It has come to my attention that cell phones or any other personal electronic devices have officially taken over our lives. I would valiantly argue this hypothesis/theory if I didn’t experience it for myself. As usual, I stand, freezing off my unmentionables, with what seems like 15 new strangers every day at a Chicago bus stop. I wait for a filthy, disease-filled, six ton CTA bus to unsatisfyingly deliver me to my place of employment.The last thing someone wants to do is start a conversation with the other half-asleep, miserable commuter next to them. So whats their weapon of choice? Well, 13 out of the 15 people whip out the old cell phone in hopes that the agony filled 5 minutes will feel more like, well, five minutes.
I wonder what would happen if those phones were yanked clean out of each of their hands? The earth would stop revolving, volcanoes would erupt in unison - perhaps Perez Hilton would go back in the closet, take with him his horrible entertainment blog, and never come out again.
Wishful thinking or not, the bottom line is people don’t want technology, they need it. Scary thought? I’d say so.
I’ve been to this deli several times and it’s been pretty satisfying (but expensive). My parents came downtown to visit and my mom wanted to head over there and try it.
Well, I have to say, this experience didn’t belong with the rest. I’m not one to gush over food unless it’s head over heels, knee slapping delicious but that’s exactly what the Schwartsky beef brisket sandwich (or however the hell you spell it) was. It’s the kind of meal you feel bad taking additional bites of because you don’t want it to end. It was that good. The meat must’ve sat in the slow cooker for two weeks. The beef was seasoned just right and the bun - sort of a soft, warm pretzel roll - melted in my mouth. The sandwich needed nothing… no cheese, no condiments and no au jus - utter bliss.
If anyone is a fan of beef brisket and deli sandwiches - take a trip to the Eleventh street deli. (Wabash and Roosevelt-ish) Its pricey but completely worth it. Incase you’re wondering, the answer is yes. I am a spokesperson for the restaurant!
At first, Vimeo looks like a poor man’s YouTube and after using the site for several minutes, it is. But its a better media hosting site because it’s stripped of all the distractions and advertising that YouTube is plagued with.
The only downfall is its lack of a user community but that’s normal for a fairly new site. I expect it to grow quite considerably in the next year or so. Although with popularity and publicity comes all the rather intrusive, annoying advertising but there’s not much you can do about that.
The only other complaint is the restriction on uploading space. If you are a heavy user then you are somewhat forced into signing up and paying for Vimeo PLUS. Oh well, Youtube could use competition… monopolistic empires are dangerous.
As if we don’t have enough news to cover in the US, the AP decided it was necessary to write about a discrepancy between a minor league baseball team and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
The two opponents do not appear to have any similarities but The West Michigan White Caps plan to promote a 4,800 calorie burger at their ball park. As a result, the Washington-based group urged the baseball club to stamp the behemoth with a warning label, calling it a “dietary disaster.”
Dare I ask the question: What constitutes a dietary disaster? Human beings are responsible for what they put in their bodies - no one forces anything down their throat. Is 4,800 calories the magic number? In my own opinion, a Big Mac is unhealthy for you, as is a Whopper, an extra large meat lover’s pizza from Domino’s… etc. This is nothing new, so why try and put a label on it?
I feel sorry for the poor sap from the AP, he had to cover this little mishap.
P.S. I’d eat the burger in a New York minute. Check out it’s stats…
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-odd-bodaciousball,0,7436828.story
While nearly every status on facebook said “in Panama City”… My big adventure took place in Bloomington Normal, an equally impressive hotspot. (Not)
Since ISU had their springbreak one week prior to Columbia and U of Illinois, I decided to take the plunge and visit a few of my friends. Believe it or not, Bloomington is an oasis surrounded by a dozen tiny, eventless towns. (Dwight, Pontiac,Odell) So when the farmers are looking to play - Normal is their Vegas.
I must admit that after spending an alcohol saturated night in downtown Normal, they boast a pretty stellar variety of bars, including Six Strings, a country bar - where I wouldn’t dare venture unless forced to. I hate line dancing, country attire, and certainly country music but I ended up having a great time.
Besides the great variety, my evening was topped off with a man being tasered by the police in the middle of the street. You could almost smell his flesh burning - I know that sounds disgusting but the poor bastard was relentless. I guess that’s what beer muscles do to you…
You tube, You tube, You tube… oh how wonderful you are. You’ve made it as easy as 1, 2, 3… to exploit ourselves, make fools of ourselves, sell ourselves… etc. Sure, it may look like a blessing in disguise but I feel like every time a terrible, useless video gets uploaded onto the site, it slaps You tube creators in the face. It was meant to share multimedia and it certainly does that, but where’s the censorship on these videos. Some of the stuff is unbelievably useful but sorely evened out by the crap that stinks up the site. It is a great concept on paper but there needs to be some type of regulation for it. I understand that likes/dislikes are highly perceptive but some of these videos are pretty straightforward junk.
As for journalism, it rocks. It’s extremely useful tool for budding journalists especially, to get their work out there. As far as network material being put up on this site, there tends to be a fair amount of copyright infringement. Oh well, they’ll fix that eventually. It’s a young technology.
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/03/council-oks-three-concerts-at-wrigley-field-this-summer.html
As if this historic landmark could use any more publicity, now, Wrigley field is scheduled to host three concerts this summer. (Billy Joel, Elton John, and Rascal Flatts)
The stadium is no stranger to these types of event but according to the Tribune article, the Southport Neighbors Association opposed the idea.
I, myself, attended the Jimmy Buffet concert a few years ago at Wrigley. It was complete madness and I mean that in a good way. But I understand where people are coming from - especially those residents living a stones throw away. Northsiders know its necessary to somewhat plan your life around a Cubs game. On game day, locals looking to travel somewhere in a car, usually leave an extra hour early to compensate for hurendous traffic conditions. It’s exciting to live so close to the action but it has its downside.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ll probably be one of the thousands at the Rascal Flatts concert but I feel bad for residents - it can be a bit rough.
It’s a love/hate relationship. I hate to love it and love to hate it. There are times when I logon and literally feel guilty after staying on for more than a few minutes. Specifically, I am talking about Facebook. When I joined it a few years ago, I appreciated its novelty but now everyone, and I mean everyone can join - perverts, rapists, the whole shabang. Any Joe schmo can acquire their own e-mail address, it’s becoming more like MySpace every day. I try to go on as seldom as possible, only to network with classmates from time to time.
It was a cleaner more enjoyable experience when you needed a college e-mail address to sign up. Now everybody and their mother (I’m not joking, my mother just made one and she has absolutely no idea how to use it.) can have a page. I hate to be a negative nancy but most things go to shit with time and Facebook is no exception.
Although I must say, stripped away from all it’s newly acquired glitz and glamour, it CAN BE a proper networking tool.
Theres a new form of selling products/entertainment these days. It’s called Bombardment advertising. Take for example, Watchmen. If you have a television then you’ve almost certainly seen a preview for it - probably a couple hundred or so. The definition of this type of advertising is as follows: blantantly play a commercial campaign over and over until the viewer either gets nauseous (and pukes) or takes a slight interest in the idea/object being marketed.
No joke, I had the tv on in the background for two hours last night and I saw a preview for Watchmen a minimum of 12 times. Now come on, that’s a bit ridiculous. Probably even more so, the Hyundai Genesis commercial played during the superbowl (Before/After as well) atleast two dozen times. This new form of advertising is annoying and detrimental to our health but I think it works. How sad… I’m going to pull up to Loews Theater tomorrow night (In my Hyundai Genesis, that I surely can’t afford.), pumped to see Watchmen. I’ll feel cheap, dirty and used because i’ll know I was the victim of a one night stand, coutesy of mass media advertising.
Last Christmas I had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into a bacon topped 1/4 pound piece of heaven. It was late, I was curious and my stomach was in the hunt for something grossly unhealthy. Since I rarely travel down south, I haven’t had the chance of trying Sonic fast food but they still tease the hell out of Chicagoans by plastering the television with their low budget commercials.
I don’t know if anyone else noticed that but their isn’t a location within 200 miles of Chicago.
Anyways, back to last Christmas, my family headed to a retirement community in South Florida to visit my grandma and grandpa for a few days. (Which turned out to be a senior citizen college campus plagued by golf carts and I’m sure just as much promiscuity) On Christmas eve, we passed by one their locations and I was completely caught off guard by the hidden gem. So one thing led to another and we stopped. Let me tell you, their limeades are delicious, their cheeseburger is tasty with or without condiments, and their tots (tatertots) were crispy. It was late night fastfood heaven. I recommend the 200 mile drive to anyone in the Chicagoland area.
