batman gets his props

A few years back, we were driving around downtown and you knew something was going on. Along with streets lined with movie trailers, they were beautifying a portion of the L-tracks and there was an burned semi-truck overturned at Grand and State. Then we saw the prop truck and the prop-master loading the dummy onto the truck. Only later did we figure out that it was the making of Batman - The Dark Knight.

Now, fast forward a few years to present . . . We went to see the Black Knight. We went for a couple of reasons. First, it seemed like a movie that needed to be seen on the big screen. Second, Fandango has a 2 for 1 deal on tickets. It was meant to be.

The movie was good. The movie was long. There were a few things that I liked. I liked the background of the characters. Don't get me wrong I love the classic, action-packed, 'Crash', 'Bam', 'Ooof' Batman tv series, but the movie built up the reason on how the characters came to be. And the new Batman does have some pretty slick gadgets to give the movie a different sort of 'Pow'. I mostly liked being able to pick out different buildings and areas of Chicago. It put some closure on one issue. I finally figured out how the semi truck got overturned. One thing still bothers me, I never did figure out where this dummy came from. Maybe one day I'll figure it out.

olympic common-tary

The Olympic games cover a wide variety of athletics. Some are more popular and easier to recognize than others. You know what basketball and even water polo are. For other events, you understand a little bit about the sport from the title, but don't quite understand all the objectives and scoring for the event. This is where the commentators come into play. Their job is the simplify the sport so that the common viewer can understand the goal of the competition. Sometimes they are too simple.

Watching synchronized diving, you hear the commentator explain the scoring. The 2 divers are judged for similarity in style, speed of rotation, angle of entry and timing of entry. The more synchronized the 2 divers are, the less deductions they receive from the dive's start value. In the slow motion film, you can begin to see what they are talking about.

After a while, the commentators lack information to share and try to add fluff or color to their dialogue. That's when the odd, Yogi Berra comments start to come out. . . 'She completely missed the dive. She is not going to score well.' That's the comment. Not how many points are going to be deducted, but the fact that she is not going to receive as many points if it has been executed perfectly. or 'They train in the same facility. This makes training (for synchronized diving) a lot easier for the them.' As if I assumed that they were in sync, and they wouldn't have to be in the same place to train together. Enlightening. Hope you are enlightened as well.

where the onion grows - part II

the rogue onion saga continues. what started as a large onion bulb to begin, has grown roots and divided into 3. From what I understand, the onion bulbs that start out round, end up oblonged. It is odd to have a torpedo shaped onion, but if it is diced up, who will know. We'll see what happens, harvest time is right around the corner.

gameworks and some games don't work

We headed over to Gameworks to play a few video games. The boys went commando and the girls went old school. I found myself reminiscing of the old days of Showbiz Pizza and wandered over to the skee ball machines.

My excitement was halted as the game refused to release the balls after I swiped the card. Then I remembered how often these machines broke down and cheated you out of tickets. After the machine was re-booted, I rolled my luck and, sure enough, as old school, luck would have it, I was also cheated out of my tickets. Maybe next time I'll be able to collect my earning. This time I just find odd comfort in knowing that some things just don't change.

need a tornado alert, watch the rodents

Sitting at a restaurant, I saw the lights flicker. Then another flicker. Across the way, I saw the Lego store lights go out for a few, long seconds. The odd light show was long enough to create panic in the eyes of the mall rat. Like any rodent, they instinctively know when something is up. The flickering lights were some sort of Morse code that sent the mall rats scurrying towards the exits.

Oblivious to the rodents flight, I continued to sit and watch as the smaller stores abruptly closed and secured their storefronts as if there was going to be a looting. It was not closing time, but something was wrong. I walked back to my exit and headed towards the car. Walking through the department store, I was warned by the teenage, loss prevention guards that I should head immediately to the shoe department to seek cover. I thought, how did he know that is where I usually seek refuge? Heeding no warning, I continued outside. The glass doors opened and I was met by a musty air and surrounded by an erie green sky. Sheets of rain and strobes of lighting filled the sky. There was a tornado warning.

According to Tom Skilling, we can blame Canada. The warm Canadian winds blew in and messed up the jet streams and created a whirlwind mess. Tom knows his meteorology. I blame Canada too and will keep a closer eye on frenzied crowds. Maybe.

the chicago guy for a day

Like a human tumbleweed, Brendan rolled into town, meandered around Chicago a bit and pushed on westward. Unlike tumbleweed, he left his mark on a few places.

Run Fontenot Run!

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, we went to see the last game of the Cubs - Marlins series. The last but not least adage holds true here. The excitement started after the 7th inning stretch when Derek Lee hit a homerun to tie the game. Then Fontenot followed with a three-run double to give the Cubs the lead and sent the already frenzied crowd through the roof with excitement. Fontenot continued his crowd pleasing moments with one of the best run down plays in MLB history, according to Pat Hughes. He actually out ran the rundown. It was the little guy that could. At the top of the ninth, Edmonds ended the game with an amazingly acrobatic catch. I am not sure if I was more impressed that he made the catch or that he was able to get up after the catch. Cubs win over the Marlins 9-6.

Dawn keeps grease and pests out of your way

Being new to the farming industry, I was not equipped to take on garden pests. Or so I thought. The other day I found some sort of insects devouring my crop. They were black with metallic wings and white spots the lined the edge of their devious butt. I figured out that they were japanese beetles. I also found out that if you have japanese beetles, you can make a non-toxic solution of dish soap and water to get rid of them. Just pick, toss and repeat. Mere water would do the trick, but adding the soap to the water keeps also helps to keep the mosquitoes away while the beetles soak.

The best part is there is no clean up. If you allow the beetle carcus to dry in the sun near the plants, the decaying carcus keeps more beetles from using your plant for a buffet. The worst part about it, it looks a bit disgusting, but that's the circle of life and the life of a farmer.

it might be, it could be, it is - the venue

After a bit of research, a few awkward situations and a lot of patience, we picked a place for the reception. It is a swanky, little joint nestled in the heart of the Gold Coast called Maxim's.

Why this place? It was the siren-like combination of the historic, art deco interiors and the debonair event coordinator dressed to impress, we just couldn't resist.



Walking down the ornate, red, velvety staircase, you feel like you've strolled back in time to the 1920's. It has a soothing, speak easy feel to it. That got me thinking. . . Wouldn't it be fun if everyone dressed up in roaring 20's couture. . . Awe, come on now. You have to admit, that 'speak easy' does have a nice ring to it. Just a thought.

A bit of archi history . . . The building, Astor Tower, was originally designed as an up-scale hotel and restaurant in 1961 by architect, Bertrand Goldberg. It is now a private residence and the restaurant was donated to the Chicago Cultural Center. Oh yes. Getting back to the architect. You know the guy's work. Just think . . . Steve Mc Queen, The Hunter and car crash. Or more recently, the Allstate commercial, where the car drives off the edge of the concrete, corn cob looking building into the Chicago River. That's the same architect.

The restaurant, now, that's another story. The interiors are the same as the original Maxim's de Paris in France. Like it's older French sister, the restaurant played host to the rich and famous. If the walls of Maxim's could talk, I bet they'd have some pretty good People, maybe even Star gossip.

So it looks like we've got our place and we'd like to make sure you have yours. Next up on the list of things to do . . . hotel accommodations. We'll keep you posted.

Death metal becomes me

We headed over to the local dive bar to meet up with a few friends and grab a drink. We had every intention to sit and soak in the familiar atmosphere. Unfortunately the pub had other intentions. I should have known that something was a rye when we had to use the back door to enter to bar.

Shortly after finding a drink and a seat at the bar, we were greeted by an on-slaught of death metal notes from the stadium-sized sound system. It was death metal night at the Pub. I now understand the difference between glam rock and death metal. Previously, I understood that glam rock was about guys wearing lots of make-up and hair product to transform into a pretty, tough rocker. I also understood that death metal was essentially more rock, more volume and more screaming. I didn't realize that the metal rock really did make you feel like metal and rocks were steam rolling your internal organs. It was weird. It just goes to show that you never know what you're going to get when you stop in at the Pub. Good times.

motovune in gasthaus

We're rockin' the suburbs. Well, maybe not us, but Motovune did. It was a good night for a show at Gasthaus. Good thing too because the band was ready to rock. I should clarify. After slight adjustments by Rich on the sound board, the band was ready to rock.

toni has roots

The rumors are true. Toni has settled down and has begun to grow some roots. We're not talking about those bad bleach blond hair roots, but roots from the purchase of her new condo. We all went over to see her new home on her first day as a homeowner. As if it were an episode of Fear Factor, the excitement brewed as she tried to find the key to open the front door. Finally, the I heard the lock click, the door opened and we walked into her new, beautiful condo. No one was carried over the threshold, except for Colin.

The cork stops here.

There has been much debate between the use of synthetic cork and the real cork for the wine bottle. Pros and cons go over the environmental, aesthetic and technical aspects on which one will become the ultimate cork. One reason to use real cork is the seal. It is said that synthetic corks are being used on bottles that are to be consumed with five years or less because of the lack of seal that synthetic cork provides. I disagree.

This synthetic cork broke the bottle opener. This is when the real debate began. How do you open the bottle now? Unlike real cork, you couldn't core out the cork or push the cork through to free the wine from it's glass cage. It was also out of the question to 'beer brawl' crack open the bottle or discard it all together. In the end, we relied on brute strength to get the job done.

Waukegan Leatherheads

Mitchy at the bat

The other day we went to see Mitch's little league game. I learned a few things. First, teams are no longer permitted to use the MLB club names. Instead they used college names. It seemed a bit strange. Instead of dreaming of the big leagues, they were aiming to be bigger kids - college kids. At least they aim for a higher form of education, which is a more feasible goal for most people. I suppose this is a good trade-off.

I also learned that there are only 6 innings in a game. Along with the abbreviated game, the field is also abbreviated. The 2 baseball fields are set up back to back. Each field has an infield, but share an outfield. If the ball is hit 15 feet past the in field, it is in the other 'park'. It makes hitting out of the park near impossible, since it only goes into another park.

Lastly, the teams use a pitching machine for the first few years. This would account for the exciting wild pitches and a few hit batters. It may also be the reason why the catcher kept forgetting to throw the ball back to the pitcher. Maybe not. Regardless, it was good wholesome fun and extremely entertaining.