If you’re headed to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in June, watch out for a herd of, er, goats. Slated to provide “sustainable vegetation management grazing services” in a two-year $100,000 contract awarded to a Chicago-based company, they’ll be grazing on weeds and invasive plants on the 120 acres or so weedy grounds there.

The arragement will supposedly save the airport hefty landscape maintenance costs for fuel, labour, herbicides and miscellaneous equipment. Here’s hoping the hooved ones will at least get ear plugs or some sort of sound protection for their sonic welfare.

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Have you ever wondered how people navigated Prohibition-era Chicago? How did the gangsters know where all the best Speak Easy spots were? Or maybe you’re curious about how we’d get around the world if there were no water? Thanks to Vincze Miklos, we now have access to all those bizarre ideas in the form of maps. His blog is dedicated to strange and unusual maps that no one should have time to make.

Anything from maps that distort continents and countries into characters, to maps that document very strange places such as Crazy Town, it’s all here.

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I recently checked out the Canadian band the Arkells at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago. The show was as good as the album. And it was like having a personal concert because the place was empty. I know that this was a rare opportunity; this band is going to blow up. I am still listening to their album Michigan Left on repeat. Addicting and upbeat. Highly recommended.

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For the last three years, in addition to being an artist and graphic designer, I have been working on building up my Chicago streetwear brand Fourth is King. We make t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, skate decks… stuff like that. And our focus is on comfort and simplicity. We recently had the opportunity to put together a short video with the help of Nick Martin. [Buy Fourth Is King in the Lost At E Minor online store]

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Do you think you’re looking at photography? Think again. Contemporary British Realist Painter Nathan Walsh has created these amazing photorealistic paintings of Chicago and New York. Nathan Walsh belongs to a new generation of artists who are extending the boundaries of realist painting. Each work takes three months to complete. Not an easy job if you ask me. These paintings catch the exact details of everyday life in those cities.

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Jon Damaschke is a Chicago animator-turned-photographer whose work blows us away. He has an incredible vintage aesthetic, which is easy to love, and a unique photographic perspective. Considering how amazing his work is, it’s stunning that he’s only been pursuing photography for a few years.

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Chicago musician James Swanberg (under the moniker Today’s Hits) is in the midst of a song-a-day project running on two years. That’s right, for 685 consecutive days (and counting) he’s written and home-recorded a new song, without exception. His mostly garage rock songs are usually around a minute long. They get to the point and get out, but not before implanting themselves in the part of the brain that recognizes catchy melodies.

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Chicago’s Terrible Spaceship have just released their debut album, Invaders 1938. The Chicago Tribune says that the band is ‘equally influenced by Danny Elfman, Portishead and Orson and H.G. Welles’. And who are we to disagree.

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So this is what fire looks like under single-digit temperatures. An empty warehouse in Chicago was recently ensnared in a massive blaze that had a third of Chicago’s firefighting force spraying water at the scene. They ended up covering affected areas — including surrounding buildings and cars — in ice. Even icicles formed on the fire hoses.

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Tattoo artist Joseph Realubit began his artistic studies in the Phillippines before earning a second BFA in Chicago. Realubit now works as an artist in San Francisco. He has a supreme understanding of the physical musculature of the body and how to work with vibrant pigments of ink, creating tattoo art with deeper meaning. Howlya to that!

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Being a street artist himself in Chicago, Chris Silva loves to collaborate with people using found objects and colorful murals to create amazing art that reflects its urban setting. Of his work, he says: ‘I am interested in the visually poetic, employ ambiguity in my work and strive to express the essence rather than the details. I see opportunities in accidents, enjoy unusual combinations of materials, the unpredictable outcomes of collaboration and the general adventure of the creative process’.

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The Retar Crew is a Chicago-based hip hop group comprised of MCs/actors J.Q., G.Q., P.O. and Jackson. The Crew has built a rabid following via their YouTube channel and by offering regular free music downloads via their Website. Their most recent download is entitled Lake Effect.

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Chicago-based artist Mark Siber snaps tall advertising signs in the United States and Europe, then digitally erases their supporting pillars, lending them an almost reverent appeal as they appear to float in mid-air. It says something about the absurdly blind idol worship that people can ascribe to brands.

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Recently, some folks at the Chicago Tribune headed down to the basement and found a bunch of glass-plate negatives from the 1920s and 30s. Some of these glorious old photographs were of famed mobster Al Capone during his 1931 trial for tax evasion. At one time a populist hero, Al brought booze to the people when uptight sycophants thought it best to keep everyone sober and agitated. Now his legend lives on in black and white.

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We’re not quite sure why Chicago-based artist Samantha Alaimo decided, “Let’s cover all the things in Skittles”, but we’re glad she did. She covered all kinds of objects in these colorful candies, and the results are pretty interesting.

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OutsideIn, a boutique electronic music festival, was held at Sydney’s Factory Theatre last week. The inaugural event featured the likes of Oliver Tank, HTRK, FISHING, Flume and Jesse Boykins III in what was a day of smoke, lasers and a lot of bass.

As I walked through the gates into the courtyard, the bass was already pumping. I was running a little behind time and so hot tailed it straight to the Factory Floor to check out Polographia, a duo that describe themselves as ‘misery in a major key’. The atmosphere was amazing as the “rave cave” reached capacity and a smoky haze filled the room.

After doing some interviews, I headed back to the Factory Floor to check out one of my favourite Sydney duo’s, FISHING. Their set was filled with their quirky blend of electronic sounds and chopped up beats and punters were loving it!

I decided to check out a DJ set from Triple J’s lunch presenter, Lewi McKirdy, so I could work my way into a prime position for Melbourne’s HTRK. McKirdy brought a bright electronic set together to the delight of one rather excitable fan and seemed to be having a very good time on stage himself.

Finally, it was time for HTRK’s set, after some sound difficulties. Nigel Yang’s droning beats and stuttering guitars melded beautifully with Jonnine Standish’s haunting vocals and drum banging, as the lights plunged patterns and darkness around the room. The visuals were chilling.

If my mind wasn’t already completely blown, I was about to lose it. Oliver Tank played a charming set on the main stage; filled with his relaxed vocals and beautiful melodies. It was great to see the crowd really getting into his sound.

The set that everyone was talking about was next up: Flume. The Sydney DJ/producer packed out the main room as he brought his whirlwind sound to life. Having released his album the day before, the crowd danced along to his big party vibe as inflatable beach balls were passed around.

Soon enough it was time for Chicago vocalist Jesse Boykins III to take to the stage. His smooth R&B and soul sounds had all the girls in a state of awe. Being joined on stage by producer Melo-X, the duo continued to keep the crowd jumping.

The last act of the day that I caught was American musician Shigeto. The half Japanese wonder effortlessly blended his unique jazz sounds with his blindingly good drumming. Radiohead even turned up side of stage to check him out. Talk about attracting a good fan base!

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There is something incredibly familiar and also utterly unique about the flood of timelapse videos we currently see, a complex network of actions all forming an intricate visual ballet. I vote for a channel dedicated to streaming the best of these 24/7, a throwback to the backdrops we used to see on CNN. Like having Koyaanisqatsi on tap.

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Eric Hines, a photographer/time-lapse cinematographer from Indiana, has recently completed a personal time-lapse piece consisting of over 30,000 still photos shot incrementally between July and October this year around downtown Chicago. The Windy City has always been on my list of cities to visit since I can remember, and this video has shown me again why Chicago is such a cool city.

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Riding on the success of their debut record, Death Wave (2010), Chicago’s Hemmingbirds began working on its follow-up early in 2012. Departing from the original solo writing process of Death Wave (attributed to band leader Yoo Soo Kim), Hemmingbirds worked on their sophomore effort, The Vines of Age, collectively. As a result, the album marks a transition from the group’s original folk- influenced sound into something heavier, noisier and more soulful.

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Chicago’s Furious Frank delightfully blends a big brassy sound and poignant lyrics into their carnival romp, Lament. Told from the perspective of God, the band cleverly pokes fun at the human condition. The corresponding video adds even more to the imagery with witty illustrations and a surprise twist that Furious Frank is, in fact, the solution to the world’s problems.

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