St. Patrick's Day!

Though it's not officially St. Patrick's Day until Tuesday, the Irish and wannabe-Irish alike were out in full-force in Chicago this weekend. I went out with my friends Ashley and Cary, and my new friends, the other Ashley and Kathy. We started out with breakfast at a kick-ass new Jewish deli (how Irish of us!) and then went and saw the river being dyed a bright Kelley green. I took some pictures along the way, which can be seen below (including a St. Patrick's Day kayaking dog!). The last two were from my friend Cary's camera, which is obviously superior to my own. So Happy St. Patricks Day from the one who's name means "Ireland." :)

Kristin and Todd's Wedding: A Pictorial

Sleepwalking Canine.

If you're having a bad day (and I seem to have a lot of those lately), this should cheer you up. :)

Gotta love the big city.

There are certain things you find in a big city that are hard to find anywhere else. Things like world-class museums. Broadway shows. Four-star restaurants. And fabulous subway performers. Yes, living in a big city means you will inevitably end up on public transportation at some point in time, and if you, like me, want to avoid paying half a month's rent in parking fees, you may end up on it quite a bit. But that's ok, because sometimes riding the subway affords you some of the best entertainment around.

On Friday, I took the Red line to work because I had an eye appointment in the morning and missed the Metra. That evening I was tired and in a bit of a surly mood, as I had to stay late at work to cover for a co-worker who is very sweet but hasn't a clue how to do her job. I hurried down to the platform hoping to make it onto the train waiting there, but just as I got to the bottom of the stairs the train pulled away.

Drat!

I looked around in order to assess my surroundings, which is always a good thing to do when you're a single female on a subway platform in a big city. That's when I saw this guy standing in the middle of the platform with a small boombox and a dufflebag at his feet. The bag had what appeared to be a stuffed animal tiger head sticking out of it. Oh geez, I thought, here we go with the horribly off-key singing. Little did I know what I was in for.

I walked to the side of the platform where a couple of girls were standing waiting for the train. I glanced back at the subway performer, and he was now holding the stuffed tiger, which was dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt with a gold chain around its neck. The man was meticulously adjusting a backwards baseball cap on his unwitting accomplice. Once the cap was positioned to his liking, he bent down and hit a button on his boombox. Suddenly the song "Eye of the Tiger" filled the air, but without the lyrics. Somehow this guy had gotten ahold of the karaoke version or something. What the... I thought.

And then the man started rapping. Or, more accurately, the tiger started rapping.

I exchanged a few eyebrows-raised glances with the girls next to me and then we all just burst out laughing.

The lyrics were great. One verse went something like, "Sometimes I get bored just walking around, so I take the red line to Cermak and Chinatown. Eating antelope and deer is nice, but sometimes I'm just hungry for some shrimp fried rice." L.O.L. The man saw us laughing and couldn't help but grin himself--he knew he was eliciting this response, and he liked it. I should have given him some money, and if my wallet had been more accessible I probably would have. He was pretty much the best subway performer I'd ever seen.

A rapping stuffed tiger. Only in Chicago.

The Music Box

Every once in awhile, I stumble upon a place that sparkles amidst the normal everyday places that I go. Often I find that these places have been there all along, as have I, I've just never noticed them. Once such place is Bookman's Alley in Evanston, which I will probably blog about someday. But this particular posting is about The Music Box, an old ornate movie theater that plays independent, foreign, and cult films (Rocky Horror, anyone?) with old school charm.

The Music Box opened on August 22, 1929 when picture theaters were just starting to take off. Sound films were a new technology and the theater was equipped with an orchestra pit as well as organ chambers in case the sound failed and silent films needed accompaniment. At the time, other theaters showing movies in Chicago were referred to as movie "palaces" and seated upwards of 3,000 people at a time. The Music Box sat 800 and was considered an "elaborate little brother" to the huge theaters that came before it. Ironically, today The Music Box holds the title of having the largest operating theater space in the city.

I recently paid a visit to this mecca of cool in order to see a presentation of the short films that have been nominated for Academy awards this year. I was blown away. Not only were the films fantastic, but the venue was amazing in about a zillion different ways. So, below you will find my list of the Top Ten Reasons You Should Visit The Music Box.

10. It has an old school defunct but still wickedly cool ticket booth out front.

9. It is very ornate, cloaked in burgundy velvet and gold.

8. The popcorn...oh my god...there's a reason people stop in just to take a bag home with them.

7. The ceiling is dark blue with tiny sparkling white lights that make it look like the night sky.

6. There are small heaters under the middle 4 or 5 seats in each row which provide much needed relief to people like me who freeze to death in nearly all movie theaters.

5. A real organist plays a real organ in the theater while you wait for your movie. When he is finished, they put on popular music from when the theater first opened.

4. A giant red velvet curtain rises from in front of the screen right as your movie is about to start, which makes you feel like you've been taken straight back to the 1920s.

3. A reel of film made to look old (crackly with spots and streaks) tells you that the previews for your film are about to begin.

2. There is a theater ghost named Whitey who lives in the theater. He was the original owner and ran the theater until he died in 1977. He is said to pace Aisle 4, watching the doors for kids who try to sneak in. He also expresses his opinion of bad organists by throwing the curtain over both organ chambers at the same time in order to halt the "bad" music.

1. The selection of films can't be beat. If you want your run-of-the-mill Hollywood blockbusters, you can see those anywhere. If you want to find unique independent, foreign, and underground films, head to the Music Box. You'll walk away wondering how you've lived without the place all your life.

Photographic Defiance

Clara and I have had a little houseguest since last Tuesday. His name is Toby, and he's a daschund/jack russel mix. Here he is with Clara. Neither of them were thrilled about the prospect of adding to their 15 minutes of fame by appearing on my blog. Alas.

Happy Hearts Day (better late than never!)

PostSecret: A Valentine Video