Chicago: In The Pocket of Big Oatmeal

Nice.

*applauso*

i just processed a manuscript from an a. kr@us.

Do you think there is a trend toward capitalizing prepositions in titles, or is the lowercase rule going to last?

a woman just called seeking legal counsel b/c she's a lesbian and her boss told her "get out of here -- go home and wash your dick.

Love it.
Ok. Pick one for me. My coat is navy:
http://www.zappos.com/images/734/7346144/6627-476075-d.jpg
http://www.zappos.com/images/734/7346144/6627-476074-d.jpg

jon, how far north are you? i'm in evanston and it doesn't look *that* bad.

xpost-- bottom ones for sure.

Do you think there is a trend toward capitalizing prepositions in titles

Not if I can help it.

The other pair I like is here in various colors.

The reviews on that pair I just posted the link to aren't the best.

There seems to be a trend towards not capitalizing titles except first word and proper nouns, right? (Sun Times?)

8.167 3) Lowercase prepositions, regardless of length, except when they are stressed,are used adjectivally or adverbially, are used as conjunctions, or are part of a Latin expression used adjectivally or adverbially.

Sarah, what happened to the navy ones from the last thread?? I sort of liked their utility.

Or were those teh bad review pair?

xxp Regardless of length? You would say "The Streets Lie underneath Us"?

except when they are stressed

The example given is "A River Runs Through It".

What does it mean to be stressed?

Our rule is just to lowercase all prepositions that are four letters or fewer.

There seems to be a trend towards not capitalizing titles except first word and proper nouns, right? (Sun Times?)

This seems like a British/European thing.

http://www.thecamreport.com/images/stress.gif

xp

"A River Runs Through It"

That's not just stressed, it's also used adverbially. Same with "The Streets Lie underneath Us"

One thing that I didn't realize after looking up the section on title capitalization in the ol' orange Chicago book is that the last word of titles is always supposed to be capped.

OH MAN I am really into these, actually. What a nice color.

Those look ready for whatever you throw at them.

xp Really, Dan? Have you ever seen a title where it wasn't? (Not trying to be snarky.)

"Let's Give Them Something to Talk About"

I guess I just never noticed. Nearly all the titles I deal with end in proper nouns or long-ass abbreviations like "NGC234998y76892u34099(beta symbol).

Wait, someone give me an example of a preposition not used adjectivally or adverbially. I can't think of any.

Oh wait, what about "The Streets Are underneath Us"?

Or no, because "are" is still a verb.

I'm also kind of into the Arctic GI Joe character look:

http://www.zappos.com/images/714/7146050/985-164092-p.jpg

Laurel, those navy ones weren't available in my size. Also, the ones you like are more expensive. :-P

Girls in Sorels = hott

seriously those felt liners are warm as hell

i don't know if it's mold in the hvac system here or if it's the start of my hyde park puddle induced cholera but my eyes are BURNING something fierce and my nose and throat are closing up.

Sigh. I know, there are cheaper Sorels but they're less wintery. I guess you could just wear heavier socks.

i'm lolling at this stella video: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1800518

Girls in Morels=hott.

I ordered the plum ones upthread. They have thinsulate and got good reviews. I had to get a size up from what I'd normally order, so I'm hoping my thick socks will do the trick. If not, free returns, here I come!

This guy in the office next door just came over and asked me if anyone had talked to me about the mail yet. Um, no? What about? He said I was going to be opening ALL OF THEIR MAIL for now on. Keep in mind I don't work for them. I was like, HA HA AHHA HA HA YOu are joking. He said, No. It will be fun! He better be joking. There's no way. NO WAY. They get so much mail in one day that I can barely carry it all with both arms.

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/950/55091879.JPG

Also, you guys need to love those plum boots more so I don't feel as guilty about buying them.

xp Ask him how much you're getting compensated for this additional duty.

Why would you open their mail? To save them time on opening it themselves? To summarize the contents for them?

To save them from doing it I guess? I don't know. I'm just ignoring him and assuming it's a joke. If he asks me to do it again, I'll go talk to my boss, since he's the one that pays me, not them. And then if he says I'll need to do it, I'll remind him about my raise I'm supposed to be getting and how it should be higher than planned.

Then I'll invest in some high quality anti-papercut gloves.

i'm too busy loving that pony
sorry
i <3 u pony

Dudes, my fiscal responsibility is zapping the fun out of spending money! I feel all guilty now even though I can afford those. grr.

The mail is here. My solution for today will be to wait until that guy is distracted or leaves the office and then sneak the mail to where I normally put it, unopened naturally.

the garbage! throw it in the garbage!

You must mean my secret file.

It looks crazy outside!
I think I say that at least once a week.

getting home was no picnic today

I bet!

the walk home today is going to be a HUGE pain in the ass what with the snow on top of the slush. not to mention the gigantic puddles at every intersection. and the rabid dolphins in those puddles.

Haha. Kr's work sent her home already. I just went out for lunch an hour ago and it doesn't seem to be too bad here, but maybe the Loop is just better-equipped to get snow off the streets ASAP.

the good news i have to offer is that the slush was marginally less slushy on account of some of it being frozen.

Oh this is going to be fun! It's already been a heckuva day. Got up this morning to news of a suicide scare from an old friend, and while no death actually occurred, that couldn't help but color my mood. Things are kinda sucking right now.

Was he friends with the other guy who died recently?

Unrelated. But you know the story. When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.

Dolphins, man. Some violent sons of bitchaz.

Sorry, Kenan.

Yeah, thanks, I'm ok. It's nothing devastating. Nothing that really warrants quoting Hamlet at any rate. ;)

total whiteout up here

classes cancelled tonight too! too bad i already had class today.

nick, you made the right decision to stay home today, evanston was really really bad. took me about an hour to go from maple/church to campus to pick up toby and from there on chicago to howard. all those slush tracks have frozen, so it's kind of ok if you drive directly in them, but if you go a little to either side it's like off roading. glad i decided to leave early, now i'm typing in bed with a (very small) glass of port!

sarah, i love those boots. i think they will look cute in general and are also a good color for you. you know, for when your boots are near your face and you're worried about how well they go together.

Huh so apparently the secretary next door either quit or was fired because they are all having a meeting behind me talking about how to divvy up her duties.
This affects me because she was the one who opened their mail.
Still hoping it was a joke though.

Ha ha. Thanks, Colette!

Unless you make a serious case to your boss about how its a poor use of your time, and your boss actually cares, you are so going to end up opening their mail. Unless maybe it's just temporary, until they hire someone else?

I hope she wasn't fired for refusing to open the mail!

if they suddenly double your mail-opening duties, they totally have to give you a raise. no question.

I don't even open the mail for my side of the office! Sometimes I open our accountant's invoices or bank statements and sort them but it's not overwhelming, she asks nicely, and it's not all the time.

I won't do it just because this guy tells me to, L. I'd tell him what's what. Failing that I'd make a case to my boss. I can't imagine he'd possibly agree to it because he wants me to spend my time doing work for him. They just lease space from us. I don't even call in their Fedex's or messengers.

Good. :D Stick to your guns.

Tell them it's a federal crime to open up somebody else's mail.

It would just be SUCH a huge time suck aaannnd could make me not like my job very much.
Also, the head honcho on that side of the office is really mousy and I could totally talk my way out of it with him if not this guy.

Anyway, I'm not gong to stress about it any more.

I like that response, Jordan!

I don't even know if that guy was serious.

Why am I so high strung? I ask you.

Also, why am I not high?

Bye.

Sarah, one of these:

http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50310541/Hip_Flask.jpg

Maybe a Christmas gift for you! What would you like the engraving to say?

i guess people have been stuck on the freeway here for going on 8 hours now, jesus.

jordan, that really sucks! are you safe at home?

some dude just started snowblowing next door. yes, at 12:30 am. huh.

The movie Wisconsin Death Trip--not that great. I should have read the book.

Why do the Chicago threads get so many more posts than any of the other local threads?

One love straight-up Chicago-style, yo.

this movie is extremely scary
i could hardly watch it
it reinforced my belief that the early 70s were full of wildflowers and the world was a giant forest of fear.
i loved it

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/lets-scare-jessica-to-death-1971-movie-poster.jpg

the movie looks nothing at all like this poster, btw.

looks more like this
http://www.letsscarejessicatodeath.net/images/gif2.gif

OMG i loved that movie! that poster and the title are so inappropriate with the movie itself, which is more creepy than scary

unfortunately i think that movie is out of print, we only saw it because they had (have?) a VHS copy at north coast

The movie Wisconsin Death Trip--not that great. I should have read the book.

I have the book, for some reason. I think it's my dad's copy that my brother borrowed at some point and then ended up in my library. It's cool: it's just a collection of old, creepy photos. I heard they were making a movie of it, but I don't get how.

i need to see it again, i don't really remember much about it other than that it was creepy and had hippies in it and i liked it a lot

re: let's scare jessica to death

Why do the Chicago threads get so many more posts than any of the other local threads?

This is a good question. Part of it's because Chicago's a big place, so there are a lot of us posting on any given day (more so than Seattle, I mean). But I think the "Chicago thread" only really took off after enough of us began hanging out in real life on a regular basis and so the thread became about bullshitting with friends rather than just FAP planning and restaurant recommendations. I might point to the arrival of Jeff, Jenny, and Jesse in late 2004 as contributing to that.

plus there are lots of ILXors that post on the Chicago threads who don't really post on other ILX threads at all

True. Although I think that's true for a lot of local threads, like whenever unfamiliar people post on WDYLL, others are all like "who?" and the response is, "Oh he posts on the mongrels/sheepfuxors thread" or wherever.

I would also point out that a lot of Noise Board threads are sort of de facto NYC threads, especially "are we drinking tonight?" and similar.

Never the less, we still give lots of restaurant recommendations. :-D

Kenan, Nick has a flask with George W on it.

i have never used it

pity.

Wisconsin Death Trip used a lot of the photos, some re-enactments, a voiceover by the writer of the newspaper and by the record-keeper at the "Mental Hospital for the Insane" (which voice-over made me cringe b/c whenever you got a report from the MHftI it was in a melodramatic breathy whisper) and then color shots and interviews in modern day Blackwater Falls.

The present-day stuff was problematic for me b/c it seemed like it was meant to show that this place still was weird and creepy, e.g., religious mania in 1890 was compared to a preacher talking about transubstantiation in the Communion, radio reports of murders and arson just like in Ye Olde Blackwater, depression and madness in both, etc.

yeah, i got home fine last night. although i think i lost my cell phone in the snow. ;_;

hey, those of you who know my friend amy, she was witness to this. we both walk through this puddle twice a day:

By Jason Meisner | Tribune reporter
February 7, 2008

Five people suffered mild electric shocks Wednesday night while walking on a slushy street on Chicago's Near Northwest Side, the third such incident in less than a week.

The victims were crossing the mouth of an alley on Ashland Avenue just north of Division Street at about 8:30 p.m. when they felt a shock and called 911, Chicago Police Officer John Mirabelli said.

Paramedics took the five people to St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center, where they were all reported in good condition late Wednesday, Fire Department spokesman Rich Rosado said. He could not provide further information.

Police said the shock may have come from a faulty wire in a utility pole or other street-level apparatus. A Commonwealth Edison crew was also dispatched as a precaution but there was no indication the problem was related to ComEd equipment, company spokesman Jeff Burdick said.

The incident also prompted the Chicago Transit Authority to block the northwest entrance to the nearby Blue Line station as a precaution, spokeswoman Wanda Taylor said. Taylor said the incident did not involve CTA equipment and did not affect train service.

On Friday, two similar incidents occurred within hours of each other, resulting in minor injuries.

Two women walking outside the Sears Tower were shocked when a heated grate used to melt snow apparently malfunctioned, according to police. Later that day several people suffered a similar jolt when they walked past a light pole in the 700 block of North LaSalle Street.

also, the puddle was gone this morning for the first time in a week.

I read about this phenomenon in Rolling Stone I think, though of course not these particular cases.

there was a big problem in boston two years ago with pets getting electrocuted when crossing manhole covers. that would be one of the worst things ever i think.

Didn't some dogs get killed in Chicago last year for the same reason? xpost

there was a reader story about pet electrocution in chicago within the past couple of years

I read this thread title as "In the Pocket of Big Obama."

We are also that. Aren't you?

Only because Edwards dropped out.

Someone died in NYC a few years ago from something like that! I think it was a woman, she was walking her dogs and was electrocuted through a manhole cover.

In a related and less-fatal-but-still-damaging incident, there was a woman who fell while skateboarding in Manhattan and she fell onto a manhole cover that had accidentally been super-heated by steam...it essentially branded her back, I believe. Tattoos are for pussies, rite?

former patriots tight end ben coates eschewed tattoos in favor of brandings.

although seeing this on a dates back would give me pause

http://www.tenement.org/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/manholeb.jpg

xp Was he in a black fraternity?

Woman Branded By Manhole Cover Sues

NEW YORK - A woman who was branded with letters from the Consolidated Edison logo when she fell off a skateboard onto a searing hot manhole cover in Manhattan last year filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from the utility.

Elizabeth C. Wallenberg, 27, was burned just above her buttocks and on her left arm when she fell off her skateboard onto a cover over a steam pipe at Second Avenue and 13th Street in the East Village shortly after midnight on Aug. 11, 2004, said her lawyer Ronald Berman.

"It literally looked like a brand that had been applied by someone," Berman said about the burn marks left on Wallenberg's body.

He said she was treated for the injury in the Beth Israel Hospital emergency room and was released.

Wallenberg, then a Brooklyn resident who worked for Paper magazine, reportedly said she heard her skin sizzle and saw an "o" and an "n" from the hot cover impressed upon her body. Wallenberg has been told the scarring is permanent, Berman said.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, accused Con Ed of "negligence, carelessness, recklessness and culpable conduct" related to Wallenberg's injuries.

Court papers said Wallenberg, now a factory worker who lives in Portland, Ore., is entitled to compensatory and punitive damages because of Con Ed's "reprehensible and egregious failure and refusal ... to protect the public from this manifestly clear and present danger."

Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert said he had no comment on the lawsuit.

This is like some industrial revolution kind of shit.

that is raw, but it would make for a good story at least.

well, i made bank on all these mardi gras gigs, but it's all going to helping out moms and a new cell phone. karma is real, folks.

xxp Yeah I better get my hair cut before it gets caught in some bobbins.

Just1n Hayf0rd, really good theater critic for the Reader, wrote about his dog getting electrocuted on a manhole -- don't remember if the dog died or was just in terrible shape. Either way, no good.

I heard something in a coffee shop this morning that the world does not need: what sounds like an Audioslave unplugged cover of "Don't Fear The Reaper".

gaaaaah I had forgotten that Audioslave exists

With cellos to underscore the drama of the song. Like that lousy Marilyn Manson cover of "Imagine".

I had forgotten until I watched Collateral.

The only good part of yesterday was watching 2 Days in Paris. It's pretty good, and at times made me glad that I'm not in a relationship (and other times, not). Jaymc, I forget, have you seen it?

i'm starting to feel like cover songs should be illegal. people would still do them, but only if they had enough conviction in their cover to deal with the consequences

I haven't seen it, J, but it's in my queue.

Also, I love cover songs. Even bad ones are interesting.

I like cover songs too. Although I was watching an old video of the Rolling Stones doing "It's All Over Now" yesterday, and it's so lame that they were getting hits doing weak-sauce covers of recent black r&b records.

(if their version was way different and/or better than the original, I wouldn't have a problem)

so jordan, do you play any covers?

tons, what's your point?

how many are better than the originals?

Jordan delivers a rooster-sauce "Just the Two of Us" and "Part-time Lover".

with jazz, all bets are off, really.

most of them. if you like second line music. and if they're not better, then they're definitely different.

xp

ok, if you say so.

on the bus today i heard a girl refer to inn joy as a "dive bar". neighborhood yuppification = complete. :(

I like covers where the band dips the original in their own sauce (Grace Jones' doing Tom Petty's "Breakdown", anything on "The Trinity Session", a blues-organ version of "Wind Beneath My Wings" I once heard in a bar). I'd like an Audioslaved cover of "Life's Been Good".

i like good covers, there are just too many covers in general and bad covers specifically

I sent this to Sarah earlier

http://www.johndee.com/snowcover/NOHRSC/up.jpghttp://www.johndee.com/snowcover/NOHRSC/key.jpg

MHKM4 is the place 2 b

anybody down for this tonight?

won't be around

what's that map about? snowfall since when?

Snow on the ground as of this morning.

i went to the outdoor store in evanston at lunch to buy long underwear and thick socks. their long underwear was $60 a pair and their socks were $20 a pair. so i don't have any long underwear or socks.

where could i buy them this afternoon? you might think target but you would be wrong.

You could get some tomorrow quite easily, if you can wait.

i went down to THE MALL to see about getting a new phone, and it turns out i have to do it online anyway. at least i was sensible enough to get insurance after the last time, so for a $50 deductible they're overnighting a new phone to me. not bad.

oh ok

jordan - what carrier?

i meant -- which carrier?

hy carrier? when carrier? who carrier?

the carrier, she is verizon

Kid's name:
Cingular Verizon

goddammit if you schedule a meeting for 2:00, be in the office at 2:00

oh my holy shit...

i am about a third of a way through the big stamping project (at stamp # 3842 so far) and i have been asked to do a few other things that i would rather do, but gotta stamp the documents.....

i saw long johns hanging in the window of one of the many local ghetto clothing stores on howard, if you're on you're way down. it's next to the subway on the north side of howard just east of clark and across from the dom's/bally's plaza.

ps we saw let's scare jessica... because we just got netflix! and they had it. it has never been in a video store anywhere near us. it was really really really good!

oh so i guess that means there is a dvd version, i didn't even know that

yup
finally!

work amusement-- the muslim divorce client and the ex were discussing their divorce at their wedding RECEPTION.

can we change our itinerary and go to new orleans instead?

no, unless you're buying

sure, let's go.

You guys can be the tour guides for that trip.

i put "let's scare jessica to death" on my queue.

let's scare sarah to death in new orleans

No.

I was almost scared to death when I was there. I went in this creepy looking voodoo shop with no windows and right when I reached the very back of it and was peering into this glass with mannequins in it, the power went out. It was pitch black. And I was afraid to move for fear of touching a shrunken head or something worse.

Also we went to an open house for UVA that a future student's parents were hosting (for my sister, Hev). The old southern money folks there scared me almost as much the voodoo shop.

I'd love to go back there sometime. I just don't want to be scared.

i think the next time i'm going back is jazzfest, april 25th.

When I went, we stayed in a cute Victorian B&B.

did you figure out if you have to open mail?

No, but I bitched about it to a couple of coworkers who agreed I should just ignore him. He hasn't said anything else about it.

http://images.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/10/12/gay_aol/story.jpg

Sometimes people approach our glass front door and yang on the handle. Then they pace back and forth and then yank on the handle again and peer in. Then they bang on the door. Finally I buzz them in.
I like to protect our office from people too dumb to understand how buzzers work.

They yank, not yang. ha

That's the Fiction in me talking.

Yang on my handle, baby.

Speaking of oatmeal, have any of you tried the vanilla flavored Kashi oatmeal? One of my coworkers gave me an almost full box because she didn't like it. I think I have a higher tolerance for healthy tastes than she does though.

no one was speaking of oatmeal, sarah.

Oatmeal is always on-topic in this particular thread.

Xactly.

In conclusion, no one has had that kashi oatmeal.

I got a kashi (cold) cereal one time that was ok, but some of the little pellets in there looked like kitty food.

This is the cereal I have at home now. It rules.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51y2NEY0O7L._AA280_PIbundle-6,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg

I do not have 6 packs of it though.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515ESAJMPJL._AA280_PIbundle-70%2CTopRight%2C0%2C0_AA280_SH20_.jpg

It would take 70 boxes of Product 19 to equal the vitamins you could find in just 6 boxes of Cranberry Total!

I don't think I have had Kashi oatmeal, but I like the Trader Joe's oatmeal.

Good to know. Good to know. Now we're talkin'.

TJ's oatmeal had better be better than their cereal.

Vaya con Dios, people going to da UP!

I am not ready to go with God yet! I have a good several decades left in me.

Thanks, Laurel!

BYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEE!

That Cranberry Total looks good. Since I do the majority of my shopping at Harvestime and Trader Joe's, I've kind of forgotten about a lot of Kellogg's/Post/General Mills cereals. Harvestime has some, but most tend to be of the sugar-filled kiddie variety, like Lucky Charms. They do have Cheerios and Rice Krispies and Grape-Nuts, too, but those aren't that interesting. Some of my favorite non-kid cereals when I was a kid included Great Grains, Blueberry Morning, Cracklin' Oat Bran, Basic 4, Just Right, and Honey Bunches of Oats. Can't tell you the last time I had any of those.

So most of the cereal I buy is from Trader Joe's. I don't mix it up too much: I get Nature's Path Flax Seed Granola, Shredded Spoonfuls, Trader Joe's Raisin Bran Clusters, maybe one other I'm forgetting. They do have some new oat-bran cereal that I like, but it's so delicious it's better for snacking than covered in soy milk. Actually, it kind of reminds me of Cracklin' Out Bran. So fucking good.

TJ's oatmeal had better be better than their cereal.

Their Cheerios knock-off (Joe's O's) is pretty bland and cardboardy, but all of their fruit-nut-and-clusters varieties (Banana Nut Clusters, Cranberry Almond Clusters, etc.) are pretty good.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention that I bought some crazy Russian muesli from Harvestime the other day. Half of the box was in Cyrillic and the rest was in broken English ("Pour in bowl very good!"), and there was some cartoon bear on the front. The box also looked like it had been tampered with, but I bought it anyway. At any rate, it was absolutely disgusting. Like sawdust mixed with artificial honey. I took a couple of photos of the box, but I haven't had time to upload them yet.

xxp Oh, who's going to the UP this weekend?

I think it was the banana nut clusters that put me off! I feel like after a couple of bowls, all the clusters were gone and I was left with a box of bland-tasting flakes.

dan
katie
matt
me
sarah
jesse
that's it?

what a day.

• lots of work.
• apple store, yay!
• started a john hughes thread that fizzled.
• mashed potatoes and roast beef.
• it got colder outside, and my jacket is no longer adequate for the ride home.

Well, see you tomorrow!

xp Oh cool. Have fun guys!

have fun sledding and drinking hot alcoholic beverages, guys.

• it got colder outside, and my jacket is no longer adequate for the ride home.

ah crap, did it?

Well, I'm still here.

me too.

Me too! Even though I'm kinda stupid busy. Poignant insights later.

from the tribune:

DINING: The best DINING neighborhood
Forest Park wears the crown
'Best in the world,' one voter declares

Trine Tsouderos
February 7, 2008

Thank you, thank you. You are too kind.

Inspired by the nation's primaries, we asked you, dear hungry readers, to nominate neighborhoods with great dining. We sifted through your nominations to narrow the ballot to three neighborhoods -- Forest Park, Lincoln Square and Logan Square -- chock-a-block with restaurants and worthy of the moniker, "The Best in Neighborhood Dining."

Then you voted.

In the grand Chicago tradition, you voted early and often. Perhaps there was a smidge of ballot-stuffing. No matter -- this is Chicago! Nearly 10,000 votes were cast before the polls closed at noon Monday. By then a clear winner had emerged: suburban Forest Park, with 5,469 votes.

Now, before we talk about what this means to the eating public, I want to thank Forest Park's worthy opponents, eclectic Lincoln Square, which received a respectable 3,519 votes, and Logan Square, which ran a distant third with 840 votes.

Maybe next year, Logan Square.

Yet, let us not forget the many write-in candidates, from Wicker Park to Portage Park, Little Italy to Lakeview and Andersonville, from Oak Park to Evanston.

All of these neighborhoods are home to some fine restaurants. Our voters mentioned: Smoke Daddy in Wicker Park (1804 W. Division St.; 773-772-6656, http://www.thesmokedaddy.com ) and Public Landing Restaurant in Lockport (200 W. 8th St.; 815-838-6500, http://www.publiclandingrestaurant.com ), among them.

But back to Forest Park -- and in particular Madison Street -- which packs 30 or so restaurants and bars in less than one mile. That means there's at least one place to eat or drink every 200 feet. Places like Skrine Chops (7230 W. Madison St.; 708-771-7230, http://www.skrinechops.com ), which adds mashed potatoes to its pork tenderloin sandwiches. Places like Horan's Snug (7218 Madison St., 708-366-5190, http://www.horanssnug.com ), which has a $7.50 corned beef sandwich people rave about. And places like Healy's Westside (7321 W. Madison St.; 708-366-4277, healyswestside.com), an Irish bar serving up Irish lamb stew.

Thousands of you voted for this unpretentious strip, declaring to the rest of the world that great food can be found outside the city limits, that great food can be found in restaurants without attitude, that great food can be found on streets with plentiful and free parking.

Yes, plentiful and free parking. If that doesn't nurture true love, then what does?

And true love it is.

Just listen to FPLifer, an online voter from Bloomingdale: "Nothing beats Madison Street. It has everything from coffee and wine places to hot dogs and fine dining. Can't beat it."

Or Deborah Dowley Preiser: "Forest Park is like Cinderella -- it has turned from a dumpy main street of bars to great restaurants, independent shops like Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore and Two Fish art glass."

Or listen to Lisa Dodge, whose enthusiasm is infectious. Forest Park, Dodge wrote, is quite simply "the best place to eat in the world."

The best place to eat in the world.

Or at least in the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

Thank you and see you on Madison Street!

----------

i've been to most of the bars on madison st in forest park (living in dry oak park and working two blocks away from madison made it convenient) and if i never go back that will be fine with me. horan's in particular is about as depressing a place in the chicagoland area as you will find. healey's was always full of d-bags. sullivans or doc ryans weren't bad if you were in there after work and got out before the a-holes showed up.

so don't believe they hype.

I had some decent times at Doc Ryan's, but yeah... they key is to get out of there by about 10 or 11.

lol dbags be havin money

d-bags vs a-holes

it's a wash?

omg that took me a second LOL

ok remember those $30 brown shoes I got on Amazon? I did not pay close attention to them before I put them on this morning. I guess I just thought they were on super sale like the others, which are perfectly ok. These, though -- plastic soles. Wonderful, space-age, lightweight hard PLASTIC. The kind that has a million uses, and unfortunately walking on ice is not one of those. I fell on my lily-white butt TWICE in the ONE BLOCK between my front door and the train station. I seriously wish I could have seen me. Slapstick, I tells ya!

can't wait until it's 102 degrees in july and you're frantically trying to get home before your soles melt.

sigh.

Thirty bucks, man. Thirty bucks.

i made out at the jc penny's in racine last week. $2 shirt, $25 blazer, and a cheap tie that i wore at friday's show.

Yes, but who was the girl?

ms. penny herself

Ooh la la.

in da up

man, jesse snores like a mofo, but at least he smells nice

ms. penny herself

ahem.

JCPenney was founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney and William Henry McManus.

You've been had, son.

ca$h penny records

kenan, you could put masking tape (duct tape in this weather?!) on the bottom to help them have a bit more grip if you have any at the office. i remember we used to do this in dance class. of course, we weren't dancing on ice...

nah, i'll just tiptoe home tonight. Walk on my heels, maybe. My hard plastic heels. :( :(

maybe heat some thumb tacks with a lighter and embed them into the soles. instant cleats.

oh me. ok, note to self: next time before buying online, send link to julia. She knows better.

I don't think I could buy shoes online, since I have a hard time finding shoes that fit me as it is.

i can't remember the last time i bought shoes from a store rather than online.

i've never bought shoes online, but i would, 10 1/2 always does right by me. can't imagine buying jeans online, though.

i think there's a way to buy shoes online, since so many people do it... you just have to know your size, and how that size can vary according to shoe style and brand and momentary mood of the manufacturer, and have the ability to project yourself into the future to when your shoes are a bit more broken in to see how they'll feel. But strictly speaking, and using the theory of relativity, it can be done.

actually, simpler answer: be prepared to send them back.

Ha. Yeah, my left foot is a bit shorter than my right, on account of it having a higher arch, and on top of that I wear orthotics, so I think I'm just more comfortable actually going to a store and trying stuff on. Last time I went to DSW I tried on at least a half-dozen different pairs before giving up.

where to get cheap shoes online?

The only time I bought shoes online is when I got a good deal on a pair of Campers from Bluefly.

sites like zappos and shoes.com have free return shipping--when laura was doing costumes at the g00dman theater, she swore by zappos. you can buy two sizes and send back the ones that don't fit.

the shoes that i found on there were too expensive though. :(

it's much trickier to get good cheap shoes, unless you already know how a certain manufacturer tends to fit you.

i bought cute cheap non-returnable ballet flats online for superclearance, but they don't fit, so i have to sell them on ebay, grrrr.

two years ago i was drinking beer in a record shop when ross johnson said to no one in particular (though staring at me) that he needed a beer. in exchange for a can of pabst he broke down the differences between "lifers" and "lifestyle shitbirds" when it came to musicians. it was one of the most insightful and scary conversations i've ever had.

does that translate to real vs. posers?

it was those who are in it because it's what they have to do vs those who are in it for what it can do for them, basically.

duders umma gonna be on TEEVEE
maybe
tv azteca, 4:30
look out for me
channel 13?

someone was at school interviewing a student and they took some b-roll in my class. heeeeeeeeeeeey.

i was not on teevee ;_;
my student was, though.

slow afternoon Chicago

I might be excited to see a band called Lifestyle Shitbirds.

Speaking of Mr. J.C. Penney, have you guys ever looked closely at the busts outside the main entrance to the Merchandise Mart? There are busts of Montgomery Ward, Marshall Field, maybe J.C. Penney, Mr. Filene, and a bunch of other guys who turned into inanimate brand names.

julia, what size shoe are you? if they fit, i'll take a look at those on sunday to buy from you maybe...

-6 in the UP. Hope you guys have a fun run from the sauna to the lake.

I played three hours of instrumental jams last night at a black-tie event, with me on a Jazzmaster plus a sax and a violin; turned out nicely.

nice. i didn't know you improvised much?

I've done it a few times before with these two other musicians, especially when we end up playing in a situation (like this one) where it doesn't make any sense to play songs with vocals. We all know the chord changes, and they're both really good at playing off of each other, so we can go a while like that. Also what helps is that neither of them play the cliche licks of violin and sax (though I realized last night that, not in a bad way at all, the sax player's style is basically rooted in the style of the "Walk On The Wild Side" closing solo).

So, yeah, imagine a 15-minute wordless version of "Walk On The Wild Side" with some violin solos added, and that's kind of what we were doing.

neither of them plays, that is...

in da up

man, jesse snores like a mofo, but at least he smells nice

-- dan m, Friday, February 8, 2008 10:56 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

hahaha who logged in as me?

not me

there are some great pics of the awesome UP adventure on sarah's flickr

makes me nostalgic for this weekend

Wheeee. That was a lot of fun, must do it again.

It's sort of weird to be back in Chicago with its sights and stuff. It's nice to see a familiar place with fresh eyes.

Great photos. Looks so fun.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2269/2257933328_bac9f15459.jpg?v=0

Jesse K3hr, Ballads.

i feel rejuvenated

i think the snowshoeing was the most fun, the photos don't really express how weird it was out there on the frozen lake with a blizzard coming in

I forget how much I need to get out of the city until I set foot outside the city.

Julia, did the larger shoes fit either?

I wore my new boots the whole time. I'm so glad I got them!

I loved snow shoeing too, even though I didn't do it that long. Walking alongside the lake was so amazing, but walking back into the wind was not fun times.

Actually, I take that back. Even that was fun. I just couldn't see anything.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/kehr.jpg http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/king.jpg

that blizzard pic looks like a test for colorblindness.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/2257930736_6022299dcf_m.jpg

Whoa, cool pic.

I clearly see the number 9. What, you don't?

i am kind of unbearably wacky in all of those pics. some of them i was drunk, others i was just trying too hard

the blizzard pics don't really tell the whole story of how you get in the car and find that your navel is packed with snow.

Jesse, you must use that photo for any future personals-ads profiles.

Jesse, you must use that photo for any future personals-ads job-seeking profiles.

To make up for the fact that I couldn't go to the UP, I watched Anatomy of a Murder last night, which takes place there. Actually, I only watched the first 2/3 before Kr came home from Julia's. Awesome movie. It's a three-hour courtroom drama, and so much of that time is spent actually in the courtroom, listening to testimonies. I can't imagine a modern studio would let that kind of thing go on for as long as it does, but it's still gripping.

We should pick a popular 70's soft-rock ballad that, unbeknownst to most, was written by Jesse.

xp: are you going to see the verdict tonight?

a modern studio would let that kind of thing go on for as long as it does if it was the first time rape was dicussed 'explicitly' in a big movie.

Caption: "Did you find that brandy/jar of olives/bathrobe/dildo you were looking for in the other room? I've built a fire."

i've seen anatomy of a murder, didn't remember it taking place in the UP though

xp: are you going to see the verdict tonight?

Probably, yeah.

what modern movie are you referring to, morbius?

oh, just to anatomy of a murder? i haven't seen it, obv., but it sounds like something i would be into.

Duke Ellington cameo.

Duke Ellington score!

Well, yeah.

Btw, the H00d Int3rn3t remix of C4n4st4 is a mashup of one of our songs with Crank Dat Batman, lol.

Robert Traver in the houuuuuuuuuuuuuuse

Pardon my joke in bad taste above.

Jordan, thought of you this weekend reading this article about how record execs are looking for songs that have a dance to go with them.

I was looking up that movie on IMDB and this was the tagline:

Last year's number one bestseller. This year's (we hope) number one motion picture!

ha. no cupid shuffle mention. ;_;

I was so proud of the little Chicago chickens, they all gamely jumped in the snow *multiple* times during the saunextravaganza.

I have a one-day-out-of-the-office workload that defies my ability (and certainly willingness) to complete it. I think I would have less to do if I had been out for a week b/c a temp would have done some of this for me.

Favorite task so far: I find a CD on my chair (the only In box that I pay attention to) with a Post-It that says "What is this??"

My reply: "This is a blank CD-R."

I played three hours of instrumental jams last night at a black-tie event, with me on a Jazzmaster plus a sax and a violin; turned out nicely.

i don't even know how you held them all at once let alone played them. i always wanted a jazzmaster. i settled for a jaguar.

I bought one (a replica) from a friend long ago in flusher times.

the heat's not working here and it is very cold. i'm going to get another coffee just to warm my hands up. also i would kill a motherfucker for some chili for lunch.

oh i forgot i still get to watch lost later

Ooh...

I rewatched it last night b/c I was frazzled from driving and couldn't sleep. It's good!

My heart was beating so fast last night when I was supposed to be going to sleep. Damn you, Pepsi!

More snow on the way!

It's coming to get you!!!

Sarah, are you going to upload the rest of the pictures, and if not, could you email them to me? There was one of Katie's feet and others.

don't you have some pictures in your camera phone?

Blizzard! is now my desktop background.

I found Jesse's phone btw, it was in the car.

zing ruined ;_;

soap opera parody with some of the wet hot american summer dudes + kristen schaal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmkJDRTG4hc

it's okay.

Jesse, there were SO many pix! I want to say 98. Anyway, do you remember any others in particular you'd like me to email/post?

ugh, our kitchen pipes apparently froze yesterday. it had happened once before, and we told the landlord, and she didn't really say anything about it. now she's all "you were supposed to leave the tap dripping, or else it will freeze!" which she never mentioned before. and i've never heard of, except in crazy cold places.

it sucks because it's not due to get above freezing until thursday, and we fly out on thursday night and still have dinner-party dishes and a ton of laundry that we can't do. boo to annoying landlords.

the UP trip looks totally awesome, glad you guys had a nice arctic break.

we live in crazy cold places!

nd she didn't really say anything about it. now she's all "you were supposed to leave the tap dripping, or else it will freeze!"

while this is true, proper pipe insulation would be a more efficient though costlier for the lessor.

er, more efficient solution.

Hair dryers work well on frozen pipes.

Hey, colette. We warn our homeowners about pipe freeze prevention. It's weird though because it doesn't usually seem to matter in apartment buildings.

someone was telling me about a winter in chicago where the city was telling people not to drip their faucets because it was resulting in lower water pressure across the city, except if you didn't there was a good chance of frozen pipes.

omg, you frozenfolks - REALLY, there are jobs in warmer places.

freezing builds character.

yeah, kevin i think the situation is that they did up this house themselves, the apartment we're in was the first bit they re-did, and i think they were probably learning as they went (considering the water and electrical problems we've had). we don't pay for water, thank goodness, but she also wants us to keep our thermostat above 65 from now on-- and isn't paying that bill.

i am having a hard time imagining why people settled here in the first place-- i mean, morbius is right, there's warmer places! can you imagine living in a log cabin (or whatever rustic home you can imagine) in this weather?

yes

(to your last question)

i am having a hard time imagining why people settled here in the first place--

i have no problem seeing why assuming they settled in may. why they stayed beyond that first january is a head scratcher though.

i know i've been here too long when i caught myself thinking "you know, as long as there's no wind -3 really isn't really that bad." on my way to the bus this morning. that i remembered, wind or not, THREE DEGREES BELOW ZERO IS REALLY FUCKING COLD.

really isn't really that really bad, really.

Although scientific data was not collected comprehensively until modern times, our predecessors left hundreds of stories about winter conditions. As more and more of their words are put on the Historical Society's Web site, we can get glimpses into the history of Wisconsin winters. For example, the earliest account of a Wisconsin winter was written by fur traders who wintered in 1659-60 near Lac Court Oreilles. When severe weather curtailed hunting, the entire community of exiled Hurons and Ottawas began to starve. "Those that have any life seeketh out for roots," one of them wrote later (slightly modernized here), "which could not be done without great difficulty, the earth being frozen 2 or 3 feet deep, and the snow 5 or 6 above it." After hundreds of people had starved, more snow and cold followed, which crusted the deep drifts — unexpectedly proving to be their salvation: "The snow falls, the forest clears itself ... The weather continued so (cold) 3 dayes that we needed no racketts (snowshoes) more, for the snow hardened much. The small staggs (deer) are as if they were stakes in it, after they made 7 or 8 capers. It's an easy matter for us to take them and cutt their throats with our knives."

all things being equal if i were alive back then and imbued with the pioneer spirit i think i would have preferred to setlle la jolla.

god my spelling today is atrocious.

I'm hearing Nice Pete say those last two sentences in my previous post.

can you imagine living in a log cabin (or whatever rustic home you can imagine) in this weather?

Yes, my parents' house was built for summer residence only and, the first winter we lived in it, was still uninsulated. It was the coldest winter in 20 years. There's a fireplace, but we couldn't afford to have the chimney inspected and couldn't risk start a fire in the framing, so using it was out of the question. Bunch of times my mother took us to a friend's house or to the church because she had two toddlers/kids already and my sister was born in January and our power kept going out.

Oh they house is a hundred years old and used to leak air like a sieve and there were no storm windows, either.

The fuck just happened to my grammar? Sorry if the last two posts are unintelligible.

Anyway, now I live in an unheated apt with old factory-style single-pane glass windows and the temperature in my kitchen dropped 15-20 degrees from yesterday afternoon to night-time, mostly due to an alarming amount of wind.

When we first lived on 'the farm' in Virginia there was no heat. I remember I could see my breath under the covers that winter.

Anyway, now I live in an unheated apt with old factory-style single-pane glass windows

howdy!

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_Photo/2008/02/11/1202744947_4285.jpg

dog show!

Gross.

cuet

^^^ the fundamental difference between me & jaymc ^^^

xpost

My pipes froze over winter break when I was in Champaign one year. Luckily it wasn't enough to break anything and I was able to thaw them out by running hot water for twenty or thirty minutes. That was a case of it being 43 degrees when I left Champaign for my parents' house and dropping to 3 below two days later. I never even thought to leave the water dripping.

i stopped by my mom's place yesterday and she now has a small dog, two old cats, a fish, and a bird. the bird flies around the house all the time and the dog yaps and chases it, but she insists that the dog is not trying to eat the bird, just encourage it to fly more for fun chasing.

My parents used to leave the cabinet doors under the kitchen and bathroom sinks open so help keep the pipes from freezing.

I live on the 3rd floor and don't feel that I have to worry.

I don't look at subtitle menus of DVDs that often, but when I started Anatomy of a Murder I noticed someone had left the subtitles on, so I went to fix it and saw that there were subtitles available in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. Is it weird that there are Thai subtitles but not French, Italian, German, etc.?

not being able to do dishes sucks!
ugh
i would be pissed and/or ask to borrow their sink

speaking of dogs, dogs help to keep us warm. being on the 3rd floor helps too.

i just bought a sixer of Leffe Blonde for $7.99. is that a good deal or am i just excited to have fancy beer in the house?

ps i just drank one
pps today is my day off so shut up

That's a pretty good deal, I think. Last time I bought Leffe Blonde it was like $8.99, I think.

i'm house sitting for my friends for 3 weeks while they go to europe, according to an email i got over the weekend there's "a pound of coffee and 90 beers in the fridge, i didn't know what else you'd want". i'd say that about covers it.

PARTY @ CASA DE COCOCOMA

(just guessing)

i'm actually taking the time to try to quit smoking which, in all liklihood, means no beer.

but there will be two awesome dogs, so hey! that's something!

Every time you get the urge to smoke, chug another one real fast. Which may give you the urge to have a cigarette, so chug ANOTHER one. Negative reinforcement.

kevin, soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JNPS-Tyzko

aw, poor frank.

Is the song Ya Trick Ya the worst song in history?

rong

i was just talking about that movie/book last night.

xxpost.

i uploaded a bunch of old songs to the scare quotes myspace page if anyone wants to hear some stuff i recorded in 2002 and earlier

the first track is pretty sweet. what did you use to do the beats?

toby just sent me an email saying that eighth blackbird just won a grammy for their new album, which might mean tickets are more popular, in case anyone is planning on going to that show in may...

Ya trick ya
bloogabloooogblahblahblah

That song got a lot of mileage this weekend.

haha

Scored me a free ticket to see Dan Savage tonight.

Of this you may be sure:
War is the destruction of good restaurants.

- Ezra Pound

My Dad's response to my flickr pix of the trip:
"Sarah - Wow! Very cold and very very beautiful! The ice/snow sculptures were fantastic! And then,….many,many people making weird faces."

Barack is speaking very close to my place tonight, but doors open 6:15 and it doesn't even start until 8, so I don't know if I want to spend my whole night on that.

Eric, how was the Anti-Valentines thing? Was it all poetry?

I saw Barack speak in New Orleans, long before you poseurs.

This Low album (the newest one) is pretty amazing. It was perfect on my snowy, hour-long commute this morning.

My favorite track on that is "Belarus."

I just spent the last half hour at the post office. Didn't even wait in line, but I had to mail like 100 CDs. Argh.

band work?

So two days after I make the decision to start focusing more on my writing, I learn that the editor for the site I write for is stepping down and now I'm kinda in limbo as to whether or not I am even writing for them anymore. Great timing.

I need to find a new writing gig.

o_0

McDonough described a bizarre prison culture among those that ran the system -- one that he says seemed obsessed with inter-department softball games and the orgies after games.

"I cannot explain how big an obsession softball had become," he said. "People were promoted on the spot after a softball game at the drunken party to high positions in the department because they were able to hit a softball out of the park a couple times."

band work?

Yeah, press kits/CDs for the remix album.

i always feel such a sense of accomplishment after i leave the post office, even when it's a huge hassle.

I love the postage meter.

hey guys, whole wheat croissants.

?? No. That sounds wrong.

Eric, how was the Anti-Valentines thing? Was it all poetry?

It turned out not to be much poetry at all (which was a surprise, since it was a benefit for the Poetry Center of Chicago). The emcee was a poetry-slam guy, but the rest of the lineup was three folks reading Sedaris-type essay/memoirs (two of them Neo-Futurist alums, all good), a bluegrass duo, and Dan Savage doing a length Q&A. He said that the reasons his marriage has outlasted many of his friends' is: a) it's between two men ("so if I catch my boyfriend looking at porn, I pull up a chair"; b) power imbalance (he pays the bills, husband looks better); c) white lies.

Promotions for whoever hits a softball the furthest -- I like that.

lengthy

Dan Savage doing a length Q&A

did he cover girth as well?

The prez of the firm we're mrging with is in the office w/ the partners! I want this to hurry the fuck up b/c when it's final I get a plump raise. (The original date for finalizing it was 10/1/07....)

http://www.poetrycenter.org/about/archive/eventpostertrio2.jpg

Poetry Center posters from the 1970s.

?? No. That sounds wrong.

you wouldn't think so, but i like that it cuts the buttery richness a little bit and feels more filling.

I would love a whole-wheat croissant. I bought a croissant yesterday to eat with my lentil soup and kept thinking I was ruining my healthy lunch, even though it was so good.

I got my car back from the kidnappers..er, carwash...yesterday! The bright side is that it's very shiny, all the dog hair is gone and thanks to the deep clean shampoo, the orange juice stain in the backseat is all but invisible. The unfortunate news is that I only managed to talk them down from $75 to $45 (they closed shop 6 hours early on Thursday, leaving me without luggage, housekeys or car for the trip up north and forcing me to rent a ford focus for $90), AND they seem to have broken my driver's side seatbelt. I am fully realizing my terror of driving without a buckle.

I had dinner at Maza on Lincoln last night, and everything was so good. Had something with spinach and cheese that was flaky like baklava. Got free baklava at the end of the night, made without honey and with a raspberry sauce.

I've recommended that place to two separate people looking for somewhere good to eat around the Apollo Theater, despite the fact that the only time I've been there was five years ago and I don't even remember what I had, except that it was good.

dude katie you shouldn't have paid them anything. did you write them a check that you can cancel? seriously they should pay for your rental car and for your seatbelt. at least report them to the BBB and write something mean about them online somewhere.

Mr. Maza deserves a Check, Please, if he hasn't had one already.

big maza fan here too

I <3 Maza, too. I know I shouldn't have paid, but they had my keys and I don't speak Spanish and and and. But maybe I will contact the BBB...not sure how much confidence they inspire, though. I tried calling them on Thursday afternoon when everything was going down, and their phone was disconnected. Which made me laugh and laugh and cry.

Speaking of reporting something to the BBB, I had to report a case of mail tampering to the USPS Postal Inspector last night. My fiancee's dad sent her a Valentine's Day card and it had been ripped open and rifled through in a vain search for money.

or chocolate.

or that. Normally I wouldn't have bothered reporting an open envelope, but - a) it was pretty apparent that someone had carelessly ripped it and shoved the card back in and b) my fiancee was home when the mail was delivered and she pulled it out of the mailbox as soon as the our mailperson walked awa - which means it wasn't sitting unattended for a long period of time.

I mailed a key from our office one time. When the package arrived it was opened and taped shut, and the key was missing.

A girl mailed me a buttered popcorn Jelly Belly in a standard Com10 envelope one time and it arrived just fine.

let's mail each other food and see what happens.

someone mail me a lasagna. \garfield.

I have an old tax bill. I neglected said tax bill. Tax bill went to an attorney's office in order to collect money for the state, plus a $400 collection fee (for writing me a nasty letter.) I asked an attorney friend to negotiate the fee. Collection attorney refused, so my friend contacted the state, and now I am paying the state directly and cutting the collecting atty. out entirely. Boo-ya.

Now to deal with '07's tax bill......

oh i had a mr. show dvd set stolen out of a package when sarah's sister was returning it to me via the mail

oh HAI has chicago been outside this fine afternoon?

The weather reports did not warn me of this. Then again, remember that blizzard we were supposed to get, and how it turned out to be mostly salt, judging by the sidewalks?

, and how it turned out to be mostly salt, judging by the sidewalks?

you must live in a different part of chicago than i do because my part of chicago is under about 3 inches of ice.

heh, yeah, the sidewalks on both Broadway and Sheridan are well tended, and even on my cross street it seems like the homeowners are good about shoveling. Of course, the most direct route between me and the train in the morning is an alley, and I stubbornly walk down it twice a day. In the past few weeks, with increasingly tentative steps. I kind of welcome heavy snow, because it's a tradeoff between nasty snush and slipping on hard ice and then landing on hard ice, and I'd rather be wet, thanks.

i walked to dominick's on chicago ave and the two blocks between leavitt and damen on the south side of the street were like walking on polished glass. i thought for sure i was going to break a tailbone.

My car is stuck because the snow surrounding it on the street turned into ice.

I prefer walking in snow too, but lately it's been really dangerous because there is this horrible block of ice hidden by a light dusting of snow.

FWIW, the snow looks really pretty right now from my desk.

oh yeah well i popped a tire this morning, i think on the sharp broken ice in our driveway, which is why i am working from home. i am glad it happened near our house and not like halfway to work

i hate cars

ouch

i hate cars

I want to hug you for saying this instead of something obvious like "I hate winter."

More snow on the way!

-- Eazy, Monday, February 11, 2008 5:50 PM (Yesterday)

Hey, look! It's our apartment building! I feel sorry for the sucker who takes that apartment since they will probably just be kicked out soon.

Also, that is not in Bucktown. ALSO, I like this part:
Marlene- Use this text, and upload picture of building along with

xxpost Eric wins Snow Pool 2008.

This is nice:
You will love your fellow tenants- cool people all of them! ha ha

They should maybe rephrase this: AVAILABLE April Fools Day!

Nick, want to move downstairs for a while?

Also, that is not in Bucktown.

Sigh. No matter how insanely cool the neighborhood is, the ad will relocate it to a cooler one. Or a "cooler" one. Or a well-known one that's nowhere close. Or several. Or, in the case of that building Kevin pointed out, a snake-shaped 12-mile-long corridor of valuable real estate.

Oh and Katie, what was their excuse about being closed when you came to get the car?

Location: Wicker Park/Bucktown

it's definitely in one of the two...

this born ruffians album is pretty much the only thing keeping me from being in a bad mood today

I am rediscovering Tortoise "TNT" as I type this.

Yeah, this weather has fucked me over big time. Supposed to go to Rent with my fiancee tonight for her Valentine's Day present, but there's no way in hell I'm going to make it from Deerfield to the Loop in two and half hours tonight. We're now under a "lake effect snow advisory" - half an inch per hour until late evening. Fuck. I am so fucked.

still my favorite tortoise album, though the remix one is up there.

dude, just leave now.

The best I can hope for is leaving at 4, but thats going to take some serious luck to pull off. My boss is not one for people leaving early without giving him forewarning. I'm going to try as soon as he gets back from his meeting.

Metra, dude.

people here who have long commutes split all the time when there's bad weather.

dudes, free pancakes: http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/

Fuckin' A. Hungry Tuesday at IHOP.

Metra was my first thought, but my fiancee isn't keen on riding Metra out to Deerfield to pick up the car on that stupid midnight last train so we can drive back to Evanston at 1:30 in the morning.

I'm sure you will get a refund and just have V Day later?

http://www.jgmurphy.org/images/misc_cartoons/ziggy1.gif

Oh Ziggy, will you ever win?

Those steps look pretty steep for lil' Zig.

Oh well, problem solved I guess. She just sent me an e-mail saying she'll go with a work friend so I don't have to drive in. Fuck I still hate Valentines Day.

ZIGGY
http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/castcrew/character_season03/theport/ziggy.jpg

i googled for ziggies and i came up with this less-appealing, disgruntled ziggyesque laurel look-a-like

http://www.magknits.com/feb06/images/ziggy.jpg

Oh Ziggy Sobotka, will you ever win?

i think tonight will be my weekly chicken tikka masala takeout night.

that does not look like laurel.

<-- capt'n save a laurel.

afraid not

but this ziggy: could he win?

http://bbimages.digitalspy.co.uk/bb8/300x400_bb8_cast_ziggy01.jpg

http://www.popartuk.com/g/l/lglp1057.jpg

http://uclick.fdgrid.com/cache/5131_180x180_8744cf92c88433f8cb04a02e6db69a0d.gif

Jordan, good luck with your weekly tikka tasala makeout night.

not altogether unkind review in pitchfork.

http://home.triad.rr.com/daleh/Ziggy.898.gif

http://managementezine.com/Ziggy.gif

ugh

tikka masala night is usually coupled with flirting with the girl at the cat store next door.

xxpost it's like those moving inspirational posters tailored to the dropped-on-their-head-as-a-baby set.

http://joshreads.com/images/07/08/i070823ziggy.png

kevin, are you in that band?

ziggy's life looks like it really sucks

god, ziggy is depressing!

http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/cartoon/images/miscellaneous/ziggy.jpg

But he was ahead of his time.

No, ZIGGY, DOn'T DO ITTT!!!!

Ziggy's whole problem is his approach. He's not the only person in the world who's short, fat, and ugly, but he's the last one who hasn't figured out that bitterness, sarcasm, and rancor is actually the more attractive option in that situation. Think Danny Devito on "Taxi."

I just saw half a Taxi episode last week, which was probably as much as I've ever seen of Taxi.

Had you heard the theme song, J.?

OTM, K.

I've definitely never seen a full episode.

i liked taxi when i was a kid.

ha ha "master charge"

i don't remember ever seeing a full episode of taxi

The Taxi theme is so JMC:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8VY9HSjFdh0

Thanks for posting that. I keep hearing from various people that I would dig the Taxi theme song, and I've heard bits and pieces here and there, but I've never sat down and really *listened* to it.

oh, it's a fantastic piece of music! Nobody can get the right to it, but i've heard it worked into dj sets and hip-hop backing tracks a whole buncha times.

get the RIGHTS to it

It's called "Angela" and it's by Bob James, fwiw

Love that Fender Rhodes.

it's by Bob James

of course it is.

only tangentially related but i kind of like this mashup of me & my girlfriend w/the jeffersons theme: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ubwm4KN_KGc

excuse me, I need to cover myself, I think my smooth jazz is showing. :(

kevin, are you in that band?

no, but 4/5ths of them are my friends and i'm friendly with the other 20%.

today my student asked if i have any hand lotion

i said sure, and then he got up to go to the bathroom. a little grossed out, i said "hey, why don't you use the hand lotion when you come back, because you'll be washing your hands" and he was like "the lotion isn't for my hands" and the girls started giggling. i was trying to maintain my composure, but silently decided to just abandon the lotion after class.

then, after class, he came up to me and said, "i'm on hormones and my [points at boobies] really itched, so i needed some lotion"

i keep the lotion/i throw it away?

SELL TO FETISHISTS ON EBAY.

that's pretty grim, when letting people believe you're going to have a public bathroom wank is the less embarrassing option.

IT'S HAND LOTION, NOT NIP LOTION

i was relieved when he told me the truth, honestly

I don't know why you wouldn't keep it? Maybe I'm just not grossed out enough. I also don't really care that we have a rat in our apartment, nor do I mind using the communal dish sponge at my office, so YMMV.

I vote keep it. We're in a recession.

I still can't read YMMV without at first thinking it says YUMMY!

I use a communal dish sponge too. Honestly I was a lot more grossed out before he told me about the nips. There's not much left anyway -- it's one of those little purse-tins of nivea.

I also don't really care that we have a rat in our apartment, nor do I mind using the communal dish sponge at my office

Also maybe it's just me, but this seems like a big difference! While I would assume that no one is being deliberately unsanitary with the sponge, rats shit in your bed, no joke.

(And anywaym weren't you the one who was freaking out about germs rising into the atmosphere when you flush a toilet without keeping the lid down?)

Dirty spume.

Allen Ginsberg was a member of NAMBLA? Did you know that?

Man, they're webpage is pretty bare-bones and ugly. http://www.nambla.org/

Ok, now i'm getting business e-mail from J0rdan Sad0ff's clients. I forwarded it and I'm calling him Real Estate Jordan.

Send them the link I just posted.

Only more like this

Hey guys, check out my new website!! J0rdanSad0ff.com

someone here would do this rite
http://chicago.crazyblinddate.com/date_wizard.php

im all about it

Jesse, I uploaded a bajillion more pix of the trip for your viewing pleasure.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I went to the chiropractic clinic that Lindsay goes to last night, and wow, they were really helpful. The chiropractor spend over an hour with me: we talked about my problem areas, she took some X-rays, she examined my gait (I have bad ankles), and she wants me to take photos of my workstation to see if the set-up is responsible for any of my neck and shoulder pain. There's definitely a focus on holistic healing, since they also employ a physical therapist and massage therapist there, which I appreciate. Only problem is that insurance isn't going to cover this. :/

haha, jesse.

my shoulder is killing me today, either from sleeping funny last night (i hope) or from practicing a lot yesterday (this would be v. bad).

Why would someone e-mail jsad0ff1 when they're trying to e-mail me????

On Feb 13, 2008 9:39 AM, J0rdan Sad0ff <jsado✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧> wrote:

Omg, too funny. I was really confused when I saw this odd email address in the email chain that I got last night. Do you get other email of mine? Thanks for sending this on. I hope I'm able to do the same for you sometime. :-)

Thanks again,
the other Gmail Jordan

On Feb 13, 2008 9:35 AM, J0rdan C0h3n <jord✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧> wrote:

You should probably e-mail the other dude, not me, I'm just forwarding your e-mail that gets sent to me by mistake.

On Feb 13, 2008 12:47 AM, J0rdan Sad0ff <jsado✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧> wrote:

Ok, I'll set it up

J0rdan C0h3n to JSADOFF1

show details 11:31 PM (10 hours ago)

Hello, Real Estate Jordan, I think this is for you.

I wonder if there have been any books written about this sort of saga?

Oh, also, Kr and I on a whim decided to do trivia last night, since the Globe is just a 10-min. walk from our apartment. We actually did pretty well, or at least better than the last time I was there with you guys. We finished 9th out of 16 or 17.

Categories were:
1) Sandwiches
2) Chicago
3) Match the patron saint to the profession he/she is a patron saint of
4) Movie Opposites ("The Dinner Heart" = "The Breakfast Club"; "Expensive Jill" = "Freejack"; "Minimum Underpark" = "Maximum Overdrive"; the link, of course, was Emilio Estevez movies)
5) Grammy Awards (We had to say whether 10 artists nominated in the Latin category for 2008 won or lost)
6) Picture Round
7) Misc.

1) Sandwiches

why is this never a category when i do trivia?

You would've enjoyed it. Lemme see if I can remember some of the questions from that round...

1. Liautaud is the last name of the founder of which sandwich chain?
2. The ingredients of this sandwich are a large, round bread filled with ham, salami, cheese, and olive salad.
3. This sandwich is composed of ham, turkey, and Swiss, and then dipped in an egg batter and grilled.
4. The word "sanger" is slang for sandwich in which country?
5. Which was the first country to open a Subway franchise outside of the U.S.: Bolivia, Bahrain, Belgium, or Brunei?
6. Name four of the six Subway sandwiches that are 6 grams of fat or less.
7. What were the ingredients in Elvis's favorite sandwich?

(There's one I'm forgetting...)

1. don't know
2. muffaletta, i assume, but it's mortadella instead of salami
3. monte cristo
4. familiar but don't know
5. don't know
6. i don't eat at subway
7. banana, bacon, peanut butter?

4 is Australia

Jimmy John Liautaud, apparently.

^^^i feel like we've discussed that before

I saw a site referencing the Elvis sandwich the other day, but it was bacon, peanut butter, and jelly. Supposedly he ate one of them before croaking.

For 6 I would guess turkey, chicken, tuna, and... roast beef?

There's no point without the bacon!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool's_Gold_Loaf

Answers:

1. Jimmy John's
2. Muffaletta
3. Monte Cristo
4. Australia
5. Bahrain
6. (Actually, my bad: there are 8:) Chicken Teriyaki, Oven Roasted Chicken, Turkey Breast, Veggie, Club, Ham, Turkey and Ham, Roast Beef
7. Peanut butter and fried banana

We got all right except for #1 and #7. On #1 we guessed Quizno's, but in retrospect, not only does Jimmy John's sound familiar (from having read about the shop's origins in Charleston, IL), but it's the only reason why the question is interesting: because most people know his first name but not his last.

And on #7 we said "peanut butter and banana" but didn't say "fried." A lot of people protested that it wasn't just the banana that was fried, it was the whole sandwich.

There was also a tricky one in the Chicago round: "Has Chicago ever been chosen to host the Olympics?" My inclination was to say no, because I know for a fact it's never hosted the Olympics, but then I thought, why wouldn't he just say "Has Chicago ever hosted the Olympics?" The fact that the question is "Has Chicago ever been chosen..." means that it must have been chosen but then didn't actually host. Indeed, Chicago was chosen in 1904, but it moved to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair.

Which, you know, I didn't know, but it seemed like a safe guess based on that wording.

Questions like all those are why I avoid trivia nights

I still wish it was a little more Jeopardy!-oriented and less random pop-culture effluvia, but I felt last night that if we'd had some of you guys on our team, we could've been pretty formidable.

Come on Morbs, I bet there'd be a few softball questions for ya!

Better if they were baseball questions!

at some point i'd like to give trivia another go, sober this time. perhaps not at the globe seeing as they never did email me.

I talked to the dude and supposedly got my name on the e-mail list this time.

But I'd be up for a different venue, too.

Completely off topic, although I, too, love trivia nights.....does anyone have contacts in the world of non-profit accounting? I have a bunch of questions to which our Dir. of Finance and Operations doesn't seem to have answers. I'm not well enough versed in that whole side of things to know whether my questions/concerns are on the mark or completely misguided. But I would like to find out how to distinguish. Sorry for the brief interruption for professional networking purposes.

this still work?

xpost, sorry, no.

Winner coworker statement of the day:

CW: You know, when I go to the movies with my kids, they are always asking me for MnM's, but the bags are SO HUGE. I always half to pour half of the bag on the floor.

Rest of coworkers: WHAT?
YOU do what?
On the FLOOR?

CW: Yeah. I pour them on the floor. I mean, that's too much candy for my kids.

Rest: on the FLOOR?

CW: Yeah. I mean, my hands are full and it's not like I SHOULD be eating them...

wtf wtf wtf

I like it during those rare moments when other coworkers are able to acknowledge some of this wackiness.

Also, that coworker has been parking in the MIDDLE of the parking lot lately, even though there are spaces all around. We harassed her about it when she walked in and she was like, "Like that? It's my new space."

Yup, still hate your co-workers.

I told a friend about this and she said something OTMMMMMM

Ihope her kids dump the food they don't want at home on her floor.

Totally.

TOO MUCH ALFREDO SAUCE FOR ME, MOM *glop*

Hearing about Sarah's coworkers never fails to make me want to beat up somebody.

It makes me want to sing DESPITE ALL MY RAGE I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A CAGE (guitar line!)

Nik Bartsch's Ronin have a new cd out, I just ordered it (I think Kenan and Jaymc checked out the last one, Stoa)?

Yeah, Sarah's work stories make me wish humanity had a natural predator.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/photos/n/no_country_for_old_men_070918/2.jpg

Nik Bartsch's Ronin have a new cd out, I just ordered it (I think Kenan and Jaymc checked out the last one, Stoa)?

Sorry, doesn't sound familiar.

oh, well it's basically steve reich funk. check it out: nikbaertschsronin

sorry: http://www.myspace.com/nikbaertschsronin

apparently javier bardem has been giving interviews saying that haircut was so ugly that it left him depressed and feeling like no woman would ever sleep with him...

like this is so much better...

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/03/30/javier_bardem_wideweb__430x288%2C1.jpg

come on
he cute
that first hairdo is an atrocity

by the way, i realized over the course of the evening that i have some illusion that laurel wears glasses. she doesn't, does she? i went back and looked at that photo and it really doesn't look much like her. it looks more like her than it does, say, sarah or me, but not much like the actual her.

I believe I've seen Laurel in glasses, but I don't know if it's a regular thing.

Amanda you dear thing, yes, I wear glasses, and it does sort of look like me! Not in a way that I like, but one must be honest about one's photogenicity. I just made that word up, by the way.

jordan: that was me that liked that record so much. I'll check out the new one, for sure.

Mistaken Identities Part II:

Pretend my name is Anna Bartek. Just for a minute. Pretend that. I am Anna Bartek.

Ok, so a few months ago I received harrassing phone calls (on home phone) for Anna Bartek from a debt collector. Then they sent me a letter (at home address) telling me that I would be sent to legal if I did not start to pay off this debt. This is NOT MY DEBT! I am not that Anna Bartek! So I called, yelled and verified my identity as NOT THAT ANNA BARTEK.

So that was over.

Then today I was checking my mailbox at work, which is basically an inbox for memos and shit, and I got this envelope. Inside the envelope is a check for $1165 made out to Anna Bartek. What? I also saw that it was from a leasing company and said "security deposit" on it. This check was sent to my work address, which is in no way connected to me on the internet because some retard has not managed to update our website for an entire g-d year. That's another story. But I have this check.

So I called, told them that they sent it to the wrong Anna Bartek, and apparently this is a third, and unrelated Anna Bartek to me and the debtor Anna Bartek. I ripped up the check audibly, they thanked me for calling, the end.

WTF.

Really? You wear glasses? I have been looking at your photos on flickr and don't see any with glasses! Where did I get the idea that you wear glasses if you are never photographed with them on?!

PS you need more photos, btw. the people want more.

ps the checks and phone calls were for my real name, btw -- i just didn't want to have my real name, even googleproofed, all over the place.

Dear Sisut:

The Donor's Forum may be able to help you with your accounting issues.

All best,
Eazy

http://www.rootsweb.com/~nesaunde/1983hist/images/saco-p14a.jpg

My myspace profile has some pics w/ glasses, I'm pretty sure.

i knew you liked it kenan, and i guess i just assumed john did because it seems up his alley. :>

i like some of those older tracks on his myspace page, esp. "modul 17", damn.

that's me!

LAUREL
1) i just friended you
2) that photo of you with the flowers in the hair and the light omg so beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuutiful

you look like helga or someone's muse or something full of beauty

It does sound up my alley, Jordan! I will investigate further.

Can any of you recommend any of the new releases this week?

Romance and Cigarettes got some great reviews and some terrible reviews -- sounds interesting, at least.

Tell Me You Love Me is angsty and not recommended for someone in her first year of marriage.

That is very kind of you, Mands. I was in fact dressed as a faux-Scottish, faux-medieval lass that day. Extremely embarrassing.

by "embarrassing" i assume you mean "dreamy and awesome" because i would RELISH that opportunity

Gone Baby Gone is good and moody.

Of those, I'm most interested in Gone Baby Gone.

It is actually kind of awesome until people start talking to you like you're a) seven and b) stupid! Really big long cotton skirts are actually much cooler than kilts and way better for sitting on the ground in so we were comfy.

It features a young couple who try to solve mysteries, just like you & Nick.

give me wig
give me hair flowers
give me period* garb

that's what i want, condescension or not

*not that "period" sicko

xp - haha ned and nancy

nick and nora sarah

We did talk about becoming pet detectives recently...

I would like to make an hour-long tie-in to the FFs record (maybe a DVD that can be played on the flipside of the CD?) in which Nick and Sarah solve the mystery of the Wicker Park Strangler, or they fail to solve the mystery but adopt a kitten in the process.

Ok, EZ! You have until this weekend, which is when we hope to send it off for duplication. (and by the way, sh*tBexpensive!)

In other news, how come no one is buying my crap off craigslist? I NEED MONIES.

John, HBO is streaming all episodes of this new series In Treatment -- I think you would like it a lot. Very conversational, five minutes from a McDonald's, no hitmen. Best to start with week one and move forward.

Yes, I would like to see that.

(DiscMakers has had relatively decent prices, unless they've raised their rates.)

Also lol at your summary of my preferences in narratives.

(EZ- Thanks. They look comparable to what we plan to use - B3llw3ather - I just feel like I have a million things I need to be spending money on right now)

at least the discs with make you money eventually.

Pretty sure we used DiscMakers as well.

we use a dude in town called the CD Guy. :>

cdrguy.com/

It's kind of frustrating that you basically have to get an official quote from alot of those places because there are so many random fees and what-not you wouldn't even think about (where by "you" I mean "me").

Assuming they haven't changed in the past few years, one good thing with DiscMakers was all of the tie-ins: free or good deals on posters/postcards; free registration with CDBaby which leads to free registration with iTunes; some other stuff I've forgotten.

Hmm... Will need to look into all that.

free posters sounds like a good deal
posters are expensive to make!

Darn tootin' they are! :-D

at least the discs with make you money eventually.

-- Jordan, Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:55 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

uh ha

Speaking of moolah, would you be wary of an apartment that doesn't require a security deposit? I'm seeing a lot of ads like that.

Nick, are we getting all those freebies with b3ll?

they might send your sec deposit to the wrong person even if you give them one!

I wish we could finish our album sometime. It's 2/3rds done, but who knows when we'll be able to get together for long enough to rehearse and record the last four songs (people be having babies, working on elections, etc.).

ask ben, he's the one dealing with them. i think he likes BW because they use recycled stock and biodegradable inks or something, though i don't know why it matters if we're still using jewel cases

i listened to the dgc rarities comp while washing dishes, LOL

Ben is too busy for emails. I wonder if I should email the b3ll guy?

or you could just look at the package on their web site, it would mention that stuff if we were getting it, so i don't think we are

if we get posters then ben will have to design posters = another three weeks before we can get our order in

"uh ha"? You won't make money?

Speaking of moolah, would you be wary of an apartment that doesn't require a security deposit? I'm seeing a lot of ads like that.

depends on the management co. i know m. fiscmann only requires like $200 security but that's because they jack up the price of the rent and assume you're not going to wreck the place anyway.

a lot of owner occupied places don't ask for them. i can only guess at the reasons why though.

xpost- i listened to the dgc rarities comp while washing dishes, LOL

oh man i haven't heard that in YEARS.

er, fischmann.

In the two larger buildings I've lived in (the one on Dearborn and my current one), I haven't had to pay a security deposit. If a building is large enough to have a maintenance staff, they may figure that they will just hose the place down and repaint it in any case.

The deal with D-Makers was either that the posters were free or that it was something like 300 of them for $99. I still have about 260 of them, in case any of you want one for your living-room wall. The package also included a free demo-evaluation from Taxi (music-placement service). I feel like there was another perk or two, but I can't remember. Plus, they're in Chicago now, so getting proofs to and from them would be easy. (But for all I know all of the manufacturers now offer perks like these.)

The new FFs CD will sell like hotcakes eventually and you'll make some cheddar.

I like the new guy in the middle of the band photo on the 'nasta website. Percussionist?

i want hotcakes and cheddar now.

"Jaime" by Weezer is still one of the only songs I know how to play on guitar (speaking of DGC Rarities).

Percussionist?

http://www.shroomery.org/forums/files/07-52/885504084-thatsracist.gif

Speaking of black people, though, did any see the Cosby kid reunion on Oprah last night? Kr and I were marvelling at how attractive Keisha Knight-Pulliam is.

anyone want to lease an airport?

Oh, my image doesn't seem to have worked. It was thats_racist.gif.

Beers at Bar on Buena. Tonight at 6:30. Last chance to see Courtney before she takes her unemployed ass to Jamaica.

May have just said too much....

COURTNEY HAS AN ASS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!!!!``112234

I really should stop by to give her back the Brand New hoodie.

Is that like the Brand New Heavies?

Beers at Bar on Buena. Tonight at 6:30. Last chance to see Courtney before she takes her unemployed ass to Jamaica.

if she's going to jamaica i think she's got a FUNemployed ass.

but i can't, for some ridiculous reason i paid my electric bill in full so i'm pretty much broke.

she's moving to jamaica?!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/2263538073_c867e5fb85.jpg

wicker?

I would read this
http://stovecapital.com/myPictures/asbook.gif

Finally, the book Air Supply fans have been clamoring after for decades. "All Out Of Love", a biographical look at the life of Air Supply roadie Robert C. Douglas, offers a rare glimpse into the band's traveling roadshow during 1985's "Just As We Are" tour. Douglas re-tells countless stories of excess and debauchery, sometimes in graphic detail. For example, there's the stop in Reno when Graham Russell knocked back two wine coolers during dinner and went straight to bed without saying goodnight to Russell Hitchcock. Or the trip to Cincinnati when, during a heated debate over whether the band was over-using the words "love" and "world" in their song titles, Hitchcock nearly sprained his wrist after tossing a television remote onto his hotel bed in disgust. Stories like these run rampant throughout the book, and provide an extremely entertaining read. And while one could argue that the band's exploits may have been more camaraderie, asprin, and feel-good music than sex, drugs, and rock & roll, everyone will surely agree that Douglas' story is one that deserved to be told.

Did he print that at Kinko's?

Nick's green guitar is on the EBAYS.

A bunch of random crap from around our apartment is on the CRAIGSLISTS.

Hey, Happy Valentine's Day, you guys!

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/funny-pictures-cat-holding-tails.jpg

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/128346444016875000imakedusome.jpg

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5561549,00.jpg

HVD!

I am not sure that it is possible to love something more than I love that puppy.

Sorry, Jeff.

WANT.

Speaking of oatmeal, I did not add enough water to mine this morning. Ick ick ick.

Gone Baby Gone was pretty good.

there was a story on npr about how people are worried that there is going to be a surge in beagle adoptions now that a beagle won the westminster dog show, but apparently beagles can be "difficult" dogs (mainly they can be loud) so they are concerned that lots of people will just end up taking them back to the aspca or abandoning them. that being said, if i were to get a dog i would like a beagle. they are neat

i am not getting a dog though

Beagles are cute, but they are whiners.

sounds like someone i know

cute though!

He sounds like a squeaky toy.

Speaking of oatmeal, I did not add enough water to mine this morning. Ick ick ick.

I kind of deliberately don't put enough water in my oatmeal so that I can add soy milk after it's been heated. Try it!

You mad!

j/k

I need to keep some milk at work anyway. It's such a luxury not to have to use powder creamer in my coffee.

wicker?

why's everyone gotta hate on my wicker chairs? they were free. i guess i should get some new chairs at some point.

had to jump my car for the second time this winter.

My car's still stuck in ice. Can you just buy a bag of rock salt at the hardware store? Not sure how I'm gonna drive anywhere otherwise. Kr and I will probably have to take a cab to Ikosium tonight for our Valentine's Day dessert crepes.

I don't actually mind wicker except that designers seem to think of it as a license to make really ugly designs. I'm sure there's well-designed wicker too. But I do think of it as porch furniture.

It's a bitch to dust, though.

crepey

I've had a real, real hard time finding saly anywhere this week. The sidewalk in front or our house is really icy. The only place I've found anything is those little bottles of calcium chloride type stuff at Walgreen's but that will hardly be enough.

At the very least, jaymc, I'd call around before making a special trip since most places are sold out of salt.

On the plus side, we're supposed to hit the upper 30s today, maybe that will help you get it out.

you can, jaymc. do you have a shovel btw?

Beagles are cute, but they are whiners.

-- KitCat, Thursday, 14 February 2008 14:57 (39 minutes ago) Link

sounds like someone i know

-- n/a, Thursday, 14 February 2008 15:02 (34 minutes ago) Link

honeymoon = over.

i'm watching two wiener dogs for the next three weeks and they are two of the most awesome dogs ever. i wish it were spring because i'd take them back to my apartment and let them run around in the back yard off their leashes. long tiny dogs have a hilarious gate when they're going full speed. like see-saws working overtime.

jaymc you may want to try a grocery store, when i had a car dominick's/jewel were the only places that never sold out of rock salt.

I do have a shovel, but it's totally useless against the sheet of ice under my tires.

On the plus side, we're supposed to hit the upper 30s today, maybe that will help you get it out.

Yeah, I am sort of hoping that will be the case but not counting on it.