Thursday, April 27, 2006

A friend sent this to me, saying: "his use of the word tangible is the most important thing i have seen recently."


I agree.

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Dear Friend,

I am writing to draw your attention to the deteriorating crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and to urge you to press the Bush Administration, Congress, and key international actors to step up their efforts to stop the killing. Since the fighting began in 2003, the Khartoum government and its proxy militia have killed more than 400,000 Darfurians, and displaced another two million. Every day that the conflict continues, more women are raped, more families are massacred, more children are orphaned. President Bush has said that the slaughter constitutes "genocide," and he is right.

I will fly to Washington, DC this Sunday, April 30, to participate in the "Save Darfur Rally" on the National Mall. I will join Elie Wiesel, George Clooney, Congressman Frank Wolf, and others from 2pm to 4:30 pm, between 3rd and 4th Streets in front of the U.S. Capitol.

On May 1st, a rally will be held in Chicago at 4:30pm at Federal Plaza, at the intersection of Dearborn and Adams. At the website, www.SaveDarfur.org, you can find the location of companion rallies in other American cities, as well as the tangible steps we should ask the Bush administration to take.

An unprecedented anti-genocide movement has begun to gather force in the United States. And together, we can make a difference by making our voices heard.

Americans of all religious, national, and political backgrounds are going to join together to send a powerful signal to the victims of genocide - and to their tormentors - that Americans care. I hope you will join in this historic effort to show that Americans will not be bystanders to genocide.

Sincerely,
Barack Obama


The art studio I rent a space from and participate in is having a joint show. Here is the postcard I made for my own self-promotion and the general info is below. It is next Saturday, May 6. The studio, eidolon, is on the other side of the tracks from the Heartland Cafe. My friend and fellow artist Lazlo will be part of the show as well as the other artists in the space. Come out if you can.











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Here is the official info:

eidolon art studio: may art opening

Fresh artwork by:
Angela Scalisi: Photography, mixed media and diabetic works of art Tara
Noftsier: Clay sculpture, pottery, acrylics, and mixed media
Sarah Carson: Claywork, ceramics and pottery
Tory Ortschied: Lighting design
Hilesh Patel: Painting, spray paint, watercolor, stencil; canvas, wood,
metal, paper & other objects
Kevin Kalom: Leatherwork; whips, crops
Michael Cianfrani: Screen printing, batik, and photography

And of course, food and refreshments will be provided to keep everyone
pleasantly chill.

May 6, 2006, 7-10pm
eidolon art studio
7001 N. Glenwood
Chicago
773-381-5462
Redline El, Morse stop, exit north on Lunt, across from the Heartland Cafe

Friday, April 21, 2006

I have to share this site again: Post Secret. It alternates between making me laugh and making me cry. I know I've linked to it before but sometimes you just forget.

Thank you, imperfect host, for introducing it to me oh so long ago.

I have been thinking a lot about these two paragraphs out of Stephanie Zacharek's 2002 review of About a Boy.

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More specifically, "About a Boy" is about the way human beings trade information and observations and feelings with one another, and about how others can sometimes make you see your way toward being the person you didn't even know you wanted to be. It's also about the ways parents unwittingly cripple their own children with their love, even by doing something as seemingly small as making them wear a goofy sweater to school.

When parents tell their children (as they rightly should), "Individuality is wonderful! Embrace it!" it's sometimes their own individuality they're championing, after having firmly imprinted it on their kids. Without being churlish or mean, "About a Boy" shows us how hard it is for parents to grow up, too, suggesting that letting your child become his or her own person might be the final and most important (not to mention the most difficult) act of shedding your own childhood.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Irene showed me a movie this weekend called Heaven. I loved it. It left me emotionally shaken. I told Irene it was such a quiet movie.

"Quiet?" she said,

"No. It was loud. Very loud."

Thursday, April 13, 2006



I posted this on craigslist. If any readers know of any homes for her let me know.

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My bassett, Stella, needs a good home. She is housebroken but I'll be upfront, she is mischievous - you know, the hiding under the table because I grabbed something off the counter mischievous. She is almost 3 and around 55 lbs. Very energetic and at times hella spastic but then when she is calm she curls up in a ball and sleeps. Loves morning and evening walks. I have her on a pretty strict schedule now for morning and evening meals and walks because I wake up early. She'll jump up on you when you walk in the house but she's never been aggressive aside from playful bites to get you to play. I have two kids in the house, 14 months and 11 year old, and she's good with them but I wait for her to calm down and let her get her energy out before letting her near the little one. She barks when she wants to go out and when she wants you to play with her and when you leave her in another room and she is pissed at you.

My family is moving and because of the place we are moving too and because of the after-effects of an illness I had (since I take care of Stella the most) I need to find her a good home. If anyone's interested let me know. Come over and meet her and see if there is a connection there. See if you can handle the energy. She is all love.

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