So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, goodbye...

Last day at the 9-to-5. Not sure where I'm going next but looking forward to a new adventure. As you can see, the view here was great, but what I'm really going to miss are the amazing, talented people. I learned much here in the last few years, and did things I never expected to do, and had experiences that were truly life changing.

Now, on to the next chapter!

BBQ!

For this evening's Chicagoist happy hour we are traveling into the wilds of Pilsen a.k.a. that neighborhood that was supposed to blow up like Wicker Park but, oh wait, Logan Square is where all the hipsters moved to instead. That is to saw the area's got a good vibe, but I haven't really been down here since my friend moved out of it a few years ago (to move, uh, to Logan Square).

Unlike most other happy hour destinations that are "regular" bars, this week's location is Honky Tonk BBQ! That means brisket! And bourbon! And one very happy Tankboy. Yum.

Classix.

We saw this dude last Sunday. It was great. The end.

This post is not about the Chicago Blackhawks.

While everyone else was partying in the streets last night, we were listening to poetry and watching a light installation at The Field Museum. If you were one of those in the streets (or jumping around your living room / local bar / etc.) you were definitely having more fun than me. I'm glad we attended since GalPal and I are very open to trying new things and breaking out of our comfort zone, and I'm a pretty smart and cultured dude when I want to be, but my gawd was the event we were at a total (and IMHO not planned or constructed as advertised) snooze!

Big week. Big changes.

There's a lot happening this week. One week from today I will have turned another year older, I will no longer be working at the agency I've been at for the last few years, and Google Reader will no longer exist. There's a lot of change happening, and a lot of uncertainty, but ultimately I'm finding this to be pretty exciting. Well, expect for the Google Reader thing; I see nothing positive in that!

Twenty years in Guyville.

I wrote a little something on the 20th anniversary of Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville for Chicagoist. It'll be up tomorrow so check it out!

UPDATE: Read it now!

JAMZ!

The Kip and Kope tunes are coming along well. It's amazing how tight we get just by practicing regularly. Who knew?!

I don't even know.

I have zero idea what Miley Cyrus and Mike Will Made It are smoking / drinking / huffing / WTFing but it sure makes for an entertaining visual. Also, I want a teddybear MEGA-backpack now.

Sheezus, Yeezus. Take your time.

I'm working on a review of the new Kanye West album. It's out today so you might be all like, "Dude, it leaked, like, last Friday! How have you not written a review yet?!" Well, the answer is easy, I actually want to review it and not just file a gut response to it. And reviews tend to require you sit and live with some music so you get a real feel for it. And since I'm the senior A&E editor I do my best to make sure what we turn out, criticism-wise--is thoughtful stuff. Mostly. Hey, I'm all for a picture of Nirvana with Rick Nielsen outside Piece to get some quick traffic, but I'm proud of the fact that (across the board) Chicagoist has stuck by quality instead of quantity and our readership numbers STILL continue to steadily grow.

So yeah, the review of Yeezus will come soon, but I'm not gona rush it.

Superman returns as the Man Of Steel and I slept through it.

So, I saw Man Of Steel at 11:30 p.m. Friday night because I just had to see it opening night! Because I am a big dork. But maybe I should have waited a day since I was at a work function all day long and then went to see Divine Fits in the evening causing me to be pretty tuckered by the time I got to the theater ultimately leading to me falling asleep and missing the end of the movie! What an idiot. Luckily I have a chance to see it again--with Zod no less!--next weekend so I can see the whole thing, awake.

My initial thought is, and keep in mind I'm one fo the few who actually really liked and continues to re-watch Superman Returns, while it's nice to see an action oriented Superman it felt a little forced, a little too obvious at times, and a little dark and dire overall. I do think the casting is great though, and it's a nice reboot overall. We'll see where they go with this.

'Twas a beautiful day.

Memories of hanging out with co-workers at a lake house for a day with good food, good beer and good conversation; this just makes me appreciate the people I work with all the more.

Yay, yay something something!

Sports! Huzzah! Something like that.

Man, I wish I could get excited about this stuff, I really do. No sarcasm in that wish at all. Not at this age!

How did Andy Kaufman never release a comedy album?

I guess it never really occurred to me that Andy Kaufman never released a comedy album while he was alive. Andy And His Grandmother isn't a proper album per se, it's actually spliced together from recording Kaufman made with a casette recorded in the late '70s.

After listening to it I think Andy would approve of the results.

This may be my favorite food on the planet.

Original photo by Fred Griffin, manipulated by me.

Is it the most perfect food? No. The most delicious I've ever tasted? No. Is it even god for me? No. But if I could get away with eating Popeye's Fried Chicken breasts every day of the week I totally would.

Kraft brews.

This brew was delicious, but my bottle was much smaller! Photo via their Facebook.

Keep was in Michigan a few weeks ago with his lady and they brought me back a bunch of beer from a brewery I had never heard of, Kuhnhenn. I shared the growlers they brought but didn't crack open any of the single bottles until last night and hoo boy was that stuff unexpectedly delicious! Looks like I need to plan a trip to that neck of Michigan now. Maybe with GalPal? And my brothers? And Keep? We'll see!

Gone fishin'.

Out for a much needed vacation day. If you need me I'll be at the Cubs game with my brothers. My actual brothers, like, siblings. And some other friends. Toodles!

Rock of Gibraltar.

Heh, the title to this post kills me, because Gibraltar is my friend Aaron's band, and they rock, but there's also an actual rock and ... O.K., maybe it's not that funny. Anyway, if you're in Chicago you should see Gibraltar at Beat Kitchen tonight. If you're not, see if they're coming through your town soon. They're good.

Wherefore art thou, summer?

It's shaping up to be a busy summer. Work is packed with activity, my summer show calendar is filling up fast and and my summer reading list is ready for tackling. Now all I need is for summer to actually begin. Where the heck is the warm weather love?!

In order to sail into the sun we need to actually see the sun!

"Hi. We are Gentleman Hall. Oh yeah? We've never heard of you either!"

I don't really know anything about this band Gentleman Hall other than that they are from Boston, but the track popped up in my inbox and goldurned if it ain't just the sort of think I want to hear right now since summer sure seems to be dragging its feet when it comes to committing to Chicago.

Listen up. Dig it? Download it.

Never leave the stream of warm impermanence.

Do you ever go back and really dissect things that you've always just engaged with? Like the Bowie line that titles this entry? It's a lyric I've either mouthed or sung at the top of my lungs (when the house is empty, of course) hundreds of times but never really thought about. And now that I have I realize just what a mind-bender it is and it makes me start to view the whole song, a song that is a "classic" and that I loved but never really thought about, in a whole new way.

I think we all need to be reminded from time to time that nothing should be taken for granted and everything can provide a doorway to a new way of thinking.