The Life of Dill

New Website

2011-03-19T10:02:00.002-05:00

I've moved my whole operation over to my new website. www.DylanHeath.com Soon I'll be bloging there, too. Please visit that website for any future Dylan Heath news.

Sick Day [SotCISoaJ]

2010-11-24T12:00:00.001-06:00

I am sick.

I hate being sick. It feels like my body is rebelling against itself. I feel like I’m regressing to a younger age; back to a time when I was winy and helpless. I am usually very healthy. Not that I take good care of myself, but I very rarely get sick. So when it does happen, I’m reduced to a quivering mass of phlegm and other unmentionables.

The other night, I wavered between a death-like sleep and a fitful weakness brought on by fever. I swung back and forth between chilly and sweaty; conscious and unconscious; stiff and numb. The next morning, with most of the illness baked out of me, I regained some of my composure. But I still wasn’t well enough to make another trip to Chicago. I had an assignment up there. Well not really an assignment, but a possibility of one. If the photography gods were smiling on me, and the municipal workers were fast enough, I could take pictures of the holiday decorations. But instead I spent part of the weekend in a semi-coherent state.

Sure, I was disappointed, but I suppose I can take one weekend off from thinking about work. I wouldn’t do very well if I wasn’t healthy. And I need to take care of myself by sleeping and what-not. But I sure would have liked to see Chicago in the winter time again. The lights are beautiful against the gray sky and the snow. Although there’s probably no snow yet.

As of now, I am through the haze of fever. But my nose is still leaking and my head is still pounding and my cough is still rasping. Perhaps this just means I’ll be able to make the trip in a few weeks. Maybe by then my pictures will be full of lights glistening off of freshly fallen snow.

Upturn [SotCISoaJ]

2010-10-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

Working at the front lines of a cafe, you really get a good understanding of the financial times. I sling coffee, a luxury people think of as a necessity. And it's an expensive one at that. A $2 coffee every day before work can add up real quick.

From my vantage point behind the counter, I get to watch who's spending too much money and who has too much money to spend. The strugglers bring in their own cup or buy refill after refill to save. While the ones who can afford it, will buy the thousand calorie sugar bombs.

What I've been able to watch over the last few months is the slow growth of a struggling economy. When I started, the cafe had been quite slow. Morning was quite, lunchtime was empty, closing was deserted. The store was not struggling, but it wasn't doing as good as it should.

Then over the last few weeks, more people were coming in and ordering coffee. More coffee beans have been ordered and more pastures were made in order to fill the customers' needs.

Don't get me wrong; people are still suffering from job loss and poverty. This is just an anecdote for an area that is fairly separated from the problems of the rest of the world. And too often we forget the difference between an anecdote and the real world. But this shows me that something good is coming. Soon we all will be able to feel better and breathe a sigh of relief.

Break (SotCISoaJ)

2010-10-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Looking for work is exhausting and the job, after you find it, is the same. One of the bits of brilliant sayings that runs through my family is that looking for a job is a full-time job. With all that work looking for work, you need a break to relax, calm down and think of something else.

For some reason relaxing for me usually involves food. At least that’s why I found myself walking into Urbana’s Courier Cafe for lunch. To me, a meal is not just what I’m eating. It’s the environment I find myself in, the person who cooked the food. It’s the whole experience of eating that I enjoy; the taste, the smell, the look.

This is what I was hoping I would enjoy when I walked into the restaurant and picked up the paper. I ordered a coffee and an chocolate egg cream. Luxury, to me, is having multiple drinks with my meal. I enjoyed reading through my paper and eating my burger.

Honestly, the burger was good, but not the greatest I’ve ever had and the egg cream embarrassed me with its extravagances, but break made me very happy. There is an old time feeling to the place that slows time. The wallpaper, the wooden tables, the menus, all feel like they exist outside of time.

After lunch, I sipped my coffee and finished reading an article about a candidate running for the Mayor of Chicago. I sat quietly enjoying being in the present for a moment. When I left, I would be back in the real world of worry, but for a moment I could be content with calm.

Drilling Threw (SotCISoaJ)

2010-09-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Perhaps I have lofty goals, I usually do. I am not content with being passable with any project I take up. Instead I need to be the best I can, in the best places. Sometimes this leads to lack of sleep, my eyes blurry and my head foggy with exhaustion. And sometimes it leads to a lost project or two. I figure if I don’t want to throw my whole self into a project, it might not be worth doing. This is how I see my job search. I have a goal in mind, a specific place to end up, but I have no plan on how to get there. I run head first into the world and whenever I hit something too hard, I rout around.

I feel like I’m drilling through the earth. Sometimes it’s easy going, I hit a pocket of sand or an aquifer. But sometimes it’s impossible, the rock is impassable, and I have to regroup and move around. It’s hard work, but I don’t know any other way to get through life.

That being said, this is my bullheaded way to live. Everyone is different and everyone works through things differently. Some need more planning, some need less. It is important to review yourself and learn how you work, especially when looking for a job.

My ultimate job goal is still not fully realized, but it is on a break. I ran into a wall of rock called having no money. To rout around, I picked up a job at a cafe. It gives me money and time to write other projects. I also enjoy the people I work with. But, it is at the same place I worked before I moved to Chicago for school. It feels a bit like I’m regressing back to my younger self. This is another rock to hard for my drill bit. When I get through it, I’ll let you know.

Faith (Sense of the City: In Search of a Job)

2010-09-16T20:00:00.001-05:00

I'll admit it, my column has become a bit self-referential and depressing at times. I've been so wrapped up in my own troubles that I stopped observing the community around me. I started focusing on my own problems and eventually became blinded to anything else. It happens to everyone, the only cure--a little perspective.

My perspective came in the form of a long email a woman sent to me after a particularly selfish column. She asked me not to share her name because she is a privet person. So I will call her Elaine.

"It is Sunday morning and I just read your article and my heart goes out to you, for it is hard times for a lot of people," Elaine said in her email.

She went on to tell me to stay positive and that I will get through these difficulties in life. Her concern touched me, especially when I read on.

"I wish I could work. I am in a fight . . . I battle cancer," she said.

In early 2009 Elaine had knee surgery. Afterward she felt sick. Nothing came up on any tests, so doctors misdiagnosed her illness. It wasn't until November doctors found the Melanoma. She had part of her leg removed and is now fighting the after effects. Elaine is 45.

Her physical energy is low. Sometimes she can't even get out of her chair.

"My good days, I can get up for 15-20 mints and clean the house," Elaine said.

At the time of her knee surgery, Elaine worked as a administrative assistant with a nursing background. She loved her job and worked through the pain and the sickness.

"I went to work throwing up. If I threw up--I threw up," she said.

Eventually her job let her go. Elaine was out an income provided by her job. But most impertinently she was out of what she loved to do.

Before leaving, she set up programs to help her co-workers.

"When I left I was like: 'Man, I hope those programs still go through'," Elaine said.

Her lack on income is affecting her life as well. Elaine was on unemployment, but that has run out. She is now fighting through the paperwork for long-term disability to help pay for her mounting doctor bills.

The other day, I called Elaine to see how she was doing. She was laughing and up-beat. I asked her how she could stay so happy.

"Faith, that's the only thing that's pulling me through . . . with out it I'd have been dead already," she answered.

She went on to say: "My mom--she's my pillar of strength."

Success Story (Sense of the City: In Search of a Job)

2010-09-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

We, as people, tend to get stuck in our ways. We think of ideas and eventually start to believe that's all there is. At least this happens to me. Sometimes people find their way out of the tunnel and see the other avenues available.

After I posted my column online, which I do at dillheady.blogspot.com/, a friend posted her story, which I am ashamed to say I didn't know. She spent two years looking for a full time job.

"I thought that's what I was supposed to do in order to become an 'adult'," she wrote in her comment.

She realized she was starting to make money doing several different things she loves, including singing. And perhaps she didn't need a full-time job to support herself. She started looking for a part time job and found one amazingly quick.

"I've been here almost a month at a place that I love, that is exactly where I'm supposed to be . . . It's the most amazing experience I've ever had working," she said.

She took something that we all take for granted as wholly true and did the opposite and found something that worked. It's a scary thought, to go against the grain in such a way, but it worked for her.

My friend found her own path to support herself. Her way may not be able to work for everyone, and probably wont, but it worked for her. Perhaps we don't need to have the traditionally sought after jobs. Perhaps our jobs could be more like our clothes, tailored to our lives.

"Open your mind to other possibilities that might not have occurred to you," she said.

SotC ISoaJ [CORRECTION]

2010-08-20T12:48:00.006-05:00

I need to make a little correction to my last column. I do have a job, it's just not really my dream job. (And that's not really even true because I technically have two jobs.) I start today at my old job in Urbana. Before I moved to Chicago the second time, I worked for about a year as a Barista at Strawberry Fields. It's were I learned how to love coffee and it's part of why I'm obsessed with food. Such interesting people shop their and the atmosphere is very relaxed. It will be nice to work there again, although it does feel like one giant step back. Like the last five years never happened.

But that's not what's important. My important job, the job that will keep me sort of sane for the next however long, is my stringer job. I'm writing for my home town newspaper, the Piatt County Journal-Republican. Don't try to find it online, because it's not there. I've been writing a column for them for the last year or more, but now I'm writing actual news stories. And it's wonderful.

At first I scoffed at the idea of writing for such a small paper so close to where I grew up. I came at it with a fairly arrogant and impertinent attitude about the whole thing. "Why should I bother with crop yield?"Aren't I better than this story?" [Actual story I just wrote: Piatt county corn and beans count.] But what I found their was amazing. Crop yield deeply and profoundly effects the whole town. Without a good corn crop the town economy would plummet and the world would starve. But not only that, these people are some of the nicest people I've ever met. They genuinely care about growing food and feeding the world. The meeting shifted toward the worlds natural disasters effecting crops, Russian drought, Pakistani flooding. An old man spoke up. "Who's going to feed those people?" It was a very touching question that woke me up out of my urban ego. This is why I'm doing this, to tell stories about people like this, sometimes it's important to be reminded of that.

Sense of the City: In Search of a Job

2010-08-18T12:39:00.001-05:00

[I'm changing up my column a bit. No longer being in the city I can no longer write about city life. So I'll try to write about my job hunt, including tips from professionals who found their dream job and career counselors who help others find theirs.]

This oppressive heat is beating me down. It's getting to be that I can't leave the house. Even the cool respite brought on by the storm does nothing. But the heat is not the only thing that feels like it is breaking me. A job search is full of rejection and living at home can feel like failing.

I've been looking for a reporter position at a small town newspaper, anywhere in the world, for a few months now. Eventually I keep telling myself, I'll make my way back to the big city. But first I need to get to that starting position. One small paper in New York told me they received over 400 resumes.

Many people are going through this same problem in every job market. More people with better experience are fighting for fewer jobs. And the grind of sending resumes, fielding phone calls, going to interviews can be a bit much.

I was supposed to be the one who got the job quickly. I have the right work ethic and some skill in reporting. All my teachers told me I would go far, and I feel like I've failed them. But I guess everyone else is going through the same thing, I know at least 400 of them are.

I suppose this is not the right time to focus on negativity. Negativity breads more negativity, and soon you're swirling through a void of depression and self-doubt. Then, not only are you full of these bad feelings, but you're not getting any work done.

It's easy to fall prey to these feelings in this heat, sweat pours down your back and the sun bakes your brain inside your head. But we can't let it win. What's the point in sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. Instead we can strive for something better, whether in the community or in ourselves.

I know there are people reading this who are going through similar situations. I would like to hear from you. Tell me your story and your techniques, and maybe I can pass it along and help other people, too.

Dylan Heath grew up in White Heath. He just graduated and is searching for a job in Journalism. He can be reached at Dylan.Heath@gmail.com

Travel Article

2010-08-08T11:03:00.003-05:00

The News Gazette published my travel article about my sailing trip. It's not online at all, so I scanned it in.

A New Sense of Home (Sense of the City)

2010-08-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the best part of taking a long trip is finally returning home. After seeing amazing sights, tasting amazing food, meeting amazing people; you start to see home with new eyes. Everything is as new and delightful as what you've seen on your journey, only colored with a sense of familiarity.

On the drive to Chicago, the skyline pops-up out of the tangle of on-ramps and freeways, and the first red line stop appears long before any well known landmark. If this sounds familiar to you, it's because I've already written about this scene in one of my first columns. Coming from the south is still one of my favorite ways to see the city skyline.

When I first wrote about it, it was filled from a sense of coming home. Now, I feel a bit of happiness from returning, but mostly I feel sad that I will soon have to leave my adopted city. When I pass the red line, I get goosebumps. When I see the skyline, I am flooded with happy memories. When I get on Lake Shore, I roll the window down and turn up the radio and smile at all the different faces that I see.

My sailing trip was meant as one last hurrah before I have to start my new life, whatever that will be. The only thing clear is that I can't afford to live in Chicago anymore. And besides, if I want to eventually live there and work as a reporter, I have to move away to work my way up through the ranks and back to the city. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Though out this year and a half or so, I tried to bring a little bit of the greatness I see in Chicago to the area. I tried to show that there really isn't much different between the two places. I don't know if I succeeded. Perhaps with a little more time, I could have. But I can no longer write what I see or feel or smell or taste or hear in the city if I am no longer there. This is not my columns distraction, more of an evolution. I hope you will see my byline in this paper again.

My life is changing drastically, one way or another. My writing will have to change along with it. It might take me some time to find my footing, to get used to my new world. But I will, and I'll find my new voice along the way. After all life goes on. And I've got new eyes, and a new sense of home.

Across (Sence of the City)

2010-07-29T20:14:00.001-05:00

My father told me on the phone before I left; "You're a different person when you're on the Atlantic on a boat." It's true, and I knew it would be. But I didn't know how true it really was until after we crossed.

My world broadened. My life strengthened. I have gone through something not many people do. I have learned more in the last month then I have in any class.

I made it across. The trip was an experience but the sailing was not so good. There was no wind and we motored through a lot of it. But the simple fact that I saw more of the world made it worthwhile. Spending all your time on land you start to think that's all there is. But the ocean is so much larger, and in it you become smaller. Out there, the closest land is five miles directly down. It's a humbling and frightening experience at first. After a while it become normal, but that idea always sits in the back of your mind.

My watch, from midnight to three, was lonely and dark. I stood solemnly and stoically waiting for something to come on the horizon. Every so often, a container ship would cross our bow. Their green or red running light shining like Christmas, told me which direction they were moving. It was my job to watch them, notice how fast and in what direction they were moving and to move out of any danger.

But now, that is done. We made it across and we met our family and the solitary lifestyle has been replaced with excitement. Out on the ocean, words are expensive and five or ten words are all that is necessary. After such a long it's always nice to have a change.

New Style

2010-07-29T19:53:00.001-05:00

I changed the template. Enjoy it because I do quite a bit.

Sailing #2 (Sense of the City)

2010-06-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

As you are reading this I should still be at sea, however I am still writing from the past. Outside the window is cold and rainy and overcast. The weather is dreary and drab and damp. I don't sleep quite so well as I do when I'm visiting the farm. It's so quite and dark. I love living in Chicago. The hustle and bustle of the city leads to new experiences and an exciting life, but I can't relax like I can on the farm.

It's so important to have new experiences, to see what it's like in different lives. This is what I hope my trip will be all about. I hope to step outside my comfort zone, try new foods, meet new people. I've lived a relatively regulated lifestyle over the last few years: same school, same apartment, same food, same bars. Repeated over and over on different days at different times. It's fun, but perhaps I need something else.

A break from the monotony will help me transition from one point in life to another. It will create a boundary that says, "No more homework past this point." I get a break from everything I have done so much of lately.

I don't work well with change most of the time, but it is important to get out of my comfort level every now and then. I am excited. I'm happy to be able to do something new, even though I don't yet know what that will be.

The calm at the farm washes over me as I sit outside in the long grass as it sets to seed. The wet weather left in the night, now the sky is clear and the sun beats down. Other than the occasional bounding dog, the only movement is the slight wind working through the blades.

Horta of the Azorian Islands

2010-06-14T18:12:00.004-05:00

I am blogging from a boat anchored on the edge of the marina in Horta, which is on an island in the Azores, about 500 miles away from and owned by Portugal. This town is lovely. If there was an English language newspaper, or if I spoke Portuguese, I would move here in a heartbeat. Considering neither of those things are bound to happen soon, I think I'm staying in Illinois.

There are real people here, with real lives, which doesn’t sound like much but considering some of the billionaire playground tropical islands out there, it's an anomaly. The buildings are beautiful, too. The sea salt in the air doesn't do good things to the mortar, but they turn these great colors with wonderful patterns. I've been going crazy taking pictures of doors. I like doors.

They have great wine and great cheese on these islands. Jump at the chance to try some Pico wine or Sao Jorge's cheese from the Azores.

Sailing (Sence of the City)

2010-06-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

I am not writing this on the boat. I am not turning with the wind and the waves of the sea. I am sitting at the farm with the ocean of green grass and songs of the birds. It's a farewell visit, before my long trip.

As you are reading this, I am fighting the big waves, or I'm tying up a loose sail, or I'm wrestling a big fish on board, or I'm not doing much of anything. I don't know what I'll be doing. This is all new to me. I don't know what to expect or what to prepare for. All I know for sure is that it will exceed my own thoughts.

I have been reluctant to talk about the trip. I've been worried about what people will say. There is a type of person who can sail, rich. And I'm not used to associating myself with the upper class. Rich people don't eat Ramen Noodles for dinner, but the poor rarely get to learn which is the port side.

I'm uncomfortable in this position. I stutter when people ask me what I'm doing for the summer. I look away, turn a bit red and smile; and then I say "Well . . . " After I tell them, they say, "That's amazing." But, in their head, I know they are saying, "Must be nice." Maybe not, maybe it's all in my own head. But I'll still think it and still get embarrassed.

I'm sure, once I get there--on the boat and out in the water--I'll forget all about my discomfort. I'll get engrossed in the weather--the sun or the wind or something. I don't know. Snow maybe?

Cut Grass (Sense of the City)

2010-05-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

The smell of cut grass hung in the air as I walked down the street the other day. That smell means summer to me. All through winter the grass lays dying in the snow only to sprout up in the spring. The snow melts and bright green sprouts poke out of the whiteness. Grass grows through the spring, but I still associate that fresh smell with summer, which is coming--quick.

Chicago lawns are a lot different from what I remember back home. The lawns surrounding the farm are vast fields of manicured grass, kept at such lengths by tractor-size lawnmowers. The size and quality of the lawns can only be rivaled by Wriggly Field. But in Chicago, we do not have such riches in space, but lawn owners still keep up the quality. Tiny two by ten foot squares in front of each house are decorated with flowers and statues. The grass is lovingly shaped with an exactness that can only be achieved with a level and scissors.

I guess summer can no longer mean a break for me. No longer will I have several months to rest from the riggers of class and papers. After this summer I will have to join the real world, but I have another summer to recklessly travel. Graduation is over. All my papers are turned in; all my classes are over. My school career ended with a fizzle, not a bang. Graduation was not the end; I still had a paper due. But all that is finished now. Now all I have to worry about it sailing across the ocean. I'll be first matting a boat to Spain for the next month or how ever long it takes.

As far as we have come technologically we still don't have Internet everywhere. My only connection to the outside world will be an expensive satellite phone that needs to be used sparingly. I guess no Facebook or Twitter for me.

I'm not used to this. Big trips are new to me. I feel like I'm betraying my class a bit. But the world is out there to be explored and new experiences wait. For now I'll have to enjoy the smell of cut grass, because I doubt I'll run into any out there.

Graduation (Sense of the City)

2010-05-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

The sun rises and spills through my window earlier than months before. The light wakes me up slowly in the morning and I watch it go down at night. The sky has been so blue lately. It's getting to the point where temperature in the 50's is considered too cold.

It's a beautiful day out today, but I'm stuck inside. I have to finish my final papers and projects before I'm completely done with school. I have only a week left. That's not much time, and I'm a little bit worried. Not so much about getting my homework done, because I usually can jam something out right before deadline.

I'm worried about what comes next. Graduation is closing in on me. It's the end of how my life was up until now and I don't know what will come next. I could tell you what I'll be doing this summer, but that's another column. It's my life after summer that I'm worried about. I've always been the type of person who needs to know what comes next.

I'm worried. I've been worried for a while, ever since I realized my life is about to change. But it's exciting. In a few months I could literally be anywhere I want to be.

As I write this, I look outside my window and gray clouds are rolling in and covering the bright, blue sky. The last few days have been a bit stormy. The other night I was woken up by the first lightning storm I heard in a long time. I kept the windows open and decided to fall asleep to the beautiful rain sound. It looks like today might be a similar type of weather, which would keep me inside. Perhaps I wont be too distracted to finish my homework. Perhaps I will be able to finish and move on from this part of my life to the next.

Graduation

2010-05-14T17:23:00.003-05:00

I graduated today. I walked down the theater aisle, up the stairs and across the stage. It took me six years to do this. Six years to get the gown and cap and tassel. Six long years.

Honestly, I walked to make my mom happy. She told me she spent enough of time and money to see me walk, and so I figured I owed her. My heart wasn't really in it at first, but sometime between the alphabetizing and the opening statements, I looked around the hallways and was hit by a flood of memories. I spent hundreds of hours speeding through those hallways in between classes, up to the library, out for a quick lunch. I never had enough time to look around and take everything in until I was stuck in line, steaming inside a black, rayon gown with a stupid hat on my head. I looked at my fellow students . . . excuse me . . . graduates and was flooded with hope for the future and nostalgia for the past. That's not me. I'm fairly grumpy and irritable. I am not nostalgic. But today I was. And it felt good--really good.

Chris Matthews was the commencement speaker. His words really helped--made me think about what I want to be. I'm not always an optimist, but now I think I am for this aspect of my life. He spoke truth. He told us the road to our future will be difficult. We will need to work hard to get to that next step. I think I am finally ready for the next step. This is not normal for me to say, but I think I've changed a little bit. I've gone through this amazingly difficult six years for the better. And I'm excited to see what's next.

The First Amendment Project DVD (Review)

2010-04-15T17:08:00.004-05:00

I couldn't find a website devoted to the DVD so here is the Amazon page.

I watched this documentary last night. It's 3 twenty minute documentaries about different groups effecting the First Amendment, one of my favorite Amendments.

The idea and execution is great. I just have a problem with the fact that all 3 documentaries are pretty Leftest. Which is a weird thing for me to say, because I agree with most of what they are saying. But my point is that the First Amendment is for everyone, not just Left leaning ideas. The Right has their own First Amendment pet projects, why not have a documentary about that? Instead this documentary ignores any other aspect and threatens the legitimacy of the First Amendment.

I'm rambling. But the First Amendment is for all people. And if we divide it on issues like this we are going to loose it. And that would be a shame.

The Fear (Sense of the City column)

2010-04-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

I picked up my graduation cap and gown last week. I guess soon it will be official, that is if I can get through this last month. I have trouble finishing things up. Obviously, or it wouldn't have taken six years for me to finish college.

What is it about the end that's so worrisome? It's a deep and abiding fear, an uncontrollable nervousness. Am I afraid that I'm not good enough to finish or am I scared of what's next? Either way it's an irrational fear that I just need to get over.

I think most people suffer from the fear. It's what keeps us still in life. It makes our movements through the world a little more conservative and thought out. The fear can be a good thing. It keeps us from loosing everything in a doomed attempt to remake ourselves. But, like any fear, too much can become crippling. I've had that feeling too. It's a huge sensation of pressure on your chest and all you want to do is crawl inside yourself. It's a deep, dark pit that you can't crawl out of, but you do and you're better for it. And that's the difficulty, coming out the other side blinking in the bright sun.

Sometimes the fear is your friend, it can keep you from pushing beyond your means. But most of the time the fear keeps you from pushing yourself farther. That's when you need to ignore it. I need to gather the courage to beat back that pressure and push to the end of my last month in school and into my next stage of life.

Safety in the City (Sense of the City column)

2010-03-13T11:27:00.001-06:00

The snow melted overnight. One day the temperature was just above freezing, the next it was warm enough to not wear my coat anymore. The humidity hovers somewhere around 100%. The sky is hazy with a mixture of pollution and fog which switches to rain in a second. I have never been a fan of wetness, but it is nice to walk around in a comfortable temperature.

I should be writing this at home. I started my spring break last night and was on my way to White Heath. But through a series of unfortunate events I missed the bus. At the time I was angry, but thinking back on it the story is actually pretty good. (It involves late night road construction and a midnight run through Union Station where I lost my sandwich.) I probably would have written this column on it if a much more interesting story didn't happen to me on the way home.

Needles to say, I am not the only one out enjoying the warmer weather. Crime goes up in the spring and summer months. It's just a fact of life, more people means more potential to steal. And no one, not even criminals, wants to be out in sub-zero temperatures.

I got on the train to go home. I sat down next to a well dressed man. He wore a button down shirt and black leather shoes with gold buckles. I didn't notice at the time, but something was wrong. Some chemical in his brain was off, whether through drugs or insanity I'm not sure. But he ranted at the top of his lungs. His unidentifiable grumbling boomed through the train car. Every once in a while this primitive language was peppered with the most foul and X-rated bits of clarity. I was almost home so I tried to ignore it. I stared down at the floor.

This is where I wanted to leave this story, but some 20-something fohawk didn't. He tried to engage the man as some stupid joke, some story he could tell his buddies back at the bar. Soon the conversation devolved into threats on the young guy's life, but he didn't understand what was going on and still tried to push through.

Some how the ranting man thought the other guy said he was part of the Black P Stone gang, which is a smallish multiracial gang in Chicago. They actually control a pretty large chunk near my apartment. It took me a second to realize what the man was saying. But when I did, I turned to the younger guy and told him to shut up. "You don't know what you just did," I said.

Nothing happened, but I had never been so afraid in the city. Clearly the man was dangerous and on top of that he was not in his right mind. There is no way to know what he could have done. But luckily nothing happened. He left the train.

What this says about the safety of the city is interesting. I've been here almost four years. I've seen some crazy things on the train and on the street. I've had some crazy things happen to me. I could tell some stories. But this is the first time I've felt so uncomfortable. Most of the time, the city runs just fine. The population goes on with their day without thinking of safety. No one should take this story to mean that the city is so intensely dangerous that they don't visit. It is just a warning to watch out. Be careful of your surroundings. Basically . . . be safe.

Memory by Fire

2010-03-03T21:03:00.001-06:00

The air is cold and filled with falling snow. The sidewalk is slippery with ice and trampled snow. It's still winter. We're running through the tail end of the season all across the country. The days are getting longer and the nights shorter. The snow is thawing and freezing, thawing and freezing, starting the death throes that will turn March into April and winter into spring.

Thoughts run through my mind as I walk home one night. My stare is low, towards the ice patch in front of me. My step is careful. I walk by an old church made of boulders big enough for a Trebuchet to siege a castle. I guess I only assume it's old, because of the building material. It doesn't much matter, I like walking by to look at the rocks.

I go by carefully when I smell a smell that takes me back. It wasn't a sudden memory, it snuck up on me gradually. Before I knew it I was transferred back to my childhood. My memory was deep and vivid. I was not thinking about my childhood, I was in my childhood. I was sitting next to the woodburning stove at the farm in the cold winters of the past. The air was freezing but the fire was too hot. I rotated to keep an even warmth, too long in one position and half my body would be burnt and the other half too cold. The sight and sound were strictly from when I was young, but the strongest sense for me was the smell. It was the smell that warped me back in time. It was the smell that bridged the gap between the present and past. It was the salty, smoky smell of a fire burning in the stone church.

I came back to the current and shuffled through the ice field safely. I continued on home a little brighter, a little happier, my smile a little larger. My trip reminded me of what was and what will be and what I have now.

My Unoriginal Title is "Epic Burger, not so Epic"

2010-02-05T16:00:00.006-06:00

Cross one burger of ~~Time Out Chicago's~~ ~~Chicago Magazine's~~(did I dream this wonderful list?) 100 best burgers. I treated myself to Epic Burger for lunch and did not find it worthy of top 100. Really it should only be on such a list because the writer could only find 90-some burgers in the city. Then it'd be fine with me to have some duplicities.

Epic Burger can't decided what it is, is it a nice burger place with chef's who take time to prepare the meat right, or is it a fast food joint with plastic chairs. It took me two seconds to order and 10 minutes to get. (Ten minutes might be a bit of an over exaggeration, but it was long enough for me to notice.)

They say their buns are baked daily. I do appreciate a burger place respecting the bun, but I don't think the bun's are well enough prepared. It was still a bit gluten-y and bland. It tasted like a normal grocery store bun with oats sprinkled on top. The meat was pretty tasty, but hard to find under the "special sauce," my guess is mayonnaise mixed with paprika for color. A good burger is flavored by it's own sauce, it should not be hidden.

Maybe I bought the wrong burger. Maybe I was led astray by all the options. It just wasn't that good. And if it was on this mysterious "list" it should be redacted. Is that too harsh?

Sense of the City--Pitchfork

2009-08-08T10:30:00.001-05:00

Coffee Cake, 13, died by euthanasia Friday July 17th at 11:56 a.m.

The first thing my journalism classes taught me was to write an obituary, so when I watched my cat get put down that was my first thought. This is my coping method, to see everything through the long lens of "The Story." Indeed it was a very sad to watch. She had been my cat for the last 6 months and the first thing I have taken care of which I watched die. But she lived a long life, one that I hope was comfortable, and she died peacefully.

Anyway, we must not dwell on sadness. It's summer. It's the season for festivals.

The Taste of Chicago was a month ago. It was quite successfully in the commercial sense. It brought a lot of people to the Loop. Unfortunately, if the tourists took the Taste at its word they left with the idea that Chicago is hot and crowded, with little else to offer.

But every weekend throughout the rest of the summer months, people will gather to celebrate the warmer weather and longer days. Every corner of the city has its own neighborhood festivals with local food and music which mirrors the culture of its people. The Uptown Unity Summer Fest was on August 1st with free immunizations, fun for all the kids.

It's the same as in Monticello. Festivals and farmers markets are times for neighbors to enjoy each others company. People forget any bad blood and laugh with each other. Plus it's just fun to walk down the middle of the street without fear of getting hit by a car.

I went to Pitchfork Festival on the 17th, 18th and 19th at Union Park. Pitchfork is a collection of the coolest bands no one has ever heard of. I only knew of one or two people playing, and really only wanted to see the masked rapper, Doom. I could go because I got in for free by volunteering with CHIRP. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to afford it.

Pitchfork is the yearly meeting of Midwest hipsters. There were a lot of tattoos, fake 80's clothing and ironic mustaches. I make fun only because I enjoyed myself so much. Music filled out the park. It was loud and melodic with all different types playing everywhere. The food looked good, and the beer was local.

Probably the most memorable thing was the group dancing with hula-hoops. It's hard to describe what they were doing, because it was like nothing I had ever seen before. They were very practiced and it was hypnotizing to watch. They took a children's toy very seriously and made an art form out of it. An art form I had never thought of before. I was fascinated and watched them for a while in between good bands.

Inside Union park was fun. The sense of community was enough to take my mind off the bit of sadness in my life. Being around people, like-minded or not, is just a good time. But when the weekend was over I was left tired and in a lot of pain. It's amazing how much it can hurt to just stand all day.

Sense of the City: History

2009-07-27T15:34:00.001-05:00

(My bu-weekly column and Urban Coaster Article. Enjoy.)

History is liquid. It's always changing and, like air, tires to fill up the space surrounding it. On July 4th, I went to the Edgewater Historical society. Edgewater is the neighborhood north of Uptown, where I live. I love history. It's my minor in school. I think it's that adaptability that draws me in. You can look at the change over time, sure, but History itself also changes. I was taught in grade school that Christopher Columbus discovered America only to find out later that's not entirely true. He might have found it for Spain, but many other cultures knew about it long before, including the people who have been calling it home for thousands of years.

When it comes down to it everything is liquid. Given enough time, everything ebbs and flows like the lunar tide. Solid things we normally think of as unmovable change too. The earth moves. Land evolves, sometimes slowly sometimes very quick and violently. Erosion made the Grand Canyon, Volcanoes made the Hawaiian islands and If I stood outside my apartment before the 60's Lake Michigan would be about waist high.

That last example was man made. The north end of Lake Shore Drive was built up out of the Lake. Lake fill made the beaches and the foundations for the Sheridan Ave. condos. Before that houses were built right up on the beach. The beach made their backyard.

That all changed because the city wanted to continue the ideas started by the famous urban planer, Daniel Burnham. He is a bit of a hero in Chicago and we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the publication of his Plan of Chicago on July 4th. (A lot of history on that day.) He wanted the entire lake front to be free and open to the public. Burnham has been named in many a debate over the years and his goal is still not fully realized. There are about 4 miles of lake front that still is not public land and a group of people are trying to change that. A noble plan but probably not the best economically sound idea right now. (But that's just my middle of the road opinion.)

I recently went home to the farm to visit family. Things are changing there, too. Family came in from out of town and I showed them around Monticello. I was surprised to see so many different stores around the square. Even in small towns, which always feel slower, change. The slight changes aren't obvious until you are absent for a while.

People have always been afraid of change. It's something that has been passed down through the generations from our prehistoric mothers and fathers. Anything new for them was a gamble. A new fruit could be delicious or it could be poison, so it's best not to mess with it. Now it's much less dangerous and going against chance has brought us so many good things. It's time we brushed off the fear and nostalgia that is at the heart of our inability to change.

Sense of the City

2009-07-14T08:42:00.001-05:00

(This is a little late. I have been home with my family. It was a lot of fun. I took a lot of pictures, you will probably be able to see them on my Picasa page. Also here is my latest article in The Urban Coaster.)

There is an unspoken rule with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) that most everyone follows. With few exceptions, everyone is deadly quite. No one talks to each other and everyone finds something to keep themselves busy. Some read. Some listen to music. Some stare out the window.

I usually go the rout of looking out the window, unless I have class and need to read a long assignment. You see a lot of the city from the CTA. The bus runs down on the streets in the muck of the dirt and depravity. And the train runs high up in a pulled out view that shows a whole new set of problems.

The el train runs pretty high up. It’s high enough to look down on top of the smaller buildings. Two and three flat apartments that look beautiful from street level look a little silly from above. Their plain tar roofs are in stark contrast to the decorative walls and windows. That tar contributes to the heat of the summer. Asphalt and concrete surfaces absorb the suns energy and releases it as heat, as opposed to the grass and trees of the country that use the energy to grow. The farm of my childhood was cooler than the city I currently call home.

Even if everyone turned their tar roofs silver to reflect the sun, which some already have, I still don't think I would feel comfortable. It's still a lot of wasted space. On the farm we never really left an area with no purpose. Every place we wouldn't normally walk turned into a garden, or a flower circle, or left to it's own devices to grow wild plants and trees. These roofs are flat usable surfaces that are going to waste.

I'm not pretending that a few roof top gardens are going to save the world or even cool down the city, but it would sure be pretty to look at. I wish I had my own roof to plant fruits and vegetables on. It seems like it would be fun, and it would bring a bit of my old home to my new one.

These are just a few ideas that run through my head on the el. The train is the opposite of a sensory deprivation chamber, so much information comes at me that my brain turns in on itself and I get lost in my own thoughts. It gets even more true when the Red Line goes underground. The Click-Clack of the wheels echo off the tunnel walls and turn into a roar loud enough to drown out the children yelling behind me. The outside is so dark the windows turn into an almost perfect mirror, reflecting the reflections from the other side of the train.

I don't ride the train much any more. The bus has been able to take me where I want to go. But if absence makes the heart grow fonder, it also makes curiosity grow stronger. Little things I take for granted become much more interesting when I don't see them for a while.

Sense of the City

2009-06-27T12:39:00.002-05:00

(I guess I've been getting around with newspapers as of late. Here is my latest Sense of the City. And I've also got a new article in the Urban Coaster.)

Spring seems to have come a little late this year, meaning Summer will be late as well. The last few weeks have been pretty cold. Not cold in the sense of freezing weather, but cold for May and June. Spring has announced itself with bits of white snowing down on us. Not normal snow, flakes of frozen water, but white fluff from some tree. Cottonwood maybe, I don't know I'm no Arborist.

The tree fluff floats around my neighborhood. It sticks in the air, flying in the currents purposeless. They will find a place to land in soft soil and grow into another tree to release its own fluff. Or not, such is life. I'm sure people with allergies must hate the fluff, but I think it looks pretty floating in the air.

Spring attacks all the senses. People break out of their normal routine and spend time outside. The beaches are full of dog walkers and barbecuers and sunbathers. Even people being passive feel a little more active. I usually will sit and watch people go by.

The smell of the food and the feeling of the sun and wind make me walk a little more aimlessly. I don't have much of a normal routine, school has been out for a few weeks and my day-to-day tasks have become limited. I have been walking about my neighborhood a little more, to see what I can see.

Uptown, my neighborhood is fast becoming my favorite area in the city. It is full of diverse people in varying stages of life. It has some very beautiful houses with big back yards full of plants and life, but also a lot of closed down storefronts. A lot of people have been hurt by life, their faces are warn and sunken by stress, but a lot of organizations have formed to help them. There are streets I walk down and don't even feel like I'm in the same city. I try to turn corners I have never seen before to find something new.

Perhaps if I spent as much time exploring Uptown as I did the farm as a child I wouldn't be able to find anything new here either. But, and maybe I'm wrong about this, I feel like I could navigate the farm from memory. I have gone over every bit of the land over the 18 years I have lived there and the last few years in visits. It's a different feeling; the excitement of finding something new verses the comfort of the familiar. I think it's a good mix.

The irony is, I am writing this all from memory. The day I decided to sit down and write about the beautiful Spring day, is cloudy and rainy. The wind is blowing hard and the air is chilly. The spring day I am writing about is a blend of the last week. Today is more like a Fall day than Spring time. It seems like it should be a little more disappointing, but without the rain the tree fluff, that brings me joy, can't grow.

Sense of the City (View from the Second City: renamed)

2009-06-16T13:53:00.003-05:00

I renamed my column for the Journal Republican to open it up to more story ideas. Also, it will be on a regular schedule, due every other Friday. Pretty excited about that.

I changed the name of this column, from View from the Second City to Sense of the City, specifically for this article. Vision isn't the only way to navigate a city. Chicago can be mapped using all of the conventional senses.

Most think of maps as the visual likeness of a specific area. They are folded up pieces of paper with colored lines and symbols representing roads, parks, "areas of interest." But the map in my head uses more than visual cues. My instinctual understanding of the area around me relies on my other senses, including smell.

I love using my sense of taste and smell. I am a foodie at heart and I am happy with the smell of a great cup of coffee or grilled hamburger or locally brewed craft beer.

Chicago is a wonderful city to navigate by the nose. What a great variety. Chicago is not really known for its chocolate factory, but there is one. Sometimes the smell of cocoa wafts downtown and catches your nose for a second.

The brownie smell is quickly replaced by something else. Sometimes it's a food smell that changes depending on the neighborhood. Sometimes it's the sickly sweet smell of a sewer drain telling us something bad is in the area. We use are noses as a physical test of an area. We are attracted to the cocoa smell and repulsed by the sewer. Some ancient piece of our brain tells us were to go based on a mostly ignored sense.

The farm smells of my childhood behave differently. The city smells seem very binary. They are either there or not. One second you smell something and the next second it is replaced with something completely different.

My White Heath farm has an amalgamation of smells. There is an ever-present smell of flowers or trees with a hint of dirt. Perhaps there is a bit of mold or rust mixed in there. Sometimes manure or diesel or exhaust. They combine to make the unforgettable smell of my childhood.

They say smell is the sense most linked with memory. For me, the smell of freshly baked bread sends me back to my childhood when there would always be fresh bread.

Sometimes my nose plays tricks on me. I often walk by Lake Michigan. Something about the water in the air or the sight of the waves makes me think I smell something that can't be there. Even though I know the lake is freshwater, I still smell almost a hint of salt in the air.

Please Pardon my Absence.

2009-05-14T12:12:00.003-05:00

I have been away for a while finishing up my hell-storm of a semester. Several different aspects of my life came together to make things very busy. Not so much complaining about it; I'm pretty much completely free now, and I'm already getting kind of board.

I'm starting an internship soon, maybe now I'm not really sure, at The Urban Coaster. I'm going to be a reporter for them. My beat is Uptown and Edgewater. Kind of crazy, I know, to put some random intern on to two huge beats like that. But that's what I'm going to do.

I am a little worried. My first story, or at least news gathering event is some green thing at Uncommon Ground tonight. So that will be fun.

Forgot to Mention . . .

2009-03-22T17:37:00.003-05:00

I got myself a real job. No longer am I just a work/study copy boy. Now I'm a work/study copy boy who also works at a coffee shop in Evanston. (I also go to school and write for the student newspaper and write a column; so I'm pretty damn busy now.) It's called the Brothers K, and it seems like a pretty cool place. I started yesterday and I felt pretty over my head. Haven't felt like that in a long time. I'm going to need to brush up on my coffee knowledge.

Come by sometime and I'll take your order and give it to someone who can make good coffee. (hopefully soon I'll be able to actually make the drink)

I'm Getting a Little Tired

2009-03-12T20:42:00.003-05:00

Something about this semester has created a huge gulf between writing styles for me. I get an assignment from The Torch and I can't wait to jump into it. But any class assignment makes me want to gouge my eyes out.

Mondays and Tuesdays I'm in my own personal hell; I can't get myself to write a thing. Every sentence is a fight against gravity and I get grumpy and melodramatic. But every Wednesday and Thursday I am elated. Those are my Torch days. (Except for yesterday and today, because there is no Torch over Spring Break. Stupid Spring Break.) I get to run around and ask questions and write about real things. Last week I finished up a bunch of articles for the issue after the Break. I had to call up someone at Chicago Department of Transportation and talk to some teachers about plagiarism and attend some mind numbing meeting for Roosevelt's Student Organizations. And then I had to rush out an article about what I found. And I loved it.

And that's not even the problem, because I have to write articles for some of my classes. And I still struggle getting them out. Maybe it's the lack of publication. Or the grades give me a weird stigma. Or maybe my 6 year school plan was dumb and no one should go that long through school.

Or maybe I just need a break and this week will do me some good. Now if I could only get my homework done for tomorrow. But that wont happen until I start and that hasn't happened yet.

View from the Second City (Spring)

2009-03-08T15:44:00.001-05:00

Over the past few months, I have been experiencing Chicago through my eyes to gather subjects for this column. But sight is not the only sense available in the Second City. This morning, making my way to the bus stop, I heard a sound that was almost foreign to my winter addled ears. The sound seemed to come from no where in particular--just all around. It was the sounds of birds.

These were not the coos of pidgins, or the caws of seagulls that stay in the city over the cold months. Instead they were the tweets of the little brown birds I had all but forgotten about. It was nature calling out that Spring is coming. The world is tilting closer to the sun and the weather will soon turn.

I enjoy the cold and I like the snow, but it has been a long winter and I am excited for the change over. The problem with snow is, in the warm weather, it melts. At the farm, the ground soaks up the melting snow and turns spongy and muddy. There is very little exposed soil in the city to soak up the water. All the snow that gave people so much trouble a few weeks ago, is now melting and bothering the sewer system.

I am not one to harp on the seasons. We only have four of them (some years it feels like just two) and they all have good aspects. But I am not one who abides wetness well. Puddles and standing water get my feet wet and make me uncomfortable for the rest of the day. Spring is beautiful and full of love and rebirth, but it tends to make me feel itchy. On the farm I could usually avoid the puddles, but the city is all paved over making it impossible to avoid. It turns into one big puddle.

Back home the birds appear every year, when there is a thin layer of snow on the ground and the air is warm enough to go out with no coat. It is the same in the city, but they don't come in such numbers. The trees at the farm can be full of hundreds of birds--their combined calls deafeningly loud. Here they congregate in empty lots or the odd park in smaller groups. Spring is indeed coming back, birds are migrating home, the trees will soon bud.

Thousands of years ago, humans feared the coming of the darkness. The end of the Summer and beginning of the Fall felt cold and dark and scary. The unknown made people pray for the return of spring and the rebirth of the world. Now, we kind of forgot that feeling. Technology made the long nights less scary, but our DNA still has that fear ingrained by thousands of generations. We still feel relief when spring starts and the birds sing.

Two Things

2009-03-08T13:08:00.003-05:00

My blog tracker informs me that over the past week, my blog has had over 100 visitors on three different days. And one day over 90. That makes me feel pretty good. keep it up, visitors.

Also,

A few words I have heard a lot in the last few weeks, and I am tired of hearing: Earmarks and Pork. These words have no meaning. They are buzz words and do not belong in journalism. They are very biased words for excessive spending. One person might think it's ridiculous to spend a million dolors on broccoli research and call it pork. While someone else might think it's important for farmers to understand broccoli and the million dolors will be made back ten fold with a better understanding of broccoli.

Just stop saying those words.

Craigslist is Killing Me

2009-03-01T11:27:00.002-06:00

(Today I have the attention span of a cat and my nose is running and I'm all sniffy. I hope I'm not getting sick. I have a lot of work that I should get done today, so this is more or less me getting rid of the fuzz that's in my head today.)

Craigslist.com is really hurting my soul. I've been looking for a job for quite a while now. When I find one, sure, I'll feel good about having a job. But I'll be most excited about not having to look at Craigslist everyday. It really makes me itchy. People are looking for things that I just don't understand. I know that I'm not really supposed to know about it because I'm not in any of these cultures, but I'm still bothered by them.

I guess I should be happy that there is a place for people to go and not feel like they are alone. And I think I am, it's just kind of foreign to me. Maybe it's just my own assumptions that are getting in the way of my understanding. When I see something that says, more or less, Looking for cute feet, I only see some innocent trusting little girl answering the ad to feel better about herself. And sometimes that might be true (and that story is pretty upsetting to hear) but most of the time she might get just as much enjoyment out of it.

I think this is the argument most people have against Liberal people. (Which I would call myself, I guess. I think I'm still working out how I feel about politics.) And maybe this can be said about every side. But it is a basic assumption that you are right and everyone else is wrong. When in fact different things work for different people. And it is impossible to give your opinion of life to someone else.

As I write this I can see contradictions in my own logic. I am a huge component (is that the right word, I don't think so) for Scientific fact over anything else. I am skeptical about things like yoga and crystals and any other sudo-scientific things, or what I like to call "Crap." But by my own logic who am I to say that other people are wrong just because science works for me.

But I think I'm ok with that. Contradiction or no, I'm (and when I say "I'm" I probably should say science is) right and crystals don't do anything. This might be my problem with philosophy. There is no room for inconsistencies or contradictions in an argument. Real life is full of inconsistencies. Nature always contradicts itself and is full of superfluous parts. (Biggest argument against intelligent design is that the human body is terrible designed. We have so much crap in our body that hasn't had a purpose for millions of years.)

(I think I've lost myself. If you can make sense of this that's pretty amazing. But my head is much clearer so my goal was accomplished. I'm feeling better. I'll go now and try to put a dent in my to do list. First, maybe a story about fantasies. Then a paper on twitter. Then an article on a hole in the street. The life of a possible General Assignment Reporter, pretty sweet isn't it.)

Silver Sears Tower

2009-02-25T13:01:00.003-06:00

The Sun-Times reported that the owners of the Sears Tower are thinking about recovering it with reflective stainless steal in this mornings paper. The article made it seem like this was a fairly sure bet. but the Chicago Triune wrote up an article online calling the Sun-Times out.

"The Sun-Times story puts the bill for the silver makeover at $50 million and (deep down in the story) quotes an anonymous source familiar with the tower as saying: 'Right now there's not enough money in the universe for that.'"

The idea behind the new Sears Tower skin is to save money and be more green. The Tribune doesn't seem to think so. They even go as far as to link back to the original Sun-Times article in, what I think looks like, an attempt to show the Sun-Times Spotty reporting.

The article is a bit misleading. It does sound like the owners are considering the change, but I don't think that means the Tribune should so blatantly call the Sun-Times out. Or maybe it does. As I write this I'm beginning to wain. Misleading articles and half-truths should be outed so people think twice about doing it themselves. Shotty journalism does hurt everyone. I don't know. Discuss.

Here are the two articles in question:
Sun-Times
Tribune

Ocelot!!

2009-02-21T17:33:00.002-06:00

(Picture found here)

So Cute!!! Baby Ocelot. Thanks to Richard Kostelanetz for writing a thing about ocelots that made me look them up on Google. He sent in a thing for New Stone Circle. Good on him.

View from the Second City (Lake Ice)

2009-02-20T20:15:00.002-06:00

(This is my second column published in the paper. It was published on Tuesday.)

The beach close to my apartment turns white in the winter. Snow replaces the sand and cold pidgins and seagulls replace the crowds of summer swimmers. The fresh water of the lake freezes and extends the beach about 30 feet farther out. Walking along the edge of the water it soon becomes apparent that if it was summer and not cold and you were standing in this exact spot, the water would be over your head. The first few feet of lake is sallow enough to freeze on its own, but after 10 feet or so, the water will only freeze when the waves splash up onto the ice. The rest turns into mountains of ice formed little by little with each wave.

I braved the below freezing temperatures the other day, to see the beach. I prefer it in the winter. I think it is much more beautiful. And the waves seem much more savage. I walked through the knee-high snow to the stone edge over looking the lake. The pier, where I sat last year to watch the 4th of July fireworks, was covered in an inch of ice. Carefully, I walked to the edge of the ice embankment overlooking the water. It was slippery and I walked carefully out onto it. To my left was thinner ice and to my right was a 10-foot drop to the water, which probably was about another 10 feet to the lake bottom. If I slipped I would have been in the cold, cold water with no way out. So I stood perfectly still and watched the waves crash on to the ice. Normally in the winter, the water is rough and would be shooting up past my head. But that day was especially calm.

The lake in the wintertime makes me think of my childhood on the farm. I would play in the snow in our back yard with my older brother. Or we would walk to the family woods. Our farm, between White Heath and Monticello, was wonderfully alone. In the wintertime I could see my breath in the crisp clear air and the only sound I could hear were my boots crunching in the snow.

It is all but impossible to be alone in the city, even on the coldest day of the year. I get as close to alone as I can at the beach in the winter. My childhood self would think I was crazy for wanting to regain that feeling, Chicago was a place of excitement in my young mind, which it still is. But sometimes the excitement can become too much and all I need in the world is the natural silence of my boots crunching the snow.

I'm tired

2009-02-14T01:11:00.002-06:00

Again I'm going to rush through a post because I don't want to go supper long without posting something. And this one will probably be kind of weird and stream-of-consciousnessy.

Today at work I stuffed some envelope. And I felt pretty good about it because they were congratulatory letters of acceptance. I had a part in giving these kids an education. Granted there are many many more people who have bigger roles and deserve much much more credit then me, but I would like my credit that I think is due.

I'm also getting a lot of things done that have been hanging over my head. Two articles for Monday's paper and a few class assignments. I'm also almost done with the book I need to read.

Good for me all around, I'd say.

A bit of . . . I guess they call it Navel Gazing.

2009-02-05T23:25:00.000-06:00

As the second week of my semester comes to completion . . .

I wanted to get another quick post done. I fear my life will become too hectic and busy to keep much of a regular schedule going. Perhaps only the odd "View from the Second City" and torch article will be posted over the next few months. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time for a cute picture. But I don't think I will be able to write a huge amount, which is a shame because I need all the practice I can get.

Why is it that when I tell anyone my choses educational path and future profession, they all tell me how bad the media is? Does this happen with any other job. Doctors I guess. People are always telling them why they are wrong. Why they know better. Who else?

I've been considering where I want to end up. One of my classes, War and Media, has me intrigued. I'm reading "The First Casualty," for the class. An historical look at war correspondence. I've never really considered that, but I don't know. The book talks about the "first" war correspondence, William Howard Russell. He really wasn't the first, he is just remembered better. "Russell covered teh war between Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, the American Civil War, the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, the Paris Commune, and the Zulu War of 1879. He helped to topple the British government, was indirectly responsible for the employment of the first war photographer, and helped keep Britain from intervening in the American Civil War. He was appointed a Knight of the Iron Cross, an Officer of the Legion of Honour . . ." and on and on and on. If I got 1% of what he did done, I would be very happy with myself.

Some how politics keeps pulling on me and peaking my interest. I've always said I don't want to go near that crap hole. To much heartache and not enough gratitude. But it's interesting. The stories can be epic. And I think the public needs to know the secret--the whole things is a game. Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on merit between the hours of 9 and 5. More like 10 and 3 Monday-Thursday. Then at the bar no body cares. Same thing with Journalists. The job is just a job and everyone is a friend with a beer in your hand. I once told Chris that maybe I wanted to be "a corespondent to the insane." They are the ones who most need understanding and have the biggest obstacle--a different language of the mind.

Politics is the ultimate in insanity and maybe they need me to translate. (I don't often get so high on myself. Maybe I'm just tired. Please don't judge me for this.)

I don't really know anything that I want to do beyond go to bed right now.

Good night all.

View from the Second City (First column)

2009-01-29T11:11:00.002-06:00

(I wrote this after Christmas, and it was published in this weeks Journal Republican, the newspaper from my hometown. It's the beginning of my monthly column comparing Chicago and Monticello/White Heath. I hope to show everyone that it's not so different.)

Most people think Chicago greets commuters with heavy traffic and billboards but I prefer to wait until I see the el for the first time to welcome myself to the Second City. The train system is the cities bloodline and when you drive North on Interstate 57 it pops out of the ground like an animal. The roar silenced by the passing cars.

The el splits into several lines named for colors. Each line cuts through the different neighborhoods linking the diverse people and places.

Mine is the Red Line. It runs from the North Side down to the South Side and soaks up the intricacies of each neighborhood in between. It goes from tunnels to street level between the interstate; then back underground and final becomes elevated again after downtown.

The Brown Line circles downtown, creating “the loop,” and then runs northwest. The Blue Line links the west side with downtown and then goes back west. Each line has its own feel, its own personality.

I grew up outside of White Heath, but I now live in Chicago on the North Side. It is hard, sometimes, to know which is my home. I am comfortable in Chicago, but my roots are in the country.

After an emotional Christmas break my mother drove me back to Chicago--back home. I love the drive North on 57. The monotonous interstate drive is broken up by a few surreal oddities: the 20 foot tall Abraham Lincoln, the Kankakee hand clutching the world. It reminds me of our Midwest humor, dry and spars and often very strange.
Unfortunately, on this drive I missed the Lincoln because of a semi we passed at the exact wrong time.

Clouds covered the skyline until after we first saw the Red Line. I prefer the skyline coming from the South. Maybe because my first glimpse of Chicago was from this angle or maybe because the buildings look more compacted than the usual picture from the East.

The lake greets me after we pass the Bears’ playground. My first lake sighting tells me that I am finally home. We just have a little more to drive on Lake Shore before I am technically there, but I already feel good. It has been a while since I had a visit that lasted longer than a weekend. It was nice to be in Piatt County for so long, but I am glad to be back to my life.

Second Practice Onion Article

2009-01-24T16:33:00.002-06:00

(I think this one is a little better. It's longer at least.)

Obama's Economic Stimulus Plan Includes Obama Memorabilia

President Obama announced Friday that Obama memorabilia will account for nearly 20% of his $900 billion stimulus plan.

"We are struggling as a country. Parents can not provide for there children because they have lost their jobs. It is the Government's responsiblity to provide for its citizens and that is why I am signing this stimulus package with 200 thousand 'January 20th, 2009 commemorative plates,'" Obama said in his speach on Friday.

The package also includes 2 million silver dollars with "Obama's likeness embossed on the front," 100 thousand Obama bobble heads and 30 thousand January 20th Inauguration plaque with Obama's speech "etched into 24 karate gold."

The plan is meant to help out the nations failing QVC economy. "QVC is the cornerstone of the American economy. If we don't help now, Americans all over the country will no longer be able to buy worthless junk over the phone," Obama said on Friday.

Sandy Wallis, a retired teacher from Greenwich NY, says she supports the plan. "I would hate to see QVC disappear. I bought this Hello Kitty diamonique sterling pendant for only $79, with five easy payments. And that's something you can wear anywhere."

While the QVC plan is becoming very popular with the public, Economists and Republican Senators both say they see flaws.

"We all want to support the bobble head initiative," said U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). "But I think we need to do more. We need to also help the falling Sky Mall stocks and keep Sharper Image from bankruptcy. Our nation's crap economy is suffering a crises and QVC alone can not be its sole supporter."

Ill-Fated Attempt to Write Like The Onion

2009-01-22T21:11:00.005-06:00

(This is practice for my dream job at the Onion. I think I might have to work at it more. Is it funny at all? Some constructive criticisms would be much appreciated. It's a lot harder to make up the news then I thought.)

Sign Language Interpreter Mocks Representative During Speech

Stephen Dorr, congressional sign language interpreter, stopped interpreting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and started making fun of him at Thursday's Congressional meeting.

"Look at this Douche. Does he even know what he is talking about?" signed Dorr.

McCarthy was speaking on the "importance of the detection of early childhood disabilities." To which Dorr signed, "I'm sure he knows all about early childhood disabilities." And then he added, "Oh right, that's what he is talking about . . . early childhood disabilities. What a Douche."

In an interview during the congressional break, Dorr said he was tired of listing to "blow-hards" and wanted to make his friends laugh.

"Really, I don't even think anyone was paying attention," Dorr said.

Samantha Renaldo, a deaf woman sitting in on the meeting with a tour, said she didn't even notice.

"I think I might have fallen asleep when he was talking," Renaldo said.

When asked his thoughts, McCarthy said, "He did what now?"

I Love TED Talks

2009-01-15T22:14:00.004-06:00

TED Talks is basically a podcast of smart people talking about smart things. It's on the specific side of the spectrum. Where as when I am watching it I am on the general side. Speakers at TED know everything about one subject while I am gaining a tiny bit of information on a huge amount of subjects.

I drew up an interesting kind of document depicting this.

Here are a few of my favorite TED Talks:
A surprising parable of foie gras
The stories and song of Appalachia
Where have the bees gone?
How things in nature tend to sync up
Who is General Tso? and other mysteries of American Chinese food
Understanding comics
The art of baking bread

Cute!!!

2009-01-13T14:13:00.002-06:00

(I got this picture from acmaurer on twitter. I don't know where she got it.)

One of those Heavy Issues I Teased Earlier or 100 Post!!

2009-01-10T15:23:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking about where the media is heading. That Publish2 contest was part of it. (I think I lost that by the way. Oh Well.) But even before that I've been a little concerned about the future.

I'm definitely not part of the old media who is scared of change, but I'm also not part of the opposite side of the spectrum. I don't worship at the alter of the Internet. I see it's problems and I see how to fix it. Not to stroke my own ego, but I think that might have lost me the contest. Publish2 is 100% into the internet, and I wrote about how that's not necessarily the best thing to do. (Please don't take this as me bashing on the website or upset about loosing.)

But, like everything else good in the world, the internet is far more complicated than most people like to think.

A lot of people often argue about the use of advertising in the media. The argument is that advertising will effect the news. Meaning: If a company advertises in a newspaper, the newspaper is less likely to report on bad news about that company.

This is a flawed argument by people who don't know the inter-workings of a newspaper office. Advertising and Reporting are two separate sections of the office. Reporters don't know what ads will be used and advertisers have no idea what the news will be. And no one knows what the finished product looks like until they read there newspaper. There are moments in history where this balance was corrupted, but too few to be anything but exceptions.

The interesting part of new media is also what I have the biggest problem with. A lot of these podcasts and what-not are produced by one person or at most a small group. This destroys the balance perfected by years and years of the old media. Now the reporter, director, writer, and advertiser are all the same person.

A few podcasts I listen to do advertising like early television. When they would stop in between stories to talk about cigarettes, "Ohhh-that smooth flavor." And then go back to the show.

The biggest problem I see with new media is that the internet wants to forget the lessens old media learned long ago. Maybe like a teenager, the internet needs to learn the lessons for its self. And old media needs to let go and hope the growing-pains doesn't kill it.

View from the Second City: Beginnings

2009-01-09T14:40:00.003-06:00

I've got a column in a paper.

It's a monthly column in the Journal Republican, my hometown weekly newspaper. I'm calling it "View from the Second City." Most people live in a small town because they don't like big cities and I'm trying to literarlaraly (*made up word) show the similarities between Chicago and Piatt county.

I'm pretty excited about it. I'll post them after they are printed so everyone can see.

3-2-1--Blast Off

2009-01-03T19:51:00.004-06:00

My little brother just started to get into rockets, like I did when I was his age. This morning we took his bright orange two stage rocket out to shoot off. At first it didn't go off, but then after a new set of engines it shot off with a "PPPPHHHUUUSSSHHHH."

Yesterday, I noticed he left his rocket out with engines intact. And next to the fire place. That's my brother the safety expert. I told him I didn't want to see him grow up to be the NASA launch person. His response, "That red flashing light . . . it's fine."

The first stage went off and feel away. And then we lost the rocket in the sky. It literally disappeared. We looked all over and we couldn't find it. We found the first stage, but the main rocket is lost . . . perhaps it made it to orbit.

Something Not-So-Cute

2008-12-31T00:13:00.003-06:00

(Picture is from here)

Can you believe people actually dress there dogs like this? Look at its face. It's just so ashamed.

Anyway, I was just writing something because I haven't written something in a while. This dog is not so cute. More sad. But I thought I would put it up anyway. Having to much of a break makes me a little rusty.

I had a good Christmas, as I hope everyone who celebrates it did, too. Went to Texas to visit with family. Played some pool and saw a steer and drank some wine. Other things too, but to hard to remember. Fun time.

I've been thinking about some heavy things lately. A few topics to bring up here, but that is for another time. Tonight, I just wanted to touch base and show this dog who may or may not have tried to bite through its own wrists after this picture was taken--just to end the humiliation.

The Battle of the Bureaucracy

2008-12-18T13:14:00.003-06:00

For the last month or so I have been working hard to get my Magazine, New Stone Circle (everyone should go look at it), not-for-profit status. It is really hard to move through the crap--file this here, give this place $50, mail this 500 page report here. It's a lot of bureaucracy to move through. I wouldn't have even started if it wasn't for this website I got from the nice people at CHIRP (you should go there, too).

I thought maybe I should keep track of my escapades with my blog. Unfortunately, now I'm almost done. I hope. But if anyone is looking into making that sort of company, you should definitely look at this website. It is a tremendous help. There are a few things missing. Nothing I didn't figure out by completing the step before, but it was a little unnerving to not know something was coming up.

I still can't shake the feeling that I am doing something completely wrong. I'm afraid that I'm accidentally creating like a hundred cooperations I will have to pay taxes on. Or maybe I'm hiring illegal immigrants in a sting operation I am unaware of.

Let's hope none of that is true.

So far all I have left to do is apply for tax exemption. I'll let you know what becomes of it. Hopefully I'll be done soon and will then be able to move onto more important things.

Cute!!! (It's been a while)

2008-12-17T15:54:00.002-06:00

Publish2 Contest and Other News . . . um . . . news

2008-12-17T14:13:00.003-06:00

Above is a badge with a link to my entry in the Publish2 contest. I think it's pretty good and I am pretty proud of myself. If you would please read it and rate it, I would be much obliged. (That's something people say, right?) While I would love it if you agreed with me and rated it high, please don't feel like you have to. If something doesn't look right tell me. I would like to have a discussion on this topic.

Also besides holding contests, Publish2 is a pretty cool social networking/news aggregator/something-something new media. I have been trying it out for a week or so and I still don't have it all figured out. It seems pretty big and a little confusing. Let me know what you think about that, too.

Comment. Comment. Comment. Please.

Well that didn't take long . . .

2008-12-11T11:29:00.003-06:00

Forget my old post saying Chicagoans are walking around happy. Our dear fearless leader Gov. Rod Blagojevich ruined that right quick. Here is the Chicago Tribune's covearge (Keep in mind, Blago tried to get the editorial board fired so they have a bit of a bone to pick with him. Not that any of this is a lie. Just keep it in mind.)

Any good-will collected by my city, from the last election, has been broken by our Gubernatorial foul mouth. Sure it's sad to see our state become the butt of so many jokes, but what I find most insulting is that our elected official sounds like a 10 year old just out of ear shot from his parents.

It's interesting to note, the day after the Presidential election was sunny and clear and happy. The day after the Governor's perp-walk was dingy, cold morning. Is the universe trying to tell us something? No, not at all. The weather and our political system have nothing to do with each other. It's just interesting to note.

Graffiti

2008-12-03T15:06:00.006-06:00

I saw this outside my window the other day and felt compelled to photograph it. The building used to be a home for the old, I think. But a few months ago, before it got cold, they tore it down to build some big condos.

People who are bothered by Graffiti tend to explain their feelings with one of two categories. The Broken Window syndrome: in which a broken window left unattended will lead to gradually harsher crimes. There has been scientific research to back up this idea.

Or

Graffiti artists use other people's property as there own canvas.

But, when the building is sitting destroyed for months, what is there to complain about.

The person who owns the building obviously don't care about the original building or they wouldn't try to replace it. And if a broken window leads to other crimes, what would could a broken building lead to?

I guess I'm just making a leap of faith. I have not heard anyone complain about this graffiti, but I'm sure someone dislikes it. This is really just some thoughts running through my mind. And also taking the pictures was an exercise in moving outside of my comfort zone.

Anyone else have thoughts?

My blog is huge.

2008-12-03T14:30:00.002-06:00

I just noticed a huge jump in people looking at my blog (well, huge, really it was a jump from 10 a day to 35 today).

Anyway turns out someone from the webecoist.com linked a picture back to me. They found the really cute picture of the Mexican Walking Fish on my blog and cited me. Like I was a real expert on cute things.

Looks like a pretty good article. And hello everyone coming from the webecoist.com. Can y'all fit?

World of Goo

2008-12-01T13:14:00.003-06:00

This weekend I've been home for Thanksgiving and my Birthday. I've been able to hang out with my younger brother Ellis. The other day, Ellis bought World of Goo for his Wii. He put it pretty well when he said "This is the best game ever!"

Maybe not the "best game ever," but it is Pretty Fucking Close.

In the game, you move these little balls of goo that connect to each other to make structures. The structures need to be strong enough to travel to a pipe that sucks up any extra goo's. It's a really simple idea that is designed really well.

Each level is nicely even. I have yet to hit a level that is so hard it stops being fun, but they're not too easy ether. The writing is great, too. The mysterious sign maker keeps making signs that continue the story line. The signs are funny and self deprecating. And they lovingly poke fun at the gaming community and Internet culture.

My only complaints are really only annoyances that come from this type of game play. There are little fireflies flying around that reverse time to go back a turn; they are incredibly easy to hit accidentally. And sometimes, in the excitement of the game, it is easy to pick up the wrong piece of goo. When the structure of your goo tower is failing, it can be a little frustrating to pick up a water goo when you wanted a green one.

I would like to see more downloadable content from them, with new levels and new goo's. The game is a little quick (I think I have 2 more levels left). But it is fun.

I just want art in my mailbox.

2008-11-17T14:59:00.002-06:00

I don't think I have talked about this before, but in the last few months I have been working on a project. It is not anywhere near completed but I do need your help.

For years, my mom worked on her own Literature magazine. I have decided to take it over and make it my own. So far we (me and some friends/editors) have our website up NewStoneCircle.org. Like it says, we are far from the printing press, but we are looking for submissions. Send us your work (Look at our submission guidelines for what and where to send). Tell friends who like to write or draw, maybe they would like to submit. Send us a donation (we are in desperate need of some money before we can get to much more). But you might want to wait for us to get nonprofit status so it's tax deductible for you. Just help us out and we promise to bring you something very enjoyable in the very near future.

I'm really excited about this and I can't wait to read your stories.

Bulls Testicles and Pig Blood

2008-11-14T18:55:00.003-06:00

I assume the title will make everyone dry heave. I'll give you a moment.

. . .

Done? Good.

I'm interested in why most people would have such a problem eating this type of food. There are cultures who don't see a problem with eating the balls of a male cow. A few generations ago, you would have seen nothing wrong with it ether. Something has changed to make parts of the animal like blood a taboo.

I think it comes from our gradual movement to an urban society. We rely on other people to deal with our food. In the past, people who wanted to eat some bacon had to go out and kill the pig first. Now people who want bacon just have to cross the street and pick up shrink-wrapped and precut bacon.

Now, people are soft (a phrase I would rather not use, but just might have to). The idea of killing an animal is so disturbing because it has been bred out. When it was second nature, we didn't waste any part of the animal. Blood and organs were not offensive like they are now.

I have never been one to become nostalgic for a bygone day, and I'm not doing so right now. I am more arguing for new experiences. I'm not talking from experience, myself. I have not killed my own animal; seen an animal slaughtered; or even gotten to know an animal and found it on my dinner table. But It seems like a more healthy life. Perhaps watching death would make us think twice about what we eat.

The Reader has a great article in this weeks paper, kind of about this issue.

I'd like to be able to experience this for myself. It's sounds like a of part of the slow food movement, which is something I've been skeptical about. Maybe I'm changing my mind.

The Call

2008-11-10T11:37:00.002-06:00

I just got a call from some guy. When I answered he said "Hunny?!?" I said hello again. "Who is this?" he asked clearly befuddled and a little mad.

Do you think he thinks his "Hunny" is cheating on him. One can only hope, hmm.

Cute! Part Deux

2008-11-06T17:50:00.003-06:00

About a year ago, I found a picture of some sort of swimming salamander/fish with legs/smiling cuteness. I didn't know what it was or if it was even real, but I figured it should be on my blog.

Here's the picture if you don't remember.

Today I found this article on Digg.com. Apparently, it is real and it's called Axolotls (ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) or "Mexican walking fish." And treehugger.com says the Axolotls "is seriously threatened with extinction because of habitat destruction and water pollution."

Hell of a Day to be in Newspapers

2008-11-05T18:09:00.002-06:00

Update: The first run of Chicago Tribune's paper yesterday was at 690,000 copies, with a rerun of 410,000 extra copies, said the Tribune. Today, they will sell more copies at convenience stores. Here's the link.

I don't think there is an unclaimed copy of the Tribune, Sun-Times or Red Eye left in the city. And I wanted to read today's paper. Ok ok and maybe I wanted to keep something as a memento.

I heard that they were selling reprinted copies downtown at the Tribune Tower. I went down and ran into this . . .

They said they were selling posters of the front page for $3 and something just came over me. Money exchanged hands and I was told there would be a 10 minute wait for the actual paper. I waited with about 50 other people inside what can only be called the Gothic Cathedral of my kind. A huge room with high ceilings and notable quotes of famous journalists written into the walls.

After a 15 or 20 minute wait a woman came in calling out that the truck was on the bridge. Her declaration met with applause. The truck rolled up and a few burly men ran in with papers in hand.

Really I just wanted to read the newspaper.

Second City Syndrome

2008-11-05T11:34:00.003-06:00

Last night we all watched history being written. I could almost see myself telling my grandchildren what I was doing when Obama was elected President. But the intricacies of the historical context should be discussed in another blog, by another more knowledgeable person. I can only talk about what I know best: living in Chicago and feeling inadequate.

Today, November 5th, is the happiest day for Chicago. Today seems brighter, the air smells better, people are more polite. People don there Obama '08 T-Shirts and walk around smiling. I was on the bus today and people were laughing. The bus driver was joking with the passengers.

This city has always been talkative. Chicago is a Midwestern sensibility with a large population. Strangers will always tell you what they do or do not like about you. But todays seemed less crabby; less of the do not and more of the do. This comes from the destruction of what is called the Second City Syndrome.

The Chicago contradiction is that we think the Midwest consists of only Chicago, but we think we are always second best. "Where Chicago goes, Illinois goes," probably should be our mantra. But we will never meet the expectations of a New York or a San Fransisco.

This is how we Chicagoans think, but our minds are changing. Last night we saw the countries newest President Elect give his acceptance speech in our backyard. We saw our beautiful city on TV sets across the world. Obama is a person who cut his political teeth helping make the South Side a better place to live and he calls Chicago his home.

Chicago has always been on the map, but now it is in our minds. Now we can see what a wonderful city it really is.

Zombies and Reality TV

2008-10-31T21:43:00.002-05:00

In my small sample of British TV I've been able to digest, I've noticed a recurring theme. It seems the British like there TV with heavy meta aspects. Last year, I think, I watched a bit of a show I can't quite remember about the writers of another show, that I can't quite remember. This week has another meta mini-series, Dead Set. Basically, 28 Days Later if it took place on The Big Brother set.

Zombies and Reality TV, that sounds awesome. The show seems to ask if you want Reality TV stars to be some of the last humans alive in the Zombie apocalypse. It doesn't seem like it.

Over all this show is great. It's scary and jumpy when it when it needs to be. (I've been watching it late at night with the lights off and my stomach hurts from being tensed so much) The only problem I have is the over use of the trendy shaky cam technique. It makes sense in a chase scene but when characters are being develop the camera man with Parkinson's probably shouldn't shoot the scene.

The series only ran for this week and ended today on Halloween. So far I've only watched through the 3rd episode.

The first episode blew me away. And maybe because it was so good, the next two episodes seemed to be like a parody of the show. Not that it was funny, it just didn't hit as completely as the first episode.

I definitely love watching it. And I want more like it.

iPod Games

2008-10-30T11:59:00.005-05:00

I downloaded and paid for my first real iPod game a little while ago: Square Enix's Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes. This seems like the only real game for the iPod video, too.

You play as Ziggy, who is a Conductor and creates Tune Troopers to fight against evil robots. Zero, your brother, gets kidnapped and you need to save him. So you wait five years and then go out to find him. If I was Zero I would be a little pissed if my brother waited five years before saving me. Really? That's an awful long time.

The cool, kind of trap of the game is you use the songs on your iPod to make Tune Troopers. This is why I bought the game. I wanted to see how this worked. Unfortunately, it really seems to be randomly generated characters. The tempo or volume level of the song doesn't seem to effect the type of fighter created.

The controls are god awful, too. The iPod click wheel was not made to be used this way. It's clunky when it's inconvenient and slippery, too. Basically, the iPod touch would have a better control system, but it's not made for the touch. And I don't know why.

The story is solidly an RPG story. Robots try to take over the world and humans need to fight back. Only one person has the ability to fight back and he must save all the good in the world. Beyond that the RPG is really simple. It's not good but it's not bad either. Or it is bad, but it's on the freaken' iPod.

Over all the game sucks, but for $5 it's nice. Also it's nice to play on the bus when I have an hour to kill and 50 strangers in my personal space.

TV Shows

2008-10-26T19:30:00.002-05:00

I've been watching The Clone Wars. I assume it's the Cartoon Network show fallowing the movie that recently came out. It's entertaining, and the animation is ok. What's fun about it is you can see the cannon from in between the main movies. What's annoying is that there are a lot of stupid jokes. Droides and any unimportant characters are always saying something quick-whited and cutesy.

Also,

I wrote about a pretty good British show called Life on Mars a long time ago. Now, in the great American TV way, Life on Mars has been transformed into an slightly crappier American show. The first episode was basically a shot for shot recreation of the first British episode, except it was based in America. There is really no need for this show, but it is.

Windy City Comicon

2008-10-26T15:07:00.002-05:00

I went to the First annual Windy City Comicon.

I guess Chicago is big enough to have its own Comicon. Why not earlier?

It was fun if not a little small. Seriously, only one guy dressed up like a storm trooper? Does it really count as a Comicon then?

I bought 3 comics for myself for $1 each. I honestly went there not wanting to spend any money but only a $1 for a comic book . . . and I had 3 in my pocket. Sounds like kismet to me. I got one "Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD,""The Invincible Iron Man" #153 and "New X-Men" #130.

Keep in mind I know nothing about comics. I didn't grow up reading them or even read them in high school, when a nerd is supposed to come into his own. (Maybe this means I can't call myself a nerd anymore)

All and all, I had fun and I'm glad I could go. Good on Chicago for getting a Comicon and becoming a real city.

Fat Suit

2008-10-17T16:06:00.002-05:00

What is it about famous Black comedians in there 40's, that compels them get into a fat suit for comedy. I watched D.A.G.'s new Comedy Central show, Chocolate News, the other night. I thought it was going to be a humerus African American perspective on the news today. Sort of a Colbert Report only less white.

I was excited for that. And it started out pretty good, with a funny rant about Hip-Hop being dead. But then he brought out the makeup and body prosthetics. Maya Angelou one minute, some old guy the next, a gross rapper after that. Really?

David Alan Grier was funny. Why does he need to make the same noise dive into concrete as Eddy Murphy?

This could have been good, too. It could have extended the Daily Show/Colbert Report hour into an hour and a half Chocolate News/Daily Show/Colbert Report news explostion. Instead Fat Suits.

Michael Moore's "Slacker Uprising"

2008-10-04T15:45:00.002-05:00

I watched Michael Moore's "Slacker Uprising" the other day. The movie is free to download iTunes for now. And everyone seems to think it's great to see big name movies online for free.

In my youth I was really into Michael Moore/liberal/Bush-bashing. I probably considered myself a punk and I think I liked to finally have the ability to say no. "No, I don't like the President's opinion," I would have said many times not really knowing what his opinion really was. (Not that I agree now, but I know more then before)

So I liked Moore's books and movies. I went to see Fahrenheit 911 and enjoyed it. I wrote an embarrassingly biased report on Moore in high school. I thought I was sticking it to the man.

That all being said, this movie is awful. It's boring. It's slow.

All it is is a camera following Moore on his Slacker Uprising tour, 60 cities before the 2004 election. He rails against everyone. It's everyone else's fault. The media is biased, conservatives are honorable, the public is stupid. These are the feelings I get from the movie and I think I'm just tired of that.

It's also a little annoying to think that the money he gets from even one speech probably paid for the production coast. That doesn't make me feel great about it being distributed for free. It makes me feel worse that eventually someone will pay money.

2008-09-28T13:19:00.006-05:00

In my few years of learning what Journalism is, I've stumbled upon this truism that works for both Journalism and Science. Journalism, and Science, is the search for truth. Science being the truth in the natural world and Journalism the truth in everything. Why, if they are so closely identifiable, do they not work well together?

The controversy most famous in the last few years, that made my heart bleed from the journalistic incompetence shown by many in the media (which is a bloated term I hate using), is Global Warming. While liberal and conservative pundits, politicians and people on the street argue over if its real, scientists know for a fact that it is. Conservatively its not as clear cut if it was our fault or if we can do something about it. But the constant debate over weather or not Global Warming is real spreads the untruthful idea that it is a matter of opinion.

Recently, another debate raged around the scientific community and I had a conversation with someone that made me think about this issue. A few weeks ago the Large Hadron Collider was turned on. The debate over mini-black holes made national news. The conversation I had was with someone who worked in the Media for a long time. We started to talk about the LHC during class and he said something about how it could destroy the world. I raised my hand and said "But to be fair, no Scientists actually believe that will happen." And he said that I should listen to NPR. This made another student question why turn on the LHC if there is even the possibility of a problem. To answer her, there is no possibility. The black holes are too small to do anything and the reaction happens naturally anyway.

The idea that a Scientific debate needs two sides sounds right, but can be very wrong. Science is always right according to the evidence available and an opposing opinion can be only based on faith. While its not wrong necessarily, faith is not science.

No one is really at fault here, everyone is just using the same flawed information. But if the idea of Journalism is to spread truth, then any non-truth ultumitly destroys Journalism.

This is a bit text heavy and sounds a little conspiracy theory-y so here is the cutest thing ever.

WaMu Buy Out

2008-09-26T13:57:00.003-05:00

I live catty corner to a WaMu bank. This morning I walk out and see this. I thought "Aw crap. WaMu failed didn't it?." I took this picture at about 10:40a.m. At 1:00p.m. people were still there.

JPMorgan Chase bought there assets for $1.9 Billion from FDIC, said Chicago Tribune.

It's almost like I'm a real Journalist.

2008-09-17T17:30:00.002-05:00

I wrote an article for my School newspaper. It's right here if anyone wants to read it. I wouldn't mind if you did.

Cartoons

2008-09-12T16:01:00.002-05:00

I love cartoons. I'm talking something different from Animation, which I also love. Cartoons are animations specifically made for children to enjoy. A good cartoon makes me feel like I felt when I was a child. That's a good feeling to have on occasion, so some Saturday mornings I just want to sit down and watch what ever comes up. A few Saturdays ago I did. These where some of the worst cartoons I have ever seen.

I feel like I need to repeat myself.

These where some of the worst cartoons I have ever seen.

These where awful, even worse then the commercials for toys everyone seems to like to say they loved. The stories where bad, the animation was bad, the songs where god awful which sounded like they took 5 seconds to write.

I realize that these arguments could be placed on cartoons from my childhood, and ones before that, and before that. But there was some good original cartoons, and there are some made now. But I feel like these where particularity bad.

Some TV I watched the other day

2008-09-09T17:19:00.002-05:00

I watched a few shows the other night, to relax before my busy day that is today. Two made me really excited.

Dexter Season premier:
This made me jump with joy. I think I'm starting to understand the people who get excited about shows I don't care about, like Gossip Girl perhaps. This show is essentially the soap opera about a serial killer. It's not really the story, it's the characters that attract me. (Which is essentially the argument for Gossip Girl I believe)

It started by recapping the last season which made me very happy. And they did a good job starting the story and ending on a huge plot point. So excited to start watching this again.

Sons of Anarchy series premier:
This show let me down so much. For the last few months a friend and I have been watching the Sopranos. It's going a little slow, just about done with the first season now. It is an amazing show. I love the characters and the story and the idea of good vs. evil (which doesn't exist) I also love that my friends and I talk about the characters like they are real people.

I wanted Sons of Anarchy to be the Sopranos on motorcycles. I'm sure the creators wanted this too, but they did not deliver at all. The characters seem to be very flat. Everyone is bad except for the main character who wants to get out of the life.

There doesn't seem to be much based on reality story-wise. People let things happen that probably wouldn't happen.

With S of A there is nothing new. The same with Dexter but in a good way.

History of Food

2008-09-04T22:33:00.002-05:00

This class was even better then I could have thought. The only problem, it made me incredibly hungry.

First Day of School!

2008-09-04T12:30:00.002-05:00

I just got out of my first class of the semester. Pretty good: Law and Ethics of Journalism. Now I'm waiting for my next class at 2. This is what I'm really excited about. History of Food. This seems right up my ally. I like food; I like history; I like the history of food.

My last few hours of summer.

2008-09-03T15:24:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I start classes again. This is going to be my first semester past my four years normal people go to college. I'm kind of glad this summer is almost over. When I go to classes I feel like I'm at least doing something productive with my time. But this last summer has been the biggest wast of time. Soon I will do stuff and that feels good. Hopefully I will learn new stuff.

Wired is doing something that makes me incredibly excited Storyboard is a blog devoted to complete openness for a story they are writing. It's meant to be an experiment and a nod to the topic, screenwriter and brand knew director Charlie Kaufman, but to me it's a way to learn the workings of a magazine. They will post email conversations, notes, and interviews; anything that gives a little information about the writing of the article. And I get to use it as a way to learn how to be a real journalist. Which is missing from my school teaching.

With these two things, maybe I'll make it.

GustavReporter

2008-08-31T20:46:00.000-05:00

Follow him on twitter. And while your at it follow me too. Dill9 He's sending updates from New Orleans as he hears things. A real 24 hour reporter type. This is a really interesting way of using Twitter. And a good way to keep track of Hurricane Gustav.

I think that went pretty good.

2008-08-31T12:58:00.002-05:00

I'm talking about the interview I had at the cafe. Hopefully soon I'll be doing some of this.

Or maybe this.

Finding a job is hard

2008-08-29T15:14:00.002-05:00

This is what I've found out in the last few years. As a student, I don't really have to have a job. It's not life or death. I can not spend money and save my student loans. But I've found out that there is nothing more soul crushing and depressing then not contributing anything to society. So I need to find a job.

But lately I've found out another thing. Finding a job is hard. It's a lot of work. And really depressing work, too. Some people say no and most people don't even say that. My mom (who seems to love anything web 2.0) tells me I should blog about my attempts at getting a job, a la BloggingAwayDebt.com. Which is a pretty remarkable blog about a couple who got into deep, deep debt and now want to blog out of it. Oh, the marvels of the internet.

I don't really think this would work. There really isn't much excitement in a post entitled "Sifting through Craigslist again." And I don't see much more then that happening most of the time. But maybe I could just write in this sometimes, and see what happens. At the very least it might make me feel better about doing nothing to better humankind.

I have two dream jobs at the end of two very different dream paths. But I probably could do both, if I really tried hard. One: Barista or Coffee Roaster at local Chicago, coffee shop Metropolis. It's one of the two best cafes in Chicago and my favorite place to drink coffee. Really good coffee, really good atmosphere. Two: Chicago (if at all possible) corespondent to Wired Magazine. I really love reading this magazine. I like the style and the content. And I think I could work well there. I like science, I like science things. I once had to wear a lab coat for a job and miss it so much. Man that was a cool job.

I have some experience in both these fields. I was a Barista for a year at Strawberry Fields, a hippy dippy cafe/food store in Urbana, IL. And I have been going to school for a while for Journalism.

I would need to work up to both jobs. Starting at a smaller cafe and waiting for 8 or so months then talking to people at Metropolis about a job. Or finishing school, working at local newspapers for a while and developing my resume.

Right now, I think I can do both. I can use a cafe job to get myself through college then work as a Journalist for the rest of my life. Maybe down the long line I could open my own cafe. I'm working on both. I just started writing for my college newspaper The Torch and I have an interview with a South Side cafe tomorrow.

So that did make me feel better. Sorry about the long post. I'll go back to putting up pictures of cute things tomorrow. And maybe something about my interview.

I think I owe you something cute

2008-08-28T17:29:00.003-05:00

These kittens like to dance. Or maybe they are trying to learn how to walk upright like humans. Or they are in a fight to the death and trying to claw each others livers out. What ever it is-it sure is cute.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

2008-08-27T12:40:00.003-05:00

I got this game the other day and played it for about 4 hours the other night. I would say this is both a great game and the worst game in the world. It's great: it has an interesting twist on the puzzle game and great RPG qualities. The story is only interesting enough to not skip, but the game is fun.

But it's the worst in the world because it is so fucking frustrating it brings out my Tourette syndrome. My neighbors must be a little scared every time I my guy dies.

I'm not the greatest at puzzle games, but still I shouldn't be dieing so much.

The game has a lot of strategy to it, but it seems like there is one glaring omission that kills it. The pieces fall down randomly and there is no way of knowing what is coming next. It seems like if there was a way of knowing what comes next, the whole board could be used strategically. But those are really my only grips. It's a great game otherwise.

Architecture School

2008-08-26T13:53:00.002-05:00

I like free things and sometimes iTunes gives things away for free. This makes me very happy, but I get even happier when I know what is free and when. Thanks to this I know it all.

The other day I saw that a show called Architecture School was starting, and I could download it for free. I did and I watched it and I really enjoyed it. The show fallows an Architecture class as they design houses for use in New Orleans. The best design will be built by the students in the end. What I liked so much was they didn't shy away from criticism from the community. Most people said the houses where ugly. It seems like it's a reality tv show with more reality then tv.

Obama/Biden 2008

2008-08-23T09:28:00.002-05:00

Obama is brilliant really. Hiding who he picked for a running mate turned an ordinary presidential bid into Christmas, full of wonder and excitement. Every news channel, news paper, news feed, news junky were all a flutter over who he wanted for VP. And he was there the whole time to say "I know who . . . but I'm not gonna tell you." (Not an actual quote)

I got into it myself. I spent about 8 hours yesterday on the couch with my twitter feed and my news twitter feed up (with twitter friends: the AP, CNN, Chicago Trib) because I had heard he was going to announce it then. He kind of did, but only after I gave up.

But after an entire week of free publicity, he announces Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Here is an article on the Chicago Tribune website, with a ton of information I couldn't write about unless I wanted to write my own Jayson Blair style memoir. (sorry, just a little journalism joke)

So I am very excited about this, even if I did miss the announcement when it happened.

Chirp Chirp

2008-08-21T22:56:00.003-05:00

I just got back form my meeting with CHIRP people (CHicago Independent Radio Project). It was a fun time. As I waited for it to get started an old guy on the street asked me if I knew how to make wine. I told him no.

We met in Dank Haus, a historic German building on Western and Lawrence. There were a lot of people there. And we took a big tour of the place. It's going to be the home of the CHIRP internet radio station, so we saw where the station will be, and a ball room, and a bar, and another ball room, and another bar. It looks awesome. Then we went up on the roof/balcony and saw the beautiful view. You can see most of the city from downtown on up North. And Western travails under from horizon to horizon.

All in all it makes me glad I'm a part of it. And hope I will do more.

Just a Little Trouble.

2008-08-21T10:16:00.002-05:00

I've been a little down for a while. I don't seem to be doing anything, but I guess that happens every summer when I'm out of school and don't have a job. I'm just kind of stuck in all aspects of my life. I don't have a job so I don't have money so I don't have a social life. Soon it should change but it's just waring down on me significantly lately.

I guess everyone goes through this sometimes. And sitting here complaining about it doesn't help any. I need to go out and do something about it. Which I guess I am. I should be getting a job soon.

I think most of my problem comes from a fear of failure. I don't want to look stupid so I don't do anything. And that goes against what really should happen. We learn by being stupid. And then the whole "You can't win, if you don't play the game" Bla Bla Bla. (Read with sarcastic tone)

I haven't written anything for a while for this very reason. And I have a fear that I can't get back into it. But I'll just have to get over that fear and all my fears and just do something.

This is something I have to write about every few months or else I forget. I'll go back to writing about video games or posting pictures of dogs in dresses tomorrow. I just needed to think about this today.

Video Games

2008-08-19T11:22:00.002-05:00

Two games I have been playing for the PSP.

* Every Extend Extra

* Capcom Classic Collection Remixed

I rented both from GameFly and returned them very quickly. This doesn't mean I didn't like them, I just got over them pretty quickly. EEE was a great shooter/rhythm type game. (although that doesn't really describe the game so well.) There were a few frustrating parts in the auto saving system. A few times I got far in the game and lost it when it didn't actually auto save. It would also be a better game if there were a few more game types. But these are small quibbles that don't take much from the fun game.

To a lot of people, Capcom is a big part of childhood. For me there were very few Capcom games in my early years. That being said I played this game for a while and had fun. It's a collection of a lot of early games. It is fun, but because I don't have the memories, the game didn't mean much to me.

Both are good games, but they didn't hold my attention very long.

Well I do apologizes

2008-08-18T14:59:00.002-05:00

I once said I would be a better net citizen. Apparently I lied, because I stopped posting things again. There are several things I want to do that would require me being better at writing and posting things online. And really I think the only thing stopping me is my crippling fear of being crappy.

So that's something I need to get over.

Right now I'm getting frustrated trying to figure out how to put my twitter stuff on this blog. twitter.com/Dill9 If anyone knows how let me know.

So I promise I will update regularly from now on, and keep writing more stuff.

Cute!

2007-11-28T23:35:00.000-06:00

Citizen Internet

2007-07-06T00:44:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about the internet, lately. I'm not such a good citizen of the internet. That is what I have come up with, that I'm not a good citizen of the internet. Right. I am a consumer of the internet. I read digg.com but I don't digg anything. I feel afraid of facebook and the like.

This is going to change. I'll be more of a producer from now on.

Sorry

2007-06-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

I haven't been looking at this lately. I've been busy doing other things. Heres a bear robot.

Dude, this is awesome.

2007-06-14T14:53:00.000-05:00

I really like this idea of pacmans skeleton. There are so many other video game characters that would look great as skeletons. Purhaps Yoshi, maybe Kurby (I guess that one would be primarily cartilage).

Awesome

2007-06-10T16:06:00.001-05:00

Holy Crap

2007-05-27T14:56:00.001-05:00

Americone Dream update

2007-05-24T17:41:00.000-05:00

Huzza!

I have tasted the sweet nectar that is Steven Colbert's Americone Dream. It blew my mind, which left my gut to make decisions from here on.

Here's a tip: I engect Bovine Growth Hormone directly into the ice cream. It adds that additional punch of flavor and allows me to see past time and space. I need to cut back a bit; just today I gained 500 pounds and I picked up a bus and threw it at a broken down ATM. Take that hippy, leftest Ben and Jerry.

Domonics on the corner of Foster and Sheridan, your off notice.

Cartoons!

2007-05-15T16:45:00.001-05:00

I enjoy comics and cartoons and other such mediums. I guess I like the unlimited worlds possible. I have found many to my liking and here is one more.

It is called Frenchy, Bob, and the Hat. (I wish I could put the movie directly into the post, but I can't find it so well.) I like the animator's, Dave Creek other things, too. He has a very designer website.

I enjoy the simplistic dialogue while having an incredibly deep story, and especially the realistic style of another absurdly haphazard universe. It reminds me of Dr. Seuss.

It doesn't seem to be the normal technology vs. nature story-line. In the end, the machine saves nature (as played by a cricket) from near-drowning. The inventor absolutely knows it worked, but seems a little sketchy on what it was supposed to do, meaning technology will enviably drag us into something great, without our immediate knowledge of what that greatness is.

Anyway I'm sure I'm wrong. Any other ideas?

iGoogle

2007-05-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

The other day I went to google, I use the Google homepage app so that happens every day, and I saw they had changed the logo to "iGoogle." I thought, maybe it was an anniversary for iPod or iMac or some iCrap. But it looks like they changed the name of the homepage app.

What are they doing? Are they so money rich they want to taunt the caged copyright bear? Apple has attacked with copyright suites any 'i" product or anything that sounds like an "i" product or anything that sounds like it should sound like an "i" product.

But they are Google they can do anything. They rule the world.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

2007-05-01T21:56:00.000-05:00

Mike Daisey

2007-04-23T21:51:00.000-05:00

Mike Daisey, a comedian monologer, I guess you would call him, was protested in an odd way, and he jumped back very well. It's hilarious to see him sit stunned, in his "Well I'll be." moment and then proceed to whity remarks.

Congratulations Steven Colbert

2007-04-23T12:57:00.001-05:00

americone
Originally uploaded by dillyb.

Americone Dream keeps being sold out. I still have not had any. Damn it.

The Zimmers

2007-04-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

These are my favorite people. They completely changed the meaning of the song in a good way. Not like that other girl who covered the song and changed it to "I hope I don't die before I get old." Who ever that was.