i will have you know that i have never in my life made a smiley face out of a colon and a parentheses before now. i don’t plan to ever make one again. so, enjoy it or hate it while it lasts. i really hate them but the title seemed to scream for one and i wanted to see how it would feel to type it. it felt dumb.

anyway- the local paper had a paragraph about us on sunday. someone called me today and told me as i was canoeing sunday and missed the paper. here’s the premise:

By Lashonda Stinson Curry

Published: Sunday, September 26, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
With the help of our readers, The Sun has put together a list of some of the things that are quintessential Gainesville – the places, people and events that shape this town and make it tick. Weeks ago, we put the call out on our website for readers to tell us what they love about Gainesville or what they think everyone here should experience. The e-mails came pouring in with all kinds of suggestions, ranging from well-known activities to creative and lesser-known ideas. So grab a pen and check off what you’ve seen or done and start circling what you still need to explore.

(and here was the mention of us)

grab a slice at Satchel’s Pizza

Bring cash only and a hearty appetite to this funky and fun-loving pizza spot, which was one of the most popular submissions for this list. From traditional to deep dish, the pies keep the place packed and people waiting … sometimes almost an hour. Pass the time by scanning art-filled walls or browsing the junk shop. And for unique memories, try to eat inside the van outside.

1800 N.E. 23rd Ave., 335-7272. www.satchels-pizza.com

they got the website link wrong though, as we don’t have a dash in there. but nice to see we were high on the submissions list. thanks gainesville!

i’ve got to re-post this video because i love it so much. if you don’t love it, don’t worry, you will one day. it grows in your mind like a sycamore tree.

i just got an email from a guy who blogs about florida food. he reviewed our place, drove 2 hours from orlando. click here to read.

i found the strap for the watch. life is back in order. now is the time.

so, friday night a table gave me a watch. i was just checking on tables and this one group makes watches called time-peace and hooked me up because they like our pizza. check out their website here.

however – it’s missing the strap that holds the band down though, so if you fellas see this post, bring me up one next time you’re in town.

and in other news, i keep trying to steal an hour here and there to paint my truck:

there’s a new wind chime in the oak tree:

don’t book your flight and hotel yet… now the other team can’t be there oct 1st. still working out a date for the championship game.

one of the teams had a last minute work thing happen and will be out of town sept. 24th, so the bocce finale will be postponed until oct. 1st. revised poster coming soon.

thanks to danny for handling all the tournament details, and making this fine poster!
everybody loves danny.

i have wanted to start this series of videos called satch-chats. it started as an idea for our local internet radio station and i thought i would go around and talk to people, some i know, some i don’t know, about their job or life or whatever…. then i thought why not post them on the blog, make it a video series… but i’ve had the idea now for several months and been too busy with other projects to make it happen. today, heading home from work i saw this guy standing in the middle of the road with a dummy and 2 signs and i thought he might be the first for my series. but i don’t know. at one point he said “God is original.” and that really caught my attention. i like that title better than satch-chats#1. also- if i was to make audio of the satch chats series avaialble to grow radio, i want to have better sound quality and talk more about the scene since there won’t be video attached. so, it was the satch-chats idea that prompted me to stop and talk to this guy, but i really see this as separate. i am hoping that the satch-chats series can be more of a conversation between people and here penny does a lot of the talking. anyway – he has a website posted on his back, poorpennycarson.com but it seems like an advertisement – like someone who is selling puppets and christianity has taken his name to try and get hits. there are several youtube videos like mine and penny tells the same stories in those. it’s quite long to watch but i think very interesting.

God is original from satchel on Vimeo.

about a year ago, i guess, i decided to draw a bandana design. after some searching i found a screen printer that would do a big design on a bandana. i had a few colors printed and they are ok. but i wasn’t super excited about re-printing them. they were just ok. well, recently i decided it was time to draw another bandana design, now that i had time to think about it more and figure out what sort of design works on a bandana. last time i wrote satchel’s on it and lightnin’ salvage and LSE… but a bandana is the sort of thing that gets turned around every which way and text just didn’t make the most sense. if it’s a cool looking bandana does it really matter if it has our logo on it? i think not. anyway – i drew a bandana design and hated it. the design has to be as big as the final thing and so it takes a few late night sessions to draw a big design and then go back and tighten it up and make it ready for the printer. so, while i was bummed that my second design didn’t look good at all, i finally decided to try it again. after i had drawn half of it in pencil, i was convinced it was a stupid design, but decided to ink it in anyway to see if the black ink would make it better. much to my surprise i was pleased with that and so i went ahead and finished it. i think i started this design nearly a week ago and finally finished it tonight and will drop it off for the printer tomorrow. i think we are going with light colored bandanas with dark ink this time. anyway – that all is my lead up to my drawing. too much information maybe but i my art is usually more spontaneous and less tedious. so, i’m making the story tedious too, ha.

somehow this woman in oregon found my blog and we’ve been following each other’s restaurants from across the country. she owns a pizza joint and her pies look incredible. click this: latest post where she talks about the char. the other day i walked in the kitchen to 3 slices coming out. they looked ok on the top but i lifted them and they slooped right down. i made the cook put them back in for about a minute. they came out straight like the one in kina’s picture. (although much bigger slices.) ” those slices just went from a C to an A+” i said. and it was so true, 1 minute made all the difference. those slices were perfect. we try and cook them right all the time. i see some sloopy ones going out now and then, but for the most part we cook them and don’t get many sent back. seems gainesville knows good pizza. thanks.

the bocce tournament is close to finished now. tonight was the semi-final match, the pagodans against the mirror balls. pagodans dressed up in different costumes every time they played and nearly made it all the way but tonight was the end for them. pictured above are the team members (two on the right) and the other two are fans that came out for support.

real busy night. final bocce match will be september 24th i think. get informed here…. soon.

i’ll let the video explain:

southern cooking from satchel on Vimeo.

this dove world outreach story has me all riled up. here’s my response. shirts come out friday.

38 years later…. same look of inspection… same bulging belly…. same sandals…

#1. it is the FIRST annual tournament so we are still working out the bugs – so to speak.
2. it has been dragging on to allow time for all the teams to coordinate their schedules to play.
3. next year- it may last all year long- who knows?
4. even if you have never in your entire life even HEARD of bocce ball you have a chance to win the second annual tournament. (could be your claim to fame – your 15 minutes – the event that sets you on your path…)
5. the trophy is just one of the prizes: free pizza – glory – your name forever glorified… no telling what other amazing prizes they will come up with…

next time you’re there, just sign up for the next tournament… where? lightnin’ salvage, that’s where.
you will thank me later.

first annual championship game coming soon. information will be posted HERE.
where?
here. the blog.

this photo was taken at one of our ukelele nights – but it gives you an IDEA of a scene you might see at open mic night… you see- this is my blog and this post is directed to people who are interested in our bi-monthly OPEN MIC night. not long ago it was once a month but it has been so successful that now it’s every other wednesday (more or less.)
do you like to get in front of people and bare your soul? perfect. the music is from 6 – 9pm. get there at 6 and find neil to reserve your spot in the line-up. if you arrive too late you might not get to play that night but you’ll definitely get to enjoy some other local musicians talents… i’m looking forward to the time when there’s enough local acts to fill 8 spots every wednesday. we’ll feed you a slice and a drink and who knows? maybe you’ll be our next friday night act? maybe you’ll be on letterman in a month?

when you think – think lightnin’ salvage.

danny runs the place every night- neil is the MC for Open Mic night. you go up there and remember those 2 names – and you’ll be treated like family.

LSE / OPEN MIC/ EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY (check the calendar) don’t be scared. we love you even when you sing off key.

i got my computer back, and my movie program back, and the fall is coming on, and i’m gettin’ stuff done….BUT – this computer is not working right. it won’t remember my password as many times as i tell it to. it ignores me like my kids do. my movie program froze up about 8 times tonight. and it is not working smooth like it once did. too bad since we have bought a new version and everything. my guess is i might be able to make a few more things before i just give up on the damn thing. have i told you how much i hate computers?

on a positive not though, i will show you TWO NEW VIDEOS.

first, there was this old beer cooler and the box was old. we had put new hinges on it and worked to get the doors closing right and it was a real pain. then i made the stupid mistake of shutting it down for a month this summer and the moisture got into it and the foam inside swelled up and then it was obvious that this box would never close up tight again. the compressor was fine but the BOX – shot. this thing was a beast too, it took 5 big guys to get it out of the bar area. i called the joker who sold it to me and he sent some guys over to haul it away:

old beer cooler from satchel on Vimeo.

and also – i’ve been working on a sculpture that was wholly inspired because i wanted something to put whirligigs on. so i built this whirligig holder. it’s supposed to get 5 whirligigs but i only got 3 on today. i’ll finish tomorrow so you get to see this before it’s even done.

whirligig sculpture from satchel on Vimeo.