Nate's Word

I read about Nate's Word on in-forum and thought it was an interesting project. You might recognize some of the backgrounds!

Summer Reading

Perhaps I should add "Titles" to the name of this blog, too. Although I don't have copious free time this summer, I'm hoping to read or finish reading the following books. I've also included a couple I finished in the spring. Let me know what you think of these if you've read them.

The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
When You are Engulfed in Flames (David Sedaris)
The Audacity of Hope (Barack Obama)
Don't Get Too Comfortable (David Rakoff)
Freakonomics (Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubnar)

Sun Singer Gourmet Deli - Champaign, IL

On the recommendation of a colleague, I visited the Sun Singer Gourmet Deli (1115 W. Windsor Rd., Champaign) tonight. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed my meal there. Shown above is half of a Grilled Cheese Supreme (fontina and cheddar cheese, sliced Granny Smith apples with fig jam on challah bread), Italian Style Wedding soup (selected over Gazpacho or Cream of Asparagus), and Terra Chips (mixture of taro, yuca, sweet potato, batata, and parsnip chips). Sun Singer serves food in a casual environment with the friendly bar tenders coming to your table to serve you. In addition to the bar/restaurant, the store has a large selection of wines, deli counter, and other gourmet food aisles. In the end, I took home an extra bag of the Terra Chips!

Food: ****

Ambience: **

Service: ***

(out of 5 stars)

The Lodge - Oak Brook, IL

I stayed at The Lodge at McDonald's Campus the last time I was in Chicagoland. It is located at the world headquarters of McDonald's corporation. The lounges, restaurants, and lobby overlook a lake. The lodge is connected by a bridge across the lake to Hamburger University, McDonald's corporate training center. Also on the campus is the administration building; trees, lakes, creeks, and paths (I saw two deer amble across the roadway); a heliport; and other park-like areas.

Six Flags Great America - Gurnee, IL

I joined my sisters and their families at Six Flags Great America to be a "kid" again. We rode several roller coasters and had a fun day. The video shows a ride on Superman. "Go up, up and away as you soar head-first through a twisted steel track to find out what it’s like to fly like the one-and-only Superman." We waited over one hour for the ride which lasted less than two minutes.

Where in the world?

Do you know where this picture was taken? I thought the perspective and colors were interesting and they even showed up ok with my cell phone camera.

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!