Date: January 28th, 2010

Beat News You Can Use!

1). The State of The Beat Museum
2). Fifth Annual Neal Cassady Birthday Bash - Sunday 2/7/10 @7 PM
3). A Major Acquisition - Original Watercolor by Gregory Corso
4). Please Contribute to the Restoration of The Jack Micheline Wall
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1). Barack Obama just delivered his first State of the Union to the US Congress and the nation last night. He had some memorable lines that made me think I should apply some of what he said in my report to you about "The State of The Beat Museum." Here is some of what President Obama said and how it applies to us:


"WE HAVE WEATHERED THE ECONOMIC RECESSION AND WE'RE READY TO GROW..."
So have we, Barack! We opened The Beat Museum in San Francisco in January of 2006 and we have somehow, miraculously, been able to navigate this economic storm and are well positioned to make great things happen in 2010!

"THERE IS A DEFICIT OF TRUST IN OUR INSTITUTIONS..."
He's right! Latest polls indicate the US populace gives Republican Congressional Representatives a 24% approval rating, Democrats 34%, The President 47%, Big Business 40% and US Small Businesses 87%. But one thing everyone seems to agree on is EVERYBODY loves The Beat Museum!

"I DO NOT ACCEPT 2ND PLACE FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!"
And we don't accept 2nd place for The Beat Museum! In fact, there is no 2nd place - we're the only Beat Museum in the entire known or even unknown Universe! There is no other! We're it! When we created The Beat Museum we consciously tore a page out of the late, great Jerry Garcia's playbook when he said, "You don't want to be the best at what you do, you want to be the only one to do what you do." We took that to heart and are living it every day!

"SO TONIGHT I'M PROPOSING WE TAKE $30 BILLION OF THE MONEY THE BANKS HAVE REPAID AND USE IT TO PROVIDE LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES."
(waving & jumping up and down) Here! Here! We're here, Barack! We'll put that money to good use at The Beat Museum! We've got all kinds of artifacts and other items in our back rooms that we're just itching to put on display for the public to see but we need money to build the displays and buy the locking cases. Did you know we've got a Robert LaVigne painting that was recently donated to us but we need money to restore it and reframe it? And would you believe we have a jacket that was actually owned and worn by Jack Kerouac but we need to purchase a locking glass case to put it on display for the public to see. So! We're waiting for our check, Barack. Please send it to 540 Broadway, SF, CA. We'll put that money to good use, I promise you!

"WE ARE STRONG. WE ARE RESILIENT. WE ARE AMERICANS. WE DON'T QUIT!"
And we don't quit here at The Beat Museum, either, Mr. President! Four years ago we started in a tiny 400 square foot space up on Grant Avenue and have grown it into a 5,000 square foot treasure trove within spitting distance of City Lights Bookstore! When we started we had a 3 month long sublease to try things out to see if they would work. Today we have a fourteen year lease that doesn't need to be renewed until 2020! We've gotten tremendous support over the years, from the local North Beach Community as well as the overall Beat Community across the country and around the globe!

"LET'S SEIZE THIS MOMENT - TO START ANEW, TO CARRY THE DREAM FORWARD, AND TO STRENGTHEN OUR UNION ONCE AGAIN. THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU. AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!"
And God Bless The Beat Generation and The Beat Museum!!
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2). FIFTH ANNUAL NEAL CASSADY BIRTHDAY BASH - Sunday, February 7th, 7 PM
Special Guest of Honor will be AL HINKLE, aka BIG ED DUNKEL from "On The Road". Our theme will be "Last Man Standing". Al was actually in the '49 Hudson as it roared across America! He drove the Hudson! He was with Neal when he bought it and suggested Neal buy the radio option instead of the heater! Al worked side by side with Neal at the Southern Pacific Railroad, and, in fact, he's the one who helped Neal get the job! He's been a lifelong friend to Carolyn Cassady and the Cassady children and continues to live in Northern California. Al Hinkle is 83 years old and has stories only he can tell. Al Hinkle - (Big Ed Dunkel) - at the Beat Museum to help us celebrate Neal's birthday.

Click here for details:
http://www.thebeatmuseum.org/feb-events.htm


ALSO - Neal Cassady Birthday Bash in DENVER - same day - Sunday, February 7th, 2 PM
If you're in or near Denver you're in for a treat! John Allen Cassady, his sister Jami Cassady Ratto and her husband Randy Ratto will be celebrating their father's birthday at MY BROTHER'S BAR. My Brother's Bar is a pretty cool place John and I went to years ago when we were making one of our cross country trips. Their claim to fame is their name actually comes from a Neal Cassady letter - a letter that Neal wrote from reform school to his friend Justin Brierly asking him to pay his $3 bar tab at a joint called Paul's Place where Neal's brother used to work as a bartender.

1st Annual Neal Cassady Birthday Bash
Sunday, February 7th, 2:00 - 5:00pm
My Brother's Bar
2376 15th Street
Denver, Colorado 80202
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3). A NEW WATERCOLOR BY GREGORY CORSO! VERY COOL!
Our 501(c)3 non-profit The Foundation for Creative Expression (ffce.org) is the recent recipient of a gift from the estate of Maureen O'Conner. Maureen was a friend of Gregory Corso's and Gregory painted a 30"x42" watercolor for her called "Man Crossing Street with Baby Carriage". It's a terrific painting showing City Lights and Vesuvio Bar and it's painted from the perspective of exactly where The Beat Museum sits today. Pretty unreal, really. And another neat feature is Gregory's spelling. The sign above the doors say "VESUVIE" and while "CITY LIGHTS" is very readable the word "BOOKSELLERS" is just a bunch of scribbles. This is the only original Corso painting I have seen since the NYU Beat event in 1994 and we're thrilled to be able to exhibit it at The Beat Museum.

Click here to see an image of Gregory's painting as well as a picture of him with Maureen O'Conner:
http://thebeatmuseum.org/gregory-corso-watercolor/
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4). RESTORATION OF THE JACK MICHELINE WALL:
Similar to the gift of the Corso painting, we recently acquired a mural painted by Jack Micheline. This is an extremely large and unique piece that will require a significant expenditure to restore and place it on display. We are in the process of raising funds to accomplish this aim and we're asking for your generous support in doing so. Right now the mural is sitting in pieces in our storage room and is not available for public viewing and I hate the thought of keeping an important piece such as this out of public view because it is too fragile to be exhibited. Alternatives include displaying only a small section of the mural but that is an option I'd prefer to avoid.

As a thank you for your support we will send you a FREE GIFT with each contribution, from Beat buttons to posters to DVD's. Please consider donating to help us restore the Micheline Wall.

Click here to see the details of our acquisition of the painting:
http://www.thebeatmuseum.org/jack-micheline-wall/

Please click here to donate to our "Jack Micheline Restoration Fund" and to receive your free gift:
http://www.kerouac.com/cgi-local/cart.pl?db=michelinewall.txt

And if you can't make a donation, please consider making a modest purchase from kerouac.com:
http://www.kerouac.com/homepage.htm
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Thanks to everyone who has helped us grow in our first four years in San Francisco!

Jerry Cimino
The Beat Museum
540 Broadway (at Columbus)
San Francisco, CA 94133
1-800-KER-OUAC
415-399-9626 - Museum Direct
www.kerouac.com