This week on GUTSY, Guido Alvarez asked us to seize the day, no matter what the political climate while Mark Sanders felt at home no matter what the decibel level. Mark also shared a day of art and Bob Holling questioned the nature of coincidences within the syntax of a group of letters or a star sighting on the streets of New York. David Steadman showed us how to look closer to see uniqueness within uniformity. Paul Pereira critiqued the new Nine Inch Nails CD while Sandie Maxa critiqued a cover letter. The week ended with a gutsy sign of spring - the dandelion.
Have a great weekend and tell a friend about GUTSY.
Synonyms: Swine's Snout
Botanical: Taraxacum officinale
All homes come with a quirk that takes a little getting used to. A noisy refrigerator, an amorous neighbor, an overhead flight path, a door that never seems to stay closed are all little annoyances that over time become part of routine and may even be missed when staying elsewhere. Only visiting friends and family point out what used to be obvious but are no longer a conscious part of being home.
Image taken from The University of Texas at Austin 1955 Yearbook. Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
Our firm received a resume the other day from a young "Usability Specialist/Researcher" The problem... we couldn't tell what the person uses and how that is special. Perhaps one of the worst cover letters sent to a graphic design firm that I have ever read follows...
Well, this could be considered a pre-review since officially the CD called With Teeth, hasn’t come out yet. My brother, who knows that I’m a huge NIN fan, turned me onto a site where you can download the whole album. So I downloaded it and proceded to burn it to a CD. I know, I know, very taboo and I can get fined and such, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation. Needless to say, the site has been shut down. I think actually it was shut down the same day I downloaded the album. Let the review begin:
On Wednesday I saw John Waters on the street, then on Saturday I bought a new pair of Levi's. Coincidence? I think not.
This week on GUTSY, Pete Hofmann shared visions of concert hell while Paul Pereira gave a look inside his head. Sandie Maxa told of who lived in her closet and David Steadman explained a tree made up of two species. Ann Whitehurst decided to buy a pair of trees and drank a scuppernong elixir. Mark Sanders exposed a copious list of feline nicknames and reviewed a book he's read while Heather Manske looked forward to summer in the city. And finally, Evan Mann showed us what to do with a dollar.
Have a great weekend and tell a friend about GUTSY.
About three years ago we were driving west on I-40 on our way back to Raleigh from Wilmington, NC. We saw a sign for Duplin Winery and spontaneously decided to stop and check it out.
A trip to the beach on New Year's Day with his wife and kids convinces Emmett to wake early each morning and think. In the dark, he prepares a pot of coffee, starts and stokes a fire and tells about the now, the recent and the distant past. Thus is the premise and content of Nicholson Baker's A Box of Matches.
I have fond memories of my imaginary friend, Workaschmizer. Although I made him up, he was somewhat of an enigma. A permanent resident of my closet, he looked like a black blob. He had a voice and and lively personality but no discernable form. He wasn't really a person... more like an energy field.
I once was a skinny, pale and shy boy living in Mississippi who walked a little funny (or so they said). And for some reason I have always been a magnet for nicknames. Perhaps a single name (and a generic name at that) just isn't enough to communicate the depth and complexity of who I really am. Or maybe I'm just funny looking and easy to poke fun at. Either way, folks have branded me Ghost, Stick, Shithead, Brick, Sandman, Sanders, Marky, the Spark and many others. Some have stuck, some have been replaced and some have hurt my feelings but I can't deny the impact they have had on how I approach the names of others.
My son turns 1 next Tuesday. It just occurred to me a couple days ago that I should probably get him a present. I guess because I give him things all day every day that I forgot that I should think about something special to give him that will be his first birthday present.
From SummerStage to Celebrate Brooklyn to the Bryant Park Film Festival, free summer events are hands-down one of the best reasons not to flee this city in the summer. Though it's barely spring, the annual anticipation of "who's going to be on the lineup" is mounting. And, the first list has been posted...
My in-laws recently purchased a new home and along with it came quite an unusual specimen. This grafted tree is one-part oak and one-part pecan, joined just below the branches.
TOOL is a band of the heavy variety. I once knew a guy who played some TOOL for me. The guy was very into x-treme everything: snowboarding, moto-cross, mountain biking, bong hits, the whole thing. And TOOL. The guy loved TOOL. So I heard the heavy heavy guitars and bass and drums and voice before I saw them at Lollapalooza '93 when they came into St. Paul.
It's been a great week at GUTSY and we have covered a lot of different ground. Evan Mann welcomed Spring and exposed muppet conspiracy. Guido Alvarez pulled his hair out over information design while Bob Holling slowed down to help the blind. Paul Pereira wasted another Sunday and Sandie Maxa kept losing her Credit Union contest. Tom Graham presented a theme song and Heather Manske couldn't get enough of DeVotchka. Pete Hofmann tells a tale of debauchery while Mark Sanders gave a review of toilet paper and got a haircut. And let's not forget Ann Whitehurst who offered opinions on grocery store check-outs, messy kids and washing machines.
Enjoy your weekend and tell a friend about GUTSY.
Last spring, our ancient, decrepit washing machine finally broke down for good. So we had to buy another one.
At 16 I opened an account at my mom's credit union and I have received their quarterly newsletter, City-County & You ever since. For many years it was printed in all one color (Reflex Blue) with a logotype inspired by the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. It should be something you toss out with the irrelevant "Low Mortgage Rates" insert, but I can't help but read every word.
On my commute in to work, I have one fairly important subway - bus transfer. If I don't make it, it adds about 6 long blocks to my walk, which is not always a bad thing, but today I was in the mood to bus it. As I climbed the stairs out of the subway, my head cleared ground-level and I saw the bus pulling into the stop across the street. I made a dash for it, realizing that I'm starting to look like an old man when I run. The crowd was too thick and the bus pulled away just as I got to it. Cursing my luck, I set off for the long walk, slightly comforted by the Radiohead playing on my ears.
Now that I'm the mother (gosh...saying that makes me feel old...just a couple years ago I was enjoying an evening of "poop-dollar") of an 11-month old, I realize that I must get used to leaving every restaurant that we visit with our child a total mess on the floor. Tonight we left falafel and Cheerios in a 36" radius around the high chair. But it's not really a big deal, I don't think. I think the cost of the food more than covers a few swipes with a broom.
(Wanna know what "poop-dollar" is? Ask Evan Mann.)
Caught another great show last night at the Mercury Lounge (one of my fave NYC venues, despite the often-rude bouncers) from Denver quartet DeVotchka. Gorgeous, tragic-sounding-at-times, often-aching-beautiful music with an Eastern European flair. Each band member plays multiple instruments including an accordion, a trumpet and a tuba. I'm no music reviewer but...
This is a plan view of how I think the new Charmin Mega Roll differs from a traditional toilet paper roll.
Sundays always fill me with anxieties, just knowing that the next day (Monday) I have to go back to work and start another week all over again. I just feel as though time moves way too fast and there is nothing I can do to slow it down. I feel like my weekends always go to waste. For example today 4/10/05:
The sun was a big red bull, not a big red ball, in the stifling summer air of my third floor apartment. This is a drinking story, so stop if you have heard it before.
This is something that I've wanted to write about for a long time because it pisses me off almost every time. Well, maybe "pissed off" is a little harsh, but anyway... Perhaps some of you can identify with this situation:
Last Haircut: 8 weeks ago
Day of Week: Friday
Time of Day: Lunch
Salon Bustle: Moderate
Stylist Demeanor: Indifferent
Physical Contact: Low to Very Low
Stylist Quotes: "Go ahead. Do it." "They've stopped since I started taking medicine."
Tip: $5.00
The warmer weather signals more than the daffodils around these parts. After a too long winter alternating between nut-shrinking cold (outdoors) and hallucination inducing heat (indoors), thoughts immediately turned to dining al fresco. In my neighborhood that brings to mind one very obvious watering hole and the scene of gastro-intestinal horror distress that my wife and I only dare repeat twice a year max.
I've never been much of a prankster when it comes to April 1. But I have been on the receiving side a couple of times. Although as I think back only one such incident comes to mind: the break-up.