Z-Boo in his finest duds

Francois & Z-Boo sharing one last drink

I posted this on FB the night before the shutdown of Pet Society was supposed to take place, but I feel it’s worth posting here: “Pet Society shutting down tomorrow has been strangely hard for me to handle. Z and I both had pets that we put a *lot* of hours into maintaining. Granted, we had not been on much since we moved into this apartment, but it’s weird knowing that this thing we invested so much time, care, and money (only me) into will cease to exist tomorrow. Sad face.” I had a stint of loving both Packrat and Farmville, but my love for Pet Society ran pretty deep because it was beautifully designed and the in-game activities were addictive to play. Zachary and I both spent a lot of time on it back in the day. Okay, I enjoyed it mostly because it was a really twee game and it was fun and very easy to spend hours exploring the world fishing for crazy fish and decorating your house. Back when Z and I were both actively playing the game, our work lives were not the best work lives we could have had and it was nice to have something uncomplicated and adorable to check in on. When we moved into this apartment 2+ years ago, we checked in less because my desktop had poor wireless signal and Z’s laptop ran the game slowly, but we would check in on the kids from time to time. We’re both genuinely sad to see our pets disappear. I don’t think either of us will want/need to enter a world like that again, but it was nice when we were there. I know Z-Boo and Francois will take good care of one another. They are best friends, after all.

This week: [REDACTED] @ Constellation [John Hodgman, Doug Benson, David Cross, Brian Posehn, 1/2 of Superchunk, Kyle Kinane, Cameron Esposito]. Played Pet Society on the night I thought was the last. Spin x2 Man Or Astro-Man? instore @ Saki. Epic neighborhood walk & breakfast at Handlebar with Eliza. Grilling @ Amanda & Derek’s.

Films watched 24th week of the year:

The Tragedy of Man ** [ Hungary ]
Brighton Rock
Behind the Burly Q *
The Impossible
The Ugly Dachshund
Struck by Lightning

* documentary
** foreign language

This was a really great week for films. The Tragedy of Man was incredible. Seek this film out and watch it. Every one of these films gave me something different. Being a huge Glee fan, I’m very proud of Chris Colfer [Kurt from Glee] for writing and starring in Struck by Lightning, which was very dark and clever. The Impossible was very rough to watch because it was so realistic. I had to look away during a few scenes. Really good we followed it up with –> The Ugly Dachshund is a Disney film I had no idea even existed until I stumbled upon it on the internet. Thank you, internet! The film is filled with some of the best animal hijinks I’ve ever seen. CG, you have nothing on live action hijinks! Fans of dogs in general, or specifically doxies or Great Danes, will love this film!

Proof that the Twee-ki party was a success!

Started getting a Fresh Picks box delivered again. Spin x3. Z and I worked on putting together our wedding registry. Delicious bday dinner @ Mana. Annie & Anne’s Bday party @ Goose Island Clybourn. Finally got around to selling my beach cruiser! My Twee-ki bday party where we made the Coconut Bang and the Scorpion with LCB’s amazing Vitamix blender. Sunday was Recovery and then erranding.

This week flew by and Rhymes with Twee is gearing up to sell at the Journeyman Distillery Artisan Market next weekend in Three Oaks, MI! I can’t wait to spend some more time in that lovely little town where our friends Sarah and Todd got married last year and where our friends Mike and Eliza got engaged this year. I’ll be staying at a wee B&B called The Pumpernickel Inn. Wedding stuff took this week over, but I need to get back into the creative swing of things. I resolve to get at least one new product made this week. Tweekly make: Parsnip fries that turned out burnt, but I know for next time to cut the fries larger!

Also, I have been really inspired by these random acts of kindness that have been showing up on the internet and I am going to try to do at least one a week.

Films watched 19th week of the year:

Detropia *
Dead Snow ** [ Norway ]
Rust and Bone ** [ France ]

* documentary
** foreign language

NRWW-027 by Rich Salamander. Available on Rich’s Etsy Shop. I met Rich way back when I worked with him at MPShows/South Union Arts. His wire artwork was very impressive to me and reminds me of one line drawings. This show was meant to be of regulars at Rainbo and there are even pieces of photobooths, all done in wire. Hung up at Rainbo, these pieces had movement seemingly from the uplighting beneath them. Very enjoyable. Not sure how long the show is up, but make sure to stop by Rainbo to see it.

A very productive week. Took Kirstie out for a bday dinner. Spin/Dinner & drinks @ Takio with Paige Worthy. Z went to Cleveland. Friends & Fun @ Emporium. Dinner with Shanley’s @ Native Foods. Opening of my friend Rich’s art show @ Rainbo. Kiku/Megan Lee Designs Open Studio. Kimmi hang. Chicago Flea. Eliza’s Bridal Shower in Orland Park. Picked Z up from Midway. Listened to the John Vanderslice rarities disc given as a Kickstarter reward many times. <3 JV. Zachary brought back a lovely stack of early birthday presents for me from his family. Good things happening this week. Tweekly make: Making my space prettier. Organization continues and I've put a few things up for sale on Craigslist. I've been trying to tick through a very long list of to-dos. I knocked out a good number of them this weekend, but some have been hanging out on the list far too long though. Progress is hard. Films watched 18th week of the year:

Unmistaken Child *
LOL (2012)
Sleep Dealer ** [ Mexico ]

* documentary
** foreign language

Sleep Dealer is really great Mexican film with big ideas done on a relatively small budget.