Le’xxx suggested that Thursday should be Kitten Thursday. This is what I have to say about that:

That’s right people - That’s my wife!
(Check out her MySpace page, also designed by Le’xxx)

Keep going…

For all you Zine lovin’ people out there:

Check it out Herr

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So this weekend, I had the fortunate pleasure of seeing The Coup live! If you are not familiar with them, check out their website or MySpace page. Hailing from Oakland, CA, the Coup is currently on tour supporting their latest album, Pick a Bigger Weapon, released on the increasingly Hip-Hop friendly Epitaph Records.

(Click to get blowed up)

The show was fantastic - especially cause it was free! Sure the Wicker Park Chamber of Commerce was asking for a suggested donation of $5, but who pays that anyways? I am morally opposed to the “suggested donation” program, but that’s another story. I got to the stage at the corner of North and Damen about 5 minutes before the show started. The timing was perfect as I was able to park myself about 15 feet from center stage. In minutes the crowd swelled, packing Wicker Park hipsters elbow to asshole. On a side note, what’s up with those stupid huge sunglasses that all the ladies are wearing these days? Do they really think looking like an extra from the Fly is cool? Anyway, back to business.

The sound was surprisingly very good. Boots Riley’s vocals were projected with utter clarity, which is usually not found in a live setting, let alone from a portable PA parked in the middle of Damen Ave. Boots was accompanied up by an extremely tight band consisting of a guitarist, 6 string bass player, and drummer - with each instrument being clearly audible through the hair shaking bass fog. Backing up the vocals was the very talented Silk-E, who preformed a solo version of the song Babyletshaveababybeforebushdosomethingcrazy, from Pick a Bigger Weapon.

Sadly DJ Pam the Funkstress was not in attendance. Oh, well - maybe next time. After the show, Boots went out to shake hands and greet the masses in a very unrockstar kind of way. It was really nice to see that he could come off stage and be one of the people. But I guess that’s one of the messages he and the Coup are trying to get out there…

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It’s been a while since I’ve put anything up here. Life is busy, no? This past weekend, Mary and I took a quick trip to St. Louis for a friend’s B-day. I will report more on that later. But, I do want to share two books I picked up on the trip:

The first is Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine? This is a superb resource for zine and mini-comic creators, novice and pro alike. Some much care went into both the design and content of the text and accompanying illustrations. A true testament to the format. Also, it is very surprising the amount of creative freedom the authors were allowed, coming from a YA imprint of a 300 pound gorilla. But then again, they did do Fun Home, which I cannot wait to read!

I have been waiting a long time for Oh Pure and Radiant Heart to be released in trade paper. Finally, I must wait no more! And, perfect timing too, as Mary and I are going to Florida with the (above mentioned) Birthday boy and his wife. Nothing like sitting on the beach, reading a novel based on the 3 influential developers of the first Atomic Bomb (sans Einstein). Hot diggity damn. I’ve read a couple of reviews and the image that pops into my head is from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: Kirk, Spock, and Bones are sitting on a bus in San Francisco with that dude carrying the loud ass boom box. Everybody is getting annoyed, so Spock reaches over and gives him the Vulcan Death Grip. The radio turns off, and all are happy. Damn, I love that movie.

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It’s book related because it happened at BEA. Check out Christopher Kimball hanging with the Twinkie Cowboy. If you don’t know who Mr. Kimball is, he hosts the staple of my Saturday afternoon TV lineup, America’s Test Kitchen. It’s educational and delicious!

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I guess it is never really too early to be looking ahead a few seasons. Sure, we take for granted the fact that right now, any extended stay in the sun will start to peel the skin off a body like cheap paint off of vinyl siding. But, mark my words, global warming will make way for a nasty midwest winter. When that happens, our grubby little digits will be aching for some sort of nifty sheathing. With that said, I may be crafty, but I can’t knit. Nor am I going to take the time to learn. But if I did, I would sure as hell be making a pair of these:

To get the plans for these awesome Punk Rock Knuckle Tattoo half gloves, check out knitty.com (via Tito, via the always fashionable AF, via BoingBoing). Although if I were to learn how to make these gloves, my knuckles would read either CHIP SDIP or SURF TURF or HAMC HEEZ. Get your snack on!

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