The End Part 2

Why stop doing this blog? I feel constrained by certain things that my lack of anonymity forces on me. I'd rather my blog be more free-wheeling and misanthropic than it is. That's just not possible as things now stand.

I'll be out there somewhere, but you'll have to work really hard to find me. Unless you are really good with computers, in which case you probably won't have much trouble. Luckily, I don't know anybody like that.

I'll end with a picture of the most attractive short woman in Hollywood, Mila Kunis, along with some of my other favorite pictures from this blog's short history:

Aren't Chicago taxes high enough?

Sometimes I wonder why taxes are so much higher in big cities than in smaller ones. Is it the need for an increased police presence due to more crime? That plays a part. Is it the need to pay prevailing wages for any work that is being done? Undoubtedly, that's also a part.

Here's another one, though, that would be much easier to fix if only the city council wasn't comprised completely of liberal to left-wing Democrats: the stupid spending programs. Why does our city need this when others don't?

The plan calls for City Hall to expand an emergency rental assistance program to support up to three months of rent and moving expenses for eligible tenants evicted after a landlord’s foreclosure.

Pro-bono legal services provided to evicted tenants by the Lawyer’s Committee for Better Housing will be expanded. And the city is prepared to launch a tenant outreach program as soon as Gov. Blagojevich signs a bill on his desk that broadens the umbrella of protections for impacted renters.

Awesome. They keep raising taxes to pay for this crap and then they wonder why they get a budget shortfall (hint: people do whatever they can to avoid the taxes). Then just just raise them more and more. The city needs this new program exactly why? Especially with this $400 million budget hole this year!

The comments at the bottom of the article give me some hope, as I see that I'm not the only one who has the same reaction to news like this.

This is why everyone hates hipsters

East Pilsen is one of those crappy Chicago neighborhoods that is turning into a hipster/artist area. Of course, the next step is then normal white people moving in and the neighborhood turning less crappy. The hipsters don't like it.

(As an aside, this final step is happening in my hood, Logan Square. Read the comment on our new bar by "abeline_queen" to get a flavor for how they view such nice, normal places. What a bitch. Here is the full text of an e-mail I sent to someone about her comment:

I mean, I know it's a comment section for rating the bar, but her beef isn't with the bar. It's with the very idea of an improving neighborhood. She hated this place before she ever stepped in it, and I doubt she ever did that.

If she thinks it's a Wrigleyville-style bar, she has clearly not been in there and thus is lying by reviewing it. The place is not ever very much fun (for now) because it's all couples going there to eat and then leave. It may as well be a Flat Top Grill.

Finally, how much individuality is there in dive bars and burrito places (of which there is only one of the "all-night" variety, and that's really just a regular Mexican restaurant that happens to be open 24 hours. Believe me, I've looked)? I've been to plenty of those places, too, and they are all the same. Because they suck. The dive bars are full of old people and dopey hipsters and in the burrito places you are lucky if someone can take your order since no one knows English. She must be one of those weird ugly hippie types who used to get made fun of when she was younger and never matured past it like most people do. I can just imagine her walking by the bar thinking how it's full of "frat guys" or some other supposed enemies.

Maybe I need to write a review responding to hers since she's so blatantly dishonest in her review. Overall, she just wants the relative safety of a nicer neighborhood (meaning full of white people) while continuing to reap the supposed benefits of bad ones ("character" and such). You can't have it both ways, sister!)

The latest manifestation is over a polish sausage stand in East Pilsen. I'm not kidding:

"This is a threat, not an opportunity for our neighborhood," says Carlos Chavarria, who owns Kristoffer's Cafe and Bakery on Halsted.

Why does a restaurant that serves up such beloved Chicago fare -- succulent grilled sausage topped with charred onions and sport peppers, a dollop of mustard on a bun -- elicit such a negative reaction?

"Have you been there?" asks Michael Berg, co-owner of EP Theater Company. "I go there for late night food once every two months. It's a place were drunk people who get out of bars at 2 a.m. go to eat and yell at each other. That's not what where looking for here."

Then there's the traffic jams and litter and overflowing Dumpsters, not to mention the rodents, graffiti, prostitution and double-parked cars, Chavarria says.

Huh? It's a sausage stand, not a casino!

This is what happens when you combine the modern nanny-statism of modern Chicago politics and liberalism in general with idiotic hipsters. What about the free market? Does anyone care about that any more?

I will say that the comments at the bottom of the story are really something. They range from the scary:

They should close down all of those Maxwell Street Depot stands. The food is bad for your health. If you ever see how they grill onions, they pour melted lard over a pile of onions on the grill. When they make the sausage putting the onions on top, you can see the bun soaking up the lard. Imagine what lard can do to you. It can cause harding of the arteries and that's bad for your heart. (Really? Who is "they"? You want the government to shut down restaurants because the food might be bad for you?)

...to the accurate:

Uneducated hipster losers are part of Podmajersky's plan for the neighborhood? Wow, that's forward-looking. (Ed: Ha!)Hey Pilsen, this housing/foreclosure crisis pretty much guarantees that you can keep your gangbangers for another 10 years. I feel sorry for the yuppies who paid over 300k prior to the crash for a 2 bed 2 bath.

...and...

Gee, I would bet if the Polish Stand was going to include lattes, frapuchinos, and fries made in duck fat, there would be no protest. (Ed: Double ha!) What a joke. Welcome ot Chicago. The city and citizens who hate businesses.

...to the funny:

i have an idea, why dont we have those people who hate the dog stand idea to have a polish eating contest so they can have a heart attack and die to solve our problems

...and...

Ya I always grab a polish and a trick from the polish stand.

The End

I'm killing off this blog after today, so enjoy it while you can. Or hate it. Whatever.

Rachel Lucas and I are on the same wavelength

Rachel Lucas on another foreclosure sob-story.

George Clooney Hearts Terrorists

Without further comment, the story first linked to by Andy McCarthy:

George Clooney, already one of Hollywood's leading liberal voices, has embarked on what may be one of his most controversial projects: the story of Osama bin Laden's driver.

Clooney's production company, Smokehouse, has bought the rights to a book about Salim Hamdan, an inmate at Guantánamo Bay who last week was sentenced to jail for his role in helping the al-Qaeda leader. The book, The Challenge, is by journalist Jonathan Mahler and tells the story of Hamdan's capture and trial, defended by a US navy lawyer, Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift. It has had a big critical success.

Last week Yemen-born Hamdan, who has already spent seven years in US custody, received a surprisingly light sentence of just five and a half years for being bin Laden's driver in Afghanistan. Prosecutors had billed the case as a key plank in the 'War on Terror', designed to show that terrorists could be dealt with by Guantánamo. They had described Hamdan as a member of bin Laden's inner circle who had knowledge of his terrorist plans...

Clooney is believed to be interested in playing the role of lawyer Swift and the case certainly has all the drama and tension of any fictional legal thriller. Aside from the terrorism and exotic locations, The Challenge describes Swift's battle as a classic case of a crusading 'little guy' winning against the odds.

Today's Megan Fox News

She has a new movie coming out, and rumor was that she had a topless scene. Now it's looking like it's not in the movie:

I'll take the reigns of this post while my boss, Cinematical editor-in-chief Erik Davis, presumably weeps on the floor of his office. According to a reviewer over at JoBlo.com, the movie all Megan Fox fanboys have been anxiously waiting for (Davis may have already been paying someone to prematurely wait in line for tickets), is reportedly without its most anticipated scene. That's right, the horror comedy Jennifer's Body no longer has footage of the Transformers hottie sans top. Of course, as we saw from some very popularly leaked shots (still available at CelebNewsWire.com), Fox wasn't actually topless anyway -- she had on flesh-colored pasties.

This is the story I was born to link to

You know I am going to link to this story just to check out the picture. I was not disappointed:

Every year, girls' dresses seem to be getting shorter and shorter (as we get older and older). But when they're wearing shirts as dresses...hmmm. Kymberly Clem, 20, was thrown out of a Kentucky mall Saturday because the "dress" she was wearing was deemed too short by security guards.

Global warming, my bum

The Tribune gives us the scoop:

August is the wettest and often the muggiest month of the year. Yet, summer heat continues in short supply, continuing a trend that has dominated much of the 21st Century's opening decade. There have been only 162 days 90 degrees or warmer at Midway Airport over the period from 2000 to 2008. That's by far the fewest 90-degree temperatures in the opening nine years of any decade on record here since 1930.

This summer's highest reading to date has been just 91 degrees. That's unusual. Since 1928, only one year—2000—has failed to record a higher warm-season temperature by Aug. 13.

Retards don't like Tropic Thunder

Some retarded folks are complaining about the new movie Tropic Thunder. I guess they don't like the use of the word "RETARD":

"When I heard about it, I felt really hurt inside,'' said Special Olympics global messenger Dustin Plunkett. ''I cannot believe a writer could write something like that. It's not the way that we want to be portrayed. We have feelings. We don't like the word 'retard.' ''

Tony Paulauski, executive director of Arc of Illinois, a public policy and advocacy organization for those with developmental disabilities and their families, is calling for a boycott of the film, which opens today.

"The use of the 'R' word in the media, in movies, in comedy sketches is no different than the use of the 'N' word. It needs to end," he said.

Dustin Plunkett is a baby, OK? You "cannot believe a writer could write something like that"? When was the last time you were on an elementary school playground?

Tony Paulauski (you know what they say about Pollocks, right?) says retard = a very bad word for black people (even though they use it ALL THE TIME, but that's another topic). And here I thought it was dumb when feminists compared their "fight for equality" or whatever to what blacks went through here. Even worse was when gays did it. Then fat people started to do it. Now retarded people? Where does it end?

This cannot stand!

I have now been accused by two people (one verbally, one written) of following the Olympics by posting this. I'd like to clear up some misconceptions, since linking to an article with a funny headline apparently is equal to reading about the Olympics to people.

I read the Drudge Report numerous times a day. Why? If you have to ask, you've never checked it out. It's a great site for news links, from big stories to silly and weird stories to opinion pieces.

Yesterday I went to Drudge and he put up a link to the Phelps story where he just copied the headline to his site. Here it is again:

Rise of the human dolphin

There was a picture of Phelps above it. The headline immediately made me think of the South Park episode, to which I linked a snippet. I didn't even read the article, because I DON'T CARE.

So, let's go back over this, since being a math major in college clear doesn't confer upon people reason and logic:

I saw a headline, then linked to the story to show that I was not making it up. I then wrote that the headline reminded me of a South Park episode.

How again does that mean that I am following the Olympics?

Shiner Bock vs. Yuengling

I agree with Kevin Williamson. It's no contest: Shiner by a mile. Yuengling is one of the worst beers I've ever had (and I've given it multiple chances).

Do you like having the Children's Museum moved to the park?

If so, thank Barack Obama for helping to make it possible:

Barack Obama's a swell guy, always willing to help out Chicago museums with federal taxpayer money… whether they need it or not.

In 2007, after he began his presidential campaign, Obama sought a $1 million federal earmark for the Chicago Children’s Museum to build a new facility. The museum, as of the end of fiscal 2007, had revenue in excess of expenses of $23 million, and net assets of $37 million.

If a museum is sitting on millions in profits, shouldn't they spend some of that before taxpayers nationwide are asked to kick in?

(That's from Jim Geraghty.)

Most people in the city don't actually want the museum to move, but darned if they can always find a way at the ballot box to keep re-electing the politicians who screw them.

Life Imitates South Park

The following headline in the London Evening Standard for a story about Michael Phelps reminds me very much of something:

Rise of the human dolphin

Oh yeah, it's this video.

Ode to The Final Score

I've sang the praises of The Final Score before. It's the sports highlight show that dispatches all of the usual crap in a SportsCenter or ESPNews broadcast and just shows highlights of sports we care about.

Today I have another reason to love it. Take a guess how much time was spent on the Olympics this morning...

It was about 2 minutes. The rest was baseball, with a little of the football game last night thrown in. I wanted to get on my knees and cry! Finally, I see other people in the sports broadcasting business who understand that lots of people don't care at all about the Olympics.

So thank you, Final Score, for giving me a glorious morning.

As an aside, I'm not sure why anyone would watch the Olympics last night, either. Between the White Sox game and a couple of great shows on History Channel (first, a Modern Marvels episode on carbon; second, a 2-hour documentary about hillbillies hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus), my night was full without having to degrade myself into watching the same kind of crap my mom most likely was.

Iowa News of the Day

Apparently, the only Vietnamese man in Des Moines (at least judging by his name) fancies himself an amateur veterinarian. And here we go:

Police said Vu attempted the sterilization procedure Aug. 2 on Shelly Shannon’s dog “Pooper.” It was reported to police two days later and animal control officers were brought in. They said one testicle had been removed with a razor blade during the home procedure but the other could not.

Shannon, 7907 S.W. 10th St., determined that the dog needed professional help, so she took him to the Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Iowa, 6110 Creston Ave., where Pooper was treated and later released.

Vu admitted that he attempted to neuter the dog and had not used pain medication, officials said. Officials said Vu told them he had been taught the procedure by his father and grandfather.

Officers noted that Vu has no veterinary license or training.

No kidding!

Prison Break Season 4

The new season of Prison Break starts Monday September 1 at 7PM with a 2-hour premiere.

As I track down more start dates I'll add them to the list on the left of this page.

UPDATE: OK, I did some more work as you can see.

24 starts in January, as per usual.

Lost kicks off early next year, according to ABC's website.

I can't find anything about King of the Hill, The Simpsons, or Family Guy. Those shows also had late start dates last year, I believe, that started around Halloween and after the MLB playoffs.

This morning's reason why I hate ESPN

Being in a hotel in Hartford, I didn't have access to any of the FSN affiliated channels that I'd usually have. Thus, I couldn't watch The Final Score this morning for my sports news. This was one of the worst possible days for me to be stuck with ESPNews. Why?

ESPNews is a 30-minutes program. You might have heard that Brett Favre was traded to the Jets late last night. What does ESPN show on their half-hour show?

The first 26 minutes were about Favre. Then they decided to throw a bone to everyone outside of Wisconsin and New York City by showing a couple of baseball highlights. And of course by highlights, I mean one play from each game, the Rays and Yankees games.

Effectively the show was engineered to appeal to people in Wisconsin, NYC, and a very smal group in Tampa. Everybody else got a big FU. Want to see White Sox highlights? FU! They didn't even play on a day when Brett Favre got traded! Neither did 25 other MLB teams!

Why was this blog labeled spam?

Last week, this blog was frozen for a day or two (that's why there were no posts on Friday). I also received an e-mail telling me that this space was designated as a potential "spam blog". I don't know what that is, but I guess it's bad. I replied to the e-mail, and on Saturday we were back in business. I had no idea why this was designated as such.

Then I read this article this morning:

Web loggers who are campaigning against Senator Obama's presidential run are accusing Google and Obama supporters of silencing them after their Web logs were marked as spam and their accounts temporarily frozen.

On Thursday, hours after publishing a post about an online petition demanding that Mr. Obama publicly produce his birth certificate, an associate professor of business administration at Brooklyn College, Mitchell Langbert, found that he could no longer access his Web log.

It goes on to describe the whole scenario. I'm not one to get into conspiracy stuff, and I doubt Google did this to go after anti-Obama blogs. I mean, sure, I don't like the guy, but it's not like I am pro-McCain. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one, I think:

A spokesman for Google, Adam Kovacevich, said in a statement that an overzealous antispam filter was responsible for the blocks.

"We believe this was caused by mass spam e-mails mentioning the 'Just Say No Deal' network of blogs, which in turn caused our system to classify the blog addresses mentioned in the e-mails as spam," he said. "We have restored posting rights to the affected blogs, and it is very important to us that Blogger remain a tool for political debate and free expression."

..."I don't think" Google has "malicious intentions at all, it's just that spammers can literally overrun a service if you're not careful, so their defenses have become overzealous," a spokesman for WordPress, Matthew Mullenweg, said in an e-mail.

"We always have human review before turning off an active blog," he said. "People invest so much time into their blogs, to treat it with anything less than the utmost respect is criminal."

I can understand the conspiracy-peddling from these guys since Google has shown a distinct left-leaning bias in the past. However, no one reads this except some people I know. Also, I am certain I have zero influence over anyone from anything I write here.

Tornado aftermath

Luckily, I was in a neighborhood tavern during our tornado last night. Drudge provided this link on the wrap up.