Author: Matt Maldre

One of the world’s most iconic public artworks is right across the street from my new workplace. That famous artwork? The 110-ton reflective bean in Chicago. Installed in 2006, this mirrored sculpture hit the ground just in time for our…

Hyperallergic is one of the art websites that I regularly enjoy; therefore, it’s exciting to hear they are now doing a weekly podcast! To give you a taste of Hyperallergic’s fun stories, here’s some of the most recent articles from…

The giant BBQ turkey leg is the Taste of Chicago’s most iconic menu offering. A giant Fred Flinstone-sized turkey leg slathered in BBQ sauce. Guaranteed to make a mess. Guaranteed to be fun to shred apart. (My ten tips on…

Goodbye, Tower. I just left the Tribune Tower for the last time. On my way out, I made a giant five-foot wide pencil rubbing. Here’s a four-minute video with me narrating its creation along with a time-lapse. Etched into the…

Well, I just happened to stumble upon the Chicago Tribune editorial floor right before the head editor gave a speech to the entire staff. I work on the 3rd floor with the advertising staff of the Tribune. Editorial is on…

Many of the Tribune journalists have been tweeting and writing emotional stories about leaving the Tribune Tower. The Tribune big columnists are writing some very poignant stories. Page two columnist John Kass, architecture critic Blair Kamin, Pulitzer-Prize winner Mary Schmich…

One more week in the Tribune Tower. Next Friday, we move. Word around is that right after we move, the entire building is being gutted. Right away. We aren’t allowed to come back. The following Monday we immediately go to…

So many companies emailing about their privacy policy! Wow. Well, it’s a good thing that the European Union is forcing everyone to publish simple policies on how each company uses cookies and data. All consumers should know what is each…

If you are an American, you won’t be able to root for the USA in the World Cup this year. For the first time in three decades, USA failed to qualify. You might just shrug your shoulders and move on.…

Are you a creative that feels like your personal work lacks focus? That your mind is all over the place with too many projects? It’s ok. More than ok, it’s wonderful! This Twitter thread by Violeta Nedkova will encourage you…

It’s great when you feel like you are accomplishing something. On spudart.org I’ve made 35 blog posts so far this year. That number surpasses what I did in 2017 (33), and in 2016 (also 33). I attribute this to my…

Back in the 1930s, the Tribune Tower’s observation deck boasted one of the best views in Chicago. The ticket to the observation deck looks a bit like the 1984 State of the Union ticket. Ah, vintage design.

My photo of the tulips with a Harris Shutter is currently the “top post” for the Instagram hashtag #colurfultulips. Pretty neat. As much as I rail against Instagram, their “top post” feature is pretty nice. Search for a hashtag, and…

Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t let you search through your favorites. You can see a grid of your favorite photos. But there is no search. If there is a photo you fav’d a while ago, and you want to pull it back…

DING DING DING DING   DING DING DING DING The sweet sweet alert DING DING DING DING   DING DING DING DING The sound of summer starting. DING DING DING DING   DING DING DING DING Summer is here! When the weather gets…

In less than two months, the Chicago Tribune will be moving out of Tribune Tower, into the Prudential Building four blocks south on Michigan Avenue. From 1925 to 2018, we’ve been here for 93 years. And now we are leaving…

To be fair, it wasn’t my tulips that were banned. It was my self-promotion. Let me explain. Today I wrote a really nice positive post about how the tulips are blossoming in Chicago now. The vibe is totally happy and…

The tulips are wondering, “Is it ok to come out?” After the fourth-coldest April in Chicago records, the temperatures are finally starting to warm up. Huddled underground for months, the tulips are finally feeling the warmth. They are mustering up…

Ah, the joys of the beginning of spring. The weather is so nice that you can sit outside and enjoy the day. The Walgreens at the historic Wrigley Building in Chicago has a fantastic outdoor plaza. Get a snack and…

I can’t remember which account I use with Wikipedia: mattmaldre or spudart. mattmaldre has made 2 edits. spudart has 9 edits. mattmaldre’s first edit is in 2011 spudart’s first edit is 2008. Spudart seems the winner with more edits and…

I keep forgetting that I have duckduckgo set as my default browser. Just now I searched for duck puns in Chrome. Up comes the DuckDuckGo website with their duck logo, and “duck puns” in the search bar. Pretty amusing! What…

I LOVE ALL CAPS Some people love emojis I love all caps LOVE IT I wish there was a triple all-caps button OOOHHH WWWAAAIIITTT TTTHHHIIISSS IIISSS TTTRRRIIIPPPLLLEEE AAALLLLLL CCCAAAPPPSSS Hey, can anyone program something that will take text and make…

My to-do list sometimes looks pretty silly—and that’s the way I like it. Here are two fun items on my to-do list: [  ] Blog about if birds—specifically robins—run or do they hop? Seriously. I saw a robin the other…

You can download your Facebook data archive and look through all the various things that Facebook has collected about you. One of the items is a list of all the Facebook Pages you’ve liked and Facebook Groups you have joined.…

You move to a different neighborhood and make the adjustments to the new area. Voting is one of the best ways to feel like you are a part of where you live. Last summer, my wife, one-year-old daughter, and I…

Former Cub Matt Murton got hired by the Cubs to work as their Baseball Operations Assistant. Murton was a fan-favorite when he played for the Cubs in 2007 to 2008. He wasn’t a great player. Who knows why he was…

Frame conservation. Picking the right frame to match artwork from centuries ago. The Art Institute of Chicago has an employee with the title of Assistant Conservator for Preparation and Framing. Kirk Vuillemot has been restoring and creating frames for the…

Cereal, cereal, cereal. The standard quick meal not only for breakfast, but for any time of day! National Cereal Day was last week. Yeah, I’ve been too busy eating cereal throughout the day to really remember about this esteemed national…

Youtube has a new rule to be able to make money off your videos. You must have 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. Thus, I’m no longer in their Partner Program. I have 640 watch…

I stood in a Walgreens dish soap aisle for two minutes recording a video of the store window. Why? Because this Walgreens, in the historic Wrigley Building, features a fantastic view of 34 flags of all the South and North…

I want to feel the paper on Amazon.