Chicago 13

Thirteen Things That Have Gone Down Since We Hit The Windy City

1. White Castle burgers and fries.
2. Free admission to the Brookfield Zoo with the family.
3. T-Mobile's near monopoly on the various wi-fi spots in La Grange. I'm looking at you Starbucks and Borders! Thank you Caribou Coffee!
4. Galoot Jr. running head-on into a display at the Museum of Science and Industry. Like a bird into a window. Sad but funny.
5. PGirl Jr. puts deodorant on her hairless pits.
6. PGirl gets a Coach purse courtesy of Mother Lee.
7. Galoot gets sad when he reads about all the cool bands he'd love to see in Chicago over the next two months. Over 25. The saddest miss - The Pogues.
8. Dragon Roll at a sushi joint on North Clark street.
9. Jimmy McJamestown opining on the tragic flaw of Rerun from "Whats Happening". When secretly bootlegging a Doobie Brothers concert, he just has to dance, causing the recorder to fall out of his clothing.
10. An insanely trafficky drive to Aurora on Wednesday night.
11. PGirl's cousin's very nice condo.
12. Favor8 and Amber joining us for dinner with Mr. and Mrs. McJamestown. I miss Smoky.
13. A dead hamster at Aunt Mary's house.
    

Fill In The Blanks

Snagged from Mr. Social:

Type in your name and wants, needs, should, will and believe into google. See what comes up!


Lenny wants to become the world’s greatest stand up comic.
Lenny wants to meet 9 people.
Lenny wants it back and he wants it back forever.

Lenny needs your jokes.
Lenny needs to grow some balls.
Lenny needs something to believe in.

Lenny should go to lectures 3 and 4.
Lenny should be doing it.
Lenny should have been in the boardroom.

Lenny will include a copy of his National Best Selling book.
Lenny will be lecturing on striper fishing.
Lenny will walk to a giant golden statue.

Lenny believes he has the solutions to everyone’s problems.
Lenny believes Teddy.
Lenny believes in small beginnings.

The Big Chill

Things That Sucked About The Snow Yesterday

1. One of my neighbors parked his vehicle on our side of the street, causing the snowplow to avoid him and the front of our driveway which left a four foot wide, two feet deep pile of snow in front of my driveway.
2. It took a long time to even use the snow thrower.
3. The auger line was loosened by the extra work.
4. I ranted about sending my neighbor any repair bills regarding my snow blower because he couldn't park his car in his own driveway.
5. PGirl yelled at me for behaving like an ass.

Things That Sucked, Not Regarding The Snow Yesterday

1. State funding that provided me with a job a couple of years ago, employs some friends and provides afterschool care for over 700 students in our city is being chopped out a year ahead of schedule.
2. "Pardon The Interruption" wasn't on in favor of race car programming.
3. Kentucky lost. (I'm waiting for your comment lawyer!)
4. My back was really sore.
5. The "Luann" comic strip.

Things That Were Cool Yesterday

1. PGirl gave me a magazine subscription to Bon Appetit.
2. The kiddoes liked their chocolate hearts and stuffed animals.
3. My office had heat.
   

Working For The Weekend

Saturday was busy. I coordinated a Mandalas workshop in the morning, an artist reception in the evening and the late show with the improv troupe at 10pm.

Due to a burst water pipe in our studio theater space, the workshop had to be moved into the gallery (which doubles as a conference space) from 9 am until 5pm. Not too many folks attended the workshop, but the presenter seemed content.

The artist reception went really well. Over 60 people attended and one piece sold in ten minutes. Not a small feat, considering that hardly any of the work we exhibit sells. With this particular artist, I had professional-looking posters (designed by my talented, high-school apprentice) and postcards made. My boss invited around 70 local business owners in the hope that some of the urban landscapes of the city would sell. Only one of those folks showed up, and he purchased a portrait early.

The artist (Matt Hall) sold another piece to his father. I'm pretty sure I made my advertising, postage and reception money back through the Arts Council's commission - which pleases me to no end. Most important, though, is that Matt has sold two of his paintings and a lot of folks were able to see his work! After my improv set, I came back to Forte restaurant to hang out with some of the gallery folk. There must have been 25 people in the bar area, most of them from the reception. Matt was happy with the turnout. He deserves it.

The improv show was interesting. Our founder, Eric and one of his Comedy Sportz cohort filled in for myself and another member in the early show and stuck around for the late show. It was cool to have 7 people on stage together. There was some roughness in the tone of the show, since our rhythms have changed since Eric moved to Buffalo. We managed a pretty good compromise and delivered a fun show.

All in all, a pretty good Saturday. The only missing element was P-Girl, who watched the kiddoes due to a lack of a babysitter (and my procrastination in securing one!)

Monday Mash Up

I don't have any particular thread of thought to share today. I will meander....

1. Super Bowl Sunday was more relaxing than usual this year. I planned out my menu far ahead of time and bought the ingredients early as well. Most of the foods were easy to prepare and I spread the making of them out over two days.
   
2. The game itself was kind of fun to watch in the first half. I drifted away from it after Prince. Half-time at our house was split between the purple one and a recording of "30 Rock" from last Thursday. Paul Reubens' character was classic!
3. Favorite Commercial? Budweiser's "Rock, Paper, Scissors".
   
4. From the "I Don't Get Their Appeal" Department (Some having nothing to do with Sunday or current trends). David Spade. He's a smarmy little shit and plays one on TV. And he needs to hold a mirror to himself the next time he wants to make fun of anyone. Heather Locklear is easily the most boring and bland actress on television in the last 20 years. She makes the secretary on "Northern Exposure" seem like Jim Carrey. Thankfully, some TV execs have seen past her fake blond hair and have stopped hiring her. Jimmy Fallon was an utter joke on his last couple of seasons on SNL. Don't blame the show here. The dude was unprofessional every time he cracked himself up during the show. I don't know where he is in relation to being back in the public eye - whereever that place may be is too close. He needs to go away.
5. SNL's Digital Shorts continue to entertain. The low-impact aerobic workout spoof had a lot of funny little moments. ("Air").
   

After our improv set in Jamestown last Saturday (documented by Mr. Social), the cast, PGirl and Princess headed over to the Wine Cellar for a night cap. Ian (one of the troupe) wanted to play electronic darts. Naturally I wanted some mood music, so I dropped some money on the digital jukebox. These new music machines charge a lot for their song plays, but you can find some obscure stuff. Ian beat me in both matches, but listening to these tunes was worth it. Plus, I had some extra birthday money too!

Ian and Galoot's Dart Match Playlist: A Thursd8

1. "Marquee Moon" by Television. Great art-punk from the '70s. At over 10 minutes long, it has a lot of value.
2. "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk. Another long player.
3. "Graveyard Shift" by Uncle Tupelo. Loud, twangy and crunchy.
4. "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club (played by Talking Heads). Good live version of the song. "Jaaaames. Browwwn. Jaaaames. Browwwn."
5. "Take Me To The River" by Talking Heads. Another live version. Not so great when played upbeat.
6. "My City Was Gone" by Pretenders. Same melody as the previous song, but much slower. "Hey, ho, way to go Ohio."
7. "Guns of Brixton" by The Clash. Can't go wrong here.
8. "Gas Face" by 3rd Bass. Uses a catchy sample from "Respect"