Summer Reading List

Collected Stories by Leonard Michaels
Collected Stories by Shirley Jackson
Wind-Up Bird Chronicles - Haruki Murakami
Cruddy by Lynda Barry (reading now)
Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
Which Lie Did I Tell by William Goldman
Drop-Edge of Yonder - Rudolph Wulitzer
The Hellfire Clubs: Sex, Satanism and Secret Societies by Dr Evelyn Lord (non fiction)
Something by Philip K Dick
Maybe a big Russian book that Nicole can recommend

Denial

"Human beings are naturally anxious because we are ultimately helpless and abandoned in a world where we are fated to die. 'This is the terror: to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feelings, an excruciating inner yearning for life and self expressions-- and with all this yet to die."

solo album

Hey everybody. I made this new album that you can have if you want. Thanks to those who have already said nice things. This is the album that the article I posted earlier was about. I was handing it out at shows before I put it on the AvE site.

I drove through Flint yesterday to see what there is to see. Wow. I should have done that before I made this.

http://artsvsentertainment.blogspot.com/2009/05/joshua-barton-thanks-i-missed-you-too.html

Abe - Shakin'

Does anyone remember the Karaoke King of East Quad?

FoI in Orange Alert

Josh did an interview with the blog What to Wear During an Orange Alert?

Only in Chicago

Ever since the world witnessed the first majestic Oscar Mayer 'Wienermobile' rolling through the city streets of Chicago in 1936, the city has wowed the world with a series of inventions and discoveries made in the city. Along with the Wienermobile, you can thank Chicago for bringing you:

roller skates (1884)
softball (1887)
the cafeteria (1895)
malted milkshakes (1922)
Hostess Twinkies (1930)
pinball (1930)
controlled atomic reaction (1942)
Peter Cetera (1944)
first baseball curse involving a goat (1945)
daytime TV soap operas (1949)
Weber Grill (1951)
Lava Lite 'Lava Lamps' (1965)
house music (1977)

Brian, this DK's for you

Winnebago Warrior

High School in the Desert

Tinikling

Justin and I went to the Dragon Boat Festival last weekend. It was wet and muddy but we/I really wanted to see the dancing, so we trooped it and I was glad we did. I had never seen any dances from the Philippines, but the group at the festival did what they called the "national dance of the Philippines", and boy was it impressive. The video below is the least shaky one I could find online; it's too bad I couldn't find one that resembled what we saw: a line of girls all holding each others' shoulders and jumping in and out of the space between the bamboo sticks, which were moving incredibly fast.


We were surprised at how obvious the Spanish influence was in the music, but it makes sense I guess.

Other highlights from this festival included some sweet martial arts demonstrations set to intense synth and drum music that would repeat every couple of minutes (why they didn't pick a longer song is a mystery...)

This website has a lot of info about tinikling (that's the name of the aforementioned dance).

No Sugar, No Peace

Received in the course of recent architecture correspondence with Eddie, regarding his new home in Chidya, Tanzania.  I especially like #4.

And a quote, intended for y'all....

"I think about the entire Swim Club Super Friends clan a lot while here, and I miss you guys a lot.  Summer swims at Pickerel, modern art dance parties, The Office/ Arrested Development sessions, ball tapping Adam so hard that he poops a little, pizza for 4, I miss it all.  What's nice is that these days my days are not entirely consumed by missing things.  I now love it here, which is really nice to say, especially compared to how I felt when I first got to Chidya.  It's still hard as hell, but I'm now having fun with it."

Some Warm Inner Circle

The mind of the country girl became filled with the idea of drawing close to the young man. She thought that in him might be found the quality she had all her life been seeking in people. It seemed to her that between herself and all the other people in the world, a wall had been built up and that she was living just on the edge of some warm inner circle of life that must be quite open and understandable to others. She became obsessed with the thought that it wanted but a courageous act on her part to make all of her association with people something quite different, and that it was possible by such an act to pass into a new life as one opens a door and goes into a room.

New Wii Game for Japan: Muscle March

All I can say is WTF japan, lol.

The American Landscape

It is a pity, for the American landscape is almost uniformly beautiful. In very few parts of this immense country is there any natural ugliness. Even the pine woods along the south Atlantic seaboard and the monotonous reaches of the western prairie have their high qualities, and it is not surprising to hear that there are men and women who love them. The more broken country is everywhere of great beauty, from the hills and lakes of Maine to the last flutters of the Georgia highlands, and from the gorgeous Piedmont of Virginia to the cliffs that frown down upon the Pacific. Some time ago I spent a summer morning riding through the blue grass country of Kentucky. Where is there anything in Europe more lovely? In color as in contour it is almost perfect.

Magic Sam - All Your Love/Looking Good

Skip to the second song if you don't like the first.

im looking for a female kissing tutor - m4w - 23 ( northgate)

Sarah and I are in Seattle looking for an apartment, were on craigslist, thought 'hey, we have no friends- what's this "strictly platonic" link? highlights: (keep in mind, these are all from just ONE DAY):

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/stp/1169289315.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/stp/1169760264.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/stp/1169550725.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/stp/1169048812.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/stp/1168826956.html

Chief of Porsche is Pissed about Takeover

Article.

screen interaction

http://www.robbiecooper.org/

This artist filmed kids playing video games.
Simulations --> Immersion



Simulations --> Alter Ego
Photography of people side by side with their avatars.

Pretty fascinating...

The Disposable Superstar

I thought this was a really good article about Chauncey Billups. The parts about him being traded from Detroit seem much more emotional then the articles at the time portrayed.

Link

NYE Dance party

I had a really, really good time at the NYE dance party in Adam and Johnny's basement this year.

I don't even know if I could get time off work to do this, but I would like to get drunk and have a summer dance party with you guys.

Preceded by a BBQ.

Is this feasible?

For those in NYC

"Like 3D, don't like glasses? Check out 750 7th Avenue at 50th Street in New York for the Snickers display where Inwindow Outdoor and Alioscopy have teamed up for the first 3D LCD ad on a storefront. The 42-inch panel uses an 8x recorded autosteroscopic (read: no glasses) 3D process to make the catchphrase jump off the wall at passers-by. The installation debuted May 6, and for the small cost of being marketed to vs. the now-shelved €18,000 Philips screen we once lusted after, it's a cheap way for us to get a peek at the future."


http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/ny-storefront-hosts-the-first-no-glasses-3d-lcd-ad/

Amorous Enterprise

The normal man is a monogamist for plain reasons. Amorous enterprise is painful to him. It takes up too much of his time; it exposes him to humiliating reverses; it is too expensive; it is dangerous. Once he has collared one woman he thanks God that his days of hazard and alarm are at an end -- that he has come into safe waters at last. His vanity is caressed by the thought that he has a monopoly of her -- that she has chosen him above all other men. He feels safe and secure; she has done her worst and can do no more. She is his; ergo, she is superior. Contemplating her, so long as she is not downright revolting, fills him with ease and satisfaction, like contemplating a policeman, a fireman, or a bottle of pre-war Scotch.

Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf

Eco-friendly Clayton iHouse on sale, coming to a highbrow trailer park near you

Clayton Homes, a US-based company which makes and sells manufactured (prefab) homes, is getting in on the i-naming game with their latest bit of construction. The iHouse is a prefabricated, customizable house that is so energy efficient that Clayton estimates it costs about $1 per day to cover all of its electricity and heating needs. The house makes use of solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, thick walls, heavy insulation, a rainwater-catching system, a tankless water heater, and dual flush toilets to meet its eco-friendly goals. The company, which sold about 30,000 manufactured homes last year, thinks that the iHouse could quickly come to represent about 10 percent of its business. Prototypes of the house -- which at around 1,000 square feet costs $140,000 completely furnished -- are popping up all over the US, and as of last Saturday, are officially on sale nationwide. - From engadget



More Info:
http://www.claytonihouse.com/index.cfm

Celeb Sighting!

I was at this party the other night and there was a guy talking about Tai Chi and doing some moves for us in the corner. I was kind of drunk and not having the best time, when in comes the Lion, the Buke himself, Charles Bukowski! He charged past and punched this guy in the belly, then took him by his balls and said in a soft raspy voice, "Looky here, I got you by the tenders." He let the guy go and dude slammed against the wall. There was quite a ruckus and we had to open a window to let out the smoke from Buke's beedi.

The Inappropriate Yoga Guy

I started doing yoga recently, and was looking at Yoga Journal's website because they have a catalog of poses, etc. They also have this web series about "Ogden the Inappropriate Yoga Guy." I was REALLY bored at work yesterday so I watched it, and thought it was pretty funny and well-done. Check it out....



the full episodes are here: http://www.yogajournal.com/ogden

Skanky Webcam Amateur Lighting Up Her Slim Ciggie For You

I posted this YouTube video but thought better of it because it's kind of gross/weird -- sorry if anybody saw it and was offended. The title and bizarre sexuality made me laugh, though. It came up because I was looking up songs by Lightning Slim.

Swayze Tattoo

http://twitpic.com/4k374

Celebrity Sighting

Gabriel Byrne, in midtown somewhere. Near where they are shooting The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Not sure if he's in it.

solo pre-press

I was pleased by this. I got press for a record before I put it out. I hope it's not too shameless to post this here: http://blog.mlive.com/citpat-pluggedin/2009/04/what_im_digging_pillaged_land.html

Ianprah's Book Club

It's that time of year again. Let's hear your summer reading lists. They help to move through the summer reading rather than getting lost trying to figure out what to spend time reading.

Here's a sample:

Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart by Joyce Carol Oates
“On Fate” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Black & White by Lewis Shiner
Columbine by Dan Cullen
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence

Faust von Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Die Klavierspielerin von Elfriede Jelinek

Медея и её дети от Людмилы Улицкой

Claire Beyer in RC News

If anyone receives a copy of the RC News, be sure to look at the RC Alumni Reflect special section for a short column by SCSF's own Claire Beyer! Great job, Claire!

That'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utkb1nOJnD4

hastily made cleveland tourism video

part 2

Chicago Trip

Thursday night, Nicole and I made it to Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me! just in the nick of time -- they turned off the lights as we were sitting down.

Friday was the only nice day while I was there. I did a walk from the book looking at the public art downtown, then went to the Art Institute. I focused on early 20th century American art, then tried to hit the highlights in the European collection. Downstairs they had neat miniatures of interiors throughout history (e.g., dining room, Edwardian period). I thought that the Art Institute is a good metaphor for Chicago's industrial/hard-working character -- there's a train track running underneath it. I had been hit by allergies or something so I was low-energy -- went home and took a nap while Nicole went to her dance class, then we went to a Colombian restaurant. I wanted to go see the band Mason Proper but it was a late show and she was tired; I was just tired enough that I was dissuaded.







We picked Adam and Johnny up Saturday afternoon and went to Lou Malnati's for deep dish pizza, then went to the Museum of Holography which was kitschy but a good way to waste an hour. We went over to Grant Park to look at Buckingham Fountain but it started to rain. That evening we went to Goose Island, a microbrew, with some of Nicole's friends. I thought they'd have the Blackhawks game on but there weren't any TVs near our table. I was really out of it and started falling asleep on the table. We all went back to Nicole's to watch TV but I konked out.

Sunday we had brunch at a place called Ann Sather's that had great cinnamon rolls, then walked around Navy Pier before dropping Adam and Johnny off. I stayed downtown while Nicole went home to get ready for the week and walked around Millenium Park -- an expensive new development with a Gehry-designed pavilion, a flower garden, and a playful water fountain consisting of a shallow pool and two opposing monoliths with video screens of giant faces that occasionally "spit" a stream of water into the pool. There's also the cloud gate, a reflective sculpture that people have rechristened "The Bean". An example of how Chicago's lack of pretension, even when it comes to art. I met up with Yoni Goldstein for Thai food in the park, then Meredith Zielke joined us and we went to the School of the Art Institute's editing rooms where Yoni is working on his MFA thesis. When I got home Mom and Mr. Darcy were there, but I was super-tired and fell asleep for 12 hours. Unfortunately, I missed an acoustic show by members of The Sea & Cake (I don't even know them, but they're from Chicago so it would've been cool to go to).








Monday Mom and I went to Oak Park, where there are a high concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright homes. He lived in the area for a decade or so while he began his independent career and consolidated his style -- the neighborhood reflects his progression. We took a tour of his home, then went to a Unitarian church he designed. We met up with Nicole and her friend/co-worker Maciel at an upscale Latin restaurant called Carnavale.






Tuesday, after having breakfast with Mom and saying goodbye, I went down to Near North -- got off in Merchandise Mart, the second-largest building in the US after the Pentagon, and walked along the river. I stopped in Jazz Record Mart and bought a few Magic Sam cassette tapes, then walked up the Magnificent Mile. I met up with Heather Radke at her current workplace, the Newberry Library; we went to a local deli and got reubens and caught up. As I was leaving I heard someone say "Dax?" I turned around and it was Kevin Desai, an acquaintance from high school (actually, we go back to elementary school -- and I worked for a summer in his parents' video store). After leaving Heather it was too late to get much out of the Field Museum, so I went to Pilsen, the Mexican neighborhood, and looked at the museum there. Nicole and I met up for Chicago dogs at Portillo's, where they also have a great malt.





Wednesday was a big day. Nicole and I got up at 5 to go to Oprah. I can't tell about it because I signed a non-disclosure agreement, but if you want to hear the story give me a call. It airs Monday 5/18, if you want to look for me. After the taping, Nicole and I went down to Wicker Park to poke around -- we ate at a great Costa Rican place, then walked up and down the hip strip. Stopped in at a used book store, used record store, a couple boutiques. For dinner, we met up with Blair Younger and Kristian Crummie, two ex-VH1ers who now work at Harpo. Kristian is from Chicago so he's doing fine, but Blair is from Long Island and got a little New York on Chicago every so often, but is giving it a shot.

Despite the weather (cold and rainy) and getting KO'ed by allergies, I had a great time. It was a lot of eating and catching up with people, so I didn't get to see as much of the city as I had hoped to, but that leaves stuff for next time. I definitely got to know it better than past visits. I'm glad to see my sister is settled, though one of her roommates is a sour bitch. I was disappointed I didn't get to see any music or watch more sports (especially since Chicago teams are in both NHL and NBA playoffs), but I needed to take it easy or I would've been too tuckered out to do anything at all. I hope to go back after they open the modern wing of the Art Institute, and next time visit in Summer or early Fall (probably not this year). I like the city, though parking was a bitch (the public transportation seems designed only for commuting to downtown). It's a great eating town, and feels pretty low-key and unassuming. Fantastic architecture. The people are friendly, though it seems like frat dudes tend to move there. I don't think it's fair to compare it to New York City, as people tend to do -- it seems to me that NYC is a city of the world, an international city more than an American city, while Chicago is wholly a Midwestern city. I can't quite picture myself living there, but if/when I have a family it would be great to take the kids to visit Aunt Nicole on Thanksgiving. I look forward to going back.

Michigan Connection

Barbara Ess, photographer and No Wave figure, attended the University of Michigan.