Reporter at Fargo newspaper falls for the "hey wouldya blowme"

Thanks Swenson

Monkeys on Ice

Matchgame on Facebook

Life is tough, even when it's great. One of the things that makes waking up worth it is the random surprise that one of our friends provides us out of the blue. All hail social networking, right? That's why I love things like Twitter and Facebook and to a justifiably lesser extent MySpace.

I decided to catalyze my interaction and hosting a cloud-run version of one of the best TV games ever. Here's a taste:




Now, I'm not trolling for more friends. Trust me, I have all the friends that I can stomach. But if you want to play along. I invite you to friend me, and blow my mind.

Friend me here: Facebook

Here is a look at some of the mooks who make life worth living: Panel of Experts

Today was a good day.

I spent most of today scared shitless. I painted half my face blue. The other half was tear-drenched. I needed my chakras realigned. There are only three things that can do that: knitting (sorry Casey but your hat's not done - bonus: I'll knit a matching one for Kubes) and this video that I throw out as testimony to all the unfortunate beatles accolades out there, and you, my friends.

Thank you all for inspiring me as much as these guys do.

PS John Entwistle WTF!??!?!

Are we finally getting sick of Bipartisanship: caveat - politics

I voted in my first election in 1987. I studied the politics of each candidate up to the Minnesota state level. After that, I 'threw my vote away' on the third party candidate most likely (or least unlikely) to get into federal politics. Why? I figured that for a candidate to get that far in national politics, they had to be completely out of touch with their constituents, salivating for power over relevancy.

The next year, I was able to experience a full-on election in Denmark where they had something like a dozen parties in play in the election.

I openly admit that I am unqualified to say this is right, because I pay most of my attention to local and global issues (where the real action is . . . bypassing the political stock market that is national politics. Seriously, my own deal).

That's why I pose this as a question.

I was earnestly shocked to see Freshjive issue this shirt. I'm a fan of Shepard Fairey, and Freshjive and my friends who were completely sold on Obama in the past election.

I post this only because I'm curious. What the hell happened? I'm admittedly oblivious.

This seems like a really drastic statement.

Post. Educate me. Please. I just want to understand.

(caveat #2: I'll still vote the same as I always have, so don't try to sway me.)

Thanksgiving: Grindhouse Style (NSFW)

If there ever was a grindhouse holiday, it is Thanksgiving. It is a holiday seeped in death. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the eviscerating of a living beast, the horrible things we've done to America's indigenous people, and the carnal gluttony of this holiday than with the most atrocious grindhouse trailer ever.

PS: I'm not too upset about the turkey thing, but only because of my L-tryptophan addiction.

Thanks to fellow 'substitute-a-human-for-a-turkey' activist, Sean Whipps for the link

Part 2: Argleton, Lancaster, UK. A walk through the phantom city

Update!Roy Bayfield blog with photos of his walk through imaginary Argleton! A fabulous read (and cheaper that a plane & bus ticket.)

From Roy's blog Walking Home to 50:

You have to take care at these times. It is all about detail… I had come equipped, with apparatus to protect me from any strangeness that might occur. I didn’t want to come out the other side reduced to a parody of myself, shambling out transformed into, say, Ray Byfield, Marketing Director of Argleton University. So I had with these items with me:

1. A Wonder Woman comic. I thought the Lasso of Truth, wielded by a character created by one of the inventors of the lie-detector, would provide some symbolic defense against irreality.

2. A bad copy of something else: Kyrik: Warlock Warrior (Gardner F. Fox, 1975) is a pastiche of Conan the Barbarian – a piece of entertaining but unoriginal hackwork; Kyrik is to Conan as Argleton is to Aughton. I thought a bit of this would be a kind of inoculation, passages like ‘The outlaws stared at that darkness, saw it shot through with streaks of vivid lightnings, red as the fires of Haderon’ acting as antigens against any reality-dissolving effects that might be encountered.

3. A toy tapir, bought recently at Transreal Fiction. I figured this little guy must be steeped in alternate worlds, having lived in a science fiction shop for a while – s/he could help navigate back to the real world if some compromised reality became confusing.

Read the whole thing here: Roy Bayfield's Walking Home to 50.

Thanks for the tip BlogCadre!

Argleton, Lancaster, UK. A phantom city that exists only on the web.

View Larger Map

An alleged computer glitch has resulted in the creation of a new, albeit non-existent city in the UK. I for one welcome this new city and share in Roy Bayfield's amazement. It seems that this tiny burgh already has a major export, fascination.

From The Telegraph:

Roy Bayfield, head of corporate marketing at what would be Argleton's closest university, Edge Hill, in Ormskirk, was so intrigued by the mystery that he walked to the where the internet indicated was the centre of Argleton to check that there was definitely nothing there.

"A colleague of mine spotted the anomaly on Google Maps, and I thought 'I've got to go there'," he said.

"I started to weave this amazing fantasy about the place, an alternative universe, a Narnia-like world. I was really fascinated by the appearance of a non-existent place that the internet had the power to make real and give a semi-existence."

Apparently, Google is working to correct this by deleting or redirecting the errant information. (It looks like they've already inactivated many of the photos that were associated with the town.) So visit while you can. Or, even better, someone should actually begin to bring the city into physical existence, by building a city in the open field where Argleton 'exists.' Could be a great project for the nearby university or artists.

From Wikipedia:

One possible explanation for the presence of Argleton is that it was added deliberately as a copyright trap to catch any violations of copyright, though such bogus entries are typically much less obvious. It has been noted that "Argle" seems to echo the word "Google", while the name is also an anagram of "Not Large" and "Not Real G", with the letter G perhaps representing Google. Alternatively, it has been suggested that "Argleton" is merely a misspelling of "Aughton", despite the fact that both names appear on the map. Professor Danny Dorling, president of the Society of Cartographers, considered it more likely that Argleton was nothing more than an "innocent mistake".

A spokesman for Google stated that, "While the vast majority of this information is correct there are occasional errors", and encouraged users to report any issues directly to their data provider. The data for the region in question was provided to Google by Netherlands-based Tele Atlas, who were unable to explain how the anomaly got into their database, but said that Argleton would be removed from the map.

Mystery of Argleton article from the Telegraph

The Senster: Robotic sculpture from the late 60's

Grabbing a little free time here and there to monkey around with my Getting started with Arduino kit. Looking to start building a bit of interactivity into some of my birdhouses and knitting. Stumbled accross this video from the early 1970's of a giant responsive robot. It 'looks like much of the input for the robot was sound, which makes this silent video kind of eerie.

From Today and Tomorrow:

The Senster was a robotic sculpture developed by Edward Ihnatowicz in the late 60’s. It was commissioned by Philips and part of their permanent showplace, the Evoluon, in Eindhoven between 1970 and 1974. It was the first robotic sculpture to be controlled by a computer and could react to the behaviour of the visitors with its sound and movement sensors. The computer used to control The Senster was a Philips P9201 and had only 8K of core memory. Now, almost 40 years later, every interaction student could make something like this and fit the logic in a small box. But this is still an amazing project.

More links and images over at Today and Tomorrow

UPDATE! After this got picked up by Boing Boing, a commenter posted that The Senster still exists! The Dutch company that did the welding saved it from the scrap heap and mounted it on cement blocks outside their building. It's almost more eerie sitting alons and dormant there in the field. I wonder if it could be reactivated?

Here's the translation from The Senster Today where you will find another couple of photos.

Sonny Barger Beer Prototype

I recently started mentoring a U of M Design student. I decided to start a blog specifically for sharing thoughts, examples, and resources with a budding designer. Anyone who would like to, can check it out here. Feel free to comment or suggest items. One of the best things about being a designer is the community, right?

A Design Primer Blog

This is a recent post on an assignment that I was given in my school days. Sharing it here, because it's a pretty good story (and selfishly, I'm hoping that someone out there can help me get it made.)



Redesigning a beer label in school was one of the pivotal experience of my design education. A year before I received the project, I was at the Minnesota Beer Festival. There were these guys who didn't pay for a booth, instead they were hoisting cases of their beer over the fence and passing cans of their beer around. (These were prototypes: they actually came in cans that were stamped to have an actual leather feel to them. Once it went into full production, this proved too costly so they used standard cans.) Total renegades. And why not their beer was Sonny Barger Beer. (Sonny Barger is the long time leader of the Hell's Angels.)

When the instructor gave the assignment, I knew exactly what brand I wanted to redesign. I thought about the man, Sonny, and the brand, and most importantly, the end users: bikers who were non-conformists, liked to show off, and for whom the culture of renegade biking changed and defined their life. One doesn't fake it around these fellows. No way.

What carried the most clout with these dudes, was pushing the ticket.

I also thought about things like functionality. Odds are, whether it is a good idea or not, that this beer would end up in the saddlebags of their motorcycles on some several-hundred mile trek across the countryside. So, glass was out of the question, bottles would click and break along the trip. That led me to think about the types of things that would be in their saddlebags.

I dug in a bit and discovered that the original Harleys were chain driven and that meant carrying a supply of motor oil and that motor oil containers were designed to be rugged and portable.

I actually laughed a bit thinking of this big biker pounding a liter of beer out of a motor oil container, totally showboating in front of his bros. I imagined actually seeing the beer glug down through the visible measurement window that is on the side of the container. I knew I was on to something. It fit the lifestyle perfectly.

Then I got realistic. It would probably be way too costly to produce en masse. So, I thought about it being a special limited edition beer. How about a beer exclusively to be sold at the annual Sturgis Rally. Perfect on two accounts. First, it's the ultimate party for bikers. And secondly, if you've ever been to a Harley shop or a biker's garage or even closet, you can't help but notice the amount of souvenirs these guys amass.

I set out to design. Font choices were based on outlaw spirit, and a pilfered copy of Mobil Oil's proprietary sans-serif font.

I mocked up a few of 'bottles'. One for me, one for the guys brewing the beer and one I actually sent along to Sonny. A month or so after, I got a call from Sonny's longtime friend and lawyer. While logistics (liquor laws) got in the way, he said he hadn't seen Sonny laugh so hard in a long time as when he got the package. Success!

I'm still really proud of the spirit of this design not just for the end product, but because the process really opened up the limitless potential for design to make even a good thing, like beer, bikes, and buddies even better.

PS: Still looking for the small-time brewery who can make this happen. Any ideas, would be greatly appreciated.

The New Frontier - Department of Defense Family Shelter Designs from 1962

I'd really like to find some mid-century purists out there who bought a house complete with its own bomb shelter. Or even better, a homeowner who built their own to complete the clean, cool, cold war experience. If you are an aspiring mod freak of the latter, perhaps you could use some plans. Here they are:

Family Shelter Designs from the Mt. Holly Civil Defense Flickr set

Stumbling across a stockpile of late 50's / early 60's (much of it annotated by the previous owner) CD documents at a recent estate sale, made me remember this great Donald Fagen video from 1983. Oh, the innocence. The intimacy. The Miro, The Gene Deitch. Seriously, you provide the fallout protection, I'll provide the Manhattans. Invite me over... before it's too late.

Donald Fagen New Frontier (1983)
by Crichton44

Mt. Holly Founder's Day Film Festival - This Saturday, Nov. 7th. Check out some trailers.

Please note the updated schedule and line up.

This year we are proud to present a cavalcade of some of the finest international short films in the history of Hollywood and beyond. These films are guaranteed to change your perspective on the world around you. Open to all. Kid friendly. Festival begins at 6:30. Bring your own blankets.



6:30PM The Terror of Tiny Town. 1938 (USA) A great western storyline brought to life with a little singing and dancing.



8:00PM Time Bandits. 1981 (UK) George Harrison funded. Directed and written by Terry Gilliam. This may be one of my favorite trailers of all time. The movie is quite good as well.



9:30PM Intermission Short: The Dogway Melody. 1930 (USA) I'm currently working on a all human spoof of this all dog send-up of the all human 1929 musical, The Broadway Melody. I will be scouting the audience for potential stars.



10:00PM For Your Height Only. 1981 (Philippines) Action, swinging gangsters, beautiful ladies, and degraded film stock. This film has it all.



11:30PM Auch Zwerge Haben Klein Angefangen. 1972 (D) Die Werke des Autorenfilmer-Starregisseurs Werner Herzog wissen von Haus aus sowieso nur eingefleischte Arthouse-Freunde zu würdigen. Einen Schritt weiter geht sein zweiter Langfilm aus dem Jahr 1970. Die kulturpessimistische Groteske „Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen“ ist nur hartgesottenen Herzog-Anhängern nachhaltig zu empfehlen. Doch die werden den Film lieben, weil es so viele interessante Details zu erkunden gibt, dass es eine echte Freude ist. Das Faszinierende: Wer die wahre Qualität von „Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen“ entdecken will, muss den unterschwelligen Subtext des Films sezieren. Ein universeller Sinn des Ganzen ergibt sich erst zwischen den Zeilen bzw. Bildern...

Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA

John Nese is the owner of Soda Pop Stop pop only store in LA. Listening to him rattle off what makes or breaks a good soft drink, makes me thirsty. Listening to his passion about supporting the little man in the face of large corporate pressure in the marketplace is just plain refreshing.

Thanks for the link Chris Campbell.

Curb Score! Sun Service Equipment Mobile Workstation

The tops a bit rusty but I sanded it down and sealed it. Adding a wood work surface and powerstrip are next in order. Damn good find. I can't believe Zadra didn't snag it. It was on the corner of his block.

Join or create a bike club.

Suburban Bike Club
Originally uploaded by mthaeg

Mt. Holly is lucky enough to have neighbors who like to have fun and who like to ride bikes. Look at this rogues gallery of suburban cast-offs. See the pride in our eyes? This was before we even reached the first stop on the Fall 2009 Gonzo Run. I can't thank my fellow Suburban Bike Club members enough for starting this big rattling mess up.

I don't care where you live. Be it a shitbag big city, or a miniscule dot on the map. Where one finds bikes, one finds bros . . . even bros of the female persuasion.

Cheers, you freaks.

Check out the large format version of these proud peddlers HERE

Walk On By - Issac Hayes

There are somethings that make me feel alright. Deep cloudy rain. The camera work in High Noon. Late 60's through early 70's variety show stage design. And the non-blacksploitation songcrafting of Issac Hayes. All of these came together, this rainy Tuesday morning, when one of my favorite designers, Josh Leutz tweeted:

The license plate of the Chrysler First Avenue in front of me last night: BLKMOSES.

Which sent me into youtube land where I was met with this video. Thanks Josh.

New Mt. Holly Register is online

Read it now.

Tricycle with a square front tire.

Saw this photo over by Guzer. It's kept me laughing for 2 days now.

Macho Man Randy Savage on Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, 1991.

"That's why I live in the kingdom of the madness and you are just visiting."

That's exactly what I thought when I late-night-channel-surfed onto this episode of LOTR&F back in the early 1990s. This is just a portion of the high-energy wonka-esque tour given to Robin Leach by Lord Savage and Miss Elizabeth. I would kill to see the whole thing again.

Please vote for one of my presentations to be accepted to SXSW

Just click on the above graphic to vote. It's simple and FREE.

Presentation 1: Lessons Learned from Failed Utopias & Surviving Micronations.

Take a historical and cartographic trip around some of the world's smallest and strangest communities. While, it takes little more than inspiration to establish one's own little nation, no man is an island. Discover the importance of forging alliances, embracing technology, nurturing commerce and making the most of your resources.

Presentation 2: In this Economy, Innovation is the Key

With clients pinching pennies and pulling their heads into their shells over emerging media, agencies need to grow their relationships with their producers, technologists, and media experts to evolve their campaigns and selves. The evolution of technology is not slowing down, but accelerating in spite of the economy. You can, too.

Husker Du's Zen Arcade Turns 25.

If you look at the center of one disc of the Minutemen's 1984 clasic 2XLP which also turns 25 this month beating the Huskers' own SST double album release Zen Arcade by a couple of weeks, you'll notice the line "Take that Huskers" etched between the grooves. Nice touch. I actually remember this week at age 16 picking both records up from Northern Lights in the Old E-Block (RIP) of Minneapolis. That was a great day. Although both are desert island records for me, Zen Arcade is my favorite of the two. Take that Minutemen.

From Wikipedia:

The lyrics of Zen Arcade are usually interpreted as telling the story, in the first person, of an adolescent who runs away to escape an unfulfilling home life, as typified in the lyrics of "Broken Home, Broken Heart," "Indecision Time," and "Somewhere." The unnamed character tries drugs ("Pink Turns to Blue"), and religion ("Hare Krsna"), but concludes that he is unable to change his circumstances ("Newest Industry").[6] He shortly discovers that the world outside is even worse. At the very end of the album, after he "turns on the news," it is revealed that this was all a symptom of his insanity, with disorienting 14-minute instrumental "Recurring Dreams." Indicative of the band's desire for the album to be taken as a whole, no singles were released from it.

The Minneapolis Wrestling Club Documentary

The Minneapolis Wrestling Club from Site-Specific Documentary on Vimeo.

Thanks to Dan Swenson for shooting this my way.

Cardic & Co. - Olde Frothingslosh & More

With my impending trip to Steeltown, I've been digging around for more background on Olde Frothingslosh, the most treasured of all cans in my beer can collection.

It turns out that Olde Frothingslosh was a seasonal variation of Iron City Beer that was created in collaboration with local radio personality Regis Cordic.

From wikipedia:

One of Cordic's most memorable running gags at both WWSW and KDKA were fake advertisements for "Olde Frothingslosh", "the pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom." The beer was supposedly brewed by Sir Reginald Frothingslosh at Upper Crudney-on-the-Thames. In 1955, Pittsburgh Brewing Company began issuing special Christmas-season cans and bottles of Olde Frothingslosh filled with real beer. The humorous labels changed every year and became favorites of collectors. The brewery released new editions of Olde Frothingslosh even after Cordic left Pittsburgh, continuing until 1982 and then reviving the brand in 1998, and more recently in 2007 (currently available).

Rege had a great sense of humor and style.

Olde Frothingslosh beer bottle labels
Olde Frothingslosh cans
Read Thud, The Magazine of Brick Throw

(Methinks the editor of the Mt. Holly Register needs to step it up a bit.)

The First Lady's Camping Napkins

These little beauts have been getting a workout!

Neil Young and Devo - Video of the jam session that created Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)

Neil Young & Devo


Caught the Neil Young American Masters episode last night. While I've always been a big fan of Neil Young as an amazing artist who pulls and pushes himself to innovate, whether it be in his life or music, embracing the latest technology or digging deep in his roots, I was blown away by the 3 minute segment on the early 80's chapter of old Neil's output.

Being a late-night denizen of the early days of cable including Night Flight (RIP) I was completely aware of Neil's movie, Human Highway, in which Devo play a nuclear waste disposal team, but to hear that he actually wrote Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) in a jam session with Devo seemed a bit much to take until they showed a clip of this video. Here it is in it's entirety. Hail Ne-vo!

HAMBURGEREYES Buy-IN

Be on the inside when the reptoids resurface. I will be.

Forest City Rockers Episode III - Pizza, Tits & Korea

The Forest City Rockers - Episode 3 from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

10 years from know you're going to try to remember where you were when you first saw this thing. Answer: baked.

Vintage tourist Brochures - Caves!

I stumbled across this treasure trove of old long copy work from what must be the 40's and 50's. I've scanned them in pretty large, hopefully legible enough for you to enjoy reading them as much as I have.

Go ahead:

• Count the number of times the word "Thrill" is used
• Enjoy courteous guides
• Explore yawning abysses
• Marvel at the devil's bathtub
• Fear not for the cleanliness of your garments as they will remain unspoiled
• Be naturally "air-conditioned"
• Gape slack-jawed at FREE Picnic areas

Vintage Cave Brochures Flickr Set

Mt Holly Citywide Garage Sale Teaser

I decided to snap a few photos to whet your appetites for our Citywide Garage Sale.

Thursday 10:00-7:00
Friday 9:00-5:00
Saturday 9:00-2:00

And remember early-birds pay double!

Frank Zappa Plays The Bicycle on the Steve Allen Show, 1963

There is no better way to start a sunny summer morning than with a bike ride, courtesy of Mr. Zappa. Watch the entire 3 part series over at A Facemelting Blog of Staggering Riffage.

Mt. Holly Citywide Garage Sales!

Thursday, June 4th 10:00 - 7:00
Friday, June 5th 8:00 - 5:00
Saturday, June 6th 8:00 - 2:00

Loads of stuff.

Highlights! 1977 Pinball Machine (project), 1964 Lambretta (Project), Apple 2 computer loaded with Sim City, Oregon Trail, and Scarab of Ra. Old tables and chairs, weird A/V stuff, Books.

Plus these leftover items from previous sales: yeti scalps, hybrid animals, hj/bj/tj, board games, Jonathan Living Seagull record, tukes, canned foods, soviet cold-war secrets, a brick, the real Hope diamond, prosthetic limbs, old radios, bikes, chairs, free books, shrunken heads, Matisses, Picassos, hopes, dreams, genomes, baby clothes, toilet brush, giant sea monkeys, the jaws of life, deathrattles, cochina dolls, linaments and ointments, fireplugs, shell-o-phones, enigma machines, golden fleeces (2 for 1), rubiks links (unsolved), spanish fly, kitchenware, nuclear secrets, taxidermy, personality inventories, anti-gravitational technology, doilies, traceless firearms and ammo - lots of ammo.

McCall's Serial Killer Sewing Pattern.

McCall's Serial Killer Sewing Pattern.
Originally uploaded by mthaeg

It's what the coolest in Juvenile sociopaths will be wearing this Halloween!

Love Triangles are Wrecktangles

love triangles
Originally uploaded by mthaeg

As I've been rooting around, getting things ready for the upcoming Mt. Holly Citywide Garage Sales, I stumbled across this gem of a single color postcard. It's a Motto Mailer From the Lindgren Turner Cco. Spokane, Wash. Date? I'm guessing early to mid 60's.

New Mt. Holly Related Blog - A Facemelting Blog of Staggering Riffage.

Now that I am on permanent summer vacation the posts here in the Mayor's Office may taper off a bit. Even more so that Casey "Superbeast" Brewer and Sean "Jovi" Whipps and I are posting a mind destroying playlist of epic proportions over at our new blog: A Facemelting Blog of Staggering Riffage.

Strap yourself in for the heaviest Summer ever!

Drawing with Water. Making the Art for the graphic novel Alan's War

Alan's War is a great first hand humanist look inside the life of an American GI, Alan Cope, who never returned to the US after WWII. It is a tremendous read and an appropriate one as we move closer to Memorial Day. Watch as Emmanuel Guibert creates an image of Cole using his special technique, drawing with water, then adding ink. The effect is magical.

Remembering our veterans. Get your Poppies!

Here's a little video about a British poppy factory and the help and honor that these little paper flowers present to our veterans.

Solar Birdhouse Leaves the Lights On.

My pal and seasoned technologist (sounds delicious doesn't it?), Nate Hunsaker sent me a link to these OOOMS designed birdhouses that provide more than just a roof for their residents:

From OOOMS:

During the day sunlight feeds the solar panel , charging a small battery inside. At twilight the transparent stick will light up and cast a tiny light on your garden.
This light attracts an easy nighttime snack for the bird; all she has to do is stick her beak out of the hole and wait for the buzz.

Zak Sally Art Show Tonight!

Friday May 15
the good people of Foiled Again hair salon are hosting an opening reception for Zak Sally (fancy pants illustrator, comic art guy, and head honcho over at La Mano press),
whose selected works will adorn the walls of the salon for the next month or so. fun starts at 6:30, with live "entertainment" and "music" by the always amazing Lady Hard On at 8pm, followed by NoiseQueanAnt around 9pm. standard art opening fare will be on hand - refreshments & beverages of different kinds, but it's probably a safe bet to bring your own libations for the long haul.

630 - ?pm, free for all ages.
Foiled Again Hair Salon
2807 Johnson Street NE

Fatal Farm Revisits Our Favorite TV Shows

Fatal Farm

Thanks to Sean Whipps for the share.

Get a haircut.

A fine head of hair adds beauty to a good face, and terror to an ugly one. ~Lycurgus

This haircut is the best I've had in recent memory. I got it down by Floyds'Barbershop down on Lake & Freemont. It's a new joint opened up by my friend Rob Franks of Blogfoot fame. Super unpretentious from it's prices (below $20) to the friendly barbers. I appreciate a good straight razor cleanup and they even dish out shoulder massages. Yuck fou, Franks, for beating me to my dream job.

The photo (for a liquor store ad, seriously) terrifies me. But, I gotta say it was a great honor to be shot by Curtis Johnson. I swear every photographer friend of mine has done a stint supporting Curtis and they all love him.

Mayor's Picks for Art-a-Whirl this weekend

#1 SS Infinite Regress - Houseboat Installation/Film/ Music/Jumpsuits



The folks over at Creative Electric Studios have a special treat in store for you down on the banks of the Ol' Mississip!

Music Line up:

Friday, May 15, 2009 at dusk
-Gay Witch Abortion (plays on a free floating raft down the Mississippi!)
-Knife World

Saturday, May 16, 2009 morning/afternoon
-Jon Olson & Caveman play acoustic set during coffee time at the dock
-Adam Wirtzfeld & friends play in the afternoon

Saturday, May 16, 2009 at dusk
-White Map (with Zak Sally)
-Allison LaBonne (of the Owls) with friends
(screening of Allison's new music video by Phil Harder during the performance!)
(and maybe more floating music as well!)


Outdoor BBQ at Sample Room Above Docks
Friday and Saturday Evenings Starting at 6 pm
$5 gets you A Beer and A Brat

Location:

View SS Infinite Regress in a larger map



#2 Guzzard Reunion!



One of the best MPLS Bands from back in the day. Recorded a song named after my old band (Zip Jet the Supersonic Enemy of Evil). Broke up in 1996. Part of a whole day of music at Grumpy's NE.

1:00-1:20 Little Irvy
1:40-2:00 the Short Cuts
2:20-2:40 Iquano
3:00-3:20 Fiero
3:40-4:00 Lady Hard On
4:20-4:40 Beaver
5:00-5:20 Best Bitch in Show
5:40-6:00 Bitter Spills
6:20-6:40 Bastard Saint
7:00-7:20 Awesome Snakes
7:40-8:10 Gay Witch Abortion
8:30-9:30 Guzzard


#3 Johnstock



29th & Johnson NE Minneapolis

FRIDAY, MAY 15: Approx. 8:30pm
Movie in the Merchant Parking Lot at dusk. This year's feature is The Muppet Movie!!!

SATURDAY, MAY 16: 10am - 8pm.
40+ craft and art vendors in the lot and surrounding businesses.
11am Pirate Pete Kids Show!!
Live, local music all day.

12:00 Acoustic Death Orchestra
1:00 The Don Sellers Mystery Project
2:00 Backstories
3:00 Still Pacific - My pal Brad's new band
4:00 Draper Daniels
5:00 These Unknown
6:00 Eyes of the Dead Sun

Down the street, at Shannon Aleczander Salon: Free Face Painting and Crazy Hair + Goodies and Gift Basket Drawing!

SUNDAY, MAY 17: 11am - 5pm.
More live music. Vendors are back!

11:30 Wayne and the Boys
1:00 Mellow Roar
2:00 Rising Side
3:00 Backstories



#4 - Art-a-Whirl


Download a map of all of the open studios here!

Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz. Why? Read the reviews!

Our UX brain and Yogic guru, Azmir Saliefendic, sent this around today under the heading "The Importance of Product Reviews".

From Azmir:

The more reviews you read, the more they seem to make sense.
There are so many gems on this page – keep clicking.

Every review of the 1000+ is rockin’.

Read the Reviews on Amazon.

Anyone got a plate of cookies?

Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat.

And meet Keyboard Cat! Mt. Holly has become so jaded about passed-along video that this is the only way we can enjoy them anymore. Thank you Keyboard Cat.

Meet Simon & Simon

Behold the regal protectors of the Mt. Holly mayoral mansion. It's a cat's and cat's life.

Gone Fishin'

Today is the Minnesota walleye fishing opener which means I'm up on Mille Lacs with my father-in-law netting some lunkers.

If you're not fishing you can print out and assemble a papercraft version of the band Flipper's tour van from the cover of their 1984 LP Gone Fishin'. Flipper rules!

Flipper suffering for their music. Now it's your turn.

The Saddest Music in The World + Guy Maddin Live!

From the folks at The Talkies:

“If you’re sad and like beer, I’m your lady”- Lady Port-Huntley

It may be cliché but what better way to ease our financial-minded woes than to gather round the silver screen to witness Lady Helen Port-Huntley’s (Isabella Rossellini) contest to end all contests: who can produce THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD?

Blowing in from the northerly diabolic region known as Winnipeg Guy Maddin’s live commentary marks The Talkies’ 5th installment. Uniquely gifted to push this nascent notion into uncharted waters Maddin, the maniac behind the expanded viewing spectacles such as Branded Upon the Brain and the beautiful essay My Winnipeg, innately understands how special the space in the cinema can be and will, on June 18th, transform The Heights Theatre into the best Talkies experience yet.

Arrive at 7p.m. on June 18th for a 35mm screening of THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD starring Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney (Kids in the Hall) . At 9:00p.m. this celluloid salvo screens again with the extra somethin' somethin' that only The Talkies provides: live commentary from Guy Maddin himself.

June 18th
7p.m.- THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD -screening only 7/advance & 8/door

9p.m. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD with GUY MADDIN- 18.50/advance & 22.00/door

The Depression Special- Both shows for 20.00

FOR TICKETS HEAD TO: http://thetalkies.net

TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PICK UP THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW

A Joe Meek Showcase

Joe Meek was a huge innovator in music from the 50's on through most of the 60's. He started a powerful independent British record label, Triumph, and production company, RGM. Although much as been written about his obsession with the occult, homosexuality, and the murder suicide that ended his life, Joe Meek will forever be in my heart and ears for the wonderful sound that he created. Take a listen.



The Tornados brought Joe his biggest stateside hit with the instrumental Telstar. Here is a rare scopitone of the band playing their 1963 song Robot.




Although it hit #1 in the UK, Have I the Right by the Honeycombs stalled at #5 in the US. The Honeycombs, featuring drummer Honey Lantree seem to be trying to catch up with the track in this clip from the film Pop Gear. They should be. To add more energy to the track, Joe sped it up in the mastering process. Notice the stomping percussion performed by the entire band during the chorus. It's another signature Joe meek move. He had the entire band jump in unison on his studios wooden stairs to get just the right sound.



Johnny Layton was just one of the many vocalists that brought Joe many UK hits. Check out the footage of Joe manning his beloved tape machines in this video.



Rumors abound about how Joe's infatuation with Tornadoes bassist Heinz Burt, shown here singing the title track to the film Live It Up, led to Joe promoting Heinz as a solo singer and allegedly using another vocalist to actually perform the singing. This video of Heinz lip-syncing along to his Meek produced Cochran tribute on a show called Oldie Parade does little to dispel the myth.



Sorry there's no live footage of The Outlaws, and the image of Richie Blackmore here is a bit out of place since he didn't join the band until later in their career, but what a great tune. I implore you to find yourself a copy of The Outlaws Ride Again or Dream of The West and to spend the summer spend your summer in full western gear.

If this has whetted your appetite for more Joe Meek. Check out the dramatic tale of Joe's life, Telstar, which should be out this summer in the UK or be patient for the in-the-works documentary A Life in the Death of Joe Meek.

RIP Meinhardt Raabe - Munchkin Coroner UPDATE!

The last living munchkin has passed away. It's fitting that the actor who played the coroner outlived all the other citizens of Munchkinland.

(ed. 05/07/09) This is all wrong. I jumped the gun and I sincerely apologize to the dear coroner! It turns out that Micky Caroll one of the munchkin soldiers has passed.

Remaining living munchkins (can you believe it? The movie was filmed in 1939!)

Ruth Duccini
Karl Slover
Jerry Maren
Margaret Pellegrini
Meinharte Raabe

Check out http://www.kansasoz.com/infomunchkinbios.htm for munchkin bios!

Steve Lambert art shiow (SP?)

Steve Lambert solo show walkthrough from Steve Lambert on Vimeo.

Another great find from over at Dinosaurs and Robots. Yes, I'm talking about an actual rare and elusive Frauenfelder penned typo! (I know, I shouldn't cast any stones around typos myslef.) Look fast or you may miss it! Plus, this video walkthrough of Steve Lambert's amazingly beautiful new art show. Man, that feller is good.

My Drawing Kit

My Drawing Kit
Originally uploaded by mthaeg

It's a good day at my digital job when my desk gets this analog.

World Famous Wrestler, THE MYSTERION, Will Draw a Picture of Himself Kicking Your Ass for FREE!

For the past couple of years, I've been getting the cold shoulder from our postmaster. I finally found out why. It seems that as a result of a redesign oversight, this line disappeared from the bottom of each issue.

Philatelic Collectors mail to: 305 Holmes St • Mt. Holly, MN 55379 - all postcards answered by Mt. Holly postmaster & outlaw professional wrestler, the Mysterion.

Since retiring from the squared circle in 1994, the Mysterion has devoted much of his free time to making personalized drawings of himself mutilating all who challenge him by sending him their photo in the mail. The Mysterion speaks:

You senda da picture anda stamp, I unleash powerful fury of ALMIGHTY MYSTERION on you face anda body areas. I crack skulls. I wield foreign objects. I tear apart. I send back drawing and photo. You cry big tears like spring rain growing flowers for you own funeral.

In a message of goodwill (and fear for my own personal safety) this is a PSA for our good friend, The Mysterion. Send a photo, a stamp, and a nice letter of introduction to:

The Mysterion
305 Holmes St S
Mt. Holly, MN 55379

You can expect or receive your ass-kicking in 2-3 weeks.

Pablo skates his Baseman autographed deck

I love the fact that our friend's George and Jen have a boy thrashing around town on an autographed Gary Baseman deck. Apparently, Mr. Baseman did too. He signed the deck above the wheels where it won't get ground off. Smart!

Art Boat Party! Creative Electric SS Infinite Regress Opening

Safe House Boat
Originally uploaded by jennysalmela

For all of you artsters who will be looking for a relief from being packed into small studios in former grain silos, feed mills, and casket factories during this year's Art-a-Whirl. Take a break down at the river with the Creative Electric crew aboard their floating artscape!

Here's the skinny:

Creative Electric Studios to launch SS Infinite Regress during Art-a-Whirl 2009

DATES: May 15-May 17th
Bands / Dancing /special events at dusk on Friday and Saturday

LOCATION: Behind the Sample Room ( 2124 Marshall Street NE, MPLS) on the Mississippi River

Creative Electric Studios pulled the Safe House Boat into drydock over the winter and after extensive modifications the boat will be rechristened SS Infinite Regress and launched this May in time for Art-a-Whirl.

The public is invited to experience the infinite finite space inside the SS Infinite Regress. Visitors will be asked to don sterile white suits upon boarding. Once suited up visitors will be allowed entry to the bridge. Films will be projected and reflected through a series of glass mirrors onto the white suits, making them both the observer and the observed.

The design of SS Infinite Regress was predicated on this principle:

Infinite regress: in a series of propositions arises if the truth of proposition P1 requires the support of proposition P2, and for any proposition in the series Pn, the truth of Pn requires the support of the truth of Pn+1. There would never be adequate support for P1.

in other words ...

"an attempt to solve a problem which re-introduced the same problem in the proposed solution. If one continues along the same lines, the initial problem will recur infinitely and will never be solved. Not all regresses, however, are vicious."

Other christening ceremony events include:
Floating musical performances by White Map, Allison Lebon (of The Owls), Gay Witch Abortion
plus Modern Dance performances
(events subject to change)

Craftstravaganza! This Saturday! May 2!

There's a great post by Mr. Jalopy over at Dinosaurs and Robots called $upport Independent Business and Reject the Fakers that you would all benefit from reading. It is a case study around the corporate crapping on of Jenny Hart's Sublime Stitching by Urban Threads that demonstrates how corporations rip off individual artists and create shittier versions of fine goods to screw the consumer as well. Here's a killer Jalopy quote from a few years back.

Everything you love, everything meaningful with depth and history, all passionate authentic experiences will be appropriated, mishandled, watered down, cheapened, repackaged, marketed and sold to the people you hate.

This Saturday, you have the chance to perk up your life wih some quality and style while perking up the pocketbooks of some great local craftspeople and artists at Craftstravaganza in the Fine arts Building on the Minnesota State Fair grounds.

There's a lot of great stuff to be seen including work from these mayoral favorites:

Amy Jo
Nate's Custom Sewing
Mia Sorella Aprons
Meghan Elizabeth Pottery
Aisha Celia Designs
Cosmo's Collars

Pan Handling Competition is Running Hot in Minneapolis

Becoming unemployed means considering all of one's options, like taking up a position as a Public Fund Requisitioning Agent (bum). It's a tough business here in Minneapolis and considering I will be out of a job in two weeks, I think I need to get my game, beard and hangdog look in shape if I plan to continue to provide for the citizens of Mt. Holly while on the streets.

Yesterday, I saw a guy on the street in full clown gear blowing bubbles while holding up a sign saying "The circus laid me off." It brings me back to one of my favorite ad campaigns from the past few years.

Frequent Mt. Holly tourist, Todd Norem (noremipsum.com) (ed 5/4/09 - and his partner Liz Otremba LinkedIn) created these media appropriate and proven effective outdoor boards for his client Ed who reported at least a 800% increase in gross income on days his media ran.

Brother, can you spare a headline?

Another Great Illustrated Unemployment Haiku

As I prepare myself to join the ranks of the great unemployed in two weeks (by choice, if you can believe that), I discover beauty and solace and survival tips in the wisdom of these hardened masters of redundancy, Matthew Bottkol and Todd Eisner. You too can find the cadence in inertia every week at Unemployment Haiku Weekly.

Awesome 60's Hovercraft Video!

Head on over to Dinosaurs and Robots for a great video of one of the suavest modes of transportation ever conceived, a personal hovercraft!

CB Radio Voice Effects! 1

Double Nickel demonstrates the Echo.

More from the Your Business Card is Crap! fellow.

Chris Zubryd, the director/editor of "The Pitch, Poker & the Public" the 30 min doc the original Joel Bauer clip was pulled from, sent me a link to the full clip. I haven't been this creeped out since The Men Who Stare at Goats!

This video asks the question "Can you go corporate without losing your soul?” It explores some of the advertising and influence industry's giants through the lens of the greatest persuader of them all; P.T. Barnum. As it turns out he never said, "There is a sucker born every minute". Hear why you think he did, hear how Joan Jett's career was launched by the man who launched it, hear from the creator of the Marlboro man and from the greatest pitchman alive today as well as one of the greatest Texas hold'em players to sit at the poker table. These men have been in the business for decades and have learned valuable things about creating perceptions to turn a profit.

Big Daddy Roth would have called this Rat Puke Green

loafing dept
Originally uploaded by mthaeg

My new workbench surface is probably going to drive me nuts, but it's left over industrial paint from The World's Largest Cribbage Board. It's as durable as a nun's willpower.

Audible design? Musical Craftsmanship? The Band live in their Woodstock studio 1970

If there is a band that I would ever have wanted to be a part of, it would have to be The Band. I've tried to explain why. It's not because of the artists that they've backed up. It's not because of one particular individual, although they are all amazing musicians.

I think that the real magic of The Band is in how they worked together as a design studio or craftsmen's guild, each with individual talents that built on and played off of each other's creativity to create a hardworking yet beautiful article.

One get's the same feeling from the house bands of Stax, Motown, or Muscle Shoals. But, in Woodstock, The Band created something special. Here's proof.

Prove You're a Human

Got this random come-on from the human verifier over at Facebook. How it's not only my high school classmates who are stalking me there, it's the technology itself.

Everything is?

If you are looking for everything, you'll find more of it at Yahoo.

Yahoo: Everything is @ 2,310,000,000
Google: Everything is @ 571,000,000
MSN: Everything is @ 390,000,000

And for the sake of thoroughness
Neutral Milk Hotel: Everything is

Kermit gets a lesson in visual thinking from Harry the Hipster.

Your Business Card is Crap!

Thanks for the link from Cornelius Coons >

Will You Be Here Tomorrow? Industrial Education Video Carnage Compiled

Thanks to idea designer and budding cannibal Sean Whipps for sending this one along.

While I would love to think that this video exists exactly as it is currently edited, I have to believe that this is a compilation of scenes from an industrial safety video series. It's has to be. It's too insane.

Unless, perhaps the producers decided that the BLOOD ON THE HIGHWAY model of teen instruction through terror is the only way to ensure a safe workplace.

The next time your boss tells you that you are lucky to have a job especially in this economy, tell him you're not so sure and send him a link to this amazing gorefest.