Kaboooki Michael

Steven and I had sweet shirts to wear with MJ's birth and death years.

More pictures on my Flickr.

MJ Procession - R.I.P.

Here are some shots from the Michael Jackson Memeorial Procession (put on by photographer Jason Lazarus) We started at MJ's boyhood home in Gary, Indiana. More shots on my Flickr.

We Sentence the First Four Defendants to Death by Hanging

Update on the murder and trial of John Granville's killer. Here.
See more about him, here.

Viva la Vida

dona and looking hot!

Ingrid Graf 1969 - 2009

Ingrid Susan Graf, a remarkably bright and engaging young woman, much loved by friends and family, died on March 29th at the age of 40.

A graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep and Oberlin College, Ingrid continued her pursuit of useful knowledge by completing two masters degrees: Masters of Social Work at Loyola University, and an M.B.A. at the University of Illinois. Ingrid applied her great intellect to helping people, working first at the Department of Children and Family Services, and then for 11 years at the University of Illinois Survey Research Lab, where her colleagues appreciated her energy and imagination, and her skill at planning and directing their important social science projects and coordinating their efforts.

She is survived by her boyfriend Chris Williams and her immediate family--cousins Cindy Paulauskas, Terri Lydon and Tom Lydon, uncles John Radner and John Reque, Aunt Barbara Radner, and mother Mary Ann Pike--as well as by hundreds of friends. Her family is deeply thankful for the great efforts of the Chicago Fire Department and the extraordinary care of the doctors, nurses and staff at Northwestern Hospital, and for the many kindnesses of Father Paulson and Ingrid's friends during this time of loss. There was a private burial on March 31st, and there will be a Memorial Service on May 16th where her hundreds of friends can celebrate her life and enduring friendship. "In a chaotic world, friendship is the most elegant, the most lasting way to be useful. We are, each of us, a living testament to our friends' compassion and tolerance, humor and wisdom, patience and grit." (Lonely Planet, Steven Dietz, 1992.)

The family has established a scholarship fund at St. Ignatius to honor Ingrid. For information, contact Tom Ramsden: 312.432.8346, tom.ramsden@ignatius.org.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Death of Solve.

The Phoenix

I'm not sure where my grandma is now, but I have kept a candle burning.














I believe in reincarnation and the photo below is a mock-up of some imagery I am working with relating to that.

Memento Mori - LaVerne Weimer

My brother-in-law, sister and dad view the body of my Gram.
I have to say the body is not a good representation of the real LaVerne. Also, the outfit seems to be more of a past favorite. Please see her last formal portrait.

Last Formal Portrait of LaVerne Bernadette Wischmeier Weimer

June 27th, 1916 - September 28, 2008


This is her handwriting on the back.

"LaVerne Weimer - 91
Dec. 2007 for church book"

She had wonderful penmanship.
I was given this photo in its frame to scan and share with my family. Besides being her last portrait it is also a great portrait. Very much her likeness. Way to go Olan Mills! She is wearing her favorite set of jewelry, the "pink set", given to her by her kids for her 90th birthday. By some wonder I am still trying to understand, I was given the pink ring to this set and have barely taken it off since I put it on my finger, right then and there.

So, another surprise awaited me, when I opened the frame I found 5 more formal portraits of my Grandparents (all taken at Olan Mills) all for the "church book" from the last 10 years.
I'll post them soon.

Grams House

Here are a few of the crazy lamps at my grams. We attended her memorial today and the funeral is tomorrow. The family spent some time divvying up her things. None of these lamps were claimed.
Update:
This lamp was claimed.

Rest In Peace Gram

My 92 year old Grandma died today. She was the mother of my father. This is a photo of them in 2005.
You can see more great photos of her at Gram Turns 90. Or click on the Grandparents label.

LaVerne Wischmeier Weimer, 92, of Peoria, AZ., passed away on September 28, 2008.
LaVerne was born on June 27, 1916 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Frank and Alma Wischmeier. She was predeceased in 2007 by her husband of 67 years, Harold Weimer. Harold and LaVerne were married in Indianapolis Indiana in 1939. They lived and raised their children in Chicago prior to retiring to Sun City in 1978. Subsequently, they moved to Sierra Winds in Peoria AZ. LaVerne is survived by her four children, Brenda (Dave) Carlson of Walnut Creek, CA; Gary (Judy) Weimer of Lombard, IL; Rebecca (Doug) Gallemore of Joplin, Mo.; and Cheryl (John) Gupta-Fletcher of Lisle, II; six grandchildren, Dwight (Susan) Carlson; Cindy ( Paul) Little and Amanda (Kirk) Ziehm; Melissa Lane Weimer; Samudra Gupta; Megan (Josh) Bryant; and four great grandchildren, Nathan Little, Lauren Little, Aurora Carlson, and Audrey Carlson. She is also survived by her brother-in-law Gail Weimer of Reading, PA. and nephew Eric Weimer of Chicago, Illinois
LaVerne was a life-long faithful and active member of the Lutheran Church. LaVerne was also a 26 year member of Nu Hope Alano Club.

There will be a private family internment service at Sunland Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of the Valley, 9720 W. Peoria Ave. Suite 128, Peoria AZ 85345.

R.I.P. Jason

Here is Jay, alive and well. Obviously, another neighborhood Jason is not so lucky.
As you can see my blog is all over the place, sort of like my life right now. I have tons of different projects in the fire and hope to reach some closure (or at least the next level) with a few of them soon....

Cain and Able

2700 block of North Fairfield.

At 4 am on Wednesday a 16 year old boy was shot in the head and killed by his 19 year old brother in the apartment they share with their family in a "domestic dispute". The 19 year old bother is a felon, the 16 year old had not been listed in CPS for over a year.

Kamikaze

It is a persistent superstition in many cultures that moths should not be killed and represent a dead relative visiting or some variation on this theme. Last night at dinner a moth came and landed on the table between my friend and I. I told her the superstition and everyone at the table stopped and looked at the moth. To our suprise, it promptly flew to the edge of the candel on our table and dove into the hot wax.

Solve

I came across this Solve sticker this weekend while taking portraits of Joey D.

Death of Solve

Normally, i wouldn't post this, as I don't know SOLVE at all, though he runs in some overlapping art worlds with myself. I can tell you that he was 24, an artist (street/graphic/fine) and murdered. He was stabbed to death close to my house in Logan Square earlier this week. The above image is one of the many tribute pieces popping up all over town. I didn't take this photo - I stole it off the web. For more click HERE.

Rest in Peace

Leona Marie Schmitt

Rest in Peace.
An amazing woman left this earth in April.
Click here for a photo of Mrs. Schmitt and her substantial legacy.

The Weimers 1958

My Aunt Cher, the baby in this photo, just brought this back from a visit to my grandma's. My dad is the young man in the photo. Click here for more shots of my dad and his mother. Also, here is a shot of my Grandpa, who passed away last summer.

OK...

This is the final post on John. You can read a release, recounting some speeches at his memorial, by USAID HERE. And you can get details on the Memorial Scholarship, here.

This is a USAID photo of John and a few recipients of the solar radios he was distributing in advance of Sudan's forthcoming elections.

Our hearts are breaking. Rest in Peace.