Bicycle Drawings (FINALLY)

Remember back like a million years ago when I asked for people to send me drawings of bikes (from memory if possible)? Well I finally compiled them and uploaded em' to Flickr today, so check it out here. It's not too late to send your own drawing. Email drawings to greatmiddlewest@gmail.com and I'll add them to the photoset.

Hobnox Audiotool Demo
This is an incredible and highly addictive Flash interface that allows you to make music using drum machines, samplers, sequencers and a huge array of pedals. Every object on the screen is interactive. You can move and organize the pedals how you see fit. You even have to connect the cables to the proper audio ports to get it to play. Link

dog'S faint
Here's a blog that show's off some pretty amusing (some vintage, some current) found photography. NSFW: contains some mild nudity. link.

World Beard & Mustache Championships
I've linked to this before, but hey, they've got the 2007 winners posted up now. Holla

Boris Artzybasheff's AWESOME Machinalia illustrations

Wow, this stuff is amazing. I spotted this on bOINGbOING today, but the gallery is hosted by The Hollywood Animation Archive. Reminds me a bit of Basil Wolverton [1] [2], one of my favorite illustrators. These images were originally published in the 1950s.

"In his introduction to the section titled "Machinalia" in his book As I See, Boris Artzybasheff says, "I am thrilled by machinery's force, precision and willingness to work at any task, no matter how arduous or monotonous it may be. I would rather watch a thousand ton dredge dig a canal than see it done by a thousand spent slaves lashed into submission. I like machines." LINK

FOUND PHOTO GOLDMINE

On Monday, May 12th, 2008, I bought a photo book for 25¢ at Unique Thrift in the Bridgeport/Chinatown neighborhood in Chicago. These photos were inside, and once I took them all out, I placed the book itself back into the donation bin. The few photos that have dates on the back are labeled August 26, 1980. I suspect the black & white ones are a bit older. These three are my favorite. Link to the Flickr Set

Save Chicago Culture
Patrick sent this to me today:

"There is a terrible ordinance being proposed that would make things very difficult small art/performance spaces in Chicago. Please visit savechicagoculture.org to find out more and leave a comment on their blog as a petition, in effect. Also, contact your Alderman. This map will assist you in that quest ... We have until the 14th to stop this, so please act now."

ART & MUSIC SHOW

The Empty Bubble Residency and Friends' Exhibition Opening Party
Ben Kolak, Brian Montavon, Joseph Miller, The Wood Knots

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, 1PM – FREE!
The Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL

In coordination with his thesis exhibit, Joseph Miller, MFA student at University of Chicago, is offering an exclusive viewing of the spaces of the Empty Bottle that he has interacted with over the past two years. Along with Miller’s work, friends The Wood Knots(improvised loop building), Ben Kolak(video installation) and Brian Montavon(photo booth), Join him.

Head on over to our music site, The Wood Knots [dot] Com for a preview of our improvised loops.

Taxes Are Due, Suckas!

TOXIC: Garbage Island

This is a great feature on VBS.TV about The Pacific Garbage Patch. I was only able to navigate through parts 1-6 (of 12), but it's worth the watch, and I'm dying to see the rest. From VBS Correspondant Thomas Morton's description:

"All the journalism I'd read about the patch had carefully danced around physical descriptions of the trash, leading myself and the rest of the shooting crew to fanciful visions of a solid, Texas-size barge of discarded Coke bottles and sporting goods. The idea that people had managed to fuck up a part of the world that nobody even visits, much less inhabits, and on such a monumental scale struck me as interesting and, to be honest, slightly awesome-sounding, but at the end of the day the impact of the mess on the rest of the world failed to register." Link

My Visit to Lawrence, Kansas
Last weekend I visited my man-friend Adam in Lawrence, KS to give him a break from endless stacks of old books and online Librarian homework. (Oh, by the way Adam, check THIS out). KU was in the process of winning The Final Four, so needless to say, things got crazy. Check out the Flickr photos here, and the YouTube Vids here. Featured video below: Peter Breaks a Dance

Warning! Geek Post

Rubik's Cube Solution
Oowwwww. My brain hurting. Link.

Dunbar's Number
I thought this was interesting. I'd never heard of this before...
"Dunbar's number has been popularized as the supposed cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable social relationships: the kind of relationships that go with knowing who each person is and how each person relates socially to every other person. Proponents assert that group sizes larger than this generally require more restricted rules, laws, and enforced policies and regulations to maintain a stable cohesion..." Link to Wikipedia

The History of Zero
"0 (zero) is both a number and the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals. It plays a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures..." Link to Wikipedia

Long Overdue: Search Engine
I found this way back in September. It's an awesome podcast focusing on all things Internet, Collective Unconscious, Free Information and the like. From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, check out Search Engine, hosted by Jesse Brown. The lastest post looks at Debunking Zeitgeist (the movie), Depating the $100 Laptops and Dividing the Waloons. Fun!

Upcoming Opening at The Swan Song Gallery
My friend Cynde Randall owns this great little art gallery in Maiden Rock, WI. I designed the logo last year when she started it up. Check out this press release for the upcoming show. Artists Peter L. Johnson & Dale Vanden Houten. Opening on March 22nd, 2008. Link

Window Washer Google Video
Found this terrifying little video the other day. From the video description: "Since the life of a window washer isn't frightening enough on its own, what we need is to add a little terror to their daily routine." Link.

YouTubers

A Chicago Train Ride

Filmed in January, 2008 - A Sunday Afternoon Brown Line ride from Addison to 18th Street (transfered to Pink downtown). Original music by The Wood Knots

Cool 2D Physics Playground

I came across this application a few weeks ago, and have been burning away my downtime at work. I've loved things like this ever since I was a kid and my parents bought me one of those marble ramp games. Unfortunately you need a Windows operating system to install this, but maybe they'll come up with a Mac version soon. Link to Phun

ART SHOW

Bruce Tapola: Paintings for Germans, Sculpture for Snobs
October 13, 2007 - January 27, 2008
Rochester Art Center –– Onofrio Gallery link.

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Bicycle Drawings
Can you draw? Do you like bicycles? Then let's have some fun. Send your drawings of bicycles to greatmiddlewest@gmail.com. We'll post the submissions here, and at our Flickr account. Happy biking.

Pictures of People Biking with Huge Loads
From Slightlywarped.com: "Sometimes while driving around in our gigantic SUVs and very spacious pickup trucks, we Americans (and other citizens of the world who could be reading this) forget that our fellow humans living in more crowded parts of the planet have to make due with a little less transportation to haul the same amount of stuff." link

Photo Gallery of Giant Holes in the Ground
Here's a photo gallery of large natural and man-made holes in the ground. There are mines, a reservoir drain, and a sinkhole, such as this 330-foot deep sinkhole that killed three people this year in Guatemala when a sewer line broke. link

Shown here is the glory hole belonging to Monticello Dam in California and it’s the largest in the world, its size enabling it to consume 14,400 cubic feet of water every second.

Pilsen Parade – Sept. 15, 2007
18th Street Parade in the Pilsen Neighborhood, Chicago, IL. 12pm, Sept. 15, 2007. link

Midwest Zodiac Tour

HARVEY SID FISHER
MIRACLES OF GOD
ROOMMATE
Friday Sept. 7th at
Ronnys Center for the Performing Arts
2101 N California Ave - Logan Square, Chicago, IL