The Chicagoist

This is Taking Obamania to a New Level

Matt — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:44:59 +0000

As any Chicagoan can attest to, the only thing people love more than voting for Barack Obama is plastering his likeness on every piece of shit known to man… I still see Walgreen’s on the South Side selling Obama T-Shirts (2 for $10 last time I went down to the Museum of Science and Industry). So, it would really take an extraordinary piece of merchandise to justify cranking out a blog post, but apparently you can always count on drug dealers from South Texas who have been peddling X shaped in the image of the 44th President.

Thanks to my buddy RJ for the publishing this on his wesbsite/blog and on Facebook.

My favorite part of the whole story, though, is the speculation from the author about the arrested dealer’s political affiliation. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but it’s not hard to imagine someone from Republican stronghold of Texas actually thinking this is some kind of Democrat experiment in “getting out the vote.”

Barack Obama Ecstasy Pills Hit Streets: Approval Ratings High [CBS News Crimesider]
Obama X Pills? [White Folks Get Crunk]

I Can’t Believe Hyde Park Barbeque & Bakery Isn’t on Urbanspoon

Matt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:38:15 +0000

I generally trust Urbanspoon with my life… At least my culinary life. It’s the simplest way to keep track of all the places you’ve liked, all the places you’d want to try, and don’t get me started on the slot machine app. Freaking brilliant. So it always comes as a bit of a shock to me whenever I find Urbanspoon behind the on the times, the last being when they had Cafe Selmarie (one of my favorite places here in Lincoln Square) listed as closed when it is very much not. It’s OK, they quickly changed their page but still…

Anyways, that’s why I was surprised to find that Hyde Park Barbeque and Bakery is not even listed on Urbanspoon’s directory. I don’t pretend to be a Hyde Park aficionado, but judging by its reviews, not only has it been at 55th and Hyde Park Blvd. for at least some time, but it’s also fairly well respected in the neighborhood. I know Hyde Park is a bit off the beaten path, but it’s still a relatively vibrant place full of families, professors, and college kids. It’s not like I’m talking about the dearth of Chicago, such as say Englewood or Austin. Anyways, I felt the need to share this and I hope a page is created for this place soon.

Sammy Sosa Scares the Shit out of Me

Matt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:26:37 +0000

This goes way beyond the steroid-tainted home runs, the hot dogging bullshit he’d pull, jumping out of the box, the mindless adoration the Bleacher Bums in right field would give him despite the fact EVERYONE ELSE KNEW HE WAS JUICING, or even the smug “I guess I’ll just wait for the Hall of Fame to call me” message he released when he “retired” (his words for nobody wants to sign a crappy, aging corner outfielder whose power mysteriously disappeared after the shit hit the fan with steroids in baseball).

Have you seen the latest photo of Sammy, trotting around at some event in Las Vegas last month? Holy crap! This is nightmare fuel, everyone.

If this is not the freakiest thing ever, I don’t know what is.

Don’t worry, Cub fans, Sosa claims he’s OK and credits his drastically whiter skin tone on some sort of skin rejuvenation process. He also claims that he doesn’t understand why there has been such a hubbub about these photos. Uh, did you bother to look at them?

On second thought, don’t.

Blackhawks in Blackface… Seriously?

Matt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:53:36 +0000

By now you’ve probably already seen the picture of Blackhawks Patrick Kane and Adam Burish rocking the blackface look for Halloween as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, respectively.

First let me underscore that this doesn’t personally offend me. I doubt the pair spent their night walking around acting out traditional racial stereotypes of black people, in the true spirit of blackface performances. However, I’m not the moral police and certainly don’t begrudge anyone from being personally offended by this.

That said, it absolutely boggles my mind how stupid athletes, celebrities, and general people in the spotlight can be this day in age. Did it really never cross either of these guys’ minds how bad an idea this might possibly be? Especially when you consider that Kane is from Buffalo and Burish from Wisconsin; they’re both American! Adam Burish has a college degree from a Big 10 university! You can’t even play the cultural ignorance card. I know they meant no harm and were just trying to have some fun, but this is a pretty standard cultural faux pas.

Anyways, at least it looks like the Hawks have figured some things out on the ice. Cristobal Huet has started in goal their last 4 games and the Hawks are 3-1 in that stretch, which is very encouraging and despite not having played since Friday, they retain a 2-point lead in the division.

Crazy Times in Northcenter

Matt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:35:59 +0000

One of the things that attracted me to the Northcenter/Lincoln Square neighborhood was its safety. Generally, I think most of the North Side of Chicago is a relatively safe place to be (maybe with the exception of some pockets in Albany Square and Uptown) but this weekend has been a bit rough for the ol’ ‘hood. Of course, the CPD is still looking for the car that struck and killed a 25-year-old female bartender at Lincoln & Cullom Halloween night and now comes another community alert from the 19th District concerning a failed sexual assault Halloween night in an alley just east of Addison & Western.

Neither really shakes my faith in this neighborhood and the real moral of this story is to just be on the look-out, fellow Northcenterians. I certainly hope both perps are caught and brought to justice.

The Blackhawks are a God Damn Mess Right Now

Matt — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:05:45 +0000

OK, OK, it’s hard to be too critical of a team that’s off to a 5-3-1 start and currently leads their division, but this week has really exposed some flaws in a Blackhawks team that could be much, much better. Though their 11 points are enough to take the top spot in the Central division, there are currently 6 other Western Conference teams with more points (although three do have a game in hand). Despite a high powered offense and a flashy, finesse game that is unrivaled in the NHL, the Hawks have two key Achilles’ heels that will undoubtedly be the team’s undoing this year unless address, namely, they have no size and no goaltending.

The size issue has always been prevalent with this group, since the first day the franchise built around Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, and that didn’t stop the Hawks from making that magical run to the Western Conference Finals last year, but without the chippy Adam Burish and with Troy Brouwer ailing, the Hawks seriously don’t have many bodies that strike fear into anyone. I hope Toews, Kane, and Patrick Sharp have extra padding because they’ll need it. No one is going to be afraid to occasionally take a shot at one of our skill players.

As for the goaltending, there’s not much that can be said. For as good as the Hawks’ offense has been these first few weeks of the season, their goaltending has been worse. Currently, the Hawks have the 2nd worst save percentage in the NHL ahead of only winless Toronto. It is a miracle, really, that this team is 5-3-1, but that is thanks mostly to the fact that the Hawks allow only 21.9 shots per game by opponent and average over 12 shots more taken than allowed, a league best (by far). Whether that is the result of a very, very good offensive attack or solid defense is immaterial, the bottom line is that despite this overwhelming advantage in offense the Hawks are only averaging about 1/2 goal better than their opponents per game.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but I can tell you it is not Cristobal Huet, who has been terrible in net. And I’m not sold on Antti Niemi, who has been much better, but at 26, I fear he’s not ready to be the #1 goalie for a team capable of making a deep run into the post-season. With limited size and a stick figure in net, though, the Hawks have some challenges to overcome if they want to end that 47-year Stanley Cup drought.

Another Blog You Should Check Out… Chicago Bar-Tender

Matt — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:14:30 +0000

Chicago Bar-Tender is one of the many, many blogs over at Chicago Now, the Chicago-centric blogosphere created by the Tribune. While there’s plenty of good stuff over there, there’s also plenty of fluff and crap. Bar-Tender, however, really goes above and beyond. I have no idea how anyone has the time or patience to dig through all the legal paperwork that is filed in Cook County everyday and cherry pick the very best, but Jennifer Fernicola apparently has a better work ethic than I.

Anyways, it’s one of the truly outstanding blogs over there and I highly recommend it. No, you won’t get much of the way of breaking news (that is mostly due to the nature of our legal system), but you will get a real interesting look at the everyday wheelings and dealings in our court system that frankly, I was very ignorant about before this blog started.

You can check them out here: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bar-tender/

Thankfully, I Never Had a Propane Tank

Matt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:29:53 +0000

This excellent YouTube video comes courtesy of a friend of mine who is a firefighter way out at the edge of civilization. Don’t let the drab intro fool you, it gets much, much better. If you’re really the impatient type, the good stuff starts at 1:24.

Check My Brain

Matt — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:07:07 +0000

I didn’t think they could find the perfect front man to replace Layne Staley. I know I’m way behind on this, but it’s been a struggle for me to really come to grips with the whole thing. I mean, Alice in Chains is one of my all-time favorites. I just can’t get the guitars out of my head. Nothing really that deep or meaningful in this track, but the sound is there, and that’s what I was most concerned with. Supposedly, the few reviews of their new album that I’ve read have been glowing, GLOWING about how airtight everything is. I’ll have to pick it up one of these days. For now, just enjoy.

Welcome!

Matt — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:45:29 +0000

I’m not 100% sure why I decided to do this. Great introduction, I’m sure, but I’ve tried to blog before and ultimately just gave it up. My last attempt was a sports blog dedicated to my favorite team, the White Sox, but in the end, writing endless pages about the Sox became tedious, and that’s exactly not what I want my escape from reality to be. This blog was born out of my reentry to Chicago, my beloved hometown. I was born and raised here, but moved to Central Illinois for 7 years (Peoria, to be exact), for college and then stayed to work for a few extra years. My girlfriend and I moved back this summer, and I am absolutely dazzled by what I’ve found. This city is more vibrant, more alive, and more beautiful than I ever remember it. I’d like to share that that with you, hopefully it comes off as genuine. Sprinkle in will be occasional rants and raves by me, reviews of stuff I like and hate, probably some Sox and Bears talk (I’m only human), and a slew of other things that pop on my mind. I’m hoping The Chicagoist succeeds because it will allow me to write about whatever I want without fear of going stale.

In closing, I hope this will provide some sort of insight into where I’m taking this thing.

Stuff I like

Lists
the CTA
Mexican food
Photography (ideally, this blog will be a constant reminder to carry a camera around with me… Lots and lots of good stuff I’ve missed that deserves to be cataloged).
Deep dish pizza

Keep in touch.