Kinetic Loop

Chicagoan Colleen Plumb has two photos on 20×200 — Tiger Rug, Cabrini Green and Field Museum Sue.

Can you believe it’s that time again? That’s right, it’s the 5th Annual Plastics Processors Conference & Polyolefins Industry Workshop, which brings today’s business person up to speed with language, concepts and key issues in the polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) supply chain, from resin process technology through to finished goods. I’ll be live blogging, podcasting and twittering the event at the Chicago Marriott Downtown, as I network with fabricators, converters and end-users from diverse markets. Just kidding. (But remember, readers, avoid plastics with a code of 7, and try to use only code 2 or code 5.)

Anthony Bourdain, punk rock chef, interviewed. “The tip is, if there’s too many white people eating in a place, there’s something wrong. The best Chinese place is the one that can support an entirely Chinese clientele. It’s the same rule as would apply around the world; those are the places you want to go.

GeekDad reviews the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian. “For me, though, the highlight of the show was the arrays of hand-drawn cartoons, mostly done by Henson himself, around the walls of the exhibit.  The cartoons showed his thought processes, how he built characters and then built stories around them.” Argh, I want to see it, but it won’t be in Chicago ’til like, 2050.

The Globe & Mail has a piece about Mathieu Saura’s stripped-down videos of musicians.

SFGate writes about the new California Academy of Sciences building, opening in 31 days. “Soon to be transferred to the new academy building, too, are legions of bats, flying geckos, chameleons, ants by the thousands and many more animals and plants.” And I’ll be posting about the inevitable escapes from their transport containers.

Lastly, most plants are left-handed.

Eight Orange line cars will circle the Loop as a mobile art exhibition on August 30, from 6-10 pm. Three staff members on each car (all of whom have extensive close-combat training and will fuck you up), will talk about the art and ensure its safety. Watch for those nerve pinches.

The NYT writes about Cloud Gate in a piece on public sculpture. “The Kapoor Bean’s giant, mercurylike dollop of brilliantly polished steel gives the phrase plop art robust new life and converts this artist’s sometimes glib involvement with reflective surfaces into an enveloping experience both humorous and almost sublime.”

Illustrator and Eisner award winner Rutu Modan is interviewed about her latest book, Exit Wounds, and her childhood, which seems a little Dharma Initiative.

Tod Goldberg on writing Burn Notice tie-in books: “The difference this time was the show itself: I am a huge fan of ‘Burn Notice.’ It’s smart, funny, visually arresting and has the tone and style of my favorite Elmore Leonard novels.”

USA Today asks if Pushing Daisies can hold on to its first season viewers and attract new viewers for its upcoming second season. I couldn’t wait to see if PD would make it to its second season — I wrote a spec script during the first season.

I love Jamie Campbell’s Beasts of Burden series (with mascot heads).

Lastly, the Patent for the Bubble Pipe: “A bubble pipe, which comprises a hollow tubular member having first and second open ends, a mouthpiece closing said first end and having an orifice therein communicating with the interior of said hollow member, said second end being adapted to support a film of a bubble solution thereacross, and a film divider at the second end for dividing the film of bubble solution carried by the second end, the cross-sectional area of the opening at said second end being about sixteen times the cross-sectional area of said mouthpiece.”

Extra lastly, I should’ve bought this cookbook…