Matt Maldre

@spudart

Artist & designer Museum wanderer. Noticer of small things. Open web advocate. Chicago / Glen Ellyn, Illinois 🎨 🏠 mattmaldre.com 🏢 tribunecontentagency.com

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Matt Maldre@spudart· 23d

Today, I was looking up croquet rule books on eBay. In the results was this limited edition artist book, "Squarings" by Seamus Heaney x Sol Lewitt x (Arion Press 2003) So bizarre, because I previously blogged about making a Sol Lewitt artwork into a croquet course. www.ebay.com/itm/16672417...

Matt Maldre@spudart· 24d

Got a new box of Sharpies. I'm gonna keep track of how old they are. Other tracking methods I tried are in my blog post. www.spudart.org/blog/sharpie...

Matt Maldre@spudart· 24d

And another croquet sweater.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4407743363/cream-cardigan-sweater-wpeople-playing?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=croquet+sweater&ref=sr_gallery-1-22&sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=search&pro=1&frs=1&content_source=c951fb99-7ea5-45e0-9c60-4f3d81033143%253ALTcb322127f443706058749eefe35a7f7eb3c30251&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=c951fb99-7ea5-45e0-9c60-4f3d81033143%3ALTcb322127f443706058749eefe35a7f7eb3c30251

Matt Maldre@spudart· 24d

New addition to my "Croquet sweaters" Pinterest board. www.pinterest.com/spudart/croq...

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 10

When I worked at the Tribune Tower, when someone would go on vacation, sometimes we would put my Mr. T in their chair, and take photos of Mr. T doing that person's job. And we'd send the photos to the person on vacation to let them know everything is covered... by Mr. T.

Photo taken November 12, 2002. (not my desk, but a coworker's)
photo-20021112_165157.JPG

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 10

Funny to see this artwork of yachts appear randomly in my browser today. (via @artinstitutechi.bsky.social's Chrome add-on #ArtTab) Today is the first day of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.

"The Yachts" by Charles Sheeler, 1924 from Art Institute of Chicago
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/78846/the-yachts?utm_medium=chrome-extension-spudart&utm_source=The%20Yachts

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 9

I love @scripting.com's approach. Yes! Let's do the open web again and learn from past mistakes. We can do it! scripting.com/2026/06/29.h...

Of course I read [Josh Marshall's piece](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/google-ai-oligarchy-and-the-end-of-the-open-web) about the end of the open net. Now let's go back to when it started and do it again, using everything we learned, try not to make the same mistakes. Josh was there, pretty sure he was at the first BloggerCon. [#](http://scripting.com/2026/06/29.html#a125641 "Direct link to this item.")

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 7

I made it into another one of Paul Lukas' articles. Last time it was about my 2016 Cubs World Series scorecards on Uni-Watch. web.archive.org/web/20170804... This time, it's for my official coin used to settle family disputes. www.inconspicuous.info/i/204723512/...

The Art of Keeping Score — Literally
By Paul Lukas, on July 31st, 2017
Matt Maldre appears to be an interesting cat. He lives in Chicago, where he engages in a variety of art projects. He also loves keeping a scorecard during a ballgame. Put those two things together — art and scorecards — and you get something like this.

That’s Maldre’s scorecard from a 2016 Diamondbacks/Cubs game. He posted it, along with some other scorecard artwork, on one of his several blogs, and at some point his work came across the radar of the folks at Chicago magazine, who commissioned him to do scorecards for each game of the 2016 World Series.

Matt Maldre
(Photos by Matt Maldre)
In my house, there are often disputes over who picks what to watch on TV, who gets to sit in the front seat, and so on. We resolve these disputes by using an official family coin — a French Piastre from 1908 (shown above). I originally got it mostly because I wanted to own something from 1908 when the Cubs last won the World Series, just so I could hold something in my hand that physically existed from that time period. (There’s more information about the coin and its role in our family here.)

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 7

As of 35 minutes ago, this flag is back in stock from @harebrained.bsky.social www.harebraineddesign.com/collections/...

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 7

Today starts the five-day microseason, "Warm winds blow" 温風至 Atsukaze itaru This wire figure swings on Montrose Harbor on July 30, 2011. #microseason #photooftheday #blueskyartshow

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 6

It's kinda weird seeing artists on my top 20 that I haven't listened to much lately. I guess in those early years, I really overloaded on some. I could ALWAYS listen to PM Dawn, though. Here's my top artists from the past year. The one I'm most excited about recently is Lil Sis Nora.

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 6

Looking at my all-time most-played artists since 2007, PM Dawn ranks #12. And my most listened-to PM Dawn song is "Plastic". I'm rather surprised.

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 6

Answer: Google Docs introduced "download as markdown" on July 16, 2024. Thank you, Google! workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2024/07/impo...

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 6

Since when did Google Docs have a download as markdown option? I love it!

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 1

My blog's categories and tags were all messed up. I had some things as categories, some were tags. Now all the categories are tags. Here's all the merged tags: www.spudart.org/tags/

Ancient cultures(11) Antarctica(11) Art(853) Artistic challenges(9) Art projects(28) Art Tab(16) ASCII art ideas(12) Badminton(8) Baseball(171) Beat the Streak(10) Bicycling(24) Birthday(20) Chicago(924) Chicago Bean(12) Chicago Picasso(10) Christian(45) Christmas(40) Comics(35) Creative process(15) Design(373) Design portfolio(85) Dodgeball tips(10) Electricity(10) Estonia(27) Etc(175) Evernote(8) Facebook(26) Flickr(27) Flickr is better than Instagram(9) Fun at work(62) Fun with chocolate(22) Fun with color(16) Fun with croquet(65) Fun with etymology(16) Fun with flags(16) Fun with football(10) Fun with Hot Wheels(15) Fun with numbers(47) Fun with pigeons(13) Fun with receipts(9) Fun with Star Wars(62) Fun with the Art Institute of Chicago(121) Fun with time(11) Fun with Transformers(32) Fun with voting(10) Fun with Walgreens(30) Fun with Xerox machines(11) Glen Ellyn(28) Google Image Search(18) Google Translate(13) Halloween(10) Healthy living(200) Illustration(64) Instagram(15) LEGO(20) Life(262) Looks like(17) Maps(23) Money(81) Mr. T(13) Muppets(12) Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago(25) Music(42) New word ideas(45) Olympics(33) Origami ideas(14) Outer space(127) Parenting(20) Paris(10) Photography(50) Piero Lissoni(9) Podcast(10) Podcasts(16) Poems(22) Pop culture(246) Postage stamps and mail(32) Potato(19) Printable(10) Public benches(10) Public space art(15) Public transit (buses & trains)(55) Questions(336) Sidewalk ideas(24) Snow(58) Soda pop(27) Spongebob Squarepants(8) Sports(310) Spotify(26) Sticky Note Comics(10) Tech(462) Toys(57) Trees(21) Tribune Tower(47) Twitter(13) Urbandictionary accepted(11) Urbandictionary rejected(31) Weather(43) Webcams(8) What I learned this week(8) Words(374)

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 1

Closeups of both. Because who doesn't enjoy staring into the depths of SpongeBob's eyes? Or drive a war machine. Maybe those are related in some way.

Cockpit of the Cobra H.I.S.S. tank. The steering wheel has a ridiculously long shaft.

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jul 1

Christmas Spongebob Cobra H.I.S.S. #toypairing Both have a dome display. The driver in the H.I.S.S. tank would be on display just as much as Spongebob is in his display dome.

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 30

Closeups of the engines

Closeup of engine inside Matchbox Moving Parts 1:64 scale die-cast model of the 1957 Ford Country Sedan (HLF52)

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 30

R2-KT and Matchbox Moving Parts 1957 Ford Country Sedan both allow you to look into the engine. #toypairings

Matchbox Moving Parts 1:64 scale die-cast model of the 1957 Ford Country Sedan (HLF52) and R2-KT on my desk.

R2-KT with the head removed.
1957 Ford Country Sedan with front hood open

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 30

Seeing the blocks in the original context is pretty cool. You can see how integral they were in the overall design. Image via the photographer's blog post bldg51.com/2026/03/08/r...

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 30

The Chicago Hounds are undefeated 9-0. They won this close match 33-32 in the last moments of the game. rugbypass.tv/video/966700...

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 29

Hilarious that Instagram who forces people to go vertical with Reels, Stories, and the grid... is now experimenting with... GASP... HORIZONTAL VIDEO! But I'm here for it. Let's start the horizontal movement—the way it should have been all along.

A New Place To Doomscroll

"Instagram is ramping up its efforts to attract more viewers on television," writes the Hollywood Reporter. "The Meta-owned social app will be testing out horizontal video on Instagram for TV, their preexisting feature that allows viewers to watch social videos on the big screen in their living room...The company will also be experimenting with longer-form storytelling and episodic series with creators, in addition to trying live TV creator experiences on for size."

Text from NewCity Today
https://newcity.omeclk.com/portal/public/ViewCommInBrowser.jsp?Sv4%2BeOSSucxbgNtABn2dozXMI9NByQ9igL7Y%2BmAGkHUJGXwXfBV0FZwAbcnt%2FYmjBECfo7%2F7cL4%3DA

Link in the screenshot goes to
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/instagram-testing-longform-episodic-storytelling-tv-1236625661/

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 29

Diggin this Hot Wheels (Maserati Tipo 61 - JJH44)

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 26

I'd drive dat. In high school, we got my grandma's 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix. Beautiful car. (Not my pics)

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 23

I just love how my custom version #ArtTab crops images. (Art Tab is a Chrome extension made by the Art Institute of Chicago. I modified it to go full-screen)

"The Cigarette" by Henriette Amiard Oberteuffer, n.d. from Art Institute of Chicago 1932.975. Displayed by Chrome extension, Art Tab
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/12644/the-cigarette?utm_medium=chrome-extension-spudart&utm_source=The%20Cigarette

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 17

Curious how Uni-ball® 207™ Impact™ Gel Pens (1.0 mm) are at their all-time lowest price.

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 16

Totally digging the Hot Wheels H.I.S.S. tank

Hot Wheels Cobra H.I.S.S. G.I. Joe Pop Culture Premium Series 1:64 Scale Collectible Die Cast Metal Toy Car Model. On my desk.

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 16

Earlier this year, I said I would be flying the flag on June 16th in honor of Shawn Pahnke of Shelbyville, Indiana, who passed away 23 years ago, serving our country in Iraq. Today is June 16th. Full blog post: www.spudart.org/blog/pay-pho...

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 15

Is it possible that the Hot Wheels Service Center Sto & Go set (1979) inspired the G.I. Joe Mobile Command Center (1987)?

Matt Maldre@spudart· Jun 15

I like this color palette for Chicago (just needs a red accent to match the red stars in the Chicago flag) I'm assuming Benjamin Moore generates ads like this for every major American city. Did anyone else get an ad like this in Facebook?