Where do I start with Jone? She has infinite interests and is infinitely interesting--even if we are just talking about vintage trailer camping, John Waters, condiments, and all the big plans we've made together in the course of our long friendship. Projects like "The Act", which involved matching polyester dresses, singing, and comedy (it never happened.)
On her own, Jone is responsible for many fun performances and projects like, "The Talk Show" and "The Jone Stebbins Show". And her bands: 80s punk outfit The Wrecks and alt-pop group Imperial Teen. She is also an aspiring Urban Sophisticate.
Jone-inspired chips bags:
*OOLALA Brand Porcini, Rosemary, and Olive Oil
*Herr's Special Sauce (Ketchup, Hot Sauce, Salt, and Pepper)
*Clancy's Dill Pickle
*Luke's Organic Ketchup with Mustard and Pickle
*Herr's Sandwi-chips Mustard (Extra Bold for topping your favorite sandwich)
*Lay's Hot Sauce
*Herr's Honey Sriracha
*Lay's Dill Pickle
Coming at you on Independence Day from the Town of Hillsboro, VA. The Town has the best 4th of July fireworks! Or second best, if you ask my Dad, who has lived outside of this tiny rural town for 37 years. I talk to him and other long term residents, new arrivals, and people from other lands visiting this special small town with a big commitment to inclusivity --and a big budget for fireworks!
While I'm certainly not a fan of Larry the Cable Guy, today's chips were selected for their All-American themes:
Larry the Cable Guy Cheeseburger Tater Chips
Larry the Cable Guy Tater Salad Tater Chips
Cape Cod Americana Barbecue Brisket
I don't know her actual name, but she goes by Mary Welcome. And she is easily one of the most fascinating and welcoming people I have ever met. And an artist and civic engineer who I connected with instantly, and who I envy for her vision and follow through.
Take, for example, this: God Bless the USPS A long-term project in which Mary sets out, directionless on her trusty metal steed and hunts for small town post offices. Without a map. And then photographs them. Not even the actual USPS does that!
For our talk, we munched on Kettle Chips "Tailgate Edition" 7-Layer Dip Flavor, which is what I served her the first time she came to my house for dinner. How do I top that?
Patricia Arnao is a multimedia visual artist who was one of the first artists -in-residence at our art space in Turkey. Then I started a new one and I invited her to be first because she's Number 1!!!
Pat showed up in West Virginia fresh off her most recent trip to Sicily, where she was taking care of legal business as part of her Italian citizenship application. Over our Happy Hour Aperol Spritzes, we dove into why Americans are obsessed with Italy, Italian and American culture, and, of course, potato chips.
Cameo by my beloved, Árni.
Bags:
*Le Contadine--Mediterranean Flavor (Tomato Basil)
*San Carlo--Salami and Fennel
*San Carlo--Vivace (Spicy)
*Lays Bolognaise
Sibel Horada is an artist from Turkey. She is also my friend. A friend who calls me from the supermarket in Ankara (Turkey) to show me what kinds of chips they have!
Sibel has been making sculptures from found styrofoam that has washed ashore on Turkey's beaches. In a nod to the Chips, she bought some Puffed Rice cakes because they are like styrofoam! And then we talked about the elements, her work, Turkey, and bad graphic design. Like the design on this episode's bags from my collection:
Estrella "Cipso". Regional Flavors "Inner Anatolia Flavor--Pasturma"
Estrella "Cipso" Regional Flavors "Aegean Flavor--Yogurt and Aegean Herbs"
I miss Sibel. www.sibelhorada.com
In the absence of live Polish friends available for "Chip Talk"--I instead reveal my ignorance about my relative, the esteemed and honorable Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski.
The only thing I knew about the Cardinal before researching for this episode is that he
is the spitting image of my Grandfather, Floyd Weshinskey, and my nephew (who is named after Floyd!)
Niech Żyje Polska! with traditional Flavors:
*Lay's Golonka (Ham Hock) and Spicy Horseradish
*WieskjieZiemniaczki (County Potatoes) brand Butter and Salt
*Wieskjie Ziemniaczki brand Dill
*Wieskjie Ziemniaczki brand Old Dried Sausage of Krakow
*Lorenz Polish Gulasz
Music:
Chopin's Waltz in C# Minor played by
Chopin's Heroic Polonaise played by Arthur Rubenstein
In 1989 my husband, Árni Gu∂mundsson , accidentally burnt down the sculpture department of the Swedish Royal Academy of Art .** He recounts the trauma of that experience on the occasion of our anniversary.
Our last anniversary episode involved trigger warnings, and so does this one: there is mention of police violence, sexual assault, and, or course, fire.
Lagom is the Swedish idea/lifestyle of "just so".
All Bags from Sweden:
OLW Jalepeno Yoghurt
OLW Wafflecut Cheddar and Chipotle
OLW BigCut Jalepeno and Ranch
Estrella "West Coast" Chips: Garlic, Chive, and Chili
Gårdschips Piri Piri and Roasted Garlic
OLW "Delichips" Mild Chili and Sour Cream
Estrella Double Cheese and Chili
Estrella Hot, Sweet Chili
OLW Grilled Cheddar Chilis
OLW Chili and Bernaise sauce
OLW Sour Cream and Sweet Chili
Estrella Hot Sweet Chili
For the record--all the chips, with the exception of the Gårdschips, tasted exactly the same.
**Not to be confused with the second time the sculpture department caught on fire on Skeppsholmen in September 2016**
Why did I think it was a good idea to collect potato chip bags? I asked ethnologist, Charlotte Hagström about that, and she told me that it is a normal impulse . . . if I were a child . . . or an artist :)
As a Senior Professor at Lund University in Sweden, Charlotte has done research on Swedish Fredagsmys (Friday Coziness), bicycles and their riders, female railway conductors, and collectors and collecting!
She is currently a research coordinator at the Swedish National Railroad Museum
This episodes chip flavors:
Estrella Tzatziki Flavor
Quilling is the ancient art of paper rolling. Quilling Mistress and painter, Josie Jenkins,, tells me I have it ALL WRONG when trying to 'quill' two bags from my Chinese collection:
Kimchi and
Lay's Kyushu Seaweed
Josie's Quilling site: https://josiejenkinsquilling.wordpress.com/about-josie/
Josie's Painting and Project site: http://www.josiejenkins.co.uk
We met as resident artists at the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen, Fujian Province, PRC. Josie was with me when I collected several of the bags from my collection. She paints landfills, scrap heaps, and garbage, and works with hoarders! She loves people and chaos/order
The last time I saw Holly Treddenick I was dressed in a nude leotard. Things like this can happen when you take part in circus incubators, and other creative events that are concerned with communication between artists and audiences.
Also, the last time I saw Holly Treddenick in Toronto, I bought some bags of chips:
2 different version of Ruffles All-Dressed!
Creative incubators, face licking, and how the rest of the world can learn what circus people already know: Communication is key.
It takes more than one onion to make a collection of onions. Ludvig Ödman is a collector from Sweden whose favorite chip flavor is "Triple Onion" (because one isn't enough!)
Ludvig collects belly button lint, and various bodily sheddings--but his most recent and important collecting work involves selling prints of his drawings to collect money for Ukraine aid. Then he takes that money and uses it to collect vehicles and supplies which he then transports from Sweden to Ukraine.
Flavors (from Sweden):
*Estrella Triple Onion
*Estrella Warm Sandwich
*OLW Chipotle and Cheese
*OLW BBQ vs. Cola
Last episode I spoke with the "Yes Lady" Lindsay Anderson in Taber, Alberta about the strange path that led to her starting a soup business.
Today, we get crackin' on writing our own obituaries, or at least talking about some of the obituaries in Lindsay's collection!
Kettle Brand Apple Cider Vinegar Chips from Niagara Falls, Canada remind us that 'sour' is just another way of saying "tangy"!
https://lindsayanderson63.wixsite.com/my-site
The first part in a series of conversations with Lindsay Anderson--the woman who likes to say 'Yes".
In this episode, Lindsay tells the unlikely story about how she started her soup business--which sounds like it would be boring--but because it is Lindsay--it isn't!
Chips Flavors purchased in Toronto, Canada:
Savoursmith's Bubbly and Green Chile
Savoursmith's Black Truffle and Rosemary
https://lindsayanderson63.wixsite.com/my-site
Chatting over chips about the unparalleled Berea College with my recently graduated nephew, Avery Fair, his brother Silas Fair (a sophomore at Berea) and three of their friends:
LaMonika Dent, Robert Emmill, and Yer Mama. I mean Luke.
Berea College makes promises:
Berea is the only one of America’s top colleges that makes a no-tuition promise to every enrolled student.
Based on the concept of educational equality--no student pays for tuition. But how does this promise stack up in practice? We unpack that.
Commencement speaker Geoffrey Canada
Bags: Utz Onion and Garlic, Uncle Ray's Hatch Chile and Queso, Hen of the Woods brand Touch of Smoke, and Buttermilk Chive
At the end of the discussion there is mention of a 2020 Berea graduate named "Aziz". This article about Aziz is a fascinating read:
https://magazine.berea.edu/tag/aziz-toktobaev/
My conversation with healer Orlene Carlos sparked an idea to create a real tarot deck out of potato chip bags--but that is for later.
For now, Orlene and I discuss our time in China training umbrella foot juggling, circus performers as healers, and Swedish Roasted Garlic and Sea Salt-flavored potato chips.
Orlene Carlos the Healer
https://www.quantumhealers.com/orlenegentile
Piccolo Zoppe Boutique Circus
Wondercabinet Wellness ( Anne's health and wellness site)
While negotiators meet today in Turkey to discuss a potential end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world hopes for some progress. And I remember a performance video I made in our neighborhood in Istanbul that played with the ideas of patriotism and nationalism and my discomfort with flag-waving.
"Perşembe Pazarı Pride Parade"
https://vimeo.com/76127398
Chips:
Frito-Lay "A la Turka" Centennial Recipes, regional flavors--Poppyseed and Sun-dried Tomato
Cipso (by Estrella) Regional Flavors (Southwest) Spicy Pepper Dip (Acılı Ezme)
This episode's guest was supposed to have been Anastasia Polubotko from Ukraine--talking about mushroom-hunting in Sweden and Swedish and Polish mushroom-flavored chips bags.
But then a war rearranged our priorities, and instead I am talking about Nastia, about mushroom hunting with her, and how the Stoic philosophy can maybe help us deal with the funk and depression we are all feeling these days.
Slava Ukraini!
http://www.anastasiapolubotko.com
This episodes chips:
Lantchips "Plain Chantarelle" (Sweden)
Estrella "Chantarelle, Garlic, and Hot Pepper" (Sweden)
Estrella "2016 Yearly Harvest Chantarelle" (Sweden)
Lorenz Crunchips "Boletus Mushroom and Sour Cream" (Poland)
For a more light-hearted jaunt into Swedish chips--Listen here
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1812533/9658477
This episode's two flavors: Gourmet Red Pepper and Feta and Lay's Burger King Flame-Broiled Hamburger have nothing in common except that I got them both in Turkey. And also that they reminded me of Sevinç Gürmen Hall and her stage persona, Joy G. Wild.
"Sevinç" is Turkish for "Joy"--as in the Joy of Pole--the studio where she creates an inclusive, supportive community of pole dancers, movers, acrobats, and fun people of all genders.
We became friends in Turkey where our paths crossed as a couple out of a handful of circus performers living and working in Istanbul, and we continue to be friends as a result of our common interest in mobility and movement training and a weird coincidence that we talk about in this episode!
Find Sevinç here:
joygwild.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f92oS3lmy5k
Turkey's Got Talent:
Insta: @joy_g_wild (pole)
@the.punk.barbie (tattoo)
Other episodes featuring Turkish bags:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1812533/9753759-turkish-sucuk-soojook-flavor-or-how-an-artist-thinks.mp3?download=true
Valentine's Day special (WTF?!) Although this is the first time we decided to 'celebrate' Valentine's Day, we get really into it by talking about what surprises us about our relationship now as compared to what we expected at the beginning.
The conversation if prompted by three bags of Lay's potato chips that we collected together in Amsterdam, where Árni grew up. All three bags were part of a contest called "Guess the Flavor" (Raad de Smaak in Dutch). We had grand ideas of winning a bunch of money guessing the flavors, but alas--we never got around to entering the contest.
One thing we DO get around to is delving into exercise guru, Bonnie Prudden's 2011 book,
Exer-Sex: The fantastic new fitness plan that improves your lovemaking. Excercises for sex, for love, for life. And also eventually revealing what the mystery flavors were . .
My co-host this episode is Nia Pushkarova from Sofia, Bulgaria. Nia and I met at the same artist initiatives meeting in Istanbul, Turkey where I met my husband. Mine and Nia's friendship is no less enduring. In fact, since 2015 the three of us have been trying to link together the cities of Pernik, Bulgaria and Charles Town, West Virginia through the bonds of art and culture, as well as potato chips!
Nia initiated and is responsible for the Water Tower Art Fest--first a festival, then an artist-in-residency program, always a socially engaged project. In 2015 WTAF took place in Pernik, BG. I had spent a great deal of time in Bulgaria prior to meeting Nia and participating in several WTAF projects, but this time was special, as you will learn during the episode. Our project was/is called "Pernik, USA"
Chips Bags:
Chipi "Beer-drinking chips"
Chipsoni "Sour Cream and Onion"
Smak "Smoked Ham"
One of my favorite Bulgarian folk songs (even if the lyrics are a little church-y and nationalistic for my tastes) starts out this episode: "Malka Moma" sung by Neli Andreeva (from the band, Kitka)
We dance out of the conversation with Riko Band and DJ Krisi playiing something called "Pernik Kyuchek" . Stay subscribed for future episodes when we go into why some Bulgarians may have a problem with this juxtaposition of traditional folk music with Roma dance music.
Infographic by Julie Upmeyer
If you really want to start a fight about what is and is not "Bulgarian", or to rile up West Virginians about our local opioid epidemic, watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juuz3tM7Iuw