A Feel Good Movie Just When You Need One…
I have a strange obsession with horror movies. I don't know why. They scare the shit out of me and the really good ones can trigger one of my panic attacks - so why do I love them so much? Especially the gory ones. Unnecessary gore for some reason really just makes me happy. Well, not happy happy, but I →
Facebook Emoticons
Need to spice up your Facebook chat? No problemo. Here's a complete list of all the Facebook emoticons available to use: Smile :-) :) :] =) Frown :-( :( :[ =( Tongue :-P :P :-p :p =P Grin :-D :D =D Gasp :-O :O :-o :o Wink ;-) ;) Glasses 8-) 8) B-) B) Sunglasses 8-| 8| B-| B| Grumpy >:( >:-( Unsure :/ :-/ :\ :-\ Cry :'( Devil 3:) 3:-) →
Bouggy Photo Shoot
So I landed a modeling gig with Bouggy clothing line (London, Chicago) and I did their main campaign shoot today at the Funky Buddha Lounge in downtown Chicago. That place rocks! They had me in Gucci boots and Hugo Boss jeans to go with the haute couture t-shirts I was modeling. My outfit cost more than a month's rent! The →
Candide Live on Broadway (2005)
Talk about an all-star cast of a fabulous musical! This is the definitive version of Leonard Bernstein's "Candide", preserved for all time (or until someone gets rights-happy) on YouTube. I think Patti LuPone is so amazing as The Old Lady!! And of course Kristin Chenoweth is unbelievable as Cunegonde. And Paul Graves.. O. M. G. What a beautiful voice. Enjoy!
High Fidelity (The Musical) Staged Reading
At the Chicago staged reading of High Fidelity The Musical at the Mercury Theatre with my friends Harmony and Elliott! Just sitting in the audience, chatting and waiting for the show to start. We had a couple beers and buffalo wings before the show ftw! So, feeling good and excited to see an all-star Chicago cast which includes a number →
A Lion Called Christian
I'm thinking of kindling the book A Lion Named Christian (I have Kindle on my iPhone ftw). It's a very unique story about a british couple who bought a lion cub from Harrod's in London (back before they were an endangered species) and were permitted to raise it until maturity. At that point they had to release it into the →
Get Started With Photoshop CS4
I get a lot of people asking me what the best way is to get started with graphic design. I always have some immediate resources that I use and refer them to, and I also have my standbys. Here are some of my favorite recent resource finds and standbys that you can visit for some great inspiration, tools, and techniques →
We All Can’t Be Stars…
After a long day of cleaning, my cat Manji snuggled up on a chair to take a cat nap and provide sage advice... "We all can't be stars... (But we can all twinkle)!"
Mary Poppins!
I went to see Mary Poppins (the musical) at the Cadillac Palace theatre downtown today. It was AMAZING!! I can't remember the last time I had such a great time in the theatre. I felt like a kid again! Highly recommended!
Free Eric M Chicago Website Background
Hey all! I was playing in Photoshop the other day, making various backgrounds for my Twitter profile, blog, Fafarazzi profile, etc. and learning various techniques for making seamless tiling backgrounds. Here's one of my favorites that I made, and I'm making it available for you to use as you like! You may want to compress the image yourself before using →
You Know You’re A Graphic Designer When…
So here's some unambiguous warning sings that you're well on the way to becoming a design nerd or that you already work as a graphic designer: You can spot bad typography from 100 meters away. You can name more than 200 fonts in under five minutes. You are completely immune to subliminal advertising. You look upon a well-designed project with either: sympathy OR extreme jealousy. Your hand →
…And All That Jazz.
Went to a trendy Chicago piano bar, 3160, last night to hear my friend/client and jazz singer Paul Marinaro. He’s so great! We met years ago before Gentry on Halsted became Scarlet, and we've been good friends ever since. If you want to hear REAL jazz music, listen to these clips of him and his killer trio (the sound clips →
Random Inspiration for a Plain Tuesday
I had a rough weekend, and bitched a lot and put a lot of negative energy out into the universe. So, let’s do something to counteract all that negative energy. I just officially ended my work day, so now it’s time to RELAX! woohoo. I think I’ll send along some inspirational photos, videos, and other things I like, just for the →
Whiskey and Underwear
So, interesting day today! I had a productive design day, and then on my lunch break decided on a whim to go get a haircut at my favorite hair salon here in Chicago, Robert Jeffrey. $35 men’s haircut. Can’t beat it. I had a lovely stylist, we chatted, I paid, and I left. As I walked past His Stuff (my →
MySpacing the past with the present…
Well, I just imported all my old blog entries from MySpace (dating all the way back to 2006!).. you can find out just what an angsty and terrible mess i was in my mid-20s! And of course the much-beloved Chronicles of Agent M.. a collection of short stories that I wrote to mirror my drama-filled life. All of my friends →
Back in the swing of things…
I see I haven't posted to my blog in QUITE some time. Well, just to update everyone, I finished a 2 month run of a successful production of The Foreigner at a nice commercial theatre in the suburbs, my graphic/web design business has taken off and I'm working around the clock, I'm taking a couple months away from theatre to →
