I'm pretty comfortable with technology, complacent even, but every once in a while some commonplace thing about our modern world just amazes me. One day about 120 years ago, French actress Sarah Bernhardt left the Broadway theater where she was performing and set out on a journey that took her over the Hudson River into New Jersey. She was the most famous actress in the world, … [Read more...] about Divine Sarah Meets the Wizard of Menlo Park
Friday Catblogging: Minky!
Fans of this blog, or at least of this blog's catblogging, may have noticed that most of the pictures are of sleeping cats. What can I say? I am surrounded by lazy kitties. However, I recently paid a visit to my friend Cindy to take pictures of her new kitten. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...Minky! Update: The Friday Ark is up. … [Read more...] about Friday Catblogging: Minky!
Des Plaines TIF: A Strange Mix
Right on the south edge of the central triangle in the Des Plaines Five Corners/River-Rand TIF zone is a small group of odd buildings. This is the only part of the inner triangle (and the only part of the TIF district I've shown you) that looks like a common-sense definition of blighted, especially when seen from behind: Really, that does look a bit run down. But … [Read more...] about Des Plaines TIF: A Strange Mix
Guess Who’s Back?
Now that 24 is over, what will we do for mindless action? This. … [Read more...] about Guess Who’s Back?
If You Fall Well That’s Okay
So, I hear that Jerry Falwell died. I was in high school and my early college years during the heyday of the Moral Majority, a bunch of busybodies who seemed terribly worried that people were enjoying themselves in ways they did not approve. In particular, they seemed to dislike recreational sex, and they seemed to dislike popular culture—television, movies, and … [Read more...] about If You Fall Well That’s Okay