June 26, 2011
June 25, 2011
Phosphorescent at Millennium Park
And, opening act, the sacred steel guitar styling from The Campbell Brothers.
June 8, 2011
June 5, 2011
Let the summer street festivals begin!
Dengue Fever performing at the Do-Division Street Fest.
May 23, 2011
Bonnie Prince Billy at Millennium Park
Bonnie Prince Billy with the Cario Gang
Opening act, Eleventh Dream Day.
May 21, 2011
I’m Normal!
After 2 and a half months of working out on the Wii Fit and losing over 20 pounds, Nintendo has labelled me Normal.
I celebrated by buying new pants.
May 9, 2011
New York City
Just a little glimpse of a story I’ll tell ’bout an East Coast city that you all know well…
At the end of April, Apryl and I took a trip to New York. We had actually planned the trip a few months back, but then this happened. Actually, it worked out better this way. The weather was far superior, making it more enjoyable getting around.
We checked into the Hotel Indigo, which was nicely located in Chelsea near the Fashion Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, Apryl had to finish up some work when we first arrived, but it did give me some time to wander around the neighborhood.
I was fascinated by the parking lots in the area. Check out this lot below:
I decided on a destination of a record store in the Flatiron District, which gave me plenty of sight-seeing opportunities like running into the district’s namesake.
After shopping, I randomly picked a route back to the hotel, and ended up walking right pass the infamous Chelsea Hotel, primarily known to me by the Leonard Cohen tune and the Warhol flick. There was a film crew on site, shinning a light down a stairway that led to the basement.
As soon as I passed the hotel, I walked right by Clearview Cinema where the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival was taking place. I actually worked on a film that debuted at the festival in 2007.
On the way back, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of these New Yorkers checking out apartment complexes for rent. The average price for a small, one bedroom unit was $2,500 – $3,000 a month. But then again, I suppose it’s all relative.
That night, while Apryl and I were walking to dinner, we passed that same parking lot I mentioned earlier. Only this time, it looked like this:
After dinner, we walked up 8th Ave (pass Madison Square Garden) to Times Square. I had seen Times Square last year on a shoot, but it was during the day, which is like not seeing it at all. Here we are taking in the view:
I couldn’t get over how many taxi cabs were congregated in one place. I really got a kick out of seeing how many cabs could drive one after the other before a non cab got through.
And then there was also this:
The next morning, I had my favorite breakfast of the trip, an everything bagel with lox spread from the Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company. Yummy!
After breakfast, we made our way on the subway headed to Central Park. As soon as we got out of the tunnel, it started pouring rain. We waited for the rain to subside before entering the park. Here are just a few photos of the park:
(I remember this sculpture because of this image.)
Before we could make much headway into the over 800 acres that make up Central Park, it started to rain hard again, and we retreated into the dry, Metropolitan Museum of Art:
We spent a good three hours at The Met, and yet still only scratched the surface of what it had to offer. A few photos from the exhibits:
(This study of Sunday at La Grande Jatte is a bit smaller than the original found at the AIC.)
After hours on our feet walking around, we started to feel like the kid in the photo above. Where or where could we rest our bones? A ballpark, perhaps?
Hey, it was my birthday. And the White Sox were in town playing the Yankees. Actually, we had this event planned for quite some time. All we had to do was get on transit and head on over to Yankee Stadium…
Only we got lost. The transit directions on the Evo were wrong because it gave us the wrong address for Yankee Stadium. Instead of the Bronx, we were spat out in East Harlem, utterly confused. Luckily, a helpful cabbie drove us to the correct subway where he ventured on a short trip to the Bronx.
Now, I’m not going to go into detail about the game since I’m planning on writing a separate game post, but it was fun time. Even despite the lousy playing by the White Sox. I told Apryl that if the Yankees scored more than 12 runs on the Sox that it would stop be fun for me. The Sox lost 12 – 3. The highlight of the game was Apryl brought out my birthday card. Since I’m still not eating meat, it was my hot dog at the ballpark.
Next morning, we decided we would visit the Statue of Liberty. Before heading out, I got online to see what the procedure was for going on the tour. To my horror, I read that lines for tickets were 2 hours long and that once you obtained your ticket you were then diverted into a security line that took up to an hour and a half. If you wanted to bypass the wait, you could purchase your tickets online in advance. Way in advance. The next available advanced ticket was in June!
However, Apryl informed me that there was another way to see the Statue of Liberty…
If you only got a nickel, it’s the Staten Island Ferry.
Actually, the Staten Island is free! Before having such knowledge, I moved around the station looking for a ticket booth. Finally, I asked a security personnel where one could purchase a ticket for the ferry. He gave me a curious stare, and then proclaimed, “it’s free.” Forgive me, I am new here.
The ferry makes the trip every thirty minutes, so we only had to wait about ten minutes before the the boat docked. While we waited a scrolling text above us congratulated the newly wed Prince William and Princess Kate. Apryl turned to me and asked, “Are they suppose to be able to read that?”
The ride over to State Island is quite nice with plenty of photographic opportunities. And you float right by the Statue of Liberty. The statue was smaller than I imagined, but it was still an awe of a sight. Some photos of the ferry ride:
When he didn’t spend any time in Staten Island, but instead took the ferry right back over to Manhattan. We walked around downtown, spending the most time a the Trinity Church cemetery, Wall Street, and the future site of One World Trade Center. Below, photos:
For dinner, we went to a gluten-free restaurant I had read about in the West Village called Risotteria. The restaurant was very good and had the best tasting gluten-free bread. Below, Apryl is amazed at all of her options:
And, the food:
When we were done eating, we noticed that the restaurant sold bags of their gluten-free flour. We were very excited until Apryl noticed on the package that the flour contained gelatin from animal protein. Disappointing.
After dinner, we went to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Check out this website that gives a detailed list of every known worker killed during construction of the bridge.
Another view from the bridge, including the traffic below:
And, how about a photo with the both of us?
Despite being extremely tired, we pressed on into the evening…
Mister Rockefeller sets up as high as a bird, Old Mister Empire never says a word.
I had read that the lines were extremely long for the Empire State Building. And that they weren’t as great as the view from Rockefeller Center. So, we decided to give it a shot. In fact, the line was almost nonexistent. After having to watch a poorly produced video, we were shuffled into an elevator and taken to the top of the Rock. Check out this video of the elevator ride which allows you to look up at the clear ceiling as ascend:
Unlike the observation towers at Willis Tower and the John Hancock, Rockefeller Center’s viewing point is at the actual top of the building. You right out there in the elements. For safety, they have plastic walls around the building, but there are slits between them so you can put your hand right out in the open and feel the stone ornamentation. Below, the view:
We topped off the evening by celebrating the Grizzlies victory in our hotel room!
The next morning, we decided to check out a popular breakfast spot called the Clinton Street Baking Company. Unfortunately, it was too popular, and we told we would have to wait an hour and an half for a table. We left and found the Remedy Diner, which wasn’t anything too special but it did give me the opportunity to have my first egg cream.
It was okay. Thankfully, it didn’t have a worm in it.
After breakfast, we only had a little time left in New York before we had to get to the airport. Apryl suggested that we go Grand Central Station. We had arrived only a day before something really big happened. If we had visited just a day later we would have seen images like this. Thankfully, we had visited when we did and got this photo of us together:
We then returned back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, and hailed a reluctant cabbie to take us to LaGuardia airport. There were a lot of things we didn’t get to see in New York, but yet we saw more than I ever imagined. Without a doubt, it gave me a better understanding of the city that is a part of every American. Goodbye, New York.
When I leave New York, I’ll be standin’ on my feet.
April 24, 2011
April 23, 2011
Instant Netflix Picks – Television Edition
Netflix is a great place to discover/rediscover gems from our television past. To make it more orderly, I have made a Top 5 list of some favorites that I’ve recently watched on Instant Netflix.
Here we go:
5. Kolchak: The Night Stalker (ABC)
Since I have only watched a couple of episodes so far, I am not yet fully engrossed into this classic supernatural series. Still, it’s nice to finally see it and understand its influential impact on later sci-fi series such as The X-Files. If you’re like me and didn’t catch it the first time around because you weren’t yet born, Kolchak is a newspaper reporter who investigates stories (much to the chagrin of his editor and the local police department) that are often too fantastic for the real world like zombies, werewolves, and vampires. An added bonus is that the series is set in Chicago, so it is fascinating seeing the cityscape in the 70’s.
4. This American Life (Showtime)
If you like the NPR program, than chances are high that you are going to like the television series. Originally aired on Showtime, This American Life, like the radio program, is hosted by Ira Glass who breaks down the stories into multiple acts. It’s a shame that there are only two seasons to explore. I have only gotten into a few episodes from the first season, but I am looking forward to completing the series soon.
3. Ken Burn’s Jazz (PBS)
An exhausting, in-depth look at the American art form that is jazz music and the individuals who birthed it. Like Burn’s Baseball series, Jazz also uses its subject as an excuse to actually tell the history of America. For the most part, the series was a fascinating view and truly helped me appreciate areas of jazz such as the big band era that I hadn’t really considered in the past (particularly the genius of Duke Ellington). My only real complaint is that there were a few notable jazz musicians that were left off or were merely a footnote (even jazz giant John Coltrane was given short airtime compared to his contributions to the genre). Apryl convinced me to take on the Jazz series, which was quit a task. The series is presented in 10 parts with a running time of 1140 minutes!
2. Thriller (NBC)
The original Thriller with host Boris Karloff comes on every Sunday night here in Chicago, and yet I haven’t been enamored with it as much as other series like The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock, despite the fact that they are produced in very much the same vein. I believe the issue was that I wasn’t catching the right episodes. So, I used this refrence to discover the most worthy episodes. And boy, am I glad that I did. My favorite so far is The Grim Reaper starring William Shatner and written by Robert Bloch (Psycho).
1. The Twilight Zone (CBS)
Without a doubt, my favorite television series of all time, is now on Instant Netflix! Even though I have seen nearly every episode of this classic hundreds of times, it is still nice revisiting old friends. I am waiting for it to warm up a little outside to watch my all time favorite, Walking Distance, which is set during the summertime. In the meantime, I have caught a few episodes I had forgotten or had never seen such as the non syndicated An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, which was actually a short French film that the producers bought to end the final season of the series. Unfortunately, Netflix does not have the hour long episodes up yet, so I will have to wait to catch another personal favorite of mine, the rarely seen Miniature (not added to syndication due to legal issues). However, I suppose I could watch it now subtitled in Spanish.
And because it’s hard to fit everyone in, we have…
Honorable Mention: Rainbow Quest
I had never even heard of this series until Netflix recommended it to me. Rainbow Quest is hosted by folk legend Pete Seeger (who performs throughout the program) and contains interviews and performances with folk singers of the day. Even though I haven’t watched a full episode yet, I had to include it on this list for this appearance from Elizabeth Cotten. Recently, I have fallen in love with Cotten’s playing, and so it was wonderful getting to see her in action. The best part of the interview is how Cotten tells the viewers how she became a maid for Pete Seeger’s parents before being discovered.
April 22, 2011
Recent Reads
A few thoughts on books that I have recently read:
Alex and Me by Irene M. Pepperberg
The story of one scientist’s obsessive study into the animal cognition of parrots, particularly that of an African Grey named Alex, is surprisingly moving as much as informative. Irene Pepperberg’s work with Alex proves that the intelligence of parrots is not limited to mere mimicking but actual understanding and problem solving. Through her nearly thirty year study of Alex, suddenly halted with the bird’s death in 2007, Irene experienced many highs and low to both her field of study (which was being constantly doubted) and her personal life. Making a lifelong career of studying parrots is not an easy task, and Irene makes many sacrifices along the way to keep her labs open and funded. And despite her best effort to keep her relationship with Alex professional (less a pet, more a working partner), the attempt is futile. Through everything, Alex was the one true constant. His final words to Irene were “You be good. I love you.”
Alex is featured in a fascinating Nova special called How Smart Are Animals?, which I highly recommend viewing if you get the chance. It really made me feel better about not eating meat knowing that animals are far more intelligent than we can even understand. If you want to see Alex in action right now, here is a video from when Alex appeared on Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda. And another video with Irene working one on one with Alex. And still another, here is a video of Diane Sawyer’s report of Alex’s passing on Good Morning America.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
A Walk in the Woods tells the true story of popular travel writer Bill Bryson and his reckless friend Stephen, both inexperienced and out of shape, as they attempt to take on the famed Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail, or AT as it is referred to those in the know, is one long hiking trail that stretches over 2,000 miles from Maine to Georgia. Each year, hundreds attempt a thru-hike of the entire length, though only about 10% actually accomplish the feat. Will Bill and Stephen beat the odds?
Bryson explores a lot of issues within the pages of A Walk in the Woods. As one would probably guess, Bryson attempts to answer the question of what drives those who take on such feats as the AT. But, he also addresses environmental issues that we should all be concerned about. It’s also a historical (even meditative) look on where we as humans have been and our desire to get back there once again. But mostly, it’s hysterical. Bryson and Stephen are a bit like the Odd Couple, and their adventures along the trail are not only memorable but highly comical. I actually found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this one.
The Body by Stephen King
Reread this one for about the 1000th time, and yet it still packs a nice wallop right in the gut. One of four stories in a novel from Stephen King called Different Seasons, “The Body” is famously known as being the basis for the film, Stand By Me. For the few people who haven’t read the novella (which is subtitled Fall from Innocence) or seen the film, the story follows four twelve year old boys who go hiking 50 miles outside their hometown in search of the dead body of a boy hit by a train. Sounds morbid enough for Stephen King, right?
And yet, King’s story is a heartbreaking coming of age tale that resonates just as powerful now as a thirty-three year old reader as it did when I first read it at about the same age as the story’s characters. Makes me recall the time I read Catcher in the Rye when I was a senior in high school. When I finished, my English teacher asked me what I thought of the book, and after giving it a favorable approval, suggested that I reread it in twenty years for a completely different reading experience.
I’m not sure if revisiting “The Body” was that drastic, but it did make some of the material richer. Sad, yet truthful lines such as “friends come in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant,” are not easy to forget. There were a few details I hadn’t recalled such as that the main character Gordie, who is retelling the story as a thirty something adult, was a Vietnam vet. And that Gordie’s friends all die tragically as young adults. Another thing, I actually prefer the climatic ending of the movie version better than King’s original. Go figure.
The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W.P. Kinsella
So, can a story be too fantastic, too magical? Well, considering The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, I would resoundingly utter “Yes!” followed by a “Oh, come on. Really?”. While I enjoyed Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe (the basis for the film, Field of Dreams), I found that this yarn too much to take. Which is a shame since the novel has a wonderful premise. An avid baseball fan obsessively attempts to prove that a game existed between an amateur Iowa baseball club and the 1908 Chicago Cubs (the last year that the Cubbies won the World Series) that lasted over a thousand innings and was played during a flood.
About half way into the book, the main character and his friend go back in time and become participants in the mystical game that no one seemed to remember in their own time. At one point, Teddy Roosevelt makes an appearance and even has an at bat during the game. Okay, that is fun. Cute, even. But when Leonardo da Vinci comes down in a hot air balloon and takes in an inning, I sort of checked out. I mean, I finished the book, but it started to become a chore.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
I love Richard Matheson. And yet, I had never read a single word written by the man until this week. Matheson is responsible for penning fourteen episodes for The Twilight Zone, including the classic Nightmare at 20,000 feet. He also wrote the wonderfully suspenseful film Duel, which was Steven Spieldber’s debut feature film. His 1954 novel, I Am Legend, is a classic in the horror genre, and has spawned three feature films based on it, including the Vincent Price flick The Last Man on Earth, the Charlton Heston vehicle The Omega Man, and, finally, the recent Will Smith blockbuster I am Legend. Even though I haven’t seen the newest version, I doubt that I would enjoy it as much as the Vincent Price one from 1964. The low budget film is quite entertaining and was an obvious influence on George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. After seeing The Last Man on Earth again on television the other night, I was motivated to check out the book from the library. Surprisingly, the `64 film is pretty faithful to the original source.
The story follows Robert Neville, the last man on Earth, as he faces a world that’s seen the human population fall victim to an infectious germ that turns everyone into bloodsucking vampires. For reasons that aren’t clear, Neville is immune to the disease, and thus must go on living, surviving. During the day, Neville drives around town in his station wagon, searching for vampires hiding from the sun. Once he finds them, he destroys them with a wooden stake through the heart (he later discovers that the precise location of the heart isn’t necessary). At night, the vampires surround Neville’s home, beckoning him outside to join them. Much like the characters do in Night of the Living Dead, Neville protects himself by boarding up the house and waiting for daylight. Matheson’s apocalyptic story, which is reminiscent of another book/film favorite of mine The Day of the Triffids, is a quick, action packed read that is worthy of its reputation.