wise blood

Weather:

Catch summers last gasp this weekend.

Here are some things of note:

My brother has been developing some amazing art overseas. Listen to this interview on Taiwanese radio and give his art page a look if thats up your alley.

Alex is also cooking up something in Rogers Park artwise. More on that when it gets hammered out.

A bunch of fantastic skate vids have been premiering in our fine city. Check Uprise to find copies of Downtown Wigwam (aka vol 3) and Loof Life. You can also pick up Bummer 2 there or Yeah or thru their site.

Coming up next week is the premier for Darlin’. We’re backing this one for certain!

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Next Saturday, the first day of November, Sergej Vutuc and Tim Johnson are showing photos and zines. I wish I could go check it out but I’m getting my wisdom teeth out. I hope that makes me more wise and not the reverse.

These are the autumnal things:

open

Here are a few leftover pictures from Detroit. Tom G with a solitary manual.

tom g - manual

Stephen with a wallie 50. Zack in the background with the aggresive filming.

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This was a great trip. Great crew, fun parks, fun spots. I can’t wait to do it again.

detroit trip

Zack skating the lump.

zack vs lump

We also did a quick day trip up to milwaukee to check out the DIY park.

nate 5 - mke

I can’t recommend Estabrook enough. Fun lines. A bath tub. Parking blocks.

nate tailslide - estabrook

Tyler with a no-comply.

tyler - no comply

Nick really had to work for this line

Nick 5050

Random kids walking off with board. Odd parents. He put in the work for it and when he got it he said, “we never have to come here again.”

Nick - front nose

I’m one of the few people who likes this spot. Suhail is another. Most disagree.

Suhail - lincoln banks

After a full day of skating it’s always nice to get a cone.

nate - dairy star

Full On. They are too loud. In fact all music is too loud. I guess if the bands called Full On they can’t be quiet.

full on

On national taco day I celebrated another year married to the best woman ever. She eats tacos. She was okay with celebrating our anniversary eating tacos. She rules.

national taco day - allison

Lately I’ve been eating ramen to be efficient. It’s about the same.

ramen

I’m also really into these shishito peppers. I don’t see them too much but they’re super easy to prepare and really tasty. I always eat too many.

shishito peppers

We also got to go Chicago Gourmet which was a lot of eating and drinking and standing in lines and eating and drinking. Chef Joaquin Soler of Smalls was in the Illinois BBQ section serving it up right!

smalls at chicago gourmet

And of course a moment of silence for Hot Dougs. I’ve seen a bunch of people throwing around complaints about the wait and the hype and what not but in one of the comments it all came together for me. No one was forced to wait. There are plenty of other restaurants. To complain about peoples fun is dumb. Personally I’ve waited a bunch of times. I’ve also went at off times and walked right in. I never had a bad experience or walked out and regretted waiting. I don’t begrudge Doug his success or his retirement. I hope he has the best time with it. If I see him at the grocery store or at a show I’ll have to resist going in for a high 5.

hot doug

October is pumpkin season which means it’s pumpkin seed season. After a bunch of different attempts and techniques I’ve finally narrowed down my recipe for the best seeds. I was going to save it for the yearly mailer but the season is short so I figure I’ll just post it here:

Such Luck Seeds

  • Deseed the pumpkin and rinse the seeds well. Get rid of all the pulp
  • Bring some liberally salted water to a boil.
  • Add seeds and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Preheat overn to 400.
  • Drain seeds and dry on paper towel.
  • In a bowl mix a little olive oil, sugar, cajun salt, pepper, etc.
  • Back on a cookie sheet for 20-23 minutes.

As a bonus if you’re over 21 your can bring you carved pumpkin into Half Acre before 10/31 and trade it for some delicious beer. Grab a koozie too!

such luck seeds

The contax has started malfunctioning in the most surprising ways. The south shore.

south shore

Every year in Grand Rapids they throw Art Prize.

art prize

It’s free and it’s everywhere.

art prize

I had never been to grand rapids.

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Spot check.

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I’m assuming this is how the town got it’s name.

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Cure cancer. Be happy.

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This was pretty big.

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The time is now.

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I really liked this piece.

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License castle.

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The fork warriors

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Dueling robots. I wish they moved or someone made a movie about them.

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MVSEVM

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No dice.

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Well waxed and worn.

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SPBs?

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The winner of art.

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Another favorite.

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This actually worked. The boombox machine is controlled over here.

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This building also had Premier’s installation.

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I wish I could’ve skated it while the Popcorn Soundsystem was popping!

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This was in the basement of hotel or maybe a bank. I think they’re going to demolish it.

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Bank.

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Vault.

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Upstairs there were beasts.

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And dino-wise men.

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And all of the other saints.

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I like when people use everyday materials.

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We also visited Founders for the Harvest Ale release.

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Deliciousness at the source.

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For Art Prize Founder’s brewed Mosaic Promise.

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I think Grand Rapids was named the best Beer City in Michigan. Hop Cat contributes to that reputation.

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Seems like they have a pretty good skate scene. Premier even has it’s own cellar door.

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Hop Soda? Not too bad!

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The ABC’s of hip hop. Yauch!

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This was from a Chicago artist. Hot glue.

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If you have the chance take a trip and check it out next year. It’s a short drive and some good fun.

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Slappy Sunday.

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Like I said the Contax is slowly dieing.

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Dave Thomas.

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Zack trying to get some last minute farecard footage.

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Over it.

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I’m editing this year’s Farecard now. Hopefully it’ll be on Public Access soon.

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Finally I’m sad to say that one of the crew, the Dude Life founder and a big part of our weekly sessions is heading out west. Here is a photo from 7 years back.

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Here is a round up of pics on my flickr. He’ll definitely be missed but it’s another reason to visit Portland.

If you see before he leaves give him a high-five. He’s a solid dude.