Amazing but true

I ran across this interesting tidbit: Turn Your Digital Camera Upside Down For Better Portraits. Supposedly, the angle of the flash changes the shadows on a subject's face, making one look younger and producing a better portrait when the flash is coming from below the lens. I thought I'd give it a try... Here's me with the camera the conventional way. Here's me with the camera upside down. Notice any difference? Yes, I know the effect is subtle.

(Selections from) My Current Playlist

In the past year I compiled a few music playlists of songs that had caught my attention. Most of these interested me enough to make the effort to either get the CD from the library or purchase it for myself. What do you think of these songs? (I take no responsibility for the lyrics - I only listen to the music!)

Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band
Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson
Electricity - Elton John
Honesty - Billy Joel
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
Little Red Corvette - Prince
Our Last Summer - Abba
Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall
What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
1999 - Prince

Cheap Newspaper

I've read the Chicago Sun-Times is experiencing "a continuing steep decline in advertising and circulation revenue." Maybe their circulation revenue would be better if they charged more than a half cent for a copy of the paper!

Creative use for Treadmills

While listening to the campus radio station tonight, I heard the DJ mention this music video. I can't say I care much for the music (the band, OK go, is from Chicago), but the choreography is interesting. What do you think?

Bold & Bombastic

Carmina Burana (Orff) was my favorite "big" staged/semi-staged piece for orchestra, choirs, and solists. Today, it was replaced with Bernstein's Mass. While Carmina Burana has it's moments (e.g., First movement, Tempus est jocundum, and Veni, Veni, Venias), Mass outshines it in many of the movements. (Listen to some of them here... Gloria in excelsis, Agnus Dei, "I believe in God", and "The Word of the Lord" are "catchy"!) The lyrics are also interesting. It was written during the time an unpopular president was promoting an unpopular war... Nixon and Vietnam. Perhaps, as a result, they still have meaning and relevance today. What is your favorite opus that would fit into this category?

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Triskaidekaphobia—fear of the number thirteen
Papaphobia—fear of the pope.
Scorodophobia—fear of garlic.
Pteronophobia—fear of being tickled with feathers.
Ranidaphobia—fear of frogs.
Philematophobia—fear of kissing.
Aulophobia—fear of flutes.
Ostraconophobia—fear of shellfish.
Graphophobia—fear of handwriting.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia—fear of long words.
Blennophobia—fear of slime.
Gerontophobia—fear of old people.
Peladophobia—fear of bald people.
Geropeladophobia—fear of old, bald people.
Phobophobia—fear of developing a fear.
Didaskaleinophobia—the fear of going to school

Kids from Around the World

I thought this sounded like an interesting project... Click here for more information.

Need Some New Wheels?

I was coming home through Amish Country in Central Illinois last weekend and came upon the Used Amish Buggy Lot. I didn't take a picture but after surfing the web, I found one on the website for the place: http://www.myamishheritage.com. The buggies are more expensive than I would have thought. In fact, some of them are more than what I've paid for some of my past cars! I don't think I'll trade in my Bug just yet, but now I know where to go if I need a good used buggy!

I'm PHinisheD!

According to my unofficial electronic university transcript, I graduate on August 19, 2006. I don't have any "hard-copy" documentation to support this, but I guess I'll trust it!

Summer Listening

In addition to reading books this summer, and a little so-called "work", I was introduced (or re-introduced) to some new (to me) music. I can think of several instances where I've become aware of some music through a seemingly chance encounter with a person, a performance, a kiosk in a music store, a radio playing in a store, or a too-loud ipod on the bus. None of these selections has a super-interesting story associated with my discovery, but they have been on summer play list.

Billy Elliot - the Musical (music by Elton John)
Carmina Burana (Carl Orff)
In Between Dreams (Jack Johnson)
Mass (Leonard Bernstein)
The Best of Peter, Paul, & Mary

Do you have any suggestions for music that I should consider for a future playlist?

Summer Reading

At the beginning of the summer I set aside 8 books to read - four "professional" books and four "leisure" reading. I read them all and one more (that I picked up cheap at a nearby bookstore)! I have several others I'd like to read, but do you have any suggestions? I'd like to read more of the "classics" and books that "everyone" knows about. For example, I've read books by Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, Erdrich, Twain, Orwell, etc. I'd like to read some by authors such as Tolstoy, Wharton, Stowe, Morrison, Austen, Hughes, Maguire, etc.

These are the "leisure" ones I've read in the past weeks; I won't bore you with the other titles. You can write to me if you care to know...

The Jungle (Upton Sinclair)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Souls of Black Folk (W.E.B. DuBois)
My Antonia (Willa Cather)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim (David Sedaris)

Chicago Eats

During the last two months I've eaten at many restaurants in the Windy City that I'd recommend to others. Many of them I've only eaten at once and I've found that I sometimes change my mind on a second visit. Nonetheless, you should try them for yourself. Or, if we're in Chicago at the same time, let me know and we'll dine together! There is a variety of styles in this list, but they have one thing in common - none is very expensive (you can get in and out of each for less than $10 most of the time, $15 tops). Here goes... alphabetically:

Bobtail Soda Fountain (2951 N Broadway/3425 N Southport)
Bongo Room (1152 S Wabash/1470 N Milwaukee)
Cereality (100 S Wacker)
Eleven City Diner (1112 S Wabash)
Hashbrowns (731 W Maxwell)
Joy's Noodles & Rice (3257 N Broadway)
Nookies Too (2112 N Halstad)
Orange (3231 N Clark/75 W Harrison)
Pasta Palazzo (1966 N Halstad)
Toast (746 W Webster/2046 N Damen)
Wow Bao (845 N Michigan)

Have I missed any of your favorites? Let me know!

Saturday Brunch

I think going for brunch is one of my favorite food experiences. Today I tried out Nookies Too (not to be confused with Nookies or Nookies Tree). Since I couldn't decide which of the specials to choose, I opted for "The Sweet Trio" - a little of each along with a side of chicken sausage. I'd definitely go back! There was a short line, but the wait was worth it.

Peach-Raspberry Pancakes: Our buttermilk pancakes loaded with peaches and topped with fresh raspberries and toasted almonds. Served with almond-maple syrup.

Three Berry Brioche French Toast: Brioche bread french toast, topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, served with maple vanilla cream and berry sauce.

Mango & Coconut Pancakes: Bread pudding style cakes infused with sweet mango and toasted coconut, topped with mango coulis.

Parents & Kids

I made a visit to a "family" restroom yesterday. I didn't realize there would also be a family of toilets once I got in there. It was quite a comfortable little room however - couches, counters, play areas, a TV, and other amenities.

New Words

I just finished reading "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois. Although the book was originally published in 1903 and addresses the life of "black folk" in the first few decades following the civil war, many of the themes remain relevant today.

Aside from the stories and messages of the book, I was aware Du Bois used many words that are not ordinarily part of my speaking vocabulary. I didn't think to keep track until the last few chapters, but these words were "new" to me: lithe, phantasm, pythian, metayer, mammonism, impudence, coign, wan, fetid, alembic, fervid, venality. Do you know the meanings of these words?

Night Time

I took my not-so-good camera phone to Northerly Island last night at dusk and took a picture of the downtown skyline. The view in person was much more dramatic than could be captured with my poor equipment. A few people were down there with better equipment getting what I assumed to be better pictures.

Looking Down

The view above is to the northeast of the tallest building in North America. What would the view from the top of the tallest structure in the world look like? Or the second tallest structure in the world?? Probably a bit like this...

Cereal Bar

I've heard of Juice Bars, Wine Bars, Coffee Bars, Candy Bars, and Soap Bars... Today I heard of a Cereal Bar (no, not that kind!) so went downtown to check it out. It's called Cereality, a cereal bar & cafe. I think the concept is interesting, but I'm not sure how viable it will be. There are locations in Chicago, Philadelphia, Arizona State, and a PA toll plaza. I've also heard they plan to open a location in Evanston. The pictures of doctored-up hot cereal (oatmeal) looked appealing, but I'm not much of a fan of hot cereal. I did purchase an oatmeal brownie that was ok. They have some other cereal concoctions for snacking that I might stop by and try sometime.

UPDATE: 6/18/08 Cereality in Chicago has been closed for some time. Also locations in Evanston and Pennsylvania have closed. I think there are only three locations now. Perhaps it was an interesting idea but people just aren't up for paying five bucks for a bowl of cereal...

Is this really Chicago?

By the end of the summer I'm hoping to have been on foot all along the lake from one end of Chicago to the other. As of today, I've been from Hollywood Avenue to Monroe Street. This picture was taken at Oak Street Beach. The palm trees made me think of it as a bit more exotic than it is... What do you think?

Night pictures always look better

My brother-in-law stayed in the "Second City" an extra day due to a cancelled flight. I coerced him into going to Buckingham Fountain in the evening where he took some pictures. I think they turned out pretty good and, being night pictures, are more dramatic with the color of the lights and spray of water. Maybe someday I'll get a camera for myself...

And Still Another

I went to Orange (this time on Clark) with yet another sister and her husband. The theme of the week for the Pancake Flight was Strawberries & Chocolate.

(Clockwise from Upper Left)

1. Cakes with strawberry cream sauce garnished with a chocolate covered strawberry.
2. Chocolate infused, hand whipped cream topped with chopped strawberries and strawberry syrup.
3. Home-made strawberry jelly served with chocolate sauce, garnished with powered sugar.
4. Cakes served with chocolate chips baked inside, topped with sweet strawberry coulis.

Overheard

While eating lunch today, I heard the guy at the table next to mine tell his dining companion: "Never trust anyone whose name starts with the letter Z." I got to thinking... Do I even know anyone whose name starts with the letter Z? Hmmm... Zachary, Zelda, Zalman... Any others?

Another Pancake Flight

I made another trip to Orange, this time with my sister and her husband, and had the opportunity to see another Pancake Flight (and I did sample a bit myself, too). The theme for this week was Fear Factor.

(Clockwise from upper left)

Maggots: Rice flavored "maggot" pudding topped with pineapple & kiwi infused with "bug juice"

Cat Jewels: Apricot flavored feline dried "testicles" served with orange infused cat "urine" and cotton candy flavored "hair ball"

Worms: Sweet spaghetti flavored "worms" served on top of chocolate infused "mud"

Eye Balls: Lychee flavored "eye balls" served with strawberry flavored goats blood and eye ball syrup

Gross! (but tasty, too...)

The Price was Right

Last week I took advantage of "free admission" days at several locations in Chicago including the Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Museum of Science & Industry. I wasn't in the mood for heavy duty museum-going so the price was right! Even if I had been wanting to investigate each venue completely, I'm not sure I could have justified the regular admission price. Each was interesting, but, in my opinion, overpriced. This week I'm going to continue my free museum-going experience by visiting the Art Institute of Chicago again, this time with my sister. That is one place I might even pay for! [This picture was taken with my phone camera and seems to be less blurry than the last, but the day was overcast so the colors aren't that great.]

Windy City

I moved into my "summer home" this morning. This afternoon I took a walk to the park along the lake (a few minutes from where I'm living). I tried out the zoom feature on my phone's digital camera. From the picture here, it looks like (a) the camera takes pretty poor quality pictures zoomed in on things in the distance (the picture of the catapla blossoms was taken with the same camera) or (b) I wasn't very steady when I pressed the "capture" button.

Banana Pancakes

In the last couple weeks I have made several calls to set up a project. One of cell phones I've called many times doesn't "ring" but instead plays a snip of a song "to enjoy while you wait for your party to answer" (according to the friendly woman speaking into my ear). Since I have heard this particular song repeatedly and it has stuck in my head ("... make you banana pancakes, pretend like it's the weekend...") I decided to look it up. The song is "Banana Pancakes" as sung by Jack Johnson. Do you ever hear this when you make a call? Are you familiar with Jack's music? Maybe he's the latest hit and I'm just missing out... and banana pancakes sound like a good breakfast, too!

Catalpa Update

I had reported earlier that the Catalpa trees outside my south windows were slow to get leaves. They also seemed slow to blossom; however, in the last 24 hours, all of the little white flowers have sprung forth. Even since this morning they have gotten "whiter". The aroma is also detectable.

Summer

I'll be moving to my "summer home" shortly. I think I'll enjoy living by the lake with lots of interesting things to do and see around me. Hopefully I will get a little work (primarily reading & writing) done while I'm there... The picture doesn't have the exact place marked, it's actually a few buildings to the left.

Backronyms

I didn't realize there was an "official" name for them, but wikipedia reports that a backronym or bacronym is the inverse of an acronym, that is, the words of the expanded term were chosen to fit the letters of the acronym.

Here are some examples that I thought were humorous. (Of course, some might betray some of my closely guarded opinions!)

• UPS - United Package Smashers
• Alitalia - [airline] Always Late In Take-off, Always Late In Arrival
• FEMA - Fatal Emergencies Mismanaged Again
• CNN - Chicken Noodle News
• PTL - Pass The Loot
• NASCAR - Non Athletic Sports Created Around Rednecks
• Spam - System Plugged (with) Annoying Messages; Stupid Person's AdvertiseMent; Stuff (or Sewage) Posing As Mail; Send(ing) People Annoying Mail/Messages; Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages
• FOX News - Foundation Of Xenophobes Needlessly Embellishing War Stories
• Marine - Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Not Essential
• Diana - Died In A Nasty Accident [In bad form, I admit...]

My sister will have to tell me if this one is true for another SDSU!

• SDSU - Still Drunk, Still Undeclared

Gas Prices

How much does gas cost where you are? Around Chambana/Illiana I've been seeing prices from $2.75 to $2.79 for the lowest grade. I ran across a blog of someone complaining that gas had gone over $2.00/gallon (this was in Feb. 2003). Now the forecast is $3.00/gallon by summer!


(Please let me know if I'm infringing on a copyright with the picture and I will remove it.)

Is it really food?

When I was in Chicago during spring break, I stopped by Orange (on Harrison) for breakfast/brunch. I got the "pancake flight" - it was St. Patty's day which accounts for the theme of the week. (The green food dye stuck around awhile - ish!) The Guinness and Whiskey appealed most to my Irish self!













(Clockwise from upper left)

Lucky Charms: Pancakes studded with Lucky Charms cereal topped with kiwi coulis and Green River soda reduction.

Irish Cream: Cakes topped with caramelized hazelnuts, served with Irish creme anglaise and garnished with fresh mint.

Whiskey: Whiskey poached golden raisins topped with pan roasted apples, garnished with whiskey gastrique.

Guinness: Guinness infused cream cheese mousse topped with crushed pecans, garnished with sweet Guinness reduction.


They also serve Green Eggs & Ham. I'll have to order this the next time I'm visiting!

Melodies & Memories

Do you ever recall a particular memory when you hear a song? I'm not referring to times when you would say, "Yeah, I remember hearing that song once when I was [here] or [there]." Instead, I'm talking about those times when the song invokes (evokes?) the details of a situation - the other sounds, the smells, the feelings you had at the time, and the rest of the entire experience.

This shows my age, but I remember a few from my childhood... If I get around to it later, I'll share the memory that accompanies these melodies.

Physical (Olivia Newton John)
Lord, I Hope this Day is Good (Don Williams)
Queen of Hearts (Juice Newton)
Elvira (The Oak Ridge Boys)

Weekdays & Weekends

Did you ever notice the number of songs that mention any one (or more) of the days of the week? Some of them aren't half bad to listen to either! What's your favorite? Is it on the list? (Why do Monday and Saturday seem more popular than the other days?!)

Come Monday (Jimmy Buffett)
I Don't Like Mondays (Boomtown Rats)
Manic Monday (Bangles)
Monday Monday (The Mamas & the Papas)
Monday Morning (Fleetwood Mac)
Rainy Days & Mondays (Carpenters)

Tuesday Afternoon (Moody Blues)

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (Simon & Garfunkle)

Thursday (Jim Croce)

Friday (Daniel Bedingfield)

Another Saturday Night (Cat Stevens)
Louisiana Saturday Night (Mel McDaniel)
Saturday in the Park (Chicago)
Saturday Night (Bay City Rollers)
Saturday Night (Eagles)
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting (Elton John)

Sunday Girl (Blondie)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Kris Kristofferson; Johnny Cash)

Eight Days a Week (Beatles)
Forty Hour Week (Alabama)
Weekend in New England (Barry Manilow)

French Toast Napoleon

Layer slices of french toast, ham, scrambled eggs, and sliced bananas. Sprinkle with raisins and chopped nuts (maybe chocolate, too). Douse with whipped cream. Accent with cinnamon. Stab with a steak knife. Call it brunch at a little cafe in Chicago.