Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Ahhhh, Chicago in 100 degree heat. . . What better place to escape into the air conditioning than the Shedd Aquarium? And right now they have a great jellyfish exhibit that will be up until Spring 2012. Yes, I admit that the entry fee is pretty steep at about 30$ a head. But don’t let that you detour you! Once we were pass the admission booth I quickly realized that all of the money goes back to the facility. It ain’t cheap feeding all those fishies! Oh! And don’t miss the resident beluga whales, either. Those little friendly guys will make your day with their cuteness! Word of advice: Purchase your ticket in advance on-line at the Shedd Aquarium website. There is a separate entry line for on-line tickets that was virtually empty.
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I’ve lost track of how many times that I’ve flown with a guitar, but I’ve been doing it with various degrees of success since I was a teenager. It’s always a source of anxiety for me, but here are some tips that have helped me navigate the not-always-so-friendly-(to-musician)-skies. 1) Travel with a smaller guitar. If you’re gigging regularly, you can invest in a smaller guitar. Martin and Taylor both make “mini” models that are travel friendly and play pretty well. There is even a company that makes a guitar that folds in half! My “travelling” guitar is a Parlor guitar, which is smaller bodied than your standard folk/steel string guitar that you see most people play. A lot of folk and blues musicians back in the day liked these because they were more affordable and mass produced. You can see the size difference, and how that would matter when you’re trying to store it above you. After much research, I kept my eyes peeled for a used “Larivee” brand guitar. Luckily, one showed up in a local guitar shop, so I checked it out. It played and sounded great. There’s a famous Frank Zappa quote “If you pick up a guitar and it says, ‘Take me, I’m yours,’ then that’s the one for you.” I took it home. Though it doesn’t sound as full or warm as my concert sized Martin or Taylor, it sounds fantastic when I plug it in to a P.A. or amp. I had bay area luthier/guitar repair whiz Mike Gold equip it with a pickup (Seymour Duncan Mag Mic) If you travel with an electric guitar, you can probably get away with having a softcase or “gig bag” which you can sling over your shoulder, and store it in the overhead bin. I see this alot for acoustic guitars too. Never, under any circumstances, check a softcase as luggage though. Once it touches the conveyor belt, you can pretty much kiss your axe goodbye. 2) A Case for a Good Hard Case. If you insist on bringing your $110,000 Les Paul from 1957, then by all means order yourself a professional case, or an “ATA” flight case These are almost indestructible. They also cost about $700-1k. You’ll have to check it as luggage too, but at least it will be safe… (unless someone steals it, since these cases usually store really nice guitars) 3) Choose a Guitar friendly airline: Southwest: Make sure you are an early boarder, i.e. the “A” group. You get on first and have first pick of overhead storage space. Virgin, Jet Blue, American: When you pick your seat, get seated near the back of the plane (seats 19-23) Last Seats (24, 25) usually don’t have overhead space because that’s where they stash their water/beverages. (note: I’m typing this on an American flight, and in seat 25F where there is overhead space.) 4) Rent a guitar. Some local used music stores will rent you a used guitar for the night. On a...
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My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant is a brutally honest piece of writing that I think everyone should know about. This long essay was first printed in the New York Times Magazine on June 22, 2011 and describes the moving story (and confession) of Jose Antonio Vargas who admits to being an illegal alien. It tells the strange path his life has taken from boarding a flight to the Bay Area at the age of 12 to his career as a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Vargas’ mission is two-fold, I believe 1. to raise awareness of the malfunctioning U.S. immigration “process” and provide a visual that not all undocumented workers are who you think they are and 2. to come clean about his real identity – to confess for the years of guilt he has harbored for lying about his situation. After My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant was published there’s been a bizarre backlash against Vargas on the Internet. In particular by fellow journalists who have put a lot of energy in writing long-winded pieces on how Vargas can’t be trusted and how they were “duped.” They quickly leap to the role of drama queen without taking a second and asking themselves, “What would I have done if that was me?” And while we are on the subject of morality, where is the virtue in sending someone back to a third-world country? What warped moral compass points to that? The cries to deport Vargas to his country of birth are hilarious to me because they are screamed with such conviction and entitlement with the underlying message, “I’m a real American, he’s NOT, send that piece of dirt back to the hole he came from.” So as we celebrate on July 4th this year with our fireworks and parades and BBQs, I also hope we talk about My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant amongst each other. And maybe get over the fact that Vargas lied [which is not really the point people] and raise the level of the discussion to include, “What does it say about the U.S. if we are so willing to obliterate such a bright talent who so desperately wants to be one of us?”
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Chicago has a lot of great things happening lately. Alinea for high end gastronomy. Pitchfork for your summer time music fest cravings. Half Acre Brewery for well…duh, beer and Hot Doug’s for basically any type of encased meat you probably never even thought of. Lucky for us, we also have Debbie Carlos calling Chicago home. Her modern photography is some of the quietest and simplest (simple in a good way) photography I have seen and I have been obsessed with her photos since 2005. Her photos are actually the only pieces of art up in my apartment other than a few Jay Ryan prints and her Antlers photo has been blogged and re-blogged and blogged again throughout the interwebs. I was lucky enough to sit with Debbie over some pho where we talked about her work and the following questions came from that discussion, our general friendship, and heavy duty emailing back and forth. Photo of Debbie by Devin Higgins other photos by Debbie Carlos SIX QUESTIONS WITH Debbie Carlos GR: 1. You were born in Manila, grew up in LA, lived on the East Coast and have also spent a lot of time in Tapei. How did you make your way to Chicago and what do you dig about this city? DC: I moved to Chicago from Massachusetts in the spring of ‘04 to study photo at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Of the cities I’ve lived in, I think Chicago was the first one I felt a real connection with. There is such a great sense of history, that you can feel everywhere. You get a lot of culture, and the hustle and bustle of a large city, but there is also a really nice Midwestern relaxed attitude. There is also a diverse set of neighborhoods surrounding downtown, and I think it’s these communities that make the city really interesting. Also, the eating is pretty excellent. GR: 2. You got a bachelor’s in psychology and then made the bold decision to attend School of the Art Institute for a second degree in photography. How did you make that leap and how did your family react? Was your mom a “tiger mom”? DC: Even from the moment I finished my first degree, I really wanted to pursue photography, but was held back because I thought I needed a ‘real job.’ And I thought that was what my family wanted for me. When I got laid off from my office job, though, my hope to study art kind of slipped out over the phone to my mom. She told me to go for it. I think I have the advantage of having a mom that studied piano and fashion design during her years in college, so I think she is actually really open to me having a non-conventional job. My dad is supportive, too, but I think he leans more to the side of wanting me to have a real and steady job. They both wish that I lived closer...
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Mexican without Mexicans. Yeah. This place is amazing. Manhattan Beach Mexican food. El Sombrero #2. I hope the #2 doesn't mean anything weird! It's a neighborhood Mexican place that I can tell is well loved. It's packed, it's good, and people there seem happy. That's David and Sun-min. So glad to have caught up with them. It's been ages. Look at their burritos! Whoa. I opted for 2 chicken tacos....