Here are some influences on how I write certain letters:

Within the last two years, ALL the toy stores in downtown Chicago have closed.
* Toys R Us on State Street (Summer 2003?)
* FAO Schwartz on Michigan Ave (January 2003)
* KB Toys in Merchandise Mart (January 2004)

Where am I gonna buy my toys? We need a "toys in downtown chicago" movement!

Or maybe i should just start selling toys at my desk at work. Here it is:

PRESS RELEASE:
New toy store opens in Tribune Tower on 14th floor.

January 29, 2004

With the all the toy stores now closed in the downtown Chicago area, Matt Maldre Tribune employee has decided to fill the void. While standing on his desk clutching a finger rocket and whirly ball, Maldre exclaims, "People downtown NEED to purchase toys. The Tribune 14th floor toy store will fill that empty void and bring joy back to Chicago for everyone!"

A discussion on being brilliant:

Matt: Stupidity in another format can be considered brilliant.
Dave: That was a thin line between stupid and clever.

Standing on a train platform in Chicago (the fullerton stop), and having cars drive below me under. A feeling of levitating while metal machines run below.

On the 7th floor standing at the edge of a guardrail in Chicago's Water Tower mall. And looking up. Woooo, shakey scary feeling.

Running across the street in 5ƒ weather to the Walgreens without wearing a jacket. Then walking around in Walgreens while the cold was still embedded in my sweater.

This will be a semi-regular feature on the spudart blog.

Hershey's is now making York peppermint patties into chips called Swoops. And they make me *swoon.* They are soo good! So thin, so tasty. It's the most delightful snack ever!

The plain chocolate and reese's also taste good, but there's something about the mintiness inside a chip that just defies nature.

When you open up a stapler, they make really good nunchucks.

one of my cameraphone photos on textamerica is an "editor's pick" today (look on the right hand side of textamerica's website for the editor's pick list.

...newer photos have now been put up on the editor's pick list, bumping mine off. Given how some of those photos look, it's not the biggest honor in the world. ;-)

ryan_top_dogg: so do u collect transformers? or the comics?
artdude75: i am a transformer
ryan_top_dogg: lol kool u belong to any forums
artdude75: forums? i do not go to forums, for i am an autobot
ryan_top_dogg: www.toy-nation.com
artdude75: Autobots have no use for these "forums"
ryan_top_dogg: well make a exception this time
artdude75: perhaps if there are some energon cubes on these forums, i can be convinced to visit.
ryan_top_dogg: Engergon friendly these forums are
artdude75: a-ha! you are actually a decepticon! For no autobot would visit these forums for energon cubes. Only decepticons want energon cubes! Away decepticon!!!
ryan_top_dogg: Autobots shall all die

Based on this page which has 318 classic horror and sci-fi movie posters, what do you think is the most common word to use in the title?

* beast
* black
* blood
* cat
* creature
* dark
* dead
* dr
* dracula
* earth
* frankenstein
* house
* king
* man
* monster
* night
* outer
* phantom
* space
* vampire
* woman

There could be some interesting art made out of running a remote controlled car in a public square. But would should it do?

What happens when a bunch of jackets get together in a closet?

They hang out.

The baseball team known at the Chicago White Sox are having their annual convention this weekend in the hotel across the river from my work. Perhaps I will drop by on Friday (cuz you know it won't be sold out), and hand out black lollipops with the White Sox logo on them... Cuz the Sox are all SUCKERS!

nightenorning
n.
1. The period between night and morning. "Oh wow, it's 4am, where did the time go, I should really get a couple hours sleep. Good Nightenorning."

[Middle English, from Old English niht.]
[Middle English, from morn, morn.]

It would be fun to have a one word themed two-hour radio show. Before each show, you pick one word. Then you play songs that have that word in the title. Some exmaples of words: "boogie" or "kiss" or "ain't". Just sort your mp3 list and it becomes quite apparent how many songs have the same word in the title.

Today I found my lost notepad, how sweet
My world is now again complete!

Photographer Matt Maldre captured the huge blob that is infesting the Chicagoland area. Check out his moblog for details.

The name "creative ground" is very interesting. Being grounded. Down-to-earth. Dirt. But creative at the same time.

If they are looking for evidence of water on Mars, why don't they send the robot-thing to the north part of mars where all that white stuff is. Geez. That looks like snow to me.

When a sentence has a question mark at the end, the sentence is called a "question." But when a sentence has a period at the end, it's merely called a "sentence". Why isn't there a special word for sentences with a period at the end?

the official spelling of "more" is now "MOOOOOOOOOOOORE." It only makes sense that the word "more" should have more o's.

What considerations does a shoe store consider when picking what type of floor they will have?

1) Snow transforms our landscape.
A whole new visual world great for for photographing.

2) Observing evidence of action.
* Where animals/humans have been.
* What areas are warmer than others (where snow melts one side of the street, but not the other. Or how snow melts on rooftops)

3) Snowball fights.
There's just something so entertaining about taking an object and throwing it somwhere or at someone. (There will be a future blog post just about throwing.)

4) Walking through really deep snow makes you feel like you're on a great mission. Must... cross... field... to... save... children.

5) Wearing monster green snowboots like godzilla destroying cities.

6) The cold is a great CRISP feeling.

7) Watching how snowflakes meander in the air.

8) Sledding.
A hill with snow is no longer just a hill. It is now a slick angle you can slide across. Try sliding down a hill on your butt in the summer. Yes, you can roll down a hill, but there's something about the gliding along a mere surface.

9) Holding a cold hand.

10) It's like Antartica.
I love Antartica. Such an incredibly fascinating place. Although technically it doesn't snow in Antartica--it's a desert, cuz it gets no precipitation.

I'm collecting those confidentiality footers put at the bottom of emails by corporations and organizations. If you have ever received any confidentiality footers, please post it in the comments here. Thanks!

It would be nice if sometimes columns in the newspaper were reprinted with the columnist's original handwriting and original notes. It would capture so much more of the personality. If not all the time, then maybe just occasionally. Or, it could be a special once a year issue where everything in the entire newspaper is handwritten.

At work my computer is no longer called my "computer." It will now be referred to as my "im_station." (IM being Instant Message).

"Where's my keys?"
"Oh, they are by my im_station."

*while in a meeting*
"Yeah, i'll get right on that when i get back to my IM station"

I'm posting pictures directly from my cell phone to an online webpage at: http://chicago.textamerica.com.

Textamerica is the #1 result for a google search of "moblog." (A moblog is a mobile blog where posts are made via a cell phone or other mobile device). I'm quite pleased that I got the username of "chicago."

Please feel free to leave lots of comments on my photos on this page.

Toys and weapons have always gone hand-in-hand. But have they gone too far? Witness as brutal, medieval weapons now inspire a new breed of toys.


It's so dangerous, it appears on the official top ten worst toys for 2003!

brainblow
n.
1: When something blows your mind: "Oh my, you just gave me a brainblow."

brainblow
v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brainblowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Brainblowing.]
1. To blow one's mind.
2. To affect with great wonder; astonish: "She just brainblowed me away."

Technically every year is a celebration of new millennium, because every year can be the mark for a 1,000 year period.