It’s hard not to see or hear people talking about the upcoming Presidential Election everywhere you go. Though it does get a bit annoying, it’s refreshing to not hear people talking about Kardashians or Kate Middleton’s wedding for a change. If you were hoping that...
By Brandon Kirk
[This is part two of an ongoing narrative based around a single playthrough I did of the Indie game FTL. It's highly abstracted and fictionalized, but it's entirely based on in-game events and situations. It's a fun game. You should play it.]
Dear Diary...
by Brandon Lionel Kirk
[This is the first in a series of posts narrating a single playthrough of the indie game FTL. It's all made up, but entirely based on things that happen in the game. We open on a aspiring young captain, setting off on a vital mission to save the Federation . . . ]
Hopefully by now you've looked up your nearest and soonest Color Run and signed up for it on the Color Run website. Please find enclosed additional pictures to make you excited for the cool thing you'll be doing.
Somehow my email address was signed up for this “Apartment Guide” newsletter, which basically just sends me random garbage about apartments pretty much every day. I totally don’t need that, since I’m already an apartment expert. Apparently it’s ...
There's this thing called the Color Run. It happens in a bunch of cities all over the country, and just this past weekend it happened in Chicago. It also happens that it's one of the coolest things ever.
It's just a regular old 5k, except that at predetermined locations a...
My parents moved to Arcadia, Indiana a few years ago. Every summer, Arcadia has a little festival to kick off the start of summer or whatever. It's no C2E2 - in fact it's kind of the opposite - but it was a chance for me to take a few pictures on a beautiful day.
I call i...
About five years ago I posted pictures here of some alleyways and dumpsters in West Lafayette, Indiana. For some reason I am fascinated by the secrets hiding behind the scenes in urban areas. Well-kept storefronts and urban planning can spruce up a city street, but it's an a...
I was digging through my pictures folder, and I came across some pictures I took back in '09 when I went to the Field Museum. Some of them are kind of neat, so I figured I would post them here. Don't take this as any sort of sign that I'm running out of content to post here....
I don’t want to get ahead of myself, here, but I am really having a hard time being in favor of gel. Yes, technically gel is better than paste ink. It’s darker, it’s less vulnerable to fading or washing, it works on more mediums, and it’s better on the environment...
Last weekend I went to a birthday party for a few friends. It's part of the reason why I neglected to post anything here for a few days. Please excuse this personal indulgence - I took pictures at the party and I want you to see them. Don't worry, though, they aren't just bo...
...A(nother) Pen Review.
I believe that everybody should have one good pen. You should keep a dependable ballpoint in your pocket for situations when you need to jot down some notes or sign a receipt. It’s as necessary, I feel, as your wallet and keys. Through most of ...
So it's been over two years since I started thinking about getting my very own Web Server, and almost two years since the last time I posted here about it. Needless to say, I haven't just forgotten about it in that time. Turn the way-back machine to two years ago, then...
There are two good reasons to go to a comic convention. You could go to show off your sweet Batman Villain costume, or you could go to spend a bunch of money to complete your Transformers poster collection. However, if you think that's the only reason to go to a nerd expo...
Yesterday we looked at some of the interesting costumes that were to be found at C2E2 this year. That's not the only reason go to a big nerd convention, though. It's also fun to check out all the neat stuff people are trying to sell...
Just last weekend was the annual Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo, or C2E2. This is the second year that I've gone, and the first year I went on a Saturday. It's a pretty exciting event, and though it costs $35 ($25 if you buy tickets ahead of time), I think it's worth it...
A DenyConformity.com Guide
Welcome to the world of public transportation! So you found yourself wanting to be somewhere, and you came to the conclusion that you had to take the bus. Despair no more! A city bus is a logical place, governed by a strict set of rules. Those rules...
A DenyConformity.com review.
George Safford Parker is a classic example of the American Dream. In 1888, Parker was fed up with having to constantly repair the fountain pens he sold for the John Holland Pen Company, so he did what anybody back then did - he made his own. I...
Not long after I moved to Chicago, I took a trip to Michigan Avenue (the Magnificent Mile) to take some pictures. It was still very exciting to live in Chicago, and it was fun to go to Michigan Avenue as a resident instead of a tourist. This place was always such a exotic...
Landscape photography is, perhaps, the last real refuge of the SLR camera. Point and shoot cameras, and depressingly even cellphone cameras these days, are designed to take portraits and light action. Mid- to high-quality point and shoots allow you to adjust aperture setting...
I love looking at all of the different shapes in a big city. Just before Christmas, I went downtown to take a few pictures. I wanted to try to capture the cool juxtaposition of lines and curves, the counterpoint of natural and unnatural. Here are some of the pictures I took...
Halloween has come and gone, and I still have a great deal of pictures to post of my sweet costume. I will continue to post them, if just for my own benefit next year when I need inspiration for my "End of the World" costume in 2012 (I just made that up, but it would actuall...
Are you all working hard on your Halloween costumes? The other day, I posted a few pictures showing how I made a sweet tree shogun Kap, and today I'll show you the next step in my Halloween 2011 costume.
I will be going as a tree this year...
Halloween is coming up in a couple weeks, and this year Alyson and I are going to Nashville to a big party a friend of hers is throwing. I decided that I had better get a good costume together, because of how much I hate looking the fool in front of people. For the last few ...
My parents live in the middle of nowhere. They like it because it's nice and remote, and they get to see plenty of wildlife. My parents love wildlife. They love the deer, the birds, and the turtles. They love everything . . . except the snakes. It turns out my Mom hates...
The Rapture might not have arrived, but nobody can deny that some pretty impressive things have been going on in the atmosphere around the Midwest United States. The sky holds a great deal of power. Though I certainly feel terrible about the victims of the various horrible storms...
I enjoy Photography. Hopefully, and judging by the fact that you're here (and haven't said "this website sucks" yet), you enjoy my photography. Well, I have good news.
No, it isn't "I haven't updated my website in like a billion forevers."
I have l...
