Thursday was my longest night of the trip so far. Went out to some little Mexican place that I can't remember the name of, and had some of the best enchiladas on Earth. Well, that and a huge pitcher of margaritas. :) It was the best $22 dollars I've ever spent on drinks.
After that, I went to a jazz club called the Green Mill. It was very old fashioned. They had their own big band, and they were fantastic. This place was right out of the 20's and 30's, with old style cash registers and big black rotary phones. I expected Frank Sinatra to walk in at any moment.
I did meet a girl named Laura, and we talked for a while. Very funny girl, and she looked a lot like Joan Cusack. Good times.
I also unintentionally pissed another girl next to me off, because I accidentally knocked over my drink as I was pawing in my wallet. The drink fell over, the blass broke and she stormed off in a huff, not even taking her own drink with her. Hell, you'd think I was a drunken slob who did it on purpose or something. Some people are just pretentious beyond belief. But I shouldn't be surprised at that, Chicago being the liberal Mecca that it is. Perhaps I don't understand the "nuances" of drinking.
I could have been equally as pretentios though, you know. I could have said, "Gosh, I'm sorry that I knocked my drink over with my wallet containing $1400. Could I buy you another bottle of that pisswater you're sucking down?
But no, I didnt do that. Why? Because I am a man of the people, and above such things.
The weekend is upon me, and my liver is already complaining about it's working conditions. Luckily, I packed a spare.
Drink Count: 13 Trip count: 39
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Smokehouse in Chicago: Day 3 (Wednesday)
Initially, the plan was go go see Superman Returns at the IMAX on Navy Pier. But that turned out to be a no-go, because there wasn't an IMAX ticket to be found. Those things sold out faster than a democrat at a fundraiser.
So, we went to some local theater instead. I don't remember the name of the place, but it was one of those old style theaters., with the ticket booth outside and all that. My friend had never been there either, so it was quite nostalgic for us. When we got inside, we couldnt believe how big the place was. This room had 1,420 seats, acoring to the advertisements on the screen. Absolutely amazing.
As for the movie itself, Superman Returns is undoubtedly the movie of the summer. Brandon Routh (who?) did a much better job than I think anybody could have possibly anticipated, and the story was riveting. Superman Returns is by far the best of the series. It was a long movie, about two and a half hours or so, but I easily could have sat there for another two.
Well, maybe not, the seats in that old theater really sucked.
After that, we shot off to the downtown area and had dinner at Ed Debivic's. Ed Debivic's as an old 50's style diner where the help is intentionally snippy and rude. They also dance on the counter from time to time. Pretty fun experience overall, and the food was pretty good too. I have no idea why my chilli was hotter than my supposed "Atomic Burger", but who am I to complain?
Then of course, comes the drinking. First, we went to a little place called Emerald Isle, and that turned out to be a bad idea. It was way too crowded, and there was absolutely no place to sit. Not only that, the crowd must have been really young, because they kept looking at me and my buddy like we were walking thru a playground with our junk in our hands. I find this disturbing, because I am a very young looking 31. Some people actually think I'm 22, for God's sake.
We had one pitcher and got out of that place. Decided to make a bee-line back to Jet's and enjoy the $2 Guinness pints. The crowed was closer to our age, and some of my buddy's work friends were there. A good time was had by all, but a little more restraint was shown. Nobody passed out.
The Saga Continues....
Drink Count: 9 Trip Count: 26
So, we went to some local theater instead. I don't remember the name of the place, but it was one of those old style theaters., with the ticket booth outside and all that. My friend had never been there either, so it was quite nostalgic for us. When we got inside, we couldnt believe how big the place was. This room had 1,420 seats, acoring to the advertisements on the screen. Absolutely amazing.
As for the movie itself, Superman Returns is undoubtedly the movie of the summer. Brandon Routh (who?) did a much better job than I think anybody could have possibly anticipated, and the story was riveting. Superman Returns is by far the best of the series. It was a long movie, about two and a half hours or so, but I easily could have sat there for another two.
Well, maybe not, the seats in that old theater really sucked.
After that, we shot off to the downtown area and had dinner at Ed Debivic's. Ed Debivic's as an old 50's style diner where the help is intentionally snippy and rude. They also dance on the counter from time to time. Pretty fun experience overall, and the food was pretty good too. I have no idea why my chilli was hotter than my supposed "Atomic Burger", but who am I to complain?
Then of course, comes the drinking. First, we went to a little place called Emerald Isle, and that turned out to be a bad idea. It was way too crowded, and there was absolutely no place to sit. Not only that, the crowd must have been really young, because they kept looking at me and my buddy like we were walking thru a playground with our junk in our hands. I find this disturbing, because I am a very young looking 31. Some people actually think I'm 22, for God's sake.
We had one pitcher and got out of that place. Decided to make a bee-line back to Jet's and enjoy the $2 Guinness pints. The crowed was closer to our age, and some of my buddy's work friends were there. A good time was had by all, but a little more restraint was shown. Nobody passed out.
The Saga Continues....
Drink Count: 9 Trip Count: 26
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Flag Descration: Amendment Failed
An attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit acts of desecration to the American Flag failed to secure the 67 votes necessary to send it to the states for ratification.
In my view, this is the crux of what true freedom of speech means. It means defending even the most despicable verbal comments or harmless acts of protest, including flag burning, even when we find it personally utterly offensive. Any compromise on this position begins that slippery slope to "interpreting" away our individual rights.
The party that was founded to champion liberty, Republican, only showed one member voting against it - Ron Paul. Given his libertarian background, it's not surprising he'd vote this way. What is surprising is that he's the only Republican with an ounce of common sense.
Murray Rothbard had an interesting take on the the whole flag-burning issue which I think resolves the issue with little room for debate:
In other news...
I'm trying to get rid of my last cache of Soundtrack to My Car copies before I come out with the new CD. Wanna give me an early Christmas gifts? I don't need any silver, or diamond tennis bracelets. No sir, I'm cheap. Go click on Buy Stuff up top and buy my CD.
That's it for now. I'll be posting in a bit on the news RE: the Oblong Box.
In my view, this is the crux of what true freedom of speech means. It means defending even the most despicable verbal comments or harmless acts of protest, including flag burning, even when we find it personally utterly offensive. Any compromise on this position begins that slippery slope to "interpreting" away our individual rights.
The party that was founded to champion liberty, Republican, only showed one member voting against it - Ron Paul. Given his libertarian background, it's not surprising he'd vote this way. What is surprising is that he's the only Republican with an ounce of common sense.
Murray Rothbard had an interesting take on the the whole flag-burning issue which I think resolves the issue with little room for debate:
Keeping our eye on property rights, the entire flag question is resolved easily and instantly. Everyone has the right to buy or weave and therefore own a piece of cloth in the shape and design of an American flag (or in any other design) and to do with it what he will: fly it, burn it, defile it, bury it, put it in the closet, wear it, etc. Flag laws are unjustifiable laws in violation of the rights of private property. (Constitutionally, there are many clauses in the Constitution from which private property rights can be derived.)What baffles me about this whole deal is that I didn't know that there was such a rash of rampant flag burning going on in this country that there actually needed to be a constitutional amendment against the activity.
On the other hand, no one has the right to come up and burn your flag, or someone else's. That should be illegal, not because a flag is being burned, but because the arsonist is burning your property without your permission. He is violating your property rights.
[via lewrockwell.com]
In other news...
I'm trying to get rid of my last cache of Soundtrack to My Car copies before I come out with the new CD. Wanna give me an early Christmas gifts? I don't need any silver, or diamond tennis bracelets. No sir, I'm cheap. Go click on Buy Stuff up top and buy my CD.
That's it for now. I'll be posting in a bit on the news RE: the Oblong Box.
Smokehouse in Chicago: Day 2 (Tuesday)
Tuesday was a fun day, despite the news I had received from my mother that my grandfather had died. I am sad, but this was not totally unexpected. He had a stroke some 10 years ago, and had been deteriorating ever since. He was a kind man. He loved fishing and pro wrestling. In fact, I was in the process of obtaing all 22 WrestleMania's on DVD, and I was going to get him a DVD player. I was up to Wrestlemania 17. Guess I didn't quite make it.
I think I will remember him most for taking me to McDonald's and buying me a comic book every Monday when I was a little boy. Grandpa rocked. I hope I make it to 90, as well.
I will not be attending the funeral, as I have elected (with the blessing of my family) to stay in Chicago. They know I need the time off.
Anyway, Tuesday was a blast. The day started with two huge hot dogs from Gene and Jude's. Nothing quite like Chicago Style dogs. Crammed with mustard, onions, peppers AND french fries. Two of those definitely fills a guy up. After that, we pretty much slacked around the house until it was time to go to the Cubs game. We had great seats in the handicapped section just above the bleachers. It was a great night for a game, but we really didnt watch any of it because we were too busy drinking beer. I could care less about a Cubs-Brewers game anyway. In fact, I don't really think anyone goes to Wrigley for the game. Its more like a pub with a $50 cover.
We only stayed for about 7 innings, because we were tired of paying $6 for domestic beer. At least the Cubs lost, though. Being a St. Louis fan, it does my heart good.
After the game, we headed off to a little pub called Jet Bar or something like that, and drowned ourselves in the $2 pints of Blue Moon, and some Jameson whiskey. It's a neat little place, and I'm sure we will be returning, because tonight is $2 Guinness night. Look out, 'cause that place is gonna lose money on me.
"I am The Game" :)
It must have been a good time, because I woke up at about noon, still wearing my clothes. :)
Tuesday drink count: 11 Trip total: 17
I think I will remember him most for taking me to McDonald's and buying me a comic book every Monday when I was a little boy. Grandpa rocked. I hope I make it to 90, as well.
I will not be attending the funeral, as I have elected (with the blessing of my family) to stay in Chicago. They know I need the time off.
Anyway, Tuesday was a blast. The day started with two huge hot dogs from Gene and Jude's. Nothing quite like Chicago Style dogs. Crammed with mustard, onions, peppers AND french fries. Two of those definitely fills a guy up. After that, we pretty much slacked around the house until it was time to go to the Cubs game. We had great seats in the handicapped section just above the bleachers. It was a great night for a game, but we really didnt watch any of it because we were too busy drinking beer. I could care less about a Cubs-Brewers game anyway. In fact, I don't really think anyone goes to Wrigley for the game. Its more like a pub with a $50 cover.
We only stayed for about 7 innings, because we were tired of paying $6 for domestic beer. At least the Cubs lost, though. Being a St. Louis fan, it does my heart good.
After the game, we headed off to a little pub called Jet Bar or something like that, and drowned ourselves in the $2 pints of Blue Moon, and some Jameson whiskey. It's a neat little place, and I'm sure we will be returning, because tonight is $2 Guinness night. Look out, 'cause that place is gonna lose money on me.
"I am The Game" :)
It must have been a good time, because I woke up at about noon, still wearing my clothes. :)
Tuesday drink count: 11 Trip total: 17
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Smokehouse in Chicago: Day 1
Yes, thats right, boys and girls. I'm in Chicago. I needed to get away from things. I have a lot on the old noodle, if you know what I mean. I'll be here until Sunday, and it is now Tuesday morning. One day under my belt already, and I'm not dead yet, so all is well.
You're probably asking yourself, "Why isn't Smokehouse using his own blog?"
Well, my blog is down for the forseeable future. I had a lot of trackback spam problems, and a remodel is in order. Perhaps I shall call Ikea. I know they handle all of Mark's remodeling needs, amd maybe they do blogs, too.
But seriously, I told Mark I would be in the Windy City for a week, and that I certainly needed to blog about it. And when you're The Most Powerful Man In Internet Radio like yours truly, Mark had no choice but to say "Mi blog es su blog." Ah..one of the all too few joys of being me. All must yeild under my might.
As always, Monday, as is the first day of any vacation, was largely uneventful. It was mostly about getting here. Now, anybody who says "Getting there is half the fun", is often full of shit. They havent traveled with my neice and nephew, who are 4 and 8, respectively. They are good kids and all, but after spending a week with them, I've had all the Cartoon Network and Toontown I can stand. Whoever came up with the idea of putting DVD players in cars needs to die a slow, painful death. I need a serious break from Sponge Bob, OK? You know how we entertained ourselves on car trips when I was a kid? We READ BOOKS and listened to our Walkmans, and we liked it! More than that, it was quiet and serene for God's sake.
I got to Aurora by about 3:30 PM Monday and hung out with my sister for a couple hours, which was cool. More importantly, I gave her her kids back, but I'm digressing. We had some nachos and made fun of our parents, the complete trainwrecks that they are. They decided to come up this way as well, and stay at their time share condo. My dad forgot to bring his suitcase, so he had to go to Wal-Mart to buy clothes. At this point, I am contemplating mercy killings.
Soon enough, however, My friend Bryan, a Chicago firefighter, arrived to pick me up and save me from the madness that was sure to ensue. Notice at no point did I mention anything about hilarity.
Bryan just moved back into the city from some crap suburb called Lake in the Hills. This is a pretty nice place he has here. I'm rather enjoying it, despite the fact I'm working on about 3 hours sleep.
Anyway, we got back here and had a couple beers, and then we went to this little sports bar, Morretti's, I think it's called, for some pizza. The meal was great, but, man was it expensive. The Pizza and four beers between us was $48 with tip. I'm going to be here six days, and I can tell already that this is going to get pricey.
So we finished our meal, and the bartender/waitress called us "quitters" because we didnt stay for drinks. Silly little girl. The last time I was in Chicago and somebody challenged my drinking skills, I left them passed out in the back of Bryan's car. Just because I'm not from the big city, that doesn't mean I can't whup your ass.
Got back here, had a couple more beers, and watched "The 40 Year Old Virgin". I hadn't seen it before, and I thought it was pretty funny. But the whole time I just found myself thinking, "Hang in there Jon. It'll be okay, little buckeroo."
(Oh, come on. I've gone this far without picking on anybody. I was due!)
That pretty much sums up Monday. I was lucky enough to find an open wireless connection, and my buddy has DSL, so I should be good for the week. I'll try to start snapping some pictures. Probably wouldnt hrut me to try and get some more sleep either. Tuesday morning is now uopn me, and we're going to a Chicago Cubs game. Its a good thing I packed my spare liver, because nobody really goes to Wrigley Field to watch baseball. The Cubs my look like a baseball team, but just because they have matching hats and try to hit a ball with a stick, it doesn't make it so.
Rock.
MONDAY DRINK COUNT: 6 TRIP TOTAL: 6
You're probably asking yourself, "Why isn't Smokehouse using his own blog?"
Well, my blog is down for the forseeable future. I had a lot of trackback spam problems, and a remodel is in order. Perhaps I shall call Ikea. I know they handle all of Mark's remodeling needs, amd maybe they do blogs, too.
But seriously, I told Mark I would be in the Windy City for a week, and that I certainly needed to blog about it. And when you're The Most Powerful Man In Internet Radio like yours truly, Mark had no choice but to say "Mi blog es su blog." Ah..one of the all too few joys of being me. All must yeild under my might.
As always, Monday, as is the first day of any vacation, was largely uneventful. It was mostly about getting here. Now, anybody who says "Getting there is half the fun", is often full of shit. They havent traveled with my neice and nephew, who are 4 and 8, respectively. They are good kids and all, but after spending a week with them, I've had all the Cartoon Network and Toontown I can stand. Whoever came up with the idea of putting DVD players in cars needs to die a slow, painful death. I need a serious break from Sponge Bob, OK? You know how we entertained ourselves on car trips when I was a kid? We READ BOOKS and listened to our Walkmans, and we liked it! More than that, it was quiet and serene for God's sake.
I got to Aurora by about 3:30 PM Monday and hung out with my sister for a couple hours, which was cool. More importantly, I gave her her kids back, but I'm digressing. We had some nachos and made fun of our parents, the complete trainwrecks that they are. They decided to come up this way as well, and stay at their time share condo. My dad forgot to bring his suitcase, so he had to go to Wal-Mart to buy clothes. At this point, I am contemplating mercy killings.
Soon enough, however, My friend Bryan, a Chicago firefighter, arrived to pick me up and save me from the madness that was sure to ensue. Notice at no point did I mention anything about hilarity.
Bryan just moved back into the city from some crap suburb called Lake in the Hills. This is a pretty nice place he has here. I'm rather enjoying it, despite the fact I'm working on about 3 hours sleep.
Anyway, we got back here and had a couple beers, and then we went to this little sports bar, Morretti's, I think it's called, for some pizza. The meal was great, but, man was it expensive. The Pizza and four beers between us was $48 with tip. I'm going to be here six days, and I can tell already that this is going to get pricey.
So we finished our meal, and the bartender/waitress called us "quitters" because we didnt stay for drinks. Silly little girl. The last time I was in Chicago and somebody challenged my drinking skills, I left them passed out in the back of Bryan's car. Just because I'm not from the big city, that doesn't mean I can't whup your ass.
Got back here, had a couple more beers, and watched "The 40 Year Old Virgin". I hadn't seen it before, and I thought it was pretty funny. But the whole time I just found myself thinking, "Hang in there Jon. It'll be okay, little buckeroo."
(Oh, come on. I've gone this far without picking on anybody. I was due!)
That pretty much sums up Monday. I was lucky enough to find an open wireless connection, and my buddy has DSL, so I should be good for the week. I'll try to start snapping some pictures. Probably wouldnt hrut me to try and get some more sleep either. Tuesday morning is now uopn me, and we're going to a Chicago Cubs game. Its a good thing I packed my spare liver, because nobody really goes to Wrigley Field to watch baseball. The Cubs my look like a baseball team, but just because they have matching hats and try to hit a ball with a stick, it doesn't make it so.
Rock.
MONDAY DRINK COUNT: 6 TRIP TOTAL: 6
Monday, June 26, 2006
Riz Mix 6: Full Tilt Rhythm - a Preview
I stayed up late tonight drinking, dealin' with drama, and mixing music.
I made some decent headway on the Core Factor remix. If your RSS reader isn't podcast enabled, click here instead.
If you are here from some of the people who've been passing around this page info, you should got to the music link from up top and check out my old CD. If you're getting married soon, you're going to need to save a lot of money. Reception, wedding cameras, rings, reception... all that's expensive man! Heh, I'm pretty delerious at the moment, so I'm going to sleep a couple hours now.
/rizzn
I made some decent headway on the Core Factor remix. If your RSS reader isn't podcast enabled, click here instead.
If you are here from some of the people who've been passing around this page info, you should got to the music link from up top and check out my old CD. If you're getting married soon, you're going to need to save a lot of money. Reception, wedding cameras, rings, reception... all that's expensive man! Heh, I'm pretty delerious at the moment, so I'm going to sleep a couple hours now.
/rizzn
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Interesting conversation, interesting day.
[this post contains paid placement]
Right now, I'm hanging out with Matthew and Luke, its 5AM, and we're talking about everything under the sun. Matthew has just explained to us the concept of what it's like to be an Alpha Male, and Luke has just explained to us the intracies of net neutrality. I've just explained my philosophy on how to make a business plan succeed.
The convoluted conversation is the result of four redbulls and vodkas a piece, followed by five cups of coffee, then followed by four beers.
I went to an interesting little party this evening run by Caleb Clark of 903mix.com. It was an art showing sponsored by Scion and Red Bull. I met up with all sorts of people that I hadn't seen in years, including my girlfriend from back in the sixth grade.
Matthew is doing a post on the events that took place. Check out his entry on the topic.
My Personal Life
As is now well known amongst the RICers, I have "broken up" with the girl that I was hanging out with for the last couple weeks. The few words spoken on the subject via the list have created an uproar my inner circle has never seen the likes of before. If you want in on that discussion, I suggest you subscribe. It's quite vitriolic, or at least it was around 8pm Friday.
But as I recently found out, June is national Rose month, and as I'm now a hot commodity for the ladies, I expect the flowers to start rolling in. Here: I'll even give you a link for the flower shop make it easy for you. Alternatively, you can send me small sums of gold, if you like.
As a side note, I try to work these paid placements in somewhat unobtruseivly and humourously, if possible, but this next one is so freakin' obvious it's sad. I mean, it is true that my car insurance is coming due here in the next few months and I will be needing to switch insurance companies. It's even true that I'll likely be switching to Geico soon, because I've used Geico in the past, and they're generally the cheapest in the business.
But who talks about car insurance companies in their blog? I mean how friggin' boring is that? I dunno. I am a slave to the almighty dollar, I suppose, so the link is there. :-)
Actually, if it wasn't about 5:30AM at the moment, I would probably go into the rant I did on Out in Right Field that one time about how I think all car insurance is a scam foisted upon us by a collusion between the government and the insurance industry, but Smokehouse tore me up pretty good when the debate was live, I don't want to think about how bad he'd tear up my half-witted early morning drivel.
What's coming up this weekend on the blog
I'm pretty much working straight through the weekend. I've got three projects to roll out on Monday, I've got a couple more blogs to get up and running on the Oblong Box network (yes, Jon, you're next on the list), I've got the exciting conclusion to the LP Texas Convention story and probably about twenty other things I'm forgetting at the moment.
So watch this space this weekend and prepare to be amazed. Or something.
I'm going to sleep.
/rizzn
Right now, I'm hanging out with Matthew and Luke, its 5AM, and we're talking about everything under the sun. Matthew has just explained to us the concept of what it's like to be an Alpha Male, and Luke has just explained to us the intracies of net neutrality. I've just explained my philosophy on how to make a business plan succeed.
The convoluted conversation is the result of four redbulls and vodkas a piece, followed by five cups of coffee, then followed by four beers.
I went to an interesting little party this evening run by Caleb Clark of 903mix.com. It was an art showing sponsored by Scion and Red Bull. I met up with all sorts of people that I hadn't seen in years, including my girlfriend from back in the sixth grade.
Matthew is doing a post on the events that took place. Check out his entry on the topic.
My Personal Life
As is now well known amongst the RICers, I have "broken up" with the girl that I was hanging out with for the last couple weeks. The few words spoken on the subject via the list have created an uproar my inner circle has never seen the likes of before. If you want in on that discussion, I suggest you subscribe. It's quite vitriolic, or at least it was around 8pm Friday.
But as I recently found out, June is national Rose month, and as I'm now a hot commodity for the ladies, I expect the flowers to start rolling in. Here: I'll even give you a link for the flower shop make it easy for you. Alternatively, you can send me small sums of gold, if you like.
As a side note, I try to work these paid placements in somewhat unobtruseivly and humourously, if possible, but this next one is so freakin' obvious it's sad. I mean, it is true that my car insurance is coming due here in the next few months and I will be needing to switch insurance companies. It's even true that I'll likely be switching to Geico soon, because I've used Geico in the past, and they're generally the cheapest in the business.
But who talks about car insurance companies in their blog? I mean how friggin' boring is that? I dunno. I am a slave to the almighty dollar, I suppose, so the link is there. :-)
Actually, if it wasn't about 5:30AM at the moment, I would probably go into the rant I did on Out in Right Field that one time about how I think all car insurance is a scam foisted upon us by a collusion between the government and the insurance industry, but Smokehouse tore me up pretty good when the debate was live, I don't want to think about how bad he'd tear up my half-witted early morning drivel.
What's coming up this weekend on the blog
I'm pretty much working straight through the weekend. I've got three projects to roll out on Monday, I've got a couple more blogs to get up and running on the Oblong Box network (yes, Jon, you're next on the list), I've got the exciting conclusion to the LP Texas Convention story and probably about twenty other things I'm forgetting at the moment.
So watch this space this weekend and prepare to be amazed. Or something.
I'm going to sleep.
/rizzn
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