Remembering Ron Kirk

Ron during a run in West Virginia.

On January 16, Ron Kirk, 46 of Las Vegas, sent his sister a text saying he was going hiking. It was the last anyone would hear from him.

Word spread to Chicago about a week after Ron’s disappearance that he had not been heard from in a few days. I immediately sent him a text to check on him. This was not the first time I had sent him this type of text. He was known for doing some pretty wacky things. One time he rode his bike down I-290 and passed out on the side of the highway. Another time at a big hash event he jumped in the Chicago River and went for a swim (the Chicago River is not the place to just go for a swim). He always ran without his shirt, no matter the temperature and made snow angels like a kid without a care in the world. Continue reading →

Five New Albums I’m Digging

I’ve been slacking off in the writing department lately, but here are five of my favorite new albums. Note that I’ve even included handy Amazon links so you can buy an album or two and support you favorite insane asylum website.  Continue reading →

QOTD: Let’s Spend Some Money

In the Tuesday Open Thread, BaldwinP started a conversation about a South by Southwest publicity stunt, where homeless people were hired to wear a t-shirt proclaiming “I’m a wireless hotspot!” The participants were paid $20 a day, plus they kept all monies paid by wireless hotspot users.

Predictably, Crasstalkers had opinions about this event. Although the operation seemed beneficent on the surface, some commenters opined that the setup ended up dehumanizing the homeless people who participated. Continue reading →

Game Review: Mass Effect 3

In 2007, BioWare released Mass Effect, the first game in a new epic trilogy of action/RPG games. In 2010, they released Mass Effect 2, the second much-anticipated installment, to rave reviews. A week ago, they released Mass Effect 3, the epic conclusion to the trilogy.

Unfortunately, as many gamers have discovered, the galaxy does not end with a bang, but rather, with a very disappointing whimper.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS OF MASS EFFECT 3, SPECIFICALLY THE ENDING. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.
Continue reading →

Brian Moylan Leaves Gawker

In a brief post on the front page of Gawker this afternoon, it was announced that Brian Moylan is leaving Gawker Media. The post was short and did not give a reason for the separation or outline Moylan’s future plans. The announcement was followed by praise for Moylan from some of the other members of the Gawker staff but management was noticeably absent, whereas with Richard Lawson’s goodbye post Remy Stern had a few nice words. Continue reading →