out how to post videos to this blog (I's smart),

so please click above to check out the new video I threw together in my sleep for my remix of State Shirt's Up Up Up Up Up. Actually, I think the video came out pretty neat even though it's more pirated (arh!!) footage from around the interwebnet. It's a mix of time-lapse and super slow-mo stuff, and I'm pretty happy with how the remix came out too for those who haven't heard it. You can also go to my YouTube channel to see videos I've made for the other songs. 

Oooh Oooh Oooh! Did I also mention that we survived our first tornado! Ok, we don't actually know if there WAS a tornado or not but the sirens were going and the sky was flashing and it was way exciting (in that uh-oh-I-think-I-just-crapped-my-pants kind of way)! I posted a video of the warning above also just because those sirens are mad spooky, yo. They're all at different pitches and they roll over you from different directions at different tones and forming these spooky, Close Encounters like,

discord harmonies. Anyway, you can kind of hear it on the video.

So, Sue and I had a fun and relaxing Spring Break visiting Dad Crane and Pauline in San Diego. It was my first time there so I was excited and as you can see from some of these shots, it is beautiful. I think the entire area is a secret government research site for  

developing the perfect climate. For the most part it was sunny and in the 80's the entire time except when we went out to the desert. We were also there at the tail end of the "rainy" season so the landscape was unusually  

lush and green for us.

We got to walk around Balboa Park in town

and visited some of the museums and hung around the cool Gaslamp district the evening of Saint Patrick's day which was teaming with drunk fools, I mean, Festive Revelers. 

We had fun and Dad showed us a good 

time, wining and dining us at all the local casinos. Thanks Dad! 

Sue is still clawing her way out from under her student's draft papers but enjoyed having a week to relax and has made use of this snowed-in weekend to 

try and catch up. I've already finished with my eight week Art History class and I did well (99.76). All I have to do now is 

maintain that 4.0 average or don't bother coming home. I'm sure she was just

kidding...right honey? Sweetie? Ehem. Anyway I'm all enrolled for the fall: Design, Photography Writing, Philosophy and Chinese which is being offered over at Friends U. I can't wait to be desperately busy and stressed

downing energy drinks like they're water! 

Actually it's going to awesome. Not  

everyone gets this chance and I intend to make the most of it. 

Meanwhile, I'm still finding the time to finish a new song which should be done this week. It's going to be called Primordial and has more vocals and a 

more consciously developed hook than most of the others. Finally, thanks to all those who've downloaded my latest album, Dub Executioner! Thanks for the support! 

Sue and I will hopefully talk to you all soon. Take care of yourselves and we love you! 

Sonny & Sue. 

  

 

Ok, so it's been the better part of two months since the last time I blogged, but I have a good reason: I finally landed my ass a job! And I couldn't have asked for a more convenient gig considering Sue's and my schedules. I'm working as the student assistant for the Art's & Humanities department at Newman. Sure, it's only part time and doesn't pay amazingly, but it works out well. Some of my responsibilities are 

mundane office work but I also get to do a wide array of things like photographing and 

documenting all the artwork on campus, or taking photos at a recent event, or putting together 

Powerpoint presentations for one of the art professors. I spend a great deal of my time in the Art Dept which is convenient since that's my major. I also couldn't have asked for a better boss (she hates when I call her that.), our friend and my band mate, Julie. Here she is rocking out with some other local musician friends at the Artichoke Bar last Saturday night. The Artichoke is a cosy joint for seeing live music, a little awkward layout when there are more than a couple musicians, but their sandwich selection kicks booty. The dude in the back with the hat is Henry

our bassist, and Kelly our drummer is also back there though you can't see him in this shot. 

The other thing we

did last weekend was to drive to Kansas City in an oh-so-comfortable U-Hall truck to pick up our beautiful new couch! I think Sue was actually levitating when our friends

Sonja and Michael helped us bring it up

 and set it in place in our apartment. Mmmm red-leather.

Sue has already christened it with her drool. She basically refuses to sleep in our bed  

anymore unless we get red leather sheets or something. While in KC, we managed to visit the 

 Nelson-Atkins Museum which is a very cool museum with a nice ancient collection and a 

really neat modern section. We didn't get to see all of it this time but we will be back, I'm sure.

Sue also insisted that we visit the Museum of Hair. It's both not as lame and more strange

       than you're thinking. Having nothing to do with hair styles, it is the only museum in the world (we think) that features the victorian art of Hair Sculpture. No one has practiced this art since the early 19oo's but people apparently used to take hair from their family members and weave these remarkably intricate wreaths and other designs, replicating flowers and birds and all sorts of things. This is Sue with our tour guide who walked us through the collection of some four hundred creations. It was surprisingly interesting since many of the pieces serve as detailed family histories complete with names and dates and historical info about the families.

So, the other thing that has been keeping me busy are the classes I've 

been taking. This weekend I finished my first art project for my art history class. It's based on a 3500 year old Manoan vase. I found the vase in a thrift shop and Sue let me use her old paints. I was a bit rusty after years of not touching a paintbrush, but it felt good to get my feet wet again.  

I haven't had a lot of time to work on music lately but I did complete my first remix! The band is State Shirt, the song is Up Up Up Up Up and my mix, which is quite different from the original, can be heard as the first track on my MySpace page. Check it out when you get the chance. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The original is a moody indie-rock jammy with nice vocals and changes. My version is a sooped-up techno/dancehall hybrid. There is an outside chance that if the band likes the mix, they may include it on their upcoming remix album. 

Sue and I have booked our flights for San Diego to visit Dad Crane and Pauline over Spring Break. It will be my first time there and I look forward to seeing the house and hanging with them. 

We hope you all are doing well and hope to see you soon. Sue has a bad cold right now, so send her your love and wishes for a quick recovery. 

Love Sonny & Sue.     

Before I tell you about Sue's and my wonderful whirl-wind tour of New York, I'd like to announce that my first on-line album is now available!!! After signing an agreement with on-line distributor Tunecore, GERMANATE08's Dub Executioner is now available for download from a wide assortment of fine retail establishments: iTunes, Amazon, emusic, Napster, Rhapsody, to name a few. Make a donation to my college fund today! 

I've also posted a couple new trax to my Myspace and Garageband sites, check them out if you are inclined to shake yo booty. 

So, Sue and I had a great time seeing as many 

of our friends and family as we could 

over the Holidays, spending an 

action packed two or so weeks in Pennsylvania and

New York. Thank you so much to Shaun & Nanci, Nan & Pop, Suzie & Stewart, Bob, Bente and co, Greg & Stacey and my mom for the generous accommodations. 

Some of the mattresses we slept on were more comfortable than our own, which Sue and her bad back appreciated greatly. And thank you to all who accommodated our busy schedule and fit us into their plans so we could see and hang

out with as many of you as we could. 

We were excited to eat pizza, bagels, dirty-water dogs and soft pretzels; to smell the wafting of half a dozen restaurant kitchens commingled as we walked down the street; to have to look up to see the tops of buildings, to hear and see many languages jumbled together; and to see trees, trees everywhere! Even the traffic was somehow comforting. 

Some of the highlights during our trip were the celebrating of Boxing Day at Suzie & Stewarts, watching Tremors (again) with Bente (and Flemming pretending not to be interested), slaying zombies(!) with Thomas, sharing much good home-cooked food all along the way, hanging out in the NYC, going to galleries in Chelsea and eating Ukrainian food. And oh yeah, the night we spent at the Waldorf-Astoria (yipes!), in the biggest hotel room/suite I've ever seen, courtesy of mommy (view from the room above). 

Bethany demonstrated her planning (and cooking) prowess in getting many friends together for a lovely meal. Other friends converged on Bubba's for a New Years Day par-tay, and in the city to spend time with us our last weekend in town. We watched the New Years Eve fireworks at Prospect Park from Jodi's apartment, very excited that we didn't have to go out

into the frigid cold and wind to see them. And I got my butt whomped at pool more times than I care to mention by senior citizens. They may not be able to stand up straight but they sure can throw a snake shot with some extreme english and leave you snookered as all get-out.

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to and we're sorry for that, but we'll be back again, so be ready for us. We love you all and hope you all had a wonderful Holidays! 

Love. Sonny & Sue 

After a relatively painless four hour lay-over in Dallas (compared to other travelers we saw and heard about), we arrived in Philadelphia on a freezing rain soaked night. We managed to find ou friends, Shaun & Nanci's beautiful new house about an hour east of Philly. Unfortunately, we arrived just in time for the brutal 24 hour stomach bug that was sweeping through the Folkerts gang. Madelyn and Nanci had already suffered through it and Shaun was feeling cocky that evening, but succumbed and yakked his friggin brains out the following morning (sorry, Shaun).

Anyway, the house is beautiful and the hospitality was as generous as it could possibly be under the circumstances, but we did leave a little earlier than planned and so far we seem to have avoided the bug (fingers crossed).

From there we stopped off at Paul & Sherryann's for a few hours and were treated to some goodies and some tea and some good conversation.

So, here we are at Nan & Pop's at the Villa at Morlatton. It's a lovely facility with plenty of amenities and we're comfortable and well fed here. To walk off the 

copious breakfast, lunch and diner buffets we've have over the last day +, Sue and I explored the area, braving the 

railroad tracks next door and reading the gravestones on the neighboring colonial area church grounds, featuring some graves dating from the early 1700's.

One more visit in the area tomorrow and we're NY bound.

Hey all, don't have time to write much since we have a flight to Philadelphia tomorrow morning and we must be getting our sleeps, BUT I I have a treat in the form of the much anticipated blog entry by the Good Doctor herself. Enjoy! 

Here are the traveling couple during their lovely four hour stay-over in Dallas:

Greetings, family and friends! This is our promised holiday blog. “Blog” rhymes with “nog”… so pull up a chair and grab a cup of nog, and we will tell you our (brief because we have a flight tomorrow morning and have just gotten to this now) holiday stories. 

The holiday season officially opened when I finished my semester. My students are always excited when they finish their final papers and exams because they are “free.” But that’s when more work starts for me. Happily, Newman’s fall semester ends early (a full week before Christmas week) because it starts in August. 

But just when I was ready to start some serious reading for next semester’s classes, I went to the dentist. I had made an appointment for Sun & I for a routine maintenance check-up and cleaning, but apparently I hit the dental jackpot after all these years – 28 to be exact-- of the same thing every 6 months. I sat down in the chair and, after the hygienist took a look, the dentist came in. She handed me a mirror and said to take a look. What to my wondering eyes should appear? Not one, not two, but three tiny reindeer… disguised as cavities. The dentist’s two theories about why were the non-fluoridated water in Wichita or a change in dietary habits. Or both. Either way, I was astonished. About an hour and a half later, at lunch time, all drilled and filled, I stumbled out into the snow.  Really hungry by this point and informed by the dental authorities that we didn’t have to wait to eat, Sun & I stopped for some sandwiches at a local sandwich
place called “City Bites.” I had to smile at the title—having been bitten by the city of Wichita (or at least by its water supply). The sandwich looked good—roasted vegetables with some kind of mayonnaise sauce on a toasted but not too crispy roll—but it tasted a bit like toothpaste and whatever other dental substances had been applied so vigorously to my teeth. Not to mention that half my jaw was still numb from the novacaine. I slowly managed to eat the sandwich, and then, theorizing that the novacaine had also had some radiating effect on my entire head since I suddenly had a mild headache and felt very tired, went home and took a nap. Happily, Sun managed to escape undrilled, though (ominously?) his cleaning was postponed so there could be a “deep cleaning” scheduled for January. Maybe they’ll send some tiny spelunkers in to attack the plaque. I just hope he avoids my recent dental fate!

On a happier note, we are both very happy to be heading back east tomorrow morning to see as many of you as we can. I did promise to tell you a story, though, so I picked out one from the past few weeks that I thought would be amusing. It’s much more amusing to me now that I can look back on it a few days later (maybe dental work is usually that way--?), and I have to say the fillings were done very professionally—the kind that are color-matched to the teeth.  So, raising my own cup of nog here, I am ready for more holiday treats, though I probably will make sure to brush afterward!

Now maybe Sun will tell you one of his stories… 

See? This is what happens when you give kitty people food. Give'er an inch and she takes a mile. Give her a greasy sliver of chicken and she wants the whole Eight Piece. But she's cute so how can you resist? Even Benny Goodman is smiling. 

We hope that you all had yourselves a wonderfully glutenous, late afternoon nap inducing Turkey Day. For Sue and I it was an adjustment having our first Thanksgiving away from friends and family. BUT we are making new friends and we did have a fun evening with Sonja (who runs the Spanish dept at Newman) and Michael (Sonja's husband). We met up with them at a park nearby and played with their adorable white poodle and they came over our place later for a traditional Thanksgiving feast of chili and rice and assorted other cobbled together whatever was laying around the place goodies. We played games, we ate, we laughed, we base jumped off the roof, we mowed the grass of the vacant lot next door, just for kicks. You wish you were there, don't you? 

We didn't have a traditional Gobble Day, but we did participate in a local tradition this Sunday night when we attended the Christmas children's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, 

held every year at the WSU campus. It's the local version of what Christmas Carol at Radio City is for New Yorkers. 

For those who participated in the Guess What This Sign Means

contest (um, all one of you) I can report that the sign was 

corrected, sort of, the following day to say: 

"Kids meet Puddles as the clown". 

This cleared things up greatly. Of course...I still didn't understand why Puddles was AS the clown. Did Puddles have a day job, like "Hi, I'm Puddles the Paralegal. In the evenings I play a clown, and I call myself...The Clown.". And how terrifying would it be to meet a clown named Puddles anyway? I don't ever want to meet a clown named Puddles, I don't care how may chicken fingers you let me stuff

my face with. But the revisions didn't stop there! The day after that the sign read:  

"Kids meet Puddleas the Clown". 

So the mystery is finally, unquestionably solved! Ryans is the only place I'm aware of where kids can meet some sort of ancient Greek clown. Now that's a different story. As for our lucky contestant, your Meat Paddle is in the mail. 

So if you couldn't figure it out from the above paragraphs, I have too much time on my hands. The economy has resulted in a hiring freeze for many of the local companies, especially for temp assignments, and so even though I've signed up with five different temp agencies, I haven't gotten a bite yet. I did take a civil service exam last week for the Post Office for some temp work they're offering and I should find out how I did in a week or so. 

Lack of job opportunities has been a little discouraging but I press ahead with my

ultimate goal, which is to return to school! I have enrolled and signed up for two classes in the Spring, an Ancient Art History class and a one credit prep class for the Guatemala trip we're taking next summer with the Spanish dept. In the fall I'll be a full time student. Scary but

exciting. Newman has accepted more than a full year's worth of credits from my stints at SVA and

NCC, which was a nice surprise. I was also extremely excited to find out that Friends University, which is across the way from Newman and has a partnership

 with us, is offering a class in Mandarin! I was studying on my own and at Shaolin Temple

  in New York for a few years and was not expecting to find a class here. 我开玩笑就你去吃晚饭。Take that! I just told you that your mother smells like socks. It's actually a polite greeting in Chinese. It doesn't sound as good in English. Anyway. 

Speaking of free time, I've gone a little bonkers with the videos. You know, I was putting together these makeshift videos for some of my songs so I could post them on YouTube. Well, I have a bunch of them now. You can check some of them out on my YouTube channel or my MySpace page. 

Soon I will have an album available on the interwebsnet and then I will take over

the world! Mmmwahahaha! But first, a nap. 

Love you guys, 

Sonny & Sue.