8/15/10

They will eat right out of your hand


Brandon flew in from Tempe this weekend. Mutually eager to explore our urban surroundings we embarked on a metropolitan expedition primarily consisting of a jaunt across the abandoned elevated train tracks running east-west through Chicago’s northwestern suburbs, commonly known as the Bloomingdale Trail.

As far as I know the trail is legally owned by some railroad company, but there’s no hope in keeping trespassers out. The unlawful intruder flood gates have been blown open. Brandon and I spotted cyclists, dogs, and short fat people, suggesting there are several easy access points (none of which we found, we had to hop a fence 6th grade-style).

There’s been talk of converting the tracks into a public park, but I feel like any official municipal recognition would only diminish the menacing appeal of the Trail as it sits. When you’re up there, you feel like you‘re above (pun intended) the law. You look down on the Plebs, too simpleminded to shin up a chain-linked fence. It’s awesome and I would recommend it to everyone.


These specks look like birds, but they're actually fighter jets.









This piece of grafitti is just south of the Aldi on Milwaukee.I can't figure out if it's a tribute, or possibly the work of NYHCers H2O, or if it's someone manifesting their admiration for the chemical make-up of water, or if it's just some retard's tag name. Either way, it does something that the vast majority of other "street art" falls short of: it makes me think. But only barely.

8/14/10

Plato's cave

Kevin and I met Brian and Lauren at some theater uptown for a preview of some community acting troupe's production of some play called, "Pandora's Box."Drums are involved in some way and Kevin found them irresistably enlivening.Also, there was smoke.And headshots!
We (Lauren) decided to improvise our own.




A silhouette shot of Pandora's box.Afterwards, we enjoyed some refreshments at Andersonville's Hopleaf.

8/13/10

Jukebox

Kevin stayed here for a few days this week.

Last week, Kevin invited a couple of local teenagers into his apartment. They ended up taking about $800 cash from Kevin and Mike when Kevin wasn’t looking. Two days later, Kevin saw the young man who stole the cash and asked him to return at least part of the hundreds of dollars taken so that Kevin wouldn’t have to call the police. The young man agreed to meet Kevin later that night to return the money. At 2am, after Kevin had put down about 1/5 of vodka, the young man, true to his word, showed up with the promise of returning to Kevin a portion of Kevin and Mike’s cash. The young man said that his friend had the money and was on his way to deliver it, and the young man invited Kevin outside to wait with the young man and several other teenage boys from the neighborhood. As it turned out, the promise of returning the money was a rouse. One of the boys pulled a knife and held it against Kevin’s throat while the others entered Kevin and Mike’s apartment. When the boy with the knife wasn’t looking, Kevin sprung up and ran to the nearest convenience store to seek help, leaving the other boys in his apartment with Mike. Fortunately, Mike was unharmed, but the youngsters did make off with Mike’s 42” flat screen TV, Mike’s laptop computer, Mike’s Playstation 3, Mike’s 20 Playstation 3 games, and Kevin’s cellphone.

The teenage boys that robbed Kevin and Mike live about a block away from Kevin and Mike. They’re neighbors. There’s no way Kevin and Mike can keep on residing in their apartment in Humboldt Park without running into these boys, who probably want to kill Kevin. Additionally, Mike is understandably quite upset with Kevin for his foolishness.

So now Kevin’s out on his ass. He said he was going to take a bus up to Minnesota to stay with his grandma until things blew over, but after a few days here, Kevin went to stay with Matt C-man in Lincoln Square (not Park). I don’t know what Kevin’s plan is. Not just for the time being, but for the long run. Kev’s a little bit insane. I know we all are, but Kevin’s insanity has a detrimental effect of Kevin’s day-to-day existence. I hope this experience knocks some sense into him, but it probably won’t.

8/11/10

Driven by an unknown force

Last Saturday, while everyone else was at Lollapalooza, Randyand I went to see the Nekromantix at Reggie's in Chinatown.The opening band was The MutilatorsI thought the dude just dressed as a female nurse as sort of a gag for the show, but pretty much all the songs are written from a slutty female perspective. He even sang a song about dating Nick 13.




Then came The NekromantixThe Nekromantix have a new drummer: Lux. A really good drummer, and distractingly attractive.I didn't get close enough to get a validating photo, but there's a treasure trove of sexy photos of Lux, posted by Lux, on Lux's website, so you can see for yourself. Be sure to note that she plays the drums in high heels.

There were two adorable skinheads at the show that really brought me back. I haven't seen a skin at a show since I was 15. What made these two particularly cute were their matching Ben Sherman polo shirts. While they were standing in front of me I said to Randy, "hey, did you see that movie This Is England ?" Before Randy got a chance to answer, one of the dudes turned around and accusingly asked me if I was making fun of him. What an insecure pussy.Afterwards, Randy and I went next door to the lounge part of the venue to watch some other stand up bass based band.
Then we went to Miller's PubNot that it's in-and-of-itself a bad thing, but the place is extensively touristy, which means the drinks are distressingly steep. I don't know why anyone would go there.


The El Train ride back home was oppressive.

8/8/10

Bauman-o-meter

Dr. Finley Brown's Baumanometer.

Looking back on it, I wonder if it was a coincidence that Dr. BROWN insisted on dropping a digit on me. Did he do it because he thought it was part of his regular physician duties (eventhough rectal exams are generally considered unnecessary for men under 40), or is it that he feels like he's got a last name to uphold?

Poor Desperate People









8/7/10

REVIEW: Channel 7's Steve Dolinsky's signed headshot at Ethiopian Diamond


In case you can’t read it, Channel 7’s Steve Dolinsky wrote on his headshot:

“Ethiopian Diamond, can’t wait to get my hands on your injera and doro watt…literally! Many thanks, Steve”

There are two fundamental faults with this signed headshot: (1) The quip based on the literal use of the phrase “hands on” and (2) The timing of the execution of the headshot signing.

Quips based on the actual manifestation of a literal phrase are only humorous when the literal phrase describes something that never actually happens, but under particularly unusual circumstances, the literal phrase is actually manifested and the otherwise strictly literal phrase applies to the actual circumstances. For example, it would be funny for astronaut Michael Collins to say during the Apollo 11 mission, “Boy, I’m really over the moon for this space mission…literally!” This is because “over the moon” is a literary phrase typically used to describe elation, not to describe the actual act of being over the moon, however, in the context of the first manned mission to the moon, it’s actual meaning is the same as its literary meaning.

Channel 7’s Steve Dolinsky’s use of “get my hands on…literally” is not funny because when people use the phrase “get my hands on,” they almost always are using it to describe what they actually intend to do. They’re saying it to describe actual physical control over an object. Like, “I can’t wait to get my hands on the new Apple iPad,” or “I can’t wait to get my hands on that unattended whicker basket full of kittens.” Nobody ever uses “get my hand on” to describe something that they won’t actually touch, like “I can wait to get my hands on total karmic peace and contentment.”

What I’m saying is that because Channel 7’s Steve Dolinsky is using the literary phrase “get my hands on” in common actual manifestation, the concluding “literally!” is redundant and thoroughly unfunny. It’s the same as me saying “I’m 5’9”…literally!” There’s no joke there because I actually am 5’9” and I’m expressing that with the intent to convey an actual circumstance. So there’s no point in me telling you it’s literal because the phrase itself is being used in the most common manifestation of its accepted use.

Secondly, couldn’t the manager at the Ethiopian Diamond waited until famed Chicago food critic, Channel 7’s Steve Dolinsky finished eating his injera and doro watt before making the solicitation for the signed headshot? I mean, what kind of endorsement is this? It tells me one of two things: (a) Ethiopian Diamond is detrimentally impatient; or (b) Ethiopian Diamond thinks their food kinda sucks and they’re hedging their bets.

Either the Ethiopian Diamond was so ecstatic that famed Chicago food critic, Channel 7’s Steve Dolinsky was in their humble north African dining establishment, and simply could not wait to hit him up for a signed photo and also could not possibly foresee that Steve Dolinsky would eventually order food from said establishment, consume it, and then be able to give a more comprehensive endorsement while waiting for the bill, or Ethiopian Diamond, secretly deep down believes their food to be less than satisfactory (which isn’t true, it’s really good), and their closeted lack of culinary self-confidence caused them to get the personalized Channel 7’s Steve Dolinsky endorsement upfront as a precautionary measure. Either way, neither the imprudence nor cunning attempt to mask their ineptness bodes well for the eatery. THUMBS DOWN.