 |
|
|
|
|
For those that may not know, I tend to wander around the neighborhood from time to time. It's something I
started doing a while back - partly to get to know my surroundings more (seeing as how I'm such the homebody),
and also just to get some practice taking pictures. I tend to always stumble across something fun or neat everytime
I walk around, whether I'm intentionally looking or not.
This is an engraving/carving outside of St. Mary of the Angels.
I ended up swinging westward, crossing Damen. I saw this on someone's front steps.
Apparently, I have a knack for finding
random handcuffs.
What can I say? It's a gift.
Spotted the Intelligentsia-mobile! Matt
(aka Tha.Riddla) works there, and I actually
chuckled when I saw this car. I feel like I won some sort of contest.
Incidentally, did I mention that Matt ranks as the 4th
Best Barista in the nation?
Future note: I should have some moving pictures too this weekend, as I'll be lending a hand, helping
Matt and Mel move into their new digs.
|
|
|
|
On one of my prior wanderings, I came across a building with a ton of great drawings covering almost all
the doors. I started taking photos, and noticed another woman standing nearby doing the same. We fell to talking, and I
found out that she was an artist. Her name was Suzanne, and she was one of several artists who had a studio space
inside the building. Turns out, the owner decided to sell, and all the artists were on the way out.
By a stroke of chance, Suzanne and I were at the same place at the same time.
Well, I can't believe it's been over a year. But I found myself at
the same building again. Looking over the pictures I took today and comparing them with what I saw
a year ago makes me pretty sad. Take a look for yourself:
In this image here, I heard two guys working inside the building. I called in, and asked a bit about
the demolition (I mentioned having been by the building a long while ago, and I secretly hoped that the
drawings were on the other side of the door).
The man I spoke with had a slight Italian accent, and was incredibly nice to me. He was fine with me crawling
inside, but when I asked to take some pictures, he shook his head and refused. I tried to explain why I wanted
the photos, and tried convincing him I had nothing but good intentions... but he told me his boss wanted him to
keep everyone away. Even after his initial refusal, I tried pushing him again, asking permission. But no go.
I would have loved to have gotten a few shots of the interior. But honestly, seeing the insides gutted out
would probably just make things a lot sadder. Looking at the doors on this building now, it looks like somebody
just painted over them. What a shame. What a waste.
|
|
|
|
I love finding weird stencil art. Not sure what this is about, but any Flash designer worth their salt
sees this arrow and nods a bit inside.
It doesn't seem possible, really. It's only two words. But whoever did this fucked them BOTH up.
I weep for our future.
Spotted this door underneath the Blue Line, Wicker Park. The rest of these photos are closer to my stomping
grounds, all along Damen, slightly south of the trisection.
Streetlight, North/Damen/Milwaukee trisection.
These look to me like work by RUOK. At least,
that's my sense of who's behind these designs. They seem very consistent - thick black outline strokes,
and a white interior.
The more I looked, the more I started seeing these guys all over the place.
Drawn straight to the luchador, you almost miss the tiny figure underneath.
Air raid!
After this, I saw so many more that I couldn't keep taking pictures, and gave up. Needless to say,
RUOK's been super busy near here, as these guys are just all over the place. Damen is well-covered.
Kite-eating tree, Wicker Park.
|
|
|
|
Justin told me about a release party for
Bail Magazine at Lava
Lounge tonight. I was a bit apprehensive, as I didn't really feel like I would know anyone. But threw on
my shoes and plodded on over.
En route, I spotted this store. On looking at the name (and the way they describe what it is they do), I did a double take.
I have two words for you: Mob. Front.
This is my toast with Justin and the bartender
Tracy (who is remarkably camera shy and didn't even have her shot linger in the frame at all). There's a
pretty big gig in Justin's near future, and this
was a sort of celebration shot. Because... tequila is good for that sort of thing.
Great thing was - Tracy bought the round for us. Awesome!
Even though I didn't really know much about the magazine, I wanted to buy one just because. If nothing
else, I felt good about supporting someone else's project.
I called it an early night, and was out the door by about 12:30 or so. En route home, I happened to see
this "Haunted House" sign, and snapped a photo. Looking at it now, I noticed a Breakbone
sticker on one of the doors, a dance company that my friend Kristen was
involved with. Spotting this sticker after the fact made me smile.
Damen seems like a street filled with this sort of thing. Love it.
The whole walk home was incredibly nice. I was a bit buzzed, and had my iPod
playing. It was late for a Monday, and there were only a handful of other people out and about. I felt
a part of the city, moving my way home, listening to my own movie soundtrack.
Some nights, post-bar, the idea of walking/stumbling home is too much effort - and I end up hailing a quick cab ride home. But
moments like tonight are great - where I'm just slightly fuzzy, music in my ears, and every step is another step deeper into
a city that I love. Every step bringing me one step closer to home.
|
|
|
|
