tonight is earth hour: http://www.earthhour.org
do the earth a favor and turn off everything electrical between 8:30 and 9:30pm, local time. light candles, play music, go for a walk, take a nap, have sex. just do anything but use electricity for an hour straight. show your support to fight global warming by letting it cool down for just one hour.
If you haven’t seen his stuff yet, you’ve gotta check it out. Kutiman (twitter), a musician/producer/dj from Israel, recently launched a site dedicated to mashups of YouTube videos.
In short, it’s effing amazing: thru-you.com.
The Chicago City Council is attempting to pass a law that would severely hinder and even prevent smaller and independent music promoters. The ability to book and host shows in bars, clubs, galleries, basements and lofts could soon be quite a costly endeavor if this legislation goes through. That means that any small artists wishing to perform in legit venues may soon have virtually no where to go.
The claim Chicago has as a haven for music will wither and disappear nearly overnight if the underground scene cannot thrive as it has been allowed. Some regulation is necessary, but what the city council proposes will strangle all those operating without a huge, industry-level budget. To read the current version of the ordinance, head over to the Chicago Music Commission blog. They would love to hear from you.
This aggression will not stand. All those who value the great wealth of music this city offers on a daily basis should help raise the cry. Blog it, tweet it, contact the city of Chicago, contact your alderman. Make them hear the noise, and let them know that if the music scene dies, a part of the great city of Chicago will die. We will not go quietly into the night.
the schedule for this year’s running of the lake county film festival is up: lakecountyfilmfest.com.
last year, a video by my musical alter ego, james collin, was featured as a short. i won’t have anything shown this year, but i still plan on attending. they’re screening over 80 films and shorts from march 4th to the 10th on the campus of the college of lake county in northern illinois. anyone wanna go?
i can smell the rain, coming up from under the back door.
it makes me wish it were summer, on a warm night,
a subtle breeze and the sounds of the city straining through.
“A man of color as the head of state unleashes the imagination in so many ways for so many people and it frees up children to see themselves in more expansive terms.”
Election of Obama a civil rights triumph
“You cannot enjoy the light without enduring the heat.”
How Obama will shape US history
for the first time, in a very, very long time… i feel proud to be an american again. there is hope in the air. it’s palpable. not just in the u.s., but in the world. never before has an american political official stirred feelings of such optimism in me.
the thing that strikes me the most is how human he is. he is not flawless. he has some personal and political views with may ultimately slow progress in some arenas, but overall his election alone is another big nail in the coffin of oppression that has plagued this nation’s past. that i am able to witness this tells me that all is not lost. i just hope the rest of the world will join hands and work with him as a comrade, not an opponent.
“We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.”
- MLK
last night, when i got home from work, i noticed a leak in my kitchen ceiling. i called the maintenance guy and he said there wasn’t anything he could do until morning. of course. so i put a crock pot under it (which i never use anyway) and sat down to watch a couple episodes of veronica mars.
after an hour or so the dripping had multiplied, and the plaster was beginning to crack. i think to myself, “this is going to fall in by morning.” the boy scout in me said, “hey, this is going to get worse. move everything out of the way and put something bigger under it to catch the water.” so i did. the dripping continued at a steady rate, and the plaster started to warp a little. there was nothing more i could do, so i went to bed.
2:45 am. crash!
there it was
and here it is
this can't be good
it’s currently -10 degrees in chicago right now, so i decide to work from home. the maintenance guy comes by, looks at the situation, gives me the same line about not being able to do anything right now. in fact, he says he really can’t do anything until the weather is warmer and the snow has melted. so, i have to wait until what, april, to get this fixed?! he goes out on the roof, which i must commend him for, and tries to shovel off any remaining snow and ice.
since then, a new leak has formed at the top of the window adjacent to the hole, but it seems to have slowed. so while i wait until it gets fixed i can’t use half my kitchen and heat from my apartment is no doubt escaping much quicker than it should. guess it’s time to put on my angry tenant hat and write an email to the management.
so, the company i work for, crowdspring, works on a crowdsourcing model. people who need design work done can post a project and let a pool of designers from all over the world submit ideas. the best idea (or ideas) wins.
while we are not the first people to do something like this, we believe our particular model is pretty sweet. if you think so, maybe you can give us some kudos by voting for us in wired’s small biz contest.
we will love you forever.
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