Drive By Press

On Saturday, Tim and I meet up with some friends at the BAM Music Fest. There were lots of booths featuring local artists selling jewelry, paintings, and t-shirts. We came across the Drive-By Press booth where you could pick a shirt, then pick a woodblock design, and they created your shirt right there in front of you...for only $20. It was the most unique idea! After visiting their website, I found out that they travel around setting up camp at events and similar festivals. I picked out an awesome woodcut of earphones and a heather gray shirt. I have to let it dry for about 4 days before I can wear it. I can't wait...love my new shirt. :) I'll take a photo of it soon, but the style is similar to the astronaut skull image attached.

One of my favorite bands, Cursive, closed out the festival with a great set that included old favorites, as well as some newer songs. I'm glad I finally got the chance to see them live. I missed them 2 years ago at Lollapalooza, and again last year when they came back to Chicago.

why my city rocks!

I was trolling my weekend bible, Metromix Chicago, when I came across this photo:



That's a picture of a program offered in the summer at Millennium Park where they run free workout sessions! What an amazing idea. I would love to do Yoga in the middle of the park with the city skyline in the background. I love my city.

Plans for the weekend include BAM! Fest, where we'll see Cursive, Maritime, and The Redwalls for a mere $5 donation. Plus it's walking distance from my house!

Also Taste of Chicago kicks off this weekend. Maybe we'll check that out, but I hear it's pure insanity. Might hold off and not go during opening weekend.

The Gay and Lesbian parade is this Sunday. Always a great opportunity for some quality people watching.

creativity

Let this be an inspiration for us all...if a pigeon can do it, so can you.

I Park Like an Idiot.com

Wow, has there been times when I could use this bumper sticker...
These are from the people who bring you Threadless Tees. They're a part of a larger group called Skinny Corp...they've got all kinds of crazy stuff there. includingone of my favorites: Extra Tasty. You can buy these bumper stickers in bulk. I'd be so pissed if someone put one on my car, but then again, I park correctly.

Angels & Kings

Apparently Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) has opened a bar in Chicago called Angels & Kings. It's a rock bar in probably the most un-"rock " part of town...it's a couple blocks off Michigan Ave...a very swank, high-class area. That said...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. I'd be up for checking it out at some point to see what it's all about. I guess when you walk in, you take a mugshot (or maybe that was just for the opening?)...that sounds kinda fun.

This is what I'm most curious about...who's going to go? Considering the location, it doesn't seem like he's aiming for the Wicker Park/Bucktown/Logan Square crowd. And I can only assume the drink prices will be ridiculous...and considering that most people I know enjoy the Pabst Blue Ribbon...um, that's not gonna fly. So this will be an interesting experiment. My prediction is this...there will be a lot of people there who pay a lot of money to look like they don't. Know what I mean?

Sunday rainbow

At least there's something good about rain. This rainbow was a full arch. We were impressed.

I took this photo from Nadia's back porch/stairwell during her BBQ this evening where I sort of learned how to BBQ. Up until now, I'd never really watched how it was done...but just hung out until yummy BBQ landed on my plate.

Taste of Randolph

After two years of living in Chicago, I've finally found Harpo Studios (where the Oprah show is taped)! It's in such an interesting part of town (the West Loop). On one side of the street it's a little, um... shady, but the other side has hip restaurants and bars that seem to cater to a more trendy crowd. This was the location for this weekend's streetfest: Taste of Randolph Street. The festival's aim is to showcase these restaurants and bars, and they usually book a big-named (at least in our world) indie band. This year we saw Drive-by Truckers. We also ate some delicious shish kabobs from a greek stand and enjoyed some over-priced Miller Lite. Ahhh...Chicago is the summer. Can't beat it...seriously.

My aunt sent me some old photos yesterday of me when I was little. This was my favorite...don't I look pissed off at the world? Look how brown I was...such a Florida baby. I still have that belly too.

Dirty Thirty!

Happy Birthday!!!
Today Lee turns the BIG 3-0! Wow, he's old! KIDDING!
To celebrate, we'll be seeing Wolf Parade at the House of Blues on July 8.
Lee, I made you a Simpson character...hope you like. I know you're not a doctor...but hey, close enough.

And Happy Birthday to my mom!! Her b-day was on June 16. :D

Old Town Art Festival

Yesterday we went to yet another weekend festival, the Old Town Art Festival. It was a huge juried art show in the middle of the tree-lined Old Town Triangle District. There was some really great art to see there, as well as beautiful homes and architecture in the historic neighborhood. There was a lot to look at, but one artist's Chicago silk screens really caught my eye. His name is Hiroshi Ariyama. Check it out!

Here are some photos (that someone else took) of the Old Town Triangle neighborhood.

Strawberry Daiquiris, Sheffield's, & Clarke's

Last night we celebrated Ana Maria's roommate's b-day with delicious strawberry daiquiris and a good old fashioned house party. When the crowd got bigger than the apartment, everyone shuffled over to Sheffield's to continue the party. The bar was huge, with many rooms, great music (I think they played mostly Radiohead) and an impressive beer garden. Afterwards we had fourth meal at Clarke's....nothing better than waffles at 2 am.

Pitchfork Fest

Finally got my tickets! There's the line-up:

Animal Collective
Jarvis Cocker
The Hold Steady
!!!
Vampire Weekend
Dizzee Rascal
Fleet Foxes
Caribou
Jay Reatard
Titus Andronicus
No Age
Atlas Sound
Extra Golden
Fuck Buttons
* Elf Power
The Ruby Suns
Icy Demons
A Hawk and a Hacksaw
Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar

Spoon
Dinosaur Jr.
Spiritualized
M. Ward
Ghostface and Raekwon
Les Savy Fav
The Apples in Stereo
Boris
Dirty Projectors
Times New Viking
Cut Copy
Bon Iver
Dodos
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International
King Khan & His Shrines
El Guincho
HEALTH
High Places
Mahjongg

R.I.P. SUV

Put a fork in them...they're done.

Hangin' with my Parents

Some highlights from this weekend:
Thursday night: meet up with Mom, Dad, and Lee for some sushi at New Tokyo, followed by dessert at a nearby diner.
Friday: Architecture Boat Tour part 2. This second go of the tour (which I did about 3 weeks ago) was more laid back. Instead of studiously attempting to absorb every last piece of information the guide had offer (which was a lot!), I relaxed on the lower level of the boat...enjoying cookies, lemonade, and the breeze with my family.
Chicago Blues Fest: We only got to enjoy a bit of it before it started pouring. But my dad and Lee were able to go back for more later.
Art of Pizza. Took my parents to the best deep dish pizza joint in Chicago...which happens to be right across the street from my apartment. (which also happens to be very dangerous for the waistline.)
Saturday: University of Chicago campus tour. Lee took us on a tour of the campus where his hospital is located.
Chicago Brauhaus. Headed to Lincoln Square for dinner at this lively German restaurant. Note to self: never again unknowingly order the liver dumpling soup. Yuck. Otherwise dinner was tasty (or as tasty as German food gets), the German Chocolate cake was amazing!
Sunday: Ribfest. Mmmm 'nuff said.

The Chicago Tour: Since my parents have been to Chicago before, and are very familiar with the old standbys...Hancock, Sears Tower, Michigan Ave (Magnificent Mile), Millennium Park, the "Bean" etc, my brother and I tried to show them the 'hoods of Chicago.
Some of their thoughts:
Lincoln Park: They got to see the most of Lincoln Park. The lakeshore, the zoo, the culture...I think they really liked it.
Lincoln Square: Lee's new hood. Though it's kind of far from the city, they loved the residential feel and architecture of the homes. They said it looked like Brooklyn. I think this was my dad's favorite.
Wicker Park: eh...not so much. But they did enjoy the Victorian homes.
Roscoe Village: My mom's favorite and my old neighborhood. It's like a hip suburb in the city.
Gold Coast: Tim's 'hood. In hindsight, I wish I would have thought to bring them there. They would have loved the old historic mansions and brownstones. Next time, for sure.

Celeb Sighting

Today I spotted Hannah Aitchison from LA Ink, (AKA one of the only people I'd ever let tattoo my body), in Target as I made my way to the check out line. It's funny when you see someone from the entertainment world (TV, movies, music) in real life. It takes you a split second to realize from where/how you know them, before you remember you only "fake" know them.

Just got back from watching Sex and the City. First of all, I could not believe how packed the theater was for a Wednesday night. The 7:30 and the 8 o' clock shows were sold out, and our showing was almost completely full. Never have I seen so many girls in one theater (I have to say, that was pretty cool).

As far as the movie, I really enjoyed it. They kept the characters true to form...and that was all I was really concerned about. It wasn't all colors and cosmos all the time. There were some very dark moments in the movie...one scene in particular that was pretty heart wrenching and very well acted by Parker. Overall it had all the ingredients for a great summer flick... over-the-top, corny at times, but definitely entertaining.

Dylan Trees

My best friend Jodi has been in a band for a little while now called Dylan Trees. While I was in LA, I had the opportunity to sit in on one of their rehearsals...they even let me join in on tambourine! They just started booking dates around the LA area. Check out their music here.

"Dylan Trees is a Los Angeles based collective of likeminded musicians centred around British singer-songwriter Jeremy Simon. Some days it’s one man and a ukulele. Other days it’s a room full of girls and boys hitting the same cymbal and humming four-part harmony. It sounds both ancient and modern. The Charlie Horse EP was self-released in early 2008. Produced by Charles Newman (Magnetic Fields), it is a righteous cacophony of classic British psych-folk with distinct undertones of Americana. Dylan Trees are playing all over the Los Angeles area in forthcoming weeks. Come and see them hit that cymbal. If you like, you can join in."

Death Cab For Cutie

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion kicked off the summer with another huge outdoor show. This year it was Death Cab for Cutie. The weather was once again ominous, but we got extremely lucky and didn't feel a drop of rain. The low lying fog created an interesting back drop...allowing the surrounding skyline to only occasionally peek through. To our surprise, there was an opening band, and to our greater surprise, it was Rogue Wave.

This year there was a $10 charge to get into the event, whereas last year it was free to see The Decemberist. In my opinion, the fee was a good decision. The event was much more tame then last year's where you had people literally climbing over other people for lawn space. Tim, Carisa, Michael, and I sat squarely in the middle of the lawn, and had a great view of the stage.

Death Cab played mostly songs from their new album, but threw in a couple older songs. They closed with Transatlanticism.

Better Late than Never

Me as a Simpson:

10 Questions

A la James Lipton.

1. What is your favorite word? vendetta
2. What is your least favorite word? p####y, aka the "p" word
3. What turns you on? music
4. What turns you off? fakeness
5. What sound or noise do you love? seagulls flying overhead.
6. What sound or noise do you hate? motorcycle engines
7. What is your favorite curse word? shiiiit
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? drummer
9. What profession would you not like to do? secretary
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Good job.

Secret Ending

I can't believe we didn't know about this!
Secret ending to Iron Man.