Chicago: White Glogg

A friend who bartends at Simon's writes:

New this year at Simon's: white glogg. Made with white port, pears and pear brandy.

Love that MCA bookstore. Also, the orange couch there is pretty comfortable for extended reading.

from the defunct thread....
I went to the MCA once, but only for a New Zealand wine tasting. It's going on the list.

Finally went to the Art Institute last spring. The Matisse show was just plain amazing.

The MCA is great. One of my favorite exhibits there was on Tropicalia.

I went to that one too! I took my group of Chinese visiting professors there when I did that weird job like 4 years ago. There was a big photography exhibit with a LOT of nudity (maybe it's permanent? I dunno) and it was fun to watch them react to it.

permanent exhibit, not permanent nudity
permanent nudity in chicago is next level torture

I was part of an MCA exhibit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySMKfHEpRh4

lookit you guys

Hahaha so embarrassing.

contemporary art!

I saw a good Annie Leibovitz exhibit at Sydney's contemporary art museum; wonder if it'll travel.

haha. did they provide the electronic drums?

hey guys, where should i eat dinner near the whistler tomorrow?

Lula is pretty close.

Also Revolution Brewing and my personal favorite taqueria, Moran

(I am not calling you a Moran, that is really the name. We have made this joek b4!)

hey no need to call people names!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
</dad joke>
xpost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lolololololololllll;;;;

some friends that will be at the show suggested revolution brewing, i think they're going to go there.

that place looks great, if excessive.

one more question, what's parking like around there? ramps/lots?

parking isn't too hard, you could probably park in front of the building iirc

don't know if RB has a lot but in general it's going to be street parking all around Logan Sq. Meters run til 9.

there's also a parking lot behind the Vas Foremost liquor store, but I dunno if they tow.

word, i will bring quarters, thanks.

the machines take credit cards!

Revolution Brewing is A+ and you should go but be prepared to wait if you're going during peak dinner hours.

xp - quarters are faster and don't require using a credit card

probably a wait at Lula too

though maybe not if you're by yourself, they have a little bar

i'm probably going to get there super early because i don't want to cut it close/get caught in traffic. i'll find a coffee shop and hole up for a bit; looks like the closest ones are new wave and, uh...cafe mustache?

the machines take credit cards!

but can the machines be trusted

New Wave is a big place, great for holing up.

Also for eating, there's:
http://longmanandeagle.com/

* * *

With Groupon, do you guys get frustrated like I do trying to scan the basics of a deal and having to read through a bunch of dumb jokes?

FYI I have never once paid for parking in that area. Side streets are your friend.

yes i do get frustrated by groupon and i also i don't use it very much after i had an interesting convo with a restaurant owner friend (not in chicago) comparing it to graft. it was an interesting conversation.

Tell me more.

A restaurant person in town pointed out that, for a business, it can be like a cash advance on a credit card -- a big pile of money the day of the sale, but one that can end up being paid at a loss over time.

On the other hand if, say, the Chicago Symphony had a Groupon deal in lieu of $25,000 to design and rent a billboard, and it didn't eat into their audience buying full-price tickets, and, like a billboard, it pulled in a brand-new audience who otherwise would never set foor in the door, then it just has the same risks as advertising. But that's performing arts, where the same show happens for a theater that's 30% full or 100%.

We used a Groupon for Raw Bar with some friends over the weekend and the four of us were pretty convinced that the "market price" for the seafood was definitely inflated because we were using the Groupon (based on the prices during a previous visit).

I've never used Groupon, nothing I've seen has ever appealed to me that much.

Still kicking myself for dropping the ball on the most recent Bonsoiree Groupon.

The one I regret was something like $40 in groceries at Fox & Obel for $20.

well he has a small craft cocktail + fancy comfort food type place and said that groupon basically told him that this (offering deep discounts via special offers via their service) is how to get butts in seats in 2010 and not to do it is to risk losing business to restaurants that do. i mean, i realize this is salesguy talk circa forever, but still. it sounded pretty grave.

I got one for American apparel I need to use. New hoodie time!

I would think it depends a lot on your business. I actually don't really understand why a place like Bonsoiree has offered Groupons at least three times, since it doesn't seem like they have a problem filling tables.

As long as the quality/service doesn't slide, it may be the 2010 equivalent of PR -- people come, they write about it, they know about it, they recommend it (like you've done with Bonsoiree).

I'm apparently in the minority, but I like Groupon's comedy jokes.

I have purchased 7 Groupons or Youswoops and I love them.

Fuck American Apparel.

the impression i got from my friend is that they are indeed great for customers, less great for the businesses but hey, butts in seats and info about your restaurant delivered to x thousands of emails.

I got one for American apparel I need to use. New hoodie time!

Yay for hoodies but major boo for American Apparel.

Greatest Groupons/Swoops, and effectiveness of my becoming a repeat customer

- Sharply discounted laser hair removal (no more old man ear hairs!!)
-- I would have gone back for another treatment or two at regular price, but the first two that I bought at a discount completely did the job.

- Bon Soiree
-- I will be back.

- Really good discount on Swedish massage
-- Haven't been yet, but it's my first massage ever, so if I like it, I will return.

- The Counter (hamburger place by my house). $30 for $15
-- I probably would have visited eventually, but it got me in the door the first time, and I've been back several times since.

- Aladdin's I forget, but it was a good deal
-- I've been back, but I'm not hooked.

- NORDSTROM RACK! $50 for $25. Got really awesome shoes (Bruno Magli) that were on sale.
-- ?? I go there anyway.

I've also got one for Klay Oven that I'm looking forward to, and one for fitness boot camp.

i'm honestly not exactly sure what a groupon is

omg you guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm7yAWpX1Mc

yeah Jeff, American Apparel sucks. You should let me get rid of your groupon for you.

xp He looks way too much like the assistant chief steward of my union.

well I think we found a band name

haha

in other news, my stomach has a mystery hurt

So apparently my other roommate is planning on leaving at the beginning of February. If you guys know anyone neat and trustworthy who's looking for cheap rent, let me know.

My favorite youswoop/groupons I've used:

$75 for $25 at a running store
6 hours of rock climbing class for half off at LVAC
BBQ dinner at Paddy Longs
Endeavor Concierge credits
Opera tickets. Didn't like the opera, but it seemed like a great deal.

Worst:

Bonsoiree, sub par meal and ended up paying more money than I wanted anyway
Hannah's, never used it! sucked that it was only for the michigan ave location
44th ward dinner party, never used it, because that place looked like it sucked. Not sure why I bought it.

44th Ward Dinner Party was seriously disappointing. Gourmet grilled cheese sounds like a great idea, but the execution was more like Corner Bakery.

I think they're closed now, anyway.

They are. Imagine that. A hipster grilled cheese restaurant wasn't a viable business model.

This place in Cleveland seems like it could be good:
http://www.meltbarandgrilled.com/grilled_cheese/

Oh shit lol I remember the hipster grilled cheese place.

wait they used Groupon and went out of business? hmmm

people in cleveland are happy with scraps ime

$75 for $25 at a running store is a pretty damn amazing deal.

Corey, is your idiot roommate on the lease? If this is going to cause you hardship, you should hold him to any agreement he made. Or you and your other roommate should just move to a smaller place in a neighborhood you like better.

In the 3 years I've worked here I've gotten a lot of calls from potential clients who I suspected were mentally unstable. Yesterday I got such a call from a woman whose husband served her with divorce papers. She kept saying "We're a very high profile couple!" When the attorney called her back, the call was interrupted by a guy who said he was there to take her to in-patient psych care, and that she probably would be there for a while.

xp No, the lease is from month-to-month, so all he needs to do is give the landlord a heads up a month prior. It shouldn't be a problem, I'm actually excited at the prospect of having a non-shitty roommate of Jess and my choosing.

I just used a fancy Groupon-esque site to get a month at a bling health club in a fancy new hotel. Riding that line between the starving-artist lifestyle and millionaire lifestyle.

Behold, the locker room:
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.luxist.com/media/2010/08/elysian001.jpg

Hoo-hah:
http://www.luxetraveldeals.com/images/slides/elysian-pool.jpg

Now just imagine it with a bunch of naked men walking around.

I went there to check it out before getting the deal and no one was there except a bunch of employees.

That always bugged me about the gym I used to go to. Most people had the decency to wear a towel, but there were always a couple that were like, dude. Really?

The same site (Gilt) is selling a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta for $10,000 off ($5,999 instead of $15,999), as well as a new years eve package in Vegas with Jay-Z and Coldplay costing a little less than the sale Jetta.

wow that is AMAZING
i've always wanted to try a fancy schmancy gym

wait a brand new car for $6K? just one or like more than one?

xp That is definitely a far cry from the Lakeview YMCA.

or the RoPa Bally

Ha, do you call it RoPa?

I'm imagining a senior-citizen center for neighborhood Latinos called RoPa Vieja.

no i don't call it that
i just said that to be stupid but your idea is excellent

I think the site is aiming itself to a particular fancy (CS magazine-type) crowd, so they're smart to have deals for things like soft openings for clubs, hotels, etc. I guess they figure if a bunch of Kanye-dressing mofos are going to buy the Jetta, that it will turn it into the status symbol of 2011.

i don't even know what type of people you're talking about
what is CS magazine?

That big glossy free fashiony magazine that's sometimes next to the Reader and Conscious Choice.

I'm not a Kanye-dressing mofo, but I sure as hell would buy a new Jetta for $6000.

This says it's actually one car per day for three days. I thought it'd be a small fleet. Ah well.

CS = Chicago Social iirc

New Jetta for $6,000 sounds like a good deal considering the call I just got from my mechanic, who wants $1,000 to replace my fuel pump and filter.

Ha, the offer oddessy cruises.

They

Whistling is FUCKING OBNOXIOUS. The bus driver is whistling tunelessly and I have no headphones. I'm going to have to say something.

Ugh. I'm not going to say anything. And I'm not going to switch buses bc the next one is 20 minutes away. This is torture.

No melody. Utterly random notes. No consistent tempo, but mostly frantic and staccato.

I left my headphones at home.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/12/where-are-americas-corner-pubs-chicago-ctd-1.html

HA! Awesome. Facebooked, and attributed yo you, dearest.

TO you, I meant. Sorry, I'm a bit sick and achy and slow, and my typing is sketchy to start with.

The area, at that time, was considered by many to be a "no man's land" (and it's still dicey in places).

Yeah, but only if you are on Sheridan. I'm only a few blocks away, and if I walk over to Sheridan and then down, I'm likely to see things that mama never wanted me to see, but if I just take the residential streets, it's golden.

Cool. I like Michelle F.

I would like to go totally off-topic for a moment to say that I don't get the New York Dolls. Lord knows I love glam, and I completely understand the appeal of Lou Reed and David Bowie and T. Rex -- how could you not? Even Iggy dabbled in lipstick (and I have a huge framed poster of the cover of Raw Power on my bedroom wall, with his painted-on beauty-mole). Judging by fashion alone, the Dolls are more like 50+ women from Dallas with champagne hangovers and wearing entirely too much hairspray. It's a different look, I guess, and it's campy, I guess, but they still look like shit. But that's not really my problem with them -- it's the sound. They also SOUND like shit, and not in a good way. The vocals are bad in a way that doesn't even have much passion behind them; they're just flavorless. The riffs aren't just unoriginal, they're unremarkable, which are two different things. The lyrics are always on the bad side of the fence between subtly evocative and meaningless. And yet over and over I hear that this is a great, important band. I guess you had to be there?

KJB would disagree! The 2nd NYD album was his No. 1 album of the 70s. (I don't like them either, but I pretty much hate trad. rock).

Who is KJB?

Kevin Bozelka

They're a touchstone for Frank Kogan, too.

They're certainly no Dead Milkmen.

Morrissey cites them as a big influence, and you know well how I feel about Morrissey and The Smiths. It's just, listening to the records... I want to listen to something else. Something like it, but BETTER.

As far as proto-punk records go, there are two big ones for me: The Stooges "Fun House" and Patti Smith "Horses". "Fun House" has all the garage rock and all the big dick in the world, and "Horses" turns that big-dick-ish impulse around and looks at it backwards, and then mixes it with even more old-school rock and roll. It's a headier record, but they're equally powerful.

Point is, The Dolls are The Grateful Dead of punk. Yeah yeah yeah and who th' fuck cares.

This is the best thing any of NYDs ever did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrhf_zgtmAg

^^^

Fuck it, I'm going on another Queen binge. :)

They're certainly no Dead Milkmen.

― Is that Glenn Danzig or Tommy Wiseau? (Jesse), Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:49 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

otm

The Dolls are The Grateful Dead of punk

No, that was Television.

Not even going to touch that.

Actually, I don't know how exactly you're using 'Grateful Dead' here. The way I'm using it, Television were easily the Grateful Dead of punk. And if not them, then Flipper.

I suppose I mean 'Grateful Dead' as noodly, hookless, and pointless. Even when Television is noodly, Verlaine always turns in a good solo.

And even when when the Dolls have a hook, it's just not sharp enough for me.

It's just a thing. I just don't like the band very much, is all. I don't hear it.

They band they remind me of the most is Rolling Stones.

xp (But MAN, I do love Queen. I sincerely do. Muchly. I know it's a different issue, but it's what I'm listening to.)

The band they remind me of the most is Rolling Stones.

Not no defend the Dolls too much, because I still find them pretty limp, but this doesn't make any sense unless you're talking about something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K2wLOgHmPI

Which is actually kind of amazing.

can i please bring some sanity to this totally insane conversation? you guys are making no sense. what do the ny dolls have to do with the genuinely (not sort of or actually or kind of) awesome rolling stones? nevermind, i don't even want an answer to that.

i swear to you now that next year at this time i will be somewhere that is not here. i will be in puerto rico, or df, or somewhere that is not covered in ice.

next year.

I like the NYD. "Trash" is one of the best songs ever. Even though they dressed up all crazy I don't think they were really "glam." They were trying to look trashy, not sexy.

Anyways, speaking of music, this seems like pretty bad news: http://www.wbez.org/blog/jim-derogatis/chicagos-department-cultural-affairs-dismantled-29-are-laid?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Derogatis+%28Jim+DeRogatis%3A+PopNStuff%29&utm_content=FaceBook

Also, I know ragging on DeRo is kind of boring now but: his blog is called "Pop N Stuff"!?!?!?!?! Seriously? "POP N STUFF"!?!??!?!@*#&$(*@&#($*&#($@#

I've never heard the nyds.

yeah that's really bad news

pop n stuff might be sub "music matters"

actually there are a ton of great songs on that first album. "Looking for a Kiss," "Personality Crisis," "Frankenstein" ... some sleazy gems.

Yeah, I don't know that I've heard them, either, to be perfectly honest, though there's a song called "Jet Boy" in my iTunes.

That's grim and frustrating about the Dept. of Cultural Affairs.

when you consider the whole city budget, is it really such a huge part that it needs to be cut as govt pork? it can't be. i was talking with someone about the new city colleges chancellor and do not have high hopes for that institution either. word is they want to eliminate developmental english classes, ie the ones that prepare students for comp 1 and other transferable classes. UGH.

but for all i know this could be the "they're going to raise the driving age to 18" urban legend of my particular profession

is it snowing there?

nope

All it's doing here is being cold.

And sickly. I called in sick today, which I never do, but sometimes you just can't argue with it anymore.

There's sleazier and better than NYDs. Aerosmith was conceived in a backyard still of sleaze and poured into jugs labelled tres equis. They'll make you go blind.

Amanda is right, though. The Rolling Stones are a force of nature, and any comparison is foolish.

eh, I listen to techno and screechy contemporary music — I'm not the best judge of rock stuff. :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEaWLGACo2c

LOOOOOOOOL Meeks! This guy... He's a treat.

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/politics/senator-james-meeks-chicago-mayor-racial-minorities-women-business-contracts-mwbe-20101215

His church is near my office.

HE HAS FRIENDS, WHITE GALS

xp oh wait, wrong megachurch

cool. well i'm leaving about 1:00 today and meeting some friends in logan square. i'll be at the wh1stler around 8:00 to load in/soundcheck and then i'm just hanging out until the show (10:00). see some of you tonight!

LOOOOOOOOL Meeks!

If I lol at all, it is only so that I may not :'(

This is exactly the kind of shit that racist white people LOVE to talk about.

Right? As if any one ethnic/cultural subset has a copyright on idiocy.

I mean, can't you just hear Rush or Glenn Beck talking about this? "I've said it before, and this is exactly the kind of thing that is turning our country into a socialist European faggot-fest. Black people think we owe them everything. Whatever happened to equality?" Etc etc.

The first three comments on that article are about how black people aren't minorities either, but Irish, Russian, German-descended white people sure are.

But still, as for what the rightwing media will make of it - the right will take anything and turn it into fodder for racist rants by the likes of Glen Beck. And when they can't find anything, they make shit up.

Point being, it is a lose/lose game there and worrying about how racists will spin this kind of shit just leads to madness.

Meeks is toast, anyway. He pissed off the gays and now white women and there's no recovering from the loss of those two voting blocs.

as for what the rightwing media will make of it - the right will take anything and turn it into fodder for racist rants by the likes of Glen Beck

Him, and people who watch his show, or any or the missions of people who listen to Rush every day, or basically anyone I'm related to... let's not act like it's just a media problem.

worrying about how racists will spin this kind of shit just leads to madness

Mine or theirs?

lol "missions of people" .. that should be "millions"

I fail the typing test every time, and sometimes auto-correct is no help at all.

It's not just a media problem. I would make an argument that right wing media is fuel on the fire, though.

That it is. That it is.

I turned on the Rush show this morning, actually, since I haven't listened to it in years. (WLS 890 AM in Chicago, if you want.) He's ranting at someone who doesn't understand why Rush is against the unemployment extensions. I think I may listen to about ten more minutes of this, at most, because it makes NO FUCKING SENSE. This is not a very smart man.

It's weird metaphor after equivocation after slur, and it's all about how the Democrats are evil. That's what the whole show is about, finally. I can hardly imagine anyone missing more of the point.

I always listen to it in cabs.

Oh and Kenan, I meant your madness (and mine). Compartmentalization is a key coping mechanism for me.

Yes, but it's a Very key coping mechanism for the right, as well.

I'm going to do that thing where you go:

"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "
"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "
"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "
"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "
"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "
"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "
"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against. "

me, my skin is completely transparent

I am of a peachy-pinky color, except for my butthole, which is more brown-ish.

tell Glenn Beck to stop hating your butthole

I mean, WTF, Meeks????

He clearly meant

"Asians and Hispanics, who are not people of color, who are not people who have been AGAINST WHOM ANYONE HAS discriminated. "

Somehow I missed that glaring grammar problem.

Speaking of buttholes, I was just in line at sbarro (I know, but I was going to go to Subway (I know but I have to eat fast at my desk and it was a food court kind of day) but somebody was sitting nearby who made the entire area smell like an outhouse) and there was this guy there explaining to the sbarro employee about how he was from NY and knew a thing or two about pizza and blah blah blah and I was like, You know this is fucking sbarro, right????

That's like me going to Subway and lecturing them about Philly cheesesteaks. "In Philadelphia, we only microwave the meat for 20 seconds."

Haha.

A girl from Philadelphia who Courtney and I used to be maids with used to frequently inform us that in Philly, they call them only "cheesesteaks," not "Philly cheasesteaks."

I thought they called them "steaks". I've been doing it wrong.

Yes, just cheesesteaks. Also, Yuengling Lager is just "Lager."

This may just be a DE thing, but a "cheesesteak sub" is a cheesesteak w/ lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

Or maybe that's just a Millsboro, DE thing specific to the convenience store my grandmother managed for umpteen years.

No more tuna for the kitty. I know she wants it, I know it makes her very very VERY happy, and I know it makes her leave me alone (which is often the goal of feeding her), but she puked on two of my rugs and shit on another one.

Why never on the linoleum in the kitchen? Why does she need to foul something warm and fuzzy?

tuna is fucking expensive

What kind of tuna are you buying?

corey feeds his cat sushi grade tuna

Oh, so I did wind up saying something to that completely insufferable whistling bus driver. As I sat and stewed about his whistling, I realized that what was really grating on my nerves was not just the tuneless whistling (which is one of the most irritating sounds on earth), but that he kept upping the volume as the bus got more crowded, and that it seemed like a total affectation. Like he rode the "Blessed train is the best train!" and was like, "You know, *I'm* going to be The Whistling Bus Driver!" (Also, he made lots of needless announcements in a booming, projected voice that sounded like he was trying to be Laurence Olivier: "Awwltgeld. Fullerton: We have arrived at Fullerton Avenue," and these seemed forced, too.)

I made an effort to be polite and said something like "Excuse me, if you don't mind, the whistling...." to which he replied (with a fucking smirk that I wanted to smash) "Oh, well I'm glad that you're enjoying it!" and that fucker started whistling again. So I told him he was fucking obnoxious.

xp I wish I had a kitty to feed anything!

I just grew up eating tuna fish sandwiches but every time I'd see it in the grocery store it just seems way overpriced. Not that it matters now.

Jesse, ear plugs will save your life.

I usually pay $.80-$1.29 for cheap-o white tuna, maybe double that for albacore.

Corey, I left my headphones at home, and I checked bus tracker which said the next bus was 20 minutes away (it was after 6:00).

I always have a pair of ear plugs in my bag just in case — but that still won't retroactively alleviate your crazy ass bus driver.

Jesse, you did the right thing.

corey, should I come to your defense and explain why it makes perfect sense to compare the Dolls to the Stones or just move on with my life?

save your energy imo

good call

guys i have to confess that sometimes i am a whistler, but i always whistle a tune. i realize this can be annoying, so i only do it when i don't think i'm going to bother anyone

I whistle sometimes, but I have an ear for pitch.

What always annoyed me more was when dudes I worked with would memorize like a single line from a hip hop song and just. Repeat it. Over and over.

You can get with this, or you can get with that.
You can get with this, or you can get with that.
You can get with this, or you can get with that.
You can get with this, or you can get with that.
You can get with this, or you can get with that.
You can get with this, or you can get with that.

i will admit that against my better judgment i have been delighted and squealed with joy over those hamster commercials using that song

me: targeted demographic for that ad and the geico wee wee wee piggie ad

I don't know that one. My current favorite commercial is for a workers' comp attorney. It features a woman who injured her shoulder at work and is very pleased to have medical care AND a check. It's cheesy and pandering in the way only PI/comp/med mal attorney can manage.

the geico wee wee wee piggie ad

love this ad. it cracks me up.

worst ads are the fucking SUV ads with the curly-haired hipster kid who mocks his friends whose parents have boring sedans and are boring. followed by the fucking "boooooston creeeeam piiiieeee" yogurt commercials, which manage to combine the "weight-obsessed wife" concept with the "idiot husband" concept.

R has repeatedly vowed to smack the shit out the curly-haired kid in the SUV ads

should I come to your defense and explain why it makes perfect sense to compare the Dolls to the Stones or just move on with my life?

Only if you're going to argue from Corey's position, which is that he doesn't give a scentless silent fart about either one of them.

There seems to be a spat of car commercials capitalizing on "indie culture" (albeit indie culture circa 2002).

This is the worst:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g947151eKQo

^^^fb friend of mine was professing his love for the girl singer from those ads the other day :/

if indie music were olive oil that chick would be the third or fourth pressing of Joanna Newsom

so the department of cultural affairs situation might not be as bad as it sounds - city claims the department is being eliminated but all of its programs and functions are being moved to other departments, not being ended

http://gapersblock.com/transmission/2010/12/16/department_of_cultural_affairs_hands_off_to_chicago_tourism_fund/

I feel like there are kind of bigger questions at hand, like, just as a freakin' example: What is the city subsidizing? In general? What is it not? What do state taxes pay for, and what do they not pay for?

DeRo worrying about 20 people being out of work is the exact journalistic equivalent of him writing a record review.

I'm going to the Fountainhead right now if anybody has the afternoon free and wants to join me.

tbf DeRo's doing a good job getting a lot of detail on this story out to the public very quickly, and I don't really expect a music critic writing a blog for a radio station to break the story of exactly what state taxes pay for and what the city is subsidizing

jenny, i'll let sarah know, i think she's about to take evie out for a walk

i will admit that against my better judgment i have been delighted and squealed with joy over those hamster commercials using that song

I have a big soft spot for "The Choice Is Yours," dating back to 1991, but have mixed feelings over its use in the KIA commercial.

Oh hey, that Gapers Block article was written by one of Kr's college housemates.

is that the "punk, but a car" subaru commercial? because that was hilarious.

Hyundai, not Subaru. Not so fucking funny now, is it?

you have shamed me

double shamed -- lost track of time and pooped out of going to show last night
i really wanted to go but it was logistically impossible

tell me about it

question: when rahm emanuel says things like "i don't need to do debates because i am taking my shiz directly to the people and seeing what THEY want" (paraphrased) does he know that he sounds like sarah palin?

i didn't like this guy before, but somehow i like him even less now

show was fun. i had a cocktail with bourbon, port, walnut liqueur, something that jordan said was artichoke liqueur, egg white and other stuff but it mostly just tasted kind of fruity/strawberry-y. i thought it would be weirder. chants were good though. i left before the other band played.

so if i had showed up at 11:30 it would have been too late, right?
that's what i was afraid of

yeah

I went Xmas shopping after work and R and I made late dinner, we were both wiped out by 10, there was no way we could drag ass down there. Sorry, hope it went well. Where'd you end up eating in the 'hood?

Also I posted this in the snow thread and it's currently blowing up on fb: my hometown certified #3 snowiest in the country

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/snowiest-cities-top-10_2010-12-07?page=9

Is my hometown on the list?

iirc u are from Valdez AK so yes winnar and still champion

A patron has the "give me back that filet-o-fish" song as their ringtone. Which is pretty cool, though not as cool as the "five dollar foot long" song.

It'd be cooler if they had the McDLT song as their ringtone.

personally I would go for "save big money at menards"

My ringtone is "SAVE BIG MONEY AT MENARD'S!"

OMFG

I'm using Zing so that was a blind xp. That's so awesome. We were totally meant to be friends.

mine is you're not fully clean unless you're zestfully clean

really?

my phone is always on vibrate so

my emotional attachment to stupid commerical jingles actually really angers/frightens me

that's how i feel about sitcom themes
shamefully loyal

Jess and I always joke about the Menards song and how it's like, not even a melody.

We should get Geir Hongro to judge the merits of American commercial jingles

That is not really my ringtone. If I were going to seriously pick a commercial for a ringtone, I would probably go for Barry Glazer admonishing insurance companies not to urinate on his leg and call it rain.

oh god, the "growing pains" theme could probably make me cry

xp

SEVEN SEVEN THREE
TWO OH TWO

I would go for peter frances geraci

Did you know: the Menard's jingle in the commercial is only part of a longer song?

LUNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

important information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menards#Advertising

SEVEN SEVEN THREE
TWO OH TWO

I can never remember if this is Luna or Empire.

Wait. 800-588-2300... EMPIRE! So that one has to be Luna, right?

Empiiiiire "TODAY." *bamp*

Seriously though. Has anybody else seen the workers comp atty commercial with the lady who gets medical care AND a check? I love her.

Commercials I hate: Cancer Center. I know, Peggy, the doctor did not see am expiration date stamped on your foot. I KNOW.

Wait. 800-588-2300... EMPIRE!

Us O.G. Chicagoans remember when there was no 800. (You'll notice how it sort of sounds shoehorned in.)

We see the same damn commercials all the time since basically the only broadcast tv we watch is PBS and star trek at 9pm every night.

whoooooo

ready for the weekend

whooooooooooo

gotta lotta stuff to do to get ready for vacation/trip, but still, it's almost the weekend

whoooooooooooooooo

whooooooooo indeed imo

I'm going to see a friend do a "bartending for charity" event tomorrow in Oak Park if anyone is interested. It's 1 block from the Blue Line, 11AM-5PM (prime euro soccer time).

last day of FA2010
whoooooooooooooooo hooooooooooooo

may you RIP, semester

I am excited that I managed to get the 23rd through the 2nd off, it will be like a real xmas vacation! And I'm spending most of that time with family in CT, which will be really nice.

I'm going to MN w/ R and then back home from the 26th-2nd and she's joining me up there for part of that time. FAMILY CHRISTMASES OH NOES.

j/k I can't f'n wait

My last day of class is tomorrow. We're off to DE from the 23-27 but I took the rest of that week off (don't tell my mom since we used "inability to get off work" as an excuse for not staying longer) so I am on vacation from 12/23 until 1/3. That is such a beautiful thing.

I will be happy to see my family but I wish I could manage that without having to travel anywhere.

Delaware and Connecticut are the 2nd and 3rd smallest states. Anyone going to Rhode Island?

apparently Maine is bigger than W. Virgina and S. Carolina, which I find very surprising.

yes I have the full week off too. usually i have to work a half-day or two from my parents' house but this year i don't have to do ANYTHING.

I have no Christmas plans, and at times this has been a source of stress for me.

Did you know: the Menard's jingle in the commercial is only part of a longer song?

― phantoms from a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: (Jenny), Friday, December 17, 2010 10:37 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

I was STUNNED the first time I heard the entire Menard's song. I was so stunned that I peed on my leg and called it rain. Then I shit in my hat and called it Sunday.

Mmmmmmrrrrrrmmmmmmthat's really something.

My boss was bitching about his Yooper friend last night b/c that of that friend's U.P. bragging, including his frequent references to a family he knows who moved from Alaska to the U.P. because Alaska was getting too crowded for him.

Why not just move to one of the parts of Alaska, where like no one lives?

Like where the bears live, unless he moved because of the bears.

I don't know. It doesn't make much sense.

Yah that's ridiculous, AK is the UP on steroids.

I know. I think both my boss' friend and the AK guy need to be run through a band saw.

http://imgur.com/7n1gE.gifhttp://imgur.com/vKlFR.gif

Yes! It worked!

lolz

Girl, let me tell you, when it occurred to me to put those two icons together I was positively elated.

Weird night. Not bad, but weird. Hung out with my mother's younger brother's best friend since childhood, plus his girlfriend. I think of Mom's brother as "Uncle Mark," the man who, when I was a toddler, would do things like wrap me in a blanket papoose-stylee, put me on a high shelf in a closet, and tell my parents to go look for something in that closet, just as a joke. "OMG there's a small child in here!" I thought it was the most fun thing in the world. Anyway, Tim has been my uncle Mark's partner in crime since around when I was born (he's about 15 years older than me), and I know him well. He tells a great story, and he has a great laugh, and he's very funny.

What was weird was... well, let me go one point at a time. First, it's weird that he knows all of the same people that I know from when I was a kid, but knows them much better than I do. All the old faces from the church, he knows them from an adult perspective, and can tell you stories about those perverts that you could hardly believe. Second, he also lives just a few blocks from my mother in Houston, and reports many of the same problems that I also have with my mother, like late-night nonsensical drunken phone calls. I knew she did that to me and my brother, but it's somehow comforting to know that she does it to just about everyone she can remember the phone number of. Comforting, but mostly sad. Oh, Mom. SMDH.

Third, there was his girlfriend. She was, for lack of a better term, a floozy. She was drunk and loud, which by itself isn't a sin, but was also intent on starting a fight with the bartender and the staff because they wouldn't let them into the club ten minutes early. She also spent a lot of the first five or six minutes of our acquaintance talking about her vagina and her gynecologist. I think I may have started that line of conversation by mentioning my incident with the yo-yo. (If you don't know... well, you can guess.) I just meant to tell a funny story. Her story was cute for the first minute, and then started dragging a bit, and then was clearly embarrassing all of us. And then she wanted more booze. Before the evening was over, she had dropped the n-word into conversation, for reasons that I cannot begin to remember. (Like there might be a valid reason.) The lady was just too drunk to be talking, but that's the kind of thing you can't stop, you can only walk away from. I could, anyway -- poor Tim. He had to go home with her. I guess he made that bed and etc. But the point for me is, it's strange to see someone that I like and respect the intelligence of dating someone who I think should be banished to a far away place.

It occurs to me that this place may be called "Houston," and that I may have already done my time there.

Wow, that was much longer than I thought. Sorry.

Are you in Texas or were Uncle Mark and the Flooze in Chicago?

i finally made it to kuma's yesterday. we got there around noon and did the 1 1/2 hour wait thing, but it was worth it imo. i got the megadeth.

it was really nice to see some of you guys on thurs, thanks for coming to the show. sounds like i'll be back there in the future, maybe in march-ish.

Come play on a weekend night!

Kenan, I read all of that! That sounds really uncomfortable.

i would love to, but i think they usually have djs on friday and saturday nights?

There are other venues in Chicago.

I'm seeing Mark Wahlberg as "Uncle Mark" and Winona Ryder as the new girlfriend.

whoa that is uncharitable to noni

i'm seeing randy quaid and his wife

Naw, just thinking of her as an actress, taking the Black Swan thing a little further and changing the setting.

This could be the great Randy Quaid comeback vehicle.

she's going to reignite hag horror but she's going to be fierce, not drunk and bigoted
i've decided this

like, she can only be drunk and bigoted if she's the STAR (a la joan crawford or bette davis) and she wins
if she is a drunked bigoted sidenote, that is not enough

she would have to, i dunno, slaughter everyone in the blues club and then stagger out onto the sidewalk and smooth her hair and walk away

This could be the great Randy Quaid comeback vehicle.

― would like a calmer set (Eazy), Saturday, December 18, 2010 11:17 AM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

actual chuckle-ol

Kenan, I read all of that!

That makes one of us. :)

That sounds really uncomfortable.

Not too much for me, no. I could always just kind of look away and whistle. It was much worse for Tim, who felt much more responsible for his drunkenstein girlfriend.

There are other venues in Chicago.

what's the next place i should try to get in?

http://rodanchicago.com/default/ might be a good option. (And sorry to miss you on Thurs.)

i have a friend who is trying to set up shows at her apt, djs and stuff
we can talk more about this offborad

@Sarah: My neighbor just had a very, very long orgasm.

Now he is laughing.

waaah

That's great for him.

Corey, Sarah and Nick's former neighbor used to boisterously JO every morning at 7:00.

I'm not crazy about hearing my neighbors getting off or getting it on or whatever.

In other news: I was thinking the other day that I couldn't recall the last time I paid a ComEd bill. Turns out I haven't been receiving them and I owe muchisimo (about $200) in back-bills. It looks like the last bill I paid was in July. They never called or mailed me a warning or anything. Very strange!

Ooohhh - The reason I haven't been receiving bills is that, while my apartment number is P-11, ComEd does not recognize that as a valid address, and they will only address my bills to "#111." I think the mail carrier does not recognize "#111" as a valid address, so I haven't been getting my bills.

Even so, ComEd will not send my bills to "P-11."

I am going to sign up for online bills.

For comed we are unit 1. But our address is unit 2. Not sure how that works.

I never receive any Comcast bills. They will only send to unit "B" (I am GDN) and there are 3 "B" units in my building. Also, they will only send my online bills to my comcast email address, and I have no idea what the password is, so I have to call them once a month to find out how much I owe. It is quite annoying.

Oh my god... Jeff has had some epic battles with Comcast in which he tries to pay them money and they make it exceedingly difficult for him to do so. The last time, he threatened to come to the Comcast office and pay our bill with 8,300 pennies.

Like, we have auto debit set up (OR DO WE???) and then the money doesn't come out, so we check our on-line bill and it says $X and then we get an email that says $Y and we call and the CSR is like, "Oh, everything is fine now! I'll just pay your bill, which is really $A (where $A < $X or $Y) and the auto debit will work next week." Then we get a late payment notice for failing to pay the full amount, which is really $B where $B > A, X, or Y, or Comcast just shuts off our service of the bill.

When we first moved in, our service kept switching back to RCN, which we really should have taken as a sign.

Also, we just got our neighbor's ComEd bill. Haha.

Jesus how ridiculous! The USPS has standardized all addresses, so why don't utilities conform to those standards?

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one I guess.

Haven't seen a comcast bill in a while, now that I think of it.

we call and the CSR is like, "Oh, everything is fine now! I'll just pay your bill

Ha.

The worst is when they asked if I wanted to "round my bill up to make it easier". I lost my shit.

have any of you guys ever been put into the customer service "cool off room"? they send in a special expert to take it down a notch, and they call you by your first name a LOT?

i've been in there more than once

I've had several jobs that involved talking on the phone to health insurance companies for a huge chunk of my day. Mostly it was okay, but once I got so angry that I hung up on a representative. She called back immediately and asked to speak to my boss. It was not good.

isn't that automatically triggered by some kind of software that counts swear words or measures stress in your voice or something?

My Christmas wish? That our building manager could figure out a way for the heat to work consistently. Apparently, there are two settings, off... or boiling. Last week it was, no exaggeration, about 78 degrees in our office. Today it is 62.

Voice analytics are used in customer service sometimes. Basically a supervisor has a console and can see all the agents dialed in and a color or numerical level is displayed for each call. When it reaches a certain level they may intervene.

wow, there's a computer program that measures that? how nuts! who designs the programs?

my worst was when i was on the phone with what was then known as SBC and they turned off my internet service over a holiday weekend because they fucked up my move to a new apartment. i had to access something from my email to write a paper that was due on tuesday (we had monday off) and they refused to fix it, even though it was just flipping a switch to give me service again. the man kept calling me ma'am and i fliiiiiiiiiiiiipped out. i was whacking the phone on the bed and screaming GODDAMMMIT. in retrospect it's scary/hilarious.

another time was at planned parenthood when they were unable to answer my question about hormone levels in bc pills

i've been close other times, but usually i just keep it cool until i get my way. that shit is so exhausting. i dread every single call i have to make to a utility company.

at pp they actually put me into the de-escalation room

I have never heard of chill-out rooms or voice analytics software being used this way! That is nuts. Usually I keep my cool, but I've had a couple meltdowns in my day, but I never got put into a special room!

My new safety razor has been working out well, but this morning I shaved a zit clean off. That might turn out to be a good thing, but damn gurl, it bled forever.

I have been handed off to special CSR reps for angry customers more than once.

I have always had to ask for a supervisor. Maybe I need to be angrier.

Oh I ask for a supervisor, too. That might be what gets me the special rep. Sears has it's own entire department dedicated to calming angry customers, which I think says something about Sears.

it's not the supervisor -- it's a special calm-down person. the supervisor could actually fix the problem. the cool down person is just like a de-escalation specialist who talks people off the ledge, then we get transferred back to the regular folks.

it doesn't work, that's the sad thing :(

yeah jenny knows

They could probably save the money they'd need to hire special CSRs by just being less inept in general.

xp Ha right. What would deescalate the problem is, you know, fixing it.

I've only ever asked for a supervisor while on the phone with Bank of America, and she did nothing but say "I'm sorry" in a very patronizing tone of voice.

yeah i have gone totally batshit crazy on those people and it didn't work
if they would just stop SUCKING maybe i wouldn't have to get so heated

The angriest I get is when I ask for a supervisor and they tell me there isn't one (sears cough cough). "So you own the company? In that case, you should be able to handle the issue."

Haha.

One technique I like is one I learned from Ben Stiller, just basically keep going Do it. Do it. Do it. Sometimes it works, but even when I don't get what I'm asking for, I usually feel like I have confirmed the utter impossibility of fulfillment of my request.

Speaking of which, in a minute, I am going to call Masonic's billing department and see about getting my deductible from my February hospital stay written off or reduced by 40%.

I wish this was a possibility for my student loans :-/

God I had to sit through my mom's 20-minute tirade last night about the "war on 'Merry Christmas'" and how people shouldn't get so offended by it. It was horrible. I sat through it patiently and gently suggested that maybe she just shouldn't say "Merry Christmas" to strangers when she is unsure of their religious preferences and she flipped out and told me I'm "as bad as THEM". Still not sure who "THEM" refers to, but, boy am I looking forward to family dinner on Saturday.

I mean this sincerely and with absolute empathy:

(((((hugs)))))

that argument is why the word christmakwanzakah was invented

I just had a super positive customer service experience that left me very happy and with a totally unexpected free upgrade to two day shipping.

Sorry, Jon. I have that argument in my mind all the fucking time. I never talk to my extended family, so I don't have to worry about it. My brother doesn't really care, and my mom only watches re-runs of I Love Lucy, so I don't have to worry about them.

yeah i'm sorry you guys have to deal with that. my parents are reasonable in that way, much less so in other ways

in fact, though, i am here to rep for goya tinned octopus in olive oil
delicious, texture is good, keep it on the shelf for a casual snack/late dinner with a little salad, v healthy

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hwgOqQGYL._SL500_AA300_PIbundle-25,TopRight,0,0_AA300_SH20_.jpg

OMG. That makes me want to hork. I'm not a fan of octopus (the suckers feel horrible!!) and the thought of it in a can in oil.... no.

I had octopus sashimi once and it was pretty good

Sorry Jesse. Don't you eat anchovies or sardines?

i like octopus a lot

also squid -- cheap if you buy it precleaned and frozen from asian mkt, but farmed in china so :-/

the goya octopus is from spain so maybe it's a little higher quality? who knows. i could be kidding myself.

As a Taurus, texture is very important to me, which is why I struggle with 'pus.

xp - I never liked the taste of sardines (or the texture - the bones! YaaaK!!!!) and anchovies are some of the vilest feces God ever crapped into the seas.

What's wrong about being farmed in China?

I would eat that.

I buy tinned sardines sometimes.

eh people like what they like i guess
i'm just here to tell those of you who are grown up enough to enjoy octopus that this is a good option if you don't want to pay restaurant prices.

china has EXTREMELY LAX (ie no) food standards. i've heard horrible stories about milk and other food products from china. also someone told me that produce often carries mad salmonella due to questionable fertilizers.

sounds like a good home option for octopus tacos, mmm

I will never, ever eat octopus and I am OK with that.
Xp

me too

oh man the grilled octopus appetizer at buona terra is so goooood

Ditto the one at Taxim.

octopus tacos -- good idea!
you guys should try this octopus -- once you mix it up with some parsley, red peppers, red pepper flakes, or paprika and potatoes or whatever it's almost as good as the grilled restaurant kind.

i'm just ignoring the rest of you because you haven't tried it
someday you will try it and you'll realize that its texture is not what you thought

jesse excepted
i'm not going to try to make you change your mind

I have a hard time with octopus and am pretty sure I would not eat canned octopus. I would eat this grilled octopus, however.

I struggle with sardines although I did try the sardine/avocado on toast thing you suggested, Amanda. It just made we wish I was eating avocado without sardines in it.

The textures (PLURAL) are exactly what you expect. Rubbery (even when tender) and suckery.

this is what i am trying to tell y'all -- canned octopus is not *that* different from grilled octopus and is good in a pinch (ie when you come home late and want to have a decent dinner)

i really think it's all in the presentation -- if you do it up nice, the food looks more appetizing and tastes better

if you eat it from the tin in your underwears, well, it's gonna just be less appealing

also jesse, your "rubbery" tastes like "solid and not slimy" to me, so everyone's mmv
please notice that i am not trying to tell you that you are "wrong" merely that we are experiencing the same sensation in different ways

huh, i find everything more appealing in my underwear

like, when i'm in my underwear. not food served in my underwear.

oh, well, then you would LOVE goya tinned octopus!

xp lol

I really like the octopus dish we always seem to get at San Soo Gab San.

I have never had octopus, and don't have much of a desire to try it. But I guess I would, if it was there.

Also, a girl just came in wearing flip flops. She asked for Death of a Salesman.

The textures (PLURAL) are exactly what you expect. Rubbery (even when tender) and suckery.

That's what I expected but was pleasantly surprised not to be the case at Taxim. I know this is a hacky thing to say, but it reminded me of chicken.

I really like the octopus dish we always seem to get at San Soo Gab San.

― dan m, Monday, December 20, 2010 2:52 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark

I was not interested in eating the octopus to begin with for the aforementioned reasons, but when we grilled it and it began to WRITHE, SQUIRM, AND OTHERWISE SEEM TO RE-ANIMATE, I wanted didn't want to even be in the same room as it.

ffs all i wanted to do was to make a suggestion for interested parties
if you hate octopus, you really could have just ignored this suggestion and moved on

why haven't you suggested a vegan alternative? this is an outrage!

;)

Hey, you should date (or "date," whatever) the guy at the Wells La Cocina. He is super cute and polite and you'd probably get free burritos.

xp to Jesse, originally, but Corey this applies to you, too.

vegans should try asparagus

I love grilled asparagus!

I steamed asparagus last night.

OMG ASPARAGUS IS THE MOST REVOLTING SHIT ANYONE HAS EVER PUT INTO THEIR MOUTHS ASIDE FROM ACTUAL PIECES OF SHIT*
(btw i recently learned that comer espárragos = eating shit en españa)

*i like asparagus j/k

The payoff for asparagus is good.

That's grrrrross!

I was looking forward to the talk about octopus being over, but not sure that asparagus makes it any better.

"that's gross!"
http://www.whyy.org/about/pressroom/images/terry_book.jpg

Amanda, our lack of appreciation should not be construed to reflect negatively on you. I expressed my feelings because it is one food that I find especially distressing.

that is like the biggest photo of terri gross ever xp

not offended
small gross
http://images.salon.com/books/int/2004/09/30/terrygross/story.jpg

her fucking finger in that first shot still cracks me up

is there something behind her worth looking at? her little finger is just there teasing us. look! over there!
it's mack! the knife!

"So Shawn, or should I call you Jay? Mr. Z? Hov? Jigga? Can we talk about this 'crotch-grabbing' thing?"

she's pointing to her jay-z tattoo

xpost :/

Now it's time for the bitch and ho question.

That was the one I was trying to remember.

letting herself go imo
http://cdn.wn.com/ph/img/b3/6f/dda18d1e857707a45a49fe7a8325-grande.jpg

AK bringing the lolz today

Who is that? Remarkable resemblance.

David Spade

Robin Gibb!!

I know no one here cares about football but just giving you all a heads up that tonight's Bears-Vikings game could potentially be nuts. They're playing on a frozen field in a stadium not intended for pro football with a shit-ton of snow coming down.

So the Metrodome is still out of commission? Where are they playing?

the U of Minn football stadium

I am "closing" the campus tonight at 7 p.m. It is 4:30 now and there is no one here, and there are no classes tonight. I have to keep the campus open for the next 2.5 hours when it is 99 percent sure no one is going to come in the rest of the day.

xp Ah, that's what I would've guessed.

that's a license to chill nick

If this were a movie, you would find a reason to strip to your boxers and sing into the intercom only to be caught by the crusty old dean.

I might listen to music on my computer. Or read a book, if I can find one I'm interested in.
Mostly I want to go home though. I am so tired, I slept like crap last night.

Nick enjoys singing in his underwear.

find that crusty old dean and sing a duet of "louie louie" into the intercom

saw this pic of mpls on the ILNFL thread

http://i53.tinypic.com/2q367t0.jpg

(iirc the game is general admission only b/c of the metrodome collapse, and only seats 50k to the dome's 64k)

I'm listening to hip hop on my computer now. It feels wrong.

This is your breaking news: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/police-teen-involved-in-devil-worshiping-ritual.html

And reasonable comments. Well, most of them.

This is my favorite:

"They actually arrested him for underage drinking - 'trying to invoke the beast' is code for swilling Milwaukee's Best."

[His mother] told police he had taken a knife into the family’s garage to cut up veal for a devil-worshipping ceremony.

Ha.

I don't get why he was taken in for a psych evaluation.

1.5 hour drive home in the snow last night. not as bad as it could have been, traffic was moving the whole time and i'd rather people drive slowly and carefully than try to zoom by everyone. still kind of exciting/nervewracking with low visibility and lots of slush on the highway

I have to close late at work tonight, meaning I have the potential to have some free time this afternoon or work extra hours today for free time tomorrow.
should I:
* work extra long hours today so that I can leave my second job early tomorrow afternoon ahead of my vacation (I have to work Thurs morning but it would be nice to have extra time tomorrow night to pack etc)
* use my free time today to pack and relax (I have had trouble sleeping the last couple of nights and am very tired)
* use my free time today to go downtown, pay my ticket and get my license back ahead of our out-of-town road trip (the clerk's office said I can use my ticket as my license out of state if I have a photo ID (I have my passport) but I am nervous about other states actually recognizing this fact)

please tell me what to do, lack of sleep and pre-travel stress have turned my brain into mush

I hate to be the voice of reason, but the third option sounds best...I would be really concerned driving without a license too

and by voice of reason I mean "joy killer"

oh nick
these are tough decisions
i would say (1) but (3) seems like the safest choice
(2) is this likely to bring you any genuine relaxation or will you stew? if you will stew, might as well either do 1 or 3

i've felt that brain mush feeling so much lately, feel 4 u

i think probably 3 because i can see future worrying getting in the way of vacation relation b/c of the license

yeah I think I'll have to do 3. sucks.

feel like my travel anxiety gets worse every year, I wonder if I'll eventually become an agoraphobe. At least we're not flying.

get the license imo

The fact that I am STILL DEALING WITH the fallout from my accident in July has made me resolve to be so so much more vigilant with keeping that kind of shit up to date.

Probably* option #3, I guess, since you're going out of state.

*the spelling of probably looks really weird to me. I don't think the "a" looks right.

ok.

I forgot to say that that night after the Chants show last week, I had a fun dream where I was at a show where a trad jazz group was playing in one room and an experimental electronic jazz group was playing in another room, but they were playing the same song so you could stand in the middle of the rooms and hear the versions overlap. Then I played a drum solo.

Get the license, definitely.

give yourself a present when you're done -- anything will do as long as you feel rewarded
my favorite currency of self-reward is spinach pies

And bring a copy of Underworld to the DMV, because a lot of other folks may be doing a similar thing (judging unempirically from another friend who was there yesterday and wrote about it on FB).

do you guys like calle 13
i can't stop listening to this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvKIkNyRvz4

video is terrible but the song is good

sounds like my prom night.

xp

Where do you have to go for your license? Presumably you can't go to a Sec. of State Express location, right?

will they give you a new one or is your actual license there waiting for you?

have to go to the cook county clerk of circuit court's office, 50 w. washington. sounds like i'll just get my old license back?

It's your old one. Definitely bring a book and your patience or a keen interest in watching weird people being weird.

A good treat might be tamales from Frontera Fresca in the 7th floor of Macy's.

I hope I'll have time to get this done, have to be home by 2:30 to drive out to other job. So that's about 3 hours to get downtown, get my license, and get back.

do you guys like calle 13

I have not heard that song -- I will do so immediately! -- but I happen to love "La Jirafa" and "Atrevete-te-te" from their first album.

new album is good! you will like it if you like their other stuff.

My favorite Spanish-language artist of 2010 is Javiera Mena, a Chilean electro-pop musician:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVAeq88W3wI

ooh, i like. nice indie comedy mustache tho

I believe she's of the Sapphic persuasion.

Nick just ate a TJ's tamale.

I just applied for SNAP benefits — one of the error pages still lists Blago as the governor, hee hee

MSN News' first story on its home page:

Why Christmas Occurs in December
Video: Researchers trace the original designation of the date of Christmas to an already existing holiday on the ancient Roman calendar

No fucking shit.

Ha it took like 15 minutes to pay my ticket and get my license back. All that fretting for nothing.

Yay! I was lurking in the pedway and looked for you (not very hard though).

Grahamwich's smoked whitefish sandwich is one of the stranger sandwiches I've eaten: it's on naan, with salted almonds, raisin chutney, shredded carrots, and curry aioli. Pretty good, though, with the exception of the chutney, which is a little overwhelming in its cloying sweetness.

Well, at least things are never boring around here. Multiple fire trucks, ambulances, and cop cars at our next door neighbors again. Seemed like just a medical emergency because it was pretty slow paced, then they rolled someone out on a stretcher. But then two people led away in cuffs, a cop showed up and put a baby carrier and a 4 year-old in a police van, and now there is two INCIDENT COMMAND vehicles in front of our house and about 15 cops and detectives. Its pretty sad though, to see the little kids involved. But I've seen more of these scenes at that one single house in three years than I saw in all the years I lived in the city combined.

Oh shit, just when I thought it was dying down out there we get three new cop cars, what I'm guessing to be the evidence collection van, and someone that I'm scared to imagine might be a coroner. Fuck.

What is Incident Command? Maybe this is the big one that puts an end to those neighbors.

Oh shit, just when I thought it was dying down out there we get three new cop cars, what I'm guessing to be the evidence collection van, and someone that I'm scared to imagine might be a coroner.

At first scan of that sentence I read "...and someone that I'm scared to imagine might be a crooner."

I'm not sure what Incident Command is, sounds serious. I get scared to imagine crooners too, Juice Newton scares this shit out of me.

Wayne Newton is way worse than Juice Newton!

I hope yr neighbors are ok though for real

Yeah, its pretty scary at this point, because it literally looks like a scene out of a cop show still.

Shit, I didn't even think to look out back towards the alley. Another three cop cars back there still.

Yeah, this is so not good. Just peeked out the window before going to bed and there is now a GIANT van marked "Forensic Science Unit". :(

Oh no! That's harrowing. Any updates?

In other "No shit, Sherlock" Tribune headlines:Many non-Christianscelebrate Christmas as non-religious holiday (http://www.suntimes.com/news/2952457-418/christmas-percent-religious-lifeway-non.html). Why are they quoting a "survey" conducted by LifeWay? I'm sure that's a totally random, non-biased, representative sample there. Fucking A.

Oh, sorry. That's Sun Times, not the Trib.

I had to work on this story for work the other day about how Christmas has become a popular secular holiday in Japan, and how KFC has used this marketing campaign it has run since the '70s to basically make buying fried chicken part of the Japanese Christmas tradition

I'd link to the story but it's on the Financial Times and they're annoying about requiring users to register.

I feel like I should be all outraged about that but I kind of want to give KFC a high five. Plus, fried chicken as a holiday treat makes some innate sense to me.

So, yeah, it was a fatal stabbing, according to the email that just came in from our alderwoman. When we elft for work at 6:40 this morning the entire house and lot were cordoned off and the 'FORENSIC SCIENCE UNIT' van was still there, as well as a bunch of people taking pictures.

that's nuts, sorry about your neighborhood

Its really only this house, the rest of the neighborhood is great. But my wife and I are already discussing how big of a hit we are willing to take on selling it now.

whoa
that's scary

If it's just that house, why sell now? The er problem is going to be gone from that house for a long time, maybe forever, by the sound of it.

I doubt it. There have been multiple arrests and raids at the house over the past five years and things haven't changed yet. The guy that was killed there last night doesn't even live there, nor does the suspect in custody, so I'm pretty sure they won't be able to do anything about the people that own it.

Not trying to be dismissive about it, but we've had multiple neighborhood meetings about this house and we've been told every time that there is nothing anyone can do about it because the house is paid for and there is no legal recourse against the owners because they themselves haven't been charged with any of the crimes.

From what we've heard the mom and dad bought the house in the 50s. The dad left at some point and the mom got addicted to serious drugs, so as the kids got older they pretty much ran the house (when I say "kids", they are in their late 20s and 30s now). Anyway, its the kids and their friends that keep getting arrested and in drunken brawls, but the city doesn't want to kick the mom out so they keep sending her back to the house after stays in the hospital and inevitably the kids and their friends move back in and take over the house again.

I mean, obviously never to this level, but we've seen this cycle repeated over and over since we moved there. House is relatively quiet, then slowly picks up with more and more random late night visits, it gets louder and louder, then some incident occurs leading to sirens, cops, arrests and it gets really quiet again before the whole thing starts over again. Its just hard for me to feel like this time will be any different.

i remember hearing about this before. sucks, but i think you're right. there's really nothing that can be done about it. other people's lives, etc.

Just make some calls...

To order pizza.

...deadly pizza

Ohhhh jvc, I just assumed this was a ongoing domestic thing. It being a hostel for violent drug addicts is a different kettle of fish. I'm sorry. That would make me feel very unhappy and uneasy to live next door to that.

couldn't get up my driveway last night, then forgot about alternate side parking. $60. ;_;

0_0 jvc, that's insanity

fried chicken as a holiday treat makes some innate sense to me.

Cold, for breakfast on Christmas morning. I agree, that's a tradition I could get behind. I'm a Popeye's fan myself, though.

One of those mornings when I can't quite get started. I know exactly what I should be doing, and how and why and wherefore, but I haven't been able to force myself to jump in. I'd rather eat, maybe go downstairs and get another pint of chocolate milk, and post about shoes and rape on the internet. Shoe rape. A vile crime, so often unreported.

???

i just had this moment of panic because i thought carl (big dog) was eating something he was not supposed to be eating in the other room, but it turns out that it was a nurse with wound song that just sounds like dogs ripping something apart. scary!

xp I just meant that I've been reading the "new shoes" thread and the wikileaks thread. That's all.

hey jesse, you probably have eaten in more restaurants (like the kind with chairs) in new orleans than i have. any recommendations on where i should take my dad & stepmom? i have some ideas, but i'm most familiar with, you know, convenience stores that make po' boys & take-out seafood places.

Speaking of po'boys, I heartily recommend the fish and oyster po'boy at Gaztro-Wagon -- which can only be ordered from the store, not the truck.

I realize this is the second day in a row I have posted about fancy sandwiches, but whatever.

Stuff white people like, iirc.

Jesse is having his liver punched. He will address your questions later.

Turns out my liver is a airloin steak that someone thought I wouldn't have noticed.

???

Captains somethingon tchoatulou

Voodoo BBQ.

Something "grocery " off st charles or something off at Charles.

There is a good African restaurant in the quarte on charters or royal on the esplanade wnsplanade area.

I'm still groggy from the Valium drip.

You don't say...

what happened to jesse's liver?

nicely sauteed with some onions and red wine

lecter_in_straitjacket.jpg

doctor lecter

i STILL hear jodie foster's voice saying that over and over when i think about silence of the lambs

DOCTOR LECTER

hehehe

A friend's FB update (j/v/c's neighbor, clearly):

Fatal stabbing on the next block last night. Awesome. "Peace on Earth, good will toward men?" Not so much in this neighborhood.

This story about the killed and injured fire fighters makes me a lil ;_;

DOCTOR LECTER

I wish you were here so you could hear my really good impression of this line, which I bust out pretty much every time I answer the phone and someone hangs up, much to the utter dismay of my coworker.

You should make a recording of it on your phone and then email it to me

A friend's FB update (j/v/c's neighbor, clearly):

Fatal stabbing on the next block last night. Awesome. "Peace on Earth, good will toward men?" Not so much in this neighborhood.

Yeah, this sucks so much. My wife is pretty much freaking out over this, and rightfully so I think. I think we're just taking this really hard because we just started actively trying to have a baby and it just frightens the shit out of us to bring a kid into this kind of environment. I mean, weird to say this, but I'd be a lot less concerned if this was like a jealous spouse offing their partner. This is scary because, apparently, neither the deceased or the suspect even live in that house.

well at least it doesn't seem like they've tried to harm anyone in the neighborhood so far? seems like they keep it in-house, from what you've said in the past. still bringing a "bad element" into the area i guess.

You should make a recording of it on your phone and then email it to me

Haha good tips for the phone averse.

also then i can listen to it over and over again OR sneak up behind people and scare them with it

well at least it doesn't seem like they've tried to harm anyone in the neighborhood so far?

I mean, yeah, this is true. But you know, drunk and/or high people with the potential to stab another human being to death aren't exactly the most sensible ones. You post just reads like I should feel guilty for not wanting the "bad element" in my neighborhood.

no, just trying to make you feel better!

Hi.

1. Jvc, that is terrible. Not to be one of those "well, at least they're killing each other off" types, but I was sort of hopeful that the murder victim was one of the trouble makers.

2. My liver: I have had some weird liver enzyme counts, but no Heps, no cirrhosis, no swelling, just "fat on my liver," so the doctor wanted to take a biopsy, which he did today. Turns out that a liver biopsy is an incredibly minor procedure, far easier on me than filling a cavity, for example. They gave me a morphine + Valium drip, shot Lidocaine into my tummy, then shoved a 3.5 inch punch biopsy needle into my liver. It took about 5-10 minutes and now I have a band aid on the needle hole.

The morphine made me itchy, so they gave me Benadryl in my IV. T0m@s came to get me and we walked to Golden Nugget to get breakfast. Easy breezy.

you're so brave! that gives me hope because i am v wimpy. good job jesse.

Morphine makes you itchy? I did not know that.

I get itchy when I'm sleepy, especially right as I lie down and start relaxing. It's not drug related, it's just some little psychological quirk, I think. Also, everyone knows how your nose runs in the winter. I have discovered that my nose will begin running a few minutes early sometimes, just knowing that I'm about to step out into the cold. I think that's kind of funny.

Just saw holiday train AGAIN and this time santy claus waved at me.

Color me jealous.

So our alderwoman wants to meet with the neighbors tonight. Hmm.

this is vaguely football-related but i still think all of you will find it amusing:
http://deadspin.com/5716038/the-greatest-letter-ever-printed-on-nfl-team-letterhead

That is hilarious.

Ha! Brilliant!

awesome.

btw nick, i feel like i've been responding to every single post on the james blake thread, so i will instead say here that yes, that's him singing and doing all the music.

huh. he's a good singer! it was just unexpected since he didn't sing on any of the EPs, right? i think i like the album but it seems like the kind of thing i'll need to listen to for a bit before i can form a full opinion. it wasn't what i was expecting.

Did his full-length leak? I've finally heard a couple of his tracks, but I've avoided that thread.

yeah i think it leaked a week or two ago but it just popped up on one of the blogs i follow today

I'll have to check it out, I believe both songs I heard were from the Klavierwerke EP, but I really liked them both.

Kenan: morphine, like other opiates, can make people itchy. TIL that it's a sign of a minor allergy. I thought it was just a side effect.

Oh how I would love to respond to some letters we get here in a similar fashion.

huh. he's a good singer! it was just unexpected since he didn't sing on any of the EPs, right? i think i like the album but it seems like the kind of thing i'll need to listen to for a bit before i can form a full opinion. it wasn't what i was expecting.

yeah, i guess he was saving his voice/song-y songs for the full-length (although he does sing on some of klavierwerke). most of these have been floating around on youtube/blogs in various forms for awhile, so i was at least aware that he could really sing.

i'm still not sure about the tracks that are "actual songs"...some have really nice melodies, but his production seems less interesting than on the more abstract ones. i think it works out better when he treats his voice like a sample.

I would like to have a personal word with the person who developed the anthropomorphic mucus creatures on the Mucinex commercials.

Those are fucking awful. Also, the nail fungus commercials where the little dude LIFTS UP THE FUCKING TOENAIL!!!!!!

I mute the mucusthings but I turn the channel on the nailfungusthings. Gag.

So I'm off to CT tomorrow morning and I'll probably be partaking in too much festive cheer to be on the internet much. So everyone have a merry, merry Christmas, should you celebrate it, and a good time regardless.

This is the first real vacation I've had in a year and a half, but I feel like family obligations and so forth will make my time more stressful than a regular work week. Holidays.

have fun! i picture everyone in CT being like a richard yates novel (not nec rev road) or rachel getting married, so we know it will be a dramatic time.

I'm excited for the NYE party!

I need to take a tour of New England. It's all such a mystery to me. What's up there? Who knows.

But first I need to get overseas, FFS.

Someday I want to do a road trip to places I grew up, including my birthplace: Pinetop-Lakeside/Show Low, AZ. MN -> MT -> OR -> AZ.

Anyway, Merry Xmas to you too, Eric! And everyone else who is into that sort of thing.

If nothing else, I can now cross "interviewed by detectives for a murder investigation" off my list of things to do before I die.

This is going to be a long day at work, besides me there are three other people, out of the usual 28.

Anything noteworthy about the interview?

My work is going to be me and the associate and probably that is all. We usually close early on Xmas Eve eve, but maybe not this year since next week we're closed Monday Thursday and Friday. Plus closed tomorrow. I'd still rather have a bonus.

Nah, the interview was pretty straightforward, considering how open and closed everything sounded. We did talk to an officer liason and our alderwoman too. The good news is that the city is doing everything they can to get the house named a "nuisance property" and trying to get social services to help with the mom that lives there. Apparently she has a series of medical problems (majority of them brought on by alcoholism) and they are using this as a reason to help move her somewhere she can get help. But, as they said, she is an adult and its going to be very difficult to force her to do something she doesn't want to do.

I hope the kid benefits :(. I can't imagine growing up in a mess like that. And I hope they don't live there anymore, for your sake.

Yeah, the whole thing is really sad. Outside of whatever concerns I have this is sad to think about. As it turns out the "person of interest" is the lady that owns the house's son and he has two really young kids. In fact, his 4 year-old son came trick-or-treating to our house dressed as Wolverine and was really sweet. The whole thing is just so sad.

But, yeah, I'd totally rather have a bonus than days off. I'm waiting for word to see if we get sent home early like we did at Thanksgiving.

I get out at 1 today (provided I can get everything done that I want/need to do). So that's nice.

My bonus was, again, books. In no particular order:

The Book of Leaves
Memorial Mania
The Atlas of World Hunger
Survival City
Slow Trains Overhead
Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera

All are being given as presents. Go cheap/free shopping!

Survival City sounds like it could be interesting.

Yeah I totally sat at my desk and leafed through it for about half an hour after it was delivered yesterday.

today is being treated like a Friday for me so I should hopefully be done around lunchtime, after which we're immediately hitting the road!

no bonus for me but the company mailed me my xmas goodie bag since they handed them out after we left the party, and they gave us some nice belated baby shower presents. other job hasn't said anything about a bonus (not surprised since I'm p/t) but when I was hired they sent me a $50 gift card for Jewel. I almost threw it out since they just mailed it with my pay stub with no notice.

I got a $25 Borders gift card from my boss. I think it's the first gift from a boss I've received since the electric foot warmers I got 10 years ago.

Food Lion, though infamous for its many, many flagrant violations of wage laws and its exceptionally rabid anti-union activity (and the expired-meat-Cloroxing scandal that 20/20 covered), gave Christmas bonuses of 2% of your annual gross pay, which was really quite decent.

Rahm's gettin' legit.

i hope he gets legit all over his pants and loses this election
i officially can't stand that guy

btw i think i just saw you (ez) walking on clark up in my hood -- is this possible? i was driving the other direction or i would have hollered.

I obviously don't know your particular story behind your hatred, nor do I know tons about his personal life. But I figure if Chicago is going to have a douchey, corrupt mayor - at least give me one pretty open about it, not someone that pretends they aren't until after the get elected.

our office is closing early

in 2011, flexible spending accounts will be annoying to use for OTC meds

our SS taxes are going down 2%

good bye!

Yes, 'mander, that was indeed me. Holing up at a friend's condo near Rogers/Clark for a few days.

Hey, I'm putting together a Boxing Day dinner at Old Jerusalem on Sunday night, if you guys want to join. (Last time I did this, a few years ago, JMC was there, can't remember if others were.)

http://i.imgur.com/UTMK1.jpg

i can recommend that cajeta/arequipe/dulce de leche! i have some in my kitchen right now, in fact.

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD A TODOS!

Happy Newtonmas.

Merry Christmas, kiddos. I love you all.

Well, ok, some more than others, but some of you I've never even met, so. :) :)

A favorite record cover:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gWpjDkp1L._SS400_.jpg

I wasn't sure where to post this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_U6RGt8V88

Love that trailer.

In the tradition of the Cheetah gym guy and the Taste of Heaven folks, another intriguingly wacky Andersonville proprietor.

zomg lol

Good lord, she's an asshole. That someone "smeared ketchup on the window with a feminine napkin" in response to her online assholery is some misogynistic bullshit, though.

wow that made me laugh on multiple occasions, esp the "sex breaks"
how ironic that she is in the pastry business

OMMMMGGGGGG it is snowing like a motherfucker here we are going to be trapped in Delaware foreverrrrrrr *gasp breath hyperventilate*

How long can we continue the "no political discussions" truce? My formerly hardcore Democrat but ever more racist grandmother asked for and got GWB's autobiography for Christmas and is enjoying reading it. My aunt is religious now. My stepfather can't stay away from Fox News idiot shows for much longer.

Things fall apart! The center cannot hold! I am about to drown in the blood dimmed tide of unexamined, knee-jerk conservatism!

Jenny you are ok! All is right with the world.
Look what I got for Christmas: (it's a little crooked, but w/e)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5290217179_8e9303122c.jpg

caption reads Summerisle 1972

D had it framed just for me!

ZOMG!

I'm going to start a pastry shop of industrialized food. Still, no kids allowed.

And I am happy to scramble an egg for my mom's li'l dog, but she needs to stop referring to her as my sister.

That's a great gift, Amanda! Awesome.

Family + snowstorm + opposing politic views = perfect forumla for a three-act play.

er, political.

Ugh.

Thank god it's a big football day. Sports are relatively safe.

From the pastry shop (which I really want to check out now):

oh, and we will also be playing nothing but gangster rap from now 'til whenever everyone else is done with the ever-annoying Christmas music
Friday, December 10, 2010 12:01:29 PM via web

pick your battles, lady

I'm going to start a pastry shop of industrialized food. Still, no kids allowed.

― Jeff, Sunday, December 26, 2010 10:21 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I'm in. She sounds insufferable and it sounds like good riddance. Describing food as "clean" is some bullshit unless you mean that you washed it off after you and your partner incorporated it in your sex break.

And I am happy to scramble an egg for my mom's li'l dog, but she needs to stop referring to her as my sister.

― phantoms from a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: (Jenny), Sunday, December 26, 2010 10:44 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest

Jenny, that is awesome. I am so happy that your mom is calling the dog your sister! lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bddd_xfZLYA

What has four thumbs and is chilling in Philadelphia until Wednesday thanks to a combination of bad weather and US Airways being dumbasses?

Jeff and Jenny, that's who.

my weather widget says it's supposed to get up to 47º (!) on NYE

I don't understand luggage handling, apparently. I thought luggage was loaded on the same plane that you were riding, but apparently not, since your luggage made it to Chicago, but you did not.

I'm furious on your behalf, obviously way more so than you guys are. Enjoy Philly!

I'm a little concerned we won't get out of here on Wed (no reason, just general concern/distrust) at which point it's going to really suck. I want to enjoy the part of my vacation where I putter around my own house for a few days.

I'm still irked that the reason our flight was canceled was for lack of flight crew. Come on. Can't you plan ahead for that shit?Anyway, super glad we got a hotel room instead of being miserable in the airport.

No crew is pretty ridiculous. I mean, we know that they didn't just forget to book a crew, and the crew for that flight was probably stuck somewhere else, but it's really frustrating to have a plane with no one to run it.

I just can't believe they're not paying for your hotel.

^^^^why I chose to drive instead

http://www.earthwaverecords.com/pictures/albumimg/a/a0066030.jpg

We contemplated renting a car and driving home for about ten seconds.

the increased possibility of getting stranded and/or having flights cancelled is so anxiety inducing that i never want to travel at holiday time ever again.

i would gladly pose for 50+ full body xrays and/or pat downs if it would ensure that i'm going where i want to go when i planned to go there with the stuff i planned to take.

this is total bs!!

and it's not even weather related! my friend's not coming in from NY because of the snow. :( maybe i'm just pissy about that

Still better than driving for me.

The news said the reason airlines in Philly had so many cancelations yesterday was due to a ripple effect from NYC airports being closed. But that's just like Philadelphia to blame New York for its problems.

TBF, traveling any time during winter could result in being stranded. It's just seems worse around the holidays bc there are more people and they get on the news more. That said, fuck traveling for Christmas next year.

Bright side: Holiday Inn Express continental breakfast is surprisingly hearty.

^^ this is the experience i had last year (remember the cancelled VA trip?!) and i am so glad i made someone come to me this year. (esp since my parents hadn't been here in 2 yrs)

Chicago to DE would be 16 hrs each way which is beyond what is reasonable, especially with snowpocalyose '10 looming.

My bus never got more than 13 people on it. I guess lots of folks took the whole week off.

Yesterday I learned that Heahrow has

a special terminal for fair maidens?

Oops. ...that Heathrow only has 2 runways! which is one reason that snow is so incapacitating for them.

Also evidently little to no snowplow capacity, at least according to an NPR report I heard a couple weeks ago.

Federal courts' websites really need to be standardized. This is just embarrassing.

http://www.ilcd.uscourts.gov/images/ecflogo_small.gif

Catch The Verdict!

Central District? There is water in which waves may form there?

Oh man, am I really going to defend that? I guess I am.

They mean "catch the wave of electronic filing, the legal tech sensation that is sweeping the nation" with an implied "you redneck, technophobe, Luddite attorneys, you make us sick with your printing emails and faxing them to us."

Still. Prett stupid.

I don't see it as defending anything but rather as explaining a stupid promotion.

On a completely unrelated note, this story about the two guys who live under the expressway near my house made me sad, if I were home I'd go bring them soup or some blankets or something.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-12-27/news/ct-met-homeless-twins-20101227_1_twin-boys-anthony-hot-plate

Chuckle @ waves in the Central District, since it's Central District of IL. I read "Ride the wave" as part of the "surfing" the Web metaphor. Since electronic filing is mandatory now, it's a wave that you either ride of allow to drown you. It's a purifying wave.

That is a really sad story.

Just found out that my friend Matthew is having a triple bypass this morning. This is scary stuff. He's from my graduating class in hs.

Just got an email- it's now quadruple bypass. Jesus. This guy had his first heart attack at 24 or 25. =/

sorry about your friend.

happy anniversary to me & the mr today (7 yrs since the wedding, 11.3 yrs since we started dating!)
where should we go for dinner? usually i plan something but this year it kinda crept up on me.

congrats!

I just can't believe someone my age is having heart attacks. I am pretty sure he hasn't stopped smoking, so that didn't help. He always did like to quote Morrissey re needing something to cling to and hoping for an early grave.

On a more cheery note, congratulations on your anniversary. That's a long time. You should go out for French food! My bosses always say good things about La Sardine, and I keep meaning to go.

The guy from Scritti Politti had a heart attack at 23. It's probably congenital.

I like this:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/5040768560_8c33a264ae_z.jpg

From the Billboard Liberation Front.

The guy who murdered a dog owner when that dog peed on his lawn gets 4 years probation. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/man-gets-xx-years-in-dog-lawn-murder.html

i have admired the hair on that billboard woman many times.

we decided to celebrate our anniversary at kuma's since we haven't been there in a while
why not

Happy anniversary, A + D.

We're going to Sola tomorrow night.

we did not go to kuma's b/c there was a 2 hr wait at 3pm, so we went to urban belly instead because we were starving and it was 3pm. oh well.

Pretty much convinced I'm never going to get to go to Kuma's. I mean, awesome that it is still doing so well, but still pretty annoying that there is still that kind of wait at 3 PM on a Wednesday (obvs this Wed is not your typical one, but, still).

I had a 40-minute wait on a Friday at 4 PM a few months ago. (Of course, the patio was open, so that might've helped.)

I'm sure they'd do well to open a second branch in another neighborhood.

I think the key will be just going by myself and sit at the bar? Every time I've tried its been with at least 2 (more often 4 or 5) other people and the wait just isn't possible.

Going alone and sitting at the bar: works
Having the patio open: totally helps

I shouldn't have even thought about going there in the winter, but it seemed like an innocuous time. Oh well, not the end of the world. We had a good meal even if it wasn't really what I had in mind.

I always sit at the bar and get there 15 mins before they open on a work day.

ALONE

;_;

We're on a plane. This is happyland.

Hahahajaja we have to sit on the runway for at least an hourndjrnekqbrjf

We're delayed on the tarmac for an hour. Ragetown.

LOL Jeff did you post that from the line for the bathroom?

jajaja

I was I'm the line ://///

In the.

Line. Jeff. Me.

Surprise, still on the runway.

Still?

Yes.

At ohare.

Hi!!!! We're back!!!!!!!!!!

If I had to sum up this travel experience in one phrase, that phrase would be: motherfucking, titty sucking, two-ball bitch.

Yay for being back!

I think Cris Collingsworth was on our plane.

I got a sausage, egg, and cheese muffin at Subway and it is maybe the worst breakfast sandwich I've ever had. The provolone cheese is a nice touch, though.

Courtney advised via text message that she attempted to post that she too had an awful Subway breakfast sandwich this morning, but she was unable to post it via Zing. She regrets any inconvenience she may be causing.

at least McD's actually cooks their breakfast stuff. At Subway it was undoubtedly frozen and then microwaved. Might as well eat a Jimmy Dean at home.

Subway uses convection ovens, not microwaves, so that's a little better. But I'm not sure where those eggs come from.

Jared keeps them in an egg bag.

I don't know why that made me laugh out loud.

Jared's egg sac

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kz31xmvHJM1qzopnho1_500.jpg

oh god dammit

*posting to get that horrible image off the thread*

**posting to get that horrible image off the thread**

jesus christ

SB ;_;

ah, that's better

omg

y u do that

I thought of that pic when Jenny said egg sacs.

I dig the pic but that STILL won't make up for you dissing the very recently (and extremely dearly) departed Teena Marie. wtf was up with that, home girl?????

I like her music but I am surprised at the emotional reaction to her death and wonder how many of the grief-stricken have listened to/talked about/thought of Teena Marie once in the past two years.

I don't think I'd ever heard her music until a few days ago, but I knew she had a huge following among certain ILMers.

I had never heard her name before my FB page turned into a solid wall of memorials to her. I listened to two songs (Square Biz and Lovergirl) and I was baffled at her being so revered. Our mutual friend who shall remain nameless put it best: "idgi. imagine what will happen when Tiffany dies!"

But as to my motivation for dissing her, I was trolling.

I'd always known and liked "Lovergirl", and I'm just now getting into her albums. afaict she was somewhere between Sheena Easton and a white female version of Prince, but more interesting than the former but also not as inventive as the latter.

wonder how many of the grief-stricken have listened to/talked about/thought of Teena Marie once in the past two years.

(raises hand way the hell up)

But why on earth should that matter?

idgi. imagine what will happen when Tiffany dies!

"Should've Been Me" and her Prince rip are classic so.....

So I'm at Caribou on Broadway and Aldine and there is something kookie going on on this block... The Fire Dept. is inside of Ping Pong and they're not letting people walk or drive onto the block and one firefighter said "GET BACK THE WHOLE BLOCK IS READY TO BLOW." Which was, you know, alarming. But he's not evacuating Cribou.

FUCK NEVERMIND. HE IS EVACUATING. FUCK.

oh shit

omg

Grr.