New Chalkboards

Here are some new signs:

Marathon!

My brother, Moe, ran a marathon today. It was an unexpectedly hot October day in Chicago and when he got to about mile 22 the race was canceled. The cops and race volunteers drove around and announced that too many people had heat stroke already and they didn't have the resources to take care of more people, should any of them get ill. He was understandably disappointed and was ordered to walk the rest of the race.



Tired runners in Chinatown:






My disappointed brother:



My disappointed brother running away:

Another Painting

This painting is done. There's always more I could do, but for the moment at least, it's done. It's big (five feet by eight feet), which is the same size as the last one I finished.

My painting

Here's my new painting (finished) !





And a detail:

Drug Test

Last week I had to pee in front of a prison guard. It wasn't that bad at all-- she was really nice. And the whole thing took less than ten minutes. In order to volunteer at a girl's prison I had to take the drug test with just a few days notice and they told me that I had to take it when they scheduled it, otherwise they would have to assume I had something to hide and give me an automatic positive. The only way out of it would be if I got in a car accident, and then, they said, I'd have to show them proof of the accident. They really take every precaution.

New Signs

New Painting

Here's a picture of my new painting. It's hard to tell, but it's actually really colorful. There are a lot of red and green layers in the underpass and a lot of yellow, purple and pink in the sky. When I'm done with it there will be cars and trucks going through the underpass. It's five feet by eight feet. When I finish it, I'm going to start some smaller ones that I can work on in my apartment.

Kitty's Bridesmaids Tea

Kitty's getting married. The other bridesmaids and I had been trying to plan something for her, and had been e-mailing back and forth. Here's what I suggested:


I think there should be naked swimming in Lake Michigan or a visit to the Turkish bath house on Division. Something that we don't tell her about ahead of time that would be scary fun- i.e. a whipping with branches, skipping stones, really loud screaming, breaking glass... something symbolic. I know she always wanted to fill nice stemware with red paint and throw them at a brick wall. (She told me) We could do that. How about staying awake for three days on end? Does anyone have any nice pictures of her from a long time ago? How about a pinata? How about setting something symbolic of all the dead weight of the past on fire? I know she likes to shoot things. Maybe we could go to a shooting range and all take turns aiming at pictures of things we'd like to leave behind. It could be like Rosh Hashanah, but fun. The Mexican grocery store by my house sells whole pig heads for 8 dollars! A goldmine of meaning for super cheap! (All of my options, while meaningful are also very affordable.) Think about it.



We went with pedicures and the Bridesmaids Tea at the Drake Hotel.







Doesn't her new haircut look adorable? Just like Cat Power.

Boozeless Cruise

We had to take a dinner cruise for work. More on that in a bit, but in the meantime enjoy these pictures:

Joey's 18th Birthday

Look at the boys wresting!

Tragedy at the Grocery Store

Early Friday morning there was a huge storm that caused a power outage at the ol' grocery store. The generators kicked in, but they couldnt stay on long enough and about $70,000 of food had to be thrown away. Kinda breaks your heart to look at it.

Johnny

This is my cousin Johnny. His grandfather painted this picture of him when he was under a year old. Johnny is about 5 now and has grown up to look a lot like the boy in the picture.

Rococo Nighmare Chair

I finally finished the Rococo nightmare chair. It is more comfortable than before and clashes now more than ever with my roommates white minimalist Ikea furniture.

Phil 'n' The Blanks

In the 80's my dad was in a New Wave band called Phil 'n' the Blanks. They were one of the first bands to be on MTV. They didn't make it big outside of Chicago, but my siblings and I loved watching their videos when we were kids. I just put a bunch of them on youtube. Enjoy:

Head Screwed On

Advertising Girl

The National Dance Contest

Visectomy

PRL853

How It's Done

Pooping Barbie Dog

Why didn't they have this when I was little? I can just imagine the hours of hilarious poop related play I would have had with this dog and my sister.

First the commercial:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=58r0hHgjWLs


This one is worth watching to the end:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=deVHdWfDS-Y

Sign Sign Every Where A Sign

More New Signs

A Boring Post About Cheese Curds

Yesterday I went to the farmer's market and had unusual varieties of apples and cheese curds for lunch. It was beautiful and delicious. It's hard to find cheese curds outside of Wisconsin because they don't keep very well and they loose their "squeak".

More about cheese curds

Band Names

Kent's band needs a new name. Their current name (Anne's Pants) is so lame that his friends won't go and see him play. Here are the suggestions he's gotten so far:


Sissy Fist (sounds like Sisyphus, the king from Greek mythology who was punished by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill throughout eternity).

Brisket (sort of vague, would work if they were Jewish)

The Timbertoes (the cartoon about a wooden family, featured in the Highlights for Children magazine)

Upsie Downs and the Rockabilly Retards

The Tough Skins (a brand of colorful pants sold at Sears in the 60's, specialized in husky sizes)

Metal Ruler (not really appropriate as they are not a metal band)




Do you have any suggestions?

New Signs

Roy Andersson

Ingmar Bergman once said that Roy Andersson makes the best commercials in the world:




They are pretty good. His film "You, the Living" looks pretty good too:


http://www.royandersson.com/

Satin Chairs

I've always loved satin chairs. I am currently trying to reupholster mine and instead of looking like this:




It has turned into a Rococo nightmare:

Kent news

Brick and I went to see Kent's band play.






Here is Kent if you forgot:








Kent is going to start painting with me and it's very exciting. His style can be described as tender-pop. This image from a 1956 issue of Jack and Jill has inspired him.

Yard Art Update

So the brilliant child who set up all those figurines in his yard has done it again. This time his parents built a low wall around their flower garden and let him permanently set his animals in place.

Creepy Photography

Here are some creepy portraits. Who ever took them and the people that bought them thought they were cute. I walk past these all the time during my lunch break.