Secret Sunday Shamala Hamala Edition
Shamala Hamala the space is coming soon!
*Special Shamala Hamala Update toward the end please read through!
I got to go to the Andy Warhol Museum when I was in Pittsburgh this week. I didn’t realize my hotel was only a couple blocks away and I had a fully free afternoon before my show that night. Perfect!
When I was in college (in the 90ssss!) I had a brief obsession with Warhol which started at a mom and pop video rental store near campus called Three Blind Mice. It was owned by a couple who were visually impaired and all the VHS boxes had a Braille on the spines. That’s how they would get your tape from the back. (They also had a dirty movie room behind a beaded curtain with dirty Braille on the spines.)
They had all the Warhol movies, if you didn’t know he made a bunch of weird B-movies, and I rented every single one. (I’m not really recommending them, they are kinda unwatchable unless you really like weird.)
I loved my time at the museum and it really brought me back. Yes in a nostalgic way, but also it made me think more about how much times have changed, and how much our brains have changed. Do you know what I mean? What was your brain like in the before times? Pre social media? Can you describe it?
For me there was this very nuanced ability to just be. Be in the moment. It’s a cliche thing to say but I can’t feel it as deeply as I once could. Do you know what I mean?
That’s my main motivation behind most of this I’ve been doing lately. The secret Sunday message. The more thoughtful content. I want to inspire you to connect to the simple joy. The in the moment. The being.
Picture yourself in the before times. What was your favorite boredom nothing thing? What would you do if there wasn’t a screen in your pocket with limitless information. Stair out the window? Watch antiques road show? Mall walk? Puzzle? Try to paint like Bob Ross?
That simple joy is always available to you, and you should give yourself as much of it as you can.
Many of you know I’ve been dreaming up an arts space in my neighborhood in Cincinnati. But even if you don’t live near me you’ll still be able to enjoy it. It’s going to be the center of all this. And I have lots of ideas of cool fun things to share with you once the doors are open.
Help Make Shamala Hamala A reality.
I try to not ask of you often. I truly want this to be a space of great content for you and not hidden ads. So just this once (I will actually ask of you one more time early next year when my book comes out. Pre-order woot woot!) I am asking for your help.
I don’t want large donations, rather a whole bunch of small ones. That way, no one person has really stuck their neck out. Would you click here and make a quick contribution to Shamala Hamala? If you have more questions, there’s more info there that might help you.
(these images are AI generated for visualization purposes)
Here’s this week’s Call Kevin:
Reader Recipes
This brown bread recipe is from my grandma who passed away in 2024. My mom said she would make this in cans for the kids around the holidays. I started making it recently and it has become a favorite recipe of mine. One I will cherish for years to come. -Alex
thanks so much! And if you aren’t planning on coming to see me on the road please consider! here’s the full schedule
Shamala Hamala,
-Kevin
I was sitting in a sunny window the other day and had a sudden flashback to pre-cell phone times. I forgot how I used to just sit around and think. It was so relaxing to feel that again for a moment. I want that back now.
Today i went for a little hike and was thinking about the exact same thing— it feels harder to live in the moment, and I’ve stopped doing so much of what I used to enjoy doing in my down time. I want to make the effort for more shamala hamala as well, your message today was perfectly timed. Thank you for sharing yourself!