May 31, 2004
Randumbs
-Tons of found photos.
-Tom Sachs, one of my modern heros, has new work on his site.
-News of the Weird is always worth your time.
-Pitchfork says that DeSoto is going to reissue the out of print Jawbox titles (the last two) which they just bought back from Atlantic. They don't mention anything about vinyl. Bummer.
May 29, 2004
Wicker Park
This may be the final, last, nothing could top it nail in the coffin. There's a movie called Wicker Park & it stars teen mongoloid Josh Hartnett. Bleh.
Giant Orange Bar
Eggleston cohort Christian Patterson redesigns & adds quite a few more images. The work is stellar but what's up with the interface? Is it too much? Compared to the old site (if you saw it), which was the picture of sleek simplicity, the new one is practically a "supermarket tabloid" as my friend Scott called it. Whatever. I still like the pictures tons & it looks like Christian got himself into the PDN 30. Alex Soth is also on the list.
May 27, 2004
The guy from the Lambchop record
Did you ever own a record just for the artwork? I haven't really but I've wanted to. One semi-recently was the Damon & Naomi with Ghost LP which had really great photos by Naomi but is insufferably boring. The other was the Lambchop record Nixon which couldn't less be "my bag" but had artwork by Wayne White who buys thrift paintings & paints giant words on them. via Kottke & waxy.org.
Bara(c)k Obama
Barak/Barack Obama got a nice write-up in the New Yorker this week. If you're not familiar with his particulars, as I was, it'll give you the 411, somewhat.
May 26, 2004
Columbia College's MFA takes 3 years
Some friends of mine have their MFA exhibition opening tomorrow night. I won't be there because I have to work but you should go check it out if you like good photography.
May 25, 2004
Funny/Snooty
For those of you who play records in public and/or own Gang Starr 12"s you may find the overheard conversations on Hua Hsu's site familiar. Or you make think that people who find them funny are snooty jerks. Either way...
Can you hug a magazine?
Wax Poetics is like the smart older brother (or sister although it's mostly a bunch of dudes) I never had who'd lend me his records & tell me about stuff. The features in the current issue on Eddie Bo, Oliver Sain & 78 guru Joe Bussard have blown my mind & I haven't even gotten to the DJ Premier or Madvillain interviews.
May 24, 2004
Hornby-gate?
Tempest in teapot? Maybe you've been reading the NYTimes weekly "playlist" thing, maybe not. Nick Hornby wrote a typically middling, middle-aged one last week. People have been crowing about it for days. Coiner of the above phrase, M. Matos' take is pretty decent (scroll down). I was reminded about it by TMFTML.
In the spirit of the day...
I bought the new Stephen Shore at Quimby's today. It was an impulse but damn, I've seen most of the pictures before & they're still amazing. So vivid, so sharp. I cannot wait to start shooting large format. We'll see what happens in November when I get my financial aid check. Anyway, go look at some pictures.
PDN Photo Annual is out.
Eliot Shephard is the Gothamist's photo guy.
BlueEyes Magazine - photojournalism
Candida Hofer - I heart empty rooms too.
Ville Lenkkeri - Look at Eastern Europe.
May 23, 2004
May 20, 2004
That's me
After early morning skating (80 degrees by 10am?) & then hot breezes from the open skylight at the Birdmachine, I came home to an ineffectual window fan, Drew Barrymore in that First Kiss movie & frozen pizza. What better way to continue the day than with several (or one) hour of surfing with a hot-ass laptop over my area. If you like music & posters & music posters I suggest you check out these:
Flatstock (poster convention)
Aesthetic Apparatus (responsible for senor hip hop)
the Heads of State
Seripop (French-Canadian)
Patent Pending (while yr there get me this Death Cab poster)
the Birdmachine (Jerks)
Gigposters (so much more info)
May 19, 2004
An entry!
I know I promised something coherent here but I'm not sure how much sense it make. Regardless, a week or two ago I was complaining to Mary that I was sick of people saying that such & such thing (tv shows mostly) was their "guilty pleasure" as if by watching it ironically, they can participate in & be above mass culture at the same time. I'm not saying that people can't appreciate them for camp or kitsch aspects (which I'm at a loss to accurately define) but...I don't know what really. I'm just bothered. And so I've been reading No Logo & Naomi Klein is talking about branding & teens & somebody's (I can't seem to find the paragraph) theory of the "in-between", enjoying something & being apart from it at the same time. She goes on to explain that a stance like that is close to impossible & um, I think I'm lost, are you?
Here are some things:
For those of you who enjoy reading Gothamist, the publishers have a beta running for a Chicago version called, er, Chicagoist.
You can watch a TV on the Radio video at the new temporary Touch & Go site.
17 year cicadas on the way. It doesn't seem like so long ago that I was getting freaked out by one on the way home from Little League practice.
And to reiterate: the above commentary makes not much sense & I know it. I'm sorry.
May 18, 2004
excuses
Verry busy doing nothing. Not much time for the weblog. Sorrry. Tomorrow, commentary on No Logo. Promise. Have to sleep.
Go see Supersize Me & I'm Not Scared.
May 16, 2004
Narcissistic Buildings
Interesting essay on the "greening" of urban area by Jane Jacobs, who wrote The Death & Life of Great American Cities, a book that I own but have only read a third. She brings up a point about corporations moving to the suburbs & maximizing the contact between people within a building & minimizing the "unplanned" contact outside. It seems to me that the suburbs already does that to other parts of people's lives. Focusing all of peoples attentions to the TV or internet in the home or the cell-phone or DVD player in the car, minimizes that chances that they might interact with strangers or even their neighbors (one in the same?). Maybe it's because I have no love for the suburbs.
I reread the introduction to No Logo today while enjoying one-half of a veggie skillet at Huck Finn. A small coincidence is that both Jane Jacobs & Naomi Klein live in Toronto.
In case you were wondering...
Whinge v To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.
Whingeing (sp?)
Here I am, almost thirty, on the way to grad school & I still haven't quite figured out how to save money yet. It's not that I've never saved money. Back in 1994, when I wanted to end my 2nd, 18 month-long, tour of duty at my parents house, I managed to save almost $2000 over a summer. I also had no bills as such or any pricey hobbies other than movies & library late fees. These days, it's just the opposite. Bills for days, records looking for shelves, knees without kneepads, movies, used books (I owe the CPL some $$$), magazines, film & paper, uh, food & rent. Mary & I are going to Boston at the end of the month to find a place to live. The rents there seem to be about 50% more than Chicago, on average. The thing is that we're paying below average rent here on the South Side. $1200 a month for a 2br is going to be a bit of a shock, especially with no job waiting & no financial aid check until November. We'll see what happens eh?
May 12, 2004
I only need 11 more iPods
This Fendi case seems like a pretty inelegant solution to the problem of how carry around your 12 iPods. Isn't it ugly? Gold, bluebird eggshell, purple & webbing. They'd get all scratched up while sliding around in there. That $200 Gucci iPod "sling" seems modest in comparison.
May 10, 2004
The Village
More creepiness on the way from M. Night Shyamalan. Rustling leaves, creeking doors & Joaquin Phoenix's weird lip quivering with fear in 1800s woods. Watch the trailer here.
Crap
Late last night I wrote this longish entry about the DJ Shadow-Cut Chemist Product Placement Tour DVD that I watched while napping off my Mother's Day buffet meal. But then while finding links I accidently closed the window. Instead of rewriting it I went to bed. Regardless, if you a record nerd or whatever, you may enjoy it, if only to freeze-frame & zoom in on Shadow & Cut Chemist's 45 labels. There's plenty of "record banter" on the commentary.
May 6, 2004
What happened to the rain?
Heavy sesh, beers at noon by the lake, Jim's Grill & then a nap.
(check out Tony Alva's headphones/sweatband combo in that picture!)
May 4, 2004
May 3, 2004
ONoffON
New Mission of Burma comes out tomorrow?!? Review in the NY Times yesterday. Don't you wish one them was the dad of the cool pre-teen next door or something? Imagine the neighborhood block party!
Take a look around that GWB site if you get a chance. Know your enemy!
Diet Cokehead
Yesterday I discovered that I'm officially used to the taste of Diet Coke. For years I was puzzled by people's insistence that they "liked the way it tastes" but now I think I get it. A new puzzler though is, does diet soda make you burp more? I think it does but I need someone else's opinion. I've never been a big burper but now, sheesh, all the time.
May 1, 2004
Rasterbator
Unless you have one of those copy machines where you can make a giant poster at the touch of a button then you need to take advantage of the Rasterbator. Upload a file, wait a few & then download the pdf & print out your new giant poster. Check out the gallery for other people's images.
link from lindsayism