Chicago: A Lovely So Real

I don't get it. Queee?

it's part of a quote taking from nelson algren's epic poem Chicago: A City on the Make.

or taken, whichever you prefer.

Jesse, was it you who said the Sweeney Todd movie had too much singing? cuz I got an email from a major Theatre Gay I know, and he writes "with a lot of the music missing it comes across as pretty thin." So count your blessings.

I find that given the lousy dialogue/plot in even top B'way musicals, more music is best.

It's what I get for attending a musical.

There was an interesting (if too wide-ranging) program on PBS last night about music in theatre/film. Sondheim's discussion of "Send in the Clowns" made me appreciate that song more, or at least the original Glynis Johns version of it.

yeah, that song has been clubbed to death by overexposure.

I hadn't heard it that much, and when I do hear it, it really gets to me. Not joking about that.

Hadn't heard it that much until recently. That was a bad sentence.

I saw Van Morrison do it live once, and he made the finish "Don't bother, they're here, motherfuckers."

It's a great song, but of course it's not beyond ruining. Sinatra = yes. Streisand = no no no.

Something about the way Sinatra sings, "Isn't it rrrrrrich?" with just a little extra bitter punctuation is really perfect.

I also really love the rest of the score of A Little Night Music, so it's disappointing that that one song is the only one that became well-known outside of the show (though tbh, I'm not sure how most would even make sense outside of the show).

I don't understand what it is about Streisand that attracts gay men. I get Liza, Madonna, etc. But was Streisand a really dramatic figure in some way?

Her nose is dramatic.

Yentl?

I need to draft a boilerplate letter of non-engagement for insane people seeking legal representation. I think the gist of it should be: "Neither you nor our law firm are real."

I don't mind EARLY Streisand so much. She was unusual in 1962-70 for having "ethnic" looks for a pop star.

http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/LIVING/personal/07/11/always.apologize/art.whats.up.doc.wb.jpg

Also available under GIS for What's Up, Doc? is Alicia Keys and a rabbit:
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/startracks/071022/alicia_keys.jpgp

I was gonna say... Streisand used to be quite the little morsel.

http://www.poster.net/streisand-barbara/streisand-barbara-photo-barbra-streisand-6203954.jpg

Lookit... she's smouldering!

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/061127/123656__astar_l.jpg

The hair did her in.

She looks fabulous for 65!

It was a different time then, E.

ok wtf is going on here

http://www.babyjaneofhollywood.com/streisand01.jpg http://www.babyjaneofhollywood.com/streisand02.jpg

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/050526/135120__themainevent_l.jpg

good lord she looks like rhea perlman there. Make that go away.

You're right, it is the hair. Witness the difference:

http://www.citizenofthemonth.com/wp-content/images/barb2.jpg

Haha, that is the best negligee.

one of her husbands was a bad hairdresser, I think.

Huh. It's been quite a long while since I've thought to physically objectify Barbra. Each day is full of mystery, innit?

Anyway, like I was saying, I don't much care for her version of Send in the Clowns. Judy Collins gets the sad part across, and has a wilting blossom quality; Frank does my favorite version, sounding kinda pissed off but too sad and tired to do anything about it; and Barbra sounds merely professional. It's not a BAD version of the song, it just seems that she didn't bring anything to it besides Barbra-ness. At which I shrug.

i got fired!!!

congratulations!

?

not sure if this is good or bad :-/

i dont want to be the next chicago kevin :D

haha xp exactly

Aw man, not enough bodies on the dance floor, eh? I hope they let you finish your set at least. Maybe they're hiring at the Admiral, though the dancers get to pick most of the songs for themselves.

haha not that job ... i wish that was full time

speaking of im going 'there' tonight if anyone wants to buy me a drink :(

not the admiral

I was picturing you playing Special Ed's "I Got It Made" or something, and the manager pulling the plug and firing you, then putting on "Oh What A Night!" as the dance floor fills up...

i dont want to be the next chicago kevin :D

long way to mardi gras motherfucker, you'll live to eat those words.

but, uh, sorry about the job dude. sounds like it was prolly for the best though?

yeah im hoping so. everyone seems to think so. i definitely wish that it hadn't ended that way but i couldnt work in those conditions!!

anyway if anyone's up for a drink tonight let me know

sorry hoss, i'm on the wagon on school nights now.

that's a bummer, dude!

ah, it's not too bad. oh wait...

if i didnt have stupid debt/bills it would be GREAT

as it is, merely 'potentially good'

I'm doing some work tonight and depend on the CTA, so I can't get over there tonight, alas...

Deej, remind me what you were doing. I am mixing you up with jonviachicago and I can't remember who was not allowed to get his drivers license during work.

i could be convinced, but feel sorta crappy at the moment. bacon was.....a bad idea??

Kenan, it should come as no surprise that you would find Streisand hot, ya know what I mean?

xpost - Bacon?

the food. i had it for breakfast and went home early from work feeling shitty, thinking it might have just been residual hangover from new year's (oy), but then i felt better. however, i also put some in the sauce i made for dinner and now feel similarly shitty.

uhoh trychinosis!

Huh. Does trychinosis act that quickly? Was it old bacon? Did you have it tartare?

deej, if you don't have it, pick up the eccentric soul: the deep city label comp from numero group. first two sides have me staring slack jawed at my turntable.

Oh, Evan, how about that neighborhood map that I emailed you about? Any idea where it lives? (The funny Chicago neighborhood map that labels the West Loop "Smells like chocolate")

oh you know i haven't checked that acct in a while, sorry!

i think i have that map on my computer. will check.

also: kidding about trychinosis, but not about the bacon. something is.....wrong. but i fried it up all crispy! and it only came out of the freezer like two days ago!

thanks man i'll check it out ... altho i am not exchanging currency for it.
im hoping to get free beers tonight

jesse, i was working at a v. poorly run non-profit (or as i say during interviews, 'non-profits are not really the direction i'm looking for right now.')

I would buy you a beer if I were going where you're going. But I will will one your way instead.

who the fuck can afford cobra??? what kind of shit is this

also bulls just beat charlotte

is hot doug's still open on california?

also: any new restaurants i should visit?

is hot doug's still open on california?

-- amateurist, Thursday, January 3, 2008 6:42 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Link

yes

What variety of restaurant are you interested in?

I've been wanting to go to Habana Libre on West Chicago near...Damen? It's good Cuban fare from what I hear from coworkers and the paper. Also been wanting to go to Republic, an upscale Pan-Asian place in the Gold Coast.

OHOH, and Spring World in Chinatown is pretty awesome. They are Yunnanese (?) regional and they have tons of different mushrooms in every dish. The spices are unusual for Chinese, including star anise and cardamom, so you get the taste of Middle Eastern cuisine.

Google it. It's in the Chinese strip mall. The street address will take you to the back door, so bring a map.

Kenan, it should come as no surprise that you would find Streisand hot, ya know what I mean?

not... really? Are you calling me homosexual, or is it about her giant honking beezer?

The Reader's Mike Sula on his favorite places to eat in 2007, might be useful

oh god i'm hungry. Not even for breakfast. That Szechuan is sounding pretty damn good.

Szechuan is a damn hard word to spell. I had to copy and paste to make myself seem smarter.

Beezer.

xpost.

yeah that szechuan place sounds pretty great

in the end, it will not be the nose that is remembered, but the panache.

http://www.geocities.com/qtpthescript/cyrano.jpg

Shit, sorry deej. 2008 has been off to a rough start for too many people I know. Found out last night a friend of mine's father passed away on New Year's Eve, heart attack.

Sorry deej but it did sound like it sucked there.

I saw T. O'Sh3@ at taqueria moran last night.

What typeface is this?

I will need another clue.

I watched "Helvetica" the other night with jules. Really good! Until the very end, where they're talking about what a wonderful thing it is that people can customize myspace pages... or something? Remove tht bit, it makes no sense now and will make less sense with every passing month.

i need to not call her jules.

http://smartmortgageadvice.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/pulp_fiction_jules.jpg

Haha. I've got that one on my queue.

THIS FONT, the one you're reading. What is it?

I don't know -- what stylesheet are you using?

Times New Roman?

This firm needs to have a font policy. We're ALL over the place. One atty. writes all her letters in 13 pt. Garamond. Another uses Arial. The other uses Times. I use webdings.

stylesheets biatch

jesse, I am reading Myriad Pro, because that's my setting. The default for most browsers is Times New Roman, so that's prolly what you're seeing, but ILX doesn't specify a font, it just uses the browser default.

HA ha. Of COURSE you do, Jesse. Of COURSE you do.

don't you love it when people think that choosing a very special personal font in microsoft word makes them look fancy and smart? I do. I love it.

Even worse, IMO, is the use of very special personal fonts in Outlook/Exchange.

the only thing better, I think, is personalizing your ebay listing. You know, so it'll stand out!

not to mention special fonts in outlook with big sizes, bright colors, crazy backgrounds, and signatures with pictures or pithy quotes.

oh yeah email... UGH! Fully half of the interoffice email I get has a curious little gif attached to it. Why, it's their pretty background, of course! How else would I know that this is no ordinary email?

I chatted with jon williams for 20 minutes or so last night, trying to figure out a weirdness with apache2 on os x. (Still unsolved.) I could feel his hate building the more I revealed my ignorance of the way that my computer works under the hood, and the logic behind it. Finally he just told me to please ask someone who knew LESS about computers, because he was filling up with hate. Anyway... that's how I feel when I see people picking out special fonts for themselves.

Hi everybody! Does anyone want to play Team Web Boggle?

I found out that this guy matttttt works with has his own linux distribution. Shit is crazy.

"I've been wanting to go to Habana Libre on West Chicago near...Damen?"

hmmm... actually heading to that neighborhood today or tomorrow, perhaps i will stop by.

This shit is major right now, na'mean?

HI. how long are you here? are you going to hang out?
^^^ xpost to j. jonah jameson

So I volunteered to DJ at a friend's new year's eve party, and people kept asking me to play Sexyback, but I didn't have it. I told them this, but they refused to believe me. This one girl screamed "you're a DJ, you've got an ipod, you must have Sexyback!!" Finally she told me she had it on her iphone and gave it to me to try and hook up to the mixer, but when I tried to cue it all I heard was this clicking noise, which didn't make sense because I figured it would work like an ipod would. I had to keep explaining to people that I was not a professional DJ and was just doing it for a friend, and that I liked obscure music and probably didn't have what they were going to request. Thankfully I did have Hey Ya to play.

hey, i have it on my ipod. next time holla. :)

Most of the emails I get are pretty tame--Arial is Outlook's default, right? That's what they are.

That last Log Cabin guy I went out with used a 14-pt VIOLET-COLORED sans-serif. C'mon!!!

Yeah I should have downloaded it but didn't think to. I had plenty of great stuff to play, people just didn't want to hear anything they didn't already know. Although a highlight was the Todd Terje dub of Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, someone actually asked me about it enthusiastically.

My NYE playlist looked something like this:

Rihanna, "Umbrella"
Lil Mama, "Lip Gloss"
Kanye West, "Stronger"
Jay-Z, "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is...)"
Britney Spears, "Piece of Me"
LCD Soundsystem, "North American Scum"
Justice, "D.A.N.C.E."
Feist, "1 2 3 4"
Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
Peter Bjorn + John, "Young Folks"
Arcade Fire, "No Cars Go"
Radiohead, "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
Spoon, "The Underdog"
Modest Mouse, "Dashboard"
Fall Out Boy, "Thnks fr th Mmrs"
Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend"

Mamas and the Papas, "California Dreaming"
Bobby "Boris" Pickett, "The Monster Mash"
Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, "Some Velvet Morning"
Luciano Pavarotti, "Di Quella Pira"
Ike Turner and Tina Turner, "Proud Mary"
Boston, "More Than a Feeling"
Quiet Riot, "Cum On Feel the Noize"

George Michael, "Freedom '90"
Blackstreet, "No Diggity"
Kanye West, "Gold Digger"
Paula Abdul, "Straight Up"
Beyonce, "Crazy in Love"
Justin Timberlake, "Rock Your Body"
EMF, "Unbelievable"
Jane's Addiction, "Been Caught Stealing"
Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out"
The Cure, "Why Can't I Be You?"
INXS, "Need You Tonight"
Bell Biv Devoe, "Poison"
Madonna, "Like a Prayer"
Prince, "Kiss"
James, "Laid"
Human League, "Don't You Want Me"
New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"
Whitney Houston, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"
Deee-Lite, "Groove is in the Heart"
Michael Jackson, "Wanna Be Starting Something"
Guns N Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine"
Basement Jaxx, "Red Alert"
Cornershop, "Brimful of Asha"
...

That's when they kicked us out.

Where was that Jaymc? You definitely played to the people more than I tried to do. Oh well.

Just a bar my friends rented out. It's a crowd that I've known for a while who are pretty much all in their early 30s. I know exactly how to push their buttons. For that last set, you can slip in a couple of newer songs, but it's best to stick to stuff that was popular when they were in high school (1989-93).

Also, I wasn't DJing -- I just created a couple of playlists and hooked the iPod up to the bar's stereo. If I was DJing, I probably would've tried to make it a little more adventurous, just so I wouldn't get bored.

Yeah I didn't really try too hard to do that. I wanted to play Paradise Garage type material. Lesson learned. It would have been different though if it wasn't a crowd of mostly doctors and lawyers (no offense doctors and lawyers on here!)

I hear ya, it would have been easier to have just made a playlist, then I wouldn't have had to be standing behind a table the majority of the evening. But then it's fun using the cross fader too. Next time I should get a co-DJ to help me out. One girl had a mix CD she wanted me to play, which gave me a little break. I allowed stuff like Notorious BIG but cut if off before Summer of '69.

Yeah, my crowd had several lawyers in attendance, including one wearing a shirt that read "Trust Me, I'm a Lawyer."

I guess I thought people would be willing to just go with the flow, but since they didn't know me except as "the DJ", they figured they could ask for Livin' on a Prayer and I'd put it right on for them.

Oh yeah I also had someone ask me to play something "with words", which was kinda funny.

Folks don't want to learn anything on NYE.

no bon jovi?! Boy, you suck. ;)

I got yelled at at a wedding not too long ago for not having any Bon Jovi. You'd better believe "Livin' on a Prayer" is on my iPod now.

happy new year, everyone!

i think "livin on a prayer" was the most popular song played at our wedding, it did a surprisingly good job of crossing generation lines as well.

Is this dub of Diamonds a new song? What is up with the Paul Simon revivalist movement?

i think we should all be glad we live in a part of the country where djs get yelled at for not having bon jovi, and not a part of the country where they get yelled at for not having any David Allen Coe or Jerry Jeff Walker.

"Lynching's Greatest Hits"

random music notes:

I'm having trouble finding a copy of INXS - Kick. Anybody have one they can rip for me? DA DA DA! LEND ME A TEN!

Also: it's been years since I heard the song "Automatic," but as soon as I did, I once again heard the lyric, "All I can manage to push from my lips is a stream of obscenity."

i have KICK on vinyl

I don't have any INXS albums, sorry, just a handful of hits.

Fakeficti0ns next ep: "HANDFUL OF HITS"

i think i've had too much sugar, because i'm still chuckling at the image of someone seeing someone they are powerfully attracted to, perhaps across the room, slowly approaching the person as if drawn beyond their will, and trying to say something smooth, but in a moment of awkwardness, beginning to curse like a longshoreman with tourettes.

not just random curses, oh no... vivid descriptions of unspeakable obscenity. A rapturous reenactment of the pig vomit scene from Last Tango in Paris.

Oh, it makes me laugh. You are all lame.

I'm all for Bon Jovi, just don't own any and didn't bother to download it. I guess I should have prepared better, but at least I liked the songs I was playing.

The Paul Simon dub is one of several done by Todd Terje of semi-cheesy songs. I learned about them on the Balearic thread, they were put out on several 12" singles in the last couple years. There's also ones for Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing and Michael Jackson - I Can't Help It. All three of those are really good. It's all part of the cheesy yacht rock-y dance trend of the moment, I guess.

Kenan. Meditate on Barb's nose for a while.

oh, I forgot the most important random musical note! That Snoop song about how he's gonna take is time to make sure she has a sexual eruption. Lolz... play on, playa. And the video is A+++++ aces, do not miss.

is there anything going on tonight?

the festival of the delightful pudding

Yoga.

http://static.last.fm/groupavatar/ee8904d9ad189918c8a8b34873c43c10.jpg

Superbad & 40 Year Old Virgin back to back at the Brew & View I noticed.

I think Dan said he'd be at a bar somewhere in Logan Square.

That got moved to tomorrow.

I'm hoping that sushi will closely follow the yoga.

someone posted this from our new year's show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PESn_gvHHyY

cool vid

So I was just in the bathroom...
No wait! There's more!
And when I came out, five of my coworkers were all up front surrounding a little old lady who kept saying, "I was so cold. I was so cold. I was so cold. I almost went home. Oh oh oh. I was so cold..." and everyone is trying to console her.
So it turns out:
a) this is my boss's mom
b) I was in the bathroom so I didn't hear the door ringing
c) No one else answered the door.
d) She is so cold so cold so cold. She scolded her son for a good 5 minutes about her mistreatment.

ruh roh

guess no more bathroom breaks for sarah

i wound up at a bar in logan square on nye! guess which one!

sarah, that sucks! i can't believe how lazy everyone at your office is.

Totally. Also, it was annoying because when I apologized to his mom, she turned her head away from me in a "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I don't care I don't care..." movement.

So I went back to the boss and told him I was sorry about what happened but I was in the bathroom. And he said don't worry about it. She'll get over it.

He seemed obviously annoyed at her for all the drama.

fuck that hag, it's a tropical 18 degrees outside! She should have been up this morning when it was -3.

Granted, anyone could have answered the buzzer!!

Mac dashboard weather says 55 on Sunday!?!?!

I know, right??!?!?!

Weather b mad.

Google tells me 48. I think Jerry Taft promised somewhere around 50 on the Ch. 7 news the other night.

I'm totally wearing shorts Sunday.

Sarah, I want you to get a new job.

I'm good at freezing little old ladies.

And ruffling feathers by giving a @#$?!! about nature.

Speaking of the earth - which I love so much and I totally want to marry it - I really love those Planet Earth dvds Nick gave me for Christmas.

i wish some authors would hurry up and get authoring already.

apparently planet earth dvds were a popular xmas gift!

look who's been e-mailing me again of late:

rom FRS✧✧✧@a✧✧.c✧✧
to jord✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧,
date Jan 3, 2008 2:58 PM
subject Important question
mailed-by aol.com

hide details 2:58 PM (0 minutes ago)



Reply


Do you know where I can get a ride on a 38 foot boat this summer?


Fred R. Sadoff, C.P.A.

I just went out for my first and last smoke break of the day. I was so cold. I was so cold. I was so cold. I almost went home.

Good old Fred!

from Jordan Cohen <>
to FRS✧✧✧@a✧✧.c✧✧,
date Jan 3, 2008 3:00 PM
subject Re: Important question
mailed-by gmail.com

hide details 3:00 PM (0 minutes ago)



Reply


Is that a euphemism?
- Hide quoted text -

Kenan, I'm SORRRRYYYY!!!!!

Good work, Jordan.

lol

how do i:

* get a job as someone's personal chef

1. Go to cooking school.
2. Make zany food, meet famous people and convince them to like it.
3. Profit.

You may be able to skip the first step.

i just offered someone a job as my personal chef last night!

I was talking about a long-lost friend who apparently now cooks for a living for a rich family in CA. He even got to outfit the kitchen ON THEIR BOAT for his own purposes.

omg you guys:

FRS✧✧✧@a✧✧.c✧✧ to me

show details 3:42 PM (1 minute ago)



Reply


Etymology: Greek euphemismos, from euphemos auspicious, sounding good, from eu- + pheme speech, from phanai to speak -- more at BAN
: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant ; also : the expression so substituted

Did I offend you?

he totally had to look it up

wau

ha ha

Maybe he needs a 38 foot boat to finalize a big coke deal with his people in Trinidad.

"38" is code for boobs

also, i would like to be personal chef too.
i guess we're not having tt tonight. that's fine. i will sit at home and wait on election results.

Is this the same guy who was writing you before?

srsly, i just want to cook all the time. i think because it's winter.

sarah- some old lady just called here asking about a b@by shower. I forgot that one of the boss's friends who lives in Italy is using our number as the RSVP line. The old lady had no clue who the hostess of the shower was--she had all the relevant names and addresses, but couldn't place them. She got huffy at me for not being able to explain, so I asked her, "Ma'am? Are you cold?"

yeah, same guy.

Oh good, she's back on the phone....still angry.

i keep forgetting it's thursday today.

ask her if she has prince albert in a can.

old people love that joke.

i think i made that joke three times this xmas alone!

She said (interspersed with frustrated huffing), "I just don't know who this is! I'm not senile!" to which I responded by laughing, making her angrier.

i guess we're not having tt tonight. that's fine.

I think with NYE falling on a Monday, I'm not jonesing for drinkies just yet. But I will be in a couple of days.

Jordan Cohen to FRSCPA

show details 3:47 PM (13 minutes ago)



Reply


Nah, just joking (you really had to look up that word?).

Why would I know about 38' boats, though?
- Show quoted text -

On Jan 3, 2008 3:42 PM, <FRS✧✧✧@a✧✧.c✧✧> wrote:

Etymology: Greek euphemismos, from euphemos auspicious, sounding good, from eu- + pheme speech, from phanai to speak -- more at BAN
: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant ; also : the expression so substituted

Did I offend you?

Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

Reply

Forward


FRS✧✧✧@a✧✧.c✧✧ to me

show details 3:59 PM (1 minute ago)



Reply


Just playing with you, your Dad was here and we were talking.

Can you use boats down here too, or just Chicago?

"38" is code for boobs

wau, and not insignificant ones, at that

Yeah, I didn't go out for NYE and am getting over 2 weeks of being sick as hell so I guess that's why I'm thirsty.

Oh, and I'm going to have to skip out on game night and WHY? WHY you ask? Friend visiting from Japan got a hankering for the Cove. So we are going to karaoke.

Not that I am trying to schedule competing events, but anyone is welcome to join us. She is in town once a year and we need to have as much fun as possible while she's here.

(not that game night isn't fun, it is, but she wants karaoke and karaoke she will get)

It's all the rage for people visiting Chicago.

because they don't have karaoke in Japan

she used to live here and moved away a couple of years ago
sometimes a person just needs the hidden cove
have a heart

She is welcome to sing along with whatever is in the background at game night. Tell her that John has Bon Jovi on his iPod.

He has "Heart of the Sunrise" too, if she wants to join me in singing that one.

There will be no iPods in the living room, though, unless I buy that Crosley record player.

Oh no wait, I can unplug our alarm clock and move it! Why has this never occurred to me when we're preparing to get stoned?

I want to hear Jordan's band do "Heart of the Sunrise" or in fact all of our bands.

Listening to that right now.

Jeez, instead of carrying NPR coverage of Iowa, WBEZ is running this morning's 848.

Really?

I was just in a cab and they had Iowa on.

Man, I want to read the Election thread, but it is too fast and way too big.

Whoa. I feel so effectual!! (new thread started within minutes)

oh, fredpaws.

from FRS✧✧✧@a✧✧.c✧✧
to jord✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧,
date Jan 3, 2008 8:28 PM
subject Sorry
mailed-by aol.com

hide details 8:28 PM (2 hours ago)



Reply


Jordan,

Sorry, I didn't think that you would still be working. I do what I need in the morning.

Fred

hey jesse,

habana libre is GREAT and its east of ashland on chicago near sonotheque

What? Maybe it's just out of context, but that sounds absurd.

Perhaps these people think they're fucking with you, though it doesn't seem like it.

Deej, it's also near @ t@vol@ which is pretty great and which I meant to mention, though it's kind of a special occasion place.

I'm guessing he sends about half the e-mails to the right dude, who must have a very similar address.

Man.

Let me set up an address sim. to your and get in on this. In turn I'll give you the contact info for the bike scam guy on Craigslist.

NPR started coverage at 9, all good. Would contribute to the election talk, but can't when typing on my phone. Andrew Sullivan is very otm tonight on his blog.

The dueling ILX threads are making me crazy. JUST USE THE NEW ONE!!

This evening, on the battlefields of the coffee table, my Axis powers repelled the D-Day invasion forces of mattttt and Katester.

Also, the American people spoke. They asked for change.

Well, now you've got der Fuhrer. Happy?

me: for a dollar
Dan: change comes from within
me: have you been drinking?

1 312
1 New Holland Kolsch
1 pt. New Holland Dragon's Milk

I agree re: the new primaries thread, since I hadn't been reading the old one.

The Allied fighting forces will rise again! It would be so much better if I could be a WAC or WAVE.

I just pulled a piece of salami fat from between my teeth. I wish I had a husband here to share the moment with me :(

The salami fat was red and white, honey!

She's not a girl who misses much
Do do do do do do- oh yeah!
She's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand
Like a lizard on a window pane

The man in the crowd with the multicoloured mirrors
On his hobnail boots
Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy
Working overtime
A soap impression of his wife which he ate
And donated to the National Trust

I need a fix 'cause I'm going down
Down to the bits that I left uptown
I need a fix cause I'm going down
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun

Happiness is a warm gun
Happiness is a warm gun, momma
When I hold you in my arms
And I feel my finger on your trigger
I know nobody can do me no harm
Because happiness is a warm gun, momma
Happiness is a warm gun
-Yes it is.
Happiness is a warm, yes it is...
Gun!
Well don't ya know that happiness is a warm gun, momma?

Well....the b@by shower RSVPing turns even funner-- some other invitee left a voicemail last night accusing the mom of a lot of serious unprofessional behavior and of being "fucking nuts" and asking that someone from our office convey that to her.

Hi. I'll be your shower coordinator, I guess.

And the mom tells the invitee her apartment is dirty.

I'll take this as a X Will not attend

HA!

can you even imagine calling a random office voicemail and leaving a message about how much someone sucks? who does that?

The caller knows one of the partners. The thing is we only use one voicemail box - it's a general box with my sonorous voice asking you to leave a message, but people still speak directly to whoever they are trying to reach directly.

I got my first alternate side parking ticket this morning. Ironically it wasn't even after a night where I decided to be lazy and park in front of my house, it was on a side street where I really thought I was on the correct side.

Is that ironic?

KIND OF

OH GOD NPR is making me want to puke...

I just learned that if you start saving $300/month at 25, by the time you're 65 you will have $1,064,000. If you start at 30-something (I missed the number) you will have $400,000 by the time you're 65.

Does "saving" mean "investing"?

Yeh. Putting it into an IRA or 401(k).

Man. I do not like thinking about this.

You just need to start investing and saving now. You can't have regrets about not doing better in the past. NO FEAR!

That is IF the scumbags who control things like IRAs and other futures markets don't drag the whole system down first.

(I listened to a really rabid, semi-paranoid financial analyst get interviewed on NPR on my way back from the UP the other day.)

jesse, i always feel a bit sick when i hear those stats (and get a bit pissed at my parents for buying my brother gifts of stock [like apple!] when he was a kid, because he was a boy, and never did for me), but i guess the key is to start as soon as you can?

I've been saving regularly, but only recently, and not in an IRA.

Yes, I'm getting bogged down in the past.

ok there's nothing to do here today

I am taking the initiative and finding deadbeats and turning them over to collections. As much as I dislike bill collectors, I don't feel all that bad for these debtors as they owe only a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars and we won them 10s of thousands. Come on people, don't be jerks.

That reminds me, I owe ComEd $100, apparently, from my last apartment. When I cancelled service, they said they would send me a final bill, but I never saw it. So then I received a notice from a collection agency a week or two ago. At the time, I wasn't sure I hadn't paid the bill already, so I didn't do anything about it. But now it looks like I should call them. It's stupid. I should've just paid the bill when I cancelled the service.

That's ok, I recently logged on to the web site for the St@te D3pt credit union, because I was going to apply for a credit card through them. It turns out I still owe them about $200 from when they provided my car insurance, which was about four years ago at this point. Oddly enough, I don't remember seeing any bills or hectoring letters from them, or else I would have paid it off by now. Needless to say, they did not want to give me a credit card.

ok there's nothing to do here today

-- dan m, Friday, 4 January 2008 16:37 (14 minutes ago) Link

today?

I've been on vacation lol

That is IF the scumbags who control things like IRAs and other futures markets don't drag the whole system down first.

The bigger hump we have to get over is 2010-2020, when the baby boomers cash in their 401(k)s. But, yeah, get in there, bros.

401threadkilla

Sorry, I was just over at kervorkian.com, planning for my future.

I am being good these days. Two days ago, I paid off another credit card. Today I transfered more money from our joint account into our ING.

i think my financial resolutions this year: try to max out IRA if possible (need to start it, haven't been able to contribute since roths were invented, so don't have one at the moment), and start investing in the stock market small and steady.

it's really interesting being married to someone from a more socialist system-- toby hadn't really ever thought about independently saving for retirement, because he truly believes that his pension will be enough to live on, plus there's universal healthcare. it was weird how different our perspectives about that were.

http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2007/07/wamus-new-700-savings-for-success.html
^^^I am enrolled in this program . It's pretty helpful to get the stupid ball rolling.

Plus I have that collateral loan at LaSallle that functions as a savings account while building my credit.

I thought I had been doing 401k for like a year, but apparently I fucked something up the first time and my deductions weren't happening. Now it should be working, starting this month. NO idea what my investments are but I think they're really conservative. I do not want to have to check the damn stocks.

sorry, boring and possibly gauche to talk about money?

xp

We're all going to retire to the same Florida community, aren't we? I hope so.

and then never leave the condo, just post on ilx?

Except for loud extended jam sessions out on the pavillion at the center of the five high-rises.

SPENDING ALL MY TIME ON THE LINAI

I was just hearing about some building going up in... Tokyo I think?... where you NEVER HAVE TO LEAVE.

Like a cruise ship with a Target attached.

waydowntown

Plot summary

The film centres on a group of colleagues in downtown Calgary, Alberta, who bet a month's salary on who can last the longest without going outside. The film takes place over one lunch hour during the course of the month long competition.

Based on that summary, there's a movie based on a play if I've ever seen one.

You'd think, but I don't remember it being very play-ish.

It's got Don McKellar, whom I like a lot.

JAYMC I finally got around to printing off your xwords and got to the "much maligned boot" clue and I LOLed and LOLed.

Also I have an old fashioned pension plan. Or I will in six months when I'm off probation.

Does your probation require that you stay sober?

hi guyz ... is game night happening?

Yeah, tomorrow. I'll check with Kr to see what time y'all can come over.

coolio

i am trying to decide if i should leave the apartment at all today. right now the only thing motivating me to do so is going somewhere fun for lunch. might venture a block away to jerry's

Jesse, any requirement that lawyer's stay sober would never fly.

I plan to show up at J&Kr's with Catchphrase on Saturday night.

http://www.iansmith.co.uk/image/blog/March2007/Verdict_1.jpg

Also, whenever I asked Jeff a sports-related xword clue, he would respond, in his best John voice, "Lleyton Hewitt." It was just a jaymc-injoke extravaganza at our house last night.

Listen, now that I have you all here, although I am corresponding with Eric on this subject, I thought I might ask the group.

Do any of you have any experience taking aging parents to see TMLMTBGB? I'm thinking the Sunday 6:30 show is really the only possibility, but I'm kind of reluctant to make them stand outside in bad weather. They aren't the kind of hip parents who like to stand outside in bad weather to see experimental theater. Also my stepfather is a frothing crazed neocon, so I always have to chose relative apolitical entertainment.

Oh, they can be a bit political sometimes. Maybe the Second City would be better.

Maybe the Capitol Steps are in town.

HA I do not think so:

http://www.secondcity.com/img/artwork/chicago-barack_md.jpg

Maybe George Will is performing somewhere...

I don't know if your folks would like Titus Andronicus at the Court, but Jeff might (gorefest).

My parents are coming next weekend! Not that they are apolitical or entertaining...

I might take Eric's suggesting of Shining City at the Goodman. I want to take my mom to see something for her birthday, but the big musicals are so expensive... I thought a smaller theater production would be the way to go.

xp - I did a paper on Titus Andronicus in high school. That my stepfather would probably love. Mom might dig the Shakespeare angle, but I don't know if she is a fan of that particular play.

Mine aren't coming until the end of the month. Your pop is a dem, right Amanda? That wouldn't go over well.

Mine are going to be in Chi. for one of the Green Mill shows.

OH YES he is. It's interesting to me that you're putting a lot of effort into organizing entertainment for the parentals. I haven't even thought about it and they're coming in like 5 days. We're not even 100% sure my dad is coming at all. Organization does not run in the family.

Actually, I did take them to Jordan's show that one time, but that's as far as it went re: entertainment.

I'm getting to go to the opening of Beckett's Fragments, directed by Peter Brook, who's pretty much my all-time favorite director.

I don't know if it's parent-friendly, but a talented friend of mine is putting together this show later this month.

Jenny, just give me a bottle of Glenfiddich and I'll entertain your parents.

If I don't find things for them to do, they will literally sit in their hotel room all day until we go out for dinner. Sometimes they do that even when I find things for them to do. Their leisure time revolves entirely around dining out and television. Also they don't like to walk a lot. Plus the overlapping areas of interest of my stepfather and me necessitate a little pre-planning or else we'll just sit and stare at each other in uncomfortable silence as we try to respect my mother's wishes by not talking about politics or economics or social issues or religion or current events.

Jordan, when are your Green Mill shows? I am pretty confident my parents would get into that, at least for the first set and especially now that the totally awesome smoking ban is in effect.

Jesse, we tried that once and you almost peed in their laundry room.

When my parents were here we went to the cultural center, the library, drove the boulevards, and took in a hockey game. Next time they want to go to Wait Wait after hearing what a good time it is.

Thinking of Terry at a WWDTM taping makes me want to LOL and vomit with terror all at the same time.

frank lloyd wright adventures in oak park?

that might be fun for my parents
my dad loves FLW

Totally unrelated and possibly really dumb question:
is food (not meat, but like, say, palak paneer) cooked fresh to order at indian restaurants? it seems impossible. do they make up a new batch of (x) daily? that also seems impossible. foods like that usually taste better the next day anyway. how do indian restaurants have such enormous menus?

the reason i specify indian restaurants is because some food is very easily cooked to order. indian food, for the most part, does not seem this way. maybe i'm stupid and missing something.

inquiring minds want to know.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/tracerhand/goodfriends.jpg

These ILX folks are so good with the Photoshop.

I wonder about Thai food sometimes, because wherever you go, you get a plate of pad thai it's there in about three minutes.

In my experience Indian restaurants have a lot of dishes that are made up of the same components. So, given component ingredients A, B, C, and D, one dish may include A, B, and C, another might be A, C, and D, or B, C, and D, etc. Mexican places are somewhat similar.

On thing interesting to me was learning recently that the majority of food you see on Indian menus in the US is "festival" food in India, and not the sort of normal things that people there eat day-to-day. Not totally surprising, I guess.

yeah, it's weird. i mean, i understand when the dish is an assembly of items (veg, noodles, possibly meats) that is then tossed/sauteed with some kind of sauce. pad thai seems like that. they probably have the noodles precooked and they just toss the other elements together in a saucepan and voila.
but a lot of indian food isn't like that, really...there's no "sauce."

jenny, it's feb. 1st and 2nd. i'm kind of psyched to play a smoke-free Green Mill, it's always bothered my eyes more than almost any other club, for some reason.

i've wondered the same thing about indian food. in my mind they just have vats of different curries made up, and then add the meat/veg/extra spices to order.

I'm guessing that's fairly accurate.

But what do I know? I bet if you went into Hema's or whatever they'd tell you.

The last time I made chana masala it had to sit there and simmer for like 4 fucking hours, if that's any indication.

yeah, see that's what i mean! the vat + special order theory is what i imagined going on back there. that makes sense to me. if this is true, i also wonder how long they keep the vats. if i made curried lentils on NYE, are they still good? i hope so because i ate some for lunch. i would not serve them to guests, but if i did i don't think the guests would die of botulism or anything. would they?

um, we served beans, rice, and jambalaya at the new year's show, and the leftovers are now chilling in a snowbank in a bandmember's backyard so we can serve them tomorrow in minneapolis.

"chilling"

hey, what should i make a girl for dinner tonight?

fish.

A fish for a fish.

But seriously, how about finding some nice salmon and searing it up?

xp - well freezing something is different than letting it molder in the fridge, isn't it?

at least i pretend that it is when i defrost stuff i made weeks/months earlier.

also -- salmon sounds good

yes amanda, freezing is very different.

fish is a good idea. maybe a side of polenta?

And a side salad.

And BACON.

And a fun dessert.

or something spicy, greens with red pepper flakes and garlic or something

my NYE dinner was the aforementioned curried lentils with kale and potatoes and a small piece of salmon with lime juice on it.

No no no no no no no (to Jesse)

how do you cook kale?

depends
when i made it with the lentils i just chopped it up and threw it in at the end
you can also steam it or braise (?) it
i'm not very good at making it, really. i've failed many times and made inedible greens.

Oysters and chocolate and vodka.

Hey, Laurie Anderson is doing a show at the MCA in April.

i think i will cook the polenta and then make fried polenta patties

Make her some fried polenta panties.

when i was charleston i had this ridic meal that included seared tuna topped with fried oysters.

i've made kale pretty well a couple of times too. i think it tastes good with bacon. sometimes chard is safer because it's not as intense/tough. also sometimes you can get the kind with purple streaks!

jordan you need to have a vegetable in there somewhere

Hey, Laurie Anderson is doing a show at the MCA in April.

Funny, I have a birthday three weeks before that. Hint hint. :)

Nick makes great kale with garlic.

i'm not good at vegetables. :(

Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc or Roederer sparkler would go well with that fish.

also beer?

i think it everything tastes good with bacon.

No no no no no no no no (to Jordan)

Even chocolate bars taste great with bacon (true story).

oh fine.

Jordan, I have had :))) results with simple pasta dishes, salad w/ vinaigrette, and wine.

Who is getting this meal? If she likes beer then g-d it give her beer.

i had a great chocolate/beer experience recently...i was eating this super dark chocolate, and then when i had a drink of my super hoppy pale ale it all of a sudden tasted exactly like grapefruit juice.

xpost, she likes beer.

Does she like bacon?

have a salad or something, to show you're broz with vegetables

or sautee some asparagus. way easy.

agreed

i'll ask if she has salad materials.

Don't forget the smooth jazz in the background.

talk about nudism as much as possible

Grr. Why won't somebody lock the pres. candidate speculation thread?

just get a keg

xpost http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/NewAnswersControllerServlet?boardid=56

Jesse, do the thing where it only shows the first and last 100 messages.

Well, I am doing that, but when I was going back over shit during the huge explosion of posting last night it was really annoying. Plus Tomboto started a new thread, which was promptly ignored.

In any case:

I'm just going to lock the other one.

-- El Tomboto, Friday, January 4, 2008 1:35 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

I second the asparagus idea!

asparagus is a good idea.

Always. Asparagus, olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, and a light touch of garlic, charred slightly = heaven.

While in Cosi just now, I saw a girl I was sort-of friends with in high school. I saw her a few years ago while flyering a show at the Logan Sq. Auditorium, too. I said hi to her there. This time I didn't. I don't know why. Luckily, she must not have seen me.

Who is getting this meal? If she likes beer then g-d it give her beer.

G-d right giver her g-d beer if she likes beer. Beer beer beer.

Jordan did you answer me about when your Green Mill shows are? Don't make me reload this whole thread.

That would be wasting my time and thus taxpayer dollars.

Note: I am not actually paid by taxpayer dollars, but from a WC insurance premiums that businesses pay.

you're paid by a toilet?

You don't get paid at all from tax dollars?

sorry to bore you with weather talk, but

i am EXCITED about this "warm front" moving into the chicago area this weekend.

yup jenny, february 1st and 2nd (fri and sat).

but from a WC insurance premiums that businesses pay.

sounds like a tax to me!

"i'm not gonna raise taxes, i'm instituting new fees!"

Jenny, I assume that the WCC also carries WC insurance? Are you required to stay away from the recursive loop that is created around this fact, for its being hazardous?

How does that work? Businesses buy WC insurance from private insurance companies. Do those companies then pay into the fund?

Jenny?

yup jenny, february 1st and 2nd (fri and sat).

Sweet, for some reason I was thinking it was later in the month. I can't imagine why I wouldn't be able to make it.

Thanks, Jordanian. Too bad that is the weekend after my parents' visit!

Nope, Jessifer, our agency is funded from an entirely different budget. I just found this out. If I think about the WCC carrying WC insurance, I not only get an Excel circular reference error, but I tear the hell out of the space time continuum.

Yeah, but Kevin it's a tax on businesses, so fuck 'em. Although I am still a public servant, so I guess I'd better get back to work.

I like the weather out there today right now.

JESSE IT IS COMPLICATED.

Meaning: I don't know.

John, your Cosi story sounds like a Chicagoized Steely Dan song.

The warm temps may be accompanied by rain.

But there are like three difference sources for WC insurance, one of which is private carriers and another of which is self-insurance, but beyond that I don't know how it works.

So say you stub your vagina on your keyboard at the WCC and you then file a workers comp claim (because typing with your thighs is a requirement of the job)-- who evaluates your claim? What if you are faking your injury and you actually stubbed it on Jeff and it's obviously very obvious that it's not work-related? Who watches the watchers? Who is the unmoved mover?

My union contract and the Illinois Rules of Professional Ethics prohibit me from talking about this on the internet.

as well as sex practices and Star Trek.

Anyone up for maybe going to the Blackhawks/Wings game on Sunday evening? I dunno what ticket availability/prices are like.

I keep getting the chorus from Alicia Keys' "No One" running through my head, but it keeps morphing into Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)". So all day I've had "no one... no one... that thing... that thiiiii-iiing" repeating over and over.

attn job seekers

The University of Chicago is hosting a Career Fair!

The University of Chicago will host a Career Fair at the Graduate School of Business on the Hyde Park campus to meet talented job seekers for its open positions. The Career Fair is open to job seekers interested in employment with the University and current UC employees looking for a change or advancement.

Day: Friday, January 11, 2008
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Where: Graduate School of Business, 5807 S. Woodlawn Ave, Room 104
What to Bring: Please bring a current resume
What to Expect: Meet with University of Chicago Recruiters, HR Administrators and Hiring Managers from various departments to discuss open positions
Parking: Limited street parking available; pay-parking structure located at 55th and Ellis Ave
Please invite your colleagues!

hey, i may be late coming back from lunch next friday...

Worn out on Astro already? :D

Test.

http://creditboards.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

Success.

My job requires me to see a late-night burlesque show this evening, in case anyone wants to join.

Yoga at 9 AM with Courtney and Jenny. Otherwise yes.

:-/

good timez at home:

* made and consumed pizza
* watched DVD of How I Met Your Mother (shut up, it's the best comfort sitcom (ie a sitcom that breaks no new ground in terms of structure or character types or anything crazy) on tv right now and neil patrick harris is great in it)
* got some serious (SERIOUS) work done on my c@n@st@ remix and am pretty happy with how it's going (got the basic structure down, needs some toppings tho)

Jesse, you would have enjoyed the burlesque show. The elves were hot gals (all kinds, third wave), but Santa was the spitting image of Eminem.

made and consumed pizza

We did this, too! Then watched the penultimate three episodes of Six Feet Under. Then I went out and bought raisins. The end.

does that mean you watched the three episodes before the last one, or the three before the last three, or -- my favorite guess -- the three episodes that are not sequential at all, but are ALL right before the last episode, and meant to be played on three televisions at the same time?

a little 80's-william-gibson for my tastes, but sounds fun on drugs, i guess.

:)

Sorry. I can't sleep. Woke up at 4 again, it seems like a common time for me to rise unwillingly, went right to the computer, feeling snarky already. :(

The three episodes before the last one.

jenny, we went past the thompson center on the way home from dinner tonight, and it totally reminded me of where they harvest humans in "the matrix". toby was impressed with the building, as well!

I am about to cook a lamb gyro brat! So excited you guys.

sooooooooo bored

http://www.imodium.com/page.jhtml?id=/imodium/include/3_5.inc

Bathroom finder.

hey, i wasn't killed in that huge fucking pileup outside madison! some of our bandmembers got back just before the accident, and we got back afterwards. we were able to get off just before the accident scene...they shut down the entire interstate, both directions, crazy shit.

So, There Will Be Blood blows No Country For Old Men out of the water, no contest.

man, i really want to see that but it's only playing at places that are a pain in the balls to get to. maybe i can get sarah to come meet me in evanston one day this week so we can see it here.

glad you are not dead, jordan

How about tomorrow, Nick?
Me too, J!

BIG WORDS, EZ

it is not playing here yet :(

I mean, No Country for Old Men was a great hitman movie, but so are Collateral and Pulp Fiction in their own ways, whereas There Will Be Blood is full of stuff that I've never seen in a movie before (shot on the same west Texas landscape).

sarah, here is an important wedding thread if you missed it:

Help guide boorish Abbott to successful summer wedding

Registries aren't rude, in fact they're save everyone involved stress, hassle, and disappointment.

jesse maybe you should post that on the wedding thread instead of here. just a helpful suggestion

The thread is two days old and I don't feel like reading it to see if there has already been discussion on this point.

no dude I was wondering about registeries

fine.

ha, i like how the wedding thread has sucked up all the chicago posters!

confession that you guys are welcome to laugh at:
i really really didn't want to see "there will be blood" after seeing the trailer. it's just the kind of film i hate. so on friday, toby went to see it while i went to see "PS i love you" it made me cry for 2 hours and it finished 20 minutes before him so i got a chocolate martini in the deal. this kept me happy.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/facebook_want.png

I'm just going to post that everywhere today.

Don't get it.

Heh, C., I had that same feeling after seeing the "P.S. I Love You" trailer, though I'd probably still give it a shot.

i really really didn't want to see "there will be blood" after seeing the trailer. it's just the kind of film i hate.

Yeah, Kr told me that I should probably see it by myself. Maybe next week, when she's in San Diego.

HA ha, Colette

I just found a Wikipedia page that quotes me. Check out footnote 53.

lol @ dude movies

i would just like to pop in here for a moment to say that walking through the loop at 9 a.m. on January 7 without a jacket was pretty goddamn refreshing.

Way to go, John!

it was goddamn refreshing to bike to work today too!

It's nice not to have the space heaters and the oven on while wearing a sweater at work.

New heater in 7 days.

There Won't Be Women.

am i crazy, or is this weather actually kind of miserable? Everyone seems to think warm = grand, but I maintain that other factors are involved. For instance, not drowning. Breathing air instead of water. I value that.

It's damp, yes, but because it's not 10 or 90 degrees it's quite nice.

Yeah, I knew no one would be with me on this. I feel gross inside my own skin.

I love this weather. I should go outside for a while later. Hardly anyone is here anyway.

I'm excited about There Will be Blood.

Yeah, sorry, I'm a fan. I like being able to wear something other than my winter coat for a change.

I do hope that my jacket choice doesn't come back to bite me in the ass, be it either by the appearance of more rain or if the temperature decides to go south later in the day.

I doubt it will get much cooler today, because the low is supposed be 48 (which is also tomorrow's high..?).

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2416/1914508732_43dc1db06a.jpg?v=0
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

i'm pretty happy if the temp is > 40 but this is nice. i haven't even noticed any dampness. i thought you were talking about glaciers melting and flooding chicago or something, which seemed a little hysterical.

i think it's supposed to stay warm all day. 50% chance of rain but i'll gamble on that for a nice breezy commute.

Wow. That almost is NSFW. xpost

"there will be blood" = that's what she said

GROSS

hey, so at the HC on saturday i sang "africa", which i thought would be instant karaoke gold, but was NOT. verses were way too low for me and no one seemed to know the song. i'm up there singin my heart out about kilimanjaro and the serengeti and people were looking at me like i was nuts. also the video was hilarious and had a pharoah sanders lookalike in it. every africa cliche you can think of was in that video. (actually, no swollen belly children, but lots of drums and hilarious flute solo.)

what was karaoke gold: "all out of love" (air supply)

*("africa" by toto)

Damn, I was hoping for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7STK7fo_64

maybe the chili peppers version

i remember the video for la bamba being really bad, with like an old mexican man eating a taco and then a beater on hydraulics and a chicken running through some dirt

I have "Africa" on my iPod.

I was all excited for a second because I thought I did, too, but turns out it's a D'Angelo song.

that song pretty much rules but alas it was not karaoke gold. at least not for me -- maybe would be better for a dude to sing. the chorus was fun, but it was mostly a flop.

Didn't someone do "Africa" when we were there last time? The place went nuts, as I recall.

i don't remember that, unless it was after i left? maybe i simply did not bring the proper mojo to that song.

Like you did for Eye of the Tiger? ;-D

Maybe it was another time.

I went to a gym for the first time last night. It was awesome. I burned 300 calories through a combination of exercycle and treadmill while reading the New Yorker and listening to the new Kelley Polar album on my iPod. I did get a blister on the bottom of my foot, though, which just means that I should probably buy athletic shoes before making this a regular thing.

There you go, my man.

nice, dude.

I've been loving the ol' YMCA btw.

maybe get a blister on your little finger
maybe get a blister on your foot

I got one from wearing my hiking boots around town for 2-3 days.

John, what kind of shoes were you wearing? I thought my cute little New Balance shoes were athletic shoes, but oh my brothers and oh my sisters, they were certainly not. I was doing a treadmill class and having to stop b/c of incredible shin splints. Once I got decent shoes the pains stopped.

I need to go to the gym again.

Word on the street is that picking your knees up a bit higher can help with shin splints. That's from matttttt's sister, who is a doctor. A gyno doctor, mind you...

I have the same problem, but I am relatively sure it's 'cause I'm too heavy for my own legs.

Maybe she meant picking up your vagina a bit higher.

/kenan

---- Yes. We make careful reading and do our possible for English corrections.

something tells me "not careful enough".

I get shin splints from running (well, that and horrible ankle pain), but vigorously walking on the treadmill seemed to be OK. The shoes I wore were Steve Madden shoes that look vaguely Adidas-ish but prob. don't have the kind of support I need for working out.

I don't even know what kind of athletic shoes I have, New Balance possibly. I've been wearing them for four years at least.

Hey, all of you. Inspire me with ideas for grocery shopping tonight. I thought about making samosas until I saw the recipes.

tagine w/ couscous

Nutty Bars.

goat cheese

"step one: buy a goat"

(pasta with goat cheese, basil, zucchini and, i dunno, tomatoes, topped with a wee bit of lemon zest)

i find the weather disquieting, to say the least. i hold out hope that this means we'll soon experience the mother of all snowstorms. an actual snowstorm, not what chicagoans (and jesse) define as snowstorms.

also: boil angel hair pasta. in small bowl combine goat cheese, crushed garlic, fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste. stir into creamy mixture. toss with pasta.

if i never have to walk through thigh-deep snow again i'll be happy. go back to the up if you want snow storms!

veggie chili

tomato soup

Something African.

i like the warmer temperature but i'm pretty wary of an icefest once it goes back down.

It was pretty hilarious: I was gathering up my stuff to come back here after christmas, and my mom says "do you want to take your gaiters?"

xpost

Something African.

see my suggestion above

brussel sprouts in vanilla sauce (it's in a new cookbook we have)

leek risotto with blue cheese.

our typical pasta at the moment is zucchini sliced really thin and sauteed in olive oil until they're starting to brown at the edges, throw in some pine nuts, lemon juice and parmesean. we've been tweaking it so it's actually more zucchini than pasta, which tastes good and is presumably healthier?

Roasted gazelle.

and jinjaweed.

Wait, Jinjaweed is just the Sudanese militants. What's that stuff they chew that makes them act crazy?

khat?

Courtney was telling me about the show Three Sheets (like A Cook's Tour or whatever by Bourdain, but instead of eating, they drink around the world) in which they went to some wacky country where the pre-drink ritual is to eat a duck fetus from its shell.

No.

sounds like Vietnam

Khat! Roasted gazelle with a khat crust.

Ah, the Philippines, that wacky country.

Although it looks like Dan is right and balut is also eaten in Vietnam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut

Oh yeh, Philippines.

Twas just a guess.

Also I think khat is more middle eastern in origin than african? But who knows, everyone's got their stimulants.

TS: balut or 2girls1cup?

I have experienced neither firsthand and hope that ever it shall remain so.

ooh know what is so nice? zucchini sliced in little ribbons. so pretty.
NOM
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/img/recipe_images/MV5273.JPG

Here is my friend Blake (whom I think you've met, Jesse) eating balut (he was in Manila on business): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgduLfF8xbc

I would eat a balut.

erabluer (3 months ago)
i think its unfair eating them - they should be given a chance in life and then be eaten

lol

i like to feel all worldly and stuff, but ii do not think i could eat that

honestly, i don't think i could eat that either. i might try it if it would be rude for me not to, but no way would i be all "hey, toss me a balut"

http://www.wetherobots.com/2007/12/10/sandis-fin-part-1/

F you.

http://www.wetherobots.com/2007/12/10/sandis-fin-part-1/

f me? i wasn't trying to be confrontational. i just could not eat a balut. sorry.

haha, no. I was saying F ILX for f-ing up my post!

Ok, I've got a good grocery list going. Thanks!

I may have a social obligation at the Boundary this evening. Will report back on lolbroz.

bargain alert: if any of you need new jeans, the levi's store was/is having a huge sale. 50-75% off pants for ladiez and menz. i bought some (just one pair, grey jeans) and for once, i do not feel like my jeans are falling apart in some way. AND they fit! here's to S-M-L. (short, medium, long)

** please disregard the aforementioned message if your jeans are not in a state of disrepair. i do not want to advocate needless shopping.**

AWESOME, YES I WILL GO TODAY, thanks!

yeah, my whole pants collection is in a state of disrepair since I lost about four inches off my waist. Julia now believes I should try to re-gain some of that wieght, for fear that I may become pointy. I disagree.

note: this was the one in evanston, but i'm sure that the other stores are having the same sale. dan got a pair of really nice slim-cut cords for $23. not bad -- basically old navy prices for higher quality jeans/cords.

Oh pointy birds
Oh pointy pointy...

yeah, levi's are really great. I am having to swear off of h&m clothes, even though they fit well. They fall apart in a year!

I love my Levi 515 boot cut LOOONNNNGGGG LEGGGSSSS.

Oh MAN I need to hit that up.

if you guys go and they don't have your size, have them call the evanston store. there was a great variety of sizes there. i gotta love a place that can effectively sell pants to shorties and tall people with equal success.