15315 W. Halsted Ave. Chicago, IL 60614.
Used in a sentence: "I can forgive them because of how hilarious they are, but I have to take a double-flinch every time I see the front of Happy Endings' SteakMeHomeTonight's truck and read the address of 15315 W Halsted Ave, Chicago, IL 60614."
[Disclaimer: I'm familiar with the concept of poetic license, so take in these words with a wink.]
Flinch 1: 60614 is a nearby zip code for the rich and hip (I'm a digit off the zip code, and many digits off the annual average income), but Halsted STREET (not AVENUE) runs NORTH and SOUTH not WEST, and, with the Chicago grid system, the 15000 W address would put them out in MELROSE or FRANKLIN PARK or PARK RIDGE.
Flinch 2: Chicago's strict ordinances are not food truck friendly (primarily, food must be prepared elsewhere, wrapped and then delivered in the truck -- but that's just the shavings off of the rule and regulation iceberg), so any of those scenes with one of the characters working around actual food prep in the truck seems a little off.
To be clear, I recover from those flinches just fine. And although I tire easily of all of the comparisons to Friends (i.e. Big Brother = smart Friends, How I Met Your Mother = hipster Friends, Cougar Town = oenophile Friends [with at least one actual Friend and sometimes a few for good measure], etc.), I'm more than okay with passing the Friends mantle to this talented cast and crew. Don't miss it -- tonight at 9:30/8:30 central. [As usual, there's no love for anyone in the mountain time zone, so you'll just have to figure it out ...]
OR, AS THEY SAY ... BIZARRO FRIENDS:
http://chicagoist.com/2011/11/08/happy_endings_website_showcases_fic.php
TV is ALL ABOUT INTERACTIVITY NOWADAYS:
http://steakmehometonight.com/
SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT REGARDLESS OF THE REGS (list at bottom of article):
http://www.chicagolawyermagazine.com/Articles/2011/11/01/Chicago-Food-Trucks.aspx
February 29, 2012
February 28, 2012
Random Tune for Tuesday 2/28/12
300 days and counting!
Before someone tries to have me committed -- let me stress again that I'm not saying to sell all your belongings and to head to the street corners to warn others ... but if there are really only 300 days of humanity left, how do you want to spend them?
So if this alone is motivation to love or to forgive or to repent or to reconnect or to reach out or to resolve or to fix or to embrace or to give or to appreciate or to enjoy ...
... or to just party -- well thanks be to the Mayans and their calendar making skills.
Hey -- dance around to this tune in your underwear for all I care!
AND I FEEL FINE!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY
Before someone tries to have me committed -- let me stress again that I'm not saying to sell all your belongings and to head to the street corners to warn others ... but if there are really only 300 days of humanity left, how do you want to spend them?
So if this alone is motivation to love or to forgive or to repent or to reconnect or to reach out or to resolve or to fix or to embrace or to give or to appreciate or to enjoy ...
... or to just party -- well thanks be to the Mayans and their calendar making skills.
Hey -- dance around to this tune in your underwear for all I care!
AND I FEEL FINE!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY
February 27, 2012
Random Memorial for Monday 2/27/12
Gone but not forgotten: bored federal prisoners.
It is a bit of odd timing, since my post last Monday was about how chain gangs and last meals were being removed from prison life, but the news today is all about how MP3 players are now going to be available for purchase in federal prisons as a means of combating boredom for those in lockup. Most interesting to me -- it will be someone's job to make sure that the songs available for purchase on the prison playlist are "approved" (not too explicit, obscene or disruptive to the day to day life behind bars).
The old days of having to have waited for Johnny Cash to actually show up to hear Folsom Prison Blues at Folsom Prison will not be missed (assuming, as a prisoner, you're a Man in Black fan, of course).
META AS IT MAY BE: HERE's LAST WEEK's POST:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2012/02/random-memorial-for-monday-22012.html
ONE MILLION SONGS FROM WHICH YOU CAN CHOOSE:
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/water_cooler/inmates-to-get-access-to-mp3-players-to-enjoy-music-battle-boredom
FOLSOM PRISON BLUES BY WAY OF SAN QUENTIN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM
It is a bit of odd timing, since my post last Monday was about how chain gangs and last meals were being removed from prison life, but the news today is all about how MP3 players are now going to be available for purchase in federal prisons as a means of combating boredom for those in lockup. Most interesting to me -- it will be someone's job to make sure that the songs available for purchase on the prison playlist are "approved" (not too explicit, obscene or disruptive to the day to day life behind bars).
The old days of having to have waited for Johnny Cash to actually show up to hear Folsom Prison Blues at Folsom Prison will not be missed (assuming, as a prisoner, you're a Man in Black fan, of course).
META AS IT MAY BE: HERE's LAST WEEK's POST:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2012/02/random-memorial-for-monday-22012.html
ONE MILLION SONGS FROM WHICH YOU CAN CHOOSE:
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/water_cooler/inmates-to-get-access-to-mp3-players-to-enjoy-music-battle-boredom
FOLSOM PRISON BLUES BY WAY OF SAN QUENTIN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM
February 26, 2012
Random Scandal Sheet for Sudnay 2/26/12
What Chicago is talking about this week:
We may be a Bulls town, but even we can't escape the Lin-sanity.
Of course, from a personal point of view, I have to translate it to something else, since I'm the guy who flunked gym class his senior year (only technically -- for not following the rules or missing too many classes without making them up or something; thankfully, Mr. Heilman did not take a stand and keep me from graduating) -- so long story about to get longer, I was more the bookworm than the athlete (more Brick, less Axl -- for those Middle fans).
As I've aged, I've come to enjoy the more individual sports (like watching one of the Klitcshko boys boxing [never both against each other, as they promised their momma], or a little MMA or some old fashioned golf -- {tangent: I might be a visionary or just a little touched, but what if we merged MMA and golf? Can you imagine 18 holes where the greens are the caged octagons, and the playing partners must battle it out irrespective of the outdoor conditions? Birdies and eagles and albatrosses could all be the names of new holds -- maybe leaving out "hole in one" from the MMA-Golf vernacular just because of the close proximity of the bodies involved.} -- but try as I might, I've just never enjoyed basketball.
But hey, I can apply the "asian persuasion" factor to other competitions I enjoy. (By the way, that's the closest I'll come to walking the inappropriate line as others have done -- and some have failed miserably.) After all, I am routing for Paul to win Top Chef this week (and thought he should have been the winner from the get-go). And George Takei is bound to add flavor to this year's Celebrity Apprentice {tangent #2: Is it me or does Victoria Gotti's face look like the crystal alien skull from the last Indiana Jones movie with just the smallest bit of skin stretched over it?} And it's why I'm hoping that HeeJun Han lasts many more rounds on American Idol (yeah, I still watch that show -- so what? I'm a fan of Steven Tyler)!
So where was I? Lin -- he's a good player, right?
RACIAL SLURS THE NEW HOT TOPIC:
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-jeremy-lin-racist-remarks,0,7513941.story
WATCH THIS SHOW!:
http://abc.go.com/shows/the-middle
I THOUGHT HE MIGHT HAVE JUST BEEN A CHARACTER, BUT HE MAY BE SINCERE:
http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season_11/
We may be a Bulls town, but even we can't escape the Lin-sanity.
Of course, from a personal point of view, I have to translate it to something else, since I'm the guy who flunked gym class his senior year (only technically -- for not following the rules or missing too many classes without making them up or something; thankfully, Mr. Heilman did not take a stand and keep me from graduating) -- so long story about to get longer, I was more the bookworm than the athlete (more Brick, less Axl -- for those Middle fans).
As I've aged, I've come to enjoy the more individual sports (like watching one of the Klitcshko boys boxing [never both against each other, as they promised their momma], or a little MMA or some old fashioned golf -- {tangent: I might be a visionary or just a little touched, but what if we merged MMA and golf? Can you imagine 18 holes where the greens are the caged octagons, and the playing partners must battle it out irrespective of the outdoor conditions? Birdies and eagles and albatrosses could all be the names of new holds -- maybe leaving out "hole in one" from the MMA-Golf vernacular just because of the close proximity of the bodies involved.} -- but try as I might, I've just never enjoyed basketball.
But hey, I can apply the "asian persuasion" factor to other competitions I enjoy. (By the way, that's the closest I'll come to walking the inappropriate line as others have done -- and some have failed miserably.) After all, I am routing for Paul to win Top Chef this week (and thought he should have been the winner from the get-go). And George Takei is bound to add flavor to this year's Celebrity Apprentice {tangent #2: Is it me or does Victoria Gotti's face look like the crystal alien skull from the last Indiana Jones movie with just the smallest bit of skin stretched over it?} And it's why I'm hoping that HeeJun Han lasts many more rounds on American Idol (yeah, I still watch that show -- so what? I'm a fan of Steven Tyler)!
So where was I? Lin -- he's a good player, right?
RACIAL SLURS THE NEW HOT TOPIC:
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-jeremy-lin-racist-remarks,0,7513941.story
WATCH THIS SHOW!:
http://abc.go.com/shows/the-middle
I THOUGHT HE MIGHT HAVE JUST BEEN A CHARACTER, BUT HE MAY BE SINCERE:
http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season_11/
February 25, 2012
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/25/12
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... as much as I try to avoid commercials as I deal with my television addiction, every now and then a few will slip through.
And I've railed before about how companies seem to be using cartoons to sneak in disturbing images (like the bears obsessed with toilet paper on their hairy rears or the recent baby-poop-explosion pageant) -- to which I now need to add the latest advert I've seen for Cinnamon Toast Crunch that seems to be promoting cannibalism. Or at least I think that's the message they are sending, as one "Crunch" perches on the edge of the bowl and goes "fishing" for another "Crunch" that is submerged in milk by overextending a tongue that would make even Gene Simmons blush until he gets one of his brethren to latch on -- and then he eats him.
[And that's the one I'm confident diatribing today. I'm also exploring what appears to be a live action shot in another advertisement of the President's daughter selling Oatmeal Squares -- and I understand that they need employment too (a la instant journalists Chelsea and Jenna), but surely there's a better way to seek employment ... (by the way, it appears to be President Josiah Bartlet's daughter that is pouring the milk right into the box). Plus I'm trying to solve the mystery of what I think is a menopause drug that seems to be subliminally suggesting an accordion of some sort in its branding.]
Regardless, someone tell Santorum about this Cinnamon Toast Crunch situation -- stat. As I understand it, he is just the type of person who can help spread the word about how this cartoon marketing campaign will turn our children to cannibals if we don't step in soon! And even though I can't quite imagine a link between this and bestiality, I have every belief that he can connect those dots for America (as he seems to play "six degrees of bestiality" the same way that the rest of us play "six degrees of Kevin Bacon").
Oops. Just typed the word "bacon". Have to end this post and go get me some.
I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS CONCERNED:
http://unconditionedresponse.blogspot.com/2012/02/cinnamon-toast-crunch-crazy-cannibal.html
I DO SO LOVE AN AARON SORKIN MASTERPIECE:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/17/ew-reunions-the-west-wing/
HAVE PRESIDENTIAL PARENTS AND JUST ADD WATER -- INSTANT JOURNALISTS!:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/nbc-hires-chelsea-clinton-former-first-daughter-joins-164258738.html
... as much as I try to avoid commercials as I deal with my television addiction, every now and then a few will slip through.
And I've railed before about how companies seem to be using cartoons to sneak in disturbing images (like the bears obsessed with toilet paper on their hairy rears or the recent baby-poop-explosion pageant) -- to which I now need to add the latest advert I've seen for Cinnamon Toast Crunch that seems to be promoting cannibalism. Or at least I think that's the message they are sending, as one "Crunch" perches on the edge of the bowl and goes "fishing" for another "Crunch" that is submerged in milk by overextending a tongue that would make even Gene Simmons blush until he gets one of his brethren to latch on -- and then he eats him.
[And that's the one I'm confident diatribing today. I'm also exploring what appears to be a live action shot in another advertisement of the President's daughter selling Oatmeal Squares -- and I understand that they need employment too (a la instant journalists Chelsea and Jenna), but surely there's a better way to seek employment ... (by the way, it appears to be President Josiah Bartlet's daughter that is pouring the milk right into the box). Plus I'm trying to solve the mystery of what I think is a menopause drug that seems to be subliminally suggesting an accordion of some sort in its branding.]
Regardless, someone tell Santorum about this Cinnamon Toast Crunch situation -- stat. As I understand it, he is just the type of person who can help spread the word about how this cartoon marketing campaign will turn our children to cannibals if we don't step in soon! And even though I can't quite imagine a link between this and bestiality, I have every belief that he can connect those dots for America (as he seems to play "six degrees of bestiality" the same way that the rest of us play "six degrees of Kevin Bacon").
Oops. Just typed the word "bacon". Have to end this post and go get me some.
I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS CONCERNED:
http://unconditionedresponse.blogspot.com/2012/02/cinnamon-toast-crunch-crazy-cannibal.html
I DO SO LOVE AN AARON SORKIN MASTERPIECE:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/17/ew-reunions-the-west-wing/
HAVE PRESIDENTIAL PARENTS AND JUST ADD WATER -- INSTANT JOURNALISTS!:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/nbc-hires-chelsea-clinton-former-first-daughter-joins-164258738.html
February 24, 2012
Random Flashback for Friday 2/24/12
So what was I doing this exact same weekend 20 years ago?
... spending quality time in and out of character at Lebanon Valley College's Little Theatre in the Crystal R directed/Kim S produced winter play of Paul Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" As Paul Bratter, I was joined on stage by the talent of Brigette C, Sarah T and Shawn W (plus John G and William T, not in this picture).
I'll stretch this flashback out a few weeks in order to cover all of the memories I have of this time (after all, this was performance weekend in 1992, but we had started getting ready in early January, so that seems congruous).
So until next week ... a round of Uzu and Poofla-poo Pie for all.
[Attention any lawyers who might care: credit for this photo is provided beneath the picture.]
February 23, 2012
Random Thought for Thursday 2/23/12
Sweeps month ends in just six days! Which should also bring us temporary relief from the kind of news teasers that say: "Coming up on tonight's evening news -- brain eating amoebas and dogs that can sniff out cancer."
And that's not me being all x 2 /a 2 − y 2 /b 2 = ±1 (note: the opening of that sentence is me being intentionally abstruse [note: and that parenthetical is me flaunting my high school word wealth vocab bank, for which I thank Ms. Mills! {note: I briefly considered giving up parentheses and brackets and braces/fancy brackets for lent, but couldn't bring myself to make such a sacrifice -- plus, I was reminded that I'm not Catholic}]) ... BUT it is an actual message that recently stopped me in my tracks from local (and somewhat national) channel WGN-9.
In my opinion -- if a brain-eating amoeba was on the loose, I'm just sayin' that it would be worth interrupting regular programming and that they shouldn't make folks wait until the evening news comes on! As a public service announcement related to this news:
DO NOT NETI POT WITH TAP WATER! (You're welcome.)
SAID MEDICAL WATCH SEGMENT ON THE LOCAL/NATIONAL NEWS:
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/7dd48261-bb14-4dd4-85b4-2015f87945fd/Health/Medical-Watch-Brain-eating-amoeba-post-exercise-protein-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogs/Health/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogs
MATH IS FUN (?!):
http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/hyperbola.html
DON'T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT ... DON'T NETI POT WITH TAP WATER PLEASE:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/12/22/beware-the-improperly-used-neti-pot-brain-eating-amoebas-could-strike/
And that's not me being all x 2 /a 2 − y 2 /b 2 = ±1 (note: the opening of that sentence is me being intentionally abstruse [note: and that parenthetical is me flaunting my high school word wealth vocab bank, for which I thank Ms. Mills! {note: I briefly considered giving up parentheses and brackets and braces/fancy brackets for lent, but couldn't bring myself to make such a sacrifice -- plus, I was reminded that I'm not Catholic}]) ... BUT it is an actual message that recently stopped me in my tracks from local (and somewhat national) channel WGN-9.
In my opinion -- if a brain-eating amoeba was on the loose, I'm just sayin' that it would be worth interrupting regular programming and that they shouldn't make folks wait until the evening news comes on! As a public service announcement related to this news:
DO NOT NETI POT WITH TAP WATER! (You're welcome.)
SAID MEDICAL WATCH SEGMENT ON THE LOCAL/NATIONAL NEWS:
http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/7dd48261-bb14-4dd4-85b4-2015f87945fd/Health/Medical-Watch-Brain-eating-amoeba-post-exercise-protein-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogs/Health/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogsHealth/Medical-Watch:-Brain-eating-amoeba,-post-exercise-protein,-cancer-sniffing-dogs
MATH IS FUN (?!):
http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/hyperbola.html
DON'T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT ... DON'T NETI POT WITH TAP WATER PLEASE:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/12/22/beware-the-improperly-used-neti-pot-brain-eating-amoebas-could-strike/
February 22, 2012
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/22/12
LASER got Busey'd!
Used in a sentence: "I get my science from 'The Big Bang Theory' now instead of from Schweingruber, Mason, Zelinske, Frey, Rupp, Stuckey, Heberlig and Garvey [my Lebanon Junior High and High School science teachers of yesteryear -- did I miss anyone?], so when Sheldon and Leonard and crew recently told/reminded me that LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, I immediately thought of the talented of-another-world-since-his-head-injury Gary Busey, who turns every day words into acronyms all the time (like how Freedom is Facing Real Exciting Energy Developing Out of Miracles) -- or how LASER got Busey'd!"
If I survive the end of year apocalypse (306 days and counting), I'm thinking about Busey-ing everyone's first names for my 2013 round of FB birthday wishes ...
FEAR IS THE DARK ROOM WHERE THE DEVIL DEVELOPS HIS NEGATIVES:
http://www.allthelikes.com/application.php?app=228753
LIVE. LEARN. LEBANON. :
http://www.lebanon.k12.pa.us/
IN CASE YOU NEED HELP MEMORIZING THE WORDS (LIKE I DID AT FIRST):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REw5-_rpFDE
Used in a sentence: "I get my science from 'The Big Bang Theory' now instead of from Schweingruber, Mason, Zelinske, Frey, Rupp, Stuckey, Heberlig and Garvey [my Lebanon Junior High and High School science teachers of yesteryear -- did I miss anyone?], so when Sheldon and Leonard and crew recently told/reminded me that LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, I immediately thought of the talented of-another-world-since-his-head-injury Gary Busey, who turns every day words into acronyms all the time (like how Freedom is Facing Real Exciting Energy Developing Out of Miracles) -- or how LASER got Busey'd!"
If I survive the end of year apocalypse (306 days and counting), I'm thinking about Busey-ing everyone's first names for my 2013 round of FB birthday wishes ...
FEAR IS THE DARK ROOM WHERE THE DEVIL DEVELOPS HIS NEGATIVES:
http://www.allthelikes.com/application.php?app=228753
LIVE. LEARN. LEBANON. :
http://www.lebanon.k12.pa.us/
IN CASE YOU NEED HELP MEMORIZING THE WORDS (LIKE I DID AT FIRST):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REw5-_rpFDE
February 21, 2012
Random Tune for Tuesday 2/21/12
Hmmm ... what song to choose to go along with Fat Tuesday? I couldn't find any that celebrated the eating of Fasnachts (those of you back home should consider having one or a dozen on my behalf) ... nor did I understand any of the songs I found about Paczkis (the Polish alternative to Fasnachts big all over Chicago) ... so a little word association leads me to any song with the words New Orleans in it ... and the subversive side of me likes the fact that it's Sinead O'Connor's haunting version of this tune (since today and tomorrow are so Catholic-y after all).
Speaking of word association of sorts, the 20th season of my favorite Phil Keoghan hosted show started this past weekend so it's time for another Amazing Race Aside: Fasnachts remind me a little of empanadas (as featured on the latest episode) ... which in turn reminds me of the last time I had authentic Argentinian Empanadas at the restaurant near my Condado hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico when I vacationed there pre-great-recession ... And can I just say that I'm so looking forward to this upcoming season for just some of the following reasons:
Speaking of word association of sorts, the 20th season of my favorite Phil Keoghan hosted show started this past weekend so it's time for another Amazing Race Aside: Fasnachts remind me a little of empanadas (as featured on the latest episode) ... which in turn reminds me of the last time I had authentic Argentinian Empanadas at the restaurant near my Condado hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico when I vacationed there pre-great-recession ... And can I just say that I'm so looking forward to this upcoming season for just some of the following reasons:
- I want the KY Boys (that's an abbreviation for Kentucky, not boys who are sponsored by K-Y the product) to go far -- just to hear more down-home backwoods sayings ...
- I want the Clown Couple to go far -- if only to hear how many clown related phrases there are (scratch tears of a clown off the list already) ...
- I want the Border Patrol Pair to go far just on the hopes that they lose their passport in some kind of ironic twist ...
And one last word association plug of sorts -- speaking of going far, don't miss the documentary currently in rotation on Showtime featuring Phil's fund-raising-for-the-MS-society bike ride across America (entitled, simply enough, "The Ride").
THERE IS A HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS FULL OF BEADS WAITING TO BE THROWN:
February 20, 2012
Random Memorial for Monday 2/20/12
Gone but not forgotten: all the fun things I associate with prison life. [Disclaimer: my view of that life is heavily influenced by those marathons of Lockup and Extreme Lockup on late night MSNBC and the male-soap-opera OZ from HBO].
With all respect to Oscar winning ThreeSixMafia, "it's hard out there for a prisoner". And I don't mean internationally (although between the 44 who died in the Mexican Gang War this weekend, and the 359 who perished in the prison fire in Honduras [those countries are clearly taking a very hard line stance at controlling the prison population!]), but domestically where Texas has stopped giving death row inmates their choice of last meal* and where Michigan and North Carolina and Texas and New York have all cancelled or cut back their chain gang public works activities**.
The opportunity to go down to Texas on a killing spree and to get caught and to get sentenced to death row and to ask for what would have been my last meal request (a six pack of Guinness, an appetizer of bacon wrapped scallop, soup course of Campbell's chicken noodle with oyster crackers, a loaf of garlic bread, main course of thick cut medium rare t-bone steak with sides of garlic smashed potatoes, creamed garlic spinach and extremely buttered corn on the cob, and then a dessert flight consisting of a skillet sized cookie with a chocolate ice cream sundae on top made with cookies and cream ice cream, a perfectly crusted creme brulee and a gurney-side prepared Bananas Foster -- plus a glass of German brandy Asbach-Uralt to wash it all down) ... you will be missed.
THEY SHOULD PLAY ALL SEASONS OF THIS FOR THOSE SCARED STRAIGHT EVENTS:
http://store.hbo.com/oz/index.php?v=hbo_shows_oz
*THEY SHOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM STONES, DIRT AND GRAVEL FOR HIS LAST MEAL:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/23/140735845/no-more-special-last-meals-for-death-row-inmates-in-texas
**THEY SHOULD HAVE KEPT THE CHAIN GANGS BUT THEY COST TOO MUCH MONEY:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-09-13/prison-work-crews-budget-cuts/50394786/1
With all respect to Oscar winning ThreeSixMafia, "it's hard out there for a prisoner". And I don't mean internationally (although between the 44 who died in the Mexican Gang War this weekend, and the 359 who perished in the prison fire in Honduras [those countries are clearly taking a very hard line stance at controlling the prison population!]), but domestically where Texas has stopped giving death row inmates their choice of last meal* and where Michigan and North Carolina and Texas and New York have all cancelled or cut back their chain gang public works activities**.
The opportunity to go down to Texas on a killing spree and to get caught and to get sentenced to death row and to ask for what would have been my last meal request (a six pack of Guinness, an appetizer of bacon wrapped scallop, soup course of Campbell's chicken noodle with oyster crackers, a loaf of garlic bread, main course of thick cut medium rare t-bone steak with sides of garlic smashed potatoes, creamed garlic spinach and extremely buttered corn on the cob, and then a dessert flight consisting of a skillet sized cookie with a chocolate ice cream sundae on top made with cookies and cream ice cream, a perfectly crusted creme brulee and a gurney-side prepared Bananas Foster -- plus a glass of German brandy Asbach-Uralt to wash it all down) ... you will be missed.
THEY SHOULD PLAY ALL SEASONS OF THIS FOR THOSE SCARED STRAIGHT EVENTS:
http://store.hbo.com/oz/index.php?v=hbo_shows_oz
*THEY SHOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM STONES, DIRT AND GRAVEL FOR HIS LAST MEAL:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/23/140735845/no-more-special-last-meals-for-death-row-inmates-in-texas
**THEY SHOULD HAVE KEPT THE CHAIN GANGS BUT THEY COST TOO MUCH MONEY:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-09-13/prison-work-crews-budget-cuts/50394786/1
February 19, 2012
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/19/12
What Chicago is talking about this week (by way of South Bend, with references to Munich and Minden and Uniontown for good measure):
... well -- to be clear, only those who survived are still talking in Chicago [I fled to South Bend to spend time with family and to escape the secular angel of death, as a recent study of the Cook County clerk's office records showed that more people die on Feb 17 than any other day of the year (relief -- I made it through this one). Because I know you're wondering, Sep 8 is the day that the most babies are born (which makes Dec 8 the most popular day for impregnation in the Windy City?).]
... and a subset of survivors are likely talking about the Klitschko fight yesterday in Munich, where Vitali outpointed his opponent for another win -- but had to deal with the classless actions of Chisora both before (spitting? are you a ho from a VH1 reality show?) and after (setting up your next fight by brawling in front of reporters after your loss sounds a little desperate, no?) the main event.
... which just makes you wonder if it isn't time to retire boxing all together (with the Klitschko boys as the final champions, naturally) and further promote the mixed martial arts as its replacement (note about possible bias: I am currently a fan of the MTV docu-series Caged, about the young lives wrapped up in the MMA scene in Minden, LA and I did just possibly locate a long lost friend from my days in Uniontown PA twenty years ago -- who the interwebs now say is a part of the that town's fight scene [Jeff Haragos -- is that really you?]).
CHISORA ADDS HIS NAME TO THE LIST OF CRAZIEST BOXERS:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1071809-klitschko-vs-chisora-dereck-chisora-and-the-craziest-fighters-in-boxing-history
NEXT FIGHT IN UNIONTOWN ON MARCH 10th:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uniontown-Fight-Club/145871885461463
AND MONDAYs ARE THE MOST POPULAR DAY OF THE WEEK TO DIE:
http://usnewstweets.com/2011/07/analysis-sheds-light-on-births-and-deaths-in-cook-county/
... well -- to be clear, only those who survived are still talking in Chicago [I fled to South Bend to spend time with family and to escape the secular angel of death, as a recent study of the Cook County clerk's office records showed that more people die on Feb 17 than any other day of the year (relief -- I made it through this one). Because I know you're wondering, Sep 8 is the day that the most babies are born (which makes Dec 8 the most popular day for impregnation in the Windy City?).]
... and a subset of survivors are likely talking about the Klitschko fight yesterday in Munich, where Vitali outpointed his opponent for another win -- but had to deal with the classless actions of Chisora both before (spitting? are you a ho from a VH1 reality show?) and after (setting up your next fight by brawling in front of reporters after your loss sounds a little desperate, no?) the main event.
... which just makes you wonder if it isn't time to retire boxing all together (with the Klitschko boys as the final champions, naturally) and further promote the mixed martial arts as its replacement (note about possible bias: I am currently a fan of the MTV docu-series Caged, about the young lives wrapped up in the MMA scene in Minden, LA and I did just possibly locate a long lost friend from my days in Uniontown PA twenty years ago -- who the interwebs now say is a part of the that town's fight scene [Jeff Haragos -- is that really you?]).
CHISORA ADDS HIS NAME TO THE LIST OF CRAZIEST BOXERS:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1071809-klitschko-vs-chisora-dereck-chisora-and-the-craziest-fighters-in-boxing-history
NEXT FIGHT IN UNIONTOWN ON MARCH 10th:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uniontown-Fight-Club/145871885461463
AND MONDAYs ARE THE MOST POPULAR DAY OF THE WEEK TO DIE:
http://usnewstweets.com/2011/07/analysis-sheds-light-on-births-and-deaths-in-cook-county/
February 18, 2012
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/18/12
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... I'm in Indiana with the family for a getaway weekend (the Pinochle game is going on in the background as I type -- being barely 40, I'm not quite old enough to play and will sit it out until the Michigan Rummy starts later ...) and I'm reminded of the last time when they were visiting Chicago and we all went to the Swap-O-Rama for the afternoon.
It may be that I was spoiled by growing up so close to the Key Drive In back home in Lebanon (which existed as a classic part of my smaller town Americana life until the Walton family decided the space would be perfect for one of its marts back in 1995) and that it was common practice to go up to the flea market on early Sunday mornings when the good townsfolk were in church so that you could get the best deals ... or maybe it's just that I have certain standards since one of my first paying jobs ever was working Owen's auction rooms at Green Dragon and Roots (especially around the holidays, when I recall making out like a bandit) -- but I have to tell you that there are certain things that I do not like to be "in the mix" when it comes to my flea market shopping experience.
To whit:
I do not want to buy a bottle of pop/soda/Coke at the corner stand and notice that it expires in two days.
I do not want to round the corner and be confronted with an eye doctor that has set up shop in one of the dirty stands -- and the hand written signs saying that they've been there for years and that they take most insurances do not make me feel any more ready to sit down in front of everyone for my LASIK treatment.
I do not want to walk past a vendor and have him give me the nod and the cryptic and creepy query of "hey -- do you like movies?" -- which I'm pretty sure was just a lead-in for some kind of hemp-influenced deal that he was trying to initiate if I was savvy enough to recognize the blunt overture.
I do not want to see eviction sign after eviction sign plastered up on the booths to make me think that everyone involved in my experience was just a degree or two removed from shyster status.
I do not want to peruse the wares -- and suspect that the vast majority of the items were things that had been stolen such that we were participating in some grand fencing scheme (and I did look extra hard at the few computer hardware booths to see if I could find my laptop that's been missing since it was lifted from my apartment last year).
I do not want to peruse the wares -- and feel like the family behind the counter was selling all of the belongings of the kid that they used to have (whether said child died, or was taken away by the government, or ran away for a chance at a better lifestyle).
All this being said -- I know that it's caveat emptor" when it comes to this lifestyle, and I should have considered myself "on notice" that things might be less than ideal when we discovered this place was right across from the Burr Oak Cemetery (known nationally for its scandal where they sold the same burial plots over and over again and just stacked the bodies in the grave en masse -- the "lucky" cadavers that made it out of the workers' tool shed, that is) ... but you might have guessed that I don't expect to be heading back any time soon.
[One silver lining -- I am always open to learning about different ethnic cultures. And, from this experience, I am intrigued to know why "shea butter" looks so nasty and why, if every other vendor was selling it, more people just don't make it at home (I mean I would have thought that an item with the word "butter" in its name would have looked more appealing) and why tamale pans are so gi-normous (I stood next to one that I think I could have comfortably slept in when I was a young-un'!) ...]
Is it too much to ask? I just want to go up and down the aisles and locate old chess or nativity sets at inexpensive prices OR find more classic Hardy Boys books to add to my collection (I'm hoping that if I get the whole set, I'll magically turn the years back and recapture the good parts of my youth) OR pretend I'm shopping when I'm really just there to eat (which was my classic go-to activity at Green Dragon and Roots, thanks to Raub's Subs and Zerbes Chips and the Amish girls and their homemade vanilla ice cream with peanut butter chunks in it -- ooh, and speaking of Amish, fingers crossed that our family excursion to Shipshewana in Indiana Amish country tomorrow turns up Whoopie Pies and homemade ice cream and other such goodies) OR purchase the super great deals of socks and wife-beater "seconds" bought in bulk ...
Anyway -- chess sets and nativity sets and Hardy Boys books and good food and socks and wife-beaters in bulk -- that's all I'm asking for -- nothing too special -- just my kind of flea marketing ...
SO ... I GUESS THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT I DON'T RECOMMEND IT:
http://www.swap-o-rama.com/swap/alsip.html
BURR OAK CEMETERY (notice the contact the sheriff "tile" on the website):
http://graveyards.com/IL/Cook/burroak/
SPEAKING OF GRAVEYARDS, HERE'S A LISTING OF PA DRIVE-INS THAT ARE NO MORE: http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/071698/cover.side.shtml
... I'm in Indiana with the family for a getaway weekend (the Pinochle game is going on in the background as I type -- being barely 40, I'm not quite old enough to play and will sit it out until the Michigan Rummy starts later ...) and I'm reminded of the last time when they were visiting Chicago and we all went to the Swap-O-Rama for the afternoon.
It may be that I was spoiled by growing up so close to the Key Drive In back home in Lebanon (which existed as a classic part of my smaller town Americana life until the Walton family decided the space would be perfect for one of its marts back in 1995) and that it was common practice to go up to the flea market on early Sunday mornings when the good townsfolk were in church so that you could get the best deals ... or maybe it's just that I have certain standards since one of my first paying jobs ever was working Owen's auction rooms at Green Dragon and Roots (especially around the holidays, when I recall making out like a bandit) -- but I have to tell you that there are certain things that I do not like to be "in the mix" when it comes to my flea market shopping experience.
To whit:
I do not want to buy a bottle of pop/soda/Coke at the corner stand and notice that it expires in two days.
I do not want to round the corner and be confronted with an eye doctor that has set up shop in one of the dirty stands -- and the hand written signs saying that they've been there for years and that they take most insurances do not make me feel any more ready to sit down in front of everyone for my LASIK treatment.
I do not want to walk past a vendor and have him give me the nod and the cryptic and creepy query of "hey -- do you like movies?" -- which I'm pretty sure was just a lead-in for some kind of hemp-influenced deal that he was trying to initiate if I was savvy enough to recognize the blunt overture.
I do not want to see eviction sign after eviction sign plastered up on the booths to make me think that everyone involved in my experience was just a degree or two removed from shyster status.
I do not want to peruse the wares -- and suspect that the vast majority of the items were things that had been stolen such that we were participating in some grand fencing scheme (and I did look extra hard at the few computer hardware booths to see if I could find my laptop that's been missing since it was lifted from my apartment last year).
I do not want to peruse the wares -- and feel like the family behind the counter was selling all of the belongings of the kid that they used to have (whether said child died, or was taken away by the government, or ran away for a chance at a better lifestyle).
All this being said -- I know that it's caveat emptor" when it comes to this lifestyle, and I should have considered myself "on notice" that things might be less than ideal when we discovered this place was right across from the Burr Oak Cemetery (known nationally for its scandal where they sold the same burial plots over and over again and just stacked the bodies in the grave en masse -- the "lucky" cadavers that made it out of the workers' tool shed, that is) ... but you might have guessed that I don't expect to be heading back any time soon.
[One silver lining -- I am always open to learning about different ethnic cultures. And, from this experience, I am intrigued to know why "shea butter" looks so nasty and why, if every other vendor was selling it, more people just don't make it at home (I mean I would have thought that an item with the word "butter" in its name would have looked more appealing) and why tamale pans are so gi-normous (I stood next to one that I think I could have comfortably slept in when I was a young-un'!) ...]
Is it too much to ask? I just want to go up and down the aisles and locate old chess or nativity sets at inexpensive prices OR find more classic Hardy Boys books to add to my collection (I'm hoping that if I get the whole set, I'll magically turn the years back and recapture the good parts of my youth) OR pretend I'm shopping when I'm really just there to eat (which was my classic go-to activity at Green Dragon and Roots, thanks to Raub's Subs and Zerbes Chips and the Amish girls and their homemade vanilla ice cream with peanut butter chunks in it -- ooh, and speaking of Amish, fingers crossed that our family excursion to Shipshewana in Indiana Amish country tomorrow turns up Whoopie Pies and homemade ice cream and other such goodies) OR purchase the super great deals of socks and wife-beater "seconds" bought in bulk ...
Anyway -- chess sets and nativity sets and Hardy Boys books and good food and socks and wife-beaters in bulk -- that's all I'm asking for -- nothing too special -- just my kind of flea marketing ...
SO ... I GUESS THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT I DON'T RECOMMEND IT:
http://www.swap-o-rama.com/swap/alsip.html
BURR OAK CEMETERY (notice the contact the sheriff "tile" on the website):
http://graveyards.com/IL/Cook/burroak/
SPEAKING OF GRAVEYARDS, HERE'S A LISTING OF PA DRIVE-INS THAT ARE NO MORE: http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/071698/cover.side.shtml
February 17, 2012
Random Flashback for Friday 2/17/12
Interestingly enough, there wasn't a budget for costumes for this western PA production of 'Ali Baba', directed by the talented Lonnie B, (you might recall that's how I ended last week's flashback of the cast of 'Come Blow Your Horn') -- but we definitely had fancy outfits all the same.
After all -- it was for this show, that a Uniontown retiree volunteer helping out my cousin's theatre company took this on as a project -- and, in the process, I met the woman who would become my surrogate grandmother for nearly two decades -- JoAnn Dearth.
As I've said before, this chapter of my life took many twists and turns back in 1992 -- but one of the most unexpectedly amazing things was how JoAnn and I got connected. She was a strong independent woman who was divorced and raising a daughter as a single mother back in the days when that wasn't viewed favorably -- and after a life that included losing her adult daughter Sally to cancer -- she took me in and looked after me in these formative years 0f mine (she always said that she felt Sally "sent" me to her).
JoAnn and her influence on my life will pop up again later in this 1992 album (by the way, she died just a few years ago), but it is always an honor to reflect on her memory -- and to realize that this (an Ali Baba costume fit for a McDonalds -- and for the show) is how we actually met.
February 16, 2012
Random Thought for Thursday 2/16/12
10 years ago we had Bob Hope, Johnny Cash and Steve Jobs. And now we have no hope, no cash and no jobs.
I saw that handwritten sign in a mom and pop convenient store in the suburbs when I was taking care of a work event this past weekend ... and chuckled.
But I upgraded my chuckle to a pure guffaw when I realized it had taken its turn virally on the Facebook with the addition of the final panel below.
Yes -- 'tis true -- I could not imagine a world without bacon.
February 15, 2012
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/15/12
myholysmoke.com
Used in a sentence: "This is someone else's wordplay, not mine -- but I just learned about the services provided at myholysmoke.com."
Far be it from me to judge how someone else chooses to honor their dead (after all, bear in mind that my dad informed me last year that he wants to be buried in his Santa Claus suit), but I have to say that taking your cremated ashes and having it mixed in with ammunition that your loved ones can use as they honor your memory on future hunting expeditions is a choice I just never anticipated. [And that's even after having a loved one inform me that the ashes are to be put equally into four plants to be given to surviving relatives so that if the plant subsequently dies, the person has to deal with the guilt of being responsible for the "second death".]
I applaud the creativity (me, I think I'd rather just get pushed in a canoe out to the ocean like those Eskimos or Innuits did) ... but I have to think this way to go is for a bit of a niche audience.
TO EACH HIS OWN (I GUESS):
http://myholysmoke.com/
THAT MEMORY MAY HAVE GOTTEN MIXED UP WITH SENILICIDE?:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2160/did-eskimos-put-their-elderly-on-ice-floes-to-die
OTHER DEATH RITUALS:
http://www.deardeath.com/death_rituals.htm
Used in a sentence: "This is someone else's wordplay, not mine -- but I just learned about the services provided at myholysmoke.com."
Far be it from me to judge how someone else chooses to honor their dead (after all, bear in mind that my dad informed me last year that he wants to be buried in his Santa Claus suit), but I have to say that taking your cremated ashes and having it mixed in with ammunition that your loved ones can use as they honor your memory on future hunting expeditions is a choice I just never anticipated. [And that's even after having a loved one inform me that the ashes are to be put equally into four plants to be given to surviving relatives so that if the plant subsequently dies, the person has to deal with the guilt of being responsible for the "second death".]
I applaud the creativity (me, I think I'd rather just get pushed in a canoe out to the ocean like those Eskimos or Innuits did) ... but I have to think this way to go is for a bit of a niche audience.
TO EACH HIS OWN (I GUESS):
http://myholysmoke.com/
THAT MEMORY MAY HAVE GOTTEN MIXED UP WITH SENILICIDE?:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2160/did-eskimos-put-their-elderly-on-ice-floes-to-die
OTHER DEATH RITUALS:
http://www.deardeath.com/death_rituals.htm
February 14, 2012
Random Tune for Tuesday 2/14/12
So one last note (pun fully intended) on that whole Whitney Houston thing ... and that's my choice of tonight's tune. I bypassed what might have been the obvious (the JHud tribute at this weekend's Grammys -- or is that Grammies? -- although that certainly was a moving performance from someone who knows what loss feels like) and went for my favorite WHou song (that abbreviation thing doesn't quite work the same way for her, now, does it?) ... from the first Olympics I could really remember growing up (not counting the 1980 Winter Olympics Lake Placid hat I wore every winter of my youth) ...
GIVE ME ONE MOMENT IN TIME:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aAx0kxVSA&ob=av2e
GIVE ME ONE MOMENT IN TIME:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aAx0kxVSA&ob=av2e
February 13, 2012
Random Memorial for Monday 2/13/12
Gone but not forgotten: Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
Upon reflection, I don't think I've ever seen one of her movies all the way through -- but that doesn't mean that I don't know that the children are our future, that crack is wack and that "Bobby" helped her in ways I just couldn't imagine when she was in digestive distress. And I did get to see her in concert once at Penn State -- where all of the classic Whitney-isms were on display: the sweating, the forced nature of making her daughter join her on stage and the general sense that the voice had been damaged but was certainly once worthy of the claims of it being a national treasure. [If anything, the strangest part of the night was the fact that she asked the central PA audience to clap along at one point, but the rhythmless crowd just couldn't keep up -- creating an awkward and generally embarrassing moment for all of us.]
But regardless, it is the music that will most definitely live on (including some of my favorites: "Love Will Save the Day" and "I Learned from the Best" being two of them [I'll save my all time favorite for tomorrow's Tune for Tuesday]).
Troubled soul that you became that is hopefully now set free, you will be missed.
REVISITING THE 2002 INTERVIEW:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-most-disturbing-moment-from-whitney-houstons-2002-diane-sawyer-interview/
WHEN YOUR WORLD'S FALLING APART, LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEQ4yAFiJkY&feature=related
I LEARNED FROM THE BEST ... I LEARNED FROM ... YOU...OO...OO...OO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFVnVuTcz9I&ob=av2n
Upon reflection, I don't think I've ever seen one of her movies all the way through -- but that doesn't mean that I don't know that the children are our future, that crack is wack and that "Bobby" helped her in ways I just couldn't imagine when she was in digestive distress. And I did get to see her in concert once at Penn State -- where all of the classic Whitney-isms were on display: the sweating, the forced nature of making her daughter join her on stage and the general sense that the voice had been damaged but was certainly once worthy of the claims of it being a national treasure. [If anything, the strangest part of the night was the fact that she asked the central PA audience to clap along at one point, but the rhythmless crowd just couldn't keep up -- creating an awkward and generally embarrassing moment for all of us.]
But regardless, it is the music that will most definitely live on (including some of my favorites: "Love Will Save the Day" and "I Learned from the Best" being two of them [I'll save my all time favorite for tomorrow's Tune for Tuesday]).
Troubled soul that you became that is hopefully now set free, you will be missed.
REVISITING THE 2002 INTERVIEW:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-most-disturbing-moment-from-whitney-houstons-2002-diane-sawyer-interview/
WHEN YOUR WORLD'S FALLING APART, LOVE WILL SAVE THE DAY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEQ4yAFiJkY&feature=related
I LEARNED FROM THE BEST ... I LEARNED FROM ... YOU...OO...OO...OO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFVnVuTcz9I&ob=av2n
February 12, 2012
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/12/12
What Chicago is talking about this week:
... the news story with the predictable ending.
[And that's a not a dig on Whitney. I think she had built up enough good will with my generation (and a few in the generation-adjacents -- although not all of the young kids seem to be having the same reaction as the rest of us ...), that we all were secretly hoping her story-song's coda would be more like a chorus where Jack White rediscovers her and she has a lauded critical comeback a la Loretta or Wanda and less like a reprise of the Winehouse theme.]
Instead, I'm talking about the fools on the South Side of Chitown who used the company "Mo' Money Taxes" to prepare their returns with the IRS -- only to find out that the business is struggling and appears to be holding on to poor people's refunds for far too long and closing branches right and left as the fed execute search warrants. And here's why I think they are fools -- shouldn't they already know that Mo' Money is Mo' Problems?
MO' BRANCHES CLOSING ALL ACROSS THE SOUTH:
http://banktalk.org/
THE TIP OF THE MO' MONEY ICEBERG I FEAR:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8533537
MO' MONEY MO' PROBLEMS VECTOR BASED ARTWORK:
http://nickhardeman.com/244/mo-money-mo-problems/
... the news story with the predictable ending.
[And that's a not a dig on Whitney. I think she had built up enough good will with my generation (and a few in the generation-adjacents -- although not all of the young kids seem to be having the same reaction as the rest of us ...), that we all were secretly hoping her story-song's coda would be more like a chorus where Jack White rediscovers her and she has a lauded critical comeback a la Loretta or Wanda and less like a reprise of the Winehouse theme.]
Instead, I'm talking about the fools on the South Side of Chitown who used the company "Mo' Money Taxes" to prepare their returns with the IRS -- only to find out that the business is struggling and appears to be holding on to poor people's refunds for far too long and closing branches right and left as the fed execute search warrants. And here's why I think they are fools -- shouldn't they already know that Mo' Money is Mo' Problems?
MO' BRANCHES CLOSING ALL ACROSS THE SOUTH:
http://banktalk.org/
THE TIP OF THE MO' MONEY ICEBERG I FEAR:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8533537
MO' MONEY MO' PROBLEMS VECTOR BASED ARTWORK:
http://nickhardeman.com/244/mo-money-mo-problems/
February 11, 2012
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/11/12
I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...
[note: I guess this is the verbal equivalent of being warned that if you make a frowny face all the time, it will stay that way -- but I'm committed to making sure that at least one of my Saturday rants each month is something positive ... and, as an aside, it looks like if the AP story is right, my Monday memorial just wrote itself (RIP Ms. Houston) ...]
... hats off and kudos and huzzah to the following quality folk (even if one is canine):
Pittsburgh native Raymond Levy -- the 4 year old who called 911 when his "nana" rolled off the couch and needed emergency services and who, when told he was a hero, nonchalantly replied that "Batman would have done the same thing" ...
Washington born Kyle Stanley -- who lost the PGA tournament two weekends ago in dramatic fashion only to come back and win one week later and who wasn't afraid to show emotion and demonstrate class in how he handled his defeat a few days before the big win ...
Chicago Ridge resident Moo-Moo, the two year old pit bull, who woke her owner at 4:30 in the morning in time to escape a house fire (and whose owner then had to run back in the house three times to rescue Moo-Moo) -- make sure you take a look at her picture to see why she is so named ...
May they inspire others to similar acts!
SAYS RAYMOND, "BATMAN WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING!":
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/01/25/boy-4-credited-with-saving-grandmothers-life/
SAYS STANLEY, "THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS PUTTING LAST WEEK BEHIND ME":
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/story/2012-02-05/kyle-stanley-wins-waste-management-phoenix-open/52975802/1
SAYS MOO-MOO, "WOOF! WOOF! BARK! BARK! (lick! lick!)":
http://www.cbs19.tv/story/16768688/web-exclusive
[note: I guess this is the verbal equivalent of being warned that if you make a frowny face all the time, it will stay that way -- but I'm committed to making sure that at least one of my Saturday rants each month is something positive ... and, as an aside, it looks like if the AP story is right, my Monday memorial just wrote itself (RIP Ms. Houston) ...]
... hats off and kudos and huzzah to the following quality folk (even if one is canine):
Pittsburgh native Raymond Levy -- the 4 year old who called 911 when his "nana" rolled off the couch and needed emergency services and who, when told he was a hero, nonchalantly replied that "Batman would have done the same thing" ...
Washington born Kyle Stanley -- who lost the PGA tournament two weekends ago in dramatic fashion only to come back and win one week later and who wasn't afraid to show emotion and demonstrate class in how he handled his defeat a few days before the big win ...
Chicago Ridge resident Moo-Moo, the two year old pit bull, who woke her owner at 4:30 in the morning in time to escape a house fire (and whose owner then had to run back in the house three times to rescue Moo-Moo) -- make sure you take a look at her picture to see why she is so named ...
May they inspire others to similar acts!
SAYS RAYMOND, "BATMAN WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING!":
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/01/25/boy-4-credited-with-saving-grandmothers-life/
SAYS STANLEY, "THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS PUTTING LAST WEEK BEHIND ME":
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/story/2012-02-05/kyle-stanley-wins-waste-management-phoenix-open/52975802/1
SAYS MOO-MOO, "WOOF! WOOF! BARK! BARK! (lick! lick!)":
http://www.cbs19.tv/story/16768688/web-exclusive
February 10, 2012
Random Flashback for Friday 2/10/12
Another month ... another 20 year old shot of the cast of a show I was in during one of my most active actor-y phases.
As I mentioned in the first post recalling the year 1992, my involvement with a relative's theater group set in motion a number of subplots throughout this year that played out in many different unexpected ways (some darker than others) ... but at this stage of that story, things were all hunky-dory- peachy-keen as I got to play Buddy Baker in Niel Simon's classic "Come Blow Your Horn".
And it was fitting for that time in my life, as the character in this play branched out on his own, moved in with his older brother and went through a transformation into the man he was going to become. (I got to wear my high school glasses for the first act, and then symbolically shed them by act three -- much like I had done in recent real life back then.)
And a special shout out to co-star Darren Lindsay. He was to play the role of big brother for me (in real life, not these shows) for quite a few years after our first meeting back in early 1992 -- helping to influence me as I was also slowly growing into the man I would one day become.
[Final note ... there was clearly no budget for costumes in this performance, or maybe that was the character's choice?]
February 9, 2012
Random Thought for Thursday 2/9/12
From the Department of Redundancy Department:
Look closely at the picture above. Yep -- that is a bumper protector.
Admittedly, I've never been bitten by the gear head bug, so maybe that's why I don't relate and find this odd. But isn't the purpose of the bumper to protect your car? And this device (and others that are even more hardcore) apparently has a purpose of protecting the bumper that protects your car -- basically a bumper for your bumper? And what protects it? Where does this Ukrainian nesting doll concept end? Should I head to the Shark Tank with a bumper protector for your bumper protector that is protecting your bumper that protects your car? And is it culturally appropriate to put bumper stickers on your bumper protector -- or would that make it a bumper protector sticker and be a mixed message that you don't really care about what your bumper looks like after all?
My head is spinning. And I just checked ... my actual bumper is scratched so I guess someone else gets the last laugh here.
FIVE COLORS FROM WHICH TO CHOOSE:
http://bumpersecurity.com/
http://bumpersecurity.com/
OR FOR A MORE HARD CORE BUMPER FOR YOUR BUMPER:
FUNNY BUMPER STICKERS (WARNING: FUNNY IS IN THE LAUGH OF THE BEHOLDER):
February 8, 2012
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/8/12
Hyper-turbo Green.
Used at the end of an explanatory paragraph: "It may have been an unintended consequence, but now that most city intersections have the countdown for pedestrians to make it through the crosswalk that I can see as a driver, I now have a fourth 'color' to consider as I approach a traffic light --
Used at the end of an explanatory paragraph: "It may have been an unintended consequence, but now that most city intersections have the countdown for pedestrians to make it through the crosswalk that I can see as a driver, I now have a fourth 'color' to consider as I approach a traffic light --
- red still means stop (unless you're turning right, and it's not between 7am and 7pm where designated, and no one is bullying you from behind with incessant beeping because you haven't decided to inch out to take the turn),
- yellow still means last chance (or it means you're about to get a ticket because you pulled out too far to turn and now the money making cameras are going to get a shot of your license plate),
- green still means go (but watch for bicyclists who, after fighting for prominence have now chosen to ignore such signals), and ...
- hyper-turbo green means I am now getting a countdown to when the light will turn yellow and should floor it to make it through -- at all costs."
MAYBE I SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL -- IT SOUNDS LIKE THE MAYOR'S ON TO ME:
VIGILANTE TRAFFIC LIGHT CITIZEN POLICE (OR MAYBE JUST A CAMERA JUNKIE):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilta/5017566742/
IT'S ALL ABOUT RAISING MONEY:
February 7, 2012
Random Tune for Tuesday 2/7/12
Sometimes the song just comes to me in the shower -- and I find myself totally surprised as to what it is I'm singing. For instance, today's tune is a classic country song from the mid-80's which just popped into my head as I was toweling off the other day. Why? Absolutely no idea ...
I was able to find the youtube video of Reba McEntire's cover of the tune (on her album "Have I Got a Deal for You"), but it was the Janie Fricke version that actually took to the charts. And I recall it vividly because the stepmother used it to mock my father's ex-wife (who was my momma, of course) -- isn't it funny how divorce brings out the ugly in people (and how, as a kid, you just don't realize what it all means)?
SHE USES THE FAVORS THAT THE GOOD LORD GAVE HER WITH THE DEVIL'S DESIRE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCJK_pbZbRM
I was able to find the youtube video of Reba McEntire's cover of the tune (on her album "Have I Got a Deal for You"), but it was the Janie Fricke version that actually took to the charts. And I recall it vividly because the stepmother used it to mock my father's ex-wife (who was my momma, of course) -- isn't it funny how divorce brings out the ugly in people (and how, as a kid, you just don't realize what it all means)?
SHE USES THE FAVORS THAT THE GOOD LORD GAVE HER WITH THE DEVIL'S DESIRE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCJK_pbZbRM
February 6, 2012
Random Memorial for Monday 2/6/12
Gone but not forgotten: my thirties.
To be clear, I'm barely in my 40th year (tomorrow will be a month), but I realized that I may have the opportunity to start a new occasional series (which I haven't done in awhile) -- "You Can't Deny You've Hit 40 When ..."
Here are the first three that have all come up in the last 24 hours (and I'm sure there will be more to follow all year long):
(... you overhear what was said on the last episode of American Idol): "My parents met when they auditioned for Idol Season 4."
(... you proclaim as I did when I picked up the weights at home): "I just picked it up like I always do and then I felt something pop in my side."
(... you come to the realization after passing the same pile of leftover items in the apartment building foyer days after their delivery): "I am the only one in the building who picked up a phone book."
Being able to answer the question of what's your age by starting with a number smaller than a four, you are missed.
EVERY PERSON GOING TO HOLLYWOOD WEEK (although if you don't know them by now):
http://www.americanidol.com/hollywood_week/
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND PHONE BOOKS (OR IS THAT 1000 TREES?):
http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/who-still-uses-phone-books/
PERHAPS MORE RELEVANT TO FOLLOW NOW THAT I'M BARELY 40:
http://www.homegymadviser.com/home-gym-safety.html
To be clear, I'm barely in my 40th year (tomorrow will be a month), but I realized that I may have the opportunity to start a new occasional series (which I haven't done in awhile) -- "You Can't Deny You've Hit 40 When ..."
Here are the first three that have all come up in the last 24 hours (and I'm sure there will be more to follow all year long):
(... you overhear what was said on the last episode of American Idol): "My parents met when they auditioned for Idol Season 4."
(... you proclaim as I did when I picked up the weights at home): "I just picked it up like I always do and then I felt something pop in my side."
(... you come to the realization after passing the same pile of leftover items in the apartment building foyer days after their delivery): "I am the only one in the building who picked up a phone book."
Being able to answer the question of what's your age by starting with a number smaller than a four, you are missed.
EVERY PERSON GOING TO HOLLYWOOD WEEK (although if you don't know them by now):
http://www.americanidol.com/hollywood_week/
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND PHONE BOOKS (OR IS THAT 1000 TREES?):
http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/who-still-uses-phone-books/
PERHAPS MORE RELEVANT TO FOLLOW NOW THAT I'M BARELY 40:
http://www.homegymadviser.com/home-gym-safety.html
February 5, 2012
Random Posting for Penn State 2/5/12
[... the Super Bowl edition ...]
This may be the height of selfishness, but I'm hoping for a Giants win today because I want Bill to hurry home from Indy and begin work on Penn State (after all, we play Ohio U in 208 days!) ... and if those Patriots win today, that's just another month of celebratory distractions ahead.
In the immortal words of my best friends that we've been saying every Super Bowl since that unforgettable party years ago ... wonga-wonga-wonga (don't try to figure it out, it's an inside joke ... way inside ...)!
THE 2012 PENN STATE SCHEDULE:
http://www.happyvalley.com/penn-state/psu-football/2012-penn-state-football-schedule
THE LIONS TAKE ON THE BOBCATS:
http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/m-footbl/ohio-m-footbl-body.html
THIS TITLE SAYS IT ALL -- NO MORE JUGGLING, PLEASE:
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/01/patriots_bill_obrien_juggling.html
This may be the height of selfishness, but I'm hoping for a Giants win today because I want Bill to hurry home from Indy and begin work on Penn State (after all, we play Ohio U in 208 days!) ... and if those Patriots win today, that's just another month of celebratory distractions ahead.
In the immortal words of my best friends that we've been saying every Super Bowl since that unforgettable party years ago ... wonga-wonga-wonga (don't try to figure it out, it's an inside joke ... way inside ...)!
THE 2012 PENN STATE SCHEDULE:
http://www.happyvalley.com/penn-state/psu-football/2012-penn-state-football-schedule
THE LIONS TAKE ON THE BOBCATS:
http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/m-footbl/ohio-m-footbl-body.html
THIS TITLE SAYS IT ALL -- NO MORE JUGGLING, PLEASE:
http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2012/01/patriots_bill_obrien_juggling.html
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/5/12
What Chicago is talking about this week ...
... well there is what the SunTimes today called the "Enviabowl" (it's so close and yet so far away ...), but in the spirit of how all the TV networks had to come up with counter-programming on America's holiday (rumor has it the Puppy Bowl includes a Piggie Pep Squad this year) ... the conversation for some has turned into how Top Chef-y this city is becoming.
There's the current Chi-stacked season wrapping up with at least one of our hometowners still there (but I'm guessing bullied Bev will be returning from Last Chance Kitchen to increase the chance that they'll be a Chicago winner), and the news that former Cheftestant Dale is closer to opening his frog n snail within walking distance of where I live (joining Chuy's Chilam Balam in an attempt to create a Top Chef-staurant Row), and the variety of efforts that past winner Stephanie Izard has been a part of.
Sadly, I can name drop all I want (I actually did met Dale in a uniquely Chicago way -- that's another story for another time) ... but none of them are catering for my SuperBowl viewing plans ... and, on that note ... Happy Super Bowl to you and yours!
I COULDN'T FIND A WAY TO NAME DROP HE WHO WAS MY EARLY FAVE RICHIE:
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/8544616-421/top-chef-gets-a-taste-of-chicago.html
FROG N SNAIL -- REMAKING WHAT AMIs DON'T LIKE ABOUT FRENCH FOOD:
http://chicago.grubstreet.com/2011/11/dale_levitski_to_open_frog_n_s.html
A GIRL AND A GOAT AND A FOOD TRUCK AND A POP UP RESTAURANT:
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/April-2010/Stephanie-Izard-on-the-Girl-and-the-Goat-Top-Chef-and-more/
... well there is what the SunTimes today called the "Enviabowl" (it's so close and yet so far away ...), but in the spirit of how all the TV networks had to come up with counter-programming on America's holiday (rumor has it the Puppy Bowl includes a Piggie Pep Squad this year) ... the conversation for some has turned into how Top Chef-y this city is becoming.
There's the current Chi-stacked season wrapping up with at least one of our hometowners still there (but I'm guessing bullied Bev will be returning from Last Chance Kitchen to increase the chance that they'll be a Chicago winner), and the news that former Cheftestant Dale is closer to opening his frog n snail within walking distance of where I live (joining Chuy's Chilam Balam in an attempt to create a Top Chef-staurant Row), and the variety of efforts that past winner Stephanie Izard has been a part of.
Sadly, I can name drop all I want (I actually did met Dale in a uniquely Chicago way -- that's another story for another time) ... but none of them are catering for my SuperBowl viewing plans ... and, on that note ... Happy Super Bowl to you and yours!
I COULDN'T FIND A WAY TO NAME DROP HE WHO WAS MY EARLY FAVE RICHIE:
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/8544616-421/top-chef-gets-a-taste-of-chicago.html
FROG N SNAIL -- REMAKING WHAT AMIs DON'T LIKE ABOUT FRENCH FOOD:
http://chicago.grubstreet.com/2011/11/dale_levitski_to_open_frog_n_s.html
A GIRL AND A GOAT AND A FOOD TRUCK AND A POP UP RESTAURANT:
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/April-2010/Stephanie-Izard-on-the-Girl-and-the-Goat-Top-Chef-and-more/
February 4, 2012
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/4/12
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... this pic of the Weebles treehouse demonstrates what is wrong with our society today.
When I was young (besides walking to school, uphill both ways, barefoot and pregnant --wait a minute, I might be merging some phrases there incorrectly), my Weebles had to mime climbing up to the treehouse during play time. And as this photo shows, now Weebles get to ride an elevator/escalator contraption instead.
Look people -- if there were ever a toy that needed the benefits of climbing the stairs a few times, it's those who weeble and wobble and don't fall down. I can still remember how the other Fisher Price little wooden people used to look and them from within their castle or on their Sesame Street streetscape and laugh when those Weebles didn't fit in any of their contraptions (although, come to think of it, they also didn't associate well with the square plastic people in the Holiday Inn hotel either). [Side note -- it sounds like my toys were a bunch of prejudiced people who didn't practice inclusionary behavior within their community. I think there's a lesson in there somewhere.]
In summary -- Weebles (and those kids who play with them still) -- take the damn stairs a few times! (Although, now I do wonder if a skinny Weeble might look like a sickly Weeble ... I guess only time will tell ...)
FROM WOODEN TO PLASTIC, SQUARE TO ROUND, AND NOW WITH DIVERSITY:
A WEEBLES HISTORY LESSON:
THE "TAKE THE STAIRS EVERY STEP COUNTS" CAMPAIGN:
February 3, 2012
Random Flashback for Friday 2/3/12
And here's the last picture from the Winter Retreat with Hebron church twenty years ago in 1992 -- it's really the second part of the one from last week, which showed the climb.
This is the triumphant group at the top of the mountain! Well -- mountains are all relative and I realize this isn't Everest or Kilimanjaro or anything -- but it was the challenge we all took on so many years ago -- and it was to honor the concept of the traditional winter hike.
Many of these fine folks are grown with kids of their own .... which makes me feel a little old myself, but also makes me glad that I had that time with them so long ago, when a hike up the "mountain" was the only thing they had to worry about that day!
February 2, 2012
Random Thought for Thursday 2/2/12
I've been so focused on the upcoming Mayan Apocalypse (for those that are counting, there are 321 days left) that I took my eye off of the other end or world theories, like Armageddon proper. Pardon me, Mr. Newsman -- what was that again? Not a friendly Groundhog's Day story about the Chicago weatherman calling Punxsutawney Phil a punk? Instead, you'd like to tell me Israel will bomb Iran this spring? What can I say to that?
Thanks for the update!
Good to know!
Is it time to start looking for that mark of the beast yet?
Happy end of times to you and yours!!
COMING SOON TO A WORLD WAR NEAR YOU!:
http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10303860-panetta-report-fuels-concerns-that-israel-will-attack-iran
STUDY UP ON IT YOURSELF:
http://www.bartleby.com/108/66/
12 GREATEST END OF WORLD PROPHECY FAILS:
http://www.ranker.com/list/the-12-greatest-end-of-the-world-prophecy-fails/ivana-wynn
Thanks for the update!
Good to know!
Is it time to start looking for that mark of the beast yet?
Happy end of times to you and yours!!
COMING SOON TO A WORLD WAR NEAR YOU!:
http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10303860-panetta-report-fuels-concerns-that-israel-will-attack-iran
STUDY UP ON IT YOURSELF:
http://www.bartleby.com/108/66/
12 GREATEST END OF WORLD PROPHECY FAILS:
http://www.ranker.com/list/the-12-greatest-end-of-the-world-prophecy-fails/ivana-wynn
February 1, 2012
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/1/12
Put your money where your mouth is.
Used in a sentence: "Since I do have a lot to say, it's only appropriate that I follow the adage to 'put your money where you mouth is'".
Since it is such a well known phrase, I'm not sure that it qualifies as wordplay per se, but I did think of it today when I happily donated to January's designated charity (RAINN) on behalf of my 29 Facebook connections that publicly listed their birthdays this month. I wanted a new "shtick" for 2012 birthdays, and this current plan was birthed around the same time as the Penn State bowl game -- so it was an easy choice of organization for this month. Of course, I do firmly stand by my statement that you can be a Penn State fan or a Joe Paterno honor-er without it being presumed that you also belong to NAMBLA, but I also feel strongly that the victims of the Sandusky Scandal deserve the type of support and services that RAINN provides.
To those victims, both those who have come forward and those who never will, and to others I've met and loved in my forty years so far, may you find peace and healing.
[And, for the record, here are the charities that will play out throughout the rest of 2012:
FEB -- Ronald McDonald Charities
MAR -- PAWS
APR -- Lustgarten Foundation
MAY -- National MS Society
JUN -- Vital Bridges
JUL -- Save the Children
AUG -- Muscular Dystrophy Association
SEP -- Autism Speaks
OCT -- Susan G Komen for the Cure
NOV -- Greater Chicago Food Depository
DEC -- Trevor Project.]
92 CENTS OF EVERY $ GOES TO PREVENTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE/HELPING VICTIMS:
https://donate.rainn.org/
OR GET INVOLVED SOME OTHER WAY:
http://www.rainn.org/get-involved
OR GET INFORMED:
http://www.rainn.org/get-information
Used in a sentence: "Since I do have a lot to say, it's only appropriate that I follow the adage to 'put your money where you mouth is'".
Since it is such a well known phrase, I'm not sure that it qualifies as wordplay per se, but I did think of it today when I happily donated to January's designated charity (RAINN) on behalf of my 29 Facebook connections that publicly listed their birthdays this month. I wanted a new "shtick" for 2012 birthdays, and this current plan was birthed around the same time as the Penn State bowl game -- so it was an easy choice of organization for this month. Of course, I do firmly stand by my statement that you can be a Penn State fan or a Joe Paterno honor-er without it being presumed that you also belong to NAMBLA, but I also feel strongly that the victims of the Sandusky Scandal deserve the type of support and services that RAINN provides.
To those victims, both those who have come forward and those who never will, and to others I've met and loved in my forty years so far, may you find peace and healing.
[And, for the record, here are the charities that will play out throughout the rest of 2012:
FEB -- Ronald McDonald Charities
MAR -- PAWS
APR -- Lustgarten Foundation
MAY -- National MS Society
JUN -- Vital Bridges
JUL -- Save the Children
AUG -- Muscular Dystrophy Association
SEP -- Autism Speaks
OCT -- Susan G Komen for the Cure
NOV -- Greater Chicago Food Depository
DEC -- Trevor Project.]
92 CENTS OF EVERY $ GOES TO PREVENTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE/HELPING VICTIMS:
https://donate.rainn.org/
OR GET INVOLVED SOME OTHER WAY:
http://www.rainn.org/get-involved
OR GET INFORMED:
http://www.rainn.org/get-information
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