Just In!
New Summer Look.
Chase came up with a new logo this week:
Some of you have been whining about wanting to see the cover for issue #3. Soon, my children. Soon.
Just in Time for Christmas.
Issue #3 went off to the printers yesterday. It’s a magical few days where all the old problems are gone and the new problems are simply dots on the horizon. So for the moment there is nothing. Sweet, sweet nothing. Get ready for some sneak peeks in a few days.
Ciao, Chicago.
I made a mind-bending move south this weekend. I love you Chicago. I miss you already. Full report coming soon.
I would be remiss…
if I didn’t mention an amazing night of hot dogs and entertainment that was had last night. Read more
Radical Grass.
In most major U.S. metropolitan areas where it has been happening for a dozen or so years, Critical Mass has turned into a freak show, more or less. I know for a fact in Chicago that it’s become less about shutting down the city to say something along the lines of, “There are a lot of people here who ride bikes so you should give us more bike lanes,” but more of a fashion show for double decker bikes and grown-ups who like to play dress-up. The point is this: Something that was once cool has morphed into something very, very annoying. In Orlando, however, where they’ve been practicing the Mass (street slang!) for only a handful of months, it’s still an uplifting activity. It also serves a purpose seeing that bike riding in Orlando is the fucking worst and I can’t help thinking that some city official will soon take notice and toss some government money into the bike lane fund. Anyway, the full report is here.
Cheating.
This is kind of fun if you’re bored or you’re fresh out of ideas, which is the case with me these days.
Something about this though just smacks of out-and-out cheating and should not be used seriously. Nevertheless, see a halfhearted beginning prompted by a machine under the cut.
Rejected Mottos
The entire senior staff (all one of us) sat around the white board last night trying to come up with a motto for the mag. Still haven’t settled on one. The rejects are under the cut. Read more
Roster.
Hey Yall,
Haven’t posted in a few so I thought I’d throw you some morsels from the forthcoming issue.
The lineup for Issue #3 under/after the cut/jump. Read more
Junk.
My dear friend D.A.D. has recently joined the blogosphere. Observe here his observations on life, love and being a demigod of the thrift-sifting/eBay world.
Keep a lookout for some actual magazine news in the next week or so. It should turn your brain into Miracle Whip.
Awareness.
A genuinely funny and clever public service announcement if I’ve ever seen one. Test your awareness here.
Wednesdays with George.
I went downstairs on my stoop to smoke a cigarette and read a little George Saunders. It was the end of the day, round 5 o’clock. It had warmed up a bit and, from the chirping, it sounded like some birds had returned to the neighborhood. George started going on about sound-only messages beaming into his characters ears, holographic ads being thrust in his character’s face and I just had to stand up and say, “You know what George? Not today.”
Read more
Best and Safest.
I’ve been trying to phase out disposable plastics this year. Anyone want to join me?
Winter Blues pt. 1
A lot of you have been emailing me lately asking about the status of the next issue so I thought I’d write an update about it here.
I’ve been working on making this thing a legit magazine, not just a pirate endeavor. I’d like to have consistent release dates, consistent places where you can find it, consistent numbers and catalog systems in place, consistent blog updates that actually have to deal with the magazine. To achieve this consistency I need to deal with a lot of stupid business bullshit that is really boring and soul crushing, yet needs to be done to achieve this stuff I mentioned before.
So please bare with me for a little while longer. We’re getting our heads out of our asses and working on it very shortly.
Thanks,
Chris
Finally.
Good friend of the magazine (and cover artist for issue #2) Dirk Knibbe just got a new website up and running.
At last, we don’t have to go to his Flickr page to check out his stuff.
Visit this site if you like having your mind blown.
Michael Jordan.
Okay, so we got this kind of game started last night at the bar. Let me lay it out like this:
Michael Jordan changed the sport of basketball. He broke the mold with his other-worldly abilities. He blew peoples minds. When you ask someone ‘Who is the greatest basketball player of all time?’ chances are they will say Michael Jordan.
The question is, who is the Michael Jordan of all the other areas of life? Who is the Michael Jordan of car manufacturers? Who’s the Michael Jordan of black and white photography? Who is the Michael Jordan of making obscure lists?
Some answers we came up with are under the cut. Read more
Man Attempts to Draw, Fails (yet again).
I’ve been reading Persepolis cause I have this weird obsession about books that are just about to hit theaters. I must read them before I see the movie or else I won’t be properly equipped to judge it. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing. It’s just something I do.
So, being incredibly inspired by the book (read it if you can find it! It’s amazing!) I decided to take up the comic again. Let me know what you think.
p.s. I messed up the perspective on panel #2 and it gets a little blurry in the crease, but you get the idea. Read more
Fiction.
Hey y’all. Most of you already know this, but my brother and a few friends have been in the process of launching a new creative firm over the past few months and their website went live not but a few hours ago.
See what all the hullabaloo is about right here.
Don’t hesitate to contact these guys for all your creative needs.
Braindead.
For those of you living under a rock in a cave on Mars with your ears plugged and your eyes closed I’ve come to inform you about George Saunders. I got turned onto him about two years ago and his newest book, a collection of essays titled The Braindead Megaphone just came out at the end of last year. I picked it up the other day and, holy crap.
Why has this guy not been publishing more nonfiction? I haven’t read essays this good since David Foster Wallace’s collection came out in ’05.
Read more
