kapgar

I remember now...

It amazes me how the brain works sometimes.

Last night, during our apparent Rob Reiner night o' entertainment, I was able to remember every single line from The Princess Bride despite having not seen it in nearly a decade. Literally. I was able to recite every single line either out loud or in my head. I tried not to annoy Katie. Really, I did. But she just got revenge on me later by reciting every line of Sleepless in Seattle. So we're even.

And, yet, this morning, I could even remember which direction was hot and which was cold with the knob in the shower. Didn't make for a good morning.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I finally got around to offloading some photos from my digicam so my Flickr account is jumping right now. The selection includes pictures from the birthday/anniversary surprise celebration for Katie's parents back in October, some addition to Wall Destruction 2007, and some new winter shots.

Here are a couple faves...

Tree carving and bubbling.

Yeah, you all already knew I was a sap.

Bye bye, Miss American Pie...

They say that, sometimes, pictures speak louder than words. I'd like to take a moment to measure the decibel level of a few I took yesterday. If you're interested in more, click on over to Flickr.

Okay, so the last photo doesn't exactly fit in the theme I had started. But it's pie! Everyone loves pie! Why question it?

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): A happy belated sixth birthday to my friend, lover, and slavemaster.

And it makes me smile...

Howsabout some snippets?

Clean-up
The post-mouse clean-up continues in Casa Kapgar. I'm feeling less and less bad about the steps I had to take to eliminate our houseguest considering how much he, well, "left behind" for us. We completely wiped the counters clean with bleach cleaner. Same with under the sink and our lower food cabinets. His presence was felt in many, many places, if you know what I mean. We also wound up throwing out a lot of foodstuffs. The little prick even got inside the cannister we use to hold many of our kitchen utensils. Yeah, that's right, we emptied it out to find little brown specks all over the inside. Not fun. Not at all.

Jericho
Do you remember back in May when I announced I won a radio contest for a DVD box set of Twin Peaks, season 2, and I was confused because I couldn't remember entering the contest? Well, I still don't remember entering it, but I have won something else from the very same station. This one I'm pretty sure I remember entering but only because I didn't think there was a prayer of actually winning it.

It's the first season of Jericho.

I started watching this show last season and made it through a handful of episodes before giving up. It wasn't fantastic, by any stretch. But it wasn't terrible. And I think, this time, I may actually watch it. Heck, it's free so why not, right?

But I would like to know when I'm going to start winning the contests I want to win. That's not asking too much, is it?

Muzak
Oh the agony I could've saved my fellow man if only I'd had a rocket launcher installed on my truck. I'd be a hero to millions the world over who are tired of bad music being piped into their workplaces and offices and stores they visit on a daily basis.

Sorry it's a bit blurry. I was driving at the time. And I did black out his license plate. I'm not targeting this guy specifically so no need to worry him and, consequently, the local authorities. But that doesn't make Muzak any less evil.

Lily
Typically I'm one of those people who knows immediately whether he likes an album or not. I can listen to it once and know if I will ever listen to it again. That's just how I roll.

But Lily Allen's Alright, Still has me a bit confused.

I really can't decide if I like it or not. Some of it appeals to me but in a way I can't quite put in words and, thus, I don't know if I truly like it.

Come crumblin', tumblin'...

Happy celebration of the man who accidentally landed on our shores while trying to exploit Chinese trade routes and then oppressed our native peoples and stole their land to the point where, today, they only own enough land to open casinos! Yay, America!

And how did Katie and I spend our Columbus Day weekend? By "discovering" the native state of being of the walls in our living room prior to the previous owners of our home deciding to plaster the hell out of it in order to achieve some funky faux finish.

It's truly not pretty... and it's also not nearly done. Got a couple more weeks of work left to do on it.

Anyway, here are some photos of what we've done so far...

The wall prior to our destruction. We are currently in the process of tearing down that board you see and then stripping off all the textured crap above it. It starts at about eight feet up and continues to the ceiling at 17 or 18 feet.

This is our kitchen. Or, at least, it used to be. Now it looks like a place to house people who are bitten by diseased monkeys. See that chair under the ladder? There's another one to the left of it and that's where I'm typing from at this moment.

For more photos or to track our progress on this project, check the Flickr photoset.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I logged in to my Facebook account this morning and saw just how pathetically far behind the times I was. My request queue for friends and applet adds is enormous! Holy crap! I need to find a day to just sit back and discover all the fun that can be had. God knows that's one thing Facebook has on MySpace, it's fun. Almost too fun.

It's hip to be square...

Snip, snip...

Cube
For the first time in, I believe, five years, my Rubik's Cube is finally solved! Yay me!

Do you find the timing odd considering Dave's post a couple days ago? Well, yeah, I do have him to thank as the solution he linked to is what ultimately helped me solve it.

I had tried just about everything short of peeling the stickers off and putting them back on (the way I did it when I was a kid). Heck, I even tried to pry it apart (see below), but to no avail. I also tried online solutions and none of them, until Dave's link, worked worth a lick.

But it's done. And now that I know it's possible to solve it and how to do it, I may shuffle it back up and try it again. But not yet. I'd like some time to revel in my accomplishment.

WMPy WMPy WMPy
On that rare occasion that I listen to a CD at work instead of my iPod, I have to use Windows Media Player and, sorry kilax and Diane, but it sucks. I have the worst time trying to figure out the functionality of this piece of software. Everything is so scatterbrained that you can tell a committee worked to set it up.

However, I did get a little laugh from it yesterday. I put in a compilation CD that was not registered with the CDDb and, as expected, none of the CD's information registered in the player. But I still got this in the identifier box...

I love it! They don't know who it is, what album it is, or what genre it is... but I can still buy it!

Stupid Microsoft.

Daisies
I owe Dave an apology. I challenged him a bit on the new show Pushing Daisies which premiered last night. He said it was great and that we would all love it. I left a comment saying it better be as good as he keeps hyping it to be.

Well, he was right (yeah, yeah, stroke his ego some more, right?). It was quirky and fun and it had heart and it was beautifully rendered and wonderfully cast and... I just hope they can keep it up. Think the good ol' days of Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands era) meets Dr. Seuss and you'll have some idea of the feel for the show. Then realize it's about a guy who can touch dead things and bring them back to life. But if he touches them again, they die forever and if he doesn't re-kill them within a minute, there will be drastic consequences on another living being around him.

Very cool.

Freakshow, baby baby, on the dance floor...

When several bloggers get together to party, what else can you call it besides a "freakshow"?

First, I need to apologize. Here I was working hard to get my Palm Pilot up to snuff to post photos semi-live from Davecago 2: The Return, only to not be able to find a reliable, unprotected wifi network where we were. Sorry about that. I checked. It just wasn't happening. Guess I shouldn't have teased, huh?

Suffice it to say, it was a complete blast. We had 13 people in attendance and loved every minute of it. Here is the cast of characters...

• Me
• Dave (how else would it be Davecago?)
• Jenny
• Gary
• Robin
• Kim and her man, Steven
• Ajooja
• Lynne (Mrs. RW)
• RW (Mr. Lynne)
• Diane (formerly of Sparktacular) and her man, (oh crap, I'm blanking on his name, I think it's Evan)
• Ariana (who forgot to sign my roster and, thus, I had to search for her URL)
  

The day started with me meeting up with Dave and heading to the Hard Rock Cafe and then the Lego Store. The two of us then headed up to the Apple Store (are you really shocked that the Apple Store and the Lego Store were included when it's Dave and me involved?) where we met up with Gary.

We made pit stops at the hotels where Gary and Dave were staying before heading over to Pizano's on Madison where we tried in vain to hit a Graham Cracker's Comics that had closed a half hour before then went to an "L" station to take some bird's eye photos of Madison Street. Then we grabbed some drinks at the bar in Pizano's.

Jenny was the next to arrive followed by Ajooja, Kim & Steven, Diane & Evan, Ariana, and Robin. At about this time, we were seated at our pseudo banquet table. RW & Lynne were the last to arrive.

Somehow, we all chowed through four pizzas without much trouble, and that was only 11 of us, since RW and Lynne ordered pasta meals.

After determining that we couldn't hear each other all that well, we ventured out to a bar. After trekking nearly a mile, we hit a bar whose outside seating was, get this, closed! What the heck? We couldn't find enough good room inside the place that wasn't right next to where a band was setting up, so we trekked out yet again to a bar inside the Congress Hotel. This was shockingly quiet for a bar, so we sat, drank, and talked. Unfortunately, I had to leave to make my train (the problem with taking trains on weekends is that they run on a two-hour-between schedule... if I miss it, I'm screwed).

But, all in all, it was a fun day with a lot of great people.

I have some photos over on Flickr, but I just had to share my fave of the bunch of one of the cutest couples around, Steven and Kim. Total geek love on this one as he's a Trekkie and she's clearly a more highly evolved human since she's a Star Wars fan.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I have to apologize again as I bailed on Brandon's live fantasy football draft yesterday. I decided to declare it a Katie Day and she and I did a bunch of cool stuff starting with going to our alma, Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, where we stocked up on new NIU swag for the NIU/Iowa football game this coming Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago. We also went out to lunch, saw a movie (Superbad), and cooked a fantastic dinner of steak and rice with peas and a bottle of wine to top it all off.

For those wondering, Superbad wasn't great, but it was fun. As someone I read said, anything with McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and the two cops (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen) was gold! The other stuff was okay. Some was fun to watch while some got to be a bit too much, but we still enjoyed it overall.

And the dinner... oh, the dinner! Fan-friggin'-tastic! A great way to top off a great day.

You gotta take it off...

I'm not sure quite why, but I've been on a bit of a minimalist kick lately. Every time I look at all the stuff in our townhouse, I just want to start getting rid of it.

Usually this is supposed to happen in the spring, hence "spring cleaning," but it's hitting me in the summer instead. This weekend, for example, Katie and I worked our way through the kitchen getting rid of some old dishes, utensils, and cannisters we don't use. All told, we filled about four or five paper grocery bags.

Yesterday, we hit up our bedroom. Get this, once we finished filtering through our closet and dressers, we had nine 30-gallon garbage bags full. Here's a picture of eight of them just to prove it to you...

Heck, I had a stack of nearly 30 sweaters alone...

Tack on to this collection about 30-40 books, some old VHS tapes, and old bedding and towels and I wind up with a truckload of stuff. Actually, two truck loads. I haven't tried loading it all up yet, but odds are it will take me two trips to haul it all out of here.

I love that we're getting rid of all this, but I feel like there's still so much work to be done. We have also cleaned out our pantry/closet in recent weeks, but we have an office, attic, garage, and front closet left to go.

I gotta admit that I found it amazing enough that Katie was willing to do all this work with me.

Initially we wanted to put all this stuff in our neighborhood's annual garage sale, but it never happened. The association dropped the ball on it and we, and all our neighbors, get stuck with all the crap we've been saving up for a year. And it's far too much of a hassle to set up our own garage sale... advertising, taking time off from work, setting it all up, making sure shit's not stolen again.

Now, I think it's just going to Goodwill. I hope someone can do something positive with all of it.

Between a rock and a hard place...

Some snippets for you today...

Typepad Outage
Yes, Typepad, the host of this and many other blogs, had a service hiccup yesterday and the system went down. Not sure how long it lasted or how many were affected, but we're back! All of us! We never left you, we swear! We're here waiting for you! Off the top of my head, this would include me, Karl, Hilly, and Nat. Not sure who else.

Lindsay Lohan
Okay, I've had enough. Less than two weeks out of rehab, after agreeing to wear a BAC anklet, you still get busted, yet again, for DUI and cocaine possession. Sorry, don't expect any sympathy from me. You need to disappear for about 5-10 years and then try a comeback. Just leave. Please. And get away from your mom. She's not helping matters at all.

Potter
No. Neither Katie nor I have even started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yet. We haven't had time. So you won't be seeing a review from me anytime soon. Sorry.

And, is it just me, or is there actually someone else out there that's not really in the mood to read this book just yet? I'm so turned off by all the hype right now that I need a little distance. But I know if I do, I stand a much greater chance of accidentally ruining the ending via Web browsing. So I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. Wait to read it until I'm in the mood and will enjoy it or read it now so the ending can't be ruined? Gah!!!

Moore/Braff
But I am about to turn on a friend to the wonder that is Christopher Moore's Lamb and Joshua Braff's The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. I'm loaning her my copies. I've been hyping up these books to her so much that I hope she's not let down or she'll likely never listen to my opinion ever again. And that would be a travesty!

Robot Chicken
I have become an addict of Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. Yes, some of the sketches can be stupid every once in a while, but the good ones more than make up for it. Rainbow Brite? Enter the Fat One? The Star Wars special? Great stuff! God bless TiVo!

Bird
A coworker turned me on to the music of Andrew Bird recently. So I picked up Armchair Apocrypha and, damn, if it isn't a great album! Then my coworker has the gall to tell me that it's not even his best album (in her opinion). What are you trying to do to me!?!? I'm attempting to trim my iTunes library!

Garden
If this little garden fortification doesn't stop those damn bunnies, I don't know if anything will short of a well-placed landmine. Yeah, I've got the Fort Knox of gardens going on right now.

The Simpsons...

There are occasional moments in a relationship when even the truest love is tested. The envelope stretched. Limits pushed. Patience worn.

When one of the participants in a couple is a geek, this happens more often than anyone would care to admit.

Take, for example, how geeked out I was over the news that a dozen 7-Eleven franchises across the nation and in Canada would be making a temporary transformation to Kwik-E-Marts in honor of the film version of The Simpsons coming out later this month. Granted the nearest one is in the South Side of Chicago (near Shelbyville, HA!), and I'm not too thrilled at making the trip in to the city to see it, I am still geeked over the fact that all 7-Elevens will trade in some of their standard products for Simpsons-themed variations.

Katie could've just rolled her eyes and chalked up yet another one to my inner nerd. She could've ignored me entirely. She could have shouted "ear muffs" and run around with her hands cupped over her ears until I finally shut up.

But what did she do instead?

She made a trip to the 7-Eleven near her work and picked up some of the goodies!

D'oh! Now that's love!

Happy Fourth of July to all of you... well, those of you who celebrate it anyway. I think this exonerates Bec, Nat, and Suze. The rest of you, go out and watch some fireworks!

As long as the price is right...

Kapgar Readers, COME ON DOWN!!!

That's right, folks. Today is a big day in the history of television. Mr. Bob Barker, the very long-time host of the very long-running game show The Price is Right will be stepping down today at noon, eastern time, after nearly 35 years at the helm.

Personally, I have very fond memories of The Price is Right. It was one of the few game shows ever that appealed to me as a kid and, yet, my parents still enjoyed as well. Katie and her family loved it as well. It was simple to understand and incredibly thrilling to watch.

Will he roll his $100?

Will she guess the right price?

What's in Showcase Two???

My mom clearly recognized my love of the show and, when I was much younger and Bob took the show on a road trip around the country, she got us tickets to see him live. Granted I don't remember too many details as I was relatively young, I do remember enjoying it.

As I got older, my tastes evolved into slightly more challenging game shows such as Jeopardy! Ones that, in my opinion, involved more skill. But I always enjoyed Price regardless.

And my appreciation of Bob grew when I saw him move beyond just his hosting duties with a brief, but highly memorable, cameo in Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore. How can you not love seeing Bob kick the crap out of Happy on a golf course?

Oh the fun that Bob has given the world.

Now I ask you to help remember the good times with a memorial salute to three-and-a-half decades of televised enjoyment. We have International Towel Day to commemorate Douglas Adams. Now, how about International Price Tag Day to celebrate Bob Barker and his tenure on The Price is Right?

To participate, you simply need to print out this price tag image (68.3 KB), cut out around the edges, fill in your name, and wear it with pride all day!

I've got mine set to wear. Will you join me?

Show The Bob some love!

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I now have a new favorite photo of Katie that I took at my brother's wedding. After some cropping out of the background and playing with light levels, I finally have it where I want it and have posted it on Flickr. Totally hot!

This is our country...

Well, here's the second post I promised. Sadly, I remember this essay about flying over the Rockies and parts of the southwest U.S. being a lot longer as I wrote it. As it turns out, it's only a few brief paragraphs long. Not sure what happened there. But to flesh it out a bit, I'm going to include some photos I took. They're going to be rather small here on the page, but you can click through to Flickr to view them at full size. Some of the photos may look a bit muddy; I blame that on unclean airplane windows and the fact that I was sitting in the aisle seat reaching over Katie's sleeping body to take some of them. The really clear ones were taken by Katie when she was awake.

The view from up here is spectacular. White-peaked mountains struggling to break through the cloud cover. An attempt by the planet to say "good morning" as we pass overhead. Their majesty is second to none and it makes me long to live among them instead of the featureless flatlands where we currently reside.

An hour later, the view changes dramatically. The peaks collapse upon themselves into the earth forming plummeting canyons and ravines. Vast lengths of dried-out riverbeds no longer providing sustenance to the sun-baked clay. Low-level mountain ranges extending as far as the eye can see. Together, they comprise a multi-level, earthen tattoo... the planet's ink... made forever indelible by eons of weather-related phenomena.

And yet, despite the longevity of these features, an occasional and unnatural cut weaves its way into the fabric of the terrain. A man-made road winding its way through the earth or some other structure interrupting the natural flow proving that we, as mere mortals, can, far too quickly, undo what has taken millennia to create.

I, I feel so alive...

I think I suddenly understand the appeal of fight clubs.

I don't remember the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of how being battered and bruised and seeing those marks and feeling that pain coursing through your body every time contact is made with it, you feel alive. Some strange appeal to it. Some might argue that it's sick. Me? Not so much.

No, I did not get in a fight over the weekend. In fact, I haven't been in a fight since junior high save for the occasional wrestling match with a friend.

But I did injure myself pretty badly while playing disc golf with my dad and brother. Yes, it sounds a bit wussy, admittedly. How can my wiping out while tossing a disc compare to people who fight for fun? It can't. But it's the resulting injuries and that subsequent feeling of "life" flowing through you every time a new wave of pain engulfs your body that is the comparison point.

I am Jack's cold sweat.

I misstepped as I tee'd off on a hole. I lost my balance and jammed my foot in the four-by-four plank at the front of the tee box and did a header. I then rolled into a pile of loose rock and dead branches and wound up on my head. My body balanced in a ball in the air for nearly a second before I completed the tuck and roll.

I tore up my right knee. I've also got minor scrapes on both elbows and my right forearm. There was also that headache that wouldn't quit. All I wanted to do was lie down and sleep the rest of the day. Mild concussion? Perhaps. But I'm still alive today, so it's all good.

I am Jack's smirking revenge.

But it was the pain that I still feel this morning in my leg that has me intrigued. It's not like the pain you feel when you cut yourself or you land on your knee after a fall. This is a searing pain that I only feel when it's touched. There's nothing otherwise. But the smallest thing can set it off. As I slept last night, I rolled on it several times and I woke up ready to scream. I took a shower this morning and was attempting to wash it out and I just couldn't take the water hitting it either directly or indirectly. Heck, the fan in our bedroom blew on it and that set me off.

And the pain felt good. I feel like I'll actually miss it when it heals.

I am Jack's raging bile duct.

How sick am I?

If you care to see it, you can click over to Flickr. I don't recommend doing this while eating. Some of you might not appreciate it. I'm sure many of you have seen worse, but some of you still aren't fans of this sort of thing. Hey, just be happy I'm not posting the picture here thus forcing you to look at it.

We'll stand by you...

Seeing as how I now work for a company in Naperville, IL, I've made it a point to, once again, become somewhat ingratiated into the wherewithall of the town.

A little history... I moved to Naperville in 1987 with my parents. But I "left" in 1993 when I went to college and didn't come back full time until the summer of 2000 after I finished my M.A. Of course, I was back during most winter and summer vacations, like most people. After graduation, I stuck around for a year with my parents while saving money for my wedding to Katie. Then, in September 2001, we loaded up the truck and moved to... Geneva. So, other than the occasional visit, I was pretty well removed from Naperville.

So now I'm making amends by spending time in the city at stores, restaurants, events, etc. It seems like the right thing to do and I'm nothing if not a good citizen.

That was why I decided to take part in Gina Glocksen Day yesterday.

For those who don't know, Gina Glocksen is the self-proclaimed "Rocker Chick" American Idol contestant who was booted off the show last week. For the last couple years, she has lived in Naperville. And, even though most Napervillians realize that Gina was raised in Tinley Park, they've embraced her as one of their own. So they gave her a welcome home party at North Central College.

And I was there.

Even though I'm not an American Idol fan.

But, despite this fact, I know everything that is going on in the show. It's the water cooler topic du jour where I work and I can't help but hear it. I try. Believe me, I try.

Plus, working in a media-related role, I read a ton of local newspapers. And she's been one of their favorite topics of discussion for weeks now. I honestly feel like I've known her my whole life.

Sad, eh?

Well, the event was fun anyway. Nearly 1,000 screaming tweeners shouting out "we love you, Gina" and "you're our American Idol!" Thankfully, Gina was a good sport and threw the love right back. I give her credit for that. I know I could only handle hearing those sorts of things shouted at me once or twice before I would likely throw the wireless mic into the crowd hoping for vicious skull fractures. But she didn't. That would've made for a great picture, though.

Instead, I settled for some of the following...

This is one of my favorite "accidental" photos ever. I feared the shutter was snapping with her turned the other way, but she spun at exactly the right moment just like in a classic fashion shoot. And this is what I got.

The media swarmed her. As would be expected

There are a few more shots on Flickr if you're so inclined.

Oh, and there's no guarantee of this actually happening, but footage of this event was shot for a show called American Idol Extra that is set to air sometime in the future on Fox Reality Channel. If you find out when it's on, let me know. I may be in it.

Brain drain 190 grain...

I really wish I had something worthy to say. However, my brain is on strike at the moment. So to tide you over until the labor negotiations work out a mutually beneficial solution, I am going to give you a variety of photos that I just cleaned off my digicam today. I forgot I had most of these.

This is a rubberband ball I've been working on for a few months now. It's actually about racquetball size right now so don't let the perspective of the photo fool you.

This image is almost haunting to me. It's just the sunset showing through in a slightly below grade parking deck.

It's in the photograph of love...

Need a fun way to pass your time?

Do you have a creative itch you just need to scratch?

Do you live in the suburban Chicago area or are you looking for an excuse to visit every Monday and Wednesday for a two-month span?

Then may I recommend a couple classes that are being offered through the Batavia Park District?

One class that I feel is destined to just be utterly fantastic is...

Artistic Internet Journaling (18+)
Do you ever wish you could write the story of your life? Feel like you are having a "Seinfeld" day and you just want to share the humor, although you are not sure with whom? Here is the perfect opportunity to start journaling online. Start telling little artistic stories about how the days and weeks are going for you in your own perspective. You can keep it personal and no one will know it is out there, or you can tell your friends and family about it and they can drop in and get the scoop. Grandmas and grandpas, this is a great opportunity to reminisce and invite your family to come read! In this class you will learn how to create your own online journaling site that is just yours. Others may view it, if you share that it is there, or you may opt to keep it your own personal space. So instead of looking at what everyone else is putting on the web, start here and get creative!
Location: To be announced
Instructor: Kevin Apgar

Or if just blogging isn't enough, try this one...

Intertwining Photography into Artistic Internet Journaling (Ages 18+)
While you are writing the story of your life, making people laugh, don't forget to add in that picture of you and Aunt Margie on the beach when you intended to smile for the camera, but got knocked over by a wave. That one just has to show up with your story. Do you need a high tech camera for this class? NO! Come with the camera you have, or even a disposable and we can show you how to integrate the moments that mean the most to you right into your online artistic legend. This is your story and you illustrate it by adding photographs of the moments that you choose to portray in your Artistic Internet Journal. come to this class and we will discuss a little of the creative photography, why you don't have an expensive camera and teach you how to integrate those moments you've caught on camera.
Location: Rotolo Middle School
Instructor: Kevin Apgar

Yet another fantastic learning opportunity, for sure!

Notice anything unique about the classes, aside from the subject matter just being downright cool? Yeah, that familiar name under "Instructor." Your fair host is getting his foot in the teaching door and is just a semester away from obtaining a key to the sanctum sanctorum... the teachers' lounge!

Remember some months ago when I said I was approached about instructing classes for the Batavia Park District? Well, it's coming to fruition! The classes start the second week of April and end the week before Katie and I jetset it out to Vegas for my brother's wedding. Talk about perfect timing.

Clearly this is just my first step toward total world domination. Dave thinks he's cornered the market on that one, but I'm in the process of developing my own personal press corps. Top that, Blogography Boy!

Seriously, though, I'm living the dream. I'm being paid to do two things I love, blogging and taking photos! Sorry, Karl, but I just gotta... wOOt!!!

In case anyone is curious, I didn't write those class descriptions. I never would've thought to use Seinfeld in it, but I do like the touch. But, wouldn't you say that the use of "Artistic Internet Journaling" as opposed to "Blogging" is akin to calling a "Garbageman" a "Creative Waste Disposal Artisan"? Perhaps it's just me, but...

Carry moonbeams home in a jar...

Starlight, Starbright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may
I wish I might
Have the wish
I wish tonight

I wish Chicago only had one baseball team... think you can make that happen, universe?

At this point in the game, it could swing either to the Sox or Cubs side and it would make little to no difference to me. I just hate how divided our city becomes as a result of baseball.

I say this because, right now, I'm sick to death of hearing White Sox fans whine about why the city is standing so proudly behind the Bears in their Super Bowl charge, yet they didn't for the Sox two years ago. And these Sox fans are absolutely correct.

These days, everywhere you go, you see stuff like this...

Support for the Bears in Chicago and the suburbs is pretty much unanimous. Everyone gets behind the Bears (save for the occasional Packers fan here and there). And the reason for this is because we have one football team. A singular pigskin entity to stand behind, to represent us, to make us love it, to make us feel pride.

Baseball... not so much.

With the Cubs on the north side and the White Sox on the south side of the city, sports fans are forcibly separated into two camps. In Chicagoland, you are one or the other. According to the diehards, there is no feasible way you can support both, which I find to be a load of crap.

I count myself as a Cubs fan, but I was pulling for the White Sox in their title run two seasons ago. I was happy they were doing so well. I wanted them to do even better. I knew it was good for the city considering it had been 88 years since we'd seen any baseball championship title. Yes, I even bought AL and World Series penants to hang amidst my collection of penants from my childhood.

However, Cubbie loyalists thought I was betraying them while the Sox faithful didn't want my support.

WTF??? So you're telling me I can't be a fan of the city?? Why the heck not? That makes no sense and is just ludicrous. I hate that baseball separates us even more so than bipartisan politics. And it's even been known to erupt into physical confrontations.  It's stupid.

So if you're going to be such extremists, here's the one and only solution to all your whining... LEAVE CHICAGO! I don't care who does it, but one of you must. It will be the only way to solidify support behind a single team.

Nobody wants to face it, but these are the cold, hard facts behind the situation at hand. Kentucky, where I used to live, had the simplest, yet most perfect state motto and I feel it is applicable here, "United we stand, divided we fall." It is the truth. A city divided cannot stand. Even if for only baseball.

Ed note: Do I actually expect this to happen? No. Both teams have been here far too long for either to turn tail and run. I'm simply making a point to all the whiners out there. Just shut up and deal with it.

On a much less vitriolic note, the recipe for Katie's cookies, as mentioned yesterday, is in the extended post.

Retorna me...

Hey all! Guess what decided to make a return visit yesterday, just before the blog-imposed deadline...

Yes, as Hilly said, it is the prodigal bowl! And, as Neil said, it's one ugly photo. And, as Bre said, it is really beat up. But I told you it was. And that's really why I like it so much! It's like a favorite pair of socks. And, considering the person who returned it clearly didn't wash it, it kinda smells like a favorite pair of socks as well. Ick. It's festering in our dishwasher now. Our dishwasher.

So celebrate!

And if this is my karmic payback for the crap that happened yesterday, well, I guess I can handle it.

Tenth Avenue freeze out...

I didn't realize it had been nearly two months since I'd posted photos. Then again, it's been that long since I've actually gone out and taken any new shots. That's so unlike me.

I think these are from Wednesday when I was heading out on a lunchbreak. I started walking, realized that there were a lot of great shots to be had, and doubled back for my camera.

So here you go...

Still just a bit cold.

These bolts are bigger around than my thumb.