Nice Changes For Palmer Square

My block finally got the blue bin recycling trash cans. Great news for my neighbors, although I'm still left to deal with my own recyclables since I live in a building with more than 4 units.

They finally took down the fence around the "tot-lot" that the park district was building. It was a huge, over-budget debacle that they spent more than a year on, but I'm actually happy with the result. It's pretty subdued for a playground.

Top Dogs

These are my friends and their dogs.

Stevie and L.B.J.

Ryan and Malko

Kristen and Seamus

Thanks for hooking it up Erica!

My Trip to Bonnaroo '09 in Motion Picture Form

I had the fortune of being invited to Bonnaroo this year as tour manager/assistant/all-around helper for my friends in The Hood Internet. It was tons of fun and all went despite a little heat and rain.

Back in 2003 I went as a regular camper. That was amazing, but I'm a little spoiled now so it was nice to stay in a decent hotel and get driven around, eat catered food and drink free. Plus we fly there.

I took Hannah's Flip video camera down there and tried to document the experience as best I could. Out of nearly 60 minutes of footage I whittled it down to 20, using iMovie 09. It's kind of long, I suppose, but I was there 3 nights, so whatever. Enjoy!

My parents, back then

My dad recently emailed this photo to my brothers and I. My mom followed it up with a little history that I thought was kind of great. Enjoy.

We met in June, when I was 19 and Jeff was still 18 and dated all summer. He went back to U. of Dayton and we kept dating when he was back in town.
The second semester of so the following school year (sophomore) Jeff got a collapsed lung from exhaustion, due to all night poker games, cigarettes, beer, classes during the day etc. I visited him when his parents got him back to St. Louis, to a hospital. We dated pretty much exclusively after that, not counting an occasional breakup for a few weeks or a month or two, when we sampled a variety of other companions.
This photo taken almost 2 years after we met. Jeff and friends had been renting a clubhouse on the Meramec river so we could drink underage. Maybe kids payed something to come to the parties there?? There was always a big crowd, lots of music and dancing and beer, an outhouse, perilous drives home after the parties. Most of us still had curfews back then, so that had to be dealt with in devious ways. Since I was one of the earlier birthdays, I really was a procurer of several six-packs of beer for a few of us. Many of the other kids had fake ID's of older siblings to help out.
The sign behind us in the photo said"Information Center". It directed you upstairs to a sort of attic-like room where we kept our coats. There may have been a mattress up there. I honestly don't think kids used it for anything more exciting, but the possibility was always there. The little clubhouse wasn't heated or cooled well, if at all, so the upstairs wouldn't have been comfortable.
I think we were dancing to that "shake a tail feather" song and having a wonderful time just when this photo was snapped. I love it. We had a lot of fun out there untill we gave it up when most of had gotten old enough to buy beer with our legal id's.
We were married after dating 4 years. Seems like yesterday sometimes. It's been an entertaining life. We're still dancing and we're still crazy about each other.

Heading to Bonnaroo

I'm going to Bonnaroo tonight until Sunday to help The Hood Internet (and mooch a free trip out of the deal). It'll probably rain the whole time, but we're in a hotel and Bill Jones loaned me his boots, so whatever. This video from Sasquatch fest a couple weeks ago is getting me pumped for the weekend. Try to watch all the way to the end.

Riding on the Trader Todd's Tiki Bus

Apropos of nothing, and extremely late (these are from April 18), here are pictures from a ride I took on the Trader Todd's Tiki Bus. Due to a compromise based on location of homes and the Cubs/Cardinals game, Hannah and I ended up at Trader Todd's to meet Ryan Keller, Tom, Ryan's wife Laura and their buddy whose name I can't recall (but he was cool). This bar is tiki themed, which means they have a sailboat in the back patio and island themed drinks. They also have a giant pink bus (which used to have a grass skirt) that runs shuttle-style from the bar to Wrigley and back in a loop. Inside is a TV playing, at quite high volume that can't be lowered, a collection of songs culled from Jimmy Buffet's recent Wrigley Field show. The driver has a microphone/loud-speaker setup so he can yell things at people on the street. We had the good fortune of knowing the driver, Dylan, who is one of the funniest people I know. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.




It also features a recliner that Tom's enjoying here...





Also, to settle any comments that may mention it, Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds never actually owned the place, but was just the owner/spokesperson for the Trader Todd's Beer and is friends with the owners of the bar itself. This is, according to Dylan, the most common misconception about the establishment.

DJing Friday At Burlington

I hesitate to call it DJing, but this Friday from 10 until close I'll be at Burlington with my friend-worker, Matt, playing songs I deem "fun" while you all drink.  No Cover.  Specials are $3 Tecate, $4 IPA drafts and $4 Beam shots (always $2 PBRs too). Won't you join us?