LINKS

MISC.

Coudal Partners: They seem like a fine group of people. I like their design sensibility. I tried to rip off their look and feel, but I wasn't good enough to do it.

Ftrain.com: A thing by Paul Ford. I have only just scratched the surface. I am baffled, astounded, impressed, etc. See for yourself, or don't.

La Scarola Restaurant: Wonderful people, great restaurant. I designed their website. Some of the best Italian food in Chicago, at very reasonable prices.

Chris Buck: Mr. Buck is a very good and quite successful photographer. He sent me an email once. He seems like a nice guy. Also: if you ever want to hire me, and you want to feel like you're saving a lot of money, contact Chris Buck and get an estimate of what he'll charge you to do the assignment. He's worth every penny. And so am I! OK.

KonaKai!: Here's a list of links done right: this is my friend Dave's acclaimed repository of Tiki culture on the internet. Is that the correct use of the word 'repository'?

REFERENCE

Wikipedia: It knows everything. It is growing. It may, in fact, be up to no good.

World Wide Words: A fine site about words and the English language. A must for armchair etymologists.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Everything: You have been warned.

LanguageGuide — French Grammer: I am learning French. I need help...

Paris Tourism: You should know that many of these links exist for my own reference, so I can find these places again. This is one of them. If you're planning on travelling to Paris as well, this may come in handy.

The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire: Over 70 Megabytes of information about the history of Rome.

Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid: This will help if you decide to learn Latin.

WORDS THAT ARE WRITTEN

Jonathan Ames: Funny and sad and very good.

The 2nd Hand: Fine writing, etc. Based in Chicago. Good people.

Joseph Larkin: Joseph Larkin is up to something. I am not sure exactly what that thing is. Be advised.

Also-Ran: Coming back for more Joseph Larkin! In case you didn't get enough from the link above...

RADIO RADIO: STREAMING LIKE A RIVER

WNUR: Chicago's sound experiment, from Northwestern University.

WLUW: Chicago's independent community radio.

WHPK: From the University of Chicago, Hyde Park.

Radio K: Radio 770, from the University of Minnesota.

WFMU-FM 91.1: Independent radio from New York.

Tiger Sushi: You'll have to click on the little cartoon radio station in the little cartoon city. They play a truly eclectic mix of classic soul, and modern electronic etc. etc. etc.

Resonance 104.4 FM: From the UK. Artforum magazine calls Resonance a loosely structured laboratory for artists of all kinds to reimagine what radio can be.

Brainwashed Radio: Brainwashed.com is an archival, educational, promotional non-profit service. The material included on Brainwashed radio is being used permissably thanks to the copyright owners of the original sound recordings and is broadcasting at a frequency comparable to a poor FM radio signal without the fidelity necessary to make phonographic duplicates.

KEXP: Good rock radio from Washington State.

3WK: Streaming indie rock.

Naxos Web Radio: A subsription to this classical web radio station is just under ten bucks a year. It comes highly recommended.

MORE RADIO RADIO: FOUND SOUND, RADIO STORIES, FIELD RECORDINGS, SPOKEN WORDS, PODCASTS, ETC.

Joe Frank: Mr. Joe Frank is a genius. Sign up for a free membership and have your mind blown by his strange, enchanting audio art. Then, when you've raided all the free stuff, you'll be powerless: you will sign up for a paid membership, and you will gradually begin to send Joe Frank all of your money.

This American Life: The grandaddy. From Chicago. Radio stories until the cows come home.

Quiet American: Beautiful field recordings.

The Next Big Thing: The first time I heard this program, I thought I was hearing This American Life. I was not. It's different. It's good.

Transom: Lot of good independent audio and radio stories are available here.

Benjamin Walker's Theory of Everything: You could waste all kinds of time listening to Mr. Walker's Theory of Everything.

The Viking Youth Power Hour: Whiskey-fueled roundtable discussions from some fine midwestern men.

MISC. WEIRDNESS

Nardwuar the Human Serviette: This is Nardwuar's official page. Nardwuar is an acquired taste, and I have now acquired it. He's Canadian. The Snoop Dog interviews are priceless.

Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists: For real. This may not be your cup of tea, so consider yourself warned. These people do real taxidermy, but their interpretations are more — let's see — artistic than the usual taxidermy fare. Enjoy!

Darren King: A new project called page-rank bling-bling. The offshoot of a bizarre project entitled People Who Are Not Me. Don't ask, don't bother.

BLOGS OF NOTE

Idle Words: Brevity is for the weak.

Back at the Ranch: Country legend Slip Whitsun spins yarns and tells it like it is. Not to be missed!

Fire in the Hole: Words written by Sara, live from New Jersey, USA.

Lion of the Heart: Jade writes words from Florida.

Dooce: Heather Armstrong's smartly-designed blog.

DO NOT ABANDON HOPE: HUMANITY'S OPTIONS FOR SUCCESS

WorldChanging: Models, Tools, and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future.

The Buckminster Fuller Institute: Carrying on the work of Bucky Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome, master of design science, and perhaps one of the strangest, most intelligent, and most inspiring men to walk on spaceship earth. In my opinion.

Home Power Magazine: Browse articles on solar power, renewable energy, etc. Good stuff.

Vegenergy: Clean, Domestic, Renewable Vegetable Fuel Systems.

Biodiesel.Org: A ton of information about this emerging energy source.

Sustainability: An open-access e-journal for sustainable solutions.

MUSIC and SOUND

A Guide to Jandek: Seth Tisue's superb Jandek page. It is a masterpiece of information architecture. More information about the enigmatic Jandek than any sane person could possilby need. A must!

Secretly Canadian is a very fine record label which deserves your business.

Surveillance Records: Real men love Midwestern Techno.

The New Year: You know that guitar solo in Neil Young's "Cinammon Girl", where it's only a single note? The New Year is kind of like that, but there's no solo. These fine gents are masters of restraint. Please buy their records.

Insound: Shopping at this website is just like walking into those indie record stores: you can smell the pretension and elitism, and the music is really good, and the prices aren't so bad. And I'm happy to report their customer service seems top-notch!

Mayfair Recordings: It's not what you think! Or maybe it is: Mayfair Recordings is a music-for-use company located in Chicago, IL. We specialize in music composition, music and sound recording, and sound design.

Silkworm: A great band. R.I.P.

Midstates: These people also make beautiful music. Poppy, with bright colors, and something wrong in the background, if I remember right. Take a look.

The Grey Skies Music Co.: I saw a young man from the Grey Skies roster at Chicago's Hungry Brain one night in November 2004. I wish I could remember his name... I'll have to get back to you... But it was very nice. Like Bright Eyes without the histrionics. More to come.

SomeOddPilot Records: Yes, that SomeOddPilot. Home of The Timeout Drawer, La Makita Soma, Defender, et al.

56 Hope Road: The best people you will ever meet. Oh, and they are in a band, too. You can go to the website and listen to their album, and then buy the album if you so choose. I suggest seeing them live as well, as their songs and sound have evolved since they recorded Drop It All.

Infinitechug: We used to be a record company but now we're something else. Wherein, among other things, you can download an entire album, for free, by the excellent band I'm Being Good.

Ramblin' Jack Elliot: I love old Ramblin' Jack. Lots of information at this site, but no MP3s that I could find. Which is too bad. I heard him do a live version of the Rolling Stones' Connection which was one of the most desperate and sad things I've heard in a long time.

Jesu: Heavy duty psychedelic sludge. My brain hurts...

THE BEST PHOTOBLOGS ON EARTH

Edmund Leveckis: Mr. Leveckis may be my favorite photographer. Very dark, and very good.

Mexican Pictures: The photographs of Raul Gutierrez.

Quarlo.com: Quarlo is Todd Gross.

MORE PRETTY PICTURES: PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINES AND WHERE THEY LIVE ON THE INTERNET

This list of photography magazines was pilfered from my friends at Photoblogs.org...

FILE Magazine

Making Room

Blue Eyes Magazine

THE WORLD of ART

Van Gogh's Letters: Yes, that Van Gogh. And all of his letters are here — unabridged, annotated, and searchable. Yikes.

ALL the PRETTY PICTURES: VISUALS

Stackmatic: Milwaukee artist Tom Stack. Many birds in shirts. A craftsman of the highest order.

The Bird Machine: The Bird Machine makes hand-printed items of various shapes and sizes. You have seen these items before.

Chris Kerr: I only know of this thanks to Mr. Tom Stack (see above). It both warms the heart and terrifies.

Eddie Breen: Unstoppable. Inevitable. Why didn't you think of it first?

Snarg: Something is happening here but you don't know what it is.

Max Haynes: Max is an illustrator, designer, photographer, and all-around good guy. This is his home on the web.