the photography:

Portrait #25 is Amy | Portrait #26 is Gareth

before you all get into a tizzy about “where the hell did all the famous people go?”… just chill out. amy and gareth are famous but none of ya’ll know it yet (including them). amy works behind the scenes at the truly fantastic television program, Antiques Roadshow (the american version) and is partly responsible for keeping me on track in college during my early years. i met amy when i worked at admissions as a tour guide. she was the one who called me and got me out of bed when i missed my tours. she’s awesome.

gareth is her husband. he and i have done many stupid and fun things together including one bourbon filled night that ended with some metallic paint on our faces, a happy birthday balloon, and helium. luckily only roger slept under someone’s bed that night. back in the early oughts (00′s), gareth and i started (with a number of other people) an online magazine for twentysomethings looking to make more out of their lives than a paycheck and a pension. it was fun while it lasted and gareth and i have stayed friends throughout. we also played ultimate frisbee together in college back when we were both hippies. this piece of knowledge will be denied in person so don’t ask us about it. he currently is starting a new job with CBS Sports (as he formerly worked for the New England Patriots and Fox Sports) working on their 2009-10 football season and on the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. he’s also just as fantastic as his wife.

and again, i shot them entirely with the prime 28mm. the photos were taken during a day of checking out the new modern art wing at the Art Institute here in chicago. it was a glorious day with lots of thinking and lots of people watching. a good time was had by all. SIDE NOTE: i take full credit most of the credit for introducing Amy and Gareth (the hahn picks up 10% for early date help and in cultivating interest). in turn, Gareth takes credit for introducing me to my wife. a karmic high-five indeed. when i get famous, they will definitely tell people that they know me much like the current state if things where i tell people that i know them.

the music:
mark linkous, the brains and hands behind sparklehorse, is a solemn dude. i think that’s why i point to this record so much when i’m chatting to someone about my long path towards maturity as an adult. i purchased this disc solely on the advice of mike, the owner and operator of Aboveground Records (one of the best) on the vineyard one afternoon. i think i listened to this record for about two years straight without stopping. it lead to some heavy decision making within my personal life with losing friends who wanted to mold me into something i wasn’t, leaving boston, finding raleigh, drinking, finding myself, losing myself again, drinking, breaking up with a girlfriend who wanted to mold me into something i wasn’t, and finally waking up one day in chicago. PJ Harvey guests on this track. and she rules. it’s a deep record with lots of sad tones and somber lows. luckily it’s not all tears in beers, there are some uplifting tracks sprinkled about. much like this one.