Clay Shirky on Web 2.0

Pretty interesting comments from Clay Shirky on the future of multimedia and the Internet-expanding beyond consumption to encompass production and interaction.

Emerging Artists showcased in Chicago

I went back to Atropolis yesterday to get another high-impact dosage of art. Yesterday, I spent most of my time checking out NEXT, the emerging artist show.

One of the must-see's at the NEXT show is Jonathan Schipper's installation "The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle." Over the course of four days, two American muscle cars slowly collide into each other. K remarked that halfway through the day, there was a thunderous explosion as the glass from the cars shattered under the stress. It definitely drew in a ton of people. I love the use of red, white, and blue colors.

Rory Donaldson's Sqelemental also made a lasting impression. From afar, the piece a mod-like quality.

But I realized as I zoomed into the center of the picture, what it represented. Rory's piece seemed took a casual scene put through a space and time warp. Here's the closeup:

You've still got 2 hours left before it closes down for the year!

Artopolis and Santa Mesa

Thursday was a pretty busy night. Too many openings and closings, and not enough time to make it all. Hundreds and thousands of people are in town this weekend for Artropolis. They say that in Texas, everything is SuperSized. If Texas gets the prize, Chicago runs a close second. Artropolis is not just one art show, it's four (correction, five) art shows in the same building.

The entire portfolio of shows is held in the Merchandise Mart which reminds me of some Romanian, ex-soviet building--utilitarian and heavy. One of the most amazing things about the show in relation to the MerchMart is that the show, in all its size and glory only occupies 3 floors.

Merchandise Mart

Casa Poporului (Bucharest, Romania)

Thursday night was preview night. After visiting my friend Loreen Hospodar who is showing for the Artist Project, I went to the 8th floor to check out Art Chicago in all its glory. People everywhere, it was an art extravaganza. After stopping by a few galleries, I found K's booth at the Secrist Gallery. I'm simply blown away at the proportion of art galleries represented. I even saw pieces that I recognized! For example, sketches of Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset's Prada Marfa. I felt cultured.

I couldn't stay long because I had a show to catch. It was closing night for the Asian American Showcase at the Gene Siskel theater. The festival closed with Santa Mesa, a touching story about a filipino-american kid who loses his mother and is taken in by his grandmother in the Philippines. Neither understanding the culture or the language, Hector struggles to overcome his loss and build new ties. I'd give it a [3 of 5]. Santa Mesa is currently playing the film fest circuit. Check to see where their screening schedule.

Typing to the finish line

Some of the earliest "video" games I ever played were educational games. Before Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? I had this game on my PC where letters would fall out of the sky and you would have to zap them out.

Loved it. I think that's why I can type as fast as 82 wpm. I thought that was fast until I saw the leaderboard on Typeracer.

It's a simply game, really. You compete with other users and try to type a line from a movie or book. Half carnival game, half educational, and half pop culture, its 150% fun.

I just want to note that I just spent about 30 minutes typing to try to up my average.

The Yeh Code - The Secret of Motivational Speakers

While in NY this past weekend, I had the privilege to catch-up with a friend of mine. We've both moved out of DC to new cities to start new chapters of our lives. Amidst this change, its reassuring to know that there are some constants in life. As I've gotten to know DY, I've noticed that he is a highly principled individual. It is not to say it's anything as formal as Ghost Dog's samurai code, but I've noticed that he seems to live by a few guiding tenets.

Call it his personal ten commandments or a code, he lives deliberately. Not only does he have these "rules" thought out, he makes key decisions in life to link back to it. I remember when I was a about eight or so, I told myself that I would never lie again. Ahhh, youth... Unlike me, he has the remarkable ability to follow his own principles.

Be on the lookout Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, Deepak Chopra, James Arthur Ray... The Yeh Code is coming and there's a new speaker in town.

Camping in Austin Day 1

I'm about a month behind on my travel blogging, so I apologize in advance. About a month ago, I flew down to Dallas to spend time catching with my college roommate BK. From Dallas we drove a couple hours to Austin. Coincidentally, SXSW was having its annual session.

In the end, we elected not to head into the city but stay in the outskirts. (Which I'm really glad we decided to do). Leaving Friday for Austin, camping nearby at Perdernales falls, and roughing it was definitely the way to go for two old friends catching up (yes, I do think I'm old... nights revolved around scotch and cigars).

Our first stop near Austin was Salt Lick. An old fashion bbq joint in the heart of Texas run by owner Hisako Roberts and her husband, the late Thurman Roberts. For 17.95 we treated ourselves to a hearty lunch/dinner. As usual, when faced with too much food, I gorged myself. As usual, I had trouble breathing after the meal.

After regaining my ability to take full breadths, we to the campsite to set things up. We had just enough time to set up shop and visit the falls before the sun left.

As darkness overtook our campsite we debated whether or not we should light a campfire (there was a burn ban). Being risk averse, I didn't want us to. Nothing like getting kicked out the first night. The most I was willing to do was to create a fake light fire with my camera and flashlight.

As we warmed ourselves up with single-malt scotch in the 40 degree weather, BK and I sat in the darkness and enjoyed the sea of stars that blanketed the sky.


You can see the rest of my pics here.

Innovation in a turbulent music industry

The future of entertainment is murky at best. Declining sales in music and increasing piracy a la P to P networks have disrupted the traditional business models. The entire entertainment industry is going through another growth spurt as companies struggle to determine how to leverage new technologies and paradigms.

History teaches us that established institutions react with fear and resistance as these new technologies take root and grow. Before they take root and grow, a lot of various business models will be thrown against the wall as the industry starts to filter the wheat from the chaff.

This creates an amazing and constantly changing landscape for consumers. Take Radiohead and Nine-In-Nails. Their innovation promotion strategies have elicited the buzz with their fans reaping the benefits. Wired.com compares the escalation of innovation between Reznor and Radiohead.

Pardon my introduction...

I always find it interesting when someone introduces me to another person. How are they going to describe me? What is the one liner about me? Thomas Edison--inventor, Benjamin Franklin--inventor/politician, Paris Hilton--socialite/actress/singer.

While its debatable whether or not Paris could really be considered either an actress or a singer, I gotta say, one of the worse things to be known as is a "game day curse."

Yes, defamer is a guilty pleasure.

Lou Piniella is my coach

New to Chicago, I am always amazed at how warm everybody is. Having been here only for only a couple months, imagine my surprise when Lou Piniella (famed Chicago's Cubs manager) was in my personal dugout giving me daily afirmations.


Have Lou brighten up your day with a couple daily affirmations.

My first Chicago dog

Over the weekend, I went to get my first ever Chicago dog. K and I took the Halsted bus north untilwe got to the "wiener's circle." It is known not only for its hot dog but also for the rude behaviour of the employees. K went up there, ordered a hotdog and cheese fries and quietly ate our meal. There's something about velveeta like cheese on a cheese fry--It's good the first 5 minutes but after it coagulates, it just doesn't have the same flavor...

Turns out, we were supposed to go a 2am, not 8pm. Then, in a sea of drunken young professionals the "color" from the atmosphere really comes out... Well I guess we gotta go again in the middle of the night.

Wiener's Circle
2622 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60614