Blog Archives
Tea’s Weird Week: I Dream of Gein-y
QWERTYFEST MKE took place this past weekend and it was just fantastic. I don’t even know where to begin, but me and my event co-organizer Molly Snyder are incredibly grateful to everyone who participated and made it a great experience. Hundreds of people showed up for QWERTY events at State Street Pizza Pub, Turner Hall, Central Library, Interstate Theater, Newsroom Pub, Forest Home Cemetery, and Falcon Bowl. There will be lots to sort through and discuss and photos to share in the future.
It was a lot of work moving dozens of typewriters, boxes of merch and supplies, tables and chairs, etc. so I took Monday off for rest and recovery, to lay in bed and watch TV. I decided to check out the new Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix, but I was so tired I kept falling asleep during the show and somewhere around episode 3 or 4 I just shut the TV off and passed out. I didn’t see enough to say if I can recommend it or not, but I can definitely recommend not using it as a portal to dreamland, cause I had some real weird dreams about Ed Gein hanging around at QWERTYFEST. Yikes! From what I did see, it seemed to be wildly inaccurate, but that’s show biz for ya. Anyway, I just wanted to share some random Ed Gein related notes:
–If you want to read a really well done (but disturbing) and much more accurate telling of the Ed Gein story, I recommend the graphic novel Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Did? by Eric Powell (The Goon) and Harold Schechter.
–I was glad to see Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, depicted (by actor Ethan Sandler) in scenes talking with Alfred Hitchcock (played by Tom Hollander) about Gein on the show. Bloch spent his formative writing years in Milwaukee, he lived for many years in an apartment above Glorioso’s (old location) on Brady Street, where he clacked away thousands of words for pulp magazines like Weird Tales. I wrote about him for Milwaukee Record ten years ago: https://milwaukeerecord.com/city-life/bloch-buster-milwaukees-connection-to-psycho-h-p-lovecraft-and-robert-bloch/
More recently, I wrote about Bloch for QWERTY Quarterly, and I’m actually reading some of Bloch’s work right now and plan to write more about him for an upcoming project I’m hoping I’ll be able to announce soon.
Like other things in the Netflix show, this conversation between Bloch and Hitchcock likely did not happen. Bloch didn’t know a lot of the details of the Gein case (many details did not come out until later) and didn’t have an understanding of Gein’s psychology as he appears to have here. Bloch said the main theme he got from Gein to create Norman Bates was Gein’s solitude in a small town setting. Gein and Bates also share a very unhealthy relationship with their mothers.
–I don’t know if they went there on the show, but one of my favorite Gein stories was that the great Werner Herzog was interested in filming a Gein documentary. It’s speculated that Gein might have exhumed his own mother’s grave, though this was never investigated. Herzog was ready to dig the grave up (without permission) and actually showed up with a shovel, but his directing partner chickened out and it didn’t happen. I talke about this and other wild Herzog moments in a TWW column from 2022, “High on the Herzog.”
Tea’s Weird Week, Episode 002: QWERTY
Tea talks to his QWERTYFEST MKE co-organizer Molly Snyder; Tea and Heidi talk weird news about Super Tardigrade Soldiers and more; Jenny tells us about her “Long Days Travel” to North Carolina.
https://teasweirdweek.podbean.com/e/teas-weird-week-episode-002-qwerty/
Tea’s Weird Week: QWERTYFEST schedule is live, stage magic, Krampusnacht art, and more
QWERTYFEST MKE, a celebration of typewriters, Milwaukee history and innovation, writing and the lost arts, music, and fun happening Oct. 3-5, is something me and my co-organizer Molly Snyder have been hard at work at. We’ve got a schedule and I have to say, I’m really happy with everything about it. We have FANTASTIC people involved at every event and I’m especially glad that the venues– Turner Hall Ballroom, State Street Pizza, Central Library, Interchange Theater, Newsroom Pub, Forest Home Cemetery, and Falcon Bowl– are all places of rich history.
You can find the full schedule and tickets at our website: www.qwertyfest.com
BTW, still looking for View-Masters for a “View-Master Theater” at QWERTYFEST. Thanks to Irvin Orlandini for gifting a View-Master and a nice collection of reels. That was a great start!
I’m also quite proud of our official publication, QWERTY Quarterly. Every issue is a powerhouse of talent– poems, fiction, short articles, columns, fun pages. This month we released issue 9. A great way to support QWERTYFEST is to buy an issue or a subscription– 4 issues delivered to you is just $25. See our Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/qwertyquarterly
What else have I been up to?
-I wrote a feature for the August issue of Milwaukee Magazine (out now) about magician and illusionist Bill Blagg. I think it turned out well. It’s a story about the magic biz but also being determined to follow your dreams. That’s been a theme I return to– my article on local surfers springs to mind.
-I also have a feature in the September issue of MilMag on the legends of Whitewater I’m really thrilled for you to check out, so look out for that.
-I’m the director of Milwaukee Krampusnacht. This is our 8th year, and Stinky Goblin Emporium dropped our art (below) for this year. It features some characters from the previous 8 art designs they’ve done and they are also compiling a publication showcasing art from all 8 years you can pick up at this year’s event. I wrote a short intro for it. Vendor applications for Krampusnacht (Dec. 7 in the Brewery District) are currently open: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1S2rT5-JQng72kuxmI2INdQVVsp2RIoT2oLpHdN0sJFw/
-A reminder I’ll be on The UnXplained on August 15. A lot of people have asked– no, I didn’t get a chance to meet host William Shatner. They film his narration segments separately, but I’m thrilled I get to be on a show he hosts.
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Tea’s Weird Week: I’m Looking for View-Masters
I got an idea I’m working on, possibly somewhere at QWERTYFEST MKE or a QF related event– a View-Master Theater, where there are maybe 6 or 8 stereoscopes (View-Master is the popular brand name) that people can scope (sorry for the pun) out.
If you’re not familiar, View-Master is a little device, usually red plastic, that you put a reel disc in, then you look into it and advance through the photos with a lever. I used to enjoy them as a kid and they still make them. The first View-Master was marketed in 1939 and it grew in popularity throughout the decades that followed. Companies made reels based on everything from nature to travel to pop culture.
This idea was spun because I discovered some classic reels related to Milwaukee and Wisconsin, there’s one that shows some famous spots around the state and another that looks like it’s maybe from the 70s with slides from the Milwaukee County Zoo, and another for the Domes (and there’s probably others out there, too). I guess what I’m saying is that I’m low key collecting View-Masters and reels.
I’m especially interested in:
-Anything related to Wisconsin.
-Sci fi/ horror/ fantasy/ super heroes
-1940s-1980s travel/ spotlights on cities or countries
-Music/ bands
-Anything weird, of course
-Not looking for: Disney (they made TONS of reels) or pop culture post-80s
If you got ones you’re willing to part with or sell on the cheap, I’m interested. The’ll go to a good home and I intend to share them with others. E-mail me: teakrulos@gmail.com
Please Clap Dept. Speaking of QWERTYFEST, we’re entering the final stretch of fundraising. Every little bit helps, so please donate (and get some great perks in exchange) to help us make it happen: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/qwertyfest-mke-2025#/
Want TWW delivered to your inbox? You can sign up for my Substack HERE. Follow me on: Facebook Bluesky Instagram
Tea’s Weird Week: If you Don’t Buy QWERTY, you Might End up Feeling Butt-hurty
I think you can see from that column title how I’ve won three Excellence in Journalism Awards. Oh, c’mon, it’s a good one! Well, what can I say– there’s so much great stuff happening with QWERTYFEST MKE, it’s hard to even keep track of it all. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a weekend long event set up by me and my co-organizer Molly Snyder, happening June 23-25 to celebrate Milwaukee as birthplace of the typewriter and QWERTY keyboard.
Molly has a great breakdown of the event, including schedule and ticket links HERE. Our fundraiser is trying to meet our new stretch goal HERE.
One aspect of the event I’m quite proud of is our official QWERTYFEST publication, QWERTY Quarterly. It’s a zine/ lit journal that features articles, poems, art, columns, fiction, fun pages, and ads from our wonderful sponsors, plus a full fest schedule. Me and Molly are editors, Alicia Krupsky is art director and designer (she also created our logo and “beer and typewriters” design). Peter Burzynski is poetry editor.
The goal here is to keep people engaged with the event year round and showcase work by great writers and artists here in the Milwaukee/ Midwest area. Our next issue will be out Sept. 1. Our Facebook page is HERE.
Here’s ways you can get a copy:
-We’ll be tabling with it outside of Woodland Pattern this Sunday, June 11 at Locust Street Festival.
-It’ll be available throughout our events at QWERTYFEST MKE June 23-25.
-It’s available at Lion’s Tooth, Studio Moonfall (Kenosha), and will soon be available at Woodland Pattern and Quimby’s (Chicago).
-You can get the first issue and a subscription to the next three issue by buying a QWERTYFEST ALL CAPS Pass.
-You can buy a four issue subscription (or a single issue) anywhere in the world and have it mailed directly to you via our Etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/qwertyquarterly
Please Clap Dept.: The Tea’s Weird Week podcast returns soon!
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My eBook Chicago Mothman: A History and Cultural Study of a Monster Case is available on Kindle now: https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Mothman-History-Cultural-Monster-ebook/dp/B0BZY598JX/ref=sr_1_3
teakrulos.com 