CharlieChicago - A Blog by Charlie Thomason

Can't wait to get the kayak back out!

Judging by today's weather, shouldn't be too much longer now

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My Artwork is on Amazon!! "The Murder of Mingo Jack" by James M. Stone

The Murder of Mingo Jack: New Jersey's only nineteenth century lynching by James M. Stone

The day has finally come! My cousin's first work of nonfiction, which I did the cover art for, is now available on Amazon.

I started with an original oil painting of what I thought the man in the title, Mingo Jack, would look like based on my cousin's description of him (there are no known photographs of him). To be fair, I actually used water-soluble oils because I find they are simply easier to work with; I painted it on a 9" x 12" piece of medium-density fiberboard (MDF). 

Once it had dried, I scanned it into Photoshop using a Canon Canoscan 8800F. From there, I made very minor adjustments to the color, plus cropping, and added the title design.

The book itself is quite good and you need not be from the Garden State to enjoy it. This is the description listed on Amazon:

"In March 1886 in the quiet town of Eatontown, New Jersey, a brutal beating and rape took place of a young white woman named Angelina Herbert. She implicated an elderly African American man named Mingo Jack in the crime. The townspeople wanted vengence and lynched Mingo Jack before he could even be questioned about the crime. What followed was an inquest to find the murderers and an attempt to prove Mingo Jack was not guilty of the crime. Was Mingo Jack guilty of the assualt against Angelina Herbert or was it a case of mistaken identy? Largerly forgotten, this story will be fascinating to anyone interested in the history of New Jersey."

There's already a negative review posted on it, though it's quite obviously spam and we're working to get it removed. Anyway, BUY A COPY RIGHT NOW.

I also did some photo-editing and proofreading on another book, The Sounds of Chicago's Lakefront by Tony Macaluso.

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Filed under  //   art   books  

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Android app: Slacker Radio

I may have finally found a radio station that works for me. Pandora is too repetitive; AM/FM radio is too commercial; Slacker Radio is perfect though. Their "90s Alternative" station plays 95% songs that I love and the free version has very limited commercial interruption. It streams great on my droid while I do other things (such as type this blog entry).

I would suggest they come up with a better incentive to get me to sign up for the paid version though; the commercials on the free version aren't annoying enough to merit paying to get rid of them.

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Sneak preview of the new apartment

Clear home internet? Check.
HD antennae converter box? Check.
Books organized? Check.
Any homework done whatsoever?...... not yet.

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In the words of Freddie Mercury...

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This is how I feel today

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Spooky Tribune Tower in last night's storm [Droid Photo of the Day]

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Cute little @Amanda_bee on the phone on the train [Droid Photo of the Day]

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Smoke on the Southside [Droid Photo of the Day]

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Floating above the Y [Droid Photo of the Day]

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