December 26th

    Happy Boxing Day everyone. Kim and I had a nice Christmas yesterday, first with John, Anne, the nephews, niece and Kim's mom. Then in the afternoon to Kim's Aunt Linda and Uncle Tony where there was also Kim's Aunt Susan and Uncle Harry (visiting up from Georgia), Kim's grandma and Kim's cousin Craig with his wife Toni and their two girls Alysa and Ava.

    We were too tired to get in a visit with Kim's dad and Daphne but we did call to wish them a Merry Christmas. I am very happy to say that since he has left the hospital last week (for the 2nd time) he has been able to hold down food and has been out of pain. The doctors still don't know why (after a myriad number of tests) so more tests are to be run but at this point we're just glad he's at home and feeling well.

    Oh I also must add that Kim and I saw Jane Siberry on the 22nd at the Black Orchid and it was just a great show. I give my full admiration for Ms. Siberry in that she has made all her music openly available via the Internet. She is using Self-Determined Pricing, so you pay what you feel the song is worth or just what you can afford. It's a bold step and one that really promotes trust and openness. I can't speak highly enough of a fulltime profressional musician taking this step.
December 6th

    Six days into our advent calendars and Kim and I have been spending quite a few days at the hospital. Last Wednesday her dad went in for knee replacement surgery. He was on an epideral for pain and was in good spirits after the procedure. On Thursday they took the epideral out and shortly there after he began to experience severe pain. They gave him morphine which did not seem to help him. Then they gave him a nerve block which also did not seem to do the trick. Finally he asked for a specific pain medicine he had had in the past and the doctor's office okay'd it. The pain subsided and he was able to rest easy for the night.

    Well the next day when Kim called he was in all kinds of discomfort again. But this time it was his stomach that was causing him even more severe pain. The nursing staff gave him more medicines and gastroenterologists were called.

    Well surprisingly not much happens on weekends in the hospitals. Their staff is reduced and Kim's dad just had to weather out two more days of pain without any real hope for relief. He did have an xray on Friday and first they stated that he had a partially obstructed bowel but then another doctor disagreed with that. On Monday they took another set of xrays and today went back to the parially blocked bowel (bowel in this case means small intestine). The internist wondered if the blockage could be from adhesions along the intestines wall where he had hernia operations twelve years ago. There was also the observation that all the narcotics he was taking for pain relief were aggravting his GI tract. So now he's off the pain meds.

    The internists today also called for a nasal-gastro tube. This tube is inserted into a nostril and fed up and then down to the stomach where it pumps out gas and air. While a nightmare to get into place, very painful and uncomfortable, it did provide immediate relief from the pain when in place. Daphnie, Kim's dad's wife, was almost beside herself with worry since he hasn't held down any nourishment since Thursday morning. He's seen a gaggle of doctors and is now seeing the general surgeon in the hospital who is during catscans and more X-rays to investigate the blockage diagnosis. All in all it has been very stressful on the family and this morning we all went up to see him with the idea in our heads of getting him moved to a different hospital. That didn't happen and Kim's dad seems willing to stick it out at Rush North Shore a little longer.

    The irony is that his knee is great. He was walking around for physical therapy today and doing stairs. He uses a cane but hardly seems to need it. Now if only the stomach problem could be solved so neatly.
November 16th

    First snow of the season today and on the stove a big batch of borscht. Today is the last fruit box from the farm and the 2nd to last vegetable box. Time to hole up for winter. Kim and I have been up to her moms the last couple of days since Leslie has a bad case of the flu. So we check in on her and get her dog, Emma, outside for some exercise.

    The wind has been really blowing the last few days. In the middle of last week it blew down a power line in the middle of the night and we were without power until noon the next day. It was a good time to light candles and appreciate the quiet and dark.
October 25th

    Kim and I went to our first Halloween party on Saturday. Here is a link to our costumes.
October 19th

    Today is our 4th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary to us! :)
October 17th

    Kim and I went to a double birthday party last Sunday. Kim's grandma turned 87 and her cousin Brian, 33 (I think). Brian has pretty severe Downs and has a congenital heart defect that the doctors said would kill him by the time he was 10 and now he's 33! Kim's grandma is very active and in good spirits for 87. She's already a great grandma to our nephews and we're kidding her that at this rate she'll be a great great grandma for Christopher, our oldest nephew (he's 12). Of course we then caution Christopher to not get any ideas.
October 7th

    On Wednesday Kim's dad went in for surgery for his neck. He had two vertebrae that were putting pressure on his spinal cord and causing numbness in his hands and feet. The operation is called a corpectomy and is remarkable. They cut a four inch incision on the front of his neck and then proceeded to remove the two vertebrae and put two new (or should I say slightly used!) bones in their place. How they managed to do this without causes damage to the spinal cord is beyond me. Further more he was out of surgery in three hours and talking to us and feeling fine in two more. He lost so little blood that they didn't even need to give him a transfusion. He went home from the hospital the next morning. Amazing.
October 2nd

    Yesterday we took our furry buddies to the Greatest Ferret Show on Earth. Click here to see my page describing it with photos.
September 18th

    Yesterday we had our second block party and I'm impressed to say it was even more eventful than the first. First we made pumpkin pancakes out on a griddle ontop of the Weber grill which worked great. We rented a Dinojump which was in just about constant use the eight hours it was here. Ben and I threw the disc around a bit and Ed joined us and showed some great disc throwing skills as well. Our Resident Beat Officer, Officer Paul, stopped by and chatted with us for a while and registered a couple bikes. Kim and I threw some lawn Jarts. I made Falafel, Puppodums and Baba Ghanouj for dinner. Kim made a cake for John M's birthday and Shannon and Riyaz's anniversary. Nicky and Mark showed up, which was a anniversary of sorts as well. After dinner we turned the backyard into a outdoor movie theater with a screen suspended from a rope, some powered speakers and a projector. We bridged the generation gap by watching Star Wars. The sound and picture quality were great! I conked out around 2am but folks were still out in the street talking and having a good time.

    Oh and I forgot that Kim even collected canned goods for the local pantry and set up a table for a neighborhood book swap. Neat stuff.
September 10th

    Yesterday Kim and I went to see Hephaestus, a circus performance done in a small theater space. It was very, very cool. Taiko drumming (which I love! see Kodo) along with nerve wracking high wire acts, gymnastics and amazing feats of dexterity and balance. The story of Hephaestus is also gracefully and simply woven into the performances. Very enjoyable.
September 5th

    We got the canoe out yesterday and did some paddling on the Fox river. This paddle was the test run for the new patch I had put on the canoe which was my first experience with patching fiberglass. Overall I was very pleased. The patch needs a god deal of sanding if I wanted to try and make it as smooth as the original hull and some painting to cover it up. But it was solid and didn't leak so I'm declaring success!
September 4th

    Yesterday we had our first of what will be two block parties this year. We put the barricades around the block and then put the tables out in the middle of the road. The nice thing is that most of the block joins in. In the morning people bring out baked goods, juice and coffee and chat around the communal breakfast table. Kids play in the street all day, riding their bikes, drawing on the street with sidewalk chalk (this year we traced their outlines, as if they had been murdered, creepy!), throwing a frisbee around and more. Tim brought out a basketball hoop and the little kids this year brought out their remote control robots! At night out come a parade of grills and the folding long tables where everyone sits for a giant potluck. When it gets dark the kids all play Ghost in the Graveyard.

    For our next party we're planning on getting a Dinojump (which we've had before, the kids, and some adults, love it) and hoping to show an outdoor movie in the backyard. I have to say though, yesterday went so well, I don't know that more planning is really needed!
September 2nd

    Went to Michigan City yesterday to see Kim's cousin Craig and his family. He and his wife Toni have two charming little girls. We had nice lunch, went to the beach on Lake Michigan, the zoo and even got pony rides for the girls. Busy afternoon!

    Then we met my dad's friend Ted and his wife Lynn. We had a nice drive up Long Beach and then ate at Swing Bellies which is a nice burger/fish joint. Michigan City is only like 50 miles out of Chicago so it wasn't that long of a drive either.
August 22nd

    Monthly update! Ha. Kim and I took our nephews downtown yesterday to join their Great Uncle Paul, Great Aunt Jackie and Granpa Wally to see the 47th annual Chicago Air and Water show. It was very interesting indeed with everything from F15s to old biplanes doing stunt manuevers. We got to see the giant B52 bomber and a harrier stopped and hovered right over the crowd. The Army's Golden Knights parachute team did sky diving feats overhead and landed on the bullseye on the beach. They say that over 2 million people go to the show so we were glad to have a spot on the grass behind Lake Shore drive.
July 30th

    Only July 9th I left Oak Park and arrived in New Hampshire on the 10th. It was time once again to visit family and friends.

    My sister Shelly and I hiked Baldface on the 12th.

    I visited my childhood friend Jamie, his wife Gil and their two kids on Wednesday the 13th.

    On the 14th Shelly and my friend Kevin went and saw Batman Begins in the theater.

    The 15th was a meeting of the nerds for a night of Xbox Live at Kevin's house with friends Jamie and Pete attending as well. Tennis was by far the best game for four player.

    I went canoeing with my dad on Willard pond on the 16th.

    Paul B., wife Carol, Todd and wife Irene with brother in tow, Kevin and I all hiked Mt. Carrigan on Sunday the 17th.

    Tuesday the 19th I went and visited Paul B. and Carol at their lovely place in Temple NH. They have a private pond unto themselves. What luxury there!

    Wednesday the 20th I managed to squeak in a visit with Mari who was staying at her friends in Portsmouth and that night I went and got Kim from Manchester airport.

    Kim and I went to my sister Karins for the 21st and 22nd to help prepare for the party and on the 23rd we had a birthday party for my Dad who turns 70 this year. In attendance were distant friends and relations who had made the trek. Jim Hanner, Ted Zieke, Pat Moore, Tom Minichello and many more. It was quite a successful party.

    On the 24th Kim and I drove up and saw Paul R.'s and Kristin house and met their great dog Yazoo. We then drove up to St. Johnsbury, Vermont to relive our great experience at Cucina Di Gerardo which we stumbled upon 4 years earlier.

    The next day Kim and began our drive home and had a nice camp, canoe and visit around Ridgeway, Pennsylvania. We drove all throughout Tuesday the 26th and arrived back in Oak Park, late, late into the night.

    Now our friend Doug is visiting us from California. He was in town for a conference that finished yesterday. We've already taken him to Ben Pao and Khyber Pass for a couple nice dinners and he reports that his feet hurt from all the walking we've been putting him through. ;)
July 1st, 2005

    First a personal message that I must place here. My friend Mari from Mexico has been trying to get in touch with me and I have been getting her emails but I can't respond! There is something up with her prodigy.net.mx email address, so that everything bounces. Mari, if you have another email address, please send to me from that as the prodigy one is having connection problems.

    Well Kim and I are in full swing of the vegetable season. Angelic Organics is our CSA farm which we have participated in for the last...what is it? 2 or 3 years. Probably 2. I think this is our third. And last year they started their fruit boxes as well which we are continuing with this year. We have been very pleased with both the fruits and vegetables. The beginning of the harvest season (early June) can be daunting in the sheer amount of greens we received. 2 heads of lettuce, a big bag of spinach, a head of bok choi and a bag of mesclun mix all for one week! Maybe if we had a family of four but with just Kim and I, I have to get creative: Lettuce Soup, Nariyal Sak, Creamed Spinach, Stir Fries, Bean and Barley Vegetable Soup, and tons of Salads!

    Here is a quote passed onto me from my Dad. Sent to him via one of his old army buddies (they were in the service back in the 50s).
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." -- Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister, Third Reich
    An interesting historical perspective, the applicability I will leave to indvidual appraisal.
June 11th, 2005

    I'm slacking off with this entries. Maybe because it's been so hot! Every day has been high 80s, some even hitting 90. This in June!? Feels like July or August to me.

    Let's see tomorrow is my birthday, 35 this year. We are having Kedrub over from the Vajrayana Buddhist Center for dinner. That should be fun! He's looking forward to my vegan lasagna.

    Kim and I finally saw Star Wars: Episode III last night with Ana at the AMC 21 downtown. I'm left pretty neutral about it. I enjoyed watching the film and it had good parts but left me emotionally unmoved. I think at the least I gained an appreciation for what Lucas was after even if the presentation did quite achieve it. The story of hubris and the fall is as old as drama but still requires a craftmanship that is difficult to master.

    Kim's birthday was June 3rd, so she is already 35! Kim's mom took us to dinner at the Olive Garden and gave us presents as well. We got a citrus juicer which is pretty fun to use. One grapefruit makes a nice small glass of juice in the morning.
May 26th

    Time for a new entry just so the gaps don't get too large here. Kim's friends, Dave and Becky, visited us on Monday. They are out to the midwest to see Dave's folks in Iowa but are spending a week in Illinois to see friends. So we had a nice visit with them and got to see how much their son Jack has grown, both physically and into a nice young boy.

    Kim's been busy replanting the indoor plants and giving them some outside time. So new pots and new soil for everybody. We're getting good use out of the hand truck we bought a couple years ago, moving plants up and down three flights of stairs. Some of these plants are not small either!
May 14th

    So yesterday was Friday the 13th and I didn't realize it until it was almost over! The only strange thing to relate was a violent hail storm that lasted for five minutes in the early afternoon. After that Kim and I drove to Xunesis to help Bob clean up the studio for a big birthday extravaganza tonight. Three of our friends are turning forty this year so they though they'd combine them and have a 120 year birthday celebration. Cheers to Chad, Celia and Debbie. While Kim cleaned, I entered in the information from the response cards and raffle receipts that were collected from the fund raiser on the 9th.

    Kim and I sold raffle tickets at a table during the event. Kim put on the panache with a black evening gown and a turquoise wrap. We were dubbed the elegant raffle table. I was just glad that my Victorinox dress slacks came with a clasp to hold onto my keys. Snazzy!

    We took Debbies advice, who said something akin to: Don't sell what you, yourself do not buy. So we set the standard by buying some raffle tickets ourselves first. There were five prizes that could be won: A personal pampering package, salon, etc.; a shopping spree with gift certificates to Best Buy, Target and such; an entertainment package; a romantic package with dinner, entertainment and a stay in a luxurious hotel and an actors pakage.

    I must admit I was quite sheepish when Kim and I won, not one but two of the five prizes. The great raffle scandal! I won the entertainment package that included wine tasting for two, concert tickets to Kraftwerk, tickets to the Next Theater Company, a box of cigars and chair massages for a party. Kim won the actor's package which included tickets to the Chicago Shakespear Theater, a haircut/style at art + science salon, a photo session for new head shots and amusingly enough, a walk-on role in the next Xunesis film and acting lessons from long time friend Chad. Haha! Kim said she'd settle for a beer together sometime. Chad is off the hook there!

    So our friends won't begrudge our good fortune too much as I'm sure they'll enjoy the cigars and chair massages too!
May 3rd

    Last night Kim and I attended a beginners class at the Vajrayana Buddhist Center. Kim used to go every Monday and I've been to one before. They have a new location here in Oak Park up on Harrison street that is pretty nice, complete with a back yard! The Monday classes until July are focused on a book "How to Solve Our Human Problems" by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Last night Khedrub talked about anger and how to use meditation to help prevent falling into it. Kim and I talked afterwards about how pertinent it was for us as lately we've found a lot of excuses to be angry at many things (i.e. politics and society).

    Afterwards Kim and I headed to the track to go for our biweekly jog. We jog pretty late at night to use the track when it's mostly empty. Right now we're jogging a couple miles at a pretty leisurely pace.

    On the 2nd my nephew Ben had his first Communion at the church that his mom takes the kids to. There was a big party downstairs with family and friends from both John and Anne's sides. Gee, I never got a party for my communion. The midwest does things right!

    The day before that, Kim and I went to Chad and Celia's where our friend Marcy was conducting a Seder. This was my first one and quite timely too as I've been slowly plodding along reading the Old Testament (I'm in Ezekiel right now). So when the readings referenced Elijah, the Exodus and what not, I was pretty familiar with the stories around them. But let me tell you that this was by no means some traditional ceremony. At least in that it was presided over mainly by women and very liberal minded women at that. God had to give up his masculine pronouns at least for that night.

    Friday last we caught the opening of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which we saw with our friends Cathy, Laura, Celia and Marcy. I've read the book but from quite some time ago, so it included all the good points that I remembered (well except for the disappearance of God as a result of the Babelfish but I forgive them). Cathy is a huge Douglas Adams fan and was pretty happy with the movie. I learned from her that the Hitchhiker's Guide was actually a radio program first before it was a book.

    On the 24th we took Ben to see Robots at the Lake for his birthday (even though his birthday was March 20th). We had originally thought to take him to the Shedd to feed the sharks but it turns out that was filled up for months ahead of time. So it was goofy animated Robin Williams instead which admittedly he probably enjoyed just as much. It was pretty fun I will admit.
April 20th

    Yesterday I took the ferrets for their annual exam and rabies shot. Last year they were actually praised by the vet for looking so good and I was kind of hoping for the same this year. The vet we go to, Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital, recently changed hands. A couple of the vets left and a couple new ones came on. The vet we've seen in the past, Dr. Mori, is still there but down to part time, so we opted to see one of the new owners, Dr. Edwards. Kim got stuck downtown so I took the ferrets alone this time. Dr. Edwards is a quiet young guy who took down a bunch of information first, where do they stay, what do they eat, any strange/remarkable behavior or symptoms he should know about, etc. Well first thing he noticed on Buddy was that he had ear mites! And when he checked Hank, he had ear mites worse than Buddy's, Andre was last and worst of all. So now they get drops in their ears for the next month. Looking at their teeth Dr. Edwards pointed out that Hank and Andre have some bad plaque and beginning Gingivitis. Oy! The plaque won't come off without a procedure that requires anesthetic. Gah. So now we see what not brushing your ferrets teeth can cause! Buddy's teeth looked pretty good so hopefully some brushing will keep his in good shape. So with two pieces of (slightly) bad news it was time for their vaccinations. Buddy got a little Benadryl ahead of time since he reacted badly to his distemper shot last November. Well, I was waiting the prescribed twenty minute in the waiting room, to make sure they weren't having a reaction to the shot and thought I was just about in the clear when Hank started gagging. I took him out of the carrier and passed him over to the receptionist who took him out back for observation. By the time I had turned around Buddy had frothed at the mouth and spit a ball of saliva onto his carrier. So over the counter he went to. I waited for another half hour or so while the vet checked them out. Dr. Edwards came back out and said that Buddy was looking better but that Hank looked really out of it and wanted to watch him for a couple more hours. I took the opportunity to take Andre home and get Kim. When we went back, Dr. Edwards said that the ferrets were perking up but that Hank was still out of it and we should watch him. He looked really worn out but alert. When we took him home he drank a ton of water and then crashed under the bed. He didn't even want to lick up any Nutrical which he normally loves. We could see where the injection had been made as it was all red and inflammed there. Poor guy. This might mean no more shots for Hank and Buddy and we just have to live with that risk.
April 18th

    Friday Kim and I went to help Bob some more with his data entry. We managed to get on the train back home just before the last Green line ran, so we avoided taking the Blue line. Since the Blue line runs 24 hours, there are lots of homeless people who manage to get a transfer and just ride the train all night. It's pretty depressing. And sometimes, as will happen with desperate people, you get confronted with someone who is either really angry or a little crazy. Mostly they just keep to themselves but the tension is there.

    Saturday we joined Kim's Aunt Jackie and friend Nancy to go see Kabuki Lady MacBeth. This play, mixing classic Shakespeare with the four hundred year Japanese tradition was quite an experience for me. The director, Shozo Sato, actually taught Zen asthetics in a class Kim took back at UIUC. Kim was in a college show of Sato's, Kabuki Medea. Kabuki seeks to evoke reaction from the audience through exaggeration. The actors' faces are covered with white first and then their characters painted ontop of them. They speak with outrageous stress on words and move on stage into dramatic poses. All in all, I do think it is pretty cool. The music was very well mixed to the action on stage, the drum beat quickening as Lady MacBeth succumbs to the lure of power. The bummer was that I think I was over tired from getting to bed at 3 AM and then popping awake for unknown reasons at seven. I drank a couple cups of coffee at dinner before hand to get some semblance of wakefulness but I think it backfired and the caffeine triggered grouchiness. I mean, I'm not a huge theater buff, I think it's interesting and I go to plays often enough since Kim and her aunt love it, but I can take it or leave it. Overall, I think Kabuki is a fun style of theater and to see it in Japan, where they are reported to have hundred foot square stages and riotous crowds would be a sight to see. Saturday night, it would have had required Gozilla to make an appearance to keep me happy.

    Today we drove up to Kim's mom's to put the air conditioner in the window for the summer. We got the unit installed without any trouble and then decided to turn around and head home. The lawn could have been mowed but neither of us were much in the mood to stay. On the way home we got hit by some traffic and some how we offended the van behind us by changing lanes at the same time she did. She honked and steamed behind us and when she finally got up next to us she threw her drink at our car. I guess she must have had a really bad day. Kim and I were more confused than anything else. I took the opportunity to get the car washed, which needed it anyway. It was nice to have that visual cue though to make a bad day official.
April 14th

    Last night Kim and I met our friend Celia and Marci to see Chess performed at Northpark University. Chad, Celia's husband, teaches there and directed the musical. It is a story centered around a championship Chess match between an American and a Russian at the end of the Cold War. Personal sacrifices are made in the name of family, country and love and the audience is left to consider the costs and value of the decisions of the characters. The story behind the musical was conceived by Tim Rice. Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame wrote the music.

    Tuesday night Kim and I met her friends Rebecca and Tom for dinner at La Majada, our local Mexican restaurant of choice. Their little boy Christoper is two years old now and very well behaved. We'll be filing away those parenting tips for later.

    Monday night we went to the After Hours Film Society movie of the week. Kim and I recently became members of the society, which specializes in foreign and art films that may not get a chance to get onto a big screen. Their film this week was Nobody Knows which tells the tale of four Japanese children abandoned by their mother in Tokyo. Simple and subtle the camera lets the story tell itself rather than preaching or clubbing the audience with moral lessons. The actor playing Akira, Yuya Yagira, actually won the best actor award at the Cannes film festival at the young age of 12.

    Over the weekend we watched Farenheit 911, which we have wanted to see for quite some time. My friend Kevin said that it would be too painful for him to watch the film now after the election and another friend of mine, Earl, dismisses the film as propoganda. I guess their reactions show that the topic still has a lot of power into the president's second term. I found the film thoroughly engaging. Chad, Kim and I had a great discussion last night at the Edgewater Lounge. Moore has gone out of his way to reference his work and back his opinions, all of which I find makes the film very compelling. The label 'propoganda' gives the film a nefarious feeling and I think not totally warranted. If the film is propoganda, then to what end does Moore manipulate us? To me it seems he only wants to expose a heartless administration.
April 9th

    Tuesday we had some folks over to watch Elling which everyone enjoyed. Elling is a Norweigan film about two men, learning to fit into normal society after living very sheltered lives. Then Wednesday night Kim and I watched Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind another wonderful film from Studio Ghibli. The marathon continued last night with us going to Xunesis to view Napoleon Dynamite and Election, two bizarre movies involving races for Student Body President in High School. Napoleon I didn't find that funny yesterday but today I'm just laughing at the quotes. Strange.
April 5th

    On March 31st and the 1st Kim and I helped Bob label postcards for the upcoming Xunesis Fund Raiser. Let me tell you sorting zip codes for non-profit bulk mail is mind numbing work.

    On the 2nd we attended a workshop on bee keeping offered by CSA Learning Center. There was a wealth of information and we got to see a couple different types of bee hives. Did you know that you can extract up to 200 pounds of honey from a urban hive!? Compare that to the approximately 80 pounds a country hive may yield. It's all those flower gardens in the urban areas. Ironic eh?

    On the 3rd we went up to Kim's moms to fix a couple fence panels that had blown off in the wind. Have I mentioned that the next fence I put up will use screws right from the start? Geez.

    And yesterday we joined Kim's dad and our nephew Christopher to visit The Museum of Science and Industry to view their Body Worlds exhibit. Over 200 preserved human bodies displaying all the working mechanisms of our species. Christopher, who is eleven, weathered the exhibit pretty well, staying in good spirits and only having to sit down a few times at the beginning.
March 30th

    Recently I finished reading "Exporer's House" by Robert Poole. It details the more than one hundred years of National Geographic under the guidance of the Hubbards, Bells and Grovesnors for five generations. A really good read and a testament to the changing of the world.

    I for one have a whole new respect for Alexander Graham Bell. Perhaps more import than his inventions was his gentle and loving nature towards family and friend. His death in the book brought me to tears, something that few books have done for me.
March 28th, 2005

    Happy Easter! I can't remember the last time Easter fell on a day in March. Wierd.

    Kim and I squeaked out some last minute Easter shopping yesterday. Kim made a basket for her mom this year who always makes it her mission to make regal baskets for everyone in the family.

    After we finished the shopping we went to see a play that our friend Mark Litwicki wrote. Titled "One Small Illegal Woman", it is a billingual play (english/spanish) that examines the conflict that meets at the border between Mexico and the United States.
March 25th, 2005

    Well let's see now. Monday the 21st we went to see The Chicago Sinfonietta with Poi Dog Pondering. A first time for me to see classical musicians perform live with a rock ensemble.

    Tuesday we headed to Bob and Debbie's in what may be the first of a weekly (or so) movie night. We started the tradition with Strictly Ballroom.

    Wednesday Kim and I went up to her mom's house to put a couple panels back on the fence. The lesson here is always use screws to put fence panels on round fence posts! The wind blows those things right off.

    And today and yesterday we have been doing Easter-gnome work for Kim's mom as she is putting together themed Easter baskets for the whole family for this Sunday.

    Wayne's Pictures
March 20th, 2005

    Spent Friday, Saturday and today away on a caving trip to Wayne's cave, down in Bloomington, Indiana. Have some pretty neat photos which I will try and mix in over the next few days.
March 16th, 2005

    Cilanto has been a current topic. Kim and I spent a week in Mexico visiting my friend Mari, who 8 years ago sold her house in Portsmouth, NH and moved down to San Miguel de Allende to set up shop. Now she has a lovely house made from field stones, brick and wrought iron.

    So shopping at the local Gigante market in town, we bought a fresh bunch of cilantro to make our own guacamole. But even in Mexico they still have the problem that the herb wilts within three days. Why then do they insist on selling you a bunch large enough to make a ten gallon drum of salsa with? Well at least it's cheap.

    The one regret we had at the end of the trip is that we didn't eat more avacados. At La Gruta, the hot springs we visited the day before our departure we loaded up, with guacamole appetizer and then stuffed avacados and a la carte! We managed to find our max capacity of the good green stuff but still wished we had access to the supply with the corresponding price per kilo. Though I admit the double conversion of going from pesos to dollars and kilos to pounds was troublesome to do without paper.
March 15th, 2005

    Wow, March 15th! How time flies and then I wonder what happened to make it go by so quick?!

    Kim and I did attend the dual birthday party for our friends Cathy Kuna and Bob Morrison, Saturday last. Ages 42 and 39 respectively, I remember when I thought that was old! Hah.

    On Sunday our friend Neal stopped by, visiting from Detroit Michigan. Neal is among a group of people we occassionally do great adventures with like sailing the Great Lakes, rapelling off a bridge or descending into the bowels of the earth (a spelunking suppository so to speak).

    We had a nice meal at Al's Grill before Neal had to start his drive back. An afternoon breakfast was just the remedy for a previous night of feasting and reveling at Xunesis.

    And the last couple nights Kim and I have stayed up way, way too late checking out the Orisinal web site. The creator of the site has a mastery of flash animation and a beautiful creativity that sets an affirming tone in an otherwise destructive and trite media. Click the banner below to pay it a visit.

   
March 9th, 2005

    Kim and I are back from our adventure in Mexico. I'll see about adding something from the trip in a bit
February 28th, 2005

    Kim and I are off tonight for a week in Mexico to visit our friend Mari. While we're there our farm, Angelic Organics, is having a debut of the film made of Farmer John Peterson's life.

    So we'll see you in a week. High 70s for temperature should be nice!
February 25th, 2005

    We have two feeders in the yard. One hanging from the apple tree in the back that the squirrels have broken open to get at the seed inside and a thistle seed feeder in the front that the birds can use. Though they seem just as happy to eat off the ground under the feeder in the back. The squirrels probably knock ten seeds down for every one they eat.

    Kim just put out the giant pumpkin we had retrieved from the farm last fall. It sat inside with notions of a jack-o-lantern first and then with promises of pumpkin pies and then seeds and now it's squirrel food. Actually astonishingly well preserved for sitting around at room temperature for so long. It's outside next to the spiffy new Spinning Composter which got delivered to us in a giant box from Gaiam.com. The box is currently an apartment complex for ferrets. Everything put to use.

    Seen a couple robins and lots of cardinals lately. Chickadees making a great din under our air conditioner in the mornings.

    Kim's been getting pretty good at identifying the local trees planted by the village with her job as Urban Forester Technician (doesn't that sound impressive?). Though she spends as much time inside plotting trees on aerial photos on the computer as she does walking around Oak Park's parks identifying trees. The guy she's working for, Mark, trying to get the village to plant more Bur Oak and fewer Silver Maple.
February 24th, 2005

   Souk Restaurant. Talk about falling into opportunity. Kim and I returned a couple of movies to Ear Wax and were a bit too late to get anything from the cafe. So we walk up and down Milwaukee a bit and go try this restaurant. They serve hummus, baba ganoush and falafel on the menu so we're think it has to be greek. There are hookas on the tables, music playing and at 11pm it's just starting to liven up. We catch some amazing singing and belly dancing and the food is great. People are getting up and dancing, exchanging greetings and it's just very fun and warm all around. What a great treat to just stumble into. We left around 1am and it was not slowing down at all. And this was a Wednesday night!? When do these people sleep? Not that I blame them, it was hard to leave.

   One of the movies was Bagdad Cafe. Kim had heard about this movie about 14 years ago and finally got around to seeing it. It's great. It feels like a Jim Jarmusch film with very interesting character development and a story that you wonder where it's going but leaves you feeling very good about people in general. I heartily recommend it.
February 21st, 2005

   Thinking today about the qualities of humility and patience. The decision to hold the process and detail as important and to let go of the results.
February 20th, 2005

   Yesterday, Kim, I and our nephew Chris all went to One Stop Comics in Oak Park. We had given Chris a gift certificate for Christmas and now he was ready to cash it in.

   Chris picked up a couple Simpson comics, a Futurama and a few packs of Baseball cards. Kim got a Plastic Man comic (did you know that guy has been around since 1941!? no kidding) and I finally got around to buying Neil Gaiman's Sandman (at least part 1 of the paperbacks).

   I devoured part 1 same day as I bought it. Did you know Gaiman did the English translation of Princess Mononoke? I guess all the cool people like to hang together. ;)
February 18th, 2005


   Last night we went and saw our nephew Ben portray a leaf in his school play "Those Wonderful Marvelous Plants" at Near North Montessori School. Overall Kim and I enjoyed it immensely.

   Aftewards we headed up to the Ear Wax cafe which has a great Video Rental store downstairs. We picked up "Druken Master II" which is supposed to be the best Jackie Chan movie of all time which is saying a great deal, Iron and Silk which is the story of an American going to China in the early 1980s to teach English and learn wushu, an amazing true story and "Time Bandits" just because that needs to be seen every decade or so.
February 15th, 2005

   Yesterday evening Kim and I went and saw Vera Drake at the Tivoli. Mike Leigh once again makes a great film and this time on a subject that many people have very strong feelings about. The brillance of the film includes the opportunity for the audience to draw their own conclusions. I think people of diametrically opposite view points could both agree that the film handles the subject very well. A very difficult and noble accomplishment.
February 14th, 2005

   A happy Valentines Day. May the ones who love you, bless your day and bless the ones whom you love.
February 12th, 2005

   Our friends at Xunesis had their crew party last night to which Kim and I were invited as friends. They showed their short "Retrieval" which was very well done. There was also a short jam session where I got to play djembe with Cathy on her cello and Celia playing bass guitar. It was a blast. Thanks guys.

   And today Kim and I went and took a dance workshop at The Old Town School of Folk Music. So now I've learned some basics of One Step, Fox Trot, Waltz and Cha-Cha. Kim had to close her eyes at times, maybe my dancing needs some work!
February 11th, 2005

   Bill Moyers has some insight into our country's mind.

   The balancing light however is news that my friends Jimmy and Patti have a new son in their lives. Congratulations!
February 8th, 2005

   2.57 Trillion dollars. 2,570,000,000,000. That's one of those numbers you can't really comprehend. It just doesn't enter into our day to day lives. I think I'll go to the store and buy 2.57 trillion hot dogs. With this budget you could! Well with subsidized meat you can but that's another rant.

   Divide the budget by 300 million and you get something like $9000. That's how I like to think of what Bush is asking everyone to chip in for his grand vision of 2006. Of course It's really more like $7000 per person since he's already figured in $390 billion deficit. Well it's good to know the Whitehouse leads by example in being a model for how American's like to lead their lives, by living in debt. I'm sure it makes sense to somebody.

   It's interesting how the budget breakdown has 1.41 trillion in mandatory spending, 0.21 trillion in interest for our debt and 0.92 trillion for discretionary spending. Hmmm, how about using your discretion and not going $390 billion more into debt? How's that for some discretion. In fact if you really want to be discretionary...use some of that 920 billion, maybe a few billion here and there, to pay down the debt. Radical economics there! Boy those economists must sure be laughing at me with my radical notions.

   "Pay down debt! What an absurd notion! That man is a fool."

    Yep me and my foolish ideals of spending within your means. I was talking about this last night with my wife and thought of it in this way. If the goverment spends more than they can collect in taxes, they are in fact spending money to be collected in a future session of congress. Well the problem is that we didn't elect this congress and this president to figure out what to do with our money ten years from now. They can plan for ten years from now but they shouldn't spend the money we'll be making ten years from now, now. Get it? They are overstepping their authority. For Pete's sake they have $2 trillion dollars to work with. You can't do something productive with $2 trillion dollars? You know, it used to be that taxes accounted for like 3% or so of people's income. Well now it's more like 30%. I voted Democratic and here I am complaining about the Republicans and their big goverment.
February 6th, 2005

   Ah the joys of home ownership. The American dream. How lovely. Last year I got to spend a goodly sum on having the roof repaired due to water damage from faulty flashing and crappy gutters on my house. This year I'll get to spend probably twice that on building a retention wall for the hill that slid away from the winter rains on the front of the property. My friend in New Hampshire who just moved into his new house tells me that he gets to spend fistfulls of money to repair the three chimney's at some point.

   The reward for being able to afford the American Dream is getting to pay for upkeeping the American Dream. When I was a kid, the thirty bucks Stormin' Norm would pay me for playing the host at the IHOP on the weekend was a lordly sum of money that I was free to blow on junk food and video games. Now I give ten times that month every other month to Blue Cross just for 'piece of mind'.

   The magic of numbers. The numbers get bigger on the input but their also getting just as big on the output. So the net is still zero. And buying a pizza was a whole lot more rewarding than sending money to the "Keep Our Insurance People Employed" fund of America.
February 5th, 2005

   So Oak Park has this certification for Tree City USA or something like that. Owing to the fact that it has a lot of trees and it takes decent care of them. So the humorous thing I've heard recently is this group in the village who are all up in arms about how Oak Park has been mistreating it's trees and how it doesn't deserve to be honored for it's trees. From their letters to the village and the local paper you'd think that Oak Park was run by Maxim Corporation and was clear cutting the urban forest and kicking the spotted owl out of it's natural habitat.

   They used such words as 'devastation' to describe the removal of some trees from Jackson Blvd., citing 'hundreds' of trees cut down (when it's probably more like ten). The other side of the story was that the village was replacing a pipe in the street, pretty major one, on the scale of twenty feet long, that required a sizable crane to be brought in. So this large crane, in order to fit along side a large trench required some trees to be cut down. Could this be avoided? Probably but to paint the cutting down of the trees as nefarious or uncaring is uncharitable and negligent.

   Furthermore when another Oak Park resident reprimanded the group for not being fair they pointed out that one of their members is highly educated and should not be maligned. I guess he holds a Phd for astrophysics or some such from Cornell. Well that may be all well and good but tell me, What does astrophysics have to do with trees?

   Hey I have a degree in Electrial Engineering, I wonder what that qualifies me to be an expert on. Maybe as long as I include analogies to electricity it will sound reputable. There is electricity in lightning, therefore I will start complaining to the meteologist about the weather. The devastation caused by the recent weather reports is nothing short of scandalous!
February 4th, 2005

   On Groundhog's Day Kim and I went to see "Naughty Kitty", a two woman band who happen to be our friends. They play occasionally at the open mike at Big Joes on Foster Ave (1st Wednesday of every month). I love it when friends amaze me by showing talents I never knew they had hidden away inside themselves. Every time we go see them they seem to get better. Their lyrics sung humorously and honestly display a depth of integrity that belies their amateur status. Rock On!

   Tonight we took in Harvey on video. One of those great movies that shows how someone doing a little bit of nothing but with a whole lot of heart can make a big difference. I think this line says it all: "In this world, you must be oh so smart or ho so pleasant. Well for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant."
February 2nd, 2005

   This is worth ranting about or rather in fact this is the original rant. Without this ranting does not exist.

   The First Amendmant. Arguably, democracy cannot exist without the ability of individuals to express ideas. I'm really just bewildered to think that a rising generation has not considered this notion and that their parents and community has not instilled it. It's flavor smacks of apathy. I am quite sure that those young adults would find their appreciation for the privilege of expression once it had been taken away.

   I have heard Thomas Jefferson quoted as saying "Those who wish to remain ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, want what never was and never will be." If we do not pay for educating the children of today in school then we will pay for the education of our society at a much higher price tomorrow.

   In the spirit of free speech I will be respecting Bush's right to free speech by NOT listening to his State of the Union address tonight. He's free to speak and I'm free to ignore it. Works out nicely that way I think.

   Between trying to amend the Constitution to 'protect' marriage and trying to justify a prolonged war in Iraq, I guess I've heard enough for a while.

   Oh! and another thing! Boy, am I getting tired of John Kerry, Barbara Boxer and the DNC peppering me with email. I may have voted for Kerry but that was more of a vote against Bush. I read these emails where they are all estatic because they've managed to get 12 senators to vote against Connie Rice for Secretary of State. Whoop-dee-do! They tell you to do stuff like call your senators and the Whitehouse to complain bitterly over his appointments and Social Security plan. Nobody likes complainers. They can't promote their own agenda since they don't have the majority so all they do is try to stall and make trouble to delay the majority from working. I may not agree with the majority but I don't see being churlish and obstinate. Say your peace, do what is within your power and then move on! Gee-wiz. Bunch of spoiled brats, the lot of em! Another day of playing the 'let's manipulate public sentiment for our agenda' game.
January 30th, 2005

   Today we went to see House of Flying Daggers by director Yimou Zhang. The film delivers in much the same way "Hero" did. Visually stunning from scene to scene and martial arts fighting extended to the fantastic and beyond (as soon as I install my global wire support network I plan on flying around like that myself).

   Two motifs that seem to pop up on Zhang's films are the conflict between the desires of the individual and the desires of the state/people and the causation of suffering from selfless love. The characters of House of Flying Daggers summarily betray everyone they love to maintain loyalty to the larger causes to which they have dedicated their lives. Then later when they realize the larger causes don't mean diddly to them anymore in the face of their love for each other (in a semi-classic love triangle) they all eagerly volunteer to sacrifice their own lives for their ideal love. Well except for the one guy that is causing most of the grief but hey someone has to start the fight so somebody can have the honor of sacrificing themself.

   That's a bit flippant for a movie that was fairly poignant. Well poignant if you aren't distracted by flying people and remote controlled throwing knives (but hey that's still cool to watch).

   Would be romantics might think it better, after seeing the movie, to go join the cloister now and avoid the pain and death. While the already romantically dedicated will have new material to sigh over how beautiful all the self sacrifice was.
January 29th, 2005

   Last night, Kim and I went to see Peer Gynt. I've had the privilage to see a lot more of local theater since coming to Chicago (i.e. anything looks to be a lot more when your frame of reference used to be zero). With Kim a theater grad with friends who are still either acting, directing or otherwise involved in theater we occasionally catch wind of a performance which we go to, if for no other reason to see our friends perform. Last night our friend Cathy, a great cello player and composer, was doing the music.

   It's funny how inbred theater can be. By which I mean that directors, performers and the like all tend to follow each other around from performance to performance. It makes sense really. You get to know someone and make a personal investment in them, then why not use those relationships again for the next project? "If it works don't fix it!", as we like to say in New England.

   So the play is filled with folks who are associated with Wheaton College. A few of our friends graduated from Wheaton so it's not like I'm biased against them. But they are a very Christian group. There are little blurbs about 'faith' and 'prayer' smattered throughout the program. Um...Peer Gynt folks! Not Saint Peter. It has to be my bias but I can almost hear them scoffing under their breath "Heathens!" when the trolls are doing their trollish things on stage. Wheaton is a bastion of red in this blue state. But people are people right? So I'll let it go. Overall the play was enjoyable and succeeded in having me ask myself "Am I like Peer Gynt, choosing neither good nor bad? An onion where after you peel back the outer layers there is no center?" Well hopefully not quite that bad. Besides, being recast for another go around at life doesn't seem so awful to me. I wouldn't be asking the Devil to be taking to me Hell, as Gynt does, for fear of losing his identity.
January 27th, 2005

    Todays Rant is regarding Ayn Rand's "Anthem" which I started reading online.  It was recommended by Phil from Extraordinary Learning, from whom I get periodic newsletters which usually have some tidbit of wisdom that's enjoyable.  So I thought I'd give it a read and see what it's about.  Ayn Rand is a name that pops up from time to time (the last time being a Sluggy Freelance Comic), though I admit I've never read "Atlas Shrugged".  Well it's unbearable.  The woman just rants (I aspire to rant to her level) against anything that stifles the individual.  I'm thinking she'd be Lyndon Larouche's usurper for the Libertarians if she hadn't gone off and died.  Enlightened Self Interest.  In fact it reminds me of the ranting I read from John Stossels book "Give Me a Break".  Now there was some good ranting!  And just enough information sprinkled throughout it to make most folks think he's knowledgeable about his topic.  So the short of it is that I don't think I have the stomach for it.  Maybe if it were a pamphlet it would be amusing enough to chuckle through but a twelve part novel in which the message is pretty crystal clear by page three.  Yeesh.   Think I'll pass.