Chicago MMXII

This is like conversation 101.

Well, I think it's an interesting proposition. I listened to what both sides had to say, and each made a strong point. (Cultural heritage officially recognized for Poles/more instructional time for kids in school) Ultimately, I am not attached to the day whatsoever, so I always fall on the side of make the kids go to school. Their parents need to work and/or go to school too.

What do you think about that?

When I was in school, that was always a four-day weekend. The other day was a teacher institute day or parent/teacher conferences or something.

If they're going to have Pulaski Day off, they should get the Vernal Equinox, May Day, and The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (which was yesterday) off, too.

I am not attached to the day, but I like the idea of it so I would be sad to see it go.

dan m otm
therefore i say get rid of it -- kids need to be in school and their parents probably need to work that day.

Says "Paul Smon"

I like Pulaski Day because it is something unique to Chicago, kind of like how in Boston we got Patriots' Day off. Their needs to be more regional/local holidays.

^^^ that. It's nostalgia for something I've never experienced, admittedly. Also I like that Sufjan Stevens song.

Romantically, I am thrilled with the idea of Pulaski Day, but in reality (real everyday reality) it makes more sense to get rid of it. (I may frequently behave like a total fruitcake, but I am a practical person at heart.)

Hey so one of my students works in loss prevention for a well-known general retailer and he was telling me that there's this epidemic of people stealing Tide detergent and exchanging it for drugs? And then I looked it up and I guess it's true?

http://moneyland.time.com/2012/03/14/people-are-stealing-tide-detergent-and-using-it-to-buy-drugs/
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/12/031212-news-tide-theft-1-4/

I won't lie. If I find a black market source for Tide, I would probably take advantage of it. It's very good detergent but way too expensive.

Wait, what? How is Tide currency for drugs?

Ok I read the first link -- whoa. That is insane.

The stood's take was that since it has such recognizable branding (the logo and the orange bottle), it's really easy for strung out people to duck into a store and steal a bottle of Tide without having to put a lot of thought into it. And then since it's expensive and beloved by consumers, there's a demand for it.

I asked him what the most shoplifted thing was and he said bar soap! People steal it and then go sell it to people with tables at outdoor markets/swap meets.

(How to shoplift soap: wear two pairs of very baggy pants. Use your shoe laces to securely close the cuffs of the under pants. Drop soap down your pants until you look like Megaman (his comparison).)

I was having a conversation with some people recently about efforts to move toward a cashless society in Sweden. There was a lot of questions on how black market transactions would be made and the consensus was "gift cards", but this is even better!

Is it the prestige detergent?

Tide? I think it is. It's so vastly more expensive than pretty much any other brand name. I also think it got rated as best detergent by Consumer Reports at some point? Also my mom will not wash clothes in anything else.

Carl Agatha's Mom Seal of Approval carries a lot of weight in the drug dealing community.

I've been listening to Led Zeppelin all day and I don't know, I'm just throwing this picture of bearded, shirtless Robert Plant out here for you to enjoy as needed:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fhL7HxZlz58/TdlLCm9DBNI/AAAAAAAApAo/DwYWJh72bXk/s1600/led_zeppelin-creeps.jpg

I never *got* Robert Plant. Help me enjoy the male form?

https://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/images/medium/Robert%20Plant.jpg

^ grocery groin

http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/robert-plant/robert-plant-20071222-354335.jpg

Here's another one for you, Jesse:

http://www.bradelterman.com/2008/IMG/large/1978RobertPlant4.jpg

http://img.karaoke-lyrics.net/img/artists/11238/robert-plant-203301.jpg

Okay, I'm done.

He's got a cute face but grocery groin is gross and that hair is offputting.

Basically the 70s kill it for me.

god that must hurt his balls

in unrelated news, has anyone heard about the Bl33ding H3art Bakery controversy? I've never been there because I've heard shady things from the start & their whole thing kind of put me off from the beginning, but some of this stuff is nuts:

http://thejoeg.tumblr.com/

no one really comes off very well re: bleeding heart and that tumblr

been feeling kind of irritable and grouchy, went out to have a nice relaxing lunch break hanging out at argo tea and reading, and there was a big pro-life/anti-HHS mandate rally going on across the street :(

Ugh that is awful. :(

I wasn't following the BHB stuff, but yeah. That all just sounds very unappealing from pretty much every angle.

i'm a big fan of the 70s man

Me, too. The crotch pics were for Jesse, but the beardo pics are really where it's at.

but yeah that first groin pic looks extreeeeemely uncomfortable!!

http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/robert-plant/robert-plant-20071222-354335.jpg

I mean look. Sure, he's probably thinking about hobbits or some shit, but still.

i wish i could have that much hair flying all over the place
i also love hobbits

ultimately i would rather just BE a 70s man

back then you could fuck a girl with a shark and no one would blink an eye

sorry that was gross. i keep meaning to quit ilx and then forgetting.

The shark story is apocryphal. Also it was a long time ago. Also I chose not to dwell on it, or the fact that Led Zeppelin stole lyrics/riffs from blues musicians.

Just look at his beard. It will all be okay.

Don't quit ILX.

surely lots of 70s men were hairy AND gentle/caring AND capable of producing super heavy riffage

I had no idea about the BHB deets but had a good brunch at the Chicago/Damen one last month. Omelette with wnter squash.

1. I didn't know about BHB either. The new cafe by my office sells their baked goods and I've noticed that the product and the quality is wildly inconsistent. Ie, a variety of muffin looks and tastes different every day and sometimes they're fresh and sometimes they're stunningly dry and stale. I figured that was the cafe's fault for holding onto product too long, but maybe not. I'm going to look into the allegations against BHB and decide if I want to say anything to the cafe's manager (who last week gave me a free BHB cake ball b/c he knows me).

2. My display name got unfinested!!

3. That crotch is gross. Sorry, carl, but thanks for thinking of me.

Also re BHB: idealists fuck up business/wind up being oppressors?! shockah. :-/

BHB may be gross and awful but a tumblr of anonymous complaints with no supporting evidence is also kind of gross and awful.

also this first post is pretty embarrassing: http://thejoeg.tumblr.com/post/19467303185/this-city-needs-me

the fundraising stuff seems the most damning, it is weird that a business would be holding a fundraiser

I can kind of see (although not support) the motivation. They believe they are doing a good thing with their business, that it's not just about profits but really about a mission/message, and that it is so important that they continue with this mission/message, that they must have a fundraiser so their business can continue to exist. Like, they confused themselves for a nonprofit for a minute.

What the hell, I have never heard about this Led Zep shark incident.

Kr and I took the day off work and went to M. Henry for brunch and then a matinee of The Hunger Games. Good times.