A Mild Uproar of Fun

Typically, we don’t get guests during the winter months. But, for my dad, who actually enjoys the cold weather, it was the perfect time for a visit. Now, usually when my dad comes up, we attend a sporting event. But this time, we stayed clear of the arenas, and instead entertained ourselves with a series of tourist stops and dining adventures.

Below are some photos from my dad’s visit:

My dad shows off his Chicken Parmigiana from Da Luciano, a small Italian restaurant that known for having a separate, gluten-free kitchen.

Here’s my dad at Dan’s Tackle Service, an oddity of a fishing store found right in our neighborhood. My dad and Dan had a nice conversation about Arkansas fishing.

During the entire month of February, admission is free at the Art Institute of Chicago. As you can see, we took advantage of it. My favorite thing my dad said, while staring at Grant Wood’s American Gothic, was “this is the only one? This isn’t a copy?” Nope, it’s the real deal.

We finally ate at a Rick Bayless restaurant. The above photo is my chicken chorizo tacos from Frontera Fresco, located on the 7th floor of Macy’s (once Marshall Fields) on State Street.

On the left hand frame, you can see Apryl sharing information to my Dad about the Chicago Cultural Center.

Towards the end of our day on Saturday, we went to the SkyDeck at Willis Tower (better known at Sear’s Tower). This was our visit after the inclusion of The Ledge. My dad would not step foot out there for nothing. But Apryl and I did…

And, a short video:

Oh, and, I suppose I should share the view:

On Sunday, my dad and I visited the Chicago History Museum. Below, my dad points to where his seats were when he attend a White Sox game during a business trip in the 70’s at Old Comiskey Park.

Good seats!

Later that day, my dad and I ventured over to Montrose Harbor and caught this amazing view:

We also saw a few ice fishers:

That evening we watched the Saints win over the Colts while eating Chicago deep dish pizza from Lou Malnatis. Sorry, no evidence of this taking place.

On Monday morning, before my dad’s flight back home, we enjoyed a Chicago breakfast institute, Ann Sather. Below, their famous cinnamon rolls:

As always, it was nice spending time with my dad. I was hoping we would have snow blanketed over the city for him, but most of it was melted. There were a little flurries on his first night in town, but nothing compared to the 14 inches we are expected to have tonight, or the 8 inches expected when he arrived back in Memphis. Until next time…

Check out all the photos here.

It was great seeing everyone during the holidays! Hope everyone has a fun, safe New Year’s Eve celebration. Seeing as it will be 13 degrees outside tonight, I feel like we’ll be hanging out in our cozy apartment. Goodbye, Decade!

Top 10 Concerts of 2009

10. Ingrid Filter at Millennium Park (open rehearsal)
9. Nomo at Millennium Park
8. Josh Ritter at The Metro
7. The Feelies at Millennium Park
6. Junior Boys at Wicker Park Festival
5. The Dirty Projectors at Millennium Park
4. Lou Reed at Lollapalooza
3. Various Artists at Pitchfork Music Festival
2. SHELebration (with Bobby Bare Sr., Bonnie Prince Billy, Bobby Bare Jr.) at Millennium Park
1. Leonard Cohen at Chicago Theatre

As you can see, we really like to take advantage of the free concerts in Millennium Park. And if you remember, I merely caught the Lou Reed set at Lolla from outside the gates, and we won two free tickets for the Ritter one. In fact, the only shows that we actually paid for in 2009 were Pitchfork and Leonard Cohen. Worth every penny!

Top 10 Favorite Songs of 2009

10. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - The Tenure Itch
9. Akron/Family - River
8. Bill Callahan - Too Many Birds
7. The Dirty Projectors - Two Doves
6. Great Lake Swimmers - Pulling On A Line
5. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
4. Cass McCombs - Harmonia
3. Junior Boys - Dull To Pause
2. Elvis Perkins In Dearland - Doomsday
1. Animal Collective - Taste

My Top 5 Favorite Risk Taking Records of 2009

5. Sufjan Stevens - The BQE
4. Oneida - Rated 0
3. Julianna Barwick - Florine
2. Yonlu - A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed is Inconceivably Mediocre
1. Jim O’ Rourke - The Visitor

UPDATE - How could I forget Charles Spearin’s The Happiness Project?

While I was working in Shreveport, I listened almost excusively to jazz records. Below is a list of albums I listened the most (without listing multiple albums from one artist):

Top 10 Jazz Albums

10. Dave Douglas - Keystone
9. Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert
8. Herbie Hancock - Fat Albert Rotunda
7. Phineas Newborn Jr. - Harlem Blues
6. Craig Taborn - Junk Magic
5. Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser
4. Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans
3. Sun Ra - Sound of Joy
2. Charles Mingus - Right Now: Live at the Jazz Workshop
1. Miles Davis - In a Silent Way

Top 5 Places Visited (work and non work related) in 2009

5. Cleveland, OH (Because of work I can now say that I have been… twice.)
4. Arlington, TX (The last baseball game I saw of the `09 season, Ranges vs. Mariners.)
3. Birmingham AL (Rickwood Classic!)
2. Salt Lake City, UT (Breathtaking…)
1. Fountain City, WI/Wabasha, MN (3rd Anniversary!)
Honorable Mention: Shreveport, LA (After spending two months working there, I have a bit of a soft spot for it.)

Top 10 Tourists Stops of 2009 (in no particular order)

Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago History Museum
John Hancock Observatory
The National Eagle Center
Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium
Great River Bluffs State Park in MN
Rock in the House
Garvin Heights in Winona, WI
Rickwood Classic
Harry Potter Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry

Top 5 Favorite Food Photos of 2009

5. Our anniversary main dish was okay. But this mushroom soup starter was amazing!

4. Giordano’s - What would a food list be without Deep Dish pizza?

3. The Cell - This is what baseball tastes like!

2. Bar B Que Shop - The best BBQ in the world!

1. Toast - When I die, I hope these pumpkin pancakes are waiting for me.

Top 5 Most Memorable Jobs 2009

5. Public Enemies junket at Union Station
4. Food Dude at Lou Malnati’s
3. Oprah interviews Charlie Nash
2. Bulls vs. Celtics Playoffs
1. The movie in Shreveport, LA and Salt Lake City

Most Memorable Moment of 2009
Easy. Grandma Jackson visits Chicago.

Top 5 Favorite Personal Photos of 2009 (in no order)

Sure, the John Hancock Observatory has an amazing view. But does it have the Ledge? Well, the skydeck at the Sears Tower (soon to be known as Willis Tower) does. What’s the Ledge? Well, the ledge is a sectioned walking space that juts out from the side of the building, completely surrounded with see through glass, giving one bold soul the chance to “levitate” 1,300 plus feet above the ground. To get a better idea of what I mean check out this Tribune article.

Unfortunately, the Ledge wasn’t open to the public last week when Brad was in town. But it will be there for our next visitor! Would you be brave enough to walk inside the Ledge?

Did I mention that my good friend Brad came to visit last week? I first met Brad in Memphis where we spent many hours watching the Grizzlies, playing pool, and hanging out here. Brad now lives in Nashville. We make every effort to see him whenever we’re in the Music City area visiting my sister. When we saw Brad last, he told us he was planning on paying us a visit real soon. True to his word, Brad was checking into our guest room three weeks later.

Since he was only here for three days, we were only able to scratch the surface at what Chicago has to offer. But nevertheless, we had a lot of fun. And since Brad is a professional photographer, I was able to use the opportunity to be the shutterbug that I am. Here are a few photos from past week:

One of the first places I took him was the Museum Campus where one can catch an amazing view of the Chicago skyline. I’m posting my photo but it doesn’t compare to the panoramic one Brad created in Photoshop.

Afterward, we headed south on Lake Shore Drive towards Hyde Park. I knew that he wanted to check out the Museum of Science and Industry. Not for the exhibits but for the building itself since it was a part of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. While we were in the neighborhood, he also wanted to check out Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House. We also explored the beautiful University of Chicago campus. Check out the overgrowth on the buildings in the photo above!

After we spent several hours in Hyde Park, we ventured downtown for dinner and a free concert a Millennium Park (see post below). Afterwards, along with Apryl, we walked Michigan Avenue to the John Hancock Observatory. Between the Sears Tower and the Hancock, the Hancock is my favorite in that it provides a grander view of the city.

However, Apryl and I were a bit shocked at all the additions since the last time we had been to the Hancock with Apryl’s mom. Now, there is a free audio headset provided where as David Schwimmer gives you a tour of the many sights. Also, there is a coffee shop with even a few tables. And at all times, you are being serenaded with bad pop music through the speaker system. Still, you can’t beat that view. See below:

I have to say, I was proud of my new camera. A shot as sharp as the one above wouldn’t have been possible with my previous Canon Power Shot.

Here is a shot looking north at Lake Shore Drive.

On that first day, we did a lot of walking. On our way back home, we walked through Millennium Park once more and I grabbed this shot from the garden.

Not only was there a lot of walking, but there was a lot of heat. This was literally the first week of summer and it felt like it for sure. For Brad’s entire trip, the highs were in the upper 90’s. As I explained to him, though, the next week’s highs might be in the 70’s. Sure enough, that’s just what happened.

The next day I took Brad to one of my favorite places to get a hot dog, Hot Dougs. I have heard of folks waiting hours in line to get their hands on a Hot Doug dog. There was a line when we arrived but we luckily made it through in less than twenty minutes.

I believe it’s safe to say Brad thought the dog was worth the wait. What’s funny about this photo is that he’s holding a ketchup bottle in his left hand. Putting ketchup on a Chicago hot dog is a real no no. And I can assure you that Brad followed the long Chicago tradition, and used the ketchup only for his fries.

The White Sox happened to be in town playing against the number one team in baseball, the Dodgers. So I got us some upper deck seats, and we headed out to he ballpark. But first, we made a pit stop at Chinatown. Chinatown is only one train stop from the Sox stadium, so we took in some sights and grabbed dinner.

At the game, Brad confessed to me that this was his first attended Major League baseball game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a well played one for the Sox. When Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was asked, after the series wrapped up, why the attendance was so low for the Dodgers games, he responded “because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans. They know we’re [insert expletive here].” Still, after that loss, the Sox have won 6 out of their last 7 games. And as amazing at it sounds, the Sox are currently in 2nd place in the AL Central Division.

This is the view you see as you’re leaving the Sox stadium.

That night we lived up old times at The Map Room. So much so, that we slept in on his last day, and barely got in a lunch before we had to head out to the Midway airport. Still, it was a great time spent with an old friend.

You can check more photos from Brad’s visit here.

Yesterday, Apryl and I took advantage of Free Week over at the Art Institute as the museum was celebrating the opening of its Modern Wing. The new addition of 264,000 square feet makes it the second largest art museum in the country!

Inside the new space, one can find contemporary art from 1960, early 20th century European art, new photography, architecture and design, and video media. The best part, which we didn’t get to try out, was the Nichols Bridgeway which is a walkway from Millennium Park to the third floor of the Modern Wing. No wait, the best part was that it was free! Check out photos from our trip:

The third floor entrance from the Nichols Bridgeway.

Inside the Modern Wing.

Jeff Wall’s The Flooded Grave. Silver dye-bleach transparency in an aluminum light box.

Apryl walking on the second floor of the Modern Wing.

In contemporary art from 1945-1960. Of course, this is Jackson Pollock. Greyed Rainbow is the title.

Apryl inside the contemporary art after 1960 section. Check out the Elvis Warhol!

David Hockney’s American Collectors.

More Warhol.

Roy Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke with Spatter.

Hey, I wonder why I like this one so much???

Two Candles from Gerhard Richter. Seem familiar?

Perhaps, this is why.

Inside the early 20th century European section. Above, Matisse’s Bathers by a River.

The Old Guitarist from Pablo Picasso.

They even had this maquette from Pablo Picasso of the 50 foot tall, 162 tons sculpture which was commissioned by the original Mayor Daley. Today, it can be seen at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago.

Full photostream found here.

Cubs 2, Giants 6

For my fourth attended game of the baseball season, I had some guests. Actually, the game was an anniversary gift from Stephanie (my sister-in-law) to her baseball lovin’ husband, Adam. Apryl and I just tagged along. Steph and Adam had only arrived in Chicago that morning, and they were already at the ballpark a few hours afterward. I love that! As you can see from the photo above, we had nice seats in the 200 section of the park. Adam and I sat next to each other, which was fun getting the chance to sit next to a fellow fan of the diamond. Adam was even keeping score which I haven’t done since I was a kid watching ballgames at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Somewhere I have a scorecard of a game with Dale Murphy on the Braves and Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell on the Giants. Remember them?

- Speaking of former players, watching the Giants out on the field reminded me of another player for the Orange and Black. Greg Litton, a distant cousin of mine, was on the Giants’ roster for three years. He was on the Giants when the team made it to the `89 World Series (aka The Battle of the Bay) against the Oakland A’s. He even hit a 2-run home run in Game 4 of the series! Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The A’s wound up winning that game and sweeping the series. Of course, the World Series that year was most remembered for the Loma Prieta earthquake which struck during the third game of the series. As for my cousin, he continued to play in the MLB until 1994, ending his professional career with the Boston Red Sox. His best game was against the Cubs in `92 when he got two doubles and a home run.

Back to the game.

The Giants had a very productive first inning scoring three runs off a home run from Sean Marshall. In the 8th, ex-Sox Aaron Rowand added two more with a double. Another former Sox player, Juan Uribe, went 0- 4. Ouch. However, the real hero was pitcher Tim Lincecum who pitched seven innings allowing only 4 hits, 2 runs and 7 strike outs.

As Apryl mentioned in the previous post, there were a ton of kids at the ballgame. I have never seen so many youngsters at a game before, and boy, were they loud! Some of the kids were Giants fans and after the fans screamed “Let’s Go Cubbies,” they would add “Let’s Go Giants”. When there was no hope that the Cubs were coming back, the kids started the chant, “Let’s Go Blackhawks!” It was cute a first but got old fast.

Still, we had a great time at the ballpark. No matter my opinion of the Cubs, I do love Wrigley Field. The four of us would attend a Sox game two days later, and the experience is night and day. I’ve actually become very fond of The Cell, but it has nothing on The Friendly Confines for character. One day, I will discover the character that lies within Fenway.

Here are some photos from our day out at the park:

Steph and Adam enjoying a day game at Wrigley. Adam is actually wearing at Cardinals cap! He’s brave!

A rare photo op. Notice, I’m remaining neutral with my TBS baseball cap I got working the playoffs last season.

The sisters.

Adam gets a Brat with sauerkraut.

I stuck with a Wrigley dog. Check out how Apryl dressed it up Chicago style! Even though the bread was a bit stale and the dog was oddly chewy, it tasted real good!

I admit I’m jealous of the large crowds at Cubs games over Sox games.

“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at Wrigley.

And it’s over. We were saved from hearing the “Go Cubs Go” song and the raising of the “W” flag.

Last week, my sister Stephanie and brother-in-law Adam visited. They got the ultimate welcome from Eva, being used as beds, in less than an hour.

Hayden was thrilled to have someone who also loves baseball to sit by at games. Steph and I enjoyed chatting and occasionally watching the action on the field. Don’t worry, we didn’t talk loudly enough to disturb people who cared about baseball—not that anyone would have noticed since we were surrounded by kids on a field trip at the Cubs game and a large group of loud talkers at the Sox game.

Steph and I were also super excited to go to Harry Potter: The Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry. No photos were allowed of costumes and props, except for the Flying Ford Anglia from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. However, you can see photos and video at harrypotterexhibition.com. The exhibit will also tour other cities in the United States, Europe, and Asia over the next five years, after its debut run in Chicago ends in September.

Of course, we also made time for shopping and Giordano’s stuffed pizza throughout the week. You can see more photos here.

White Sox 4 - Royals 2 (Tribune photos here. Video evidence here.)

While I didn’t have tickets for today’s Sox opener against the Royals, I did have an itchin’ to get over to the South Side. So, with about 30 minutes before game time, I hopped into my car and made my way over to 35th to catch up with all the excitement. By the time I made it out front of the park, the jets were screaming overhead followed by the fireworks. Below, a quick video outside of the stadium of the last seconds of the firework display:

The crowd make their way into the park…

Basically, I walked around the park, just happy to be on the premises for opening day. In front, there is a tribute celebrating Sox’s rich history. Included in the tribute, Mr. Joe Crede. Crede may no longer wear a Sox uniform but here at the Cell, his Sox days are forever immortalized!

After listening to the first inning on the outside speakers, I walked over to the Bridgeport neighborhood. Many folks think that the Sox stadium is out in the middle of nowhere, where as Wrigley is clearly in a neighborhood. Sure, the Cell is right off the interstate, and it is surrounded by parking lots…

…but it is also mere blocks away from a quaint, historic neighborhood. Below, a few photos I took as I walked through the neighborhood:

Once you make your way through the underpass, you are in the neighborhood.

I always thought that the Grandstand was perfect but when I was inside, the game wasn’t even on…. What?!?!

This is the nearest hot dog stand near the park but I went a few more blocks to Morrie O’Malleys. Still, I might have to try it out. “Fresh Cut Fries” always intrest me!

The famous O’Malleys!

And, the famous Char Dog!

And, you can sit on original seats from Old Comiskey while you eat your dog!

After hanging around the neighborhood for a bit, I made my way back home to catch the last few innings on the radio. And while we didn’t play that great, we did come out with a win thanks to Jim Thome’s blast in the 8th!

Welcome back, baseball!

After talking about it forever, Apryl and I finally decided to go skating downtown at the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park. Neither of us had been skating in years, but I figured it was a bit like riding a bike. Well, not quite. It took some time before I felt comfortable enough skating away from the rails. Even then, it was without any rhythm. On top of that, the skates were digging into my leg, causing a thin layer of skin to scrape off. Apryl also got an ugly blister on her foot. Oh well, we gave it a shot!

I have a feeling Apryl’s thinking, “How does he do that?”

I’m off the rails!

Our injuries, starting with Apryl:

Off the ice and making room for the Zamboni:

And, finally, a short video of me skating poorly and nearly crashing into a fellow skater:

So, we’re back home. And it was a great holiday break (short sleeves, really?) But as always, even though it seemed like we were always visiting, we still didn’t manage to see everyone. Hopefully, we will see all those we missed on our next trip back South. Of course, I took photos, which I will load on Flickr today or tomorrow. Until then, I thought it would be appropriate to end the year with a few End of the Year lists. So, here we go:

Top 10 Favorite Songs of 2008
10. Dent May - Meet Me In The Garden
9. TV on the Radio - Family Tree
8. Silver Jews - Strange Victory Strange Defeat
7. The Avett Brothers - Murder in the City
6. Bon Iver - Re:Stacks
5. Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me
4. Breathe Owl Breathe - Playing Dead
3. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
2. Destroyer - Foam Hands
1. Vic Chesnutt - You Are Never Alone

Top 10 Concerts of 2008
10. (tie) Harlan T. Bobo - Schubas/Caleixco - Millennium Park
9. Dolly Parton - Chicago Theatre
8. Ornette Coleman - Chicago Jazz Festival
7. Radiohead - Lollapalooza
6. Jarvis Cocker - Pitchfork Music Festival
5. Magnetic Fields - Old Town School of Folk Music
4. Girl Talk - Lollapalooza
3. Animal Collective - Pitchfork Music Festival
2. Bill Callahan - Millennium Park
1. Andrew Bird - Millennium Park
Honorable Mention: Vanilla Ice - Cans

Top 5 Cities Visited (work related) in 2008
5. New York
4.New Orleans
3. Charleston
2. Boston
1. Reno/Lake Tahoe

Top 5 Places Visited (non work related) in 2008
5. Mount Horeb
4. Memphis
3. Nashville
2. Greers Ferry
1. McGregor/Prairie du Chien

Top 5 Celebrities met in 2008
5. Bill Rancic
4. Mark Wahlberg
3. Garrison Keillor
2. Cookie Monster
1. Svengoolie

Top 10 Tourist Stops of 2008 (in no particular order)

• Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb
• Sears Tower Skydeck
• Architecture Boat Tour, Chicago
• Hopper/Homer Exhibit at the Art Institute
• Fenelon Place Elevator Cable Car in Dubuque, IA
• College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN
• Cafe du Monde in New Orleans
• Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, IA
• Cheers Bar in Boston
• Weird Chicago Tour

Top 5 Most Memorable Moments in 2008 (other than Obama)
5. Sox win the AL Central.
4. Apryl graduates from IIT.
3. Eva gets cancer. And is okay.
2. The Tigers play in the NCAA Finals.
1. McKenzie Hayden Madden is born.

Top 5 Favorite Personal Photos of 2008 (in no order)

Perhaps more lists to come later. Perhaps not. Either way, here is a selection of other photos from the past year. Goodbye 2008!