The “United States Map Playing Cards,” from UniversalMAP, gives you a great deal of information about the states.  There are 50 states, and 52 cards in a deck — so you also get maps of Washington D.C. and of the world.  And the Jokers are maps of the U.S., with the suit and number of each state scrupulously notated.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.)

re-usable lottery tickets

a heron eating herring

the electric spoon, heated so soup won’t cool from bowl to mouth

In time, you’ll find it none too wise
To base your acts on other guys.

a newscaster’s slip: “black market” for “Blackwater”

a spork with a knife for a handle: it requires a special mitt so you don’t cut your hand

It’s disturbing to see a dog dump on the sidewalk when it’s dressed in a jacket and booties.

Turn a Gideon Bible into a puppet: round eyes on top, book opens to become mouth.

pay pay yap yap

discomfort food

You cannot barter
With a martyr
Perhaps you could
If he were smarter.

(Posted by Doug Skinner. Drawing by Wilhelm Busch.)

I found this deck with no box or instructions.  It seems to have a Western theme.  All of the other people depicted are also in jail: they include Dirty Dan, Shifty Sam, Fingers, Big Hawk, Little Lou, Black Bart, and Baby Face.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.)

From the audience, Angela Alverson captured a snippet of the recital at the Jalopy Theatre.  My beginning uke class made its first public appearance with this blues chorus.  From left to right: Katherine, Rachel, teacher, Carrie, Ana, and Ashley.  They’re on their way!

Another of my uke students, Robin Hoffman, keeps a blog of her drawings of performances at Jalopy.  She recently posted sketches of my recent performance with David Gold and Brian Dewan.  You can see it here.  And you can hear her play a chord solo I taught her here.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.)

“Le Jeu des Provinces de France,” from Editions Dusserre, portrayed citizens of different provinces.  In Auvergne, one goes around with a large hat, wooden shoes, and a hurdy-gurdy.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.)

On April 1, 1897, the remarkable French humorist Alphonse Allais published his Album primo-avrilesque.  It was a slim volume, containing seven monochromatic paintings (such as “Apoplectic cardinals picking tomatoes by the Red Sea”) and a silent funeral march (because the greatest sorrows are mute).  The march was the first silent piece, preceding similar works by Schulhoff, Cage, and others.  You can admire the Album here.

(Posted by Doug Skinner; portrait of Allais by Leonetto Cappiello.)

“Forfeits,” from J. & L. Randall, Ltd., in England, offered activities for party guests.  The art is snappy, and the red and green color scheme is attractive; but I can’t imagine that some of the suggestions would turn out well.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)

John Keel’s birthday is March 25; to mark the occasion, Anthony Matt and Doug Skinner will chat about his life and work on “In Other News,” hosted by Geoff Brady on WBAI, on Monday, March 28, at 10 pm.  WBAI is at 99.5 FM in NYC, or at wbai.org.  For more on John Keel, please consult the twin blog over here.

Doug Skinner will lead his ukulele students in the class recital at the Jalopy Theatre on Sunday, April 3, at 3 pm.  This is your chance to hear eight or so ukulelists (depending on who shows up) in a stirring orchestral version of the Tampa Red composition “Ducks Yas Yas.”  Jalopy is at 315 Columbia St., in Brooklyn.  Directions are here.

Doug Skinner will also be at Jalopy the following Sunday, April 10, at noon, to offer a workshop in music theory.  Again, details are at the Jalopy site.

Doug Skinner will also make it down to the INFO FortFest in Baltimore, May 14-15, to give a talk, “Sketches of Strangeness,” analyzing some unpublished “silent contactee” art from 1967.

And the next Ullage Group event is in the pipeline.  More information soon.

ADDENDUM:  Our appearance on “In Other News” has been archived here.

(Posted by Doug Skinner; the drawing is by Jimmy Swinnerton.)

Glen Morley (1912-1996) had a busy career as a composer, conductor, and arranger, particularly in Canadian broadcasting.  In the ’50s, he worked for the Rochester Philharmonic as ‘cellist and music librarian; in his younger years he also worked as a cartographer and newspaper cartoonist.

Throughout his life, he produced a series of cartoons about music, as well as the vagaries of life as a ‘cellist and music librarian, all under the title “Symphoniphobias.”  A bit of research tells me that he published his last batch in 1980; this portrait of a conductor is from a 1953 portfolio.

(Posted by Doug Skinner.)

We have another “Old Maid” deck, old, worn, and incomplete.  It features imitations of comic strip characters, such as this approximation of Buster Brown.  Other personalities include Old Foxy (Foxy Grandpa) and Katz’s Kid (Katzenjammer Kids).  The Old Maid seems peevish in their company, but she does have a nice hat.

(Posted by Doug Skinner)