Random Thought for Thursday 4/19/12

[Just one more of these, and then I'll put this concept to rest for a bit ...]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... can I have a completely different cultural experience depending on to which 7-11 I choose to walk. They may all sell USA Todays and Slurpees, but I can visit the Pacific Rim if I walk to the one next to Wrigley, or the Middle East if I amble toward the one at the end of the block on Waveland, or to Nigeria if I find myself halfway down Halsted. [Although, to be fair, I was in that one the other day, and the vibe was less Jamaica and more halfway-house-on-probation-just-got-a-job.]

Viva the cultural variety that this city provides!

OH THANK HEAVEN!:

http://www.7-eleven.com/

A DIFFERENT SEARCH RESULT FOR 7-11 CHICAGO:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2011/07/11/storm-damage-7112011/

A DIFFERENT CELEBRATION OF CHICAGO'S CULTURAL DIVERSITY:

http://pocketcultures.com/2010/02/17/cultural-stew-chicago/

Random Thought for Thursday 4/12/12

[Here's another in my occasional series that I revived last week...]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... can we so authoritatively say "I told you so" to our friends in Miami.

Look -- I'm all for free speech and second chances and such, but the repeated insensitive douchery of Comrade Guillen is just a little too much to handle. And unless Gloria Estefan's people get rid of him (what do you think the Miami Sound Machine is really doing in middle age?) I can bet you some "peso cubanos" that he's going to show his ugly side again this summer (after all, we're only a few days into the season)!

[Oh ... and he might want to stay away from a few of the bars in South Beach (not so much the ones that the Jersey Shore kids attended, but some of the other ones), based on the bridges he already burned with certain communities here in Chi-town.]

RENUNCIA IDIOTA:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-ozzie-guillen-protests-20120410,0,683050.story?track=rss

FOR WHITE SOXERS, IT'S "OLD HAT":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/white-sox-watch-as-former-manager-ozzie-guillen-apologizes-for-castro-comments/2012/04/10/gIQAGkG68S_story.html

THE "BEST" OF COMRADE GUILLEN:

http://guyspeed.com/ozzie-guillen-best-rants/

Random Thought for Thursday 4/5/12

[I haven't added to this occasional series since last July ... but here you go ...]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... can you be in the middle of a small talk situation and someone ask you "Did you see the fire the other night?" and you need to clarify from them ... was that the five alarm blaze in the Back of the Yards neighborhood or the MLS soccer game we won?

NOT THIS CLASSIC FIRE ...:

http://www.chicagohs.org/history/fire.html

OR THIS RECENT FIRE ...:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-extraalarm-blaze-hits-back-of-the-yards-20120405,0,7502895.story

BUT THIS FIRE!:

http://www.chicago-fire.com/

Random Thought for Thursday 7/28/11

[... it's the last (in awhile) for this month's occasional series ...]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... are spray paint cans, little liquor bottles and guns banned (well, guns were banned until lately) in order to guide human behavior -- and ... ONLY IN CHICAGO is the news media full of stories of gang taggers, drunks misbehaving and shooting after shooting after shooting. Kind of makes that libertarian thing look more and more attractive all the time (if only we all could be trusted to uphold a social contract of sorts).

BANNED -- SPRAY PAINT CANS!:
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/04/us/justice-stevens-allows-chicago-to-ban-spray-paint.html

BANNED -- LITTLE LIQUOR BOTTLES!:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-08-05/news/0208050152_1_liquor-bottles-stores-and-taverns

BANNED -- GUNS (well, now UNBANNED)!:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/29/national/main6629306.shtml

Random Thought for Thursday 7/21/11

[Thursdays in July ... my new occasional series continues ...]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... can a whole neighborhood get behind an (all-too-rare) Cubs win. I was gobsmacked to drive through a northside 'hood yesterday (power outages have me a day behind and have me posting this at a 24 hour Starbucks tonight ... uggh) where I saw a big orange W (Cubs Win!) placard on every tree and signpost on one side of the street for blocks.

[Sadly, this was just my first thought and it turned out to be farthest from the truth. First, the Cubs played the all-but-guaranteed-a-spot-in-the-World-Series Phillies the day before I witnessed this -- so it was most definitely not a win situation to be celebrating. Second, the orangeness of the W signs should have given it away -- this 'hood had Wednesday street cleaning lined up!]

THIS SIGN ...:
http://lifeofbmar.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/cubs-win-flag.jpg?w=400&h=297

... IS NOT THE SAME AS THIS SIGN ...:
http://www.edgevillebuzz.com/uncategorized/street-sweeping-schedule-2

THIS PROGNOSTICATOR CALLED IT BACK IN DECEMBER:
http://sports.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978799873

Random Thought for Thursday 7/14/11

[I'm keeping this occasional series going on Thursdays this month ...]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... can property miles and miles from Lake Michigan still be considered "lakeview" -- mostly by anxious realtors trying to sell or rent, or poor folk trying to pose as if they've "moved on up".

CHECK THE MAP -- THERE's NO VIEW OF THE LAKE IN SIGHT!:
http://www.dreamtown.com/neighborhoods/lakeview.html

AND THIS ONE GOES EVEN MORE TO THE WEST:
http://www.apartmentpeople.com/find_apartment/neighborhood_information/about/lakeview

THE CLOSEST VIEW OF THE LAKE YOU CAN GET (note the swim bans ...):
http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/resources/beaches/

Random Thought for Thursday 7/7/11

[Time to try out a new occasional series ... "Only in Chicago..." -- and, bonus, it's short enough to be re-tweetable!]

ONLY IN CHICAGO ... can you text a loved one that you're on LSD and they interpret it to mean that you'll be home soon instead of gathering up friends and family for an intervention.

I LOVE ME SOME LSD HISTORY:
http://forgottenchicago.com/articles/lake-shore-drive-redux/

TIMOTHY LEARY JUST PLAIN OLD LOVED HIS SOME LSD:
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104075

ADDICTION ASSISTANCE (I CAN'T BE ALL SNARK ALL THE TIME):
http://www.chicagona.org/