avoision: June 2005 Archives

June 30, 2005

by Billy Collins The name of the author is the first to go followed obediently by the title, the plot, the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of, as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor decided... (read more)

On the way to work

... (read more)

The Nerdiness Goes One Step Farther

June 29, 2005

More than a week ago, when I was at the Pontiac with Chris and Will... Will and I discovered we were both interested in chess. More than that, we discovered that we both knew about the Wicker Park Chess Club, which meets on Wednesdays at Myopic Books. The two of... (read more)

Post-Work Pontiac

June 28, 2005

Hung out with Justin at the Pontiac, after work today. Both of us had a rather productive day, and we ended up chatting through a few drinks, watching the sun dip down below the skyline. There's a party in the works for this weekend, if our plans hold up. Should... (read more)

*yawn*

June 27, 2005

Got up this morning around 5:30 AM, and took a 7:10 AM flight back to Chicago. What is it about sitting still for four hours that makes you tired? Not sure I understand that. I've had a blast the past few days, and as soon as I get settled again... (read more)

Hello Canada!

June 26, 2005

Travelling with Stu, up to Vancouver. Not sure exactly what we're doing, but that's a big part of the fun. Expect a ton of pics when I get back to Chicago.... (read more)

Hello Canada!

June 25, 2005

Travelling with Stu, up to Vancouver. Not sure exactly what we're doing, but that's a big part of the fun. Expect a ton of pics when I get back to Chicago.... (read more)

Greetings from Vancouver!

June 24, 2005

I'm currently sitting in an Internet Cafe, on Seymour Street. The buses are attached to cables in the street, and I have yet to come up with a good explanation as to why the green lights occasionally blink around here. It's 4:47 PM, and Stu and I have been in... (read more)

Hello Canada!

Travelling with Stu, up to Vancouver. Not sure exactly what we're doing, but that's a big part of the fun. Expect a ton of pics when I get back to Chicago.... (read more)

Hello Portland!

June 23, 2005

I'm in Portland currently, hanging out with Stu and Juliet. Doubtful I'll be touching the blog while I'm away, but I promise you there will be a ton of stuff once I get back. Count on it.... (read more)

Portland, Ho!

June 22, 2005

Did a ton of errands today, after work. Got some new shoes. Checked in on Nebula, as this was my last day catsitting. Handed off the keys to Howard. Met up with Chelsea, and handed her my keys so that she could cat-sit (it's been a cat-filled week here). Hung... (read more)

Updates!

06/21/2005... (read more)

Umbrellas, Continued

Turns out that those umbrellas from yesterday are part of a fundraiser at the Mart. It's something in conjunction with Taste of Thailand, and the proceeds go to help the Tsunami victims. I found out a bit about this event from Karen, who works at the front desk. I... (read more)

DJ Chelsea

Just a reminder: Chelsea is doingher DJ thing on WLUW this afternoon, from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. If you're near a computer, you can go to the WLUW site andstream the show.... (read more)

Gapers Block

Woohoo! One of the pictures I submitted got accepted toGapers Block today! Check it out here. And for anyone interested as to when and where I took that picture, check outthe entry for February 11.... (read more)

Close, but no ice cream

June 21, 2005

Met up with Chris, Leslie, Will, Mel and her friend Stephanie. We were all outside Margie's, waiting for a table (I now realize that Margie's has not yet made it onto the blog yet - for SHAME!). However, the wait got too long, and we decided to head back... (read more)

Umbrellas, Ceiling

On leaving work, I stopped to grab this shot. Technically, you're not allowed to take pictures inside the Mart. I've been stopped a few times when someone's caught me with a camera. Today, I just shot a few quick ones and quickly walked away.... (read more)

Congratulations, Kashif!

Today, Kashif officially became a US citizen! He took his oath of citizenship earlier this morning, and here he is showing off his paperwork. He kept the whole process pretty low-key, but everyone in the office was quite excited for him. Way to go, Kashif!----- --------... (read more)

Umbrellas

This morning, as I was walking in I noticed a ton of umbrellas littering the main foyer of the Merchandise Mart. Looks like they were in the process of setting up some kind of display.... (read more)

I want to know the story behind this

... (read more)

DJ Chelsea

June 20, 2005

For those who are going to be around a radio or computer on Wednesday, tune into WLUW. It seems that Chelsea will beon air from 4-6 PM, spinning tunes all the while. Check out WLUW to stream the station if you're near a computer!... (read more)

Lucky Money: Epilogue

Remember that $5 I sent to Vegas? Well, learn all about itsfate by visiting Mellzah's journal entry.... (read more)

Pontiac, Post-Work

Hung out with Chris and Will at the Pontiac, for a fewdrinks. Got into some deep conversations about being young professionals, and the seeming decline of genuine interpersonalinteractions (and the seeming rise of materialism and alcohol abuse). At some point during our grandiose talks, someone noticed a balloon floating... (read more)

Yet another reason why I love my freaking job

... (read more)

Stolen Transportation

As a sidenote, we've had this tiny scooter in our area for a few days now. I'm not sure who did it, but I think we stolethis guy from Promotions. A lot of us have been taking turns riding this thing, mostly from the back of the room to... (read more)

I sit down at my desk, look up, and see this...

Today, Matt ended up wearing the costumehe wore on Friday in to work. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable this made the morning.... (read more)

On the way to work

The kids may have the ice-cream man. But they apparently also have the bicycle Repo man. Circle of life.... (read more)

On a sidenote...

I'd like to point out that my cat, Harmony, has since crawled to thetop of my monitor, and is now asleep.... (read more)

*yawn*

I fell asleep on the couch early last night. I'm talking like 8:30 PM. Next thing I know, I hear this mechanical-soundingCuh-Cuh-Cuh sound next to my head. And despite my being dead asleep, some inner part of me knows that sound as the precursorto my cat coughing up a huge... (read more)

Clean Clean Clean

June 19, 2005

I've spent most of today picking up around the apartment, in preparation for my trip later this week. Ironically, I'm doing a key-swap later on, passing along Justin's keys to Howard, so he can watch Nebula, and passing along my keys to Chelsea so that she can watch Harmony while... (read more)

Catsitting

Justin's back home for a week or so, and I'm looking in on Nebula again this week. I've been in a bit of a rush today, and didn't get a chance to take any pics. I found the catnip again, and resumed my process of visiting and then plying her... (read more)

For the record

June 18, 2005

I think Chris and Simmie are nuts. The cobra would kick that dog's ass any day of the week.... (read more)

Poker with Ben and Laura

Chris and I headed out to Ben and Laura's new place, for some burgers and a game of poker. Ended up meeting some friends of theirs (Ken and Sarah, John and Jay). Turns out, it was John and Jay's house where Chris and I attended that big, 20+ person Holdem... (read more)

Slow Day

Sadly, I didn't do all that much today. Think of today as a series of intermittent naps, strung together. A lot of time on the couch. I've been groggy all day today, and it's sad - going out until 2 AM does this to me now? 2 AM? Good god,... (read more)

The Death of the Hat

June 17, 2005

by Billy Collins Once every man wore a hat. In the ashen newsreels, the avenues of cities are broad rivers flowing with hats. The ballparks swelled with thousands of straw hats, brims and bands, rows of men smoking and cheering in shirtsleeves. Hats were the law. They went without saying.... (read more)

Lunch @ The Elbo Room

A cab ride later (Chris was convinced our cabbie was all sauced up), we arrive. Matt, doing his best Uncle Sam. We arrive to find Matt in full regalia, dressed up just because he likes to. He's the only other person who I know that gets as excited about... (read more)

Danny's

It's been almost two weeks since Justin decided to take a break from booze. Tonight, he and I decided to stop over at Danny's and break that streak. We had maybe two rounds, and watched as the Friday night crowd rolled in, filling up the joint. We heard some... (read more)

Guy Maddin, Heaven Gallery

I met up with Justin to check out some of Guy Maddin's photography, as showcased at Heaven Gallery. Today's showing was in conjunction with the Movieside Festival, and the films at the Music Box yesterday. The image (above) is something I shot, prior to the actual display. They were... (read more)

Why? Why does the universe taunt me so?

This morning, I went down the street for some coffee and picked up a copy of The Onion. And on the back page, what should I see but this HUMONGO full-page ad for the Mini-KISS concert I missed last night.Dammit!... (read more)

Damn! Damn! Damn!

June 16, 2005

Came home to find a message on my machine from Liz and Steph. They called to let me know that Mini-Kiss was playing RIGHT UP THE STREET at a bar called Iggy's, and invited me out to join then. When I got home (around 11PM), I heard this message, threw... (read more)

Movieside Film Festival

As part of the Movieside Film Festival, there was a showing of several Guy Maddin films at the Music Box (and Maddin was there to boot). Lots more to say here, but it's late and I've only got time to post just this little bit. More later, hopefully... when... (read more)

it looks like Stu's doing well

Got this in an email today. Fucking brilliant picture. Chris (who I don't really know) is on the left, Stu is on the right. And oh! It looks like he's updated a bunch of photos on his site! Awesome!... (read more)

New Mirrormask Trailer

For those that don't know, there's a movie coming out called Mirrormask. And it's got the likes of Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean and the Jim Henson Company on board. I can't freaking wait for this movie. You can view the new trailer, or pick your own download options. Enjoy!... (read more)

Graffiti as Inherent Human Need to Assert Authorship

I've seen this for a long while now, several months I'd wager. This is a bit of graffiti as written on a random wire that's dangling over a rail, at the Damen Blue Line stop. I'm not sure who Perch is, or why it's important anyone know that he... (read more)

Where There's a Will, Part 2

It's been seven months since I first saw this guy. Way to keep growing, little duder.... (read more)

Ted Leo @ Logan Square Auditorium

June 15, 2005

Chris mentioned this show to me a few days back, but I waffled and wasn't intending on going. Today, I got a last-minute invite (turns out he had an extra ticket, thanks to Leslie), and I was debating all morning whether or not to go. I went against my usual,... (read more)

Recordkeeping

I didn't take any pics of this today, but we had a quick, impromptu Holdem game during lunch. Everyone got ten chips, and we played a speed game. Mike ended up emerging the winner and, to my and Ben's shame, we were both beaten by the Dolly Parton hand: a... (read more)

Just so you're not totally bored

June 14, 2005

Here ya go. Maybe that will pass an idle moment or two.... (read more)

Slow News Day

I took like one picture today, but it didn't do much for me so I deleted it. Nothing much today to report. After work, I came back home and spent some time sifting through a bunch of old photographs. My intent was to get a submission together for Gapers Block.... (read more)

Mexican Candies

June 13, 2005

After sampling some chili-infused lollipops at a Mexican grocery store near his place... Ben has developed a bit of a jones. Today, his package of Mexican candies that he ordered arrived, and he was kind enough to share some of the goodness with everyone. The lollipop I had (mango)... (read more)

Congratulations, Phil and Anthony

Today, we had our divisional quarterly conference call. Among the many topics we hit, we also named the recipients of our 31 Lengths Award. For those of you who don't work for Emmis, let me explain this award a bit. In 1973, Secretariat won at the Belmont by an... (read more)

Locks of Love

That's... that's a lot of freaking hair. Here's me, post-haircut. Unfortunately, what I was hoping to avoid... happened. I feel like I got this bob thing going on. It sort of feels like I'm some cross between a skater dude and Prince Valiant. Maybe it's just me needing some... (read more)

Lose 5 pounds in 50 seconds

... (read more)

NeoCon

Today marks the first day of NeoCon, a convention for furniture designers and interior decorators. I think. Everytime I see the name of this thing, I get all aggravated that they chose such a shitty name. NeoCon? New Convention? It seems like the most vague, imprecise name they could... (read more)

Back Home

June 12, 2005

It's somewhat early here (10:34 PM), and I'm debating what to do. Part of me wants to just plop on the couch and read some more of The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. Justin and I bought the book together, when we were at the store last week, figuring this... (read more)

Found Video

Met up with Justin and Chris at Filter, and ended up hopping a train from there to the Siskel for the Found Video show (sponsored by Found Magazine). . En route, we met up with Chelsea who, it turns out, was on a train ahead of us (and spotted us... (read more)

Interconnectedness

I was talking with my friend Dave on the phone today, and he mentioned hearing my voice on the radio recently. Turns out, it was part of an NPR piece focusing on Alicia and her life. It was surprising to hear about this from Dave, as I had just been... (read more)

Dear Holly, Please stop stalking me

Jeez. Do you read this thing like every single day? Hehe. I'm just messing around.... (read more)

La Pate A Son

June 11, 2005

la Pate a Son: I'm not really sure how to describe this, so I'm going to suggest you visit and give it a try yourself. Don't forget to turn on your speakers (link stolen from Ektopia).... (read more)

An end to the constant sweating

Sweet Jebus, I've done nothing all day but sweat. Woke up super early this morning, got in my car, and it started. I've felt drenched all day. But no more! I ran errands this morning and got a ton of stuff - a nice drill and a big honking fan.... (read more)

Hey, I saw your website

Stopped in to Gallery Cafe, and Holly mentioned that she had seen the site (as well as the pics I took of the coffee shop). She said she felt a bit weird about it, in that it seemed such a voyeuristic thing (which I guess is definitely something other people... (read more)

A bit of Work After Work

June 10, 2005

As is tradition for Emmis over the summers, we have half-day Fridays. It's a nice perk we get, typically a conditional based on how each station's GM (General Manager) decides to run things. In Chicago, Marv has stated that, as long as we've all met budget, we can continue our... (read more)

Book Binge

June 9, 2005

Behold the bounty! Before I knew it, I had a big (and excellent) stack of books with me. Bookstores are dangerous for me. I walk in thinking I won't find anything, and invaribly walk out with a huge stack of books. What's particularly great about this batch is that... (read more)

On the way home

I wonder if this cello teacher and the piano tuner are in cahoots?... (read more)

Post-Work

After work, Justin and I walk over to The Siskel Center to buy tickets to The Found Video Show. The two of us ended up getting a dual membership. It's always something I contemplate when I come here, but never end up doing (mostly because it seems I come here... (read more)

Who Owns Culture?

... (read more)

Moustache--

Guess who had a meeting with the razor? Justin shows up at work today, clean-shaven and looking like a 5 year old. Rumor has it though, he'll be growing the moustache back. What's funny is that I've been contemplating shaving recently as well, and also getting some of this... (read more)

Goodbye, Columbus

June 8, 2005

... (read more)

Found Film

So... that roll of film I found yesterday? Turns out that it's got a ton of pictures of my going-away party. I had just graduated from grad school, and was heading off to Chicago to try and make my way as a Flash designer. The pictures (below) are presented in... (read more)

Who would have guessed?

... (read more)

Matt's "Bag-O-Money Challenge"

Some of you may recognize this purple pillowcase. It is in fact, the same pillowcase as was displayed when Matt first brought in a crapton of change, many months ago. Today, he appeared with a slightly smaller amount of coins, but we all went around placing guesses nonetheless. These... (read more)

Lucky Money

My friend Melissa is heading to Vegas for a few days. In talking with her over IM, I decided I wanted to try the same trick I tried with my friend Dustin. Namely - to have someone else place a bet for me in Vegas. Specifically, she's going to... (read more)

The Monster Engine

June 7, 2005

From the site: "The Monster Engine is a book, a demonstration/lecture and a gallery exhibition. The premise for all three came from one single question: What would a child's drawing look like if it were painted realistically?" Looks like the site exceeded its bandwidth today. Try checking the site... (read more)

More Info about Found Magazine

Found Magazine is a really wonderful project. If you're unfamiliar with it, I highly encourage you to visit the website, or check out some of the blog entries below. If prior shows are any indication, this video show should be a total blast. If you're in the Chicago area, swing... (read more)

the Found Video Show

From: Found Magazine To: Felix Subj: FOUND Video at the Siskel Center! Sunday June 12th and Wed June 15th The Chicago premiere of the Found Video Show is coming! Last fall we started collecting videotapes from people around the US and we ended up with this crazy mishmash show —... (read more)

Cooling Off After Work

Stopped in to Filter after work today, and hung out with Justin some. I've been sweating like a pig whenever I'm outside (it really is time to get some of this hair cut off), and the brief walk from the Damen stop to the coffee shop was no exception. I... (read more)

Happy 1,000, Ektopia

Found out today that Ektopia just made its 1000th post! If you're not familiar with this site, go check it out. I'm not one to bookmark blogs at all, but this one made my list and it's one I look in on almost daily. Not only is it constantly updated,... (read more)

I wonder what's on here

As I was cleaning up around the house yesterday, I found this roll of film in the bottom of a box of letters and photographs. I'm taking it with me this morning, as there's a photo place inside the Merchandise Mart (where I work). No idea what's on this... (read more)

Portrait of a Thrill-Seeker

June 6, 2005

Among all the letters and photographs, I found this jewel of a picture. That's me at the Indy 500, back in the day when I apparently owned some kind of righteous, ass-kicking helmet and visor combo. Look at the fiery intensity of my eyes! And that visor is all... (read more)

Cleaning Day Off

I took today off, and mostly puttered around the house. Cleaned up some, and sweated a lot. I really need to get that AC unit set up soon. I got up super early, and went to Target to run some errands. I greatly prefer doing this when there are less... (read more)

Cookout at Justin's

June 5, 2005

I had planned on doing some grocery shopping with Justin, but ended up getting home too late (I think he and Dave went out food gathering on their own). I had high plans for a nap myself, but it turns out I had just enough time to IM with Chelsea... (read more)

On the way home

Gretchen and Rob offered me a lift home, but I felt like walking home. I recently purchased Damien Jurado's newest album (ever since I heard it at Laura and Ben's house), and had a hankering for listening to it while walking home. Spotted a thin jet trail in the... (read more)

Final Move

After everything was said and done, this is what our load looked like (with the addition of a few paintings that Rob ended up keeping. Driving back over to the new space, we saw the sky getting pretty dark. Half the sky was dark and threatening, and behind us... (read more)

Making Art Fly

... (read more)

This is Everything Rob Threw Away

... (read more)

Moving Rob, Part 3

Today, Rob and I went back to his old studio space to pick up the last of his stuff there. In addition to some large file drawers, he had a stack of paintings that needed to be moved/removed. I mentioned yesterday that he's incredibly prolific, and went through some earlier... (read more)

Moving Rob, Part 2

June 4, 2005

We didn't get all of Rob's stuff last time, so we made plans to meet up today and make another run. Turns out Rob had filled his van up, and so we met at the new studio space to unload. Afterwards, Justin and I hopped in to go back over... (read more)

Waving

Around about 5:00 PM, I was walking to meet Rob at his new studio. A mother drove by in a car filled with three young girls - one in the passenger seat, and two in back. As the car pulled to a stop, the young girl in the back (who... (read more)

Audible Frequency

This morning, as I was looking around the various blogs I've bookmarked... I came across the sudden news that Alicia, who used to run Audible Frequency, passed away yesterday. It's not like I really knew her at all, but... I found this news incredibly shocking, and just sad. I've... (read more)

Lazy Day

June 3, 2005

I took today off (as part of my comp time, from the super-busy days I had last month). I had grandiose plans of cleaning up this messy, messy apartment... but instead, I just fucked off all day. Stu is in town this weekend, and I ended up grabbing lunch with... (read more)

jewschool

June 2, 2005

Check this out: my blog got a nod on www.jewschool.com. They're linking to the whole gift-exchange that I had with Rachel. How cool!... (read more)

Updates!

05/31/2005 06/01/2005... (read more)

Old School

June 1, 2005

One of the things Rob was getting rid of was this old record player. I was quick to snatch it up, as I haven't yet heard any of those albums I bought, many months back. I'm totally excited, as I've never really had my own record player. This thing... (read more)

New Studio

Rob's new studio is above a lumber store, right on Division. It's a smaller office, but it sounds like Rob really wants to trim things down and get a bit more minimal. It's a really cool, cozy little space. This is one thing I've always envied about visual artists... (read more)

Such Great Heights

After moving a bunch of stuff out to Rob's car, we decide to go up another floor and climb our way up to the roof. Let me pause for a moment here, to mention to you that I have a serious, serious problem with heights. There are time where, just... (read more)

Rob's New Studio

After work today, Justin and I went to go help out Rob move some stuff from his old studio to his new one. Holy CRAP, the studio space he's moving out of is absolutely amazing. I've gotten several invites to visit his space in the past, but never took advantage... (read more)

Equally fascinated

I'm happy to see it's not just me that gets all fascinated by this process.... (read more)

First Bridge Raising in the new office

... (read more)

Walking Down Milwaukee Avenue - April 10th, 2005

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