tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48008911023194608372024-03-13T12:45:07.233-05:00a fountain of useless informationmusings on current events, sports, art and my mundane existenceMelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-33026057979621415922011-02-16T16:21:00.000-06:002011-02-16T16:21:51.335-06:00A Eulogy For Borders[Author’s Note: Yes, I know it’s been eons since I updated this blog. I’m going to have to try to do something about that, but this was too important to me not to write about]
When I graduated college in 1999, like so many before and after me, I had to look for a job. Having a degree in film/video and not knowing anyone in the industry in addition to being unable to take a no/low pay job for “Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-91732738354485834132010-10-05T20:27:00.000-05:002010-10-05T20:27:29.144-05:00Public Service AnnouncementWhen I started this blog nearly a year ago, my intent was to include a little bit of everything that interested me: art, politics, media, sports, current events and the like. Well that didn’t exactly happen. Caught up in the excitement of what was to become a truly magical experience, I started blogging about the Blackhawks. And blogging. And blogging some more.
Therefore, I’ve decided to Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-35448383397161417212010-09-28T20:34:00.000-05:002010-09-28T20:34:47.416-05:00Can You Take Out A Home Equity Loan For Hockey Tickets?I guess it was to be expected - team wins a championship, tickets become scarce. But when single game tickets went on sale for the Blackhawks last month, I did not expect to be completely shut out. Of all 41 home games. Except for standing room (fuck that). Or the exorbitantly priced 100 level seats (fuck that even more).
I already had issues with the Hawks’ ticket sales because not only Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-54755913250688558642010-09-21T21:48:00.000-05:002010-09-21T21:48:11.822-05:00They're Ready For Their Closeups Mr. DeMilleBtw...Sunset Boulevard - EPIC film. I love mes some Gloria Swanson.
In honor of the first night of the preseason (Blackhawks' first game is tomorrow night - w00t!), I've decided to have a little fun with various players' official team photos. I stumbled upon them over the weekend when I printed out the Hawks roster for training camp, and some of them are too funny. Now there are plenty of Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-30666761252371323452010-09-19T20:45:00.000-05:002010-09-19T20:45:52.927-05:00Training Days
June 9th seems so far away at times - especially since I had to endure a horrendous summer of Cubs baseball which made me miss hockey even more. But finally, the party's over, the hangover cure has been ingested and we're on the cusp of the 2010-11 NHL season. With the Chicago Blackhawks as your defending Stanley Cup champions, of course.
Training Camps used to be several weeks long, but with Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-77232466078874855182010-09-15T22:15:00.000-05:002010-09-15T22:15:40.045-05:00Roadtrip Recap: Fin.OK, at this point it's been a month since the roadtrip (and I honestly have more interesting topics to blog about, like the 2010-11 NHL season OMGOMGOMG) and I know I've lost what little audience I had to begin with. But goddammit, I'm going to finish this, if only so when I'm 79 and back in diapers, I can read this and remember. And we better have flying cars by then too.
Day Seven: Toronto -&Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-90646395094870010162010-09-12T00:00:00.000-05:002010-09-12T00:00:27.754-05:00Pass the PigskinWhen I don't have to turn the a/c on for several days in a row, when I see surly teenagers walking to the local high school, when I begrudgingly have to remember where the hell I put my hoodies, this can only mean one thing: IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON.
The Chicago Bears have a rare gift in this city - they're truly the only team in Chicago that the whole city is united for. Sure, the Blackhawks were Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-9067056987713409212010-09-09T23:03:00.000-05:002010-09-09T23:03:46.984-05:00Roadtrip Recap: Days Five - Six[Please note this post will probably be more incoherent than usual as I am watching the first NFL game of the season (Fuck you Brett Favre!) while composing this. Which reminds me that I should do a Bears preview post before Sunday for what promises to be another woeful season. Is it October yet?]
So I'm gonna finish the Canadian portion of the way overdue trip recap now. Thank Jebus.
Day Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-81304954278166400902010-09-07T23:23:00.000-05:002010-09-07T23:23:13.530-05:00The Mayors of My LifeI've got the final recap of my roadtrip in the pipeline (after finally finishing uploading 340 photos - yeesh!), but we interrupt my slacking to bring you some Breaking News!
HO-LEE SHEEEIT!
Amy texted me at work to tell me Mayor Daley wasn't seeking a seventh term as mayor. For those who don't live in Chicago, this is a BIG DEAL. Shocking - I honestly thought he was going to stay in office Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-38526031296205412392010-09-02T23:51:00.000-05:002010-09-02T23:51:40.991-05:00RIP Rocket
Not to be a downer, but our hamster Rocket went to the big wheel in the sky sometime last night/this morning. I'll wax poetic about him and my love of hamsters in general later, but I wanted to take a second to honor his memory. We got him at a shelter last year, and he was a "senior" hamster at that point (meaning he was about a year old or so), but we adopted him anyway. This is one of my Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-24529046708590193442010-08-26T22:40:00.000-05:002010-08-26T22:40:53.659-05:00Roadtrip Recap: Days Three & FourAt the rate I'm going, by the time I finish this, I'll be on my next vacation. Or the NHL season will have started.
Anyway.
Day Three: Niagara Falls, NY
We got up somewhat early and headed off to Tim Hortons for what became our staple at breakfast: Timbits. They are so, so much better than Munchkins - the chocolate bananas ones: NOMNOMNOM. I will say Dunkin Donuts' coffee is much better, Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-53216665064441994122010-08-22T22:57:00.001-05:002010-08-22T22:57:52.558-05:00Roadtrip Recap: Days One & TwoWell I haven't gotten this recap up as quickly as I'd like. For gods sake I'm only at the halfway point of uploading all of the pictures I took. It really has taken me the week after the trip to get my bearings and a somewhat stressful week back at work didn't help matters much. I'm not sure if anyone even cares anymore, but I figure I'd better write this down before I get too old and can't Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-90947811471905009382010-08-15T22:50:00.000-05:002010-08-15T22:50:55.296-05:00I Hath ReturnedOK, I really did mean to attempt to blog while on my road trip, but due to the fact I passed out most evenings when we got back to our hotel (humidity + walking for miles makes me tired), this did not happen. Aside from that, we had multiple issues with internet access: one motel's idea of wi-fi was like a 28.8 modem and another hotel was equipped with only an Ethernet cord that Amy's laptop did Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-53284951625843835652010-08-07T00:25:00.000-05:002010-08-07T00:25:13.718-05:00Vacation Time!So I fully intended to do an in-depth and informative post, as you will always receive here on afoui (*snort*), regaling you of vacations of days past and a preview of what is to come this week. Unfortunately work kicked my ass all week, resulting in long hours and most evenings spent falling asleep in front of the TV - I am turning into my father. So seeing as it's past midnight and we're Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-82660024281480733162010-08-04T22:23:00.000-05:002010-08-04T22:23:01.050-05:00Saving the Worst For Last[Goodbye Nemo *wails*]
We all knew that the moves the Hawks were going to have to make in the offseason would be painful. But if you had told me earlier that this would mean we'd lose no fewer than *10* players, including our Cup winning goalie, I would have thought you were on crack and proceeded to either get drunk or jump off my porch (I live on the second floor).
I had been dreading theMelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-16849349976983633462010-08-01T01:17:00.000-05:002010-08-01T01:17:42.141-05:00It's Not Easy Being Green [Day 23: Garden View]
As you recall (or perhaps not, here's a friendly reminder), Amy and I are tending a raised bed garden in a former vacant lot. It's been almost a month now, but I am happy to report that not only did we not kill off everything, we actually have ate things from it (and didn't get food poisoning)! Below is a summary of the growings on (ha - bad pun!), mostly in pictures Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-57183323099879396162010-07-31T18:32:00.000-05:002010-07-31T18:32:53.257-05:00I Am Sheeple, Hear Me Bleat
When the iPhones came out several years ago, Amy and I took great delight in mocking those who rushed right out to get one. "Fucking Hipsters," we'd sneer. Like sheep, folks flocked to Apple Stores every time a upgrade happened, and then they'd seemingly gloat they were cool enough to own one as they'd fiddle with it on the train, walking down the street, in the public bathroom.
Two years ago, Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-21398460554881839292010-07-29T21:13:00.000-05:002010-07-29T21:13:54.189-05:00My Personal Academy AwardI rarely talk about work on here, for several reasons - a) I try not to give away too much information about my real life persona, even though I'm sure almost everyone who reads this knows me personally anyway, b) blogging about work can be tricky - I would never say anything remotely controversial about my workplace, knowing I could could get in trouble if I did. Which I have issues with in Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-35654667202447344332010-07-26T22:40:00.000-05:002010-07-26T22:40:53.865-05:00Finding Hockey Amongst PierogisOK, so I wrote that long diatribe how I'm going to update the blog and do other things and yet I've waited nearly a week to write anything of substance. *sigh* Well I did upload probably close to a 100 photos on Flickr since then so I'm not totally useless. Or something. Anyway...
No, no, no, don't run away screaming! Dead raccoon is just welcoming you to a story about my visit to the Annual Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-51047207423071684732010-07-21T21:03:00.000-05:002010-07-21T21:03:38.585-05:00What I Did On My Summer VacationIf I could accomplish even half of what I set out to do, I think I'd be quite pleased with myself. Unfortunately life tends to get in my way - work takes out a significant portion of my time during the week: I leave my apartment at 6:30 every morning, and get home between 6 and 7 at night (depending on traffic and when I can pry my ass out of my office chair). So by the time I settle in and eat, Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-79456212035312037832010-07-14T23:07:00.000-05:002010-07-14T23:07:49.433-05:00Ignoring Baseball
So there's this other sport I follow religiously: baseball. Unfortunately I've had a lapse in my faith as I've hardly paid attention to the MLB season at all. I can attribute this to three main reasons: 1) I was following hockey until mid-June. The above picture was taken at my second of four Cubs games I'm going to this season, and I didn't even bother to post about it here - cut me some slack,Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-36214904043889847782010-07-12T22:23:00.000-05:002010-07-12T22:23:48.129-05:00The Kids Are Alright - At Least Until One Gets Beat Up
This past Friday through today was the Blackhawks Prospect Camp. Since we're losing players faster than Patrick Kane probably loses bills at a gentleman's club, I figured I might as well go on Saturday and see the players who will one day (probably too soon) be replacing them. Plus it was free and it's not like I have anything better to do. They invited 70 kids to the camp and divided them into Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-83157312661748238552010-07-07T22:38:00.000-05:002010-07-07T22:38:35.264-05:00From the Internets: I Have A Bad Case of DiarrheaOK before you run screaming from this blog, I really don't have the runs. During one of my patented putterings on the internets, I found a few videos I had seen awhile back but had put out of my mind. Perhaps intentionally. Warning: after you watch these videos you will have these songs in your head.
I'm sure you are wondering what the hell you just wasted a minute of your time on. That clip Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-18800396699541632032010-07-06T22:08:00.001-05:002010-07-06T22:32:13.962-05:00RIP Probie
Bob Probert, 1965 - 2010
No matter what your feelings were about Probert, 45 is way too young to go - especially when you have four kids. What's horrifying to me to me is he apparently went in front of his wife, children and other family. I don't know if I'd wish that on my worst enemy.
For myself, Probie was the guy you loved to hate when he played for the Wings. He did his job well - beating Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800891102319460837.post-61988357556709207542010-07-04T00:50:00.000-05:002010-07-04T00:50:30.949-05:00Another Three Bite the Dust...Bow your heads please, as we take a moment to remember three additional recently departed members of Your 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks...
Andrew Ladd
You played in the SCF with a fractured shoulder - that is a testament to your toughness. You were known more for your gritty style of play, but you also scored the team's only hat trick in the regular season. Alas, Atlanta offered Melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12812983535957874796noreply@blogger.com2