esprit de l'escalier

Bird - established 1977

Today is my dear friend Bertie's 30th birthday. She was in town to celebrate this weekend, her farewell Chicago tour before she moves to Mexico to work in an embassy. Bird is a wonderful friend, supportive and hilarious with a huge heart, and some of her friends wanted to make this birthday special for her, so we had some surprises up our sleeves. We flew and drove in three people. (The polaroid above is moments after Sarah accidentally spoiled who the final two surprise guests were. What you can't hear are the high pitched screams of excitement from the birthday girl, much to the chagrin of our fellow diners.)

The weekend was brimming and a good time all around. (Though there were several points when I thought exhaustion was going to get the better of me.) It was nice for me to spend one of my last weekends in the city with people I love and miss.

Here are some more photos of the weekend.

This is the lovely Sarah, our first surprise guest, and the one who traveled the farthest to help celebrate Miss Bertie.

Sarah, Bird and I made a quick jaunt up to the Botanic Garden in Glencoe, while waiting for surprises 2 and 3 to arrive.

Finally, here is Bird on Sunday morning, with all of her surprises.

It's also my friend Mariah's birthday, and Harry Potter's, who, I believe, should both be 27. :) Birthday wishes all around.

Big changes afoot

I have very good news that I meet with mixed emotions.

Tuesday morning I found out that I got into an urban planning Master's program I had applied to, which starts September 19! Come the end of August I'll find myself moving back to Ohio, ensconced in my parents' basement (until alternate housing can be arranged). I'll be a Buckeye again, back in the heart of it all.

Obviously this is something that has been cooking for awhile, but I've been a little cagey about it, not wanting to discuss it too much, in case it fell through, so I haven't put much actual thought about leaving Chicago. This has been my home for four years. My job has been my only real job, and I will have been there almost four years. I've lived in this city long enough that it seems small, and I run into friends and acquaintances all over in random places. I love my friends here, I love my co-workers, I love my roommate, I love this city. And yet I'm leaving.

I got a little emotional on Wednesday coming back from lunch, the immediate elation of the acceptance letter wearing thin. I walked past Millennium Park and the gorgeous buildings on Michigan Avenue, thinking that when I spend time here next it'll be as an ex-Chicagoan, a tourist. (Are cities like Narnia, once a king or queen, always?)

While I'll miss public transportation (Columbus has a bus line that isn't horrible, or maybe it is, it's been awhile), I won't miss the CTA and it's continuing implosion. I won't miss the scandals from the Mayor's office, either.

For awhile I've felt that Chicago is a little too big for me, so Columbus fits the bill in that regard. I'm excited to rediscover it. There are excellent restaurants and shops, and I'll be closer to my parents and grandparents. There are also semi-dormant friendships to reawaken and new ones to be made.

I am most excited about this program. I'm excited to dive into city planning and to truly carve out a niche for myself. But I haven't given myself enough time to truly get used to the idea of moving. In a month! So much organizing to do, and packing and cleaning. The last of this summer will fly as fast as the first.

Emmy, schmemmy...

Warning: blatant solicitation below...

I've got a post at newcritics about my distaste for the Emmy Awards. Go read it and let me know if you think the Emmys suck or if you're really excited for Charlie Sheen to be nominated for his fine work in Two and a Half Men. Or you love Grey's Anatomy so much it DESERVES a dozen or so Emmys. Who cares about actual dramatic acting occurring on Friday Night Lights or weirdo shows on SciFi? Don't comment here, comment there.

See below for wizards and baseball.

Wizards and baseballs

I'm wimped out on my Friday plans, the thought of staying home and vegging was just too tempting. Saturday held wizards and baseballs for me. I picked up the last Harry Potter at my local bookstore when it opened at 10am. I finished the last 30 pages this morning. I enjoyed it, but will say no more about it...

Later I went to my first game at Wrigley Field with my friend Cindy. The Cubs lost, and it was a long, drawn out game, but I had a great time. Cindy's a lifelong Cubs fan and gave me a full historical overview of the stadium. Plus I had a hot dog and ran into a friend from school.

That evening Natasha and I had dinner and went to see the latest Harry Potter movie with our friend Elaine, which we all loved. The Order of the Phoenix was my least favorite book and the longest. When I first read it I thought it was endless and overly angsty. I mean, I thought Rowling got the teen angst stuff right, just a little too right. The movie, while it did gloss over and skip some side stories, did a great job telling the story. Elaine felt that the director got the boarding school aspect the best so far. I agree with her and am pleased to see him directing The Half-Blood Prince. Though I know die hards are probably angry at the edits, there was no way to film the book in its entirety.

A couple other things I'm liking:
- Clark and Michael: it's an online mockumentary-style show, the episodes last about 7-10 minutes and star Clark Duke and Michael Cera (George Michael in Arrested Development). My friend Ginny turned me onto it, as she loves Michael Cera. It's full of awkward pauses and uncomfortable humor, and is pretty hilarious. At least check out the clip of Michael on Letterman.

- The novels of Kate Atkinson. I just finished Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which I absolutely adored. A girl tells her rollicking life story, starting at her conception, and weaves in and out of her family's history. It's got a magical realism feeling to it and a huge heart and humor. I read Case Histories a couple of weeks ago, which I also enjoyed. The two books both tell women's stories, over different points in time, but Case Histories is a detective novel (of sorts). They both have humor and sadness, and I was crying at the end of Scenes, but in a good way.

Learning to love film

I just finished an intensive eight week beginning photography course at the Chicago Photography Center. It was the equivalent of a semester of photo I in a condensed schedule and at a much lower cost and has to be one of the best things I've ever done in this city.

I did the film portion of the class and we met for lecture once a week for several hours and then had darkroom lab another night a week for several hours. I grew to really like and respect my fellow students for their different perspectives and their eyes. We learned all the basics of photography, about aperture, shutter speed, motion, depth of field.

The best part of the curriculum, though, was the three weeks we spent discussing the psychology between photographer and subject and how one gives oneself license to take photos. This class made me uncomfortable in that acute way when you know you're learning something. The discomfort from stepping outside your zone and pushing your boundaries.

Richard Stromberg, my teacher, though, is the best reason to take this class. He is the personality and brains behind the CPC. He is a photojournalist who has been taking pictures since his late teens and has great stories too, like taking photos in the middle of the riot when Martin Luther King, Jr. marched in Gage Park to dangling over the edge of the Hancock Building for an unobstructed shot. He is a great teacher for the same reason he is a photographer: he is truly interested in people and their stories. His eye is wonderful and he gives constructive, honest critiques of the students' photos.

I loved this class, even though I hated most of the photos I took for it. I was too nervous with the camera and assignments and plan on doing them over again for practice. I loved working in the darkroom and developing the film at home. It's time consuming, but a chance to focus and clear my mind. I wish I could start Photo II this week, but the next seven weeks are full of unknowns and I unsure if I can commit the time or not. I want to, though. I want to improve and learn more. Plus the community built around the CPC is something I've been looking for the entire time I've lived in the city.

Dire straights for internet radio

The US District Court denied a stay for the unfair, retroactive royalty rates, which will go into affect Sunday for internet radio stations. Payment should be fair over all radio mediums. Please call your representatives now to support and bring the Internet Radio Equality Act. As Tim says, this is a medium that needs to survive. (For some reason the vid that I posted above isn't showing up in IE, here's a link if you can't see it.)

Other links:
Here's an article from KCRW in Santa Monica by Celia Hirschman called "When Our Leaders Fail Us".
Here are all of KCRW's posts on the issue.
Here's another link to SaveNetRadio.org.
Here's a Paste magazine article on the issue as well.

It's meme-tastic!

I have been tagged - twice!

Tom Watson has awarded me the Thinking Blogger Award, which just completely tickles me. Every time Tom asks me to help out in something he's working on or links to me, I always think, "Really? Me?" It's an honor.

Here are five daily reads that expand my mind and creativity:
3191 - a photo blog of diptychs by two inspiring and creative women who live on different coasts - such a nice place to start the day
The Garden Party - the fantastic Bri who inspires me with her words and green thumb
The Glass Doorknob - I love Shari's thoughts on life and her artistic endeavors
Gazelles on Crack - I love Miss Amy and get to meet her soon!
Reconstructing Stacey - my dear friend who I miss (and who should post more, hint hint!)

I was also tagged by the eminent M.A. Peel with the 8 Things Meme. I decided to theme it this round with a current obsession hobby.

Eight things (part deux): Photography

1. I am currently waiting for some negatives to dry. This is the first time I haven't (at least I don't think I have) screwed up some part of the film developing process. Woo!

2. I am almost done with an 8 week film photo course (see number 1). It has been great and I am learning a ton and wish I could start it over again because I feel like I screwed up most of my assignments. But learning, learning is good.

3. Wednesday nights for the last three weeks have meant: So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef, developing film in my kitchen to be ready for my Thursday darkroom lab.

4. The only dark place I have to take the film out of the little can and onto the development reels is a closet that is only completely dark when it's dark outside, so I have to wait til Top Chef is over and then turn out all of the lights.

5. For some reason I close my eyes when I am taking the film out and putting it on the development reels. Yes, it's dark and I can't see, but I don't know why I'm closing my eyes.

6. In third grade I won a camera at a school raffle. It was teal and one of those little flat rectangular cameras and I realize now that I have no idea what kind of camera it is. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I just did some googling and it's the type that takes 110 film.

7. The only other thing I ever won at a raffle was Candy Land, but this was several years later when I was 13 or 14. I took it babysitting.

8. My roommate likes to make fun of how many cameras I have accumulated in the last couple of years. I just got a new one. My very own Nikon N80 SLR. It's pretty and handles like a dream.

I'm not going to tag everyone, because it's now very late and I'm tired and have to chase my cat away from my drying negatives. Bad cat.

Summer hours

I'm around, but it's been too hot to blog, and I plan on keeping summer hours, so expect more sparse posts. My brain's pickling a little in the heat. Yesterday, to beat the mid-90 degree heat, my roommate and I did a double feature of Ratatouille and Knocked Up. Not exactly a family-friendly, obvious pairing, but the times worked out perfectly.

Ratatouille makes me believe in the power of Pixar again. In some ways it was reminiscent of the Muppets or Fraggle Rock. Remy, the main rat, could have easily stepped out of a Henson creation, with his pure heart and creative spirit. I really love Brad Bird, the writer/director, and this movie. Go see it.

Knocked Up was funny and honest, which is what I expect from Judd Apatow, but I couldn't believe people were there on dates. I told my mother what we saw, and to this she exclaimed, "I don't know why people your age would see that!" I laughed and told her that if I had been there on a date, I wouldn't allow the guy to touch me afterwards. This movie is very good birth control.

I *finally* have my review of the latest Wilco album up at newcritics. Check it out here.