OMA Taipei Performing Arts

http://www.archdaily.com/209174/omas-taipei-performing-arts-center-breaks-ground/

Chicago Cultural Plan 2012

http://www.chicagoculturalplan2012.com/#_

Went to the first town-hall meeting wednesday night at Columbia College for the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan. The first plan since 1986, Lord Consultants is helping the city design a new cultural outlook. The overwhelming initial response was to ensure that all kids have access to art and music in the schools and that artists can earn a living wage in the city. Go leave your thoughts on the website for what Chicago Culture should be in 2030, and find out when your neighborhood is having a town-hall.

Van Alen Books | Lotek

http://www.vanalen.org/books/

On the list the next time we're in NYC.

reckless abandonment

It's been almost 2 years since either of us have posted here. It would appear that we've abandoned this little project of ours, left to die with the millions of other neglected and defunct blogs out there. But I assure you, I always meant to return, and after a hiatus, I finally have. I'm not making any promises, but I hope to write here again a few times a week, if for no one else but myself. I don't know if Damon ever had the intention of returning here, but I've managed to get him back on the wagon. He'll be dropping in to post, hopefully more often than not.

So where the heck have we been? Well, I'll get more into depth with all of that later, but here's the short of it. Four days after my last post here I took a pregnancy test and to my and Damon's delight, it informed us that there was a little 5 week old baby nugget growing inside of me. We had been trying for about 7 months so we were so happy to have our little miracle. I gave birth to our daughter Maeve on December 17, 2010. So, uh yeah, I had a baby and we love her to pieces, and that's where I've been. She's a pure delight. Being a stay-at-home/work-from-home-mama and maintaining balance with all of the other things I love to do is a daily challenge, but this is the most rewarded and happy I've ever felt in my life. She just turned 14 months old and I'm realizing that it's time to carve out a little more time for myself...to reintegrate some of the things that used to give me enjoyment before the little peanut came along, like writing here.

So here I am.

live every day ~ meg

when you are not looking

The past couple of weeks have been pretty darn busy. It's the inevitable April craziness. It's all connected to Spring, in some fashion or another, and of course the impending doom of finishing taxes, which I took a break from to write this btw. Every year, I swear. Some year, in the near future, I'll have it more together.

More or less, I've just been in a bubble and disconnected from what's been going on outside, which is pretty tragic considering the amazing things that are popping up through the dirt and budding from the trees. I've had to drive to my jobby job a lot this past week. I usually take the El to work, and I've noticed (I never thought I'd be saying this) how much I've missed it this week. I have a good walk to and fro the train and during my 35 minute ride, I read A LOT. I miss my exercise and just taking in my surroundings. So yesterday, after seeing the wonderful flowers that have magically appeared in our own backyard right under my nose, I realized I need to slow down and look around, because I'm missing Spring.

Today I took a couple of quick pics of the blooming explosion in our yard. After getting to work, what a delight to help load in and unpack Judy Pfaff's artwork! The gallery I work at is opening an exhibit of her work for the first time in CHGO since the early 80's. I love how inspired by and connected her work is to nature - loss, growth, decay, beauty, regeneration. Seeing her artwork today in it's sort of raw state, of all days, was a treat and I felt a little cosmic sparkle.

our exploding backyard

Judy Pfaff, Untitled assemblage piece. This isn't hung or framed yet. She actually will continue to work on this in the gallery until the end of the day on Thursday. Amazing and gorgeous.

 

Rocking and Rolling (on the floor)

Rocking...

A few days ago I went to see The Runaways with my friend HR at the Landmark here in CHGO. I'm an adoring Joan Jett fan, so I've been super excited. Fortunately, it didn't suck, as I had feared it might. It was SO good. The acting was great, and Michael Shannon really stole the show in my opinion! The music sequences had my foot tapping, and the overall tone of the screenplay was great. It wasn't sentimental, which 70's era movies can be, but it also wasn't all glossed up either. Go and see it right now. Beware, I went out and drank four beers after I saw this. It's just that kind of movie.



This is our friend Steve and his band, Village. He recently released this new video of the song, 'Main Offender.' Love this video. Check it out and go see him live in Chicago. He plays often. Actually, he played tonight at Schubas, but I got home from work too late to see him and meet Dman there. Next time.



Rolling (on the floor)...

And to leave you with many laughs:

So, last night I was battling with the usual bout of insomnia and indulged in watching clips from one of my fave shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I was up, giggling at 1:30am, and realized I need to pull them out of our DVD collection and rotate through them again. They are continuously entertaining. I still need to buy and see the special Christmas episode, as they've been sold out at Target since it was released. I should just order it online.

Here is both a clip from one of my all time favorite episodes, and also one of my favorite Charlie bits.

It might get loud....

Last night Damon and I met up with partners in crime and great old friends, Lisa & Jim, to see The Soundtrack of Our Lives at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Damon and I haven't lived in Urbana-Champaign for coming up on 5 years (this kind of bewilders me), but by far, the best and most endearing outcome of living there for 10 years of my life are not gaining two BFA's from the University of Illinois (which I'm still paying for BTW), but the abundance of life-long relationships that were forged there for me. Melissa, Jim & Lisa, Courey, Spencer & Aimee, Erin, Meghan, Dan, Ela, and others....including of course my husband! In many ways, Urbana- Champaign is the center of the universe, for me anyhow.

I think the first TSOOL show that I saw was about 8 years ago. They are a band that I not only love, but when they play in Illinois, I get to see my friends too. It's funny, but I've seen them through so many different phases of my life. I can almost identify certain times in my life when I listen to Welcome to the Infant Freebase, Extended Revelation...,  or Behind the Music. There are those bands that a friend introduces us to that stick with us for one reason or another. Jim and Lisa, who shared all of their records and music knowledge with me when I was an eager sponge in my twenties, also introduced me to TSOOL, both their music and literally. Every time I meet them I'm fully impressed by how nice they are and that they actually remember who I am. Those Swedes. Their show was great at Lincoln Hall. In addition to their amazing songs, they came fully loaded with rock star moves, a smoke machine, and cool video projection showing old photos, among other images, behind them. The imagery and lights were hitting the smoke in some really visually appealing ways, which added to the overall awesomeness.

So here are a few vids I took from last night. I also had to include a trailer from 'It Might Get Loud,' because if you haven't seen it yet, you should do yourself a favor by picking up a six-pack and watching the DVD. I have to say, I have a newly found crush on Jimmy Page after watching this, if I didn't already because of his pure musical genius. He's adorable. I also added a vid at the very end, of TSOOL w/ Nina Persson (you might remember her from The Cardigans) playing a Led Zeppelin cover, 'Whole Lotta Love,' at some awards event. Check out who's in the front row! That had to be a little intimidating.

Live

Here are a few vids from some of the highlight shows Damon and I have been to over the past 6 months or so. All awesome shows. More on my Vimeo page and always adding.

I'm looking forward to seeing one of my all time favorite bands, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, this Sunday at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, and of course hanging out with great friends and partners in crime, Jim & Lisa. I heard from a little birdie that Mattias Hellberg will be along for their tour...I wonder what sort of moonlighting this will be? I'd die to hear a Hederos and Hellberg cover. A girl can dream.



Japandroids


Iron and Wine


The Walkmen





Small Brown Bike

The Quest: Make A Wheat-Free Pizza Crust (that doesn't resemble a rock w/ sauce and cheese on it).

Ever since I have found out that my body is intolerant of wheat, I've largely cut it out of my diet. It used to be practically in every meal I ate. I have felt so much better without it. The change in my body, mood, and energy level has actually been amazing. After a year of so of pretty much cutting it out, I still cheat a couple of times a week, but the biggest culprits and temptations are pizza and Belgian beer. Well, I can't do much about the Belgian beer part...the wheat is needed for it's deliciousness, and I'm usually pretty content with a Guinness anyhow. But pizza is a tough one. I usually cave for the wheat (white crack) pizza, and end up regretting it afterwards. So I've been experimenting with different flours and trying out other recommended gluten-free/wheat-free recipes.

Here is my latest attempt. I used Bob's Red Mill GF Bread mix. I was curious to use this mix to see if I could get away from the heavy, brick tendancies of wheat-free crust recipes. I've been looking for a moist crust, but still crispy in the right places.

Ingredients
Makes 1 1/2 lbs. dough
All ingredients at room temp.
3 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoon organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water
3 cups flour (from GF mix)

*I used my bread mixer to knead and rise the dough. I know, spoiled. Takes about 1 1/2 hours.

I love making pizza because there are so many choices with how to top it. Although, I'm a sucker for simplicity and fresh ingredients. Margherita is my favorite.

For this pizza, I opted out of making and using tomato sauce. Instead I used olive oil, freshly chopped garlic, and chopped up sun-dried tomatoes(oil packed). I also roasted up a sliced sweet red pepper on a baking sheet in the oven, and topped it all off with slices of fresh mozzarella. Add in what ever spices you'd like. I typically add the usual suspects; garlic pepper, oregano, basil, and sometimes red pepper flakes. Can't wait for fresh basil leaves from the garden this summer.

Baked 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

I think this has been the best attempt so far. The crust turned out a little thick, but tasty. To go for more of the thin crust, next time I'll probably half the dough and roll it out thinner. But overall, I was really happy with the browning of the crust without it drying out and becoming a brick. The true test...did D eat it? Affirmative! Success.

Yum.

 

  

 

Friday Fiction & Film, Vol.1

I love winter, if for nothing else, all I want to do is snuggle, read books and watch movies. Ok, there’s a lot more I enjoy doing during these chilly Chicago days…like working in the studio, rocking out in the kitchen, apartment DIY projects, and of course garden planning for the spring, but it’s my favorite time of year for pure indulgence in guiltless book reading and movie watching. In general, I’ve watched loads more movies than I’ve read books (I even started a movie club this past year), but in all actuality I enjoy their entertainment equally, they just work my brain in a very different way. I can't imagine my nightly routine without one or the other.

Recently I read The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This is the first book in a long time that I actually read in a 24-hour span. Something you should know about me, I do not typically have the ability to read in a lightning speed fashion. This book was just that hard to put down. To call it a beautiful book is an understatement. It is utterly simple and incredibly complex simultaneously. For the moments that your eyes are moving over the words, you will be completely immersed in the story, as if you are with the characters themselves. Not too far into the future from current times, in a post-apocalyptic state, a father and son teeter on the edge of survival. In a dark world, where it appears to be every man, woman, or child for oneself, they are responsible to each other. How can the human spirit endure in such peril? If this book doesn't push you into some level of self-reflection, and pull sharply at your heartstrings, I question if you have a soul at all.

I look forward to seeing the movie adaptation, as soon as it comes out on DVD. The trailer looks like it captures the book well, not to mention I’m a huge Viggo fan. I’ve yet to see a movie where his acting hasn’t blown me away.

Tonight I attended an early screening of Shutter Island, opening in theatres tomorrow night. Although one of my newish goals is to read the book before I see the movie, it didn’t happen this time around. Nicely though, I received the novel, written by Dennis Lehane, as a promo gift tonight and will put it on the docket for summer reading. I received free tix through the NFP that I work with, 826CHI, and couldn’t pass them up. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for Leo and Martin…The Departed is one of my favorite movies and sits proudly in our movie collection.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I won’t say too much, because I really don’t want to give any clues away, which no doubt, would ruin Christmas, if you catch my drift. However, I’ll give you a smidge. Sitting in the theatre, I found myself squeezing my own arm, holding my breath during this movie. Scary? No, not in the way you’re thinking at least. On the edge of my seat? Yes. I was along for the ride. Visually and musically stunning, Scorsese weaves a suspenseful and intricate plotline. He is such a master storyteller. There’s an unexpected and welcomed throwback to Hitchcock, in more ways than one, but he still makes it his own. The package is a good one, including stellar acting by Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams among others. I’ve read a few boo-who reviews tonight as they’re all popping up before opening night tomorrow, and I don’t buy it. The haters out there can keep it to themselves, I’m sorry you didn’t get it. This movie was great, up until the last words spoken by ‘Teddy,’ the main character played by DiCaprio. I’m with Ebert, thumbs up!

Written Thurs. eve, Feb 18^th.