Chicago: At Zero

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/408779701_067f69edda.jpg

Kenan, we need your photos.

"Chicago: I got carried away" would be a good one for the future imo

Especially with that Crisco picture...

If anyone can obtain the Crisco/Disco LP, I would either accept it as a holiday gift or repay you.

search: crisco disco rapidshare blogspot

and you'll find it eventually

I said the LP.

The record.

Unless that's what you were trying to help with. In which case, thanks.

The Godfathers' projected US tour in February is the latest victim of this financial meltdown. Only announced just before Christmas, the seismic shifts in the world economy and general doom and gloom in the music business has unfortunately led the tour to be radically restructured.

However, the band can confirm the first ever American Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre show with The Godfathers at The Metro in Chicago on Saturday 14th February is still happening. This will be the first American Godfathers show in nearly 20 years with the classic, original line up of Peter Coyne, Chris Coyne, Kris Dollimore, Mike Gibson and George Mazur. This will also be the first ever Godfathers Saint Valentine's Day Massacre show outside London since its inception in the notorious London Dungeon in the late eighties. The London Saint Valentine's Day Massacre shows have become legendary events in English rock and roll folklore and The Godfathers are delighted to stage the first American Massacre at The Metro, which was always a favourite venue for the band to play in their early US tours.

This is promising!

I'd like to hear the FFs do "Birth, School, Work, Death":

huh we don't have any running water. guess the pipes are frozen

it's making me thirsty, and all we have in the fridge is beer, milk and cosmopolitan mix

apparently the drummer from rock and roll ensemble Mudv4yne was at my soul band's gig last night and feelin' it. apparently they are still a thing.

i wonder if beer + cosmopolitan mix would be drinkable. probably not, i guess.

i guess it's not cosmopolitan mix per se, it's supposed to be a premade cosmopolitan in a bottle. we also have vodka and white wine, or i could drink the brine from a bottle of olives

you should mix all three together and drink it, but make sure you film it for youtube.

xp

thirst-quenching olive brine

jordan congrats on impressing the drummer from mudvayne

'09 is all downhill from here

okay i think you should have the premade cosmopolitan.

i guess i could go get some snow off my porch and melt it. or eat it with maple syrup, little house on the prairie style

Or you could go to one of the many establishments in your area that sell drinkables.

i hope your pipes get unfroze, though!

http://www.sourcedesign.com/images/lunchables.jpg

ha i remember that godfathers song
they had another single that i knew, but i forget what it was called

nick you could drink toilet water

"She Gives Me Love" is another one of their singles, with a great video shot at a cheap carnival. I don't want to overpost videos here, but it's out there.

Toilet water: good enough for a cat, right?

Otherwise, I would recommend a bottle of the poemgranate green tea that I found at the Trader Joe's next to your apartment.

Drink from the tank, not the bowl.

^^^voice of experience

lol

I think I learned that in hurricane class in NC.

I also learned that when it snows, it's important that all good citizens must buy as much bread and milk as possible.

Guys, it's warming up. It was something like -14 when I left the house this morning, and now it's 2.

http://alec.3rdc.com/PARTY_TYME.gif

i hope that gif flashes at the top of this thread for eternity

sorry about that

sssssssssssseizuretime!

jk

It's -7 from where I'm sitting, which is in the Loop, FYI.

I sincerely loled at "thirst-quenching olive brine."

Frozen pipes suck!

I have a cold!

Dead possums are not faking!

they fixed the pipes already whoo

I hope they did that before you drank toilet water or the olive brine.

It's -7 from where I'm sitting, which is in the Loop, FYI.

Yeah, I'm just looking at my Google widget, which is not always accurate.

Mine says -1

i am attempting to make that no-knead bread and it was a messier process than i had imagined

You cook a lot. I like that.

You guys, Google Docs is the best thing EVER. EVER.

I agree that googledocs is the best thing ever. i keep my gradebooks on there and i never have to worry about losing my usb or bag or whatever.

have you guys ever tried to make this bread? it's a mess! so gloppy. i hope the deliciousness of the bread makes up for the mess i made.

today is my last day of relaxation before SP09 starts full speed

i think i'm going to make some meaty red beans & rice this weekend.

I made some meaty black beans and rice last week. Black beans + pork + ORANGE PEEL AND JUICE = nomnomnomnom

(the onions, garlic, peppers, and red wine helped too)

EW YOU ARE DISGUSTINE

just kidding that sounds good

What should Courtney and I cook for dinner tonight? I want it to involve chicken, and for it to be fucking delicious.

you should roast a whole chicken

and easy

Go to Whole Foods and get a whole free-range chicken in rosemary, etc.

Or, conversely, Popeye's.

that is very easy

combine some butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest
rub on chicken (don't forget under the skin in breast area)
place on roasting pan breast up

bake at 425 for 15
bake at 350 (?) for 50

let sit for 10 or so after removing from oven

i am not very good at carving the chicken, though. need to get better at that.

Thank you.

I think I want to roast some potatoes, fennel, carrots, and whatever like JL did. With Chervil on top.

And brussel sprouts.

Oh or polenta.

I'm hungry.

xp- I guess my idea of roasting a chicken being hard is due to having seen Jenny do it based on Cooks Illustrated directions.

The only thing I do differently than Amanda is flip the chicken halfway through. It's pretty easy.

(I think I always look harried in the kitchen when you are over because you are kind of like a cat, getting underfoot and trying to dirty seventeen glasses to make a complicated drink in the same ten square inches of counter space on which I am trying to make a fancy meal. My cats are ALWAYS doing that. Francie makes a mean Manhattan, though.)

but those are the cook's illustrated directions (as i remember them)! i just cut out the unnecessary crap and there are no complicated drawings to distract you.

sliced chicken stir fry with green onions and spinach

(I got How to Cook Everything for xmas)

I'm eating Jambalaya from Dominick's and it's good.

I will take your recommendations under consideration.

I hope polenta is involved.

if I may "toot my own horn" here for a second, I made the best fish tacos ever last night. well, not really, but they were pretty delicious. thank you foodtv.com!

Which recipe?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=fish+tacos&fnSearchType=site

#24. beer battered fish tacos with avocado and tomato salsa.

I basically wanted to make a recipe that had beer in it and started searching for stuff on the food network website. beer!

Thanks.

The jambalaya feels good inside of me. I want more.

yaaaaaaaaaaaaay $200 gas bill season is here

we need to put some plastic up in this joint

jesse, i'm pretty sure you want to make chicken curry.

my ex-girlfriend gave me some leftover jambalaya today, so i'm having that for dinner.

Jordano, we've decided on fish tacos. But chicken curry sounds marvelous too. I have like 5 little cans of curry paste at home, plus kaffir lime leaves, bamboo shoots, thai basil.

Errbody, I am so worried that my cold is going to turn into the kind of crazy painful ear infucktion that I had last year that I worried on top of that first worry that my worry is going to make me sicker. THIS IS CRAZY. Tell me everything's going to be okay, okay?

Also I just got a book out of the library that it turns out is about people freezing to death. Whoops!

It's fine. Your plane will not crash into the Chicago or Schuylkill rivers.

Did I ever tell you people about the flight from Saginaw to Chicago - over Lake MI - on which the flight attendant said in her safety briefing, "Should this flight turn into a cruise, your seat cushions can be used as flotation devices."?

fish tacos is a good idea, i've been a taco-eating machine lately (at home and out) but i haven't done that in awhile. i used to make a lot of tacos or burritos with fried tilapia and lots of cumin.

I love cumin.

take it to I Love TMI people.

lol Dr. AJ

Also instead of butter with my roll that came with my soup, the soup-n-salad place gave me "Colonel's Buttery Spread." Disappointing!

i've been a taco-eating machine lately

hi five

Dan, I hope you have a gas payment plan.

DUDES, my boss left for the rest of the day. WHOOP WHOOP! LOONG WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!

ok so my bread was done a while ago, but here is the verdict:

wha'appen?

1) looks like focaccia - about the thickness of 6 pita breads. i thought it was going to look like a loaf of bread that could be used for sandwiches. crust is also not as thick as i had hoped.
2) tastes good, but not like WHOA DANG good
3) next time: less water, fresher yeast?

in sum: more trouble than it was worth...this time. will try again, but with changes.

AND i know no one cares, but hey
here it is anyway

I care, actually. I want to make bread some day, but so far the hassle has outweighed the potential goodness. My dad used to bake bread all the time, like it was nothing. It seems like such a production now, though. (It's like how when I started learning to sew, I made this really complicated Western-style button down shirt with like pearly snaps, and I can barely even fathom how to put a sleeve on something now.)

regular breadmaking is not a big deal if you just make normal bread, but this is like "make dough. let sit for 12-18 hrs. flip over. wait 15 min. do something else. wait 2 hours. bake at 450 for 30 min. remove lid. bake for another 30 min." and i get...focaccia?!

please

i would rather knead for 15 min than wait 2 days for focaccia

also i ruined a towel because it was sticky with dough
boo

I read "learning to stew" over and over again and the only way I could make sense of how stew related to a western shirt was thinking that you dressed up in a western shirt to get in the mood of a cowboy making stew.

ev4n from my band is a human bread machine these days. i know he loves bittman and has tried the no-knead, and i've had bread at his house that looks and tastes like a bakery loaf, but i don't know if that was a no-knead recipe.

yeah i am pretty sure i did something wrong. i'll try again. it looks pretty, it's just kinda...flat.

hey guys, is Jordan PC an okay nickname to put on this record i'm making? they are my initials and also i am making it on a...pc, get it?

(i've been having a really hard time thinking of actual band-type names)

sorry but Jordan PC sounds like a budget home computer from 1985

yeah that's what i was afraid of

i kind of am though

Air Jordan PC

Cunt Butter (WI)

ha

(non-cunt suggestions welcome btw)

sorry, I'm lousy with band names but slightly better at referential humor

I don't like Jordan PC either. I think you should not use your name and it will be better. Maybe Walter PC.

how about oja kodar?

That makes it sound like I don't like your name, but that is not the case. I don't know, it just sounds like something you would doodle on your Trapper Keeper when you were thinking about how awesome it's going to be that you are going to make a record one day.

Wait, I just talked myself into really liking Jordan PC.

Unsolicited legal advice: if you are ever involved in any kind of medical-legal situation and your attorney tells you to go see a doctor, don't put on all your new patient forms that your attorney referred you to that specific doctor, because it makes you and your attorney and the doctor look really shady.

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/images/2008/03/31/drspaceman.jpg

"Dr. Spaceman" would be a good band name

yeah i kept coming up with lame band names and then was just like "maybe i should go with my government name", but u right.

oja kodar is a cool name but i don't want to get sued. or maybe i...do?

i don't think you can get sued for things like that, there are plenty of bands with people names (abe vigoda, harvey milk, etc.)

What about listing the symptoms that my attorney says I'm experiencing? (many xps)

Someone asked for pictures, no? Pardon their being from indoors.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3202588474_6b4ca6cdce_b.jpg

I learned from Tom Skilling this morning that the plumes of "steam" are actually plumes of ice crystals. When it's col enough, water vapor sublimates -- it goes directly from gas to solid. Like reverse dry ice. Neat.

wow

donna summer, etc. i figure those bands are banking on either being too small to get noticed by those people (or their estates), or are hoping for some publicity from getting sued or forced to change their name.

one of my friends is in a milwaukee punk band called Bob Uecker.

Walt Mink
Kathleen Turner Overdrive
Sandy Duncan's Eye

Walt Mink, a power trio, is an indie rock band formed at St. Paul, Minnesota's Macalester College in 1989 by singer-guitarist John Kimbrough, drummer Joey Waronker and bassist Candice Belanoff.[1] The band takes its name from a beloved psychology professor. Kimbrough's father Charles was an actor on the television series Murphy Brown.

Ha, interesting. Joey Waronker's dad is famous, too. (I've never actually heard the band.)

Joey Waronker has been in a lot of bands

he is a good drummer. also, left-handed.

He was Beck's drummer for quite a while.

I vote for Jordan, Texas Ranger.

Chicago: Fried Tilapia and Lots of Cumin.

they just showed the obama ep of check please!
he talked about changing diapers at some italian restaurant

ha

I literally just realized that we missed that episode. I'll have to remember to see the Sunday repeat.

I won't say what, but tonight I saw the worst play I've ever seen in my entire life! And I've seen a lot of plays!

oh you have to say what play it was, or at least what was so bad about it

test

hi courtney

Imagine Once but with all the epic scale and confusion of Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle, but without the songs or the compositional eye.

phrases that came up at a party last night that would make good band names:

hot ticket
hot fat
fat hot
summer splash bomb

lol fat hot

i love it!

two votes for FAT HOT

yes

....American Summer

I keep thinking you ought to present it in some weird way, like "F.A.T. Hot" or "Fat, Hot".

I like Hot Fat better, honestly. Like melted butter, or boiling lard, or something extraordinarily tasty like that. "Fat Hot" is a level of abstraction too far for me.

Morning coldnesses.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/3206582256_dc610254b0_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/3206582266_5906842150_b.jpg

Really, I don't understand how people can hate winter.

Kenan, those are really cool!

:)

Sunrise is a magical time. I mean, really.

Scrolling up the thread, I am struck by how my last two pics are all "ooh pretty" and the first one I posted is so Dirty Old Town.

I met my love
By the gas works wall...

Those are great! Thank you. I was at Courtney's place yesterday morning and I really wanted to see the lake but didn't want to trudge out in the cold, and you made this possible for me.

Now get back out there and keep shooting.

No more today. I think my shooting finger just thawed out.

Wait... there it is!

http://johnochwat.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/middle_finger.jpg

(ahem. No offense, obv.)

Wow. The Chicago thread fell off the new answers page today. That's rare.

We've been slacking.

Hey - today's inauguration day.

Really, I don't understand how people can hate winter.

It's cold and I fall down.

Dick Cheney's in a wheelchair!

That's a step, I guess. Let's all cross our fingers and wish real hard for him to be dead.

TOO LATE BRO

It's cold and I fall down.

I'm tempted to make some kind of old joke, but I fall down, too. :(

I'm guessing it's no longer actionable to say that if in the last 8 years Al Qaeda had managed to off #1 and #2 I would've [redacted]

actually I've skidded but haven't yet fallen down in New York's candyass winter.

I fell it was terrible - I smashed my gorgeous face.

I hope to hell you didn't hurt your precious tumescence.

Why is that so funny to me?

I'm wishing I had taken the day off work.

I've skidded but haven't yet fallen down in New York's candyass winter.

My first winter or three I landed on my tucas a few times just from walking down the sidewalk, but I have learned how to shoe myself, and now I only stumble a bit. I fall down when I do things like try to climb giant piles of ice near the lake.

love saying tuchas

My trick is to walk like Roddy McDowall in Planet of the Apes.

I think BHO should have said "what we need more of is science."

Trivia tonight, anyone? (I haven't gotten an e-mail yet, tho.)

i'd be down (as usual)

1) Zen Law Dean 11 pts
2) Guano Air Unit 11 pts
3) Finish the Lyric: ABNS 14 pts
4) Chemical State Round 16 pts
5) Dead or Canadian 11 pts
6) Picture Round 15 pts
7) General Knowledge 22 pts

(I'm in)

some mysterious round names there

1) New Zealand
2) Inauguration

hmm i watched most of the inauguration ceremony and the lead-up to it this morning but dunno how much that will help, a lot of it will probably be historical

who's the pres who died after giving that really long inauguration speech and getting pneumonia?

i have my first class of the semester this afternoon so probably won't have much time for prep unfortunately

i'll read the wikipedia entry on new zealand at least

it's just about the least i can do

what could "Finish the Lyric: ABNS" stand for?

who's the pres who died after giving that really long inauguration speech and getting pneumonia?

Harrison

I've been to New Zealand, though only the North Island.

i've been listening to a lot of flying nun bands recently, especially the verlaines

maybe that will help

Guys, let's face it, it's all going to be on LOTR.

i'm hoping for 11 straight flight of the conchords questions

I'm going to look at pictures in hopes of inadvertently learning one of the picture round answers.

ABNS American Board of Neurological Surgery
ABNS American Board of Nursing Specialties
ABNS American Baptist News Service

A Boy Named Sue?

(Thank you, onelook.com.)

The plan was to watch the inauguration at the ING Cafe (which always has a bunch of TVs on CNN), but the sound there was poor, so my companions suggested going across the street to the bar at the Sofitel, where two excited women shared with me their bread/croissant basket and giant french press of coffee, and the seats were comfortable and the TV was big and loud.

(Sorry to miss the MLKBBQ yesterday.)

Unlikely to be about the lyrics to Darkthrone's A Blaze in the Northern Sky, but hey.

a boy named sue makes sense given his apparent interest in shel silverstein

I'd like to come to trivia too, tonight. I once got 10/10 on a trivia round on kiwipop, though, again, that probably won't help tonight. Also, Nick, my favorite band is/was the verlaines!

OK I'm going to try to be there at 7:15-7:30 to get a table on lockdown since the email says it's been full in the new year.

cool, i've mainly been listening to the "juvenilia" collection but i have bird dog and some disenchanted evening too ... good stuff

i will be there by 7:30 at the latest

everybody read the lyrics to "a boy named sue"

can our team be called "malia obama's creepy fan club"?

ha ha just kidding guys

...

I actually missed the inauguration ceremony because I slept until like 11:30. this is what semi-long-term unemployment will do to a person.

also, "Hallelujah All the Way Home" is my personal favorite verlaines album, fyi

I find parades sort of boring.

second line parades are like my favorite thing in the world, and regular parades are like my least favorite.

It seems like they should be fun, but they're not, really. I think if there were more throwing of things (and/or punching), I would like regular parades better.

i think punching is probably more fun in theory than in practice

The greatest thing that you will ever learn
is to punch
and be punched in return.

ha

I wish I were in the band Fear Is on Our Side I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness.

Or Fuck...I'm Dead.

I wish I were in the band Fear Is on Our Side I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness.

Fear Is on Our Side is the name of the album, although I don't suppose that negates the possibility that there is a band called Fear Is on Our Side I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness out there somewhere.

Goin' to Delaware. BRB.

Last night one of the quiz questions was "Which president's inauguration was the first to be broadcast via webcam?" We said Clinton; the correct answer was Bush. But I think we could've made a case on this one, since there's no significant difference in my mind between "webcam" and "streaming on the Internet" and Dave said absolutely nothing about construction.

* January 20, 1997. Bill Clinton’s second Inaugural ceremony was the first to be broadcast live on the Internet.

* January 20, 2005. Bush’s second Inauguration included the largest Inaugural platform to date. His Inauguration also included the first time a live Web cam of inaugural construction was used. It also marked the first time secure inaugural credentials were issued.

i realized after i got home last night that we could have maybe gotten first place if we hadn't fumbled the bonus points in the chemical states round :/

I wish I were in the band Fear Is on Our Side I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness.

Where the hell did the album name appear from? Weird. I copied and pasted the band name.

i'm listening to paul's boutique

The Angry Whopper is AWFUL.

huh?

why would you eat that?

I was curious :(

I mean, it was just a fucking Whopper with fried onions (if they had stopped here, I would have no objections) and jalapenos, and "Angry Sauce" which is just disgustingly sweet orange sauce that is very similar to French dressing, but with some heat.

It was more of an Angsty Whopper.

sounds gross
did you guys hear about "kuma's south"? i heard possible locations included uptown and rogers park!

ROGERS PARK!

it's not even irritated compared to the SLAYER

SLAYER Pile of fries topped with a ½ lb. Burger, Chili, Cherry Peppers, Andouille, Onions, Jack Cheese, and Anger
12

which i still have not consumed ;_;

i would be happy if they started a kuma's in rogers park. then i could go hang out with my friend who lives there and get burgers and hopefully not wait two hours to do so.

Jesse I would punch you for eating that. Your choice of glove size. :)

I'd be excited about Kuma's if I liked lots of stuff. But I pretty much like spices and maybe an egg in my burger and that's it.

but it's not burgers! it's "southern food"! like ribs and greens and bbq and lord knows what else.
also you don't have to get a burger. they have other foods too.

i'm sure you could just get a burger + egg

that's the kuma burger!

oh, intriguing.

xp

I'd like to try them about after hearing so much, though the crazyburgers just didn't excite me on paper. They should have a simple burger/egg/spices. The Feelies? Wire? Something simple.

did you guys hear about "kuma's south"? i heard possible locations included uptown and rogers park!

How are Uptown and Rogers Park "south" of the original Kuma's?

I'd like to try a curry burger. Maybe a curry lamburger.

apparently the "south" refers to the cuisine and not the location

i had a lamburger for lunch today

^^what jordan said
it's southern food, not southern location because doy, RP sure isn't south of much, aside from evanston/WI

i'm not normally all "give me a sandwich the size of my head" but i love that place to bits. everything i've had there is *mwah*.

I deserve to be punched for eating that.

If it were a Kuma's burger, I am sure it would have been delightlful.

In other news: work is sort of annoying/boring me.

Oh yeah, I just got that.

I still haven't been to Kuma's. Kr says she will go with me sometime, but she's already been there, so she's not clamoring to go back (even though I think she liked it).

it's a bit of a PITA, considering that even if you go on a monday afternoon at, say, 2pm, there is still a wait. forget going at night at a normal dinnertime (between 6-8) or on a weekend. you also have to be prepared to eat a big meal, which means that you have to go hungry...and then told to wait for 2 hours. such struggles we have.

i would like to go someday

to kuma's

argh i have so much reading to do for school and it's so boring

i am waiting for a big all-faculty meeting and it is v boring

I am excited about LOST tonight, but I am going to have to watch it alone since Kr has class on Wednesday night.

Ordinarily I wouldn't care, but you know, the big two-hour premiere usually has a couple jaw-droppers I want to be able to OMG over.

It's time for a pet.

The Red Eye said that the it begins with a major something or other.

FYI interested parties: I'm up for Kuma's anytime, it's an easy walk from home. So far I have had the Iron Maiden, High on Fire, and also drunkenly ate a friend's leftovers of the casserole that is the Slayer.

yeah i'll be watching lost alone because sarah is sticking to her DDPP regimen

My boss sent me a warning about a computer virus.

I check Snopes. It is real.

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/obamaspeech.asp

checked.

do any of you guys know a bar that has pacman? (standup or sitdown ok)

Yes! But it's in Houston.

IN CHICAGO bozo

is ms. pacman ok? they have that at the empty bottle

or literally just pacman?

no, it has to be regular pacman. my friend wants to know. she has found some ms. pacmans and now she wants the orig.

All I've seen are those galaga/ms. pacmac 2-fers. Which are great. But no plain pac man.

ms. pacman is better anyway

a brief scan of yelp suggests they might have it at hungry brain, but there are also conflicting reports that it's actually a ms. pacman

Hey, the guy who I played cards with for a while who starred in Bug got the best-actor nomination for Revolutionary Road. Somewhere around here I posted a few years ago that he'll be our generation's Christopher Walken...

Ms. Pac Man night at the Hungry Brain would be a good night out.

oh i like that dude, i thought the name sounded familiar but i haven't see revolutionary road (and probably won't)

ok thanks guys
i guess it's harder to find a regular pacman than i thought!

xp According to Metromix, the Hungry Brain has it. Also Helen's Two Way Lounge in Logan Square and Raven's in Lincoln Park.

There's a Yelp review of the Empty Bottle that refers to the game as "Lady Pac Man."

"Pac Mac for the Fairer Sex"

Pac Man, even

Why didn't they just call it Pac-Woman?

Also, "Helen's Two Way Lounge"? I have not heard of this place. Is the name supposed to make me uncomfortable?

Didn't Kevin go there for Thanksgiving last year?

kevin used to talk about it, i think? it has two entrances, hence the two-way?

haha xp

you always remember one more detail than i do

Re: Pac-Woman: say it a few times out loud and it answers itself.

Helen sounds like she's in a Lucky Pierre situation there.

Or a Chinese Fingercuffs situation.

Oh I want to take that post back. :/

ms. pac man is weird because the "ms." seems like a nod to feminism but calling her "ms. pac man" implies that she is pac man's wife and not deserving of her own name (ie pac woman). unless "pac man" is actually their last name, in which case she could be pac man's sister or niece or something, or they mean "man" in the sense of mankind, like pac man is an encompassing term for all pac mankind

i'm so stoned right now

it's kinda creepy that ms. pac man took pac man's name before they got married.

xp

xp HA!

unless "pac man" is actually their last name,

Zionist conspiracy.

If only the creators of Ms. Pac Man had thought about this as much as Nick has... well, it probably wouldn't exist. Dudes would still be arguing about the name.

this conversation is lol 90s

it's fun to pronounce "pacman" like "steinman" or "newman"

lolz @ eric

"Good morning Ms. Pacman. Can Jonah come out and play?"

murray j spiderman

She's a divorcee, you see. So Mrs would be untoward.

i did a search for "pacman chicago bar" to help amanda and half the stories were about adam "pacman" jones of the bears

oh i'll bet they thought about it. pac man was a hit, so that had to be in the name, but mrs. pac man sounds pretty boring.

so did they get divorced after the events of ms. pac man, in which case the game takes place in the past? or did they divorce and remarry? or maybe she was married to another pacman?

xpost Yeah cause you want to imagine she's available. Oh yeah.

i don't think "ms." depends on marital/divorce status, wasn't that the whole point?

You have to get to level 25 to see the divorce, and then the slow deaths after that.

Amanda's got a Pac-man jones, clearly.

The Candlelite, up at Western and Touhy, has had a machine that had something like 100 different video games in it. But the joystick didn't work, alas. But it might have had Pac-Man, and they have incredible garlic fries and good pizza and beer as well.

xpost Right, it's either/or, neither/nor.

Quenchers and Streetside have the Ms.

oh i guess you're right.

xp

no i mean wasn't the whole point to come up with a replacement for "mrs" that didn't depend on marital status? so a married woman, a divorced woman, a never-been-married woman, any of them could be a "ms"?

Yes of course... who is suggesting otherwise?

http://www.msmagazine.com/summer2007/images/sum07_lg.gif

i just didn't know where all the divorced/remarried theories were coming from

In the end, Ms. PAC-MAN’s release to arcades was fraught with a flurry of last-minute activity worthy of the main character’s attempts to avoid those ghosts. In the book “The Ultimate History of Video Games,” Macrae recalls: “We originally burnt the ROMs for production under the name Pac-Woman, but several women inside Midway objected, saying that we should put a surname in front of it. We chose Miss Pac-Man, [but] someone pointed out to us that in the third animation, Pac-Man and the female Pac-Man get together and have a baby.

“We scrambled and came up with Mrs., then changed it to a fifth name, Ms., because we were trying to make everyone in life happy. All of this happened in the final 72 hours before the production line was supposed to start up.”

wow!

That's a great story. And it made the whole thing contemporary, too.

A divorced woman in the 1970s (or now) would use Ms. if she did not want to go back to being a Miss but was also no longer a Mrs., and did not want to have a breakdown at her secretarial desk when everyone kept asking and addressing her as Miss or Mrs.

http://www.janeane.net/images/mscover.jpg

Kelsey didn't tell us she modeled for this!

i have always used ms.

also what's up with the "secretarial desk"
boo

KelseyJaneane Garofalo didn't tell us she modeled for this!

(a joke! a joke! I'm channeling Kenan this morning as far as provocative humor. Js. Pac Man. See!?)

john you are an indispensable resource.

(hey! I spelled "indispensable" right on the first try!)

ok but watch it, buster

I'm assuming that the guy in the story means "title" instead of "surname"? Otherwise I don't know what that means.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070424/secretary/dolly_l.jpg

It's just that my memories of advancements like the Ms. designation are inseparably tied to this film.

"channeling Kenan" has got to be a euphemism for something disastrous.

http://beehivehairdresser.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/exorcist.jpg

Whoa not that disastrous, jesus.

How do you spell out Mrs.?

In NC there are some people who pronounce the "r," so it sounds like "mizriz."

I was thinking more like

http://twistedprincess.org/images/larry_david.jpg

xpost

I wish I could go bald. I know I wouldn't say that if it was an impending possibility, but I do think I could pull off bald pretty well.

Also: less haircuts. I hate that duty/expense.

K., you could get a porkpie had and try to pass as bald.

Ms. Superman

http://artofmanliness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/porkpie.png

Mr. Hac-Man

I can't believe you're wishing to go bald.

K., you could get a porkpie had and try to pass as bald.

Tempting, but only because I have a weakness for silly headgear.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/hatter.jpg

I can't believe you're wishing to go bald.

Why? Bald is bald, is all. I'd still be adorable, I just know it.

Have you shaved your head?

I hate haircuts, but I really want to keep my hair. It would be nice if it would grow out to 3/4" and just STOP.

Have you shaved your head?

haha Oh yes. Yes I have.

xpost I could wear that hat, and people would still think I was a douche, but no one would know I was bald.

i'm not going to go bald gracefully, i don't think

Most awful sound in the world nominee:

Female smoker, talking while sobbing, with a thick Chicago accent.

i'm sure there are worse accents for a sobbing smoker/diner waitress to have

Oh no.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/shaving.jpg

Baltimore, for example. xp - whoa.

Dressed as one of the founders for the 4th of July?

It's remarkable the photos you find when you start digging through them.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/tux.jpg

Remarkable, I say.

I'm sorry. No one asked for that.

Curiously, that IS me dressed as a founding father for the 4th of July. That's my Ben Franklin. Needs work, I'll admit.

Chicago: At Zero Posts.

Did I really horrify everyone that much?

I think it's only part of being human, it's totally natural, and it's very important than everyone should get in touch with my body.

Ok, I'm going to do something else.

That would be scary with clown makeup.

plenty scary as is

Maybe if I ever learned to stand up straight.

pull your pants up, kenan

Those pants are barely secured as it is. I can't!

Wow Kenan, looking good. In a way....

I wish to hear about others' lunches. Mine was unexceptional.

Vegetable soup (carrots, potatoes, green beans, broccoli, chickpeas).

kenan = most blase Chippendales staffer

Sufficiently recovered from my bout of MLK Day stomach flu, I indulged in chorizo and pollo tacos. It momentarily distracted me from my vicious head cold. Sigh. Pity me. Sigh.

There there.

There there.

Wow Kenan, looking good. In a way....

It would be wrong not to clarify that the picture is three years old, and I do not look like that now, bowtie or no bowtie. Slouchy pants or no slouchy pants. Ok, granted, no pants is another issue.

i went to a very average thai restaurant up the street and had the pad thai with tofu lunch special (tofu and rice soup, veggie egg rolls). it was very average

i am listening to smog (first "supper," now "wild love"), if anyone wants to talk about smog

i am also working slowly through a massive amount of very boring reading for school - this is the reading for the first week of february but there's so much of it that i started two weeks ahead

i just realized why i'm having trouble getting back into school/study mode - i haven't been wearing my thinking cap (a green white sox cap i got for free at a game last season)

I'm pretty meh on Smog, but I'll talk about Felt, if anyone wants to jump into that fancy manpile.

I just discovered them, you see.

i ate yogurt and pretzels for lunch
then i ate a cube of guava paste, aka bocadillo

i was sort of bored by felt when i heard them a few years ago.

I read too many reviews before checking it out, because I just do that even though I know better. The album that gets described as "not for beginners" or whatever is my favorite one by a ways.

i just ate a little piece of candied ginger

This is the only Felt I know about, an improv show with puppets: http://chicago.ioimprov.com/images/uploaded_files/shows/10/thumb_Felt.jpg

Oh, and
http://www.watergate.com/image/badge.jpg

xpost That is awesome, and I'm not joking at all. Is it the kind with the palm trees in the logo (I forgot the name) or something else?

Btw, I have no idea what I'm planning to do with the improv classes I've been taking since last June. I'm not sure I want to be on a regularly performing team or anything, but it seems dumb to drop out of the program halfway through.

Depends. Are you any good?

Not a fair question, I guess.

It's like, everyone thinks they're a good driver, but not everyone gets into car wrecks all the time. (I get into car wrecks all the time, btw. Don't ever let me drive your car.)

did you just start doing them for fun?

hearing about others' lunch is fun.

it was trader joe's candied ginger

i would enjoy doing some kind of acting or non-music-related performance, i think, but i wouldn't want to do improv

I like Felt!

morbs keepin it positive in 09!

Mangoes beat the living pants off of mangoes.

I would never want to wear living pants.

That was a typo.

Though it is true that mangoes could beat other mangoes in a battle, what I meant to say was that papayas could handily beat the living mango out of mangoes.

but you are wrong -- it must have been the TRUTH speaking, not a typo
papayas are gross
mango is the filet mignon of fruitz

what fruit would win in a fight

mangoes are great. i can't remember if i've had papayas in non-juice form?

gotta side with manda on this one -- a good mango is pretty unbeatable. Even by a flying shark.

Mangoes are good, yes. Great, even. But papayas have a really special taste that makes me go into a trance.

Also the texture!

the texture of SLIMY? papayas are among my least favorite fruits, but i'm glad someone likes them. i would eat it if it were served to me, but otherwise no thanks.

ok, but is it a trance that makes you want to kill the president? Are these papayas from the farthest eastern part of China, by any chance?

Never mind. It's way more likely that you just like papayas. Gotta learn to pick my battles.

I'm talking about the way you can squish it between your tongue and hard palate until it finally collapses, releasing the flavor that sailed a thousand ships.

Are you talking about our current president?

I would not kill our current president while under the influence of or in the interest of obtaining a papaya.

I just got an email advising that our building might be replacing the elevator, leaving us without for 3 months. Buns of steel, here I come.

xpost I was failing badly at making a joke.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate

what floor are you on?

i have this weird interaction on most mornings where someone holds the door to the elevator for me, which is nice, but i always take the stairs. then i feel rude and they're probably like "oh, sorry mr. too-good-for-the-elevator".

secretly they respect your glutes

Are you any good?

Well, the feedback that I've gotten so far, from both teachers and fellow students, is that I'm smart, I'm a good observer, and that I bring a certain honesty to my characters but that I am sometimes too reasonable in scenes and don't let go enough. It's sort of a balancing act -- I have no problem accessing that sillier, anarchic side of myself (at home I'm a cavalcade of stupid voices and spontaneous menarded behavior) but I'm too conscious of making a scene work to let it take over. Part of it, I guess, is that when you're in a class with a teacher, and especially at a place like iO, there's a lot of pressure, whether warranted or not, about "doing it right." I think I got more out of doing improv in college, even if we weren't as polished, just because most of us were friends and had the kind of trust that allowed us to take risks.

you always take the stairs? that is crazy talk.

I have no problem accessing that sillier, anarchic side of myself (at home I'm a cavalcade of stupid voices and spontaneous menarded behavior)

Ha, same here, but only at home, and that's when it's just me and the cat. I had a little warm fuzzy a couple weeks ago talking to a friend, and he confessed that he talked to himself all the time, and so did I, and then he confessed that he sings a lot when no one is around, and then so did I, and then he confessed that he does characters and voices, and so did I... it was a bonding moment.

But I guess that's the thing. It's easy to do that in fron tof the cat, innit?

you always take the stairs? that is crazy talk.

some days it's seriously the only chance i get for physical activity, i would be crazy NOT TO!

went to the Y last night for the first time in a few weeks though, it felt great.

Our office is on the 6th floor. The building has 8 floors. 6 floors isn't absolutely terrible for me, but we have clients who we're representing in ADA cases, so that's a problem, as you might imagine.

What floor are you on, Jordan?

well it is very impressive. your coworkers are probably just thinking you are crazy, not rude.

i'm on the 3rd floor but i park 3 floors underground, so it's like the 6th.

also i have this pathological inability to walk upstairs at a normal speed, i need to run up two at a time.

^^2x, although maybe not running. Doing it one step at a time just seems like a waste of my leg-length.

The improv world is a guild system in this town. Not in a bad way, but it's definitely a craft.

6 floors isn't absolutely terrible for me, but we have clients who we're representing in ADA cases, so that's a problem, as you might imagine.

Oh, those whiners. They lose one foot, and all you hear is "weh I lost a foot!"

i am beginning to see that you people are just much taller than i am.

i am short!

I suppose it is a credit to your natural presence that I have never noticed your height at all.

5'9" at most, i think. at least that's what my driver's license says.

eh you still qualify as much taller than i am

Nice thick heel, and no worries ever.

I'm 5'6" and I always take the stairs 2 at a time (usu. in a running fashion, as I have short legs).

okay fine you people are just all more cardiovascularly fit than i.

trying to think of a way to say that i'm into short girls without sounding creepy, and failing (see?)

that made me actually lol

It is a stereotype in my mind that black people are more likely to be afraid of elevators than other races. I base this on the fact that at my building it is only ever black people who I've know refuse to take the elevator. (considering what I know, they're probably better off...)

This has also been the case at Target one time where a woman was upset b/c the only way to get from the parking deck to inside the store was on the elevator. She walked down the parking ramp instead.

what?

i don't like elevators, i'm afraid this will happen to me:

I would love to hear an hour of call-in radio devoted to this subject.

I always take the stairs two at a time, too, unless I'm concerned that I look like too much of a dork.

wow i had no idea people did that. i seriously avoid stairs at all costs.

Well, maybe not always, but frequently. It has nothing to do with fitness for me, just efficiency.

so if we're keeping track, jews and black people don't like elevators, indian people and white people do. except the ones who don't.

fake stereotypes kill thread

Sorry, I suddenly got very busy. And you know what hard workers Mexicans are.

And Germans.

i bet germans love elevators

i'm too busy being outraged about obama's AG nominee wanting to extend the patriot act provision that lets the government demand bookstore and library records for anyone, even if they aren't suspected of terrorism or any crime

oh seriously? :(

(link?)

xxp: RESTRAINING MYSELF

kinky

I linked to it in the politics thread and on facebook

I saw Desire Under the Elms tonight thanks to my hook-up at the Goodman... Pretty good! They are staging another series of shows featuring some Brazillian company that is supposed to be really good, apparently there are 2-for-1 offers going around. I'm considering going on Saturday.

What time? I have a meeting from 2-4, but would like to go.

Crap. It's at 2:00.

JOHN MC: http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager

You may have already seen this, but it is very cool.

Oh, good to hear, Dan. I want to see that show. The lead woman is the pretty agent from Entourage.

Yep, I'm v. familiar with the Baby Name Wizard site! The Voyager has been on there for years, but the NameMapper and Namipedia are fairly new and also pretty cool, I think. My only quibble with the Voyager is that it only shows popularity by decade and not by individual year.

I ran 5 miles last night! I've only previously run 3. The 1st 4 were 10 min/mile.

I'm starting to understand how people wind up deciding to run marathons.

Were you on a treadmill or on the streets?

(P.S. Tonight's the night for my Halsted St. music debut, around 9:30 at Hydrate.)

Treadmill. Less cred (street cred), but still.

running is for crazy people

That is true, and that is why I run, b/c it helps me deal with my crazy.

yeah, i was going a little nuts this week and felt so much better after going to the Y.

it helps me deal with my crazy.
yeah that's how i feel about exercise in general

but i still don't like running

It's a great way to relieve stress both during and after. B/c I've been experiencing some stress/angst lately, I have been reluctant to stop running even when I am winded and exhausted. This is probably why I have so quickly exceeded previous distances and times.

xp - I used to HATE running, but something changed when I was in New Orleans (where I ran that 5K).

It's very addictive. I'm going again tonight!

Added benefit: I burned 760 calories, according to the machine.

i can't wait to run outside again.

i'm going to new orleans in a week and a half!

it's been like, i dunno, 30? i swear it feels "warm". if i enjoyed running outside, this weather would be perfectly ok for it.

I rarely run outside, but I should start. But not till springtime.

You guys, I was involved in another watering of the downstairs again! But this time it wasn't my fault. I flushed the toilet and the wax ring failed, sending water out around the base of the toilet and into the suite below us. The building guy cleaned it up before anyone noticed.

Oh, good to hear, Dan. I want to see that show. The lead woman is the pretty agent from Entourage.

So I was told (I've only seen bits of a couple episodes). She did a good job from my point of view as did the guy playing the youngest son, who is the brother of some other actor I had maybe kind of heard of once. And plus: Brian Dennehy! Of First Blood and Tommy Boy fame!

Guys, I'm really ready for winter to be over. Here are some key milestone dates I look forward to:

February 22 - The average daily high for a calendar day reaches 40 degrees.
March 20 - First day of Spring.
March 22 - The average daily high for a calendar day reaches 50 degrees.
March 24 - My spring tennis league starts, so I can pretend it's warm, even though it's going to be cold out there at night. Average low for that calendar day is 35 degrees.
April 17 - The average daily high for a calendar day reaches 60 degrees.
June 21 - First day of Summer.

36 and 22 bustracker routes start Monday. It will be nice to know even if it says next bus in 45 min to an hour. Which is entirely possible. I just walked to Best Buy (2 mile round trip) and only saw two buses coming or going, both right as I was walking in my courtyard.

What should I do tonight?

A) Play video games
B) Watch the last episode of Mad Men season 2
C) Work on some work work
D) Work on some school work
E) Do something outside the friendly confines of my apartment
F) None of the above

I've actually already started on C. And drinking a beer.

I'm going to perform a cover this insane song tonight, solo:

Play video games

my dinner date canceled so i'm just going to watch a lot of BSG tonight

I think I'm depressed again. I'm living to sleep.

video games, duh

watching fight club is cheering me up way more than is probably normal.

saw the Drastics on saturday, i really like those guys.

i am going to watch blago on the view
will let you know how it goes

Amanda: Watching The View So You Don't Have To

Anything for my peoples.

i watched his today show interview this morning, it was pretty ludicrous ... he compared himself to martin luther king, nelson mandela, and gandhi, in addition to the hero of a frank capra movie

If he's Gandhi, I'm

a) Katherine Hepburn
b) Dakota Fanning
c) Janet Reno
d) Angela Merkl
e) none of the above, I am Nelson Mandela

As an outsider who had no exposure to Blago prior to the unpleasantness, I was just wondering - how did this guy get elected? Was he crazy from the beginning, and his opponent was even crazier? His media blitz is making me see him as insane in addition to being corrupt, which is probably not his desired effect.

I was just asking k@tie about this but she wasn't in Chicago yet when he got elected so she had no idea.

Oprah could've even paid the mil to be senator without breaking a sweat.

i don't think he has always seemed this batshit -- he said all the things that people wanted to hear, i guess.

so far, his answer to everything -- and i mean EVERYTHING -- is "see, you're taking that out of context"

what a schmuck

I like, though, how he's like the flip side of Obama. I think he really does sincerely believe that he is a completely self-sacrificing guy, serving and helping the people of Illinois. It just doesn't jibe with reality, is all.

also he is not resigning for the following three reasons:

1) he is an innocent man and has done nothing wrong
2) everyone else wants to raise the income tax in IL before memorial day (?!?)
3) doesn't want to shame daughters

barbara w sweated him HARD and he didn't budge

by the end she was treating him like a kindly old nutjob, like the old man at the nursing home who insists that the reds are hiding inside his toilet and that's why he pees himself all the time.

he is name dropping rahm, valerie and jj jr like NONSTOP
i've heard the list 4 times so far at least

Guys, I need that cartoon that I think Jenny posted where there's a bunch of money underneath Rod's hair... I just loaded up the entire last thread looking for it, to no avail. Can anyone help a brother out?

he just got all girlfriend on whoopi and said ain't like 100 times
then the red haired one asked him to do his richard nixon impression
he refused but seemed to think it was hilarious
dudes this is embarrassing

I'm disappointed that I'm not watching Blago's interview tour :(

You guys, some of our suburbs have bizarro addresses. Example:
38W620 _______ St.
Geneva, IL

sorry i cannot help you with your cartoon search, dan m

how did this guy get elected?

Chicago Machine, in two words. But in a few more words: people don't pay shit for attention to state politics.

This dude is like a lesson. Vote, you imbeciles! VOTE!

eh, it's not about voting as much as it is about knowing who you're voting for

lots of people voted for blago

He had a lot of powerful people behind him, according to what I have read. His father-in-law is an alderman.

eh, it's not about voting as much as it is about knowing who you're voting for

Both, no?

well certainly but just saying "VOTE" isn't going to solve the blago problem
then again, i am not sure what will solve the blago problem other than exile

well certainly but just saying "VOTE" isn't going to solve the blago problem

Well, not now, no. But I guess I'm assuming that voters = people who care enough to at least read a voter guide.

But I know, I know... when you assume, it makes an ass out of Uma Thurman. (or something.)

ha

he just got all girlfriend on whoopi and said ain't like 100 times

for fuck's sake. amazing that he can still find new ways to be embarrassing.

Yeah, ahem, I voted for Blajo twice (though in 2002 I think I voted for Paul Vallas in the primary).

he was even grabbing her shoulders and whatnot
he is sinverguenza to the extreme

i voted for him at least once
he seemed like the only option, i guess

I voted for him twice, sadly. The alternative seemed worse, at least at the time.

Also, apropo of nothing, I just got done listening to Billie Holiday sing "Let's Do It"...a song I've heard a million times. Just as I was musing about how much I enjoy David Sedaris' Billie Holiday impression, I caught something in the lyrics I hadn't heard before. Rewind.

The song starts with:

Chinks do it, Japs do it
Up in Lapland, little Laps do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love.

???!!!

Jesse has coined a new verse.

yeah it's crazy, the beginning of that song.

What? I did?

Oh. I suggested other minorities that do it, but I didn't really get them to rhyme or be clever.

I voted for him twice, sadly.

What? How? He was elected in 2002 and you moved here in 2004.

But by calling Scandinavians "Laps" she deconstructs the whole notion of ethnicity and transgresses the slurs...

Honestly, as sleazy as I thought he was, I voted for him in 2006 out of self interest. At the time I was working in development for a homeless services agency...I needed the money to keep coming from the state, and I wasn't confident that it would, if a Republican was elected. Sad, but true.

it's cole porter's fault

xpost

I lie. I voted for him the 2nd time, I meant. I'm banking on my brain function returning with my health.

Cole Porter "queers" the slurs by redirecting their latent racism um um...

I saw a book in Borders this weekend called "Queer Theory and the Death Impulse," and I wondered if it posits that the former provokes the latter.

Sounds like a good split 7" record.

sisut, everybody who votes does that. 99% of them are lower than whale shit.

Good ol' crankypants.

oof i have two classes in a row this afternoon, that's four hours straight

actually two hours for each class with a half-hour break in between

eh that's not so bad
most of my classes are three hours long and the one on saturday is four!
teaching for 4 hours is an indescribable drag

also guys please don't get mad at me if i do not respond to your "about me" fb survey request.

i still luv u

yeah i'm not responding to any of those either, btw ... i even ignored one from sarah

i have a blanket no survery, no app policy.

that makes me feel better. i can't explain why i am a sourpuss about those things aside from my general tendency to not broadcast personal things. see also: why i am not a blogger.

This is because I tagged you guys, isn't it. Now I feel like a chump for not continuing my resistance to those stupid things.

i'm mainly just lazy

I don't generally do those kinds of things, but it's not because I don't like the idea of them; it's more that I know that I would dwell on them too much.

(If I were unemployed like Dan, I might do one.)

see now everyone feels bad. i didn't mean it that way.

enh the day I feel "bad" about facebook is the day I need to seek professional help

I only filled the stupid thing out because my high school friends were nagging me about it

Nick, are you in a real classroom class or a teleclass?

Amanda, you could list 25 recipes.

listing 25 anything makes me feel ill
5 i can handle

fake classroom, all my classes are online

speaking of, i made a pretty good gumbo the other day. my first!

My Southern friends are only listing 15 things. I think 15 is more reasonable. I will get my 25 done sooner or later.

I wish you could save a note as a draft, b/c I don't have 25 facts available to my conscious brain at once.

good for you! i was going to make gumbo or curry yesterday, but ended up going out for sushi with a friend after we went to the Y.

i did go to a truckstop for breakfast that had all-you-can-eat pancakes for two dollars, though (ie the reason i went to the Y).

Dan, I was really glad you did your 25, by the way!

(Amanda and Nick....maybe we should discuss this via email.)

should i go to my 10 yr high school reunion? my instinct is "of course not" but part of me wants to go just because it will be awkward and sitcom-esque.

only if you can convince a supermodel to go with you and pose as your girlfriend, ensuring that hilarious misunderstandings will ensue

i would go with my friend who is currently unemployed, so he needs to make up constanza-like lies about his career.

As long as I have a decent job and haven't gone to seed, I'm too nostalgic and curious to ever miss a high-school reunion.

also you loved high school

if it were practical, i might go to a reunion for my HS in india. however, i would never EVER go to a reunion for my HS in maryland

I see no reason to ever go to any of my high school reunions. If I want to see any of the people I didn't hate and still care about (total of 3 or 4), I will do it one on one.

xp

I went to mine because other people convinced me. Only about 1/3 of our class showed up, and it wasn't too bad. Going to the bar with the people I liked was a lot more fun, however.

right, anyone i actually liked in high school i either still talk to or have gotten in touch with on my own. but it still holds a sick fascination for me.

I don't know that I "loved" high school as much as I don't have many negative feelings associated with it.

that means you loved high school

OK, I loved high school.

have you dudes ever been to a homecoming for your college? that might be fun

i loved college

One girl from my high school (who was nice, very smart, fairly cool has on her 25 facts: I am a R0bin Wi||iams freak. My goal is to meet him in person.

I don't want to have to face such unfortunate developments in person.

I went to my 5-year college reunion. The first night was just everyone getting drunk at Bell's. Would do again.

if i ever see robin williams in person i am going to charge him like a rhino while screaming JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

maybe i should copy that 25 times and post it to fb

i didn't really know/meet anyone in college except for musicians, and most of us still keep in touch.

now that i'm bored in class as the professors go over the syllabus i'm tempted to do one of the facebook fact things

college reunions seem like a weird idea to me unless you went to a super small school.

i might play at Bell's this summer!!!!

Yeah, my college was smaller than my high school.

I think my ten year college reunion is this year! I might go, if I have a job and everything. Though there probably aren't enough people I actually want to see to make it worthwhile.

I have another messageboard to keep in touch with the people I liked from college.

The HS reunion was pretty much exactly what I expected, but there were a few curveballs that kept things interesting. Mostly, though, the cliques went right back back into effect and I got bored with all the people who hadn't done anything since graduation beyond get married and have kids.

I did not go to my high school 10 yr reunion, something I only vaguely regret

well i mainly want to hang out in williamsburg, visit with my old roommates, and go see what the radio station looks like now

Now that I think about it, I kind of would like go to my high school reunion so I could face those people in a way I couldn't before - as a more self-assured (and out of the closet) person. On the other hand, I am content to have them behind me.

the pogues poll on ILM and high school talk reminds me of another fun fact about myself

One of my most treasured high school memories was when my friend M would drive me home and, just for me, she would blast "If I Should Fall From Grace with God" from her bitchin white camaro in the hs parking lot. It made me very happy.

the nice thing about living in a big city though is that pretty much all of my college roommates have rolled through chicago at some point in the past 5 years. i got one of my roommates' bands a show at cal's and we played with them and john and eric opened and no one showed up and i felt bad

i went to a huge college, with large classes, and i barely knew anyone in those classes (except for the music stuff).

yeah I feel like I have/had no connection to 97% of the people in my college class

speaking of the pogues (fuck ILM btw) this is stuck in my head right now

I feel like I should know more about the pogues but all the pictures I see of Shane McGowan scare me off

Amanda, I don't know if you were making a reference, but I now have the chorus of "Bitchin' Camaro" stuck in my head.

well i guess i sort of was, but we always called it her bitchin camaro.

i am a total pogues stan

though not enough to pay like $40 see them when they came to chicago

I'm fairly fond of my graduating class. In large part, because we're all so apathetic that we have not succeeded in having even one high school reunion. Sometimes people make quiet noises, but they're lackluster murmurs, really.

you and dan m didn't go to the same high school? for some reason i thought you did.

We did, but I graduated a year ahead of him.

My Southern friends are only listing 15 things.

What, because of their otherwise harried, pell-mell lifestyle? What are they doing, watching sun tea brew? Whoopin' the hound dog?

I want to both high-five you and hurt you for that comment.

Actually, since you're Southern, I take back the hurting part.

HIGH FIVE

:)

I take liberties, being a bit Southern myself and all.

xpost exactly

you forgot to say something about them being racist and liking NASCAR

My thought was that they were too lazy to write those additional 10 facts. Or that they were simple folks without need for a lot of facts.

(I love the South.)

I am having to come to terms with that Texas Pride(TM) that I have tried so hard to shed. It ain't gonna happen. I know way too much about barbecue, cowboy boots, and Outlaw Country Music(TM), and I'll still get all impassioned about those things and plenty other ones if they come up in conversation.

Also, sun tea. Some summer days around here, I swear I'd give a pinkie toe for a decent glass of iced tea. How hard can this be?

See, there I go.

You need to download some Robert Earl Keen.

I bet you could get a good glass of sweet tea at Big Jones.

I used to work with a 20 year old girl who was baby crazy. She is now pregnant and she uses her Facebook to gush constantly about the damn fetus. This picture makes me queasy for a couple reason, and I'm going to de-friend her now.

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2118/208/45/535630203/n535630203_5605629_2634.jpg

You need to download some Robert Earl Keen.

That's almost weird. How could you know that this is the shirt I'm wearing?

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/robert-earl-shirt.jpg

Jesse, that pic doesn't make me queasy, but my first thought when I scrolled into it was that homes was suckling some serious mammary.

Wow, that's crazy, Kenan. I saw REK at the House of Blues a few years ago, and the place was full of Texas expats yelling stuff like "Robert! Earl! Keen!" and "God bless Texas!!!"

There's a story about a guy who was on death row, and his last words were "The road goes on forever and the party never ends."

I saw REK at the House of Blues in Houston over Xmas. That's where the shirt came from.

There's a story about a guy who was on death row

Not Sonora's Death Row, by any chance?

Don't know, don't know. I think it's great that a story-song like that could be as popular as that one is. Somehow that song helps me understand W. better.

ha! I feel that sentiment.

Oh my. Last words.

Whoa! Last_words.xls -- way dark and totally riveting.

I said I was going to tell a joke. Death has set me free. That's the biggest joke, I deserve this. And the other joke is I am not Patrick Bryan Knight, and ya'll can't stop this execution now. Go ahead, I'm finished. Come on, tell me Lord. I love you Melyssa, take care of that little monster for me.

Jack and Irene, I love you guys. Tell my family I love them. I am sorry for the things I have done. I know God will forgive me. Keep track of Danielle for me.

Little ditty 'bout Jack and Danielle.

That page = added to my delicious, possibly later my blog.

From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby. (Remaining portion of statement omitted due to profanity.)

Omitted due to profanity! Fuck's sake, let the man have his last words!

There's no dignity anymore, I tell ya. No dignity.

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/36/66136-004-D366BE95.jpg

Just to get us off of death row for a minute, here are some prairie dogs.

good segue

I bet you could get a good glass of sweet tea at Big Jones.

Yannow, I don't really like it sweet. My dad does, but my momma brought me up right. Maybe a *little* sweet, but if'n I wanted candy, I'd eat candy.

This dude totally has it right (a New Orleanian):

To serve -- Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the tea over it, and sweeten to taste. Serve guests with a long spoon, a bottle of sugar syrup for sweetening, as granulated sugar never quite all dissolves. That is, if you like that godawful "sweet tea" they serve in the Deep South, which is north of where we are. If you want to make Deep South-style "sweet tea", add an eye-popping amount of sugar syrup to your tea pitcher, until it's so sweet that your teeth shudder. My recommendation -- omit or otherwise go easy on the sugar and try tasting the tea.

HIGH FIVE

I felt bad after I posted that pic and derided the womb. What bugs me is her and her friends' unmitigated drive to procreate before they have even grown up, and the Latino preoccupation with the same - those things joined with that guy worshiping the disembodied belly...no.

Lou Dobbs to thread.

j/k -- I know exactly what you're saying, Jesse.

Me, i just make-believe procreate. That's a lot of fun.

I'm kind of spiraling into wishing I would STFU.

google result for "shame spiral":

http://www.hulu.com/watch/24531/the-simpsons-life-script-shame-spiral

Huh, I found out tonight that a guy in my improv class is C@r0l M0seley Br@un's son.

Whoa! Really??? CMB is pretty awesome.

THIS movie channel update: some movie about Jesse James' gang starring David Carradine, Stacey Keach, Randy Quaid, Mark Hammill, and someone who might be a very young Christopher Guest

whoa apparently it is the long riders, with three carradine brothers, two keach brothers, two quaid brothers, and two guest brothers. i guess i was wrong about mark hammill.

i've been wanting to see that! it's on my queue.

You really make the most of THIS, Nick. I admire that in you.

apparently the Bridges brothers were originally going to be in it. they should remake with the Baldwins and the Stallones (who else?).

one of the carradines looks a lot like mark hammill, that's why i got confused

Can someone recommend an optometrist that meets the following conditions:
- convenient to the Loop or Redline
- affordable
- independently operated

Thanks.

Aside from Level, there's also Uhlem@nn Optical in the JRTC - L1ng goes there. They have a coupon in my state-issued Atrium Mall Coupon Book that states the following offer: "We accept most insurance plans! Visit store for details!"

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1810/image001zg2.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/image001zg2.jpg/1/w305.png

Image Shack added that quiz link. I in no way endorse that dumb test.

Courtney's birthday present is a cinch now.

What, a coupon for the eye doctor in my building? I have three expired Arby's coupons, too, if you want to get really fancy.

Jenny, why don't you go eat an Angry Whopper?

Why don't you go fuck yourself?

Oooo sounds like somebody ALREADY ate an Angry Whopper!

I don't get a good feeling about Uhlem@nn's based on what you said. I mean, it's associated w/ L|ng and the JRTC, they have Atrium Mall Coupons, needless exclamations, and then you posted a pic of Blago right afterward.

Totally pointless Atrium Mall Coupons, even. It's like the blood bank has a coupon that says, "Use this coupon to save a life by donating blood!" You don't need the coupon to give blood and thus THAT IS NOT A COUPON. Although it would be funny if Uhlem@nn refused to accept insurance without an accompanying Atrium Mall Coupon.

Oh! I thought the mention of insurance was *in addition to* a very special limited time money-saving offer.

You two should totally be in the next Angry Whopper commercial.

*smoke is coming out of dude's ears after eating angry whopper*

Coworker in hallway: "Hey, Dave."

Angry Whopper eater: "EAT A BOWL OF FUCK!"

LOL

lol

bowl of fuck.

hahaha

No, Jesse, that Uhlmatherman coupon is one of many not-coupons in this "coupon" book. I look forward to getting a new one every year just to see how worthless it is.

There is a $5 off coupon for Supercuts, though. Supercuts.

LOL - considering BK's other bizarre marketing, Kenan's idea is right on.

lolling at angry whoppers

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2009-01/44712084.jpg

BRAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSS

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/thumbnails/teaser/2009-01/44725933-27095106.jpg

This makes me lol.

I did that 25 things thing.

Speaking of Things That We Do:

My DDPP DJ night is tomorrow, so any of you DDPPeople were on the fence about going, maybe that will sway you either way. Ha. I will post a set list of you want to examine the tunes before committing.

Bragina

I am going, Jenny!

Awesome!

This is funny - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/europe/23crapstone.html

this is really sad. i love TTA, and one of my friends just met this dude a few weeks ago at a party and said he was the nicest guy.

CBS Chicago:

A 31-year-old Louisiana-born musician—missing from a Wicker Park residence since an argument with his girlfriend last week—has been found dead in the Near Northwest Side neighborhood.

Charles Cooper went missing last Wednesday night after an argument with his girlfriend. He had been staying with a friend in the Wicker Park neighborhood when he got into the argument, according to Grand Central Area detectives.

Cooper left the residence, located near 1400 N. Milwaukee Ave., before midnight on Jan. 21 and had no contact with friends or family members since, police said. He reportedly has a history of threatening suicide, but did not make such threats last week.

“Back in October, he took off for Louisiana, where he is from, for a month,” a Grand Central Area detective said Sunday.

Cooper was found Monday at 2306 N. Lawndale Ave., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Pronouncement information was not available and an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday to determine the cause and manner of death.

Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv (via MySpace):

Hello, Everyone.

It breaks my heart to inform you all that Charlie Cooper, my better half in Telefon Tel Aviv, passed away on January 22nd.

We have been friends since high school, and began making records together a decade ago. We have been so fortunate to tour the world together, while at the same time having a massive amount of laughs at one another’s expense.

Aside from Charlie’s singular genius and musical gifts, I can tell you that he was a total sweetheart of a guy, and a loving friend and confidant to people everywhere. His musicianship was surpassed only by his greater gift to the world – his warmth, his generosity, his unquenchable humor, and his undying loyalty to those whom he loved. In the spirit of honorable mention, however, I should mention that he had a shoe collection that was marvelous, knowledge of hip-hop that was profound, and knowledge of wine that was subtle.

He is survived by a sister, a neice, a nephew, his mother, his stepfather, me, and more adoring friends than the Universe has dark matter. As such, his family and I ask for your discretion and consideration of our privacy during these extremely turbulent waters.

Yours in Music,

Joshua Eustis

that is very sad but I am still loling at "Butt Hole Road"

One of the many former members of C4n4st4 is friends with Josh E., and he burned me a CD of a bunch of TTA stuff a while back. I guess I should finally listen to it, huh?

the first album is a classic.

eric, I saw you this morning at the Arts & Business Council shindig and did not say hi. I will blame fatigue and laziness, and send you belated internetz salutations.

ok so i tried to think of 25 things about myself because i thought of a couple of good ones, then i gave up at 9

My linux computer startup sound is the first few notes of "Fahrenheit Fair Enough."

My zipper is stuck on my coat and now I have to put it on and take it off like pants. That is REALLY professional, ya'll.

one leg at a time

I guess I could put it on over my head, too, if I wanted. I wonder if that would look any less ridiculous? I'm not worried about work - they already know I'm a hot mess, but I have professional meetings, etc., coming up in the next week. I can't just sit in a meeting with my coat on the whole time. Can I?

Also my every day purse/bag/small luggage thing is falling apart. And my boots are no longer even remotely water resistant. It's like all my every day accessories shit the bed at once. I'm going to go lie down in an alley and die.

Jenny you have been really funny today. I almost excelsiored the whole "Oooo sounds like somebody ALREADY ate an Angry Whopper!" bit.

Hey, thanks Dan! I'm not even trying. Maybe that is a message from the universe.

one leg at a time
sweet jesus

i saw an ad for the angry whopper yesterday and thought of jesse

dan otm; this: My zipper is stuck on my coat and now I have to put it on and take it off like pants. mad me laugh for 5 minutes.

apparently the angry whopper is not very good? i still kind of want it.

truth: i have never eaten a whopper or a big mac

I thought Jesse made up the Angry Whopper. I guess it is a real thing?

omg john they have commercials! they whip the onion that goes in the whopper so it tastes ANGRY

truth: i have never eaten a whopper or a big mac

pretty sure i haven't either. i wasn't really allowed burgers as a kid, so by the time i started eating them i was kinda over fast food. if i have to hit one off the freeway then i usually get a chicken sandwich or something.

btw apparently they opened a Sonic here.

Katie, we missed our chance to network. Quit shyin' and start hustlin'!

Bros, I was walking down Michigan Avenue at 5 p.m. and saw about 20 people huddled near the WGN broadcast booth next to the Tribune Tower. I looked in there, and who is being interviewed but former president James Earl Carter. He was, like, five feet away from me.