I just want to write something I believe in and believe should be out there in cyberspace someplace. But I’ve realized that publishing in a vacuum is fun for only so long. What I’m saying is that I want to hear from you, gentle reader. There are at least two of you stopping by every hour. I know I have dozens of people tapping my RSS and XML feeds. What draws you here? What keeps you coming back? What resonates with you? Do you have something to add to what I’m saying? I may take your comments to heart, or I may completely ignore you, but at least I’ll have more information than before.
in-between moving days at the co-op house
And one by one the rooms here at the co-op are emptying. August 15th is the big day when old leases (and co-op contracts) terminate and new ones begin. I am seeing a lot of moving vans in the neighborhood as students in other buildings begin moving out, soon to be moving in. The hallways on the second and third floor are unusually brightly lit because doors to empty rooms are open, and the sunlight is coming in.
the polyphonic spree…it’s alternative to alternative
I think the Polyphonic Spree take it a step further. They minimize the idea that they are anything beyond a choral symphonic pop band. But to me it feels they are making a deliberate, revolutionary, and downright subversive act by flooding the room with positive words and positive energy, without irony and without apology.
it’s your armageddon fantasy dude–not mine
So when pundits describe Hezbollah as the shock troops for a new worldwide Islamic fascism threat, I say be afraid, be very afraid--of the pundits.
a Walgreens toy frog that might scare Miss Piggy
So my co-worker has this frog that says "Ribbit," and then emits this cartoonish, hysterical, and yes, somewhat maniacal laughter that can be heard across the room. I think it just lasts thirty seconds, but it seems a lot longer because it just keeps on going and going and going. Upon hearing this laughter, my first reaction was, "Okay, what kind of mind would conjure up the notion of a frog laughing so hard that it would sound like a screeching monkey?" My second reaction was, "Bartender, I'll have what the amphibian is having."
chicago seen through cheesehead glasses
Us Chicago natives are weaned from an early age to become architecture snobs, with aesthetic critiques of the playground equipment not uncommon by the age of five--so my words should be taken with some grains of salt. But the bottom line is that I was saddened to see the old Maxwell Street neighborhood go. Certainly it needed sprucing up and cleaning up, but I think it could have done without losing the essence of what the neighborhood was about. What had landed here was something completely different.
today begins the 40th year of the rest of my life (that does not mean i’m forty, though)
So yeah, I have a thing for sevens, but to the best of my knowledge I’m not mentioned in any prophecy (unlike my next-door neighbor, “Number 6”). If there’s a mark on my forehead, it’s probably a zit.
net neutrality is 100% american–just ask the zuiikin gals
Folks, Internet freedom is hanging by a thread right now. It's getting scarier out there. Watch the Zuiikin Gals below weigh in on Net Neutrality. (Okay maybe not really, but as you watch the video, imagine them giving Net Neutrality opponents a piece of their mind.) And then think to yourself. Would you be able to see things like this if AT&T or Comcast influenced what you would see on the Internet?
working-class hero boots (afternoon at the Farm and Fleet)
So I went down to the Farm and Fleet again. I really like the idea of purchasing footwear at a place where I could also get cattle ear tags if I wanted. Seriously, I'm not making fun of them, it's just that being a city kid most of my life, it's a bit of a different world for me. After living in melting-pot neighborhoods where fifty-plus languages were spoken at the local high school, this is something that for me is still new, perhaps even exotic.
an irritating yaccent
I discovered something funny about myself the other day. I was at work dealing with a difficult caller on the phone. No matter what I said to her, even with some coaching from some more senior co-workers, she was never satisfied with my answers, and the call probably dragged on for some twenty minutes. When I got off the phone, I was listening to myself talk about the call with my co-workers, and was shocked to find that my Chicago accent had resurfaced.