I (heart) America.

The View From 28.

Say what you will about its foriegn policy n' whatnot, I've got it bad for the U.S.
Well, it's not a deep ocean blue love, really. It's more like a shallow wading pool kind of love.
I love America for its STUFF. It has so much of it.
Here are these folks we share a border with, who are just like us, except they have all this cool shit. It's kinda like when you're a kid, and you're visiting a friend that has the coolest fuckin' bedroom filled with the most boss toys imaginable. The U.S. is like that. It's one cool bedroom.
Sarah and I are heading on down to Minneapolis for 6 days. Initially, it was for the opening of This Side Up, but the opening got pushed to the 12th of August. Yeah, that kinda threw a spanner in the works, but we're gonna have a good time anyway. A visit to the Walker Institute is on the agenda, along with visiting the AA dudes and the Unitus Family Unit. I'm probably gonna eat myself into a coma, too. The plan is, however, to do an about face once I return.
It's time I made this public: I'm hoping to lose 100 pounds by my 32nd birthday.
It is do-able, but it's gonna be hard. It's gotta happen, even if I don't reach my time limit.
At any rate, "mad fun" will be had by both of us. We have many stores to visit and sights to puruse. I can hear P.B. Loco callin' my ass.

The Unitus 3!

A huge congrats goes out to my man in Minneapolis, Lonny "Unitus" Jerome and his lovely wife Jaime, as they are now the proud parents of a baby girl! Let all give a sizeable round of applause to welcome Alice Mae Jerome to the world! Come on, y'all...I can't hear you! There...much better.
For the inside scoop, look no further than There's A New Girl In Town, the new Unitus blog.
And now that you've seen that go to Lonny's site and buy some shit so he can send his daughter to college! Actually, as I'm typing this, he has nothing for sale (I looked), but you can e-mail him about availablity. He's a good fuckin' guy, trust me.

The Anatomy of My flickr™ Account

The PhotostreamThis is where everything happens. So far, I'm rockin' 159 pages...and counting. If you want, you can view them slideshow style.

My Sets
This is the section where I gather some of my photos thematically. Some would say I find beauty in the mundane. Others probably find such things dreadfully boring. Perhaps a tad creepy.

My Favorites
If you wanna know about me, this is the place to look. This section represents everything "Al". Corgis, naked women, wrestling, food, cats...it's all there. I recommend a slideshow viewing, f'real. Some of them are only viewable to me, as a few of my contacts have designated a number of their photos (or all of 'em) as "friends/family only". 'Cuz they're dirty.

Gigposters.com Folks in the "Blogosphere"

The amazing Dan Grzeca (pronounced "Jetsah". Really.):
http://dangrzecaart.blogspot.com/

Kick-ass Mike aka Mictron from the gritty Motor City:
http://uselessweaponry.blogspot.com/

Now y'all know.

FRINGE!!!

CRUMBS at MTC Backstage, July 22, 2006.

Sarah and I are doing 10 shows in 3 days this year. Hectic, yes...but fun as always. I'll do a post-mortem once the dust settles.

BBW Gwen Raises The Bar! (NSFW)

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Free Album!

[Click above image for FREE to download of Greenhouse Effect album
"Columbus or Bust"]

Yup, you read it right. Free. Courtesy of Blueprint himself! Add this dude on MySpace so you know when he's comin' to your town. And yes, his (current) profile photo is one I took.

Another Athavale Show!

athavaleonline.com
myspace.com/athavale

And hey, I can't think of a better thing to do than go to Assiniboine Park on a Sunday; this Sunday in particular, as my man Erik and crew will be performing at Assiniboine Park's Lyric Theatre at 4PM with DJ Hipnotic (who hosts 101.5's Sweet Dreams with Erik) spinning tunes between sets.
Erik was also one of the winners of Cool FM's Project Cool 2006, receiving $25,000. Isn't that wicked?

Random Thoughts: July 8th, 2006

Mike Relm points with authority!

• It's been kinda hard not having Sarah around for the summer, but the fact that I've been able to visit her (and vice versa) has softened the blow. We'll have 4 days together for the Fringe (in which we'll pack in 10 shows) this month, and we're heading for Minneapolis in August.
  
• As I type this, my request on CBC Radio 3 is playing. I won a Sirius unit and a year's subscription several months ago, and have yet to activate it, as I'm without a home kit. I must remedy this.
• I finally finished a logo project, which was my personal albatross for months. It's not my best work, but the client is happy, and that's all I care about.
• As usual, I don't draw enough, but I've been drawing a shitload more than I usually do.
• I had dinner with my man Andre a few hours ago. Dude's a class act. We're workin' on Pip Skid's website, and it'll hopefully kick much ass. Pip is a fuckin' superstar, or at least he should be.
• In speaking with Andre, I gotta wonder if I should just get my shit together and move the fuck out of Winnipeg. It's not like he was encouraging me, it's just that he's been thinking of bouncing to Van City (Vancouver for you Yanks out there. :) ), and my man J. Lapeyre has relocated to Hogtown (Toronto) with his lady and child. As much as I love Winnipeg, I probably could use a change of scenery. I'd have to run that by the ladyfriend, of course. That Minneapolis trip could help to clear my mind. We'll see.
  

Good readin'.

• Gettin' back to Mr. Lapeyre, Jason wrote an extensive article on P.E. and the legendary Bomb Squad in waxpoetics (pictured above), THE mag for beat fiends and vinyl fetishists (uh...not that kind.). I've flipped through waxpoetics before, but this was the first time I really felt compelled to buy it. This is their hip-hop issue, and so far, it's a killer read. I just finished a story on J Rock's Streetwize (peep the "Neighborhood Drug Dealer" vid), and a track-by-track listing of Thes One's wedding mix CD from the man himself. Awesome so far.
• Also in the photo above, is a copy of the brand new Communication Arts Illustration Annual, which has some inspiring work, in addition to profiles on Illustration Friday's Penelope Dullaghan and the superdope Heads of State. Cop that.
• I actually finished this joint on Sunday. Right now, I'm listening to an interview with the legendary Rakim (link and transcript here). I'm out. Peace.