Chicago MMXII

It might be confirmation bias since car share cars are v noticeable as a separate class of cars.

I haven't noticed, but one of Courtney's former neighbors used my being an IGo user as part of her stream of invective directed at me for blocking her car while parked to pick up something at Courtney's apartment. She said that she could tell that I couldn't handle owning a car in the city b/c I had double parked.

It's true that people who own their cars outright never double park.

I have a meeting at a place that is a little farther from public transit than I want to walk on this shit hot day so I took a delightfully cool cab ride (dark tinted windows in the back, too!) but traffic was v light and now I'm 25 min early and sitting in a hot, dusty, windy park waiting for the meeting to start or for me to die, whichever comes first.

And coughing like a consumptive thanks to The Never Ending Lingering Cough and the dust in the wind. Also I have to pee.

In conclusion, my meeting is in a 3rd floor apt w/ no AC.

The wind blowing the trees around is kind of pretty though.

Why did you not wait in a cool building instead of a hot and terrible park? Or have the cab drive you around until the meeting started. Or hold the meeting in the cab.

There were no cool buildings to which I had access in the immediate vicinity (have you ever wished there were more Starbucks in Chicago?). Too expensive. Not enough room.

Show of hands, please!

How many of you would be like to attend an event at Rev Brewing on July 29 that would involve you paying a certain amount (prob $35) and then drinking all you can hold of five different types of beers and also eating all you can eat of three types of appetizers for two hours?

If we are in town I'd be interested.

can my inlaws come? they don't drink and are not particularly good at conversation.

I would go especially if there are fancy kiddie cocktails for me.

With crazy straws.

Inlaws are welcome. Anybody can come because it's a fundraiser. Jesse I will verify that they can at least make you a Shirley Temple.

I would probably do that.

Hey, y'all. DWH here. Your words of kindness have summoned me back (however briefly) from my password-bombed login.

Morbs! Re: iO shows, I hardcore second jaymc's recommendations of TJ & Dave (probably the most consistently good improv show in town) and Cook County Social Club. Luckily, although I've been gone from Chicago for a little while now (sorry, folks!), there are still a lot of mainstays that I'm sure have maintained their quality. Revolver and Family Tree House Boat Accident are good value, and I have a lot of affection for Sears Tower. Depending on your tolerance for puppets and Elizabethan wordplay, Felt (secretly my favorite) and Improvised Shakespeare are worth checking out. Also (although I somehow doubt you'll be in town that long), I see that two of my absolute favorite people who I've worked with personally are performing in the unfortunately-named Joss WeeDone on the 9th.

P.S. I only think a very, very small handful of ILXors legit suck and I'm absolutely certain that they know who they are (and that the sentiment is shared). Y'all're good eggs.

P.P.S. Morbs, again!! I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier, but you might also want to check out a show at Annoyance Theatre. It's the oft-overlooked step-sibling of the Chicago improv Big Three (nevermind the dozen or so smaller theatres that have started getting buzz in the past couple years). I've been away too long to tell you what to see exactly aside from Messing With A Friend (Susan Messing is a great performer), but the overall ethos of the theatre is probably a little more in line with your sensibilities, I'd wager. Allow me a brief metaphor: if Second City is old school SNL and iO is current day SNL, Annoyance is probably closer to "Michael O'Donaghue scaring Catherine O'Hara away"-era SNL.

DWH, I have close to 4 of 5 days' worth of misadventures scheduled, it may be hard to make it to more than one comedy show.

"iO is current day SNL"! wasn't nearly that bad when I went 5 years ago.

Yeah, I wouldn't go see a troupe named after a "current Golden Age of TV" producer.

It was an admittedly strained and facile metaphor. iO is largely quality with a few rough patches. I mean, I studied there, so the maintenance of some incredulity is advisable.

Also, the day you stop seeing improv groups with stupid names is the day you stop seeing improv groups.

If you're planning to see TJ & Dave, it may be worth calling ahead to make sure they'll both be there (and I definitely recommend getting tickets ahead of time, as it often sells out). They occasionally have replacement players, and the replacement is often Tracy Letts. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright or no, the dude couldn't improv his way out of an imaginary paper bag. A must to avoid.

OK! I wonder how Letts' adap of Three Sisters will turn out.

http://steppenwolf.org/Plays-Events/productions/index.aspx?id=531

Well, I would be seeing TJ & Dave on July 4. Surely Mr Letts will still be monitoring his Chekhov play.

I've been to the Annoyance a few times, but I think they were all R. Buscemi-related shows. I've been meaning to check out Messing with a Friend for the longest time.

FYI of no particular importance - if anyone wants to join me, I plan to bike to the repulsive Wicker Park fest to see Dinosaur Jr (again?! again!) on Saturday night.

also dr aj how come you didn't tell us that you played el acordeón?

http://new.assets.thequietus.com/images/articles/9117/ondatropica_1340207805_crop_550x488.jpg

i don't see dino jr. on the wicker park fest site? wouldn't mind seeing screaming females though

also wicker park fest is in late july so we must be talking about different events

it is the green music fest that is this weekend with dino jr.

sorry whatever this shit is
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/green-music-fest-dinosaur-raveonettes-apteka-bailiff/Content?oid=6719568

fest is gonna be awful no matter what it's called -- i just wanna see dino jr
again

and also take a bike ride and also not sit at home alone while d is at ala conf

I guess Annoyance Theatre show has title of the year: Fuck You, I Love You, Bye: The Rahm Emanuel Story

I should be there for Dino jr. K8's fiancé plus some others might be there too.

yay, call me or if i get impatient i will call you!

Okey dokey

That accordion guy actually kind of looks like me! though he more looks like an exact cross between me and my oldest friend, which is weird.

I think Saturday night is the Colin Stetson show at Schubas which I think I'm still going to, but a Prairie Home Companion is earlier that day at Ravinia so lord knows if I'll be too tired or whatever.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-panera-adds-paywhatyoucan-cafe-in-chicago-20120620,0,4523902.story

That's pretty cool, and I will probably eat at this store to support this effort.

That's the one the next block over from my place. How about that.

Oh - That might explain why they've been remodeling and setting up a stand outside w/ coffee and pastries every morning. Cool.

I think Saturday night is the Colin Stetson show at Schubas which I think I'm still going to

That's what's going on June 23! For the last couple of weeks I've been wondering why I thought I was doing something on that day. At the moment I'm undecided, but keep me posted if you go, Eric. (Same to you, Amanda.)

(Oh wait, you just said you were going to something else that night.)

Late to this,but TJ and Dave is essential Chicago basement theater. And if it's Letts doing it, that's a story you can dine out on for years.

This museum show on gangs looks interesting (also, Daley gang deets):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0622-20120622,0,5856763.column

It's the weekend, motherfuckers.

Also, there's now a barcade in Chicago:
http://emporiumchicago.com/

did i already talk about logan hardware on here? it's a great record store, and if you spend like $20 there you get day-long access to their arcade game museum, with free plays on 20 vintage arcade machines

they even have the arcade games in a totally dark room in the back, it's great

A coworker of mine spends a lot of time there, I think. I've been meaning to check it out.

I totally want to go the barcade. 10-year-old me, meet 35-year-old drunk me.

In other news, the Fountainhead finally opened their roof deck this week and it's very nice. Though we went there when it was a hundred million degrees out. Different food menu too, which looks good.

Nice. We went to City Provisions last night -- they have summer hours until 9 now -- and finally tried their beers (all of which are collaborations with local breweries).

Do they have beer on draft now? I tend not to go to city provisions bcz cleetus and other employees are overbearingly friendly and it is a small store. plus I am vaguely convinced that cleetus is not his real name and is just an affectation.

They do have beer on draft. I got a flight of three -- a malted milk stout, a blood-orange wit, and a honey dunkel weiss. They were all pretty good, though I think I liked the wit the best -- it had some welcome spicy notes. However, the last one has the best name: Cleetus' Slackjawed Dunkel.

Interesting. Actually we have vague plans to head over there tomorrow to pick up stuff for Ravinia.