CLOSE UP by Brian Rudnick

Korean laundress wary yet hopeful about Koreas

Christina Lee of BonLynn Cleaners was listening to a Korean language radio station when I asked her about the current tense situation in the Koreas.  Lee came to the U.S. in 1986 from South Korea and does not know anyone living in North Korea nor of anyone who travels there. From what she has seen on Korean news, she believes the current North Korean leader, 29 year-old  Kim Jung-un, is too young, which she thinks could be very dangerous. But Lee’s friends and family in South Korea don’t take North Korea’s [militaristic] threats seriously. She thinks reunification is inevitable but that it will bring tension and be accompanied by economic hardship, similar to when East and West Germany were re-united.  To make the transition a lot smoother, she believes, the two Koreas must come up with a clear plan and follow it step by step.

Watch video interview here. (Sorry for shakiness of camera)

Waves down cars for Liberty Tax Service

With a shiny turquoise gown and spiked Statute of Liberty hat to match, bearded Tom Humphrey waves at cars passing by on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough to drum up business for Liberty Tax Services. “It’s a fun job,” and he gets to meet a lot of people and see his neighbors, says Humphrey who works four-hour shifts, morning, noon or night, depending on his schedule. Some “wavers” who work other shifts are not so keen on the rainy, sleety or snowy conditions that, he hints, don’t faze him. According to Humphrey, this is Liberty’s signature and effective way of advertising, as the company does not advertise on radio, TV or in newspapers. Watch video here.

 

Why I vote (Obama)

Everett Staten sells Obama for President clothing and paraphernalia from a boutique storefront in Mount Airy, Philadelphia. By purchasing items, Staten says, people can both show their support for the President and help fund his re-election campaign. One T-shirt has the outlined letters of the phrase, “Why I Vote.” Each letter is a window on a photograph of some significant even in the civil rights movement – the freedom riders’ bus that was set on fire, a police dog attacking a college student at a rally in Greensboro, a malt being thrown on an African-American woman at a lunch counter, Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person, fire hoses being directed at protesters in Birmingham, an imprisoned Dr. Martin Luther King from where he wrote the “Letters from a Birmingham Jail”, one of the Little Rock nine girls braving segregationists to enter high school and Congressman John Lewis who, as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, got pummeled Everett says this t-shirt is especially needed to remind people why they need to vote – now to fight voter suppression in the form of the voter ID laws which a Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker boasted would guarantee Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney a win in Pennsylvania. Watch video here.

Japanese guitarist plays gentle instrumentals

Watch video here.

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?  It’s like appreciation for this country. [referring to another song he played but not appearing in this video] My intuition, my intuitionish  expression. I cannot explain well so that’s why I play. IS SOME OF YOUR MUSIC JAPANESE INSPIRED? Yes. Like the third song I played, “Takibi,” bonfire, it’s inspiration from my grandparents. HOW DID THEY INSPIRE YOU? My childhood. When I recall my childhood. That scenery made me write that song. The bonfire and the smoke going up in the sky. YOU GREW UP IN KYOTO? I’m from Kyoto, a very traditional city. But somehow I picked up a five-string banjo because my Dad was a crazy guy. And he brought me a banjo one day and asked me to play it. A new instrument for me. I didn’t know how to do it so I was just playing around with it. Yeah, that’s the story.

Guitarist/composer Hiroya Tsukamoto at the Walk a Crooked Mile Bookstore concert series, Mount Airy Philadelphia.

New barber cuts old style

Greg Roussos is a new barber doing old style barbering at the Wissahickon Barber Shop in Roxborough. Old style is spending more time with the customer, doing scissor over combing and straight razor shaving, he says. Roussos feels that guys these days are often forced to go to “girlie” shops and that they really prefer the old time experience where they can hang out, get a cut, talk sports. But he does women’s hair too. The friend who was helping Roussos put flyers on car windshields on Northwestern Avenue near the horse stables says Roussos always does her hair. “He’s the best.” Watch video interview here.

Chestnut Hill mural is artist's romp-l'oeil of Wissahickon Valley

I ask mural artist Ann Norththrup to take a break and hold up her paint-spattered hands. We chat about the watercolor she painted of the Wissahickon Park that she and her crew of helpers are now installing on the wall of Bredenbeck's Bakery, the first mural in Chestnut Hill, Northwest Philadelphia. Watch video here.

Video transcript below

Clean up your own toys! (Meet the Toydozer)

The "Toydozer" was invented by a Wyndmoor, Pa mom who modeled it after a shoebox she was using to scoop up her six-year old's Legos. It  looks like a large, plastic dustpan and comes with a scoopy thing that looks like the curved blade of a bulldozer. The idea is if it's a toy, moms will get relief because kids will use it clean up their toys themselves. In this video, Molly Ellis, co-owner of Threadwell, an embroidery shop in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, which retails the 'dozer for $18.99 in a choice of bright colors, demonstrates how it works.

Iron Hill set to open in Chestnut Hill

PRETTY EXCITING YOU’RE OPENING UP HERE IN CHESTNUT HILL. Absolutely. Very excited about it. It’s really a great area, really excited to be opening soon. I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. ONE IS FOOD ALLERGIES BECAUSE I HAVE ONE. SO ON YOUR MENU WHAT KIND OF ACCOMMODATIONS DO YOU MAKE? Everything is pretty much from scratch so the chefs have the ability to do that. Our servers are well educated what ingredients are in the menu. Ask and we can make most accommodations. HOW ABOUT AVOIDING GLUTEN?  We have a gluten-free menu as well. BEAUTIFUL. ANOTHER THING I’M CURIOUS ABOUT IS YOU GOT A PRETTY CLASSY LOCATION. I’M HOPING THE PRICES AREN’T TOO CLASSY. The prices are the same at all our other 8 restaurants- mid-price. AND WHAT’S YOUR TARGETED OPENING DATE? We hope to be open the first week of January. LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO. A lot of work to do, miles to go before we sleep.

Mark Edelson, Iron Hill Brewery. Watch video interview here.

Adventist basketball player seeks gig in Israel

Kelvin Green hopes to play professional basketball in Israel, where the Jewish sabbath coincides with the sabbath he observes as a practicing Seventh-Day Adventist. Watch video interview taken outside House of Produce in Mount Airy, Philadelphia.

Take Flourtown Bakery QR code to Facebook page

Flourtown Bakery just started a Facebook page announcing its specialties like Flag Day cakes, Father’s day shirt cakes and strawberry shortcakes. On a sign at the checkout counter announcing the Facebook page is a QR code (a unique, small black and white checkered square) Customers  can scan  the pattern with their smartphones to jump  to and follow the Bakery on Facebook. Beth Alio, Flourtown Bakery, Montgomery County, PA. Watch video here.