#BlairSleptThere blairsleptthere

On this second installation of the Quarantine #BlairSleptThere "Hosts" series, I visit with one of my nearest and dearest: Melissa Elledge, the F-Train musical maven known as "Accordion Girl". We talk about coping with depression, loneliness and existential terror in a New York City ravaged by COVID-19, segue into some inevitable East Village nostalgia and she takes listeners on a tour of her rent-stabilized, tenement-style cave, complete with much discussion about her colorful neighbors, and the shower mystifyingly located in her bedroom.

Side Note: This week is Melissa's 40th birthday! You can check her out on Facebook, Instagram at @EvilPolkaMuse, or pop a pittance in the Venmo tip bucket at @Melissa-Elledge.   

Links:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-TEReNLI8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zmgFjpdznw

https://www.bing.com/search?q=the+butcher+knives+band&go=Search&qs=ds&form=QBRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtJqadtmYEQ

We're all grounded by Coronavirus, so I figured this was as good a time as any to catch up with some of the people who've hosted me on the road over the years. This time, we're visiting with Lori, who puts me up in Chicago. After her tour of the condo and all her fabulous kitsch, Lori and I talk about her relationship to the city, the history of her neighborhood and her efforts to better working conditions for Uber and Lyft drivers via the Chicago Ride Share Advocates. 

Resources: 

The New York Times: Uber and Lyft Drivers Face Hurdles to Stimulus Bill Benefits

Chicago Business: How COVID has kicked Uber and Lyft drivers to the curb

Chicago Rideshare Advocates

History.com: The Labor Movement

GoodReads: The Haymarket Affair

The Chicago Tribune: 10 things you might not know about unions

Blair goes to Orlando to work for SWOP-Behind Bars, a non-profit peer-to-peer outreach organization that provides legal resources to incarcerated sex workers, and hosts direct support services to street-based sex workers on the Orange Blossom Trail. This episode also announces the launching of a new podcast, All In A Day's (Sex) Work: "a multimedia investigation into the daily lives of those who occupy our fantasies and indulge our deepest erotic urges".www.swopbehindbars.orgwww.stopsesta.org www.thecenterorlando.orgSpecial thanks to Alex Andrews. Written/produced by Blair Hopkins. Music by Lola Johnson.

I recently had the opportunity to join Adrienne on her storytelling podcast. While I put finishing touches on this year's new episodes, check out this conversation:"Author, podcaster, & cheerful nihilist Blair Hopkins navigates grief recovery against the booze-fueled backdrop of Manhattan's East Village. Listen as she wrestles with such universal themes as artistic insecurity (aka The Fraud Complex), dissociation in times of crisis, & the importance of empathy & humor."

Wherein Blair gets weird in the Nevada desert.

Blair detours into the wilderness of the Idaho Panhandle to hear some old mining town her-stories.