Erik Moe Art & Design

Chicago, I hardly knew you. I already miss your irrationally exuberant municipal elections, your lovable but flailing transit system, and of course all of your amazing food. For those keeping score at home, my departure from Chicago and my most recent extended blogging lull is due to a very sudden move to Washington, where I’ve taken the position of lead graphics and web designer at Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd’s Presidential campaign. I’m excited to be working on a team doing some innovative things on the web and to be using my design skills to fight the good fight in support of a candidate with strong progressive credentials. To get a feel for the pulse of my new day-to-day and an introduction to Chris Dodd, might I suggest our campaign blog led by my colleague Matt Browner-Hamlin. As for Washington… So far so good. I haven’t even had cause to write an angry letter to D.C.’s Senator yet. Oh wait… D.C. doesn’t have a Senator.

From the BBC:

A Southampton University team found those who were vegetarian by 30 had recorded five IQ points more on average at the age of 10.

Yes! I made the cut by at least 7 years. But, wait. I haven’t been a strict vegetarian for these past couple of years - allowing myself the occasional sushi outing.

There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken.

O.K.!

via Another Limited Rebellion

So that last post about (virtually) meeting the neighborhood bloggers needs to be amended a bit. Not only because half the neighbors mentioned added comments about having left the Wilson/Sheridan neighborhoods, but also because I didn’t end up living there either. I’ll save you the gory details two-plus months after the fact. For now, lets just appreciate the simple joys of shopping for soy milk, tofu, and pasta. More interesting photos and Chicago explorations are forthcoming.

P.S. Go Twins!

Since Tuesday’s primary election solved all of Philadelphia’s problems, Rachel and I are turning our sights to Chicago. Above is a panorama of two giant video art monoliths in Millenium Park – just across the street from Rachel’s new school for the fall (click image to enlarge).

Some fun with panoramic photography from a lazy Sunday at Clark Park last month (click to enlarge). If you look closely, you’ll see that a ghost is doing Rachel’s painting homework for her. The source images were taken on a cellphone camera – believe it or not.

How sad, the news of Kirby Puckett’s death at 45. Growing up in Minneapolis, Kirby was a figure of a mythical magnitude. From third or fourth grade on, everyone at school seemed to love him – even if they didn’t know what a strike or an out was. The New York Times obit alludes to “thousands and thousands of dogs and cats named after him throughout the Upper Midwest.” I know I met a few of those animals. His smile and his strange, short, chubby figure lent themselves to a cuddly teddy bear image – a summertime Santa Claus – and made his accomplishments on the field seem all the more unlikely. How did that body leap up again and again to steal those home runs?

The descent of his personal life in the years following his career-ending glaucoma seemed like a far-fetched cliche of the retired jock ala Scorsese’s Raging Bull. No one expects Santa Claus to appear in divorce court and later show up in tawdry tabloid headlines.

Here in Philly, Kirby isn’t so well known. He’s known, but not mythologized. His puppy dog appeal hasn’t totally escaped our streets though. Bizarrely, municipal recycling bins bear the image of a cartoon character named “Curby Bucket.”

A dilligent young gumshoe covering the tough church basement concert beat cornered me and Rachel on Sunday. At least one of these people knows how to have fun.

I’ve been trying out a few options for subsidizing these strange art and blogging habits I have. Google Adsense ads are now in the sidebars — click them if they appeal to you (excessive gratuitous clicks will be ignored). Movie and music reviews now include commission-generating links to Amazon.com for anyone who is moved to spend money based on my tastes. I’m also experimenting with merchandise at CafePress for all of you who feel you need to pick up a t-shirt or sticker before you move on to visit the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. A range of options for supporting this site are detailed on the new Ways to Support This Site page.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Rachel and I drove up to Boston. It was the first time either of us spent any real time there and I left wondering why it took me four years on the east coast to begin exploring the gems it has to offer.

The clear highlight of the trip was the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park. The museum is just north of Boston in a scenic wilderness area next to Walden Pond (yes, that Walden Pond). On the grounds of the museum are dozens of memorable sculptures including the Trojan Piggybank (pictured) by Aristotle Georgiades and Gail Simpson. Though many of the works were whimsical like that pig, the most impressive were somewhat understated and played off the natural beauty of the outdoor environment. Jim Dine’s Two Big Black Hearts was especially suited to the landscape. Our consensus favorite was Kitty Wales Pine Sharks. The metal creatures were oddly peaceful swimming above our heads.

The DeCordova’s indoor galleries were equally impressive. We had a hard time picking favorites from the annual exhibition of New England artists that had just opened the week before. The museum’s staff were also very welcoming and helpful, a nice and unexpected plus.

The rest of the trip had a hard time competing with DeCordova. We accidentally stumbled upon the home of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. We got lost on our way to Salem and met a very young gas station attendant who asked us why we’d want to go to Salem, anyway (”there’s just a bunch of old people there,” he said). Salem was a bit of a disappointment, mainly because we arrived well after the town went to sleep (including the pirate museum). Our jaunt through New England towns the next day was rather idyllic, however.

Exploring the actual city of Boston was a real pleasure. While exploring the neighborhoods, we wandered into the Boston Center for the Arts where a subtle installation filled the main gallery with the soothing blue light of slow-motion surfing scenes and the sounds of the waves falling on a beach. Again, we were impressed with the friendliness of the staff/volunteers on hand. We were most fascinated by some oddly shaped pillows sitting on the reception couch that weren’t even part of the BCA’s exhibitions. They were cone-shaped with lots of eyes and reminded me somewhat of Yoshitomo Nara’s creations. When Rachel expressed interest, the volunteers brought out some tinier creations and suggested that we leave a note for the unknown artist. Still no word in response…

Gallery: Boston Photos

It might not be strange to feature your own face on the front page of the website you’ve been designing for years, but you’ll notice that I’m not doing it here on emopage. Then again, emopage isn’t the major web portal for the Upper Midwest. Still, it was a nice surprise to see an old friend blogging away about her suburban gardening exploits for startribune.com under the moniker of ‘GardenGirl.’

Emopage has no garden here in it’s luxurious third story offices. In fact, the un-killable aloe plants here are shriveling and in dire need of re-potting. For now, I’m living vicariously through my neighbors’ patio furniture and koi pond (for real!). The mid-block backyard gardens outside are in full bloom and are actually a nice low-labor substitute. Still, maybe GardenGirl should share the wealth with us apartment-dwellers and install a gardencam. I’ve been telling my dad to plug one in and aim it at his vast Japanese-style garden for years. Maybe I’ll just need to make another trip to Minny soon to take in all this greenery…