Last night, I went to Venetian Night as an extra chaperon for one of the summer programs here. Why a group of mostly-18 year old incoming freshmen need 4 chaperons is beyond me, but them's my orders. I had never heard of Venetian Night before. According to the City of Chicago:
Approximately 35 boats will be decorated with lights and props as they sail along beautiful Lake Michigan, between the Shedd Aquarium at Roosevelt Road and the Chicago Yacht Club at Monroe Street. People of all ages stake out spots along the lakefront as early as 9 a.m. to ensure a good view of the event. With an expected attendance of 675,000, public transportation, walking or biking to Venetian Night is suggested.
675,000 people. Wow. That's nearly 12 times the capacity of Shea Stadium, and (according to the Facebook group) 1849 times the size of GULC's Class of 2011. And all for boats? Apparently you can also enter your boat in this parade, but you have to send a letter to both the Commodore and the Rear Commodore. I wonder what qualifies you as a Rear Commodore?
The river was as packed as expected, and our seats were as awful as you'd expect, getting to an event nearly twelve hours after people started lining up. The boats were uninspiring at best, and the city somehow thought it was a great idea to not do anything for 45 minutes between the boats and the fireworks, as well as randomly not running the only bus that takes people down to the South Side. I believe that I could run a city more effectively, and I would work for less money too. Too bad my last name isn't Daley.
Around 3 weeks till home, and a month till G'Town. Get Psyched!
May all your hits be crits,
B
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
A Trip to the Blockbusters
As I can't do justice to my cat so soon after giving him up, I figured I'd give a quick rundown of the 3 movies I've seen so far this summer.
The Dark Knight: There is very little I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. Visually impressive, solid plot, and Heath Ledger alone is worth the price of admission. Everyone talks about him winning a posthumous Oscar, but his performance was good enough to take the prize even without the added boost that his death will give his chances. Christian Bale was solid, although he didn't seem as everpresent as he was in the first movie, mostly because the other characters were solid enough that he didn't have to be. Aaron Eckhart was good, and what Maggie Gyllenhall loses to Katie Holmes in the looks department, she more than makes up for with the upgrade she brings as an actress. There is a large part of me that hopes they don't make another one, although I know they will. Let's hope that the third Batman can avoid the curse that seems to follow most third movies.
Grade: A+
WALL-E: I came into this movie with expectations of the kind of masterpiece that critics had been raving about. I came out slightly disappointed, but entertained. While the animation was Pixar's usual level of awesome, and the characters were endearing, the plot dragged at points. The movie was kinda preachy, and the idea of Disney, which has made a vast empire on turning families into consumerist drones and couch potatoes, making a movie whose moral appears to be not to do just that, seems a little hypocritical. If you want to see "the best romantic comedy of the summer", WALL-E very well might be the way to go. However, after you see it, if you want a great animated movie, rewatch Ratatouille. You'll be glad you did.
Grade: B+
Hellboy 2: Of the three movies I mentioned, this is the one that you are least likely to have seen. However, I believe that, if you don't see it, you are doing yourself a great disservice. The acting isn't great, but if you're at this movie, you didn't come for the acting. Guillermo Del Toro puts on one of the greatest spectacles that you'll ever see, with strange looking creatures and breathtaking action scenes galore. I think that you could watch this movie on mute, and the movie wouldn't lose a bit of its impressiveness. A truly brilliant piece of summer escapism.
Grade: A-
May all your hits be crits,
B
The Dark Knight: There is very little I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. Visually impressive, solid plot, and Heath Ledger alone is worth the price of admission. Everyone talks about him winning a posthumous Oscar, but his performance was good enough to take the prize even without the added boost that his death will give his chances. Christian Bale was solid, although he didn't seem as everpresent as he was in the first movie, mostly because the other characters were solid enough that he didn't have to be. Aaron Eckhart was good, and what Maggie Gyllenhall loses to Katie Holmes in the looks department, she more than makes up for with the upgrade she brings as an actress. There is a large part of me that hopes they don't make another one, although I know they will. Let's hope that the third Batman can avoid the curse that seems to follow most third movies.
Grade: A+
WALL-E: I came into this movie with expectations of the kind of masterpiece that critics had been raving about. I came out slightly disappointed, but entertained. While the animation was Pixar's usual level of awesome, and the characters were endearing, the plot dragged at points. The movie was kinda preachy, and the idea of Disney, which has made a vast empire on turning families into consumerist drones and couch potatoes, making a movie whose moral appears to be not to do just that, seems a little hypocritical. If you want to see "the best romantic comedy of the summer", WALL-E very well might be the way to go. However, after you see it, if you want a great animated movie, rewatch Ratatouille. You'll be glad you did.
Grade: B+
Hellboy 2: Of the three movies I mentioned, this is the one that you are least likely to have seen. However, I believe that, if you don't see it, you are doing yourself a great disservice. The acting isn't great, but if you're at this movie, you didn't come for the acting. Guillermo Del Toro puts on one of the greatest spectacles that you'll ever see, with strange looking creatures and breathtaking action scenes galore. I think that you could watch this movie on mute, and the movie wouldn't lose a bit of its impressiveness. A truly brilliant piece of summer escapism.
Grade: A-
May all your hits be crits,
B
Friday, July 18, 2008
Life at the Rat
As usual, I'm writing from my post at the Ratner Athletic Center's front desk. I've been working here on and off for three years, which either means that I secretly love this job, which is unlikely, or that I'm otherwise unemployable. This isn't actually a bad racket. I get paid mostly to surf the internet, and I can get a lot of hours when I want. However, there are three types of people here who drive me out of my mind.
#1: Supervisors who take this job WAY too seriously. Admittedly, this is mostly Sean. Sean played football here at the UoC, and apparently this gives him the right to stomp around and act like he has actual power. I don't know why he feels this way, but he really is a pain in the tail.
#2: Patrons who like to take their bad days out on you. I will admit that this job places me squarely in the service industry, and it is my job to help the customers with whatever issues they might have. However, there are some things that I can't help with and aren't my fault. I don't let you in if you're not a member; that is why I exist. Threatening to complain to my boss will accomplish nothing. Yelling at me will accomplish even less. Calling me an asshole will make me stop being helpful. Also, if i'm not moving as fast as your hectic schedule would like me to, saying "Towel" like I don't speak the language will not speed me up. A little common courtesy would go a long way.
#3: Morons. People who ask me the same thing over and over drive me nuts. If the gym closes at 9, all parts of the gym close at 9. Asking me about every section piecemeal will not yield a section that stays open till 1am; that's just not how things work.
Only a few more weeks. Just gotta keep telling myself that.
May all your hits be crits,
B
#1: Supervisors who take this job WAY too seriously. Admittedly, this is mostly Sean. Sean played football here at the UoC, and apparently this gives him the right to stomp around and act like he has actual power. I don't know why he feels this way, but he really is a pain in the tail.
#2: Patrons who like to take their bad days out on you. I will admit that this job places me squarely in the service industry, and it is my job to help the customers with whatever issues they might have. However, there are some things that I can't help with and aren't my fault. I don't let you in if you're not a member; that is why I exist. Threatening to complain to my boss will accomplish nothing. Yelling at me will accomplish even less. Calling me an asshole will make me stop being helpful. Also, if i'm not moving as fast as your hectic schedule would like me to, saying "Towel" like I don't speak the language will not speed me up. A little common courtesy would go a long way.
#3: Morons. People who ask me the same thing over and over drive me nuts. If the gym closes at 9, all parts of the gym close at 9. Asking me about every section piecemeal will not yield a section that stays open till 1am; that's just not how things work.
Only a few more weeks. Just gotta keep telling myself that.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Thursday, July 17, 2008
What's in a Nick?
I weep for the death of the nickname. I mean when was the last time you saw a person with a great and lasting nickname? I don't mean the kind of genius it takes to call every Matthew Matt, or to bring into being everyone from AJ's to ZJ's (although I admittedly have only seen up to SJ). Where is the brilliance that produced the Big Unit? And, more importantly, why couldn't that have been mine?
I myself have had a seemingly neverending parade of nicknames: B, B-Rad, Ace, Ardell, Pennington, Costanza, etc. All of these were meaningful at the time and place they were given, but none of them seem to stick. Maybe its a function of moving and growing older...
I guess the real reason I mourn the nickname is not for me, but instead for Kevin Garnett. I realize that for me to feel bad for him is kinda ridiculous; I mean, he's a rich, talented NBA star and I'm working at the gym. However, after watching Bull Durham twice last week, the value of a nickname has never seemed more important. Take Garnett as an example: According to the good folks at Wikipedia, who know everything, Garnett has been known as "The Big Ticket", "KG", "The Kid", and formerly "The Franchise". Each of these names has a tremendous flaw. KG lacks originality, and, unless he's been robbing stagecoaches in the offseason, no 30 year old man should ever be known as "The Kid."
"The Franchise" is inaccurate; Garnett's just one of the Big Three. And Garnett deserves better than to be remember as the only way to sell tickets for an awful set of Minnesota teams. Unfortunately, most of the great nicknames appear to be taken (mostly by Shaq). I mean, Garnett was The Truth, but Paul Pierce was also The Truth. Allen Iverson is supposedly The Answer, but the only question I can think of is "Who will have scored the most points without ever winning a title?" Garnett was way more of an answer, but unfortunately he loses out again. As a solution to this, I now proclaim him, with the blessing of Wikipedia, The Force.
As for me, I'm hoping law school brings a more permanent, or at least more complimentary, moniker. Oh well, there's always Ace...
May all your hits be crits,
B
I myself have had a seemingly neverending parade of nicknames: B, B-Rad, Ace, Ardell, Pennington, Costanza, etc. All of these were meaningful at the time and place they were given, but none of them seem to stick. Maybe its a function of moving and growing older...
I guess the real reason I mourn the nickname is not for me, but instead for Kevin Garnett. I realize that for me to feel bad for him is kinda ridiculous; I mean, he's a rich, talented NBA star and I'm working at the gym. However, after watching Bull Durham twice last week, the value of a nickname has never seemed more important. Take Garnett as an example: According to the good folks at Wikipedia, who know everything, Garnett has been known as "The Big Ticket", "KG", "The Kid", and formerly "The Franchise". Each of these names has a tremendous flaw. KG lacks originality, and, unless he's been robbing stagecoaches in the offseason, no 30 year old man should ever be known as "The Kid."
"The Franchise" is inaccurate; Garnett's just one of the Big Three. And Garnett deserves better than to be remember as the only way to sell tickets for an awful set of Minnesota teams. Unfortunately, most of the great nicknames appear to be taken (mostly by Shaq). I mean, Garnett was The Truth, but Paul Pierce was also The Truth. Allen Iverson is supposedly The Answer, but the only question I can think of is "Who will have scored the most points without ever winning a title?" Garnett was way more of an answer, but unfortunately he loses out again. As a solution to this, I now proclaim him, with the blessing of Wikipedia, The Force.
As for me, I'm hoping law school brings a more permanent, or at least more complimentary, moniker. Oh well, there's always Ace...
May all your hits be crits,
B
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Back to the "Blogosphere"
Well damn. I thought blogging had lost its luster for me when my teenage years came to a close. However, I guess I'm at a turning point in my life, and turning points seem to be the kind of thing that make you reflect and pull you back into past habits. Oh well, here goes nothing:
I'll start with a description. I'm a nearly 22-year old, soon to be 1L based in either Brooklyn, New York (where my parents live), Chicago (where I am currently), Connecticut (where my drivers' licence was issued), or Washington D.C. (where Georgetown, my future alma mater, is located). I recently finished up 4 years here at the University of Chicago, leaving with a degree in History, a great girlfriend, a fraternity membership, and a whole load of books of which I need to rid myself before I go home. I currently split my working hours between working at the UoC gym, which I'm actually doing right now, and doing odd jobs for various Jewish organizations on campus (anything from soliciting donations to rerouting the rain gutters).
My hobbies can be split into three major categories, Common, Loser and Athlete. The common stuff is what everyone does: hang out with friends, watch movies, listen to music. For the sake of getting it out there, my favorite band is the White Stripes, and my favorite movie is Pulp Fiction. I guess what those both have in common is a nice wide streak of pretentiousness. I really hope I'm not pretentious, as way too many people annoy me with just that quality.
I don't play sports nearly as often as I'd like, both due to laziness and a lack of people to play with. When active, I love football, soccer, and broomball (midwestern game that is like hockey with no skates). I always have been a sports nut, having learned to read relatively early on by reading the NY Times sports page. I am a die-hard fan of Rangers hockey, Jets football, and Mets baseball. I used to be a Knicks fan before I realized that the Knicks are like the worst girlfriend in history.
Let me explain. You have some great times together (Ewing teams of the mid-90s, Improbable Finals run in '99), but one day you wake up and realize that those good times are long gone. You don't give up on the relationship, and you weather the hard times, but eventually the selfishness, insensitivity, and incompetence (read: Isaiah) take its toll, and you break up. Within a few weeks, they're back, telling you that they've changed their ways, and pointing out some legitimate attempts (David Lee) at self-improvement. So you take them back, but soon you realize that they haven't changed a bit. However, the worst part of all is that they've ruined you for any other relationship, and you're stuck alone and lost.
The Loser part of me, which everyone at UoC has, be they debate nerds, theater nerds, Trekkies, etc..., is a Gamer Nerd. This is probably one of the more reviled types of nerd, as gamer nerds tend to lack in both hygene and social graces. My nerdery is confined to Magic and Warcraft, both of which attract me by appealing to the more meticulous parts of my nature. I don't LARP, I don't DND, and I'm certainly not the type to attend conventions of any sort, but I'm still a proud, outspoken, gamer nerd.
I guess that this is a decent place to end my first post, although some might argue that the world would have been better served if I'd ended before I began. The next post will either be sports-related (as many of the posts will be), movie-related (just saw WALL-E and Hellboy, gonna see Dark Knight soon), or about my new cat.
May all your hits be crits,
B
I'll start with a description. I'm a nearly 22-year old, soon to be 1L based in either Brooklyn, New York (where my parents live), Chicago (where I am currently), Connecticut (where my drivers' licence was issued), or Washington D.C. (where Georgetown, my future alma mater, is located). I recently finished up 4 years here at the University of Chicago, leaving with a degree in History, a great girlfriend, a fraternity membership, and a whole load of books of which I need to rid myself before I go home. I currently split my working hours between working at the UoC gym, which I'm actually doing right now, and doing odd jobs for various Jewish organizations on campus (anything from soliciting donations to rerouting the rain gutters).
My hobbies can be split into three major categories, Common, Loser and Athlete. The common stuff is what everyone does: hang out with friends, watch movies, listen to music. For the sake of getting it out there, my favorite band is the White Stripes, and my favorite movie is Pulp Fiction. I guess what those both have in common is a nice wide streak of pretentiousness. I really hope I'm not pretentious, as way too many people annoy me with just that quality.
I don't play sports nearly as often as I'd like, both due to laziness and a lack of people to play with. When active, I love football, soccer, and broomball (midwestern game that is like hockey with no skates). I always have been a sports nut, having learned to read relatively early on by reading the NY Times sports page. I am a die-hard fan of Rangers hockey, Jets football, and Mets baseball. I used to be a Knicks fan before I realized that the Knicks are like the worst girlfriend in history.
Let me explain. You have some great times together (Ewing teams of the mid-90s, Improbable Finals run in '99), but one day you wake up and realize that those good times are long gone. You don't give up on the relationship, and you weather the hard times, but eventually the selfishness, insensitivity, and incompetence (read: Isaiah) take its toll, and you break up. Within a few weeks, they're back, telling you that they've changed their ways, and pointing out some legitimate attempts (David Lee) at self-improvement. So you take them back, but soon you realize that they haven't changed a bit. However, the worst part of all is that they've ruined you for any other relationship, and you're stuck alone and lost.
The Loser part of me, which everyone at UoC has, be they debate nerds, theater nerds, Trekkies, etc..., is a Gamer Nerd. This is probably one of the more reviled types of nerd, as gamer nerds tend to lack in both hygene and social graces. My nerdery is confined to Magic and Warcraft, both of which attract me by appealing to the more meticulous parts of my nature. I don't LARP, I don't DND, and I'm certainly not the type to attend conventions of any sort, but I'm still a proud, outspoken, gamer nerd.
I guess that this is a decent place to end my first post, although some might argue that the world would have been better served if I'd ended before I began. The next post will either be sports-related (as many of the posts will be), movie-related (just saw WALL-E and Hellboy, gonna see Dark Knight soon), or about my new cat.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)