Chicago: Steve McQueen, The Hunter

http://michaelmanning.tv/blog/uploaded_images/the-hunter-757142.jpg

Atop an El car.

Also featuring a very young Mary Margaret O'Hara as a hostage in said El car.

Speaking of cucumbers:

GODDAMNIT! I had all this fresh lettuce and some carrots and -- best of all -- a big fat cucumber in the fridge, and they were all frozen solid. The carrots might rebound, mayyybe, but everything else will turn to compost as it thaws. Ruined, gone, over, done, sad. So so sad.

Turing down the fridge temp setting, going to get myself another cucumber or two.

Attempting to peel a cucumber that turns out to be frozen solid is kind of interesting. It's all made of jagged little green rocks just under the skin.

I know what you're talking about! The ice destroys the cucumber in a crazy diamond pattern.

Unlike a banana, where the ice makes long flat crystals that go every which a-way. Yeah. It's a very geometric kind of destruction.

Shine on you crazy frozen cucumber.

I'm not tossing this ex-vegetable just yet. I think there's a smoothie in here somewhere. Where there's a Braun 200 watt hand blender, there's a way.

ew
i don't think that's a very good idea

This hand blender is one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. And a solid idea for a baby shower gift, if Sarah doesn't already have one. If you need mush, this bad boy will make some muhfuggin mush.

ew
i don't think that's a very good idea

Trust me.

http://www.thereheis.com/nucleus3.22/media/gallery/20070504-hansolo.jpg

Han blended first.

i love my hand blender and i use it every single day, but i don't think putting a cuke in there is a very delicious idea. makes excellent soups, though. i've gone through three of those things!

I can imagine a cuke being a nice addition to a smoothie.
Cuke.

Cuke and carrot in a juicer is good.

it would be like cucumber sauce -- like applesauce but for cucumbers. some of the...matter (?) should be filtered imo. a juicer would do that.

I find it very satisfying and enjoyable to clean up after a party for some reason. Maybe bc the memory of cleanness is so fresh.

Here we go.

One frozen cucumber.
One medium-sized sweet apple.
About 8 oz of carrot juice.
A couple of heaping dollops of plain yogurt.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/4616423113_38bff02675_o.jpg

It's quite good, but ironically, you can still feel the diamond cucumber shards on your tongue. The texture is just a bit wrong. I will make this again, but with a fresh cucumber next time.

Eric beat me to the cucumber and carrot revelation, I see. :)

I want to do an Iron Chef type thing but where I make food for people using ingredients they claim to hate.

I want to freeze a cucumber now to see these cuke diamonds.

A man on broadway just leaned close to me and hissed quietly. =/

I want to do an Iron Chef type thing but where I make food for people using ingredients they claim to hate.
haha i could be your competitor in this! (but we would secretly be working together to make people not hate food)

Oh man, I just got home from 8 hours of working a cash register. DO NOT WANT. Thank god I move to the sales floor tomorrow.

which one are you at? howard? i was there today and i thought of you.

Yup, thats the one.

If you came through my check-out lane I hope my complete and utter exasperation didn't show through!

Sorry, Jon. I am looking forward to your account of it coming into my Reader feed.

I wonder how I would handle being a cashier these days. I did that for....5 years I think.

which one are you at? howard?

Missed the earlier context for this, so I think: working for:
CTA? B@lly's? Marshall's?

Target?

I'm guessing right along, even though I asked before, and I'm sure I was answered. But the answer went into the fifty hole and I forgot about it.

Family Dollar?

I didn't go through your line, doofus. If I had I would have said hi and you would have felt better because there would have been a familiar (?) face:) One of my former students (a nice, smart Romanian woman) works there too. Can't remember her name offhand, but I would recognize it if I heard it.

Btw there are lots of businesses along Howard that are not in the Clark/Howard plaza! Gulliver's, for instance.

Tried out my new commute last night. It's not 100% my ideal (bus or train station right next to my home, no transfers) but it's 10-15 minutes shorter and no subways (I like seeing light), so I'm satisfied.

AGH LISA WHY WHY

Lisa... M@digan?

PS

http://www.zooborns.com/.a/6a010535647bf3970b0133edc0525f970b-pi

PPS: http://www.zooborns.com/.a/6a010535647bf3970b0133edc0591c970b-pi

Oh, haha - Amanda, I just posted the link on FB to A;LDSKJAFAAARGH! WHY LISA MADIGAN, WHY?

What is that thing??

omg that soundboard thing is making me laugh so gd hard
i am in the office just larfing away like a hyena

Does it have "me underwears" on it?

Of course it does.

Jesse, I'm jealous of your future proximity to the lakefront path. I will have to run 1.2 miles before I get there. And deal with two gnarly intersections.

Yes! I right up on the lake! And very near the zoo.

The Market Place Foodstore will be my local supermarket, and it's not bad. It's like Treasure Island, sort of (a negative Yelp review said it was like Treasure Island on acid), but the prices seem pretty much normal. It was disappointing to find that they only have small and $$$ bags of crappy cat food.

Woah, chase scene under the Lake Street El, from the guy who made The Shield:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZKr5r43Ruc

Jesse, I think there's a PetSmart or something big over on Diversey near the river, if you want to load up there (or Costco at Diversey/Damen/Clybourn, if you know someone with a membership).

You can fill your walk-in closet with cat food.

Yowza. Intense.

EZ, Sadly, the PetSmart on Broadway and Diversey closed up shop last week. Grr. I will look for the one you speak of. Or I will just take a big bag on the bus. There is a new Dominick's opening up on Broadway across from Threadless. That will be nice.

xp - ha. I will by Christ get myself on Hoarders one way or another!

I have not heard of this Ride Along show. I will probably watch it (if it's available online) b/c I like seeing Chicago on TV.

yawwwwwwwwwwwwwn

sup

Who here had an eighth grade graduation? Please justify this bizarre custom.

We didn't, but we had a celebratory picnic at the end of 8th grade where we went to a local state park for the day. Dudes from my class broke a bunch of shit in one of the bathroom buildings and harassed girls that they hated to the point where 8th graders weren't allowed to have the picnic any more.

Ha ha

speaking of hardcore darkness, i'm perfectly happy to stay in tonight because we have plans for saturday and sunday nights. (birthday party and yakuza/nachtmystium/atlas moth/eyehategod show respectively) honestly i am not a huge eyehategod fan (they're ok but...i dunno, kinda samey imo) but i'm looking forward to hearing new nachtmystium songs live. hardcore darkness!

Lol the parking lot gate won't work and people are locked in. No key access to any gate.

scary! that sounds like the beginning of TERROR IN THE PARKING GARAGE

It is the end times.

Armageddon from inside a large glass box:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4712250605_b3f38080c3.jpg

True fact: when I first started working here, I had to endure a safety training video, the gist of which was that if some terrible weather or terrorist event happens, we should all stay away from glass/windows. WE ARE ALL FUCKED.

And no emergency b ackup . Brilliant.

guys,
I just looked out the window and I saw this:
http://bullerdick.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/428px-durer_revelation_four_riders.jpg

No emergency back up get out of the gate method? Oh man, I am trying not to laugh because that is just brutal and awful but it is also kind of hilarious. Mostly because I am not trying to get my car out of that parking lot.

Right before the lord's vengeance:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4712912900_c704b4bc96.jpg

Wow! Did you take that? That is an awesome picture.

I took that out the office window, yeah.

Holy cow. I want a print of that!

yeah that is GREAT
for real

xp Sure. I'll email you the version right out of the camera when I get home. Assuming I get home.

You should not give your artistic output away for free, young man.

v cool picture.

http://blog.flickr.net/en/2010/06/17/request-to-license-via-getty-images-is-here/

That seems like a good way to make a little cash off your photos.

Actually, I just read some more about it and this seems potentially problematic:

If an interested potential buyer clicks the RtL link on a picture. Getty contact you. If you agree to go ahead and it is licensed for that buyer and then your image becomes part of the collection. It's not a one time only agreement with regard to that sale. Getty keep the image on their books with the exclusive right to re-license that same image again and again if it proves popular. You don't agree to that one sale and then say no thanks to the use of the same image after that - it's all or nothing.

You can refuse to license it via Getty in the first place, or you can agree that Getty license it exclusively via the flickr collection for a few years. There's no 'in between' if you get a request, you'll see a contract. Read the small print on that to be certain.

If you're not getting enough up front $$$ to basically sell the rights to your picture to Getty forever and ever amen, maybe it's not worth the money to lose that creative control over your own work.

well, shit. i hadn't looked at the details.

I can't see pics right now, but I wanted to tell you: the people in the parking lot could not leave by car or on foot. The pedestrian gate is also electric.

They have been in there for 90 min. (We went to jak's and waited out the rain, so I just saw them).

No shit! Can you pass them a beer or something?

Wow, that is a great picture!

Why are they using plural verbs for "Getty"?

If I were those people in the parking lot, I'd be PISSED.

There was a woman out there trying to raise the gate, but it wouldn't budge, or course, otherwise what kind of security gate would it be?

If it had been me, I would have climbed the fence (even with the barbed wire!) but one guy is barely in shape to walk, and the woman was wearing a dress.

turn some of them into zombies and this is romero territory

Thanks for the big-ups on the picture, guys. Having stepped away from it for a few hours and come back, I realize that yeah, it really does have something. I may print it out myself. Glossy 8x10s are $3.99 at Jewel.

speaking of Reader restaurant reviews, they also reviewed Chilapan in Logan Sq., which we went to last Saturday, and raved about it. I had tilapia, which was OK but not amazing, but Sarah's stuffed pepper looked pretty good.

I'm at table 52 and ate a biscuit. It was pretty good.

My cocktail was better though. It had cactus juice in it.

I thought that was tequila.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROf8KnDW4j8&feature=player_embedded

I love you, Jeff.

Reminds me of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaWAE7uxyrk

My only complaint about Ink Spots albums: too many skits.

(I hope someone gets that joke.)

So I had just clocked off of my shift at T@rg3t today when the Armageddon was rolling through, when the store lost power and went dark. Like near complete total blackness. The store has no skylights so the only light was coming from the entry doors at the front, people were literally screaming. It was pretty crazy. The store has a backup generator, but it apparently failed. I stuck around long enough to help guide people up to the front exits and keep things calm, but since (thank god, or whatever your favorite deity is) the front doors could still open and I was off the clock I got the hell out of there.

The funniest part was this old lady that got into a screaming match with one of the store security guards because she wanted to pay for her "GODDAMN GOODS RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND" despite the circumstances. People are crazy.

That sounds like something I'd be very amused by, if I were in the dark part of the store. Screaming? What's that gonna do?

People planning to get a charge out of shoplifting were let down by mere workaday looting.

Screaming? What's that gonna do?

Not that this sheds any light on the question, but in the summer when my windows are open, people scream day and night. Kids scream their asses off while playing out back, in ways that frighten both me and my pet. Adults scream in no less frightening ways when they're at a party nearby, or in a fight with their SO, or sometimes just when greeting one another. I am learning, as no boon to my anxiety, that many, many people have learned to scream as a default reaction to just about anything beyond what they expected, good or bad. This baffles me. When I scream, I make sure there's something worth rattling the nerves of many other people over.

And I don't mean yelling. Yelling is different. I indulge in it myself occasionally. I'm talking about high-pitched, spine-chilling, horror movie SCREAMING. The kids are especially good at this.

At any rate, my final conclusion is identical to jon's. People are crazy.

I am learning, as no boon to my anxiety, that many, many people have learned to scream as a default reaction to just about anything beyond what they expected, good or bad.

This made me laugh.

I wonder how much shrink (that's a retail term!) there was due to shoplifting in the dark.

Dudes, Cocorosie was super duper. Courtney and I made friends with a really nice lesbian couple and we are going to be BFFs forever, so you probably won't be seeing much of us.

Tez, the French beatboxer, was hanging out in the lobby and one of the lesbians mauled him.

we went to the beach today. Despite it taking literally about 1.5 hours to get there via the CTA, it was very pleasant and the water, for once, was not unbearably cold

now there's a very loud cover band playing a block party next to our house and we're sitting on our back porch and listening to them

I spent way too much time outside waiting for various forms of public transportation today. I'm inside now, though. Inside FOREVER.

If anyone else is looking for something to do, we're going to go dancing at Danny's around 9 or 10.

Aw, that sounds so fun. If only I could dance dance dance and didn't have to worry about there being a comfortable chair and ottoman for me to lounge in while everyone else danced. Have fun!

How was the dancing? And did anyone go see Superchunk last night?

Hi Sarah.

Dancing was good. Last time we went they we were playing mostly dancehall, which I wasn't so much into, but this time it was a lot of 70s soul. And "Hypnotize."

Would love to go another time.

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