I recently rode Amtrakâs Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, a trip of more than 2,000 miles across three time zones and seven states.
Whether I was exploring a chilly platform during a brief layover in St. Paul (above) or enjoying the clean, stark views of an unexpectedly long stop in Shelby, Montana, (right), I had a great time -- and talk about it in this latest podcast.Taking the train isnât for everybody. I know itâs a clichà to say so, but in long-distance train travel, itâs the trip that makes the experience worthwhile. If you want to get there quickly, fly. What’s especially fun for me is seeing all the small towns -- and reading some of the small-town newspapers you’re able to get at station stops.
In jobs gone by, I occasionally had to edit school lunch menus. Once, a local school district got a nasty letter from Ore-Ida because although "Tater Tots" were constantly listed in their menu, the company had somehow determined that the school cafeteria's side dish was not, in fact, genuine Tater Tots brand potato product.
That's why I read small-town newspapers' school lunch menus with a great deal of interest. Whether it's fun dishes like "Chef Betsy's Special Surprise" or "Same as Tuesday" (I've actually seen those over the years), these simple yet vital lists provide a wonderful culinary glimpse into those thrilling meals of yesteryear.
When the Empire Builder pulled into Minot, North Dakota, all of us sleeper car passengers received a fresh copy of the Minot Daily News. After reading about the rodeo news and that high school gal who bagged a moose, I turned to the school lunch menus in the Education section.
Once I got back to Chicago, I surfed more of the Minot menus online and discovered something remarkable: These folks have more than one way of making tacos for kids. Check it out:
Taco, Taco in a bag, Taco on a tray.
Minot schools are versatile with ground beef, as well. They serve cheeseburger, sloppy joe -- and then something called a slushburger, which sure sounds like a sloppy joe to me.
They also make references to Tater Tots, spelled in a variety of styles -- including Tator tot hotdish. Speaking of Tater Tots, anybody want to try Tater Tots Tuna Pie?
Maybe Amtrak should try serving that in the dining car.
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I’m not sure where these folks are from, but I enjoyed their performance Friday morning in the plaza next to the Tribune Tower.
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Grabbed this footage of an outbound Metra train sailing into the Jefferson Park station on Saturday, Aug. 8. After I left the station, I saw the cops warning a woman not to feed the birds. She had just dumped at least two pounds of birdseed and breadcrumbs down near the Milwaukee Avenue entrance to the station.
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I don’t always like Quentin Tarantino’s movies, but I do like his taste in films and film music. His latest production, "Inglourious Basterds," uses a track of music from "Kelly’s Heroes" called "Tiger Tank."
You can hear it in this clip starting at 1:17. I like this Lalo Schifrin music, although it’s too contemporary and way too much like his "Mission: Impossible" background tracks.
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The newsletter is a riotous collection of commuter train news and bitchy complaints from riders outraged by the behavior of others. Check out the current issue. (Note: This will open a PDF page.)
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The controversy surrounding flat iron steak continues unabated!Faithful ChicagoScope followers recall, of course, that I concluded that the flat iron steak on Amtrak totally sucked.
Phil and Lingo of The Brit and Yankee took notice, too, and challenged me to try their flat iron steak and see how it measures up to that served to unsuspecting passengers on America’s subsidized passenger rail service.
It turned out to be a kind of railroad experience, anyway, as I had to take a Metra train way out into the hinterlands of unincorporated DuPage County to join them in The Brit and Yankee Beer Garden. There, I consented to subject their own special flat iron steak to a taste test.
And guess what? It was great!
I also got a chance to sample some of their home-brewed beer -- and was a quest on their podcast. Listen to The Brit and Yankee.
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Maybe someone moved -- or died -- and left all of this stuff behind. I don’t know the story, only that there’s a pantload of crap in back of this garage in the alley that runs between Linder and Central avenues in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood.
Some of my neighbors insist that the pile used to be as high as the bottom of the roof. Some of the stuff has been taken away, but whether any there’s anything worthwhile left in here is debatable.
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I shot some footage on my way home from work this week on Metra’s Northwest line. The window is tinted green, so I decided to render this in black and white.
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Did another test of the iPhone 3GS video camera while wheeling my way through the produce department at the Dominick’s supermarket in Park Ridge. I shot this vertically to make it less obvious to store personnel I was capturing video.
Looks pretty good -- although a wider format would have captured more of the experience.
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Apple’s new iPhone 3G S doesn’t deliver high-definition images, but what it lacks in fidelity, it more than makes up for with convenience and portability. Here’s my first video, shot on my way into work in Chicago this morning.
I wish we could shut off the camera’s autoexposure, but otherwise, I’m really pleased with the addition of video to iPhone.
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Every since my disappointing experience with the Amtrak flat iron steak, I’ve wanted to know more about beef cuts, flavors, how meat is aged, and so on. Thanks to Leah Zeldes, I now know a great deal about these somewhat arcane subjects.
Those of you following along at home might want to consult this chart that explains beef cuts. It’s courtesy of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board & National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s BeefRetail.org site.
Also check out "Raising Steaks," an article Leah wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times.
And yes, the photo above is what I had for dinner before recording this podcast. I opted for the original version of Hamburger Helper on the left. It still tastes great, and is almost as good a comfort food as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner.
PRODUCTION NOTE: I promise to do a better job with Skype next time.
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For many years, I was a devoted shortwave radio listener. Even on worknights and schoolnights, I’d be up until the wee hours scanning the high-frequency bands for unusual signals, pirate transmissions, numbers stations, clandestine broadcasters and other fringe emanations from the ether.One of my favorite pirate broadcasters was Alan Maxwell’s KIPM, which usually took to the airwaves on holiday weekends. Many pirate broadcasters simply played rock music and subjected listeners to vulgar humor, but KIPM produced professional-quality science-fiction dramas that could last an hour or more.
Like many pirate broadcasters, KIPM responded to listener reception reports. Much to my delight some years back, I received a QSL card from KIPM. Shown above, the card confirms I picked up the station’s signal on Oct. 27, 2002, on 6950 kHz. Maxwell also included some bizarre artwork and an audio CD of the shows.
About this same time, I began listening to the eclectic programs on WBCQ, a shortwave station owned by Allan Weiner that courageously embraces the First Amendment in a way that would make most mainstream broadcasters defecate cinderblocks.
Although WBCQ’s programming has always run the gamut from extreme vanity to extreme politics, I found some shows to be fascinating. Radio Newyork International with John P. Lightning was a favorite of mine. It’s a potpourri of pop culture and politics that’s best described as Howard Stern without the punchbowl -- and without the turd.
Another great WBCQ show I enjoyed listening to was "Marion’s Attic," which featured an elderly lady playing Edison cylinder and old 78 RPM records from the dawn of commercially recorded music.
But not all of WBCQ’s programming smelled so good. Weiner’s commitment to free speech also meant that some genuine weirdos, goofballs and nutjobs gained access to the airwaves. Among those was Hal Turner, who bought time on the station for several years to espouse his anti-Semetic and racist views.Turner was arrested just the other day amid accusations of threatening public officials. I disagree with nearly all -- if not all -- of what Turner stands for and says, but this is still America and he has the right to espouse those views. But if Turner did try to incite violence, however, then he does need to answer for that.
An even more interesting fringe broadcaster active around the time Turner graced WBCQ was "Colonel" Steve Anderson, a self-styled militia leader who operated clandestine shortwave station United Patriot Radio from a site in Kentucky.
Anderson broadcast nightly diatribes against the federal government for far longer than most shortwave listeners believed possible. Here in Jefferson Park, his shortwave transmissions came blasting across my radio with such strength you’d have thought the transmitter was just up the street.
See a reception report of mine from April 2001 (scroll down to the USA logs).
The colonel’s rhetoric usually began at a seemingly sane level, but quickly progressed to mouth-frothing talk about New World Order conspiracies and Jews being the spawn of Satan. Interspersed among his Christian Identity pontifications were references to his love of baking homemade bread.
Anderson, a former Kentucky State Militia member who got the boot when he refused to stop his illegal transmissions, definitely knew how to keep his audience riveted.
United Patriot Radio’s hit parade included "You Can Take My Gun From My Cold, Dead Hand," "Onward Christian Soldiers" and a taped interlude featuring a guy firing a machinegun and yelling, "Janet Reno! Get some! Get some today!"
The broadcasts ended one fateful night in October 2001 when a county mountie pulled the colonel over on a routine traffic stop for having a broken taillight on his truck. One thing led to another and Anderson whipped out an automatic weapon and swiss-cheesed the officer’s patrol car. (Initial newspaper reports noted that Johnny Law had a 15-year-old girl in the squad car with him, but if this fascinating detail was ever explained in subsequent coverage, I missed it.)
Anderson took it on the lam until he was arrested after his mugshot appeared on "America’s Most Wanted." He’s now doing time.
The interwebs have occupied much of my spare time the past few years and I haven’t monitored the shortwave band for bizarre stuff for a long time. I ought to see what’s up and start listening again. After all, it’s like having kids in the next room: If they’re too quiet, you know they’re up to something.
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Topics include Jefferson Park, neighborhood festivals and some suburban high school administrators who have a stick up their fundament over an innocent yearbook prank in which a photo showing a student holding a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer made it into print. To hear New Trier Township High School spokeswoman Laura Blair tell the tale, Western civilization is on the brink of destruction.
"It’s clearly defiant and subversive and intentional," Blair declared to Chicago Tribune reporter John Keilman.
Talk about an overreaction. Judging by her credentials, Blair looks to be a sharp public-relations professional, so she should have had a much more measured response when journalists came calling, as Tribune columnist Eric Zorn points out.
When I worked at a certain small-town daily newspaper I won’t name, we had a similar problem. Each year, the paper would print two full pages with an alphabetical list of all graduating high school seniors. This page was put together and proofread by students from the school’s paper. The paper usually painstakingly proofread the list before printing it, but one year somebody slipped up and thousands of readers found the following names among the graduates:
Hugh Jass, Lilac Arug, Seymour Butz, Mike Hunt and (my favorite) Buster Hyman.
School officials and our publisher publicly made the requisite comments about how sad it was that a few pranksters had ruined it for everybody -- but everybody I met thought it was pretty funny. Although not as funny as the time the paper supposedly printed an ad that promised a sale on "Men’s Tapered Shits."
And then there’s the time that Chicago’s very own Lerner Newspapers ran an ad -- in the Skokie edition, I believe, which surely qualifies as icing on the cake -- whose typo announced the opening of the "Nazi Car Wash."
But to get back to subject of yearbook mischief, the sad reality is that it isn’t always funny. Pranks are definitely not funny in cases like this.
MORE INFO
Here’s information on Jeff Fest. And click on the Flash player below to see and hear the pencast version of the show.
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Leaving Ottumwa, Iowa from Leigh Hanlon on Vimeo.
Here’s a brief video of the view out my Superliner roomette window as Amtrak’s California Zephyr pulls out of Ottumwa, Iowa, eastbound for Chicago.
NOTE: If you’re viewing this page on an iPhone or other mobile device that does not support Flash, you can still view the video by clicking on the POD logo to the left of the headline, or on the filename that appears after "Direct download" at the end of this text item.
PRODUCTION NOTE: Sorry about the previous posting, which I’ve now deleted. I had saved the video in HD format, which will not display on iPhone.
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I love steak and I love traveling by train, but so far I haven’t had good luck with the flat iron steak served on Amtrak’s California Zephyr.I tried this relatively new cut last October 2008 on the Zephyr and wasn’t especially impressed with it. But I figured it was probably just me, so when I was on the train again in early 2009, I gave the flat iron steak another chance. Same result. This, I asked myself, is a $21 meal?
Last week, I spent a week’s vacation out in Colorado, so I decided to relax and take the train again. Meals are included if you book a sleeper, so I tend to eat with reckless abandon. This trip, however, I decided to play it safe with the pork tenderloin -- which was quite good.
As for why I just don’t get along with the flat iron steak, Leah Zeldes tells me that some, but not all, flat iron steaks can contain myglobin, which imparts a liverlike taste if the steak is cooked well. I’m not sure if that’s why my two Amtrak flat irons failed to excite, since I ordered both cooked medium.
Maybe it’s just me. When I mentioned my Amtrak steak experience to several friends in Colorado, they told me that they really like flat iron steaks -- especially when used to make sandwiches.
In any event, the rest of the stuff on the Amtrak menu was just fine.
External links and opinions about flat iron steak and Amtrak food:
Flat iron steak is a hit with consumers, researchers say.
Chowhound pretty much raves about this cut.
Flat iron steak is the result of muscle profiling research.
Here’s a photograph of the flat iron steak by Jeremy! on Flickr.
Does Amtrak substitute beef shanks for the flat iron steak?
Blogger declares "There are some inconsistencies."
National Association of Railroad Passengers provides information about Amtrak menus.
Gemma Petrie’s Gapers Block account of dining on Amtrak’s Empire Builder.
Railroad.net asks, "What was your best meal aboard an Amtrak train?"
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The Chicago Transit Authority’s beloved Holiday Train brought Santa Claus to Jefferson Park on Saturday, November 29. Parents, children and railfans of all ages turned out along the Blue Line right of way to join in the festivities.
The event is especially fun for photographers, as it’s the one time of the year when they’re not threatened with arrest by CTA gauleiters.
Watch the video all the way through to learn who Santa contacts on the "Green Phone."
There’s still time to catch the Holiday Train. Check the CTA website for Santa’s schedule.
NOTE: If you’re viewing this page on an iPhone or other mobile device that does not support Flash, you can still view the video by clicking on the POD logo to the left of the headline, or on the filename that appears after "Direct download" at the end of this text item.
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I had my compact digital camera with me the other night when I walked to the CTA Blue Line to head home. As I passed by the State Street Macy’s, I shot some video of the holiday windows.
Is it just me, or do this year’s holiday windows suck the big one? Being an adult isn’t the reason these displays disappoint me. I seriously doubt these relatively static, uninspired "Fraggle Rock" things would appeal to any child.
I’m not the only one who thinks the windows blow chunks this year. Writing in The Huffington Post, Mike Doyle declares, "Macy’s State Street has cost-cut its Chicago Loop holiday windows and Christmas tree so deeply this year, I personally don’t believe it’s worth bothering to make that time-honored family foray downtown to see them."
Perhaps the real problem is that Marshall Field’s was always something special, but Macy’s is really nothing more than just a store.
Uncle Mistletoe has got to be spinning in his grave. Don’t ask me about Aunt Holly.
NOTE: If you’re viewing this page on an iPhone or other mobile device that does not support Flash, you can still view the video by clicking on the POD logo to the left of the headline, or on the filename that appears after "Direct download" at the end of this text item.
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The peace on earth de la resistance is a flatbed car with Santa’s sleigh and Santa himself. And you can ride on this train for just the cost of regular fare. (Just to clarify, you ride in the normal train cars; you don’t get to sit outside or on Santa’s lap.)
The CTA Holiday Train starts running this weekend with special appearances on the Red and Purple Lines. Railroad cheer continues until December 23.
See Flickr photos of the CTA Holiday Train. Here’s some great video of the 2007 train. And here’s a charming video of the interior.
It would also be fun to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train, which next week begins a monthlong journey through six provinces and seven states. The train features live music and raises donations for local food banks. It rolls into Illinois in early December, visiting Pingree Grove and Savanna on the 5th, and Gurnee on the 9th.
See Flickr photos of the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train. And here’s a wonderful video of the CP Holiday Train arriving during a snowstorm.
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I was handed this little gem of a promo postcard one night several years back while shooting pictures at an event at the Belmont Harbor Yacht Club.I’m not entirely sure why I scanned it and have kept posting it every holiday season since.
Maybe I just like that way that a tiny artistic addition has taken what previously had been a pedestrian piece of clip art and transformed it into something worthy of Charles Addams.
See websites for Evil Beaver, Sybris and The Bloody Hollies.
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That’s why I’ve been anxious to try several recording applications to see how they fare at helping me create podcasts. As a test, I used an app called FourTrack to do an entire podcast recently.
I then decided to evaluate several other recording applications by placing test recordings online. The result is this latest podcast.
There’s actually very little difference among them. The apps tested were:
iTalk from Griffin.
FourTrack from Sonoma Wire Works.
Recorder from Retronyms.
SpeakEasy from Zarboo Software.
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Author Tom Parker’s tome is about the size of one of the Big Little Books and is just the right dimensions to cram into a day pack or purse.
The book is described by Workman Publishing as "a mix of folk wisdom, common sense, shared experience, the advice of experts, and the kind of group think that’s made websites like Wikipedia so vital. ’Rules of Thumb’ is the impulsive compendium of 1,000 general principles that apply to every facet of life. Collected by Tom Parker for over 25 years, these are rules that are practical, quirky, and as entertaining to read as they are relevant to the reader."
The book is a fun read, whether on your commute or on your commode. My favorite rule of thumb is this one:
Two out of every three magazines tossed along the roadside will be pornographic.
That’s absolutely true. Back when I was in junior high, I was walking my grandmother back from the Miller’s supermarket at JCRS shopping center along Pierce Street in Lakewood, Colorado, when she noticed a magazine at the curb and picked it up. We stood there speechless for an embarrassingly long moment as we each read this gay publication’s title to ourselves: He’s Hard, I’m Lucky. (Although on second thought, it might have been Him Hard, Me Lucky.)
Grandma held the magazine carefully between her thumb and forefinger until we reached a dumpster at the next alley.
Be sure to have a look at the "Rules of Thumb" website, and contribute some of your own rules. And for more information on the FourTrack application I used to record this podcast on my iPhone, visit Sonoma Wire Works or check out this MarketWatch story.
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For at least a month now, I’ve nearly lost bladder control whenever any one of several bobbing-head commercials comes on. I call them this because the universal body movement that indicates product satisfaction these days has become the bobbing head.One prominent bobbing head promotes the Digital Message Reminder, which you get free when you order the Buxton Over the Shoulder Oragnizer. The DMR is about the size of a first-generation car remote lock. And boy, is this device handy! The video shows an apparently forgetful young woman using it to remember to buy milk or something at the supermarket.
And what does she do when that little recorder plays back the message and reminds her of her shopping obligation? She bobs her head! Yes, siree! Boing! Boing! Boing!
Similar head-bobbing goes on in the commercial for a device called Listen Up. This piece of technology is about the size of an iPod and allows you to hear sounds, voices and even gossip at a distance. The commercial shows a variety of goofy-looking folks whose lives are made all the better by this electronic wonder.
The lead doofus in the Listen Up commercial is a totally whipped guy whose wife bitches at him endlessly about the TV being too loud, the stereo being too loud, blah blah blah. This poor schelp probably hasn’t gotten any since "B.J. and the Bear" was first-run.
Anyway, thanks to Listen Up, he’s able to listen to TV in bed without his wife getting on his case. Other folks find Listen Up of value, too: Some non-studly dude at the gym learns that two semi-babes have the hots for him, moms at the playground monitor their snot-nosed spawn, a new resident in a suburban neighborhood eavesdrops on what the neighbors are saving about her, a gunless hunter who apparently puts game in a half-nelson hears his prey approaching, and (my favorite) an elderly lady already suffering from rigor mortis proudly clutches her Listen Up in church while her befuddled husband sits there not hearing a word and is most assuredly bound for hell.
There’s head bobbing a-plenty during all of this.
Keep in mind I’m not criticizing these products. In fact, I could probably get into a lot of enjoyable mischief with the Listen Up. And I’d almost consider buying the Buxton as a ready bag for a small camera or two. Note that I said almost. It looks way too much like a purse for a guy to be caught dead carrying.
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Doug makes some interesting points about how political campaigns have been using online advertising to get out their message -- and, in a couple of cases, not knowing where their ads wound up.
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I first saw "Two-Lane Blacktop" during high school in its initial release back in 1971. I saw it at a drive-in theater -- probably the Lakeshore Drive-In in Edgewater, Colorado, although it could have been at the Wadsworth or West. (My parents always felt the Lakeshore attracted too many hoods, so we were discouraged from going there.)
Even with the threat of hoodlums aside, this road film made a big impression on me then. The plot of "Two-Lane Blacktop" is simple: Two cars race across the American heartland and, ultimately, we see that its characters are going absolutely nowhere. If anything, I guess this movie forces viewers to fill in the blanks.
Filling in those blanks proved easy for me. Our family moved several times during my adolescence and I was intimately familiar with highways and horizons. Once, in a grand but ultimately disastrous adventure, my dad moved us cross-country from Colorado to California, then to Alaska, and then back to Colorado. And we drove all the way. The Alaska Highway has been burned into my brain, along with memories of crossing Utah, Nevada and the vast northern expanses of the Yukon Territory -- when gasoline was sold in imperial gallons and we picked up a hitchhiker who, we later found out, was an escaped murderer being pursued by the RCMP.
Maybe this why when I headed out on my own and moved to Wyoming and, later, Arizona, I found myself looking forward to the long, lonely drives. In an odd way, I find myself enjoying the start of the trip and the midpoint more than the arrival. In fact, the arrival usually is a let-down. "Two-Lane Blacktop" has no let-down; its characters never reach their destinations and are still traveling when the movie ends.
Director Monte Hellman hadn’t made a movie like much of the others out there at the time. I had managed to sneak into R-rated "Dirty Harry" at the Paramount Theater in downtown Denver and really appreciated what I perceived to be its sophisticated storytelling techniques. However, that Don Siegel film seemed hopelessly mainstream compared to "Two-Lane Blacktop," which frequently has been described as nothing less than existential.
I missed out on Anchor Bay’s limited release of the film about 10 years ago, so the next time I saw "Two-Lane Blacktop" was last year, when it was available for something like six months as part of Comcast’s free on-demand movie service. Although I must have watched it a dozen times and enjoyed it, there was still something missing, mostly because this anamorphic widescreen movie had been converted to the dreaded "full screen" pan-and-scan format.
Thankfully, the film is now available in its original format on a new Criterion Collection release. Take a look at the frame grab I’ve placed here. It shows Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, James Taylor and Dennis Wilson at a small-town gas station where the decision is made to race all the way to Washington, D.C., for pink slips. Just image cropping that image to 1.8 times its width; Hellman’s thoughtful widescreen composition demands letterboxing at the 2.39:1 ratio.
The supplemental material on Criterion’s two-disc set provides additional insight into the making of "Two-Lane Blacktop" and its creators’ mindset. In one segment, Hellman’s daughter drives the director and several of his film students from Los Angeles out to one of the remote, high-desert locations used in the film. In another, Hellman interviews James Taylor, who has apparently never watched the film he starred in almost 38 years ago.
There’s no musical soundtrack to "Two-Lane Blacktop" in the usual sense; music in the movie is heard in the background from radios. That’s why the best interview by far is with Kris Kristofferson, whose "Me and Bobby McGee" sets the tone for the film. Kristofferson’s original version of his song plays in the background as James Taylor challenges Warren Oates to the cross-country race. The result is a haunting, almost melancholy yearning for the open road.
Interestingly enough, when I bought this Criterion version from Amazon, I was prompted to buy it as a package deal with "Vanishing Point" and "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry," two other car chase films of the 1970s. Both are entertaining, but fall far short of reaching the classic level of "Two-Lane Blacktop."
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I was saddened by the news that Michael Crichton has died of cancer at age 66. Ever since I first read "The Andromeda Strain" that summer of the first manned moon landing, Crichton has been one of my favorite authors. Once my grandmother, an avid mystery reader, learned that I liked the book, she turned me on to the many thrillers Crichton had written under the pseudonym John Lange.
Later, in college, I was impressed by Crichton’s "Westworld," a film he not only wrote, but directed. The plot had some significant holes (although not significant enough for Crichton to avoid recycling it for "Jurassic Park"), but my wannabe filmmaker friends and I gave the guy kudos for making the most of a relatively low budget.â Years later when I was copy desk chief at Chicago’s Lerner Community Newspapers, I spent some time out in Los Angeles learning to operate the Information International Inc. electronic publishing system, a token-ring network that bridged the gap between cold type and desktop pagination. It did not escape me that Triple-I had done the groundbreaking robot-vision effects for "Westworld" -- although by the time I spent a week there, the company had abandoned its movie-industry efforts.
After I saw "Westworld," I fired off a letter to Crichton congratulating him on the movie and asking some goofy, fanboy questions. He was kind enough to reply.
Crichton wrote and directed some fine stuff. I’m sorry he’s gone.
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Pop culture guy Brendan Shultz is back -- with a solid suggestion that you check out Science Chicago, a yearlong celebration and promotion of science.As Brendan points out, the United States graduates nearly 10 times as many lawyers and accountants than scientists and engineers. Is that a problem? Listen to Brendan’s assessment and tell us what you think.
DOWNLOADS AND WEBSITES
Brendan takes a look at Google’s new Chrome browser, which promises to give Internet Explorer and Firefox a run for their money. He’s especially impressed by Chrome’s stability, its "incognito mode" that hides your browsing tracks and how the application displays recent history within tabs.
If you have some time on your hands and are handy with your hands, Brendan says you should take a look at the blockheaded pop-cultural icons at Cubeecraft. Imperial Stormtroopers, Indiana Jones -- even Mr. Stay Puft can emerge from your printer and grace your work area.Rounding out our list of fun stuff is Fantastic Contraption, a Flash-based online game that makes players construct devices to deliver a pink ball into a pink square. The devices can become quite complex -- and you can see and learn from what others have built. One of Brendan’s favorites is "Redneck Truck."
Warning: The Fantastic Contraption website loads with background music (at least on my Mac, it does), so if you’re surfing in stealth mode at work, you might want to turn off your sound first.
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Here’s a photo I took with the Pano application for iPhone. This clever little program takes up to four separate images from the iPhone camera and stitches together a panorama. The building is the Tower of Memories at Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
I’m hoping to take some panoramas on the way back, but they’ll need to be done when the train is at rest, since alignment is crucial to pulling off the stitchery. Not sure how many more photo opportunities there’ll be, since even though the train leaves Denver at 8:15 tomorrow night (or supposedly does; we were an hour late arriving from Chicago), most of Colorado and much of Nebraska will be in darkness.
At the very least, perhaps I’ll encounter more eccentrics.
NOTE: Unless I’m favored with some unexpected 3G network connections, I won’t be posting anything here until I return to Chicago. Look for photo updates on my Flickr pages.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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This Saturday at 2 p.m., I’ll be boarding Amtrak’s California Zephyr and taking it to Denver. I’m pretty excited about this trip -- and am hoping to post text and photo updates from the train on Thrillarama, Chicagoscope’s companion website.
I had hoped that TypePad’s iPhone application would do the trick, but although it posts text just fine, photos are handled badly and appear fuzzy and pixelated. I’ve discovered a couple of possible workarounds that use either CellSpin.net or Flickr.com.
Amtrak wasn’t my first choice for transportation. I had originally wanted to take a Greyhound bus from Chicago to Denver, changing in Omaha midpoint so that I’d see a nice range of rural America, albeit from the interstates. Although a couple of people suggested I might get decapitated, I decided on Amtrak because Greyhound didn’t ultimately seem as if it would have been a particularly relaxing experience.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Well, I blew it. There was this online contest for photos taken with film cameras purchased for less than $50. Given my sad devotion to analog photography and my fetish for rescuing once-proud cameras from thrift shop bargain bins, this contest was a natural.
Well, I got bogged down with other stuff and never got my entry together. I’d decided to use a Kodak Advantix 4100ix, a nifty little Advanced Photo System camera I bought for $4.89 at a thrift store in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. This little camera retailed for $229.95 in the late 1990s.
I had started shooting neighborhood storefronts (like the shot above) as part of coming up with an entry for the contest, but it just kind of went ffffft! I’m too often the sort who starts a project and then is, as The Beatles once warned, so easily called away. I should have stuck with it; the contest was a great idea and something like 80 photographers took part.
Among those whose work is showcased on the contest site is friend and colleague Matt Maldre, who came up with a really neat entry in which he shot nighttime views of Chicago with his Holga 135.
Well done, Matt!
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Jolane’s is located in the Abt "campus" -- translation: big box shopping center -- out in Glenview. We give it mostly high marks. If you’ve been there, let us know what you think.
Read Leah’s published review
Other assessments
Centerstage Chicago
Yelp
Metromix
Restaurant contact info
Jolane’s Cafe & Wine Bar
1100 N. Milwaukee Ave., Glenview, Ill. 60025
847-375-6986
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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1. "Four Cornish Dances" - Malcolm Arnold; Andrew Penny and the Queensland Symphony OrchestraI particularly like the Desi Arnaz song, which has the following couplet: "You think that Adam had it nice? Why, all he had was Paradise."
2. "Main Title (Captain Nemo’s Theme)" from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" soundtrack - Paul J. Smith
3. "Faleena (From El Paso)" - Marty Robbins
4. "You’re the Reason" - Hank Williams III
5. "Iko Iko" (Power Drive Radio Mix) - Natasha England
6. "The Strawberry Roan" - Moe Bandy
7. "Ride to Fort Hays" from "Dances With Wolves" soundtrack - John Barry
8. "Strayaway Child" - David Childers & The Modern Don Juans
9. "You Can in Yucatan" - Desi Arnaz
10. "The Swing of Things" - Kent Rose
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Desktop snacking is the scourge of my efforts to diet. This is compounded by the easy availability of a cornucopia of piggy-boy dee-lites at the Walgreens across the street.
My latest discovery at the Walgreens is Burger King Ketchup & Fries, which is supposed to taste like french fries smothered in ketchup, I suppose. That’s not exactly the taste that comes through, but I found myself eating half the bag.
So, I guess that means they’re good.
While searching for other assessments of Burger King Ketchup & Fries, I found a great site devoted to snacks called Taquitos.net. They really liked this snack.
Technical note: I recorded the audio on my iPhone using a killer application called Recorder. What I really like now is that even when I don’t have my Marantz recorder or Canon PowerShot with me, I can still create podcasts on the fly with my iPhone using Recorder for sound and iPhone’s camera for the visual.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I’ve signed up to help beta test the new GigaPan computerized camera system. Ever since I was a kid and became fascinated by widescreen movie formats like Cinerama, CinemaScope and such, I’ve white-trashed my own half-vast panoramas.
During college, I even experimented with putting anamorphic lenses on my Minolta Autopak-8 D4 camera to give a scope aspect ratio to my Super 8 movies. Of late, I’ve been snapping two or three horizontal images with my Canon PowerShot SD950 IS to get quick-and-dirty panoramas. The view above is an example of this. I shot this two-panel panorama yesterday from the 22nd floor of the Chicago Tribune Tower. (See a larger version here.)
GigaPan seems a little complicated. I hope I’m up to the task. If all goes as planned, I’ll be shooting some panoramas this weekend.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I was working late one night last week and wandered across the street to Walgreens and bought these treats from Dwight Yoakam’s Baskersfield Biscuits line of frozen food.
The one on the left is Chicken Lickin’s Buffalo Style Bites. The one on the right is Take ’Ems Macaroni Mouth Poppers -- sort of like macaroni and cheese in a Chicken McNuggets shell.
Despite the box’s requisite disclaimer of "serving suggestion," I mistakenly assumed that each product included a small container of dipping sauce. But neither did. And neither tasted very good to me, either.
A co-worker who sampled the stuff suggested that maybe it would have fared better if heated in a conventional oven.
Or maybe not. Check out Flickr photos and discussions of other ways to chow down on Dwight here and here and here and here and here and the group Celebrity Products.
Bloggers who’ve weighed in on Dwight’s cuisine include Damaged 2.0 and Machine Gun Funk.
Check out the main Dwight Yoakam site.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Pop culture guy Brendan Shultz weighs in with his opinion about "The Rocker," a film that just opened across America.Brendan also has a few things to say about families and how they behave at the movies. Basically, if your kid is still in diapers, the child doesn’t belong at the theater, he says.
I agree completely. If you’re going to encounter feces and noise in the cinema, these should be provided by the filmmakers.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Speaking of Edwards and peckers, my friend and colleague Doug Page makes some cogent comments about this whole mess on his blog, It’s Fourth and Long. Doug’s observations, as always, are see-worthy.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I appreciate the thankless job done by those who work for the Chicago Transit Authority. Our city’s public transit system is inadequately funded and they generally do the best they can. And most of the time, that’s been good enough. CTA bungling usually only results in frayed nerves, missed connections and raised voices.
This past weekend, however, I saw firsthand how CTA incompetence can put customers at risk of dismemberment and death.
Because of track work, the CTA suspended Blue Line train service Saturday between the Montrose and Jefferson Park stations and passengers boarded free shuttle buses between these stops.
My outbound train arrived at Montrose station about 7:30 p.m. -- and was filled with tourists heading back to Rosemont-area hotels and Cubs fans who boarded the train at the Addison station. All these people swarmed onto the platform and made their way up to street level using either a set of stairs or an escalator.
When people reached the top, they were not moved into a queue by the two CTA personnel on the sidewalk. Rather, they were allowed to bunch up at the top of the stairs and escalator. This wasn’t a problem at first, as customers simply jostled each other to make room.
However, by the time I was on the escalator and nearing the top, I saw there was maybe only two feet of room left at the top. Other customers realized this, too, and several of us yelled to the CTA people to turn off the escalator. I believe my words were:
"HEY! TURN OFF THIS ESCALATOR! PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET HURT!"The CTA reps certainly heard us, but did nothing. As more passengers continued up the escalator, I pressed myself against the window and allowed people to squeeze past, otherwise I would have been jammed against the mass of flesh ahead.
I continued squeezing past the group of people and repeated the warning to the CTA reps, who again did nothing. Another passenger told me he had warned the CTA staffers down on the Montrose station platform and, "They just laughed."
For some reason, I fail to see the humor in the possibility of people being maimed or killed on an escalator.
I counted at least five CTA employees on duty. I guess they were assigned to jerking off that day, not serving the public.
Fortunately, nobody got trampled or hurt, but this was solely due to luck, not any efforts on the part of CTA employees.
I finally figured, well, I did the best I could, and squeezed past the crowd of people and walked west on Montrose about 25 feet and took the pictures above. I tried to take two shots that could be stitched together to show a wide view. Note that the station lobby is packed and that when the next person arrives at the top of escalator, there will be no room.
By the way, this isn’t the first time I’ve experienced a CTA escalator problem. A couple of years back some lamebrain employee was cleaning the escalator at the Grand Avenue station during morning rush. He kept turning the escalator on and off while people were on it so he could stop and wipe the rubber handgrip.
As for the entire CTA agency itself, I find myself agreeing more and more with my friend __________, who maintains that the train system is like ancient alien technology left by an extinct race of advanced beings and that present-day humans simply have no clue to its origin or purpose.
Within minutes of extricating myself from the Montrose station death trap, I called the CTA customer service number and left a calm, cool message explaining my disappointment with what went on. I’ll let you know if they call me back and what they say.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Normally, I have a pretty low tolerance for street performers and other sidewalk mischief. When you’re doing you best to code HTML up on the 14th floor, the amplified sounds of a bunch of kids beating on plastic buckets isn’t charmingly rhythmic, it’s damn annoying.
But for some reason I really liked this drumming group’s sound. Maybe it’s because I was on my way home and enjoying the mild late-afternoon weather. So, I dragged out the little digital camera and grabbed some video.
The stuff I find not so pleasant should be well known to anyone who’s walked along North Michigan Avenue more than a couple times. Such annoyances include, but are not limited to, slowpoke tourists who walk four abreast and stop in the middle of the sidewalk, young ladies who have themselves photographed beating off the moose sculpture or fondling the Benito Juarez statue, breakdancing kids who seem to be able to block off half the public way next to the Walgreens, the shoeshine hustlers who shake down tourists, and my personal favorite, the guy who accosts pedestrians crossing the North Michigan Avenue bridge and aggressively demands of them, "Can I ask you something?"
Just another story in the naked city.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I guess I’m just a contrarian. I’m unable to stomach what the rest of the civilized world apparently considers one of the greatest movies of all time.I’m talking about "Dirty Dancing," a 1987 coming-of-age picture starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. I count "Citizen Kane" and "Amarcord" as among the best films ever made, but I’m sure there are people who can’t get through either one without projectile vomiting and that’s fine with me. Similarly, I’ll be damned if I’m gonna watch "Dirty Dancing" more than once.
My recollection of the film is some dancing, some more dancing, still more dancing, Jerry Orbach determines yep, that’s a botched abortion, and then a whole lot more dancing.
Well, color me twinkletoes!
It apparently wasn’t enough that this chick-o-rama production spawned a sequel called "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" -- now every other Chicago Transit Authority bus has requisitely pink-colored ads for the stage version of the original film.
I could have saved the show’s producers all the expense of mounting a live production. Look, it’s clear that today’s female moviegoers are seriously disturbed psychologically -- or simply don’t mind grindhouse gore -- or else they wouldn’t flock to and evidently enjoy the many movies in which folks are dismembered, tortured and otherwise dispatched in some of the most violent means ever put on film.
In my opinion, "Dirty Dancing" didn’t need a stage version. It just needed another film sequel -- but this one directed by Wes Craven. And, in a nod to one of my favorite Coen brothers scenes, I’ve even got the guaranteed megahit title:
"Dirty Dancing III: Nobody Puts Baby in a Woodchipper"Coming soon to a theater near you.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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This impressive thunderstorm tore through Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood late Monday, August 4, 2008. I recorded this from the relative safety of my apartment building’s lobby. That big tree wasn’t as fortunate -- it was struck by lightning, but I didn’t catch that on camera.
Other neighborhoods got slammed, too. See more storm videos on Flickr. There’s also some especially cool video over on Andrew Huff’s ME3DIA.
By the way, this is why I’m 100 percent sure that aliens are not visiting Earth in flying saucers. Look at how many folks captured high-quality images of the storm. Many UFO sightings are supposedly witnessed by throngs of believers -- or at least of those who want to believe. So, where are all the high quality UFO and alien abduction videos? Or, rather, where is the footage that doesn’t look fake?
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Sometimes, I get lucky.
Like a lot of photographers who enjoy documenting America’s roadside businesses, there are many targets on my to-do list. Too often, I neglect to photograph those businesses before they are gone forever.
A fast-food place named Guido’s comes to mind. For years, I chuckled whenever I drove past this joint on Higgins Avenue here on Chicago’s Northwest Side and saw their sign proudly proclaiming for all to see:
NOBODY BEATS OUR MEAT!I assumed that sooner or later, I’d get around to photographing Guido’s. But I never did -- and one day as I drove by, I noticed, sadly, that Guido’s was gone.
I had a similar experience years ago in Denver. I had always meant to take photos of the Cooper Cinerama Theater, resplendent in its orange paint job. But I never did that, either. I did manage to shoot some Kodachrome transparencies when it was showing a 70mm revival of "Ben-Hur," but by then new owners United Artists Theaters had repainted the buildings beige. The pain in not snagging photos of the Cooper when it was still orange was offset slightly by the knowledge that the theater was torn down a short time later.
That’s why I was glad to have photographed a number of buildings at the intersection of Central and Montrose avenues. About two weeks ago, I had my little digital camera with me during a walk up to Walgreens and I shot some images of venerable -- and closed -- businesses.
When I walked to Walgreens last night, I noticed that all of those buildings had been demolished. The photo above of C Davis Rentals is one of my favorites. You can see more photos on my Flickr pages.
The moral of this story is that if there’s something you’ve been meaning to take a phot of, do it now.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I had hoped to accomplish all this by remotely updating my new blog, Thrillarama.com, but so far I haven’t been able to get TypePad’s iPhone application to upload photos at the quality level I want. I’ve contacted the good folks at TypePad and am hoping there’s something I’ve overlooked, since otherwise this is a pretty nifty application.
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While I think that Zink technology has promise, the fact that Polaroid’s PoGo won’t work with
iPhone speaks reams. That it’s incompatible with a product that
thousands of people are willing to stand in line for hours to buy shows
how out of touch Polaroid has become.But thank goodness that Polaroid’s leash holder, Petters Group Worldwide, has taken the pulse of Young America. Follow the misadventures of Michael and Megan, those hip and crazy PoGo spokespeople who are on a "wild and wicked road trip across America."
Like, totally awesome, dude!
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Slide rules, calculators and the new iPhone. I’m thinking about these things right now.It all started because I needed to buy a new scrubber sponge. I’d grabbed the first sponge at hand the other day when more than a few areas of the bathroom needed some attention.
And then I tossed that sponge back into the kitchen sink. Last night, I stood there merrily scrubbing plates when I realized, damn, this is the same sponge that last night had biblical knowledge of the toilet rim.
The fascinating website Hidden Dangers Revealed has this to say about kitchen sponges and dishrags:
Some sponges have enough bacteria to cause serious gastro-intestinal distress. A bacteria filled dishrag used to dry dishes could actually be transmitting a host of bacteria to the dry dishes, which could make you sick the next time you use them.
Holy moly, huh? I can’t begin to imagine what they’d say about using a toilet sponge to scrub pizza off your plates.
So, I set out this afternoon to buy a new sponge. First stop: The Ace Hardware store near Milwaukee and Lawrence avenues about two blocks from Chez ChicagoScope. To my chagrin, the store is closed -- and, apparently, has been for several months. I guess I never managed to figure this out because displays remain in the front windows and the place is still filled with inventory.
A major clue should have been the signs in the windows offering "space for lease," but I assumed that, like the Foot Locker situation that I’ll get to in just a moment, that there was unused square footage that an independent locksmith or such might use.
Well, duh.
This building used to house the Jefferson Park Woolworth’s, and ever since it shut down about 10 years ago, the space has been cursed. First, the space became a Foot Locker store, probably because Foot Locker is the surviving Woolworth vestige. Trouble is, the store always looked pathetic because they only utilized about a third of the available space. As a result, it gave the impression of a desperate retailer on its last legs, which isn’t the case with Foot Locker at all, as the the operation is quite successful in other locations.
Then, a couple of years ago, Foot Locker pulled out and Ace Hardware moved in. I had high hopes when this happened, since I hoped that it signaled a revitalization of the entire Jefferson Park commercial district. But that didn’t happen.
So, I walked up the street a block and bought the sponge at the CVS drugstore. By the way, there are two CVS drugstores within two blocks of my place. I can’t imagine how this makes any market sense, but CVS has always done things that I can’t comprehend. Not the least of these is the sucky design of their checkout stations.
Instead of designing their stores with separate checkout lanes, CVS puts all of their clerks behind one central counter at the front of the store. This might be OK if customers were steered into queues like at airline checkins or banks, but CVS actively discourages this by placing impulse-purchase merchandise at the checkout area -- including most candy. This only encourages jerks to jump ahead in line.
I’ve complained about this to several CVS managers and they confirm that the stores’ checkout procedure is customers’ No. 1 beef and they can’t do anything about it.
But back to the sponge saga. To get to the housewares aisle at CVS, I had to walk past office supplies, and I paused to look at a display of electronic calculators. Most were made by Casio, and even the most expensive scientific model cost less than $20. This was sure a change from when I was in high school. In those distant times, you still wielded a slide rule unless you were one of the few kids whose family was wealthy enough to pop for one of the new electronic calculators -- which cost several hundred dollars at the time.
I had a pretty good slide rule, though. Dad drove me over to the University of Colorado at Denver’s bookstore, where he bought me a circular slide rule. I was disappointed because it didn’t look much like a "real" slide rule. My definition of a real slide rule, of course, was one of those higher-end Pickett models resplendent in bright yellow lacquer.
But the circular slide rule did have a major advantage: It didn’t get knocked out of alignment if dropped, a big consideration during tests in math-heavy PSSC Physics. (This was the only class in which I ever earned an "F" -- but that’s another story.)
I used my little circular slide rule for 20 years almost daily in my job. I didn’t calculate engineering projects or check calculus results or anything like that. I simply used it to specify enlargement or reduction percentages for photos and graphics at newspapers.
Today, I perform such calculations within Photoshop or InDesign, or on the iPhone’s nifty calculator. But I still have that circular slide rule tucked away in a closet somewhere around here. I wonder if I still know to use it.
I also wonder whether I managed to smear feces onto the plates used for last night’s dinner -- and whether I’m going come down with food poisoning. I’ll keep you posted.
Learn more about slide rules:
Eric’s Slide Rule Site
The Oughtred Society
Vintage Instruments: Slide Rules and More
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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This day and age we’re living in
Gives cause for apprehension
With speed and new invention
And things like fourth dimension.
Yet we get a trifle weary
With Mr. Einstein’s theory.
âSo we must get down to earth at times
âRelax relieve the tension
And no matter what the progress
âOr what may yet be proved
The simple facts of life are such
They cannot be removed.
You just don’t encounter a lot of song introductions these days. It wasn’t until several years ago that I even heard the intro for "White Christmas," which is about being in Southern California is December -- which is why the singer is dreaming of a white Christmas.
Thanks to iTunes, I discovered another musical delight recently. I was searching for "El Paso," the classic Western ballad by Marty Robbins and, yeah, I also saw "El Paso City" -- but also for sale was an incredible song I’d never heard before: "Feleena (From El Paso)." This amazing song tells the "El Paso" saga from Feleena’s viewpoint and is guaranteed to evoke an almost-operatic cascade of emotions from anyone like me who loves the original.You surely know the tragic ending of the "El Paso" story, so I’ll risk a spoiler by quoting my favorite set of lyrics from "Feleena (From El Paso)":
Feleena knelt near him,
To hold and to hear him
When she felt the warm blood
That flowed from the wound in his side.
He raised to kiss her and she heard him whisper,
"Never forget me, Feleena. It’s over, goodbye."
Quickly she grabbed for the six-gun that he wore
And screaming in anger and placing the gun to her breast,
"Bury us both deep and maybe we’ll find peace,"
Then pulling the trigger she fell cross the dead cowboy’s chest.
Time is the reason you might not have heard "Feleena (From El Paso)." The song clocks in at 8 minutes, 19 seconds, so it doesn’t get much airplay.
There’s also an internal time problem in the "Feleena" song itself. In the original "El Paso," the young cowboy apparently spent some time in the badlands of New Mexico, yet in "Faleena," he tragically returns the next day.
Or maybe, as Einstein might say, it’s all relative.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Michael "Klaatu" Rennie leads the way as his alien henchmen escort David Vincent toward a flying saucer that has conveniently landed in the back yard.
When I was a kid, I loved the outer-space adventures of the original "Star Trek" series, which I found entertaining and thought-provoking. But another series at that time managed to scare the living bejeezus out of me -- and still does.
That program is "The Invaders," introduced each week with an ominous opening sequence:
The Invaders: Alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination: The Earth. Their purpose: To make it their world. David Vincent has seen them. For him it began one lost night on a lonely country road looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with a closed, deserted diner and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here, that they have taken human form. Somehow, he must convince a disbelieving world that the nightmare has already begun.
The show’s first season is now available on DVD and I’ve been watching "The Invaders" with new appreciation. Unlike a lot of series from that era, it sure holds up. The few effects are done well and the attention paid to lighting, music and art direction rivals that of many contemporary theatrical films.
Cloned from Quinn Martin Productions’ "The Fugitive," this show follows "architect David Vincent" -- played by 29-year-old Roy Thinnes -- that’s him then and now, at right. Although he gains allies in the second season, Vincent initially leads a desperate, one-man campaign to expose the vanguard of an alien invasion. The aliens themselves are among the reasons why the series proved so frightening to people. They’re only shown in their human forms, which often aren’t 100 percent perfect, and can be identified usually -- but not always -- by a misshapen pinkie finger.To maintain their human shape, the invaders must periodically step into regeneration tubes. Only occasionally, a human gets to see one in its actual native form. Those who do often are driven to the point of madness.
And although within the context of the series these humans see the invaders, viewers never do. We see only the humans’ terrified reaction to these aliens, which makes their presumed appearance all the more terrifying.
Almost as terrifying are the ways in which the invaders infiltrate human society. They’re small-town sheriffs, government officials, leading scientists -- and in one notable episode even a stripper played by Suzanne Pleshette. It’s a rich vein of paranoia later mined to similarly chilling effect by "The X-Files."
Although it’s difficult to believe these invaders are here from "another galaxy," they’ve definitely come a long way to get here and their resources are being stretched to near the breaking point. Their most effective weapons are seldom a large scale effort, but rather treachery, brainwashing -- and a nasty little disk that when pressed to a human’s neck induces death by cerebral hemorrhage.
But the biggest problem facing David Vincent is that it’s next to impossible for him to prove that the invaders are here because when one is injured or shot, they just about always go up in a blaze of spontaneous combustion.Most of the episodes in this set have been transferred in crisp color and with a rich soundtrack that allows Dominic Frontiere’s chilling musical score to properly frost your spine. Roy Thinnes, now 70, introduces each episode and is also featured in a supplemental interview in which we learn that some of the show’s crew thought UFOs were no laughing matter.
Series creator Larry Cohen narrates much of "The Innocent," which, although he didn’t write it, is his favorite episode. Cohen offers up some interesting stories, but his narrative tends to wander. And he also gripes way too much about how his "Created by Larry Cohen" credit is at the end of each episode rather than at the beginning. Larry: If it’s any consolation, I noticed and remembered it. So much so that when I saw "It’s Alive," "Q" and "The Stuff" years later, I thought wow, this is by the guy who created "The Invaders"!
Genre fans will especially enjoy "The Innocent," which was originally telecast March 14, 1967. It’s not hard to see why Cohen counts this episode among the best. In it, Vincent is abducted and taken aboard a flying saucer by one of the invaders’ leaders -- played by Michael Rennie, famed for his portrayal of Klaatu in the seminal saucer movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still."
This episode illustrates how "The Invaders" sparingly used special effects to such advantage. Vincent is driven to a mission revival ranch house and taken to see Rennie -- and then he’s escorted into the back yard where he’s manhandled into the saucer. It all plays out so matter of factly that you’ll think they were stuffing him into a Lincoln.
The saucer design itself no doubt tapped into its own wave of paranoia. Obviously inspired by the spacecraft reported by 1950s contactee George Adamski, it was in a way the series co-star, a character that all of us hoped to see more of than we did.Perhaps the saucer’s best appearance is in "The Mutant," which finds David Vincent tracking down reports of a crashed saucer in the Desert Southwest. The scene in which he stumbles upon aliens repairing their saucer does a great job of laying the early groundwork for vectoring the Roswell legend.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I’m not easily offended -- and, in fact, I’m not offended by this AT&T commercial in which the fate of Amelia Earhart is milked for humor. However, I am disappointed that Bill Kurtis didn’t think this commercial was in poor taste. I mean, regardless of how this courageous aviator died, it had to have been horrifying.
So, no, I’m not offended. I just wish that Kurtis, who has in many ways been a communications visionary, had communicated to AT&T’s commercial jesters that this spot simply isn’t funny.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Hot on the heels of taste-testing Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Crackers, I sampled another new product, Nabisco’s Nilla Cakesters.Nilla Cakesters feature a couple of soft vanilla wafer cakes with vanilla frosting or creme or whatever in the middle. What’s interesting to me is that Nilla Cakesters are based on an eating activity that nobody likes to admit doing: Dipping Nabisco Vanilla Wafers into a can of pre-made vanilla frosting. It’s sort of like dessert chips and salsa.
To me, this product doesn’t measure up to the homemade version and it was all I could do eat one of the things. However, opinion at my workplace among colleagues cajoled into performing a taste test seemed evenly divided. But even those who really liked Nilla Cakesters agreed that they don’t taste as good as good as Oreo Cakesters. (These treats apparently are the coming thing; check out the Cakesters website.)
The big surprise was when one co-worker refused my offer to try a Nilla Cakester. Turns out she loves the things and had already eaten three packs -- that’s six Cakesters total!
Check out the how Nilla Cakesters fare in tests over at The Impulsive Buy, ColuMn and gen[M]ay.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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This weekend, I had planned on honing my Twitter skills in preparation for launching ChicagoScope2.com later this month -- but the darn thing seems to have imploded. Granted, Twitter is free and at some point you get what you pay for, but the question for me is whether the service is going to be reliable.And by "reliable," I’ll go ahead and show my age by suggesting that a great definiton of reliable is what the phone company gave us in, say, 1968. Even during the Colorado snowstorms of my youth that closed roads and schools and caused lights to flicker, our phone still worked.
Sadly, that’s not the case now. In my Jefferson Park apartment building, landline phone service is dicey at best. Whenever it starts raining or snowing, calls bleed through to one another until the line apparently is saturated -- and then everything goes back to normal. When the line begins to dry out, there’s a repeat performance.
Complaints about this
I experienced similar
Of course, much as I enjoy the Slowsky commercials, Comcast hasn’t exactly been a paragon of reliability for me, either. I know more than a few people who are looking forward to bona fide competition.
Maybe that’s what Twitter needs. When you have a free service, can uptime be anything other than a free-for-all?
By the way, does anybody know how Twitter makes money? The best guess I heard awhile back is that they get a cut of the SMS message fees that users’ service providers charge, but I haven’t read much about that theory lately.
I’d be more than willing to pay for a more-robust Twitter experience. An annual rate of $25 a year (that’s what I pay for Flickr Pro) would be acceptable.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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(Recorded on a Canon PowerShot SD950 IS Digital Elph while standing under the eaves of that building at left in the above photo of Jefferson Park.)
Nope, we’re not headed to the Taste of Chicago. The Taste can be kind of fun, but it’s also a real headache to get to and you have to battle thousands of other people.
I’d say you need to embrace the hustle and bustle to fully appreciate the Taste. Sort of like how to tolerate alfresco dining, you need a high tolerance of carbon monoxide and pedestrian stares. That’s a topic worthy of an entire podcast. I can understand how diners might enjoy having a meal in a secluded garden or a quiet courtyard -- but too often here in Chicago, alfresco dining means some eatery merely has jammed a dozen tables out on the sidewalk.
Bugs, carbon monoxide, allowing total strangers to waltz by and look at what you’re stuffing in your pie hole. And this is a good thing? Mm-mm-good, huh?
Speaking of things that sound like a good thing but often aren’t, let’s talk about one of my favorite culinary topics: macaroni and cheese. I’ve always maintained that although Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner is the gold standard against which all other such dishes are judged, the amount of powdered cheese provided just isn’t enough. In fact, ever since I was a kid, I’ve always added extra cheese when I cook up this favorite comfort food.
The other day while shopping in the Walgreens across my office, I noticed a new product: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Crackers. I bought a box and gave it a try.Verdict: Not cheesy enough. And a few others at work reached the same conclusion. Please note this was the regular version -- imagine how noncheesy the "mild" version is. One colleague even compared the crackers to Cheese Nips, another Kraft brand.
I’m a loyal consumer of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, but I can’t get too excited about these cracker knockoffs.
In this podcast, I also talk about finding a really cool site while Googling for reviews of Carrara, an affordable CGI application. One link led me to a site promoting a proposed TV series called "Atomic City" featuring the adventures of Phil Velvet, an Elvis lookalike private eye in a kitschy, retro-future re-imagined Las Vegas.
I’m not sure just why I like the site, but I must have watched the video clip several dozen times now. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Finally, what with the ascendency of digital imaging, chemical analog photography seems destined for retro status. Yet, even as I embrace digital, I find myself clinging to film photography. In fact, some of the best work I’ve done of lately has been with the Holga -- which is just about as analog as you can get.
Whenever I want to reinvigorate my excitement for analog photography -- or for photography in general -- I like to check in at Filmwasters, which serves up galleries by its five founders, as well as links to other photo-related sites. But the highlight for me is the Filmwasters podcast.
Well, that’s it for now. Look for some episodes next month from Colorado, plus a special podcast with Dick about geocaching.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Despite my sad devotion to that ancient religion of silver-based analog photography, I’ve found a nifty little digital camera that I’ve been carrying with me everywhere of late.My new friend is the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. It takes still images up to 12.1 megapixels in resolution and also records high-quality video that isn’t too shabby.
I hadn’t even intended to record a podcast that day. My goal was only to test the SD950 in macro mode on some flowers in Jefferson Park. (See the example at right.)
While playing with the menu, however, I discovered a feature that will come in handy for real run-and-gun podcasting: The SD950 can record reasonably good audio. So, I decided to use the camera’s digital voice recorder to create this podcast.
I recorded the sound as I stood next to the flowering tree whose pink flowers I’d just photographed. (The background noise is from traffic on Lawrence Avenue.) We’re not talking high-quality sound, but it’s acceptable enough to get the job done.
That job involved a totally on-the-fly reminiscence about my grandfather’s observation that "the vegetable kingdom does not waste time."
And, indeed, it does not.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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On a recent work-related trip to New Orleans to attend the National Cartoonists Society convention, I joined with more than 100 other attendees to help with Habitat for Humanity efforts to rebuild affordable housing.
Before taking us back to the hotel, Habitat’s driver took us through the still-devastated 9th Ward and we saw just how much still needs to be done to get this area back to something even remotely resembling a state of normalcy. Many communities are still without supermarkets or grocery stores.
The continuing impact of Hurricane Katrina was especially obvious as we crossed the Judge Seeber Bridge. Not only did the vantage point show exactly how high the water had been, but just a day or so earlier, malfunctioning gates allowed a New Orleans police officer to drive his car off the bridge and into the Industrial Canal below. His death sparked a wave of outrage over dilapidated infrastructure that had been in desperate need of repair even before Katrina hit the city.
Read a story about the death of Detective Tommie Felix in The Times-Pacayune.
View video "New Orleans Rebuilds."
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Long before this week’s primaries I knew Barack Obama would likely win the Democratic nomination.I don’t base this supposition on polls or prognosticators. Rather, I’ve concluded that Obama will get the nod because he’s wearing Starfleet sideburns. This isn’t the first time I’ve allowed popular culture to shape my opinion of the Illinois senator. I’ve already remarked that he looks a lot like Clutch Cargo.
As for the other candidates...
If I were being mean, I’d suggest that Hillary Clinton fills the same ecological niche as Dr. Janice Lester, a former lover of Capt. Kirk’s who resents his success in a male-dominated universe and uses a machine to perform a brain switcheroo.But I’m not mean, so instead I’ll note the similarities between Hillary and Nurse Christine Chapel, who is secretly in love with Mr. Spock but knows that nothing will come of it -- at least in the short run. Just about now, I think Hillary is beginning to realize that barring an Obama catastrophe, she’s not going to be the Democratic Party’s nominee.
John McCain’s "Star Trek" counterpart is an easy one: He’s Capt. Christopher Pike, the original commander of the USS Enterprise who was captured, imprisoned and tortured by the Talosians in the series’ unsold pilot episode.And although Pike is a warrior, he is increasingly reluctant to choose violence as a way to solve problems and is especially fretful over sending those he commands into deadly situations.
So, does all this mean that Obama is the "logical" choice? What do you think?
PHOTO CREDIT
Barack Obama photo by Jerry Richardson reproduced by permission under Creative Commons. Click on the photo to see the original, or go to Flickr.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Read Leah’s published review.
OTHER ASSESSMENTS
Joe and Lisa’s Cheap Date
Yelp
Metromix
RESTAURANT CONTACT INFO
Topa Tavern and Grill
944 Elk Grove Town Center
Elk Grove Village, IL
(847) 640-0440
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Back when I attended Community College of Denver, I always enjoyed presentations from a photography instructor who tried to impress upon us the fact that whenever we took a picture, we froze a moment in time. I’ve forgotten this instructor’s name, but I remember her words whenever I pick up a camera.
She emphasized that we should occasionally take pictures of the ordinary images of our lives, since these glimpses would tell future generations the most about the present day. And she’s right about that. Anybody who’s ever glanced through family photos can see this instantly. I recently watched some Super 8mm movies I’d shot back in college and was immediately struck by how alien the hairstyles, gas prices and automobiles appeared.
And just the other day, I was sorting through some photos I shot of Jefferson Park commercial buildings -- and was glad that I’d photographed the outside of the barber shop where I had my hair cut for so many years because it’s now closed.
It’s true: Press the button and you’ve recorded history.
Thanks to the World Wide Web, it’s easy to see historical photos -- most of which probably were not considered to be anything special at the time. Yet time itself has given these images power and meaning.
One of my favorite repositories of images is The Library of Congress. I spend most of my time there searching through the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. I especially enjoy the color photographs in the Farm Security Administration section, which provide a much different visual record of the Depression than the usual Dorothea Lange "Migrant Mother" stuff does.
A cynical observer might even suggest that the FSA knew that stark black-and-white images would have greater propaganda value than the warm-hued slides a minority of its photographers shot. There’s no denying that color tells a very different story -- or at least compels the viewer to infer a very different one. Maybe that’s why so few color photos were taken; or maybe color work was so expensive they didn’t have the budget for it. Whatever the reason, the differences are striking.
At the top of this posting are black-and-white and color versions of one of my favorite photos from the FSA color archives titled "Negro boy near Cincinnati, Ohio." The record states the photo was shot in 1942 or 1943 by John Vachon, but there’s no other information.
Looking at the monochrome version of the photo (which I created in Photoshop), it’s not difficult to imagine this kid’s tough life and the gritty, hardscrabble existence his family might have endured. This little boy’s world is gray, his clothes are gray, and there’s little optimism here.
By contrast, the original slide (probably shot in the still-relatively new Kodachrome process) allows us to see that although he’s probably poor, this kid has on clean clothes and has even completed the ensemble with a derby. His life no doubt has its challenges, but maybe this was a good day for the little guy. Maybe he’s on his way to the store on the right, whose bright red Coca-Cola sign is all but lost in the black-and-white version. Maybe he’s getting a Coke -- or perhaps a Nehi!
It’s also insightful to view FSA photos of places in your own town. I liked the photo at right, taken of the Wrigley Building and Chicago Tribune Tower from a vantage point in the Illinois Central train yards -- now occupied by the Illinois Center office, hotel and retail development.This photo by Jack Delano from April 1943 suggests that the Tribune Tower is long overdue for a steam-cleaning. The original image is a 4-by-5-inch Kodachrome transparency -- and the Library of Congress site allows visitors to download a high-resolution TIFF version, which provides for a lot of close-up inspection of building windows and human activity. Lots of photos on the Library of Congress site are like this.
Another great photo resource is the Denver Public Library’s Western History and Genealogy Section. I often enjoy searching through the DPL’s visual record of how the Denver I knew as a child grew up and grew old.
However, I’ve never found a photo of one of my most-vivid childhood memories of visiting the library’s main facility at the Civic Center: a little circle of desks in the children’s section made to resemble a merry-go-round.
Or perhaps I only imagined it.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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We received some interesting responses to our assertion that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner is the gold standard by which all other mac-and-cheese recipes are judged. Missy from Chicago’s Northcenter neighborhood says that Annie’s is the best. Joe from Cheap Date weighs in on Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit, plus gives his opinion on Old Country Buffet -- whose mac and cheese he praises.
Finally, my colleague Marco talks about his own experiences with the Kraft product, and states that macaroni and cheese is the official food of latchkey children.
Many thanks to Phil Clark of The Brit and Yankee for sending me that crazy World War II radio spot for Kraft Dinner. It’s a riot!
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Some say Thomas Jefferson introduced macaroni and cheese to the colonies, but no matter who first sent this dish steaming onto our tables, they created America’s ultimate comfort food.
Although there are many brands, for just about everybody the name Kraft is synonymous with macaroni and cheese. Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese Dinner is considered the gold standard by many -- and even if it isn’t, it’s still the benchmark against which all others are judged.
That’s why when I spied new Chef Boyardee Mac & Cheese!, I just had to buy a can.
I really wanted to like this stuff, especially since I’m a big fan of Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit -- another of my childhood comfort foods. But the Chef’s take on macaroni and cheese just didn’t feel fresh. The cheese lacked that zing I’ve grown to expect from Kraft, and to me, the macaroni’s mouth feel is best described as a synthetic sort of half-overcooked, half-al dente.
Don’t get me wrong, though. Kraft isn’t 100 percent perfect. Ever since childhood, I’ve been of the opinion that they don’t give you enough powdered cheese sauce mix in that little envelope. Mom vainly tried to stop me from supplementing the cheese mix with the packet from a second box until we found that Kraft sold that exact same American cheese powder. It came in a golden-yellow container that was stocked next to the company’s grated parmesan cheese, usually in the spaghetti-and-spaghetti sauce section.
A few years ago, Kraft changed the look of this powdered cheese and started calling it Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Topping. The container even uses the same design as on the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner boxes.
Oddly enough, the company won’t admit that people actually buy this stuff to supplement the macaroni and cheese recipe. Instead, consumers are advised to "Shake on popcorn & more!" to "Sprinkle on fish sticks, potato chips, baked potatoes, chicken nuggets, hot popcorn and vegetables" and to "Stir into chili, soup, rice, scrambled eggs, grits and mashed potatoes."
Grits?!
By the way, everyone I know who enjoys eating out is constantly in search of the perfect macaroni and cheese side dish. Leah & Dick and I have vainly sought this rare substance, and so have Bridget and Tammy at Chicago Bites.
So if anybody’s found the perfect macaroni and cheese, let me know.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Jon Espenschied wrote a piece in Computerworld recently about how he was especially observant while waiting for his flight at an airport recently, and spotted a woman systemically fishing credit-card receipts from trash cans. Apart from exchanging a knowing glance, Espenschied didn’t call the authorities on this person. Should he have?
Unattended bags, suspicious behavior and anything out of the ordinary are, unfortunately, causes for concern. After all, "If you see something, say something," is the message hammered home to us whenever we travel these days.
But if you see something on Chicago’s Metra rail system, don’t waste your breath saying anything.
That sad conclusion crossed my mind after reading Espenschied’s column because I’ve had similarly unsettling experiences three times in about the past month on Metra, the commuter rail service linking Chicago and 230 stations in a six-county area. In my case, however, I saw something, tried to report it -- and was met with complete indifference.
It all started on Dec. 21, 2007, when I was about to board a Metra train at the Ogilvie Transportation Center. As I neared the last car, I noticed a picnic cooler sitting unattended in the vestibule. I figured this was no big deal, that some overburdened passenger had been manhandling a passel of packages onto the train and would return shortly. A couple of minutes passed and the cooler just sat there.I wasn’t about to get overly dramatic, since simple explanations are usually the correct ones. And the simple explanation was that nothing more hazardous than a ham sandwich, bag of Fritos and a couple of cans of diet soda were inside that cooler. Still, the thing shouldn’t be left there.
Then, I noticed a Metra conductor walking along the platform. I approached him and told him about the unattended item in the vestibule. This guy curtly informed me he was off duty and that I’d need to alert the next conductor I saw and assured me there’d be one along soon.
"I understand that," I told him, "but we’re supposed to tell you guys if we see something? You know, these times of heightened security and all?"
He repeated his desire not to be detained and hurried off. I started looking around. Other passengers were climbing aboard the train and walking right past the unattended picnic cooler without even noticing it. I wasn’t scared, but I was sure getting miffed.
Finally, another conductor came by. I pointed out the cooler to him and he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Oh, that’s mine," he told me. "I’ll take care of it."
In the days that followed, I began to worry about both conductors’ laissez-faire attitude toward me, so I telephoned Metra’s customer service line and spoke to a representative. I wasn’t too specific about the incident, since I didn’t want to get some guy in trouble or fired for what I assumed was a simple lapse of judgment. When I asked what I should do in the unlikely event this happens again, the rep earnestly informed me that I should go tell someone in the glass-enclosed office at the end of the platform.
What I was hoping for was that she’d tell me they’d remind the conductors not to leave things lying about. In any event, I figured that was the end of that and that one way or another, these conductors would somehow get the message, feel somewhat embarrassed by the experience and learn to stow their lunch.
But that’s not what happened.
On Jan. 3, 2008, I was boarding the train and, yep, there was that cooler again. And on Jan. 8, there it was a third time. Something tells me that this cooler is being left there unattended every day -- and since I don’t ride Metra every day, I’m just not noticing.
So, what should I do? Call that railroad security phone number the next time I see this? Tell the folks in the glass-enclosed office? Do nothing? That seems to be what hundreds of other people who see this unattended cooler are doing.
Am I making too big a deal over some conductor’s lunchbox? Ask someone from Madrid.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I visited Colorado recently, and talked my cousin Brian Hague into joining me on a visit to Edgewater Inn, which I consider to be one of the best pizzerias in the world.
This suburban Denver eatery has always been an outpost for great pizza.
We ordered a large pepperoni pie and soda pop and the bill came to just over $15. I know this is going to sound odd, but the pizza tastes like a high-class version of the pizza that used to be sold at the Woolworth’s in downtown Denver on 16th Street. (This huge Woolworth’s was pretty much an experience in cheap mercantile overload. My mom once described it as "marketplace in Calcutta.")I’ve loved the city of Edgewater for a long time. The place really does have the feel of a small town. Back when I was in high school, there was nothing quite like a walk down the hill into Edgewater’s major retail section at 25th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard. There were several cafes, a liquor store, a bakery -- and my favorite, Edgewater Drug. Whatever you wanted, chances are Edgewater Drug would have it. I was especially impressed by the selection of newspapers and magazines, second only to the treasure trove at Jerry’s News in Denver at Colfax Avenue and Broadway.
Sadly, both Edgewater Drug and Jerry’s News are but memories. Same for the Lake Shore Drive-In Theater, which, once us kids started driving, my parents only occasionally allowed us to attend. (Deserved or not, the drive-in had a reputation as Hood Central.)
Edgewater also was home to KIMN Radio, 950 kilocycles on your AM dial -- "95 Fabulous KIMN!" They pronounced the call letters as "kim." I believe the call originally referenced the Inter Mountain Network. Although the call letters are still used, the top-40 powerhouse hasn’t been around in that format (or as an AM station) for years.
We also talk about the large number of Denver streets named after Indian tribes, and wonder whether the urban legend is true that a local appeared on a game show many years back and won big money by being able to reel off all those Native American names.
RESTAURANT CONTACT INFO
Edgewater Inn, 5302 West 25th Avenue, Edgewater, Colorado. Kitchen: 303-237-3524. Bar phone: 303-233-9892.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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You don’t need to live in the sticks to benefit from a farmers almanac. After all, everybody’s interested in the weather, since sooner or later most of us will need to deal with it one way or another. We reviewed three widely available almanacs, all of which provide ample meteorological predictions, planting guides, tide tables and astronomical data.
But wait, there’s more! Articles will enlighten you on the history of popcorn, how to wash your hands, ghost pets, famous blunders, strange weather in years ending in the number 8, all about bananas, wedding weather woes, how weather affects fall foliage, why butter is better than margarine, flowers that stink, and recipes, recipes and more recipes.
It’s the advertising, however, that provides most of the entertainment in these publications. In addition to the standard farm and garden stuff like tillers, mulchers and the like, there are ads for incinerating toilets, sex pheromones, erectile-dysfunction cures, miracles uses for vinegar, and "Foods That EXPLODE in Your Bowel!"
If nothing else, these time-honored guides offer great reading in any room of the house -- or in the outhouse, for that matter. They also make great companions for the Burpee catalog.
ONLINE ALMANAC LINKS
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Farmers’ Almanac
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Matt has a visually ingenious way of seeing the world, whether it’s with traditional tools in connection with his job as a graphic artist, photographer and designer, or in his delightful take on how to creatively keep a Chicago Cubs scorecard at Wrigley Field.
Matt recently turned his attention to a serious matter that affects all Chicago public transit riders: Because of a lack of funds, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace will need to drastically cut service. According to the CTA, unless funding is obtained, on Jan. 20 it will eliminate 81 of its 154 bus routes, lay off more than 2,400 employees and raise fares to record levels. Similar cutbacks will occur at Metra and Pace.
Matt has found a way to use Metra schedules to illustrate the political ramifications of legislation to fund public transportation in Chicago.
The CTA is encouraging riders to contact our legislators. Now, thanks to Matt, I need to figure out why my representative failed to cast a vote not once, but twice on this important issue.
TECHNICAL NOTE
This podcast was recorded entirely with a Marantz PMD620 digital recorder using its built-in stereo microphones. And no, the occasional annoying clicks are not the result of Matt or me futzing with a ballpoint -- yours truly was adjusting the recording levels and all that button pushing got picked up. This is one of the downsides to this recorder that Jeff Towne explains in his review at Transom.org.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Leah, Dick and I find more than a few dee-liteful items on the menu at Noodles Delight out in the Chicago suburb of Roselle.The eggrolls are especially good, with lots of substantial fillings, not, as Leah puts it, like those at many other Chinese restaurants, which often are "sleazy and with too much cabbage."
Related (and unrelated) topics we chat about while rolling merrily through the suburbs in the Mobile Recording Studio include but are not limited to:
A&W’s Burger Family. Out in Hillsboro, Oregon, the Burger Family endured quite a bit of local drama.
Burger King’s new broilers, and whether they make the burgers taste better.
Hardee’s, for which none other than the late Mama Cass Elliott sang the praises. "Hurry on down to Hardee’s, where the burgers are charco-broiled!"
The ever-popular General Tso’s chicken.
Sensurround, which I experienced for the first time when the film "Earthquake" showed at Denver’s Aladdin Theater. The low-frequency rumbling managed to shake loose bits of stucco, so netting was strung on the ceiling.
Farfel the Dog, who sang the Nestle’s song. (By the way, here are the fractured lyrics that I learned back when I attended Wheat Ridge Junior High School: "N-E-S-T-L-E-S, guess what’s up your A-S-S ... chawk-lit!")
Cars used in James Bond movies, and whether we’d rather have an ejector seat or hub-mounted tire-slashers.
Place names such as Des Plaines, Illinois, a victim of how Americans mangle French words; Gays, Illinois, (a town with a frequent visitor to this website); Mattoon, Illinois, home of the Mad Gasser; and various places with the word squaw.
Read Leah’s published review.
CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Noodles Delight, Cross Creek Commons, 853 E. Nerge Road, Roselle, (630) 307-1010.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Is cellphone use out of control? You sure get that impression from a New York Times article about the growing use of illegal devices to block cellphone frequencies.Jamming the radio spectrum is an extreme reaction. Tom Roper of Chicago-based band Beatnik Turtle had a better idea: He wrote "Do You Mind?" -- a musical indictment of cellphones and the public jawboners who drive us nuts. In this podcast, ChicagoScope chats with Tom and finds out how he crafted this humorous response to rudeness. (Plus, we’ve received permission to include this copyrighted song in the show. Thanks!)
We also touch base with internationally syndicated columnist Bob Koehler, whose work appears in print, online and on The Huffington Post, who agrees that public cellphone users can be annoying these days. However, he suggests a way to turn lemons into lemonade: Learn to enjoy these glimpses into private lives.
Previously, Bob has weighed in on the worst classic "Star Trek" episode and explained why "Get Shorty" is the perfect pacifist movie.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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It turns out that two of my favorite movies also are my favorite Christmas movies: "The Bishop’s Wife" and "Die Hard." At first glance, these pictures separated by a span of more than four decades have nothing in common -- but both celebrate the power of faith and redemption in subtle and entertaining ways.In 1947’s "The Bishop’s Wife," clergyman David Niven believes that heaven-sent angel Cary Grant is the answer to his prayers for help in squeezing millions from an obnoxious old matron to build a cathedral whose construction she’s micromanaging. But Niven’s marriage to Loretta Young is headed into stormy seas, and he gets more than he bargained for when Grant charms everyone from a comic-relief agnostic to the bishop’s wife -- played by professional Catholic Loretta Young.
Their faith restored, the agnostic turns to religion, the matron gives her millions to the poor, and Niven realizes that his wife has the power to give him heaven on earth.
Another marriage is on the rocks in 1988’s "Die Hard," in which New York cop Bruce Willis travels to Los Angeles to attend a Christmas party in the skyscraper headquarters of a Japanese multinational where his estranged wife Bonnie Bedelia is a top executive. When terrorists take over the building, several characters are forced to find faith in themselves.
A cop who has been afraid to fire his gun since accidently killing a kid becomes a hero, a desk-flying police chief learns to respect street cops and Willis and Bedelia symbolically reaffirm their marriage vows when they must snap open the clasp on a Rolex watch she’s wearing to drop villain Alan Rickman to his death.
Cerebral use of Christmas music ranging from Run DMC to Beethoven to Sinatra adds greatly to the holiday spirit.
If you want "Peanuts" with that, check out "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown."
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Read Leah’s published review of Pho Le.
CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Pho Le, 551 S. Schmale Road (at Geneva Road), Carol Stream, (630) 588-8299 .
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Just a brief podcast this time to let you know about some upcoming events. . .REMOTE PUBCAST
Phil Clark of The Brit and Yankee has organized a pretty cool event in which a number of us from the Chicago Area Podcasters Network will descend upon The Globe Pub, 1934 W. Irving Park Road, to create simultaneous shows at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, as part of what he calls "an experiment in live, raw, new media in action."
Located in Chicago’s entertainment- and restaurant-rich Northcenter neighborhood, The Globe is ground zero for soccer fans and the official pub of the Chicago Fire. "This place serves up a wonderful taste of home," says Phil, who had long planned on featuring the establishment on "The Brit & Yankee" -- but then asked the rest of us in the Podcasters Network to join in the fun.
In addition to Phil and Mike from "The Brit & Yankee," participating podcasters include Tammy Green and Bridget Houlihan of "Chicago Bites", Tom Kim of "Gamasutra" and yours truly. We’ll offer our perspectives on The Globe’s history, its management, patrons, soccer (aka "football"), darts -- and on the unique beers and cuisine offered.
In addition, Phil has persuaded Chicago band Beatnik Turtle to present a live acoustic performance at the pub. He’s hoping that folks from Weird Chicago will drop in, as well.
We’d also like to invite anybody interested in podcasting to drop by, too. "Most folks think that creating and distributing their own podcast would be complex and costly, but podcasting actually can be a fairly inexpensive, straightforward process," Phil says. A variety of podcasting equipment will be on display, and all of us veteran podcasters (meaning anybody who’s been doing it for more than a couple of months) will be happy to share our experience with newcomers.
Hope to see you there!
FARMERS ALMANACS
In this brief podcast, I also give you a preview of an upcoming show in which Leah, Dick and I review several farmers almanacs and talk about why these annual publications can still be of use to Chicago city-dwellers.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Lest anybody think my critical focus is too selective in pointing out Five Chicago Sculptures That Really Suck, I present evidence that problematic public art is no stranger to the suburbs.I’m frequently at the Arlington Heights train station and often walk past a piece of public art that looks like a latter-day British phone booth. It’s nicely styled, painted bright red, and looks inviting to anybody looking to have a private cellphone conversation. Last week, I needed to call my podcast cohorts, who were meeting me at the station. Lured by the visual promise of privacy, I took out my cellphone and stepped inside the booth.
To my surprise, this structure turned out to be a piece of public art that’s designed to make you feel miserable. It’s called "Cell Phone Booth," and a plaque next to it details the feelings of its creator, artist Ed Francis:
"Cell Phone Booth" is my somewhat cynical reaction to the proliferation and overuse of the cell phone. I made "Cell Phone Booth" attractive by painting it bright red and filling it with gleaming glass tiles. The glass tiles actually contain ugly and somewhat intimidating faces staring in at you. There is no place to sit and be comfortable as there is in a real phone booth. Openings between the bars prevent any feeling of privacy inside the booth. "Cell Phone Booth" is intended to feel like a jail once you are inside.
OK, let me get this straight: Mr. Francis, who apparently has a problem with rude people who use cellphones, created a phone booth designed to reduce the comfort level of considerate cellphone users who are mindful of others’ privacy?
And please don’t tell me that my negative reaction is Mr. Francis’ way of making a point, because he actually fails to make his point. "Cell Phone Booth" is structurally and visually a nice piece of art, but imagine how much more positive a reaction Mr. Francis could have gotten if the glass faces were smiling, the openings between the bars eliminated, and his manifesto read:
"Cell Phone Booth" is my reaction to the proliferation and overuse of the cell phone. I made "Cell Phone Booth" attractive by painting it bright red and filling it with gleaming glass tiles. The glass tiles actually contain happy, smiling faces staring in at you. There is no place to sit and be comfortable as there is in a real phone booth, but there is a modicum of seclusion. "Cell Phone Booth" is intended to feel like a tiny oasis in our busy, noisy world.
Clearly that’s not what Mr. Francis had in mind, so the result is that an artistically accomplished piece of work devolves into a simplistic political statement.
This piece was on temporary display, but thanks to the Arlington Heights Arts Commission, now is owned by the village.
This isn’t ChicagoScope’s first difference of opinion about the situation at Arlington Heights’ train station. About this time last year, we took note of just how unfriendly the station can be.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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It’s that time of year again. Halloween. More than ever before, adults as well as kids are going gaga for the holiday.Even municipalities are getting into the celebration, big time. In the photo here, Chicago’s Daley Center has been decorated with a haunted house as part of Chicagoween and orange dye has been poured into the fountain.
Halloween is said to be second only to Christmas as a decorating and party holiday.
Here on Chicago’s Northwest Side, the Six Corners shopping district becomes Halloween ground zero as thousands of folks make the annual trek to Fantasy Costumes Hdq. (Reviews on Yelp, Metromix, Centerstage.)
This store gets to be a madhouse the closer it gets to October 31. Better hurry on down there now if you want this guaranteed crowd-pleaser: Happy Halloweenie Costume, whose catalog blurb declares, "Size DOES matter. Impress the ladies with the Happy Halloweenie Costume. Complete 3 piece set, for standard adult size."
But the question remains: Is Halloween evil? Some folks sure seem to think so. Check out The Dark Side of Halloween and Sorry Kids, Halloween is Evil.
Not everybody agrees, however. According to Feminist Mormon Housewives, Halloween is Not Evil.
So what do you think?
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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This time out, our culinary expedition journeys to Long Grove for a taste of Victoria’s Mexican Grill. We liked the food and loved the salsa, but felt everything could have had a bit more oomph.CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Victoria’s Mexican Grill, 410 Robert Parker Coffin Road (Building 42), Long Grove. (847) 634-3772.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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A YEAR AT THE WHEEL
At the last meeting of the Chicago Area Podcasters Network Meetup, I had the pleasure of meeting Shane and Amy Bugbee, a couple who are committing a year of their lives to a podcast version of the Lucy and Desi "Long, Long Trailer" thing.
Shane and Amy’s project, "A Year at the Wheel," gets into gear here in Chicago on November 4, hits the road and then concludes November 5 next year -- just in time for the Big Election.During their 365-day journey across America, they’ll be creating audio podcasts, video podcasts, publishing a newspaper -- and generally doing the kind of Charles Kuralt-style coverage that the mainstream media too often neglect to do.
They’ve attracted some heavyweight attention -- namely, podcasting pioneer Adam Curry, who’s scheduled to appear at a kick-off event for Shane and Amy on November 4 at The Empty Bottle.
I’m especially dee-lited by Shane and Amy’s creative approach to fundraising. Visit A Year at the Wheel and see what I mean. One example of their out-of-the-box thinking is a video (see frame grab above) in which Shane demonstrates how to build your own inexpensive version of the Fig Rig. Shane’s version costs considerably less than the original, which lists for $295 at B&H.
So, check out Shane and Amy’s site and give them a hand in their journalistic odyssey. I know I’m looking forward to some vicarious thrills, as well as some high-quality journalism.
(Disclosure: I’ve donated a digital recorder to A Year at the Wheel.)
THE MIKE AND JEFF SHOW
"The Mike and Jeff Show" has been one of my favorite podcasts ever since I first listened to it last year. This simple, elegantly produced show features two guys discussing their lives with brutal honesty.
They’ve been funny, off-color, outrageous ... and insightful. But their latest show left me speechless. You’ve got to listen to this one. I dare anybody to do so and not conclude that our criminal justice system needs to be seriously overhauled.
Here’s the link to Mike and Jeff Show Show No. 35.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Recently I Googled "Clutch Cargo" to determine how to spell the series’ famous Syncro-Vox system, which I remembered more for its use in Alex Toth’s "Space Angel." As I was perusing the Wikipedia entry for Monsieur Le Cargo, the thought hit me like a ton of bricks: Clutch Cargo and Barack Obama were separated at birth! Just to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, I showed both images to about a dozen folks and they all agreed with me.
Obama looks even more like Cargo in this AFP photo.
Of course, not everybody sees the similarity. My friend _______ says Barack and Clutch look nothing alike, but that’s to be expected, since he also claims that the classic John Singleton Copley portrait (detail shown at right) of Paul Revere looks nothing like Bob Hope.MORE INFORMATION
Toon Tracker
Toonopedia
Alex Toth artwork
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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OTHER OPINIONS ABOUT BUILDINGS
Waterslide arrives on top of downtown Chicago office building
Stop the blandness
Too many ugly buildings?
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Each year, I eagerly anticipate one of the most amusing events of the season. I’m not talking about our nation’s efforts to turn Halloween into a full-tilt bacchanalia, which is now apparently second only to Christmas in popularity. No, I’m talking about the arrival at my local Jewel Food Store of a passel of little pumpkins pre-painted with cheery faces.
When I first noticed these fun-loving members of the gourd family about 10 years ago, the faces seemed to have been painted by hand. These decorated pumpkins looked so innocently happy and goofy that I figured they had to come from some sheltered workshop somewhere. I even bought one once for my cubicle at work.
Lately, however, I’ve noticed that although the pumpkins have the same goofy faces, the paint appears to have sprayed by a machine, rather than done by hand. Or maybe the pumpkins were painted by machine all along.
MORE ABOUT PUMPKINS
Frey Farms video news release
Where the great pumpkins are easy to find
Low pumpkin production forecast
Local pumpkin crop socked by soggy weather
Lack of rain stunts pumpkin crop
Indiana reports great pumpkin crop
Hand-carved pumpkins by The Rock & Roll Chef
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I’ll cut to the chase: The worst public sculpture in Chicago is the one of Harry Caray outside Wrigley Field. Runnerup is of Jack Brickhouse in the plaza between the Tribune Tower and the Equitable Building. Poor Harry Caray looks as if he’s in Hades, howling in pain while the disembodied heads of other condemned souls at his feet join his chorus of lament. As for Jack Brickhouse, he appears to be auditioning for the part of Capt. Christopher Pike.
Did much thought really go into these sculptures? Who cares? Not me -- I didn’t pay for this stuff. I just have to look at it. And I think it sucks.
MURALS ALSO SUCK
These aren’t the only examples of fugly public art, of course. There are many, many others, especially if the definition of sucky art is expanded to include murals -- most of which the public isn’t permitted to criticize because this "art" has either been created by kids as part of social-engineering projects to boost their self-esteem or depicts animal species supposedly in danger of getting sucked into the extinction vortex.
But not to worry: I’m just talking about sculpture that sucks, and Chicago has plenty of that.
I realize that some folks might be upset that I have the audacity to say so much of Our Fair City’s public art stinks, but if artists and their patrons aren’t willing to accept public criticism of works the public is obliged to drive past, walk past and sit near every day, then they ought to grow thicker skins or get jobs in the nonprofit sector.
Or at least accept the fact that if you shove something out onto the public stage, you’re going to get public comment.
And that many people are going to think your artwork sucks.
Like I said, the Caray and Brickhouse sculptures aren’t the only sculptures I classify as eyesores.
CHICAGO’S OWN THING
It’s only fitting that one of downtown Chicago’s fugliest buildings has one of the city’s fugliest sculptures squatting in its plaza.Yes, I’m talking about Helmut Jahn’s State of Illinois Building, since rechristened as the James Thompson Center despite the fact that the former governor is still alive.
This building is done up in a color scheme better suited to an episode of the old "Miami Vice" television series.
And in fact, there was a cop movie shot at the building in the 1980s, a really sucky Billy Crystal vehicle only notable for creative use of the building’s cavernous interior for a rappelling sequence.
But back to the building itself: All precious and pink and quasi-turquoise blue, this building also sucks -- although let’s confine ourselves to the artwork in question, which is a funguslike blob outside the southeast entrance.
Like much abstract art, you’ll never have any idea what it is. A cold virus? A sponge? A giant truffle that was unearthed by the giant pig that might be immortalized in sculpture on the other side of the building?
This sculpture is so odd, I can imagine it having been used as part of a tourist attraction in the Desert Southwest. You know ... THE THING? WHAT IS IT?
Who cares what it is? Cart it away!
THE DEVIL’S FORK
Then there’s this thing by an artist named Miro that’s right across from Daley Center.I don’t know what this is supposed to be, either. There’s a plaque that claims it’s a representation of a woman, but that’s a stretch for me.
I’ve always thought it looked other-worldly and bizarre. The best I’ve been able to come up with is that it’s supposed to be an alien probe or a satanic eating utensil.
Eating utensil is the better possibility, since there’s clearly a handle at the bottom for easy grasping, and the forklike top has tines.
For all I know, a push of the recessed red button in the handle causes the fork to spin, making it a boon for spooling spaghetti.
This devil-fork piece of work has influenced a neighboring structure, as well, since just behind it a playground for a daycare center mirrors the tine projections on its fenceposts.
Hey! Do you suppose parents receive a discount for dropping off Rosemary’s Baby at this place?
My conclusion is that although some art can get away with being thought-provoking, I shouldn’t need to play "Where’s Waldo?" with my imagination to figure out what something is, so ... get the hook and haul this one away, too!
BULLWINKLE’S HAPPY ENDING
Last but not least, our whirlwind tour of public sculpture I dislike brings us back to the Equitable Building, where tourists are being delighted by a stainless-steel moose with a big penis.Some tourists, especially wild-and-crazy young ladies, even like to try helping this moose have a happy ending as friends document the levity photographically.
I’m not a prude and don’t have a problem with realistic representations of human and animal forms.
But maybe the artist and his or her patrons should have found another animal to put on display here -- maybe a female one.
Certainly a work that invites giggly discussion and high-school silliness really isn’t the best use of this public plaza.
Besides, if some family’s most vivid memory of their vacation visit to Chicago has to be that of a wiener, let them enjoy a meal at Superdawg.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Each month, the Chicago Area Podcasters Network has a Meetup at Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue Apple Store. Thanks to my colleague Alice Singleton, September’s Meetup featured Stan Lawrence and Terry Armour (shown here; that’s Stan on the left), who host of one of the city’s most popular radio programs on WCKG-FM.In this recording made Wednesday night, Sept. 12, by Tom Kim, our organizer, Stan & Terry reveal the secret of their interviewing technique, offer tips on how to maintain a professional radio voice, and provide motivation and inspiration to podcasters.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Chicago Area Podcasters Network
(Photo courtesy WCKG)
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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Both subcontinental cultures peacefully coexist at Paradise, a restaurant in Hoffman Estates that Leah, Dick and I visited recently. We liked almost all the dishes we sampled -- and I even enjoyed the Bollywood movies and videos plastered CinemaScope-size across a wall.
Other issues we address include Frozen Coke, Icee and Slurpee. Interestingly enough, according to this Wikipedia entry, Slurpee actually is Icee.
And for the record, the first Icee I ever had was at the UoteM convenience store in what was then unincorporated Jefferson County, Colo., at 20th and Wadsworth.
CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Paradise Restaurant, 721 W. Golf Road, Hoffman Estates (847) 755-9955
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I missed yet another chance to eat insects when Leah, Dick and I went to Geno Bahena’s Tepatulco, a restaurant in Lincoln Park.Unless you count the random, accidental sucking-in of a bug while jogging or riding a bicycle, the last time I consumed insects was in junior high when, as part of what today no doubt would be a state-mandated "cultural diversity" program, our teacher insisted we sample taste treats such as palm-tree hearts, pickled grasshoppers and chocolate-covered ants.
I didn’t like eating bugs in junior high and I don’t like eating bugs now. So no way was I going to try the grasshopper appetizer at Tepatulco, but Leah and Dick are clearly made of sturdier stuff and they enjoyed the insect part of the evening.
As you’ll hear, however, I enjoyed the rest of the food I ate. Leah and Dick were pleased, as well.
READ LEAH’S PUBLISHED REVIEW OF TEPATULCO
INSECT RECIPES
Iowa State University
Edible Insects
Ohio State University Extension
OTHER ASSESSMENTS
Yelp
Centerstage Chicago
LTHForum
EDDIE ADAMS
Here’s the story of that famous photo I mention during the podcast. By the way, I got it wrong: Former South Vietnamese Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan didn’t open a doughnut shop in Los Angeles, it was a pizza place in Virginia.
CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Tepatulco Restaurante, 2558 N. Halsted St. (773) 472-7419
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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In a similar vein, Dick explains how he learned to avoid being afraid of dining out while traveling: order the New York Strip Steak -- aka "The Traveler’s Friend." He was taught this when working for Digital Equipment Corporation.
CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Jumong, Cambridge Commons, 23 E. Dundee Road, Buffalo Grove. (847) 353-3333
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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We rolled into the Rolling Meadows Meijer because Leah & Dick’s cat, Max, has suddenly decided not to eat catfood. The solution: Gerber baby food. But the real surprise for me was the vast cornucopia of stuff at this 24-hour store.
No matter what you want, it seems to be available here. Speakers for your iPod, plumbing supplies, lawn furniture, comic books, tiki torches, fuel for your tiki torches, eggs, teas from all over the world, T-shirts, shoes, balloons specially designed for use in water-balloon fights, Amish potato salad, hamsters, guinea pigs -- and even spotted dick in a can.Yep, at midnight or 2 a.m. you can apparently buy a guinea pig ($25) or a hamster ($3). You don’t need to be a PETA supporter to figure out that selling an animal for $3 is a universally bad idea. At that price, the poor thing is a toy -- not a pet. What was especially sad was seeing one of the hamsters desperately trying to escape. Ah, well.
MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST
Crowbusters
Prospect Heights
Al Capone’s Hideaway & Steakhouse
Tommy Guns Vodka (I mistakenly call it Al Capone’s Vodka)
John Dillinger
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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It was sure hot the night we dined at Azucar, a tapas bar in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. And several of the young ladies seated in a window table were pretty and hot, too, much like the senioritas of "Sabado Gigante" -- the Spanish-language program that seldom requires translation.And speaking of Spanish, much to my disappointment, I learn that patatas bravas has nothing to do with one of my favorite movies, "Rio Bravo."
Overall, we really liked the food, as you’ll discover in this podcast that tackles a wide range of other topics as we roll down the windows in the Mobile Recording Studio and treat you to a B-grade soundseeing tour of Chicago, the Northwest Side, Niles and other similar hotspots.
Subjects on our plate this time include miniskirts, pantyhose, why guys are wearing clothes that are looser than ever at a time when gals are wearing fashions tighter than ever, why it’s called "Wilbur Wright College" and not "Orville and Wilbur Wright College" (did Orville get caught giving someone a prop job?), as well as numerous other diversions on the way to dessert.
OTHER ASSESSMENTS
Metromix.com
Centerstage Chicago
Citysearch
LTHForum.com (Nice photos!)
CONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Azucar Tapas Restaurant and Cocktail Bar, 2647 N. Kedzie Ave., (773) 486-6464
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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I heard a few cicadas during the day Saturday in Jefferson Park, so I walked out later that evening to see if I could record sounds from any. I thought I heard an especially noisy group over by the fieldhouse (above), but the sound turned out to be from a laboring air conditioner in a nearby apartment building. Only when I got home and checked online did I realize that cicadas are mostly nocturnal. It’s katydids that sing at night.
I went back into the park on Sunday afternoon and managed to record some of the cicadas’ mating calls. But the expected cacophony just wasn’t there; maybe later this week as the park heats up with continued daytime highs in the upper 80s will coax more of this insectoid chorus to raise their voices in song.
Over at the CVS drugstore, one of the pharmacists who lives a couple of miles from here in Harwood Heights says cicadas have emerged in droves there. Here in Jefferson Park, I’ve only heard a few cicadas -- and haven’t seen any at all.
One question that’s puzzling me about cicadas is how to best describe their mating calls. These sounds, which are made only by the males, usually are characterized as an "electronic buzzing" or "electronic whine." Cicadas have been around a lot longer than electronic devices. If none of us had experienced an out-of-whack TV set or badly tuned radio, what would we say they sound like?
CICADA INFORMATION
ChicagoCicadas.com -- Great starting point for Chicago-area information on these bugs.
Chicago Cicada Central -- University of Illinois Extension offers great links to video and audio, as well as to media coverage of the brood.
UPDATE
I’m not hearing any more cicadas in Jefferson Park. At least here, the invasion’s been a dud.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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This time out, I join Leah and Dick as they take their cat, Maxwell Silver Hammer Smith, out for a treat at a frozen-custard joint in honor of his 20th birthday. (By the way, the oldest cat recorded by Guinness World Records was 38.)
To learn more about Max, visit his birthday website, where you can hear him howl, yowl, meow and purr. On the site, you can also read about Max’s dietary regimen, which includes distilled water and concessions to his increasingly finicky concept of mealtime. At one time, he insisted upon being served Gerber baby food.
Leah, however, has an easy explanation for Max’s behavior.
"For years, I’ve suspected that Max is an alien," she writes in ’Planet Catnip: My Life With an Alien Cat," a chapter in the just-published book "Cat Women: Female Writers on Their Feline Friends.""I don’t know what planet he beamed down from," Leah writes, "but he’s definitely Out There. For one thing, he likes to follow us around the house, watching intently, as if he’s taking mental notes on all our doings to report to someone later. I work at home, so his favorite observation spot during the day is my desk. When he’s not staring unnervingly at my computer screen while I type, he’s sitting on my papers -- he has a sixth sense of just which one I need at any time, and that suddenly becomes his favorite resting spot.
"But anyone could argue that those are ’normal’ cat traits. The biggest hint I have that Max is not from this world is his abnormal reaction to catnip. Most cats, when exposed to this herb, become excited, euphorically sniffing, rolling around, shaking their heads, and rubbing against things. Even lions and tigers have this catnip response. Not Max...."
This week, several writers who contributed to "Cat Women" -- including Leah, Margaret Littman and Judy Sutton Taylor -- will read from the book at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 20, at The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., in Chicago’s Lincoln Square. We’ll be there, so stop by and say hey!ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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It’s not just a crepe, it’s a meal -- and it’s dessert, too! That’s what I learned from Leah and Dick when we dined recently at Icosium Kafe in Andersonville. Almost as good as the crepes is the view out the cafe’s windows, which give you front-row seats to Clark Street’s widescreen-Technicolor parade. It’s men with women, men with men, women with women -- and some folks just sit there and cross-pollinate.
Once we get rolling in the Mobile Recording Studio, we head south along Clark and pass by Lincoln Towing, which prompts Leah and Dick to talk about Steve Goodman’s "Lincoln Park Pirates" -- Steve Jobs will sell it to you for 99 cents at the iTunes Store.
Leah also mentions that she’s been playing a lot of old music lately. Here are some of the links she found for great sources of legal downloads of out-of-copyright music from Edison cylinders (that’s Thomas Alva Edison at right) and 78 records:Internet Archive - Cylinder"These are terrific compilations of early 20th-century popular music -- and provide a glimpse of the times," Leah says. She explains that it was common for a single song to be recorded by a large number of musicians. One example was "Yes! We Have No Bananas" (sheet music published in 1923, courtesy of UCLA’s Digital Library Program).
Internet Archive - 78 rpm
Turtle’s "78 RPM" Jukebox
University of California, Santa Barbara, Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
"Yes! We Have No Bananas," Billy Jones, 1923Leah found that the song was also recorded in 1923 by Furman and Nash, William West, Bailey’s Lucky Seven with Irving Kaufman, Ben Selvin and his Orchestra, Benny Krueger and his Orchestra, Vincent Lopez and his Hotel Pennsylvania Orchestra, The California Ramblers, Sam Lanin’s Dance Ensemble, the Original Georgia Five and, undoubtedly, others, not to mention endless covers since. (She’s especially fond of the version by the Muppets’ Swedish Chef.)
"Yes! We Have No Bananas," Great White Way Orchestra with Billy Murray, 1923
"Yes! We Have No Bananas," Green Bros. Novelty Band, 1923
"Yes! We Have No Bananas," Arthur Hall and the Yerkes Novelty Five, 1923
"Vandaag Geen Bananen" ("Yes! We Have No Bananas" in Dutch), Willy Derby, 1923
And then there was "I’ve Got the ’Yes! We Have No Bananas’ Blues," Billy Jones, 1923, which Leah says several other artists recorded, too.
By the way, according to the 1923 Chicago Tribune citation listed at the end of this page, the catchphrase "Yes! We have no bananas" originated here in Chicago in 1920.
And here’s a possibly not relevant but nonetheless interesting article on why there really might be no bananas soon. It all has to do with how bananas reproduce. I mean, isn’t it incredible that the banana hasn’t had sex for thousands of years?
See some college girls put a condom on a banana.
In this podcast we also mention:
Jerry Lewis’ "The Noisy Eater"
"Three Coins in the Fountain" was written for the film (and apparently sung by Frank Sinatra in the soundtrack, per Internet Movie Database), but popularized by the Four Aces.
The Austrian soft drink sensation Almdudler. See a commercial for the stuff.
Lincoln Square
Sabatino’s
Magic Pan
OTHER MEDIA
Leah’s printed reviewCONTACT INFO FOR RESTAURANT
Centerstage Chicago
Yelp
Zagat
Metromix
Icosium Kafe, 5200 N. Clark St., Chicago, (773) 271-5233, IcosiumKafe.com.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.
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It’s summer movie time here in Chicago and Brendan Shultz returns to review "Spider-Man 3." He also discusses the rest of the reason’s crop of cinematic gems, weighs in on the current Bush administration, and reveals the real reason why teenagers enjoy visiting Wikipedia.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.
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Sometimes, the real news isn’t what you think.
Just over a week ago, I had gone up to the Six Corners neighborhood to visit City Newsstand to buy a British hi-fi magazine. After that, I headed across Cicero to the Jewel Food Store to pick up some sushi when I stopped and looked up -- and saw a huge plume of black smoke rising from behind the store.
The real news to me wasn’t the fire. It was how people responded to the fire.
A woman standing next to me already had her cellphone out and was calling 911. At first, we thought the supermarket was on fire, but it turned out the fire was at Chicago Imports Inc., 4150 N. Knox Ave.
I figured I’d better get that sushi quick, but when I went inside the store, I decided that what I really should do is buy some extra film (I only had my analog camera with me and it was out of film), so I bought four 35mm cassettes of Fujicolor and just as I reached the exit, the lights began flickering. The automatic door stopped working, so I pushed it open and then walked behind the store, where about 50 people already had assembled in an empty lot to watch the fire.
The people had their cellphones out and were talking to friends about the fire, texting information about the fire, and transmitting still photos and video. The result: Within just 15 or 20 minutes, the crowd had swollen to several hundred.
Sidewalks filled with gawkers, streets clogged with cars -- and people were getting dangerously close to the fire in their efforts to obtain dramatic photos and videos.
From where I stood, the warehouse was a block away and across some train tracks, you could feel the heat.
There really wasn’t all that much coverage of the fire. I wasn’t surprised that after a brief visual flurry, the story dropped off the big media radar.
However, I had expected a lot more attention from the local weeklies. But not even those papers gave it much attention.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE
Chicago Tribune (Note that the Tribune’s automatic categorization function has incorrectly filed this story in the sports department site folder, apparently because it thinks the subject matter relates to the Chicago Fire, our professional soccer team.)
Chicago Sun-Times/Pioneer Press
CITIZEN JOURNALISTS
Still photos -- From Flickr
Video -- Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4, Video 5, Video 6, Video 7, Video 8.
By the way, this wasn’t the only fire over the weekend. My colleague Matt got a photo of another conflagration.
OTHER STUFF
In this podcast I also talk about the coming cicada invasion, how much I enjoy The Mike & Jeff Show, and fill you in on the upcoming Discover Woodfield, a podcast from Lisa & Joe of Cheap Date.
I recorded this podcast in Jefferson Park.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.
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For several months, I’d been toying with the idea of trying a container of Grapples, but soured on the idea after figuring out these things weren’t some incredible two-headed transplant, just standard apples that had been subjected to a grape-juice bath.
A few weeks back, colleague Mark Bazer had some Grapples at work and gave me one to eat. Mark’s a humor writer whose work appears in numerous publications -- including the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye edition, and online at The Huffington Post -- and had just polished off a column about this most unusual addition to the produce department. In "A Grapple a Day ... Won’t Do Much for You," Mark doesn’t think much of this product. "I defy you to finish one," he wrote.
Actually, he said the first bite wasn’t all that bad, but that "the artificial sweetness is overwhelming."
My experience was just the opposite. The first bite felt remarkably similar to my initial reaction to white chocolate mousse frozen yogurt: Your eyes and brain are all set for vanilla, but your taste buds scream chocolate. Except in this case, my first taste reminded me of the Grapette soda I enjoyed in my Colorado youth. (By the way, my most vivid memory of this product is when I got to be in the audience for a telecast of the "Fred & Faye" kid show on KLZ-TV (Channel 7). We all got treats and the kid sitting next to me freaked out when he got his tongue stuck in a bottle of Grapette -- during a commercial break, fortunately. This is probably why my favorite scene in "The Cowboy Way" is when Woody Harrelson jams his tongue in a wine bottle and gets a cello-playing gal all hot and bothered. I checked on YouTube for this scene, but couldn’t find it -- although someone did post the big finale.)Anyway, last week I bought some Grapples at the Jefferson Park Jewel (cost for a plastic blister pack of four: about $5). I brought the Grapples along when I met Leah and Dick to do a restaurant review in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.
And that’s the subject of this podcast.
We also talk about a variety of other grape-soda related topics, including Pillsbury’s Funny Face soft drink mixes. You can see a complete list of all the flavors and find links to actual packages at The Imaginary World. Even as a kid, I was astonished that a couple of the characters pushed the taste envelope. It didn’t take long for Chinese Cherry and Injun Orange to go the route of the Frito Bandito. Note to General Mills: As someone of Irish extraction, I’m still waiting for you to get hip to the fact that Lucky the Leprechaun can be considered an equally offensive ethnic stereotype. Of course, we’re probably fortunate that you chowderheads didn’t expand the brand to include Lucky Charms Beer.
The Funny Face marketing efforts weren’t limited to packaging and print media, though. That fun-lovin’ crew even cut a record with Goofy Grape as the frontman. Leah’s been researching off-the-wall recordings lately and managed to find a site with MP3 files of this little-remembered treasure. Goofy sounds an awful lot like Ed Wynn.If you’d like to hear these some of these beloved childhood classics, just visit Way Out Junk for some interesting (and possibly excruciating) downloads.
Leah has fonder memories -- musical and otherwise -- of NuGrape. You can even hear a direct download of "I Got Your Ice-Cold NuGrape" recorded by the NuGrape Twins way back in the Roaring Twenties.
More recent grape-related technology comes up, too. I’ve never tasted any, but both Leah and Dick are familiar with carbonated fruit, specifically, carbonated grapes. These fizzy fruits have been featured at Chicago’s Moto restaurant. You can even do it yourself.
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I’m generally unimpressed with new-product introductions at fast-food restaurants these days. The last time I found myself overwhelmed was when Mom treated us to Big Macs after we’d been to see "2001: A Space Odyssey" -- so that was definitely a long time ago. However, while walking past the Jefferson Park McDonald’s the other day, I saw a big banner announcing the Angus Third Pounder. This burger triad is apparently being test-marketed in Southern California and the Chicago area -- or at least in Jefferson Park. I’ve had a chance to taste the bacon-cheese Third Pounder twice and I think it’s a welcome addition to the McDonald’s lineup.
I do wonder whether McDonald’s is starting to have way too many items on the menu. And I also wonder why they keep the McRib on such a short leash. Everybody I know would buy this sandwich pretty regularly if it were a permanent part of the menu. Ah, well.
In the meantime, I guess I should enjoy the Third Pounder while I can.
Read all about it:
CNBC report on Third Pounders
Assessment of the new burgers by Slashfood
The Big Apple needs these big burgers
Official site of McRib’s alleged "Farewell Tour II"
Fun "Simpsons" references to McRib at the Wikipedia entry
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I like how "Chicken 65" could also be the title of a Roger Corman movie about drag racing, car theft or other vehicular mischief. Maybe it would have appeared on a marathon drive-in theater show with the original "Gone in 60 Seconds," "Grand Theft Auto," "The Gumball Rally," "Smokey and the Bandit," "Vanishing Point" and "Two-Lane Blacktop." (Thanks to Comcast on-demand, by the way, I’ve rediscovered "Two-Lane Blacktop" and have watched it at least a half-dozen times in the past couple of weeks.)
Speaking of movies, the general area in which Tandoor is located shows up early on in "The Blues Brothers" during the scenes where Jake and Elwood speed past the intersection at Devon and Courtland. I believe they’re stopped by the troopers who later nod when John Candy asks if they’d like an Orange Whip.
Tandoor doesn’t serve Orange Whip, but anything I sampled, I liked.
During our meal, I got to watch an extended Bollywood production -- an added cinematic treat. The movie starts in India and has the hero follow his ladylove all the way to the United States, and ends with a big dance number in Central Park featuring a jazz band, rockers and rappers. What a concept!
Read Leah’s published review of Tandoor.
Tandoor
715 West Devon Avenue
Park Ridge, Illinois
847-696-1676 vox
847-696-1677 fax
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After several days of near-tropical conditions that dovetailed nicely with the Al Gore-Captain Planet campaign, Chicago’s weather took a turn for the chilly -- so, rather than hoofing it over to Daley Center and hopping on the CTA Blue Line, I decided to catch the express bus to the Ogilvie Transportation Center and ride the big Metra train home.
I miscalculated, however, and had about an hour to kill before the next train, so I decided to do a recording test of an Edirol R-09 digital recorder I acquired the other day for podcast field work. This tiny recorder is about the size of a mobile phone and records MP3 and WAV files onto an SD card.
To put the R-09 through some real-world paces, I just babbled on for about a quarter-hour about how surprised I was a few days back when I looked at my most-played tracks in iTunes. Some of the top selections are from Nora O’Connor, Sir Adrian Boult, Basil Poledouris, the Union Pacific Railoroad and Chris LeDoux.
Although the R-09 accepts external microphones, I was more concerned with how its built-in stereo mics would work when using the recorder in stealth mode. I turned off AGC, set the input level at midpoint, and held the unit to my ear as if I were talking on a cellphone.
The results could have been a whole lot worse, although, just like my experience with the Edirol R-1, I think the levels were too low. This might have been more because of my settings than any fault of the unit itself, since I suppose I could have boosted the levels by turning on the automatic gain control or manually increasing the input. I didn’t want to turn on AGC, since most recorders I’ve used -- analog or digital -- introduce hiss or noise in this mode, and I had managed to clip the sound when setting the input levels too high manually. (Speaking of hiss, I have to admit that it wasn’t until reading reviews of recorders for podcasters that I even noticed hiss unless it was really extreme. Hiss usually is just an artifact I learned to accept, sort of like the occasional pop or click in a fine vinyl LP.) Anyway, I dealt with the slightly low levels by running the file through Levelator to bring it up a little.
I suppose I also could have waited to purchase this little gadget until hearing what Phil Clark of The Brit and Yankee thinks of the R-09 in his upcoming review of the unit in Podcast User Magazine, but then I would have missed the excitement of an impulse purchase.
Selected R-09 reviews
Mark Nelson
Peter Kirn
Amazon customers
Sweetwater customers
Jeff Towne
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A number of years ago, just after I had moved to Chicago from Casper, Wyoming, a friend introduced me to the seasonal joys of what she called "Passover Pepsi." To the uninitiated, this is Pepsi that is reformulated with sugar rather than corn syrup so that the soft drink can remain kosher for Passover.I figured Pepsi is Pepsi -- but after one taste, I was convinced.
In this episode of ChicagoScope, Leah, Dick and I conduct an informal taste test of regular kosher Coke and kosher-for-Passover Coke. Listen to hear which one wins.
Related stories:
Coke wary of rising prices for high fructose corn syrup.
Leah mentions a Pizza Hut song. Listen to it here.
How did Coca-Cola get to be kosher in he first place? And is it more complicated for Coke to be kosher for Passover? Brush up on your history.
Learn more about keeping kosher at the Chicago Rabbinical Council
site.
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Last time ChicagoScope spoke with cohort Bob Koehler, he managed to thoroughly diss one of the greatest "Star Trek" episodes of all time. In that October 2006 podcast, Bob makes a very good point in asking why pacifist Edith Keeler must be sacrificed on the altar of history to restore the timeline that ultimately leads to both the stars and to humanity’s salvation.
In several recent columns distributed by Tribune Media Services and on his own website, Common Wonders, Bob’s written about a movement to create a "Department of Peace" within U.S. government -- most recently in "A World That Works for Everybody."That’s why I was taken aback when Bob announced the other day that in his opinion 1995’s "Get Shorty" qualifies as the best pacifist motion picture ever made. Again, Bob argues his case pretty well.
By the way, the audio in this podcast illustrates how different a room sounds when filled with dozens vs. occupied by just two. I had done a test recording in a conference room on our floor several months back and it sounded great. It never occurred to me that all of those bodies were absorbing reflected sound waves -- and that with just two people, there’d a be more than a little reverb. Ah, well.
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After eating at Smoque BBQ, we motor along in the Mobile Recording Studio and discuss other barbecue restaurants we like. Leah and Dick have high praise for Bar-B-Que Bob’s up in Rogers Park. Even though I wish their ribs weren’t so soft, I like the sauce so much at Gale Street Inn that I can almost forgive them. And for all things barbecue, I’ve never gone wrong with Calvin Woods’ Smokin’ Woody’s and Calvin’s BBQ.
We also bring up L. Woods Tap & Pine Lodge.
By the way, when the talk turns to side dishes, I even have the effrontery to ask whether Smoque BBQ’s delicious beans are likely to induce rip-roarin’ nether zephyrs. Fear not! Help is available.
Read Leah’s published review.
Other assessments:
ChicagoistSmoque BBQ
Chicago Reader
Chicago Sun-Times
Chowhound
Metromix Chicago
YoChicago
3800 N. Pulaski Road
773-545-RIBS
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"It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice -- there are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."The latter definitely is what’s going on with me, as I Flickr my way to Casper, Wheat Ridge (and also Wheatridge), Rock Springs and Kingman.
As an occasional photographer who’s lucky enough to actually get paid to take pictures, I’ve been blown away by the photos on Flickr. Not only are there plenty of images with decisive moments personal and otherwise, but there’s also a lot of good news sense and technical skill there, as well.
Based on a recent article by Amy Gahran on the Poynter Institute website, I’m convinced that before long, a site like Flickr (or perhaps even Flickr itself) will become a clearinghouse for news photos as traditional journalism begins to embrace the concept of citizen journalists. There are plenty of people in the right place at the right time, and news organizations are finally going to tap this resource. And if they’re smart, they’ll pay for it.
But back to nostalgia...
During a recent trip to Wheat Ridge, I had hoped to do a lot of shooting, especially using a low-tech analog Holga camera. I especially wanted to get pictures of the Wheat Ridge and Maple Grove grange halls. However, at least I managed to grab a somewhat-artsy picture (above) of the famed "concrete cowboy" who’s stood guard at the entrance to Rustic Ranch Mobile Home Park on Federal Boulevard for as long as I can remember. What’s fun is to see how many other folks have taken pictures of the same view.
See photos I’ve put up on Flickr.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about "The Rifleman" lately.
It all started just before Christmas, when I walked a slightly different route after work to get to the CTA Blue Line station at Daley Center -- and I passed by the still-under-constriction Museum of Broadcast Communications near the Marina City House of Blues. I’d visited the museum many years ago when it was housed in River City and enjoyed the exhibits a great deal. (I toured the museum with Chicago sportswriter and broadcaster George Castle, who’s a font of pop-cultural information.) For a time, the MBC moved to the Chicago Cultural Center, but I never stopped in when it was there.
Anyway, as I walked past the museum, I began reflecting on TV shows that had an impact on me. Sure, the original "Star Trek" fueled my imagination, and "Adam-12" briefly stirred some interest in pursuing a career in law enforcement, but the one show that caused me to seriously reflect on the human condition while still in elementary school was "The Rifleman."
The two photos above are screengrabs from the first episode’s scene in which we’re introduced to Lucas McCain (Chuck Connors) and his son, Mark (Johnny Crawford), as they arrive in the New Mexico Territory of the 1880s. The show’s haunting main theme plays in the background and, for a moment, shifts to a minor chord as Mark expresses concern and regrets in dialogue wonderfully written by Sam Peckinpah and masterfully handled by Connors and Crawford...
Lucas: Well, it’s new and mighty fine country, son.
Mark turns and stares over his shoulder.
Lucas: There’s no looking back -- we’ve come too far.
Mark: I wasn’t really looking back. I was just remembering back.
Lucas: What do you say we start from here?
Mark: Fine.
Lucas: Let’s go.
I like how the characters’ backstories are only hinted at -- and then played out slowly in the episode and, indeed, in the series, as well. In a later scene the McCains check in at North Fork’s hotel. In the lobby, they meet Vernon, a young gunslinger played by Dennis Hopper -- who’ll be competing against Lucas later that day in a turkey shoot. Lucas heads upstairs to stow their bedrolls and tells Mark to go into the restaurant and "order for both of us." What’s engaging about the following scene is how naturally Crawford and Hopper play their parts. It’s acting done so well it doesn’t seem to be acting. And the dialogue is finely crafted, as well. A lesser writer would have glopped it up with dialect, yet Peckinpah uses it sparingly.
Mark: Would you like to come and sit with me?
Vernon: Yeah, I guess I might as well.
Mark (to waitress): I’ll have some of that beef stew.
Vernon: I’d like the same.
Mark: I guess you must be pretty fast with that gun.
Vernon: Well, I guess I’m just about as fast as anybody there is.
Mark: My pa, he doesn’t use a pistol -- he uses a rifle, but he’s pretty fast, too.
Vernon: No man with a rifle is as fast as a man with a six-gun.
Mark: My pa is. When we was living in the Nations, they used to call him "The Rifleman." He’s the greatest shot in the world.
Vernon: Well, he may stand tall where you come from, kid, but he ain’t shooting against no sodbusters. He’s shooting against me.
Mark: You’ll see. What’s your name?
Vernon: My name’s Vernon.
Mark: Mine’s Mark McCain. Was that your pa in the lobby?
Vernon: No, he’s my uncle.
Mark: My pa says I’m not old enough to carry a pistol right yet.
Vernon: I’ve been wearing one and shooting ever since I can remember. I must’ve had a gun since I was six years old.
Mark: You’re lucky, Vernon.
Vernon: That’s what my Uncle Wes says.
Mark: I can shoot my dad’s rifle, but he won’t let me carry a pistol.
Vernon: What about your ma?
Mark: She died -- a long time ago. What happened to yours?
Vernon: I never had one.
Mark: Don’t it bother you, I mean, not having a ma or a pa?
Vernon: I reckon. Sometimes it bothers me considerable.
The scene is made all the effective by Herschel Burke Gilbert’s gently poignant music. I especially like how Crawford delivers the line "He’s the greatest shot in the world" with the genuine pride a child has for a loving parent. It reminds me of the way Billy Gray describes his mom’s government job in "The Day the Earth Stood Still." He points out to Klaatu that the guy everybody calls a secretary isn’t a secretary at all and that "My mom’s a real secretary!"
I have to admit that while the hints of sadness and darkness Peckinpah injects into "The Rifleman" make the series -- especially its first season -- a classic for me, much of his later film work strikes me as needlessly cruel and violent. An exception is his 1972 "Junior Bonner," a star-laden (Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson) picture that also explores father-and-son relationships, but in a latter-day setting. A similar but more-Hollywooden treatment of this theme appears in Stuart Rosenberg’s excellent "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," a 1991 production with Scott Glenn, Kate Capshaw and Ben Johnson.
SEE "THE RIFLEMAN" -- You can view this pilot episode as well as 50 others on Hulu.com.
SEE A TRIBUTE TO "THE RIFLEMAN" -- Here’s a cool tribute to the show and its late star, Chuck Connors.
SEE LUCAS McCAIN IN ACTION -- Another nifty YouTube clip compiles a number of North Fork shootouts.
"THE RIFLEMAN" MEETS "THE WILD BUNCH" -- Clever fan editing shows "’The Rifleman’ opening if Sam Peckinpah had been allowed to direct the way he wanted."
STEVE McQUEEN AGAIN -- And hey, what a great way to wrap this up: Steve McQueen’s last film was "The Hunter", filmed on location here in Chicago. Its show-stopping stunt happens at Marina Towers, those twin-corncob highrises two doors up from the Museum of Broadcast Communications. This spectacular scene features a car crashing through the retaining wall in one of the tower’s parking garages and then plowing into the Chicago River.
That scene provided the inspiration for a recent Allstate commercial.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.
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Speaking of independent food stores, I always enjoyed checking in on F---CorporateGroceries. The site’s no longer being updated, but is still a fun read.
Plus, read this bonus review of Leah’s visit to Des Plaines’ Falafel Inn.
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I wasn’t sure I’d like this place, but with a name like "Big Buns & Pita," how could it not have at least some redeeming qualities? (Makes you wonder if their first choice for a name was "Fat Ass & Bread" but Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. had a prior claim on the tradename.)
Well, it turns out that the food was pretty spectacular and we had a really swell time.
By the way, the Spanish-dubbed movie showing on the TV while we were in Big Buns & Pita was "Red Sun," starring Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune and Alain Delon. The film isn’t nearly as bad as some reviews on IMDb might suggest.
OTHER ASSESSMENTS
1. LTHForum.com
2. Chowhound.com
3. Yelp.com
4. Read about Jedi mind tricks of the restaurant industry -- and then scroll to see a nice comment about Big Buns & Pita.
Big Buns & Pita
6649 N. Clark St.
773-262-2000
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La Granja restaurant in Palatine, Illinois. (APS photo; see CinemaScope version.)
In a wide-ranging post-dinner discussion, Leah, Dick and I talk about our visit to La Granja, a new restaurant in the Chicago suburb of Palatine -- and then weigh in on topics that include (but are not necessarily limited to) "Three Days of the Condor," the Bradford Exchange, Fiestaware, Booby’s restaurant in Niles and keeping guinea pigs as pets.
I also discuss The Three Stooges and that whole Shemp issue to describe my disappointment at the ribs I ordered at La Granja. Speaking of The Stooges, you can download a fun Modern Man song about Moe.
Oh, yeah. We also talk about this place, which now seems to have closed.
Read Leah’s published review of La Granja here. For another view of La Granja, check out Lisa & Joe’s February 3 podcast over at Cheap Date.
By the way, as I’m writing these show notes, I’m watching "Thelma & Louise" on cable. (They’re just getting ready to pick up Brad Pitt right now.) Along with "Starman" and the original 1971 "Vanishing Point" (the first movie in which I ever saw a woman topless at the movies and I mean on the screen, but that’s another story) this is one of my favorite road movies. Maybe it’s because my family moved around a lot, but I could definitely identify with wanderlust and the call of the open road. Chris LeDoux and Steve Wariner were right.
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Just across the street from the cafe is Wheat Ridge Middle School, which opened about 10 years ago to replace the old Wheat Ridge Junior High, from which I graduated ninth grade. Even then, I appreciated the solid, classic buildings in which I attended classes. Our campus had been Wheat Ridge High School -- and the auditorium was equipped with all sorts of professional-level stage equipment that many small Chicago theaters would envy today.
I have several fond book memories of Wheat Ridge Junior High. That’s where I was introduced to the works of Ray Bradbury and Owen Wister. I guess I had overly romanticized Bradbury as some kind of ideal, because just a couple of years back I saw him on "Politically Incorrect" where, during a discussion of sexual harassment in the workplace, Bradbury casually opined what man wouldn’t like to reach out and grab a pretty female co-worker’s behind?
I was shocked -- shocked, I tell you. And it didn’t stop there...
Yesterday, while browsing through the used book stacks at Black and Read, I found and paid $2.50 for a vintage copy of Wister’s classic 1902 novel, "The Virginian" and spent much of last night becoming reacquainted with this wonderful story.
I had to get past Wister’s preface, though. In it, he counters criticism that he had no business writing a romance of the Old West from the comfort of his home Back East. So, I’m merrily reading along...
Now and again, somebody warns the public that my Western stories are written by a person who was never a cowboy himself. True. Quite true. But shouldn’t these acute thinkers also remind us that the author of Othello wasn’t a n-----, the creator of Sherlock Holmes isn’t a detective, and that the man who painted Vesuvius had never been a volcano?
Interesting, yep, good observations. And not unlike what I’ve said many times: If you want to be a cowboy, just put on the hat. Yep, that’s right and -- WHOA!!! What the hell was that about Shakespeare?
I calmed down and rationalized that, well, like all of us surely Wister was a product of his times and that in 1902 his phraseology would, regrettably, have been viewed as far less problematic than today. However, I then noticed that although "The Virginian" had been first published in 1902, Wister wrote the revised preface in 1928!
He should have known better, even in 1902. Bradbury should have known better, too.
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Now it’s also famous for the H Mart.
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The Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood has a well-earned reputation as going whole hog -- and then some -- when Christmas rolls around. Leah, Dick and I tool around this sometimes-tony suburb for a look at ways to dress up a McMansion for the holidays.
As you’ll hear, the displays range from the simple to the complex. Many feature those inflatable snow-globe displays that have been on sale at every drug and discount store. And some even continue to trot out deacdes-old illuminated Santa Clauses one given out as premiums to customers of Polk Bros., once a major appliance store.
The City of Chicago itself doesn’t really go in for a municipal display, although they do run a traditional German Christmas market of sorts in Daley Center. I’m happy to report that my hometown of Denver continues to pull out all the stops in its annual makeover of the City and County Building into a time-exposure Kodak Moment.
To see the 2006 Denver display, check out these excellent images on Flickr.
Denver’s been doing its Christmas display as long as I can remember -- and long before that. I hope to visit the display when I’m in the Mile High City in a couple of weeks, assuming the city’s continuing the tradition of keeping the lights up until the end of the National Western Stock Show.
I grew up in Denver’s western suburbs, and my secular humanist parents never really had much of a problem with the display. What did torque their jaws, however, was that giant illuminated crucifix on the mountain west of town. "What’s next?" Mom liked to ask, "a giant neon Coors beer sign?"
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Leah also suggests the reason why women enjoy gnawing on bones more than men do: a "viscerally satisfying racial memory" of when the better half was relegated to waiting around the cave for Ugh to bring back a sabertooth tiger for dinner and had to settle for the leavings after the menfolk gorged on the kill.
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Leah, Dick and I start with a fine meal at Rio’s D’Sudamerica in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood -- and then progress into conversations about why fresh pineapple screws up Jell-O, the amazing fact (at least to me) that all canned food has actually been cooked, and a brief discussion of why I don’t eat rabbit. (It has to do with when I was a kid and our standard-size French poodle, Suzette Francesca da Rimini, got ahold of Carrot, my pet rabbit, and you can guess the rest.)Speaking of canned food, ever since I was little, I’ve known that "No. 303" is a common can size. I probably remembered this because growing up in Colorado, that number was our area code, too.
Besides, I like the idea of a recipe calling for a No. 303 can of peas instead of for 2 cups -- or, God forbid -- 480 milliliters. It just feels more comfortable, sort of like those trusty old Wratten filter numbers.
Leah’s review of Rio’s D’Sudamerica.
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You can sample some of the music from the show at "Forever Plaid - The Movie." (It’s unclear whether the site is attempting to interest investors in a "Forever Plaid" film adaptation or simply using a drive-in movie motif to publicize the stage version.)
As we motor along, Leah, Dick and I also tackle various other topics of crucial importance, including Ed Sullivan, low-carbohydrate diets, Cthulu, H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Fort and Christmas decorations.
COMING SOON
ChicagoScope goes camping in a vintage VW Campmobile.
ChicagoScope goes to Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
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Out in Aurora, some 35 miles from my home base in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, we visit Chef Amaury’s Epicurean Affair for some high-class eating.As we motor along in the Mobile Recording Studio, we also discuss Steak n Shake, which has the distinction of being open 24 hours a day. (At least most of them never close; some municipalities restrict the operating hours of any restaurant.)
During a discussion of how creme brulee is made, I tell how I turned in some art-school student who was using a butane torch to deface a Chicago Transit Authority Ravenswood Line "L" car.
Read Leah’s review of Chef Amaury’s place.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.
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Many thanks to Pat Butler for taking time out to explain how he came to found the Church of the Red Ram.This is not my first experience with homegrown religions. Back in my college days, I secured ministerial credentials from the Universal Life Church, which grants ordination from its California headquarters. I used to have the credential around here somewhere, but it’s been long lost for nearly two decades at this point.
I last dared to call myself "the Rev. Leigh Hanlon" back around the time I shot "River Expedition," my ill-fated collegiate attempt at documentary filmmaking. (The link to the movie doesn’t work, by the way.)
As I recall, you could request just about any designation on your credential: father, mother, sister, brother, the reverend, reverend mother, cardinal -- for all I know, I could have called myself pontifex maximus.
The church does insist on real names, though. "Frivolous names will be rejected whenever we notice them," the church warns on its website. "If your parents had a sense of humor when naming you, we may reject your application initially, but upon explanation, we will reconsider." (Surely this is joyous news for Moon Unit Zappa.)
I’m not the only one fascinated by the prospect of no-study ministerial certification. According to Wikipedia’s entry about the church, my fellow ministers include The Beatles, Art Bell, Johnny Carson, Tony Danza, Sharon Stone and Wolfman Jack.
Universal Life Church website
Universal Life Church on MySpace
Don’t miss Pat’s jaw-dropping account of the guy who had sex with a cow.
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.
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I took Metra to Arlington Heights on Saturday, but when I arrived, needed to stand outside with minimal protection from a rainstorm. Train stations should be open when trains are operating.Is this really too much to ask?
See the Arlington Heights station hours, which seem to differ with what’s on the front door. (See photo above.)
ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272.
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We wind up at Superdawg, that famed drive-in icon on Milwaukee near Devon, just shy of Niles. For Leah, Dick and me, however, the evening starts at Sol de Mexico, 3018 N. Cicero Ave., out in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin community for some creative, upscale Mexican food.
Then, we pile into the mobile recording studio and eventually find ourselves in search of dessert ... at Superdawg.
By the way, I was afraid I’d give ourselves away if I popped off a photo outside Sol de Mexico, so all I have here is a picture of Superdawg.
Some associated links:
Leah’s review of Sol de Mexico
Pineapple
Cashews
We mentioned its guacamole
Recipe for queso fresco
Seven moles of Oaxaca
"Manchamanteles," by the way, translates as "tablecloth stainer."
The Russian place we talk about just before winding up at Superdawg is a delicatessen called Renee Gourmet, 6247 N. Milwaukee Ave., which apparently sells a lot of smoked fish.
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A couple of days back, I mentioned to my friend Dave ________ that the automated female voice activated when someone pushes the emergency button at Chicago Transit Authority stations is easily the most annoying string of cacophonous words it’s been my extreme displeasure to encounter in at least the past decade.I had assumed this harpylike blast of aural pain to be part of some public-transit accent diversity program. Not so, as Dave explains. Turns out that what I dismissed as the grating, high-pitched intonations of a South Side Anglo-Irish dialect actually reflects an accent change that’s cutting a swath through American mouths.
It’s called the "northern cities vowel shift" and Dave has been following it for some time.
Related links
NPR: "American Accent Undergoing Great Vowel Shift"
PBS: "Do You Speak American?"
Wikipedia: "Northern cities vowel shift"
Chicago Transit Authority Official site
This is Grand: Stories of Chicago’s Rapid Transit
Chicago-L.org - Your Chicago Rapid Transit Internet Resource
Frank Lloyd Wright weighs in on Route 66.
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We had a little time to kill, however, so we stopped in at the relatively new Sunflower Market, which is endeavoring to fill the same ecological niche as Whole Foods.
Sunflower’s store, located at 1910 N. Clybourn Ave. in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, is a tentacle of the Supervalu group that owns, among other outlets, Jewel and Albertsons.
Listen to the podcast to find out what we thought of the place. For another opinion (and much better photos), check out Chicagoist. Too bad that F--- Corporate Groceries is no longer being updated; I’d like to hear what her opinion is of Sunflower.
Speaking of Supervalu, Leah is disappointed that Chicago-area Cub Foods stores are being sold. Cub was the only supermarket near her open 24 hours.
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I’ve long considered the classic "Star Trek" episode "The City of the Edge of Forever" to be the best episode in the original series -- and one of the best episodes in the entire "Trek" franchise. This time-travel tale has all the elements of an opera, right down to a tragic death at the finale.That’s why I nearly lost bladder control when Tribune Media Services columnist Bob Koehler declared that "The City on the Edge of Forever" is, in fact, the worst "Star Trek" episode of all time.
I can’t say I agree with Bob, but his logic is pretty sound. Namely, why does setting history straight require Captain Kirk to allow pacifist Edith Keeler to die and derail a growing anti-war movement? Why not kill Adolf Hitler as a child? Or at least make sure he finds a nurturing art teacher.
Well, it’s never a good idea to dwell on these things. After all, there are probably people who actually like "The Omega Glory" -- which is indisputably the worst "Star Trek" episode of all time.
While we’re on the subject of "Star Trek," I still say the sculpture of Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse (below, left) on display in the plaza next to the Tribune Tower here in Chicago looks too much like Captain Christopher Pike (below, right).
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Here are the continuing adventures -- and final half hour or so -- of our seemingly interminable account of a fine dining experience at Carthage Cafe. The photo above is of window signage at Jake’s, a snack shop in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
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We had a great time at Carthage Cafe, out in Chicago’s North Park neighborhood, where we sampled some Tunisian cuisine during Ramadan. This is apparently the only place in Chicago serving food from Tunisia and has been greeted with delight by foodies.
After our meal, Leah, Dick and I had a swell time driving along in the Mobile Recording Studio as we discussed the meal, the concept of Ramadan, fasting of various kinds, and the difference between couscous, Raisin Bran and Grape-Nuts -- the latter affectionately referred to by some as "butt bombs."
Also note that as we’re driving through Uptown (one of those Chicago neighborhoods struggling to go from dicey to pricey), some drunk bangs on the window. And this is just in Part 1. Posting tomorrow: Part 2!
Cassette image generated at Says-It.com. (Thanks to Marco for the link!)
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Nighttime photo of the entrance to Steitz’s Resort main building as seen from the parking lot.
I’ve always enjoyed summer places and seasonal haunts. Growing up west of Denver, some of my favorite childhood memories are of when Dad would take us to Winter Park on the Rio Grande’s Yampa Valley Mail. Or when we briefly lived in Alaska and went swimming at Goose Lake Park -- a lake near Anchorage that was filled with floatplanes (good) and leeches (bad).
That’s why I looked forward to visiting Steitz’s Resort in Antioch, Illinois, about 60 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. And Steitz’s didn’t disappoint. I shaved a few of those miles off by taking the Metra train from Jefferson Park out to Arlington Heights, where Dick picked me up in a Dodge Durango, which, he had warned me, he only rented when the minivan broke down earlier in the day. Not quite my friend ______’s vintage Ramcharger I enjoyed on four-wheeling weekends in Wyoming, but we did feel in command of the highway -- at least until a Hummer got in our way.
All in all, it was a great time -- and it would be fun to go back in winter when Steitz’s Resort sets up a toboggan run. In the meantime, here are some links to additional information about fishing lodges in the area:
Chain-O-Lakes Online
Fishing Lodges Network
World Wide Fishing
The Sportsman’s Web
The Outpost Mall
Fishinglodges.com
Wisconsin Fishing Resorts
Google Earth satellite view of Steitz’s Resort.
Photos by Leigh Hanlon (top), Steitz’s Resort (middle; inset) and Google Earth (bottom).
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Well, it’s back to another sushi place, this time out in Buffalo Grove. The restaurant is Sushi Kamon, 129 North Arlington Heights Road in Chase Plaza shopping center.By the way, another business that has one of its stores in Chase Plaza, Betty Schwartz’s Intimate Boutique, came up in a previous ChicagoScope podcast when we talked about how, with the disappearance of local department stores like Annes of Jefferson Park, Betty’s is one of the best places where a lady can be properly fitted for a bra. We also briefly discuss other interesting retailers like Transformations and Skyscraper Heels.
As for Sushi Kamon, I was impressed at how a lot of real-life Japanese businessmen were patronizing the place -- during our visit, a large table of folks were speaking Japanese and having a nice evening
out. Me, I particularly enjoyed the miso soup, salad and beef teriyaki that I ordered. I didn’t try much in the way of fish, but Leah and Dick had ordered a kind of sushi I’d never encountered before: sushi made with fruit, which gave it an almost dessertlike quality. Pretty neat stuff.We all liked this place and would definitely go back.
(Images from Sushi Kamon website)
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(Photo of sushi courtesy Kite Mandarin & Sushi)
I have a love/hate relationship with sushi. I love the delicate and subtle artistry that goes into sushi. I hate the taste of fish. And that’s all fish. It’s not that I don’t like sushi. It’s just that I don’t like fish. Fish is fish and fish tastes fishy.One of my most vivid childhood memories is of choking half to death while a tiny bone from a rainbow trout turned me several rainbow shades of red, then blue, then white. That pretty much put me off fish -- including salmon, tuna, red snapper, shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster, calamari, the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and even fish sticks.
Oh, there have been a few occasions when I felt obliged to eat fish. Like in Casper when I ate over at my friend ______’s house and his mom made this huge batch of tuna salad. It was great salad, if you could tune out the tuna, which I just about managed to do.
Then there was the time in Key West that _____ convinced me that swordfish is the one fish that doesn’t taste fishy. I was a in a pretty good mood, so I figured what the hey and ordered some. It cost a lot and I ate it all, but it tasted sort of like a good steak that had been gangbanged at the Shedd Aquarium.
So, it’s safe to say that I don’t like fish.
But that may be gradually changing, thanks to recent trips to sushi restaurants. Recently, I accompanied Donna and Brendan Shultz to Kite Mandarin & Sushi, 3341 N. Lincoln Ave. (By the way, this place isn’t just about sushi -- cooked Japanese and Chinese dishes also are on the reasonably priced menu.)I ordered some delicious vegetarian tempura. And enjoyed miso soup. As usual, I also pigged out on pickled ginger and ate some California roll.
And then...
Brendan persuaded me to try barbecued eel. I’d like to say it was one of those "Green Eggs and Ham" moments, but even though I loved the sauce, I wasn’t keen on the eel.
I guess you have to like fish.
If you do like fish, especially sushi, then give Kite a try. Brendan loved it and has been there a couple of times. Donna liked it, too.
REVIEWS:
Centerstage Chicago
Metromix
Yelp
Come back soon for "Sushi, Part 2." I visit Sushi Kamon in Buffalo Grove, where I also love the sushi but not the fish -- and discover a kind of "dessert sushi."
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By the way, I think this guy’s a pirate in the making. At one point in his review, he boasts of having availed himself of an opportunity to "shove it to The Man."Official Disney websites:
"Dead Man’s Chest" motion picture.
"The Curse of the Black Pearl" motion picture.
Attraction at Disneyland.
Fan site Keep to the Code.
Other related websites:
A review of the Disneyland attraction by Theme Park Insider includes a paragraph about how political correctness has infected the "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction in that the "pirates now chase women for food, instead of the original concept of chasing the women to ’pillage’ them."
Wikipedia article about the durability of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.
RingSurf’s hub for "piracy on the high seas and sites with related pirate or nautical topics."
WebRing’s hub for "pirates and buccaneers of all types".
Tinselman provides a fascinating view back to 1976 with an actual Standard Operating Procedure used in running the attraction at Disneyland. Pretty neat stuff.
You Tube has a nifty clip in which Johnny Depp tours the revamped "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction and meet his Audio-Animatronic double.
Top 10 Pickup Lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Great barbecue joint:
Fat Willy’s Rib Shack, right across the street from the theater.
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Then there’s the story of a guy who loved a cow just a little too much.Pat Butler, a longtime Chicago journalist, visits ChicagoScope and talks about one of the strangest stories of his career, the saga of a guy who got caught having sex with a cow not once -- but twice.
And to think he manages to relate this tale without uttering a single word that would have made the Hays Office blush.
Well, mostly.
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Wrigley Field scoreboard and outfield during Cubs-Diamondbacks doubleheader.
A couple of days ago, our department got the chance to go see a game at Wrigley Field -- so, off we went.
Although I’ve lived in Chicago long enough to lose whatever passes as a Colorado accent, I really haven’t been to Wrigley Field all that much. In fact, the first time I was there, the Cubs were playing Pittsburgh the day my dad died in a hospice overlooking Denver’s Mile High Stadium. I ate two hot dogs that day.
My next Wrigley Field visit was two years ago about this time of year, when I got to see a game from one of the skyboxes. I kind of wish I hadn’t. Sitting in luxury like that is similar to flying first class -- because the next time you get stuffed back in coach, you can’t help but reach the inescapable conclusion that you’re traveling well beneath your station in life.But our seats were pretty good last week, maybe about five or six rows back from the Diamondbacks’ bullpen -- certainly close enough to yell insults or encouragement to the visiting team. In our podcast, my colleague Matt Maldre admits that sometimes he enjoys heckling the players. But as often as not, I think he hollers out helpful information. In fact, during the second game of last week’s doubleheader, I’ll bet he yelled out more encouragement to Cubs than the first-base coach did.
What really impressed me about Matt, though, was his attention to scorecard detail. He doesn’t just record runs, hits, errors, foul balls and such. Instead, Matt’s scorecards are a complete record of what happened -- including the names of folks from work attending the game, a notation of when the sun came out and comprehensive listings of all the junk food that everybody ate.
Matt also noted the time when some apparently overenthusiastic fan ran onto the field. Cubs security quickly snared the guy and led him off the field and right past out seats. Here’s a photo of the man:
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Scorekeeping
If you’d like a refresher course in the basics of keeping statistics during a baseball game, Patrick McGovern serves up some great guidelines at The Baseball Scorecard. The site provides downloadable scorecard templates and also has a gallery of scorecards from amateur league games as well as the majors -- and includes a number of Cubs scorecards.
An overview of baseball scorekeeping and its history is on tap at the Wikipedia.
Dan’s Guide to Baseball Scorekeeping not only teaches the fundamentals of scorekeeping, but discusses standard abbreviations and shorthand -- plus has links to applications that can automate the process.
Those wacky fans
Fan Reform
Podcasts, Blogs, etc.
The Heckler
Cubscast
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Len & Bob’s Baseball Blog
Chicago Cubs Blogs
Cubbiepalooza
Below is Matt Maldre’s scorecard for the second game. (You can see more of Matt’s creativity at Spudart Productions.)
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Fred Anderson in the new Velvet Lounge.
Chicago is a town of many traditions, and among its most important is jazz. In a special ChicagoScope interview, Contributing Editor Harold Devine talks with Fred Anderson, the internationally acclaimed tenor saxophone player who owns the Velvet Lounge.
The Velvet Lounge reopened Friday, July 28, 2006, in the South Loop’s historic Motor Row district at 67 E. Cermak Road between Michigan and Wabash avenues. The famed jazz venue relocated from its previous home nearby at 2128-1/2 S. Indiana Ave. The new club, located on Cermak, midway between McCormick Place to the east and Chinatown to the west, is featuring several inaugural sets in the coming weeks as a part of its "soft" opening. Also, special grand opening concerts are slated for the weekend of Aug. 11-13. Details will be posted on the Velvet Lounge Web site.
"I’m just trying to keep the music alive," said Anderson, 77. "It’s amazing! We were only closed three months. I am glad we were able to do it. The musicians need it and the fans need it. We all want to keep this music going. Without everyone’s support, we would not be here. We are proud to reopen the Velvet for the music."
Anderson has operated the Velvet Lounge as a training ground for many of Chicago’s creative jazz musicians since 1982. It is one of the few clubs in the world that provides a venue for musicians to learn alongside seasoned professionals and to experiment with new sounds. The importance of the Velvet was acknowledged earlier this year by Joe Segal and Wayne Segal when they lent their Jazz Showcase stage to Anderson and a cadre of Velvet musicians on successive Mondays in January for successful fund-raiser concerts. For more than a year, "friends, fans and Fred" worked nonstop to raise the funds and do the work necessary to build the new Velvet. The effort included several benefit concerts at which musicians performed for free, hundreds of private contributions and countless volunteer work hours. The Velvet also received assistance from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music, Architectural Artifacts, Asian Improv, Delmark Records, the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, the Jazz Institute of Chicago, the Hideout, Hothouse, Jazzman Consulting, the Jazz Showcase, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rent Com Inc., Steve Maxwell Vintage and Custom Drums, Thrilljockey Records, 3030/Elastic Arts Foundation and Uptown Snack Shop.
More than $100,000 was raised in private contributions to build out two new storefronts for the Velvet Lounge. In this larger, nonsmoking club, fans will find better amenities and a column free view of a larger stage. Improvements include a vintage Chicago art deco bar, booth and chair seating, a musicians’ locker room and accessible restrooms. Fans will also find many treasured artifacts from the old Velvet, such as the trademark chandeliers, the Schlitz sconces and the Velvet lady painting. Plans call for the enigmatic Velvet wallpaper design to return soon as a window covering.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Hear Fred Anderson
Hear more Fred
New Fred Anderson Trio DVD
Fred Anderson outside the new Velvet Lounge.
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Professor Pierce (shown here on the left) demonstrates how to play a theremin made by Theremaniacs of Milwaukee.
After several dark years, the Portage Theatre in my neighborhood now is presenting classic silent films with live music accompaniment, independent movies, ethnic cinema and stage shows.
This past Friday night, the Portage screened the 1924 Soviet production "Aelita, Queen of Mars" as part of The Silent Film Society of Chicago’s "Silent Summer Film Festival." Jay Warren played the organ, Professor Pierce performed the theremin sequences.
For our podcast, the Professor was kind enough to talk about the theremin and put it through its paces. First up, he demonstrates the various sound effects and theremin tonalties that were such a hit with the audience last Friday. Then the Professor chats with us about the importance of the theremin -- and, most of all, how he learned to play one of these unusual instruments.
And for those who wish to squeeze just a little bit more from their theremin, might we suggest this not-safe-for-work technique?
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The Chicago franchise, which opened earlier this summer, is owned by twins Ashley and Brandon Wright. If you’d like to read along as we discuss what we ate, the Chicago restaurant posts its menu.
I was especially curious to experience the place, having eaten at the Hamburger Mary’s in San Francisco some time ago. Our verdict: Great stuff with a couple of minor misfires, most notably the cherry pie dessert.
Read more about Hamburger Mary’s at CenterstageChicago.com and metromix.com.
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I’ve always wanted to visit the Middle East and to photograph it with my vintage Stereo Realist -- preferably in Kodachrome before it’s discontinued entirely. That region has, unfortunately, been in the news far too much lately. My friend Tom Lambros Bornstein (that’s him at the right) is a partner in a company, AMI Travel, which leads tours to the Holy Land and the surrounding Mediterranean countries -- so, I sat down with him and asked him about the business, current events in the Middle East, and how he sees the near future unfolding.
Tom talks about the history of that part of the world, the types of tours AMI Travel leads, and we even discuss Dead Sea salt therapy for psoriasis and the Israeli citrus industry.
By the way, that fruit I asked Tom about is apparently called a citron -- aka an etrog.
Coming up next on ChicagoScope: I accompany Leah Zeldes and Dick Smith to the new Hamburger Mary’s in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.
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On my first day of work at my first real newspaper job, the publisher gave me some advice that I’ve always taken to heart.
"Remember," he told me, "we are chroniclers of our times."
Those times occasionally turned out to be sensational murder trials and spectacular fires, but more often than not involved swimming meets, county fairs, zoning board meetings and the like.
Later, I learned to appreciate that whenever our newspaper would publish an article, a sports story, a photo or a calendar listing about a spaghetti-dinner fundraiser, we were actually communicating with people in the future.
That future usually was the next day or the next week -- but when I filled in for an editor during her vacation, I learned that readers could be in a different century.
My job that week was to search the newspaper’s archives and assemble one of those "remember when" columns: what happened this week five, 10, 25 years ago -- and more, since this newspaper’s history stretched clear back into the late 19th century.
I gained a new appreciation for the seemingly routine stories and ads published in our papers because viewed years up the line, everyday news opened windows to the past.
When I worked at Lerner Newspapers here in Chicago, colleague Jack Bess created a similar column for the News-Star and Booster weeklies. He called it "Turn Back the Clock" and it proved to be among our most popular features.
In this podcast, Jack talks about how he researched all those Chicago neighborhood yesterdays, and speculates about what future generations of readers might find fascinating about the news of today.
Below: The Alba "Go-Go" promised "a teenage nite club" that featured WLS radio disc jockey Ron Riley, as well as The Buckinghams. Note the dress code: "Dresses or skirts for girls -- sweater or sport coat & slacks for boys."
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Above: After my first workout with Nike+ shoes.
Podcasters often are told we ought to take a cue from broadcast radio. In that spirit, I’ve decided to adopt a recurring element that’s been a staple of your favorite AM station for many years:
LOSE WEIGHT WITH THE OVERWEIGHT ON-AIR PERSONALITY!
For my birthday last month, I received a pair of those new Nike+ shoes -- and after just one run, I’m amazed. Using an embedded sensor, the shoes and an iPod nano communicate using their own Wi-Fi network. The Nike+ shoes did a great job measuring my run and keeping track of my pace. Even better, you can buy music that’s designed to "program" your workout. I couldn’t find anything suitable by Dwight Yoakam, so I bought the album by The Crystal Method. This approach really works: I found myself pushing to keep pace with the varying beat of the cool electronic music.
I’ll keep you posted. And I promise not to embrace that other radio staple, the live remote from the car dealership.
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Then ChicagoScope highlights upcoming events, including an all-chimpanzee film exhibition and a demonstration of how striptease moves can help women bump and grind their way to fitness.
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Leah Zeldes
WBBM Radio’s Sherman Kaplan
Centerstage Chicago
AOL CityGuide
metromix
BYOB
The wine we enjoyed was The Little Penguin.
For information about Morocco, courtesy of the CIA World Factbook, click here.
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"The Straight Dope" does its usual yeoman job of explaining things -- in this case the difference between boys and girls bicycles. And the folks at Urban Dictionary clear up why invoking a step-through bicycle frame is seldom a compliment.
But nobody seems to be able to tell me why I see so many middle-aged men pedaling girls bikes around the Northwest Side of Chicago without a hint of public shame or guilt. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d walk a couple of miles out of my way to avoid being glimpsed astride a girls bike.
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I’ve had some difficulties getting an Edirol R-1 digital recorder to achieve sufficient gain to deal with voices.
I don’t have the budget to buy a new top-of-the-line Marantz unit, so I’ve decided -- at least temporarily -- to fall back on a venerable Marantz PMD222 analog cassette recorder I’ve had for several years. I may also try recording some podcasts directly into my PowerBook. However, this means hauling a lot more equipment to remote interview sites, since in addition to the laptop, mic stand and microphone, I’m plugging in a Applied Research and Technology Tube MP. This is a nifty little preamp that uses the venerable 12AX7A vacuum tube. The sound recorded through a Shure SM58 dynamic mic sounds pretty good, at least to me.
People have warned me that it’s going to lack the "snap" and "sharpness" of digital recorders. We’ll see. Or, rather, we’ll hear.
Special thanks for guiding me through this technological wilderness go out to Donna Papacosta, Michael Geoghegan, Scott Bourne and ________, my longtime technology consultant.
As for when my first podcast goes up, look for it the week of July 9. It probably won’t be as polished as I’d like, but I hope to make up for that with sheer enthusiasm. After all, there’s a point known to all journalists where you simply have to go with what you’ve got.
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