Before

We still call it a web log actually

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Random

A thought

Comedy is tragedy plus time. Horror is time minus comedy.

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Funny stories

Tastes like…

Still hard to believe that the “Beyond Meat” COO was arrested for biting a guy’s nose. You really can’t replicate the taste of real meat, evidently.

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City life

Cold weather

I think it’s every Chicagoan’s duty, when he has friends out on vacation in warm places, to bitch about all the cold weather back home — even if it’s not actually cold. It makes the vacation feel all that much better.

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Work life

An awkward moment in 2022

Casually mentioned to someone, in context, at work, that I am gay. It didn’t need a response, it just came up. But he said, “Aww yeah, that’s great! Love wins, man!” I can’t tell who was more embarrassed, me or him.

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Political

On RT: Russia Today

(I wrote this in 2018.) Last year, we learned that during the 2016 election campaign, millions of Americans were exposed to social media posts sponsored by Russians operating out of the “Internet Research Agency.” The Russians pushed hot buttons in domestic politics from gun rights to gay rights...

2

Culture

A troubling plot hole in a classic

Made a disturbing realization recently with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. So, in Act II of the movie, Janet meets Lawrence for the first time at the casino (above). In this scene they are playing roulette and Lawrence is being friendly toward Janet. A minute or so after this happens,...

Culture

Why I Love Flying (?)

It’s the absurdity plus the corporate know-nothing-ism. Conversation with an airline club employee: BC3: Thanks for checking me in. Could you also help me with a seat change? I’m trying to get out of the bulkhead. Any other seat is fine.DA: What do you have… 1A? Let me...

Political

The inheritance tax

We have entered 2017, the year of the Republican takeover. I for one am excited to see what’s coming! (What alternative do I have? My law licenses aren’t any good in Canada or Europe or Britain. So tally ho, Trump!) One of the many legislative turds we’ll be...

City life

CTA driver screams, then silence

So, this just happened: my Blue Line train may have been about to derail or be hit by an oncoming train. Not the way I was hoping to get home, frankly. I’m riding on the train from O’Hare. It’s a moderately full train since the station was rather...

City life

Ice kicking season didn’t come

To hasten the end of winter, I like to go down the lake and kick ice. Every winter I’ve been here in Chicago has been brutal. Weeks and weeks of unending ice and grey sludge in the streets. Temperatures so low they lock up all the moisture in...

Solely personal

Guest bathroom renovations (before and after)

In December 2015 I bought the Lake Shore Drive apartment I’d been living in for three years. It’s a great space, in a location I love, with killer views, but it needs some work. So for 2016 I am going to be having fun customizing it and upgrading...

City life

The awkwardness of shouting in stores

Will shopkeepers stop yelling at me when I walk in? As soon as I’ve got through the door, I get a shouted “Hi!” Little is more predictably discomfiting. You know what I’m talking about: you come in off the street, brush the snow off your jacket, blink under the lights,...