Video Bar Updated!

Now featuring random selections about Chicago 2016, Wall-E, and Cubs Vs. Sox.

Enjoy!

The Official Olympic Bid Video

Narrated by the grumbly bearded guy from CSI!

Cool images of various local landmarks. And the last little vignette made me a little teary-eyed.

Olympic Glory or Olympic Gory?

Chicago is making a bid to host the Olympics in 2016, and there's been quite a bit of buzz lately, as they made it into the top 4 finalists recently, along with Rio de Janerio, Tokyo, and Madrid.

It has been an interesting introduction into Chicago politics, which really are their own entertainment. My impression is that this is the pet project of Mayor Daley, and he's just pulling along everyone else for the ride. It was interesting that even at Taste of Chicago this weekend the most conspicuous presence was that of Chicago 2016 T-shirt clad volunteers handing out stickers with the proposed logo.

Those I have spoken to about it seem pretty divided. The younger, the more excited they seem to be about the idea, whereas older folk are already convinced it's little more than a massive expense and a huge potential drain on the city's infastructure, especially transportation (which is bad enough already).

I have no idea if this is a legit copy of the bid video submitted to the committee (my guess is not), but it has some cool footage of the proposed staduim and other sites. It seems to match what I have read so far in the papers.

Regardless of whether or not Chicago "deserves" it (apparently, the real question is whether or not the US "deserves" it), it is pretty cool think about having the Olympics in the midwest. Imagine the opportunities it could present for kids from Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin to get to see a world-class event, just a few hours away.

I think St. Louis should make a bid. Good sports town, needs the shot in the arm, and goodness knows there's enough under-used real estate downtown to re-purpose.

Pannakoeken Cafe

The nice thing about having foodie friends come in town is their enthusiasm for trying new places. The Lord and Lady made their way north with me after a church service downtown, and I convinced them to try a Dutch pancake house in Lincoln Square, the Pannakoeken Cafe.

Dutch pancakes are just a tad thinner than a crepe. The Pannakoeken Cafe tops them with a variety of both sweet and savory ingredients. For example, Lady got hers with salami, mushrooms, and Havarti cheese, and Lord Maplewood got his with bananas, strawberries, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. I was craving a split between the two, so I ordered mine with ham, pineapple, and Havarti.

The food was fantastic. The pancakes were rich and buttery with crisp edges and the toppings were incredibly fresh. It was worth it alone for the creamy goodness of that cheese. We were all very satisfied, although Lady took me to task for backing out of my promise to cook for them while they were in town.

I turned it around on them and made them promise to come visit again!

The Payoff for Waiting

Millenium Mania

After finishing up at Taste of Chicago, we made our way over to Millenium Park, one of my favorite downtown attractions.
At the area known as Crown Fountain, we spent some time watching the kids splashing around in the shallow water and going crazy in anticipation of the big video images opening up their lips to spit out their fountain of cool water. It was like waiting for Santa, these kids were buzzing with energy.

The Taste

I had my first friends come in town to visit this weekend. Lord and Lady Maplewood came in town with their son, Squire, to go to Taste of Chicago. It has been great to see some familiar faces, and we really enjoyed the festival.

On the ride home, I tallied up all the dishes we sampled between the three of us, 16 in total! Don't worry, it was split between lunch and dinner. We didn't employ much strategy, so we kept flipping between savory entree, dessert, appetizer, dessert, entree, appetizer, etc. Thankfully, I managed to avoid any indigestion.

Here's my tip for ToC: go for lunch. The crowds at suppertime where CRAZY! Apparently, Stevie Wonder was playing on the mainstage. Who knew he could still draw such a crowd?

There were 64 restaurants represented, everything from African (goat meat stew!) to deep dish pizza. I tended focus more on local Chicago flavors: Italian beef, Italian ices, Ely's cheesecake. I tried to throw in a few exotic flavors, including shark, to make things interesting.

Here's a list of all the food we tried: beer-battered artichokes; chorizo and cheese breakfust puff; Italian beef sandwhich; loukaniko greek sausage (see above); frozen chocolate chip toffee crunch cheesecake on a stick; plain cheesecake; fresh pineapple seafood salad; gazpacho with avocado and chopped chives; grilled veggie chopped salad; chocolate mousse; lemon and mango italian ice; skewered shark veracruz; Italian breaded steak sandwhich; Taiwan shining noodles; vegetable tempura; and mango cumin-dusted fries with chutney.

Urban Beauty

I was downtown last Friday for an audition and to stop by City Hall to get Atlas' pet license.

I was having a good day, so I took a little detour to spend some time around the river. I really love the architecture of Chicago, and especially these bridges. I love the graceful sweeps of the arches, and the heavy rivets, and the handsome stonework on the towers or keephouses at each end.

They have used Chicago as a style reference for the new Batman movies, even filming some exterior scenework here. They have been showing Batman Begins all over TV for the past couple of weeks, and you can really see it, especially in scenes set in or around the train system or The Narrows, where the prison was located.

This is where I usually fill my gas tank each week. It is called The Des Plaines Oasis, and it actually spans over the tollway I take to work each morning. It consists of the building you see in the picture and a pair of matching gas stations on either end.

I like to stop at the Oasis for a couple of reasons. First of all, who doesn't like the idea of saying, "I stopped at the Oasis for a cup of coffee"?

Secondly, it is pretty quick. The whole point of the Oasis is that you never leave the tollway, so it's just a ramp in and a ramp out. No turns, no lights, just drive on through.

Lastly, it is the first gas station I come across outside of the city boundaries. This means the prices are about 20 cents cheaper per gallon than my nearest station at home. Still not a bargain at 4.21/gallon, but I will take what I can get.

The building houses a McDonalds, a Panda Express, a Starbucks, and I think some sort of mini Nissan dealership. How that last one is at all practical I still haven't figured out (don't you need a car to get onto the tollway in the first place?) but the parking lot is usually pretty busy. It seems that Starbucks usually has the longest line.

WALL-E - FINAL Trailer TRUE-HD

What Does a Midwest Scotsman Know That Roger Ebert Doesn't?

I have a friend who gives me grief because I read movie reviews. It drives me crazy because otherwise he's a fairly intelligent, aesthetically-enlightened guy. He can read Hebrew, play the bagpipes, and program HTML. What's so difficult about appreciating film criticism?

I have been ill-equipped to reply to his objection that reading reviews keeps me from forming my own opinion about a film, tending to defer to the idea that reading a wide variety of reviews helps me to figure out if a film is generally worth seeing, and, in the end, a frugal investment of my entertainment dollar. That rarely ever satisfied either of us, but I haven't made the time to figure out what else I wanted to say.

Then, this week, I was reading an article about some journalism awards being handed out in LA, and one of them was for LA Times book critic, Tim Rutten, being recognized for his work this past year. A single line from the judges comments jumped out at me and helped me find the words I was missing for my own defense:

"Rutten’s reviews offered style, wit and insights into both substance and form, drawing readers to books they otherwise might not have considered."

Seems pretty innocuous I know, and you would think, with a theater degree from a liberal arts school, that I would have a stronger grasp on the value of literary criticism, but we sometimes lose ourselves a bit don't we?

Some movie reviews are crap. I would say most are crap. Writers trying to show off their brainbanks or verbal dexterity. Editors trying to fill copy. To make things more difficult, most movies are crap, made more for commerce than craft. Not inspirational enough to even inspire text.

But a pairing of a fine film with a thoughtful critic can open up wonderful new worlds. I read reviews for mentions of good performances that might point toward the fierce energy of the human experience. I scour them looking for an invitation to explore new landscapes, perhaps imaginary, although the older I get, the closer to hard clay I find I want to be. I read for the hope of introductions, to new ideas, new images, uncovered histories, undreamed fantasies that I would not likely encounter in my own mundane living. My own eyes can only see so far, my own arms can only grab so much, and my own feet can only carry me so long. Good films expand all those boundaries, and good film reviews have the ability to draw me exploration, or give warning that there's nothing there that hasn't been seen before.

What inspired all of this? The new Disney/Pixar movie Wall-E opened today, and I have rarely seen such universal praise from critics. Moreso, however, is that most of what I read points to the idea that there might be something in this movie that is transcendent, both in terms of the artistry of the filmmaking AND the ideas it explores. How often do we get to experience that? And even if all this critical praise inflates expectations too high, isn't there still even a scrap of comfort in BELIEVING in or HOPING for something beautiful? Wouldn't you rather know and hold on to that, then waste your time on something that offers considerably less?

NYTimes.com - Frugal Traveler: The Grand Tour

It turns out The Frugal Traveler has added a little video feature to his work this summer.

This is the first webisode, which basically sets up the convention of his trip. Nothing groundbreaking. Watch at your own risk, I think actually seeing the guy spoils some of the mystique.

He has nice teeth, though!

Crosstown Classic: Yep, They Take It THAT Seriously

Desktop Destinations

Today at the office, I was trying to sell a colleague on the excellent work of New York Times travel writer, Matt Gross. This is my third summer following Matt as zips around an amazing amount of territory in a relatively short period on a miniscule amount of money. The blog detailing his journey, The Frugal Traveler, has a sidebar this year, breaking down his daily budget. My coworker was incredulous at the amount set aside for nightlife: $1.86. A fairly well-traveled guy himself, he couldn't believe it could be done. I asked him to suspend his belief and read on.

Gross' trick is that he knows that the key to good entertainment (and travel overall) isn't how much you spend, but who you meet while doing it. He spends time with people, learns their stories, and wouldn't you know it, in the end he usually gets a round of drinks or a free night on a couch.

After last summer's trip driving through the US in an old Volvo he bought (and later resold) on Craigslist, he's returned to Europe. He's gone a little highbrow with his inspiration, following the routes known collectively as The Grand Tour which, up to about 100 years ago, meant a route through the southern half of the continent that young, monied gentry took as a part of their finishing experience between school and the world of work. The twist is that Gross is doing it now, in the internet age, when class barriers are a little more permeable, travel is much more egalitarian, and, instead of a family fortune to blow on a villa in Florence, he has a daily lodging budget of $42.02.

If you, like me, feel the need for the occasional 10-minute mental vacation, I cannot recommend his blog highly enough. Yes, I love the gorgeous photos, and the descriptions of all the food and magnificent sights. But it's how he unearths the stories of the real, common, workaday people he meets, and incorporates that into his understanding of those marvelous things he's seeing and eating that makes his writing something special. Last summer, he helped me fall in love with America all over again. This summer, he's teaching me to fall in love with the simple act of discovery.

Extreme Makeunder: ChicagoBlogo Edition

As you can see, I've changed things around a bit. New color scheme, simplified format. Felt like it was time for a change. I think the darker background will do photos a little more justice, too.

Inspired by some blogging friends in Savannah, I've added some features to the layout: a news ticker for Chicago-specific happenings, YouTube video feed for stuff I find amusing and want to share (check out the Catherine Tate clips and news bloopers, guaranteed to lift the mood after a couple of hours spent in rush hour). Thinking of adding a few links, and maybe a way to post rotating items, like a new recipe or calendar of events. I've also simplified the name to "Chiblogo", although the URL will stay the same.

And there's a photo now, from the infamous lightsaber photo shoot.

I'm also going to try to post more frequently, with more "lifestyle" stuff, like things I'm reading, pop culture items, trends, current events, etc. The goal is to try not to be too obscure, nor too frivilous, but just feed the brain a little and, honestly, flex my writing skills. Let me know if you have any particular areas of interest you'd like to explore.

Jennawatch Update

Jenna DID attend the play tonight. She sat one row in front of us and two seats down.

We DID NOT get to meet her. She was mobbed by old acquaintences as soon as the show ended. Originally, the whole group was going to go to a pub after the show, but the plans changed to a house party hosted by someone I didn't know. Would have been awkward, so we bailed.

But we were in close vicinity for some time. Close enough that it would have been weird and a little too obvious to grab a cell phone pic.

We both agree that even though she is lovely and seems very nice, our lives do not feel significantly different.

The Gentleman Lodger

For a little more than a month, it has just been me and the pooch and the Fire Alarm Lady (who has been thankfully quiet lately). It's been nice, and I had originally thought I would just keep the second bedroom open for the summer, but things have worked out otherwise.

Meet JR. That's not what he's really called, but I feel weird using real names on a public blog, so just go with me.

I met JR my first day of improv class, and after a couple of weeks he has decided that I am not a serial killer and agreed to rent the second bedroom for the summer. He would like to move up to Chicago full time after that, but it all depends on whether or not he can find a job. He currently works in eduation, so he has a couple of months to rassle something up.

JR is originally from Belleville, IL, so we can talk St. Louis stuff. He likes the theater, movies, TV, comics, and other imagination-y stuff, so we get to talk about that, too. He has worked with at-risk teens, so I think it means he's a good guy. He likes Chinese food and sushi and has experience with pug puppies, so he's not (too) intimdated by the pooch.

Here's a little Q&A so you can get to know him too:

AA: So, JR, do you have any immediate plans to murder me in my sleep or steal any of my stuff?

JR: (long pause), no but I did drop your toothbrush in the toilet.

AA: That's okay, because my dog has peed on your bed. Next question: Why are you moving to Chicago this summer?

JR: Second City, I hope to get as involved as possible and be able to stay up here to keep doing it.

AA: What's the farthest you have ever traveled from home?

JR: Which is farther, Florida or Texas? I love Florida and hate Texas. I really hate Georgia (ed. note: Savannah crew, try not to judge too soon).

AA: Toilet paper: against the wall, or over the top?

JR: Over the top. I can't stand it the other way.

AA: Me, too! [collective sigh of relief] Did you get some of that Orange Chicken left over from lunch?

JR: Yeah, it's good.

AA: I know. Yum-o! Well, I think that covers the basics. Any questions for me?

JR: When do I get to meet Jenna Fischer (ed. note: from TV's "The Office", she graduated from the same theater program I did and knows some of my Chicago theater friends)?

AA: I'm working on it. Word on the street is that she might come to the play we're seeing tonight.

JR: Really?

AA: Maybe. Just don't get your hopes up. And if she IS there, no drooling.

JR: [falls out of chair, blissed out grin on his face]

AA: Theater people! So dramatic!

Scary or Sassy?

I needed to have a headshot for a Second City thing today. I hadn't pursued professional ones yet because I am unsure about how long I want to commit to The Man Mane. So I invited a few creative friends over and plied them with pesto pasta and Framboise and we ended up with the above, which I printed on a black background with white text.

I posted it almost immediately on Facebook, where reaction has varied from frightening to fantastic. What do YOU think?

I am not dead.

I apologize for the gap in postings. Things have been a little hectic and, frankly, I have been feeling a little under the weather and down. Nothing big, just life catching up to me.

So, a lot has happened. Let's start with the picture. Last Saturday, a met up with a friend at Midsomerfest in the Swedish neighborhood of Andersonville.

(sidenote: so far I have been to Mayfest the first weekend in June and Midsomerfest before the solstice. What's up with that, Chicago?)

The fest was nice. Thankfully, less crowded than Mayfest. Andersonville is a cool little neighborhood with some awesome little bakeries and restaurants. They take their Swedish heritage pretty seriously, so I had hoped for some clogging and lutekfisk sampling. Instead, it appears that the affluent gay and lesbian population that has moved in during recent years has exerted a strong influence, so we got Saab demonstrations and contempoary Scandanavian homegoods. Which isn't a bad thing. I like me some $400 salad tongs as much as the next guy, I was just hoping for something a little more traditional.

By far the most popular attraction was the 80's cover band that played at one end of the street. They really played it up, with big hair wigs, torn t-shirts, spandex pants, the whole nine yards. The crowd was eating it up, singing and dancing along as the jammed out to hits from Journey, Van Halen, Guns N Roses, Heart, and a lot of others. It was fun to see so many people just cutting loose and being silly.

As things shut down for the night, my friend and I made our way over a block to a place I had been wanting to try since moving here: the Hopleaf Bar. The Hopleaf has some obscene number of beers available, but they specialize in Belgians. Now I know this may be something of a sore subject given recent business announcements, but after visiting Rolbo and Liesie last fall, I am a big fan of Belgian beers. So I ordered up a Kriek (served in a wine-sized bottle! For 12 bucks!) and some mussels, and worked off some workweek blues.

Sounds good, sounds great.

A night of live music was the perfect prescription after a week of work. The bands seemed to get increasingly interesting and skillful as the night went on. My favorite was a group called The August, fronted by a beautiful blonde in a mini dress who had this fantastic smoky, soulful voice. She was backed by a great jam band, including a white guy with dreadlocks and a serious case of happy feet.

My other favorite was the ride home on the El. Who is out at 12:45 on a Friday night? A young couple, fighting over which place to go next. A pair of siblings, speaking some hodgepodge of French and English. Two old girlfriends, topping off a night out, away from their kids, who still manage to be the topic of conversation. A greasy haired young guy, looking seriously agitated, until he gets a text on his phone, which breaks a wide grin on his face. A too-old-to-be-out-this-late transplant from a smaller Midwestern city, tapping away on his phone, trying to fight off exhaustion and restrain his full bladder.

Another old Truman theater connection came through this week. Jen is officially an academic, finishing her Ph.D. in Ohio this past year and getting ready to move her family out to Oregon in September.

Over the past year, she's written a play based on the writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife to the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. Through some connections, she has arranged to have it premiere here this week, so she came in to town with her husband and have been working on bringing it to life over the past few days.

On a whim, I offered to help her pull together some publicity for the show, so my spare time this week was largely spent writing and sending press releases, calling media outlets and trying to harangue editors into checking out the show, and organizing an opening night afterparty to try to bring some attention. It has been a lot of fun, working my one or two connections and learning more about the way the theater scene works here.

The opening was last night, and the show was good. The afterparty was more subdued than I hoped, but I met some interesting people and had fun catching up with others. Sorry, no pictures of the set this time. I was so caught up in my role of PR guru that I forgot.

Tonight, I am off to catch some live music at the Metro, which I am told is one of the best venues in the city. It's two blocks up from Wrigley, which should be cool to see at night.

Looking forward to a quick trip home for the weekend, even if it is painfully short (Saturday night through Monday).

On a related note: can you believe gas prices? Crazy!