HipSmart
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Constantly updated mini-thoughts, micro-reviews, and quick links to cool stuff. As we tirelessly surf the web, you can sit back and wait for the results.
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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Etsy shop!

erik 2:07 AM | permalink | yap

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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

music: My Gold Mask
Had a mind-blowing time at the Darkroom last night with My Gold Mask. The stripped-down side project of Bang! Bang! doesn't feel stripped-down at all; both MGM and B!B! present the fiercest rock in Chicago.


erik 11:43 AM | permalink | yap

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

screenprinting: Michelle L'amour

I've been taking some printmaking classes at Lillstreet Art Center recently, and my current one is called the Art of the Poster. I've planned out a series of posters featuring the burlesque dancers of Michelle L'amour's troupe of Starlets. I've just completed the first in the series. Pictured is the digital image I used to create the screens.
Obviously, the final physical product isn't as clean, but I'm fairly happy with the results.

There's lots more dancers to do! If the reaction is positive, maybe I'll open my own Etsy shop.

Labels:


erik 10:53 PM | permalink | yap

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Monday, September 29, 2008

joined technorati
Technorati Profile

Blogged with the Flock Browser

erik 2:59 PM | permalink | yap

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Jonathan Richman at The Abbey Pub, 12 March 2008, Chicago

SidMuchRock was at the Jonathan Richman show with us, and took this video from right up front.


Embedded Video


erik 3:37 PM | permalink | yap

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Friday, February 29, 2008

The Dollyrots / Suffrajett / The Melismatics / Waste at The Note, 28 February 2008



erik 1:25 PM | permalink | yap

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Monday, February 11, 2008

University of Illinois website takes a step backward


http://www.uiuc.edu/webteam/flash.html
Blech, this flash-based (sigh) website forces a horizontal scroll-bar even on my 1280x1024 monitor. They forget that "UI" also stands for "user interface."


erik 2:59 PM | permalink | yap

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Bang! Bang! at darkroom, 6 December 2007



Bang! Bang!
I was sorry to hear that Chicago band Arks was playing their last show, but glad to see them again, opening for Bang! Bang! The sweet deal was the gift bag for the first 100 attendees--3 vinyl records, a CD, and some stickers and buttons. Rock on!






Blogged with Flock


erik 4:53 PM | permalink | yap

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

tips: getting started with life-hacking
Wired article: "Condense Your Day With the Life-Hacking FAQK"
erik 11:46 AM | permalink | yap

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Saturday, August 11, 2007

concert: The Methadones/The Dollyrots at Beat Kitchen 2007-08-10
To say I was already enthralled with the Dollyrots before last night's show would be an understatement. Now, however, my heart is all aflutter to new levels. Others, it seems, feel the same way.

Walking down to the Beat Kitchen, Lisa and I were just saying how much we enjoyed live music (this to the background of some gawdawful jazz being piped out of a sidewalk cafe's sound system) and how great it is to be going to lots of concerts recently. The Beat Kitchen is the perfect proof to our supposition, being one of Chicago's best venues and nicely situated for a drunken stumble home.

Jonnie and Vincenzo met us there, and Vince mentioned to Jonnie that people seem to be drinking PBR at the sorts of bars she frequents; we took this as an opportunity to introduce him to the pleasures of a PBR tall can. During this, the opening band, The Brokedowns, played and we stayed up by the bar and missed them. We spotted Chris from Shot Baker, and as I was wearing a Shot Baker t-shirt, I texted Danny to remark (as he is an old friend of them).

We made our way close to the stage for the start of The Dollyrots and wound up standing next to Chris. Then Kelly, singer for the The Dollyrots, pointed at my shirt from stage and said, "Hey, we just played a show with Shot Baker! Those shirts and stickers seem to be following us everywhere." Swoon!

Kelly of The Dollyrots

Lisa's cellphone photos didn't turn out great, but perhaps you'll be able to find better shots at flickr.

They opened their set with "My Best Friend's Hot" and "A Desperate S.O.S." I checked in with Vince and Jonnie, who had been unfamiliar with The Dollyrots, and they confirmed that this was some great, rockin' stuff. My friend Jack, of Bang! Bang!, was right at the stage, really bouncing to it and pumping his fist. He reported that The Dollyrots stayed at his house the night before. Jealous!

Other highlights included "17," "Watch Me Go (Kissed Me, Killed Me)," "Out of L.A.," "Fight Like Jackie Chan," and the amusing story Kelly told before playing "Brand New Key," about her friend's father, who used to hide his pot in his gravity boots.

The Methadones opened with "Say Goodbye to Your Generation," and didn't stop the assault for the rest of the set. Dan Vapid was clearly having fun, holding out the mic to the audience for the front row to sing the choruses. Jack and I were right up in there, bouncing and moshing along. For the last song, the band pulled up everyone onto the stage to sing along.

The Methadones

The evening was one of the best shows I've been to, and I commemorated by dropping a wad on some merch: Dollyrots shirt, pins, and sticker, and Methadones on vinyl.
erik 2:07 PM | permalink | yap

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

new tactic from the inscrutible spammers
Okay, so now I'm getting spam with veiled Isaac Asimov references in the subject line, like "Custom is a religion life so while the Foundation versus Hober Mallow." That's strange. I guess it's catching my eye, so maybe it's effective.

I'm still not going to open it.
erik 12:34 PM | permalink | yap

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Thursday, October 05, 2006

big idea: The Bitchun Society
Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kindom come alive at The Bitchun Society
xposted to web2.0depot.net
erik 9:18 AM | permalink | yap

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Thursday, September 28, 2006

badge: squirl

Non-interactive badge. Widgets coming soon?
Also, oh, man, I find myself not especially motivated to accept the data-entry position Squirl offers me to catalog my stuff.
x-posted on web2.0depot.net
erik 2:20 PM | permalink | yap

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Friday, September 22, 2006

web tool: GroupLoop
With its page title, "GroupLoop ™ - Centralize, organize. Keep your group in the loop!" you can see GroupLoop is an online collaborative manager. It seems to me it falls somewhere between 37signals' Backpack (more of a personal organizer) and Basecamp (project manager). I may give GroupLoop at try to see what it's like, though I've been planning on using Backpack for my next small group project. I'm already invested in Backpack and it will keep my group stuff right next to my personal stuff.
xposted on web2.0depot.net
erik 11:24 PM | permalink | yap

badge: Twitter
flash version:



JavaScript version:


xposted at web2.0depot.net
erik 11:15 AM | permalink | yap

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« chicago blogs »
SurvivorBlog2
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good blogs:
linkstew
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brain dump
fury.com
little.yellow.different
girl wonder
spit when you sing
pixiechick
1 more dork online
nom de plume
c.k.'s (sub)conscious streaming
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blogstuff:
blogdex

blog.meetup.com

read the zine:
webzine for the discerning cretin. sentimental lo-fi blocky raster jaggies.

if i had a nickle for every crack i've heard about the unitarians, i would have:
40¢

cubs anti-magic number:
27+
(number of Cubs losses until they are mathematically eliminated from the 2004 playoffs)
9 losses will eliminate the Cubs from the Central Division title.
There are 27 Cubs games left in the regular season.
as of 08 Sep 2004 14:35 CDT

revolving door double-ups:
53.5
revolving door double-arounds:
5
counting since 1 August 2002

revolving door hang-ups (or wait-arounds):
5
counting since 20 May 2003

other good stuff:
Hey Rube
hunter s. thompson's espn column
The Straight Dope
answers
Spacegirl
Museum of Oddity Records
Object Not Found
found photos and things
House of Fun
comic artists Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer
TMBG Dial-a-Song

SBlog2 trading cards:
Ernie
Alayna
Benjy
Ryan
Comabound

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