tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150987622024-03-07T02:56:00.214-06:00surplus labora blog of bourgeois indulgenceWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-4427207911591398712009-05-09T12:29:00.000-05:002009-05-09T12:30:43.003-05:00Headline of the day: 2 charged in fight at Friends Cafe<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-hookah-fight-blotter-sw_08may08,0,7559962.story">2 charged in fight at Friends Cafe</a><br />Tribune staff report<br />May 8, 2009 <br /> <br />Two men were each charged with battery after allegedly fighting each other with knives and nunchaku in the parking lot of the Friends Cafe hookah bar in the 11000 block of Harlem Avenue.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-24976720178720448962009-04-09T09:52:00.001-05:002009-04-09T09:55:05.973-05:00More like White Sux!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRj6QVwm10SJqZNcqxphkB6I8_BnJvHBsHeAo7Xp9_IxpHBRcFzrMg4Hm3DpctW_mOpEWvCebGy_OGa8tVkojhXyC1bF0MZL3gz5UGzpPBez8R6hYzaolrtrdnrSO4ffnflt5a/s1600-h/US_Cellular_Field_(USGS).png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRj6QVwm10SJqZNcqxphkB6I8_BnJvHBsHeAo7Xp9_IxpHBRcFzrMg4Hm3DpctW_mOpEWvCebGy_OGa8tVkojhXyC1bF0MZL3gz5UGzpPBez8R6hYzaolrtrdnrSO4ffnflt5a/s320/US_Cellular_Field_(USGS).png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322704200100601362" /></a>Explain <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-05-rogers-whispers-apr05,0,4463563.story">this</a>.<blockquote>The Cubs' average ticket price of $47.75 ranks third in the majors, behind the Yankees (whose average ticket jumps to $72.97 from $41.40 with the new stadium) and the Red Sox ($48.80). The White Sox are fifth at $32.28.</blockquote>Okay, the figure for the Yankees is obviously ridiculous, and no doubt it will fall substantially once they realize all those ultra-rich investment bankers whose luxury boxes were distorting the average price aren't, for some reason, showing up to the games as often as expected. But what I want to focus on is the White Sox. At Yankee Stadium, Fenway, and Wrigley, you get to see top-notch teams playing in incredible ballparks. Here on the South Side you get to see a mediocre team in arguably the worst stadium in baseball, which unlike the others is surrounded by a wasteland of parking lots.<br /><br />Now I happen to agree with Obama on the following (and <a href="http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/barack_obama_white_sox_serious.html">this exchange</a> is still the best thing I've seen him say to date):<blockquote>Obama, a Southsider, was asked by ESPN's Stuart Scott what would happen if both the Cubs and the White Sox made it to the World Series.<br /><br />"I would be going," Obama said.<br /><br />"Who would you root for?" Scott asked.<br /><br />"Oh, that's easy," Obama replied. "White Sox.<br /><br />"I'm not one of these fair weather fans," the junior senator from Illinois and presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party explained. "You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer, beautiful people up there. People aren't watching the game. It's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball. Southside."</blockquote>And the longer I live on the South Side, the more my <a href="http://surpluslabor.blogspot.com/2007/04/baseball-07.html">hatred of the White Sox</a> fades. Plus, unlike the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs, the White Sox sell veggie dogs (altho they're pretty pathetic veggie dogs, unlike in, say, SF). Maybe if they tore down those parking lots and replaced them with bars and restaurants, the experience of going to Comiskey wouldn't be so alienating. But until then it's sad that the nearest ballpark is not only my least favorite to visit, but it's also among the most expensive in baseball.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-31722937829970551092009-03-23T10:49:00.002-05:002009-03-23T11:00:47.038-05:00Chinese vegetarian mysteryHow can we account for this? Philadelphia is half as big as Chicago, and not known for its vegetarianism. Yet Philadelphia has five - five! - all-vegetarian Chinese restaurants, and Chicago has none.<br /><br />Su Xing 1508 Sansom St<br />Singapore Kosher Vegetarian 1006 Race St<br />Kingdom of Vegetarians 129 N 11th St<br />New Harmony 135 N 9th St<br />Cherry Street Vegetarian 1010 Cherry St<br /><br />Chicago does have Yummy Yummy in Lakeview, a Chinese restaurant with both meat and fake meat American Chinese dishes, but here again Philadelphia beats us - it has two similar restaurants.<br /><br />Charles Plaza 234-6 N 10th St<br />Golden Empress Garden 610 S 5th St<br /><br />Granted, all of these restaurants are <i>American</i> Chinese, a pale imitation of the incredible fake meat restaurants in China. But this is an issue of respect. C'mon Chicago, get your act together.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-35252753413399425532009-01-12T22:05:00.000-06:002009-01-12T22:05:01.485-06:00Chicago streets 2: The obscure western reachesEvery good Chicagoan knows exactly what this means: Halsted, Racine, Ashland, Damen, Western, Kedzie, and they can give you the number for each one. But after that things start to get a little fuzzy. Sure, a lot of people know that 4000 W is Pulaski, and 4800 W is Cicero, but most of us are hard pressed to name the rest.<br /><br />For starters, 3600 W is Central Park - which is what Garfield Park, which it runs thru, used to be called. 6000 W is Austin, the western boundary of the neighborhood of the same name, which used to be a separate town that dominated Cicero Township until the other towns in the Township won an election to eject Austin (against its citizens' wishes) from Cicero and annex it to Chicago.<br /><br />5600 W is Central, which is central to nothing at all. 6800 W is Oak Park, which keeps its name when it leaves Chicago and enters Oak Park. (What is it with cities around here naming their own streets after themselves?) 7200 W is Harlem, and I cannot explain why all the white folks living out there would have picked that particular name.<br /><br />4400 W is Kostner, part of a mile of streets between Pulaski and Cicero that nearly all start with the letter K. This is the eleventh mile from the Indiana border, and K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet. The pattern continues with the twelfth mile named exclusively beginning with the letter L, which explains 5200 W, Laramie. The "M" mile breaks the pattern to retain Austin, but the "N" mile resumes it by starting with Narragansett (6400 W). Following that we have Oriole (7600 W) and Pacific (8000 W). The city stopped expanding just in time, ending the regular street grid at Cumberland (8400 W). Another mile further and they would have had to figure out a whole lot of "Q" names for streets.<br /><br />Here's the full list in order:<br />4000 W Pulaski<br />4400 W Kostner<br />4800 W Cicero<br />5200 W Laramie<br />5600 W Central<br />6000 W Austin<br />6400 W Narragansett<br />6800 W Oak Park<br />7200 W Harlem<br />7600 W Oriole<br />8000 W Pacific<br />8400 W CumberlandWalkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-15091127792244207512009-01-11T21:25:00.001-06:002009-01-17T19:42:17.031-06:00Chicago streets 1: The mystery of the South SideEveryone knows that Chicago streets are numbered and every eight blocks is a mile. (Incidentally, the system was introduced only in 1908, before which there was street numbering chaos.) On the North Side you just have to memorize the numbering - Division is 1200, Lawrence is 4800, etc. But on the South Side, all east-west streets are named after their number, with a couple exceptions like Roosevelt and Garfield. You would expect the main streets to fall on the fours since there's a main street every half-mile. But as anyone who's taken the Red or Green Lines knows, the main streets instead land on places like 47th, 63rd, 87th, 111th.<br /><br />The problem is not that the South Side has forsaken the principle of a main street every half-mile. It's that South Side streets near the Loop were already numbered when the street numbering reform went thru in 1908, and they didn't match up exactly with the new system. Instead of renumbering those streets, they were left as is, while the newer parts of the South Side were integrated into the 800-to-a-mile system.<br /><br />Roosevelt (1200 S) is actually one mile south of Madison (1 N/S), Cermak (2200 S) is two miles south, and 31st (3100 S) is three miles south. After that the regular system resumes, which is why the main streets then follow regularly: 39th, 43rd, 47th, 51st, 55th, etc.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-54681352776053213382009-01-10T20:15:00.000-06:002009-01-11T21:01:44.437-06:00Best of 20081) Being in the same city as my girlfriend for a <i>majority of the year</i>.<br /><br />2) Spending the summer reading <i>Capital</i> and Marxian theory.<br /><br />3) Coming up with something like a dissertation topic, and taking satisfying grad classes.<br /><br />4) Exploring Tokyo and Osaka, and Hiroshima, Nagoya, and Kobe. Kyoto was okay too.<br /><br />5) Excursions to New York, San Francisco, Philly, DC.<br /><br />6) Seeing incredible movies on the screen, many at historic theaters: <span style="font-style:italic;">There Will Be Blood</span>, «色戒» (<i>Lust, Caution</i>), <span style="font-style:italic;">Броненосец «Потёмкин»</span> (<span style="font-style:italic;">Battleship Potemkin</span>), <i>Touch of Evil</i>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Vertigo</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">King Kong</span> (1933), <span style="font-style:italic;">The Godfather</span>.<br /><br />7) Biking around Boston and environs.<br /><br />8) Return to organizing.<br /><br />9) Baseball! First trips to the original Yankee Stadium and Nationals Park (DC), return trips to two of the best newer parks, Citizens Bank Park (Philly) and AT&T Park (SF). Plus almost constant access to games on MLB's web service before leaving the country.<br /><br />10) Living in Chicago again.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-24627934526271369652009-01-03T12:25:00.003-06:002009-01-03T12:40:06.573-06:00Whoa, Portuguese is messed upI thought I'd look up how to pronounce Rio de Janeiro since I've been saying it lately when talking about the 2016 Olympics candidate cities. But it turns out that Portuguese pronunciation (at least in Rio itself) is so bizarre that if I said it correctly no one would understand what I was talking about. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro_(state)">IPA from Wikipedia</a>: [ˈhiu dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu] (the footnote has variant Brazilian pronunciations, some of which are closer to the Anglicization). So it's something like "hew ji zhaneru". You can hear it spoken <a href="http://forvo.com/word/rio_de_janeiro/">here</a>.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-79705024020572768012008-12-16T21:19:00.000-06:002008-12-16T21:19:26.486-06:00Best ride on the Dan Ryan Red Line everI avoid the Dan Ryan Red Line and the Blue Line past Belmont (O'Hare branch) and Clinton (Forest Park branch) like the plague. Building the El in the median of the highway was the worst idea ever. It's bad enough that you have to wait for the train surrounded on all sides by highway traffic, and then have to ride the thing deprived of urban scenery. What's even worse is that the whole experience assaults you like a tire iron to the face with the horrible realization that car culture is ineradicable. (And if you have some sort of perverse affection for such an alienating experience, consider that this kind of public transit makes transit-oriented development almost impossible.)<br /><br />But today was different. I took the Red Line from Garfield to Chinatown during rush hour, after the snowstorm had started. So waiting on the platform was not dominated by cars zooming past, but by a peaceful scene of falling snow and cars crawling along. The train ride was dominated by a satisfying schadenfreude, as the El roared past traffic that had been brought to a standstill by the snow. In Chinatown, I heard on the radio that the commute from the Loop to O'Hare was taking three hours. A perfect public transit experience.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-28661498529891550832008-11-04T00:40:00.000-06:002008-11-04T00:41:13.308-06:00How to not mangle Russian presidents' namesNow that the secrets of Russian pronunciation have been revealed to me, here are some pointers on Russian presidents' names.<br /><br />Борис Николаевич Ельцин / Boris Nikolaevich Yel'tsin: the Russian name Boris is not BORE-iss, it's bah-REESE, and the 'r' is rolled/trilled like the 'rr' in Spanish. Anglicization of the rest of the name is about right, except Russian 'i's are always pronounced like the 'ee' in 'see'.<br /><br />Владимир Владимирович Путин / Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin: again, the Anglicized version of Vladimir has the stress wrong - it should be on the second syllable, not the first. The last name is roughly PU-teen.<br /><br />Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев / Dmitrii Anatol'evich Medvedev: Americans will want to say MED-vuh-dev, but it's actually more like mid-VYEH-dif.<br /><br />Next time: Communists!Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-47818600818152177842008-10-27T14:11:00.001-05:002008-10-28T22:15:05.824-05:00Sunday Parkways and fake meat Mexican food<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUwg0NZcIAwzwzQdrIcFb6EwDHmV3M6Ojg_bXBjfPC_k1ieBp2w7utGjr6nqbcLineehl-g4jHKlZ8PyRca7J2qqOsQH7mU40S9gAw9vN9HTobvTFmCQ4-HccVK-vR4Ce_C0C/s1600-h/sundayparkways.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 181px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUwg0NZcIAwzwzQdrIcFb6EwDHmV3M6Ojg_bXBjfPC_k1ieBp2w7utGjr6nqbcLineehl-g4jHKlZ8PyRca7J2qqOsQH7mU40S9gAw9vN9HTobvTFmCQ4-HccVK-vR4Ce_C0C/s400/sundayparkways.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261900023631244386" /></a><a href="http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=1550_0_8_0">Sunday Parkways</a> was really nice. Chicago is finally emulating cities across the hemisphere and started to set aside some time when a few of the city's roads are closed to traffic - so they can be opened to everyone else who is excluded the rest of the time. The first event, which I didn't make it to, was October 5 and ran thru Logan Square and Humboldt Park. Yesterday the route went thru Little Village and East Garfield Park. I was there around noon - turnout was respectable but not spectacular. Community organizations and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation organized it, and they got a lot of kids from the neighborhoods involved, directing traffic and helping with the logistics. There were also more white folks moving thru East Garfield Park than there probably have been in the last forty years combined.<br /><br />The route went thru both Douglas Park and Garfield Park, which are both really nice and, when you add in Grant Park, Burnham Park, Lincoln Park, Humboldt Park, Jackson Park, Washington Park, and Marquette Park, make a pretty strong case for Chicago having the best park system in the country. No word yet on whether Sunday Parkways will be continued and expanded, but it sure would be a nice addition to the city's recreation opportunities if they started it back up in the spring and made it permanent.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNMf8Dq6ix-XNtJbsVPcaH49Fr3tGd6hBg4WimHVXKFBd1zuDRhJkhtBT1n1T-I4CzgvhyphenhyphenTCi2isZG3MXz0eOsXg9eVD2rdId6Pth1_aTNgqLY7KAuiDiiNCdFg1MZDKU9-_K/s1600-h/garfield+park+fieldhouse.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNMf8Dq6ix-XNtJbsVPcaH49Fr3tGd6hBg4WimHVXKFBd1zuDRhJkhtBT1n1T-I4CzgvhyphenhyphenTCi2isZG3MXz0eOsXg9eVD2rdId6Pth1_aTNgqLY7KAuiDiiNCdFg1MZDKU9-_K/s200/garfield+park+fieldhouse.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261914211234633330" /></a>It gave me a good excuse to go up to the West Side - because of how far away it is from both the places I've lived in Chicago, I've really only biked around there twice before, and I've never been to Garfield Park before. There are some really cool buildings in the neighborhood, including the incredible Garfield Park Fieldhouse, inspired by the Spanish Revival architecture at the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego's Balboa Park. Too bad the area is still one of the most violent neighborhoods in the city.<br /><br />Since I was going to Little Village, I looked online for a Mexican place that wouldn't have lard in the beans and stumbled across <a href="http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=0&restaurantid=11339&neighborhoodid=0&cuisineid=0">El Faro</a> (3936 W 31st St), which has a full menu of fake meat vegetarian dishes. I had a torta veggie cubano, a taco de soya estilo carne asada, and a 20 oz Jarritos for $9 incl tip. This is quite a find, and definitely worth going back to.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-27671375215508784222008-10-18T22:29:00.000-05:002008-10-18T22:30:15.634-05:00WeirdUntil 2005, Obama lived in a condo half a block from my apartment.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-13010581799222232752008-09-30T19:28:00.002-05:002008-09-30T19:32:35.845-05:00Nuclear missiles in my back yardA couple minutes from my place, in Jackson Park and Promontory Point, the US Army used to <a href="http://www.hydepark.org/parks/jpac/Nike.htm">maintain</a> anti-aircraft radar towers and <i>nuclear-tipped Nike missiles</i>. WTF!Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-68348651420717469462008-06-26T00:40:00.001-05:002008-06-26T00:56:18.860-05:00Remember the anti-Japan hysteria of the 1980s? The real conspiracy is not against American trade supremacy. It's against vegetariansI've been in 東京/Tokyo for about ten days now and everything's pretty good for the most part. Thanks to Ariel's sacrifice of tolerating an hour and half commute to her language classes, we're living in 新宿/Shinjuku, which has the busiest train station in the world, one of Tokyo's largest shopping districts, its main red light district, its metropolitan government, its largest concentration of skyscrapers, and its biggest gay and lesbian community. Fortunately we live on the edges of all the clamor while still within easy reach of trains and restaurants.<br /><br />The restaurants, alas, are not worth much to a vegetarian. One important question I've been contemplating recently is how the Japanese maintain such iron discipline in their conspiracy against vegetarians. Consider:<br /><ul><li>We went to a Mexican restaurant that had no beans.<br /><li>We went to a Thai restaurant that had no tofu.<br /><li>Japanese restaurants fall into a handful of different categories - 寿司/sushi, 居酒屋/izakaya (bar food), 焼き鳥/yakitori (skewers), ラーメン/ramen, うどん/udon and そば/soba, とんかつ/tonkatsu (deep fried cutlets), 天ぷら/tenpura - each of which might have some vegetarian options but generally not enough to make a meal out of.<br /><li>Dishes that could easily be made vegetarian, like noodles or tenpura, are invariably sabotaged by adding fish to the broth or sauce or sprinkling かつお節/bonito flakes on top.<br /><li>Japanese curry, which I used to eat quite happily when I first lived in 中国/China, is always sabotaged by using a beef base.<br /><li>Japan actually does have a tradition of meatless cooking adapted from the Chinese Buddhist tradition that makes China such a wonderful place to be a vegetarian. But 精進料理/shoujin ryouri, rather than a boon for vegetarians, is used to break our will: it's so expensive (around $100/person for a meal) that the one thing that could save us is beyond our grasp.</ul>Okay, it's not really bad as all that. Italian food is pretty widespread, if by Italian food you mean mediocre spaghetti and pizza (none of which is vegan I'm sure). And far more important, the anti-vegetarian blockade has been fatally broken by the many good Indian places in Tokyo. Finally, if you have all day to do online research (which I do), you can find the handful of all-vegan restaurants produced by the best mini-fad in Tokyo since the electronic pet that dies if you don't press the feeding button.<br /><br />In between looking for restaurants online, I'm reading <i>Capital</i>, volume 1, enjoying Tokyo's incredible transit system (including the new subway line a couple minutes from our place that opened three days before we got here), and making my way around to the sights.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-37326124511548543562008-04-05T00:20:00.000-05:002008-04-04T23:19:45.298-05:00Because the word "padre" should bring to mind militarismI love baseball, but I cringe before baseball's open allegiance to American militarism and nationalism. The national anthem before every game, the practice of singing "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch that swept the majors after 9/11, various invocations of patriotism by announcers - it's all just sickening. But this brings it to a new level: the San Diego Padres featuring "the only Military Opening Night in all of Major League Baseball".<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj443tlbFtrh4dJ4jFtCtFh-81PY0NDsX0MsTG2RLPndrJnlgqkJedzXZe0t3rOuFqc2bXm1GlspNwGowt8YfxP66RaTNFQRtiJAuhGXKNs5f5Qc37nSud_YzLNKuw109NMfS8N/s1600-h/padres.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj443tlbFtrh4dJ4jFtCtFh-81PY0NDsX0MsTG2RLPndrJnlgqkJedzXZe0t3rOuFqc2bXm1GlspNwGowt8YfxP66RaTNFQRtiJAuhGXKNs5f5Qc37nSud_YzLNKuw109NMfS8N/s200/padres.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185609351928086178" /></a>In an attempt to appeal to the many people in the San Diego area working at military installations, the Padres today wore desert camouflage uniforms. The effect was horrifying: it was as if the entire field was controlled by an occupying army. So I was pretty happy when the Dodgers blew the game open in the seventh inning.<br /><br />Even tho the Padres are named after priests, maybe it's not so inappropriate that they would wear militarist uniforms. The padres were, after all, the first wave of Spanish colonialism throughout the American southwest, just as our boys wearing desert camo are the vanguard of American imperialism today.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-65232551561085016122008-03-18T18:30:00.013-05:002008-03-21T07:46:53.125-05:00If only Google cared about transitGoogle Maps is an incredible resource, but the way they treat transit is asinine. You have to zoom in far too close before subway stops even appear, and when they finally show up they float around in space, completely unconnected to the lines they run on. Since you're already zoomed in so far, it's impossible to see how the lines run unless you click on each stop and memorize which line(s) stop there. Only someone who knew the system well could make sense of something like these:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZt6jxk-NqY2SdFmnbn3XmaTlUlS_kTUjLM5v_Gi2ZbBhPUxoz8v8tLnDnRkbyVieQhAp18_Bbrkt_tUr7K8pTb1gUghgUqMeplDj55-6ejrpmy9PLS5MMwg5ju9e0GyyMtvT/s1600-h/loop+transit.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZt6jxk-NqY2SdFmnbn3XmaTlUlS_kTUjLM5v_Gi2ZbBhPUxoz8v8tLnDnRkbyVieQhAp18_Bbrkt_tUr7K8pTb1gUghgUqMeplDj55-6ejrpmy9PLS5MMwg5ju9e0GyyMtvT/s200/loop+transit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179231999310315890" /></a><br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EPejvCdF8CE_XH2AoHpvAeukpUxFJGeyPhkIdnmtXvFo0WyC-Duw13LCtZq2vgdM9WtWh4WoRq6TsEXcTw93JYvUNEKNkcc3j_ckgDm8G5XtEeZsERBy1K81QjJeVq-LnoIE/s1600-h/manhattan+transit.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1EPejvCdF8CE_XH2AoHpvAeukpUxFJGeyPhkIdnmtXvFo0WyC-Duw13LCtZq2vgdM9WtWh4WoRq6TsEXcTw93JYvUNEKNkcc3j_ckgDm8G5XtEeZsERBy1K81QjJeVq-LnoIE/s200/manhattan+transit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179233300685406610" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I don't know if adding subway lines and making transit systems show up on all the maps would actually encourage people to use transit, but I do know it would get rid of a real pain in my ass. I wrote to maps-transit-feedback@google.com (the only email address for feedback I could find at Google) and they said they'd pass it on to the relevant department. So if you want to make Google Maps more accessible for transit use, shoot off a quick email.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-57973469621527714442008-03-03T18:34:00.007-06:002008-03-03T18:44:53.050-06:00Garfield minus Garfield<a href="http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com">This</a> is hilarious - the comic Garfield, with Garfield himself removed, is 1) much funnier and 2) occasionally transcendent.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkv59ZqFuJpe46Qa50TdwQQIzYBtAi9TZJzHGa8hbAaniQf-oRlfLT4KcXVkUGtZd5enkqH7ZXOCj571EgtthmIH9Q0oB7ob6DSK-YnCjbmyiXDdxKRz5a-YZOzgqe5M3XCTf/s1600-h/fSymsOGXO5nwx9cit1ByVOU0_500.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkv59ZqFuJpe46Qa50TdwQQIzYBtAi9TZJzHGa8hbAaniQf-oRlfLT4KcXVkUGtZd5enkqH7ZXOCj571EgtthmIH9Q0oB7ob6DSK-YnCjbmyiXDdxKRz5a-YZOzgqe5M3XCTf/s320/fSymsOGXO5nwx9cit1ByVOU0_500.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173680176839289394" /></a><br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdZMit9lILZcQjToVPwQs4PjYPtHYjiWb6WaoikQ803LbRJXLz35QHC4-kB2WWaX-UsHFglZnXIx1uHpWC87-BaWQME3TN2HqMsJ-NLfdN5uH9-Hng64ZU_IOj8lzsui_8jZB/s1600-h/fSymsOGXO5tbbjd5pSHr2xm8_500.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdZMit9lILZcQjToVPwQs4PjYPtHYjiWb6WaoikQ803LbRJXLz35QHC4-kB2WWaX-UsHFglZnXIx1uHpWC87-BaWQME3TN2HqMsJ-NLfdN5uH9-Hng64ZU_IOj8lzsui_8jZB/s320/fSymsOGXO5tbbjd5pSHr2xm8_500.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173679511119358498" /></a><br /><br />This is the most powerful one:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBV5MTby5eKW0tsxkco2M2c9g0TZRqIUIGSXjOtKqETJltIwJpqUqpSYRr-1WTNhWVXb3wwc_JK67PwOzJ1TElGQC0XUvc4b4LgOa2ogdgHs12mmgxrZffOeDVkb2i0WiwBIHl/s1600-h/fSymsOGXO5xqp1myms0Cg4tD_500.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBV5MTby5eKW0tsxkco2M2c9g0TZRqIUIGSXjOtKqETJltIwJpqUqpSYRr-1WTNhWVXb3wwc_JK67PwOzJ1TElGQC0XUvc4b4LgOa2ogdgHs12mmgxrZffOeDVkb2i0WiwBIHl/s320/fSymsOGXO5xqp1myms0Cg4tD_500.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173679017198119442" /></a>Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-84877248091310927862008-02-25T21:03:00.003-06:002008-02-25T21:11:35.671-06:00Is Rogers Park the real murder capital?Here's what someone had to say about my old neighborhood in the <i>Tribune</i> today:<br /><br />"You tell people about Rogers Park, and they sometimes think there are corpses on the street."<br /><br />Does this strike anyone else as bizarre? Sure there's some tough guys hanging out on Morse, and up on Jarvis is a little rough, but I've never thought of Rogers Park as being particularly dangerous, plus there's more condos every time I head up there. Do you think he's talking about zombies?<br /><br />Anyway, there's a new jazz club opening up in the old Morse Theatre this fall that's probably worth checking out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0224_morsefeb24,1,6963212,full.story">Bringing jazz to Rogers Park: Will people follow?</a>Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-34575668583765514162008-01-22T09:29:00.000-06:002008-01-22T09:39:40.518-06:00Hidden meaning?Does anyone else see a disturbing resemblance between <i>The New York Times</i>'s Oscars coverage ad<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiut2SphF-50Dv8iKnPKb_q0VEi-_KwUA2FOhg3MKCzY4hQGIgHmLVcY2dOHplIms2Tx73vIYt_w3nuxJxy0I_fkk6h6p6h7NRLTLAupt7e_m2VVgS__DbB1uYr4ql50XMZTNMO/s1600-h/slaves.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiut2SphF-50Dv8iKnPKb_q0VEi-_KwUA2FOhg3MKCzY4hQGIgHmLVcY2dOHplIms2Tx73vIYt_w3nuxJxy0I_fkk6h6p6h7NRLTLAupt7e_m2VVgS__DbB1uYr4ql50XMZTNMO/s320/slaves.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158324341433105330" /></a><br />and diagrams of slave ships?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVUtxsW4YpHr-kI_Ygc3G9qWzNlu-3W93sGz7JzT6Pr0rMaBbRFWUh06UIqEEmnhqDw2EJplJ1cxHZ7bBgnPnHg53X5IGIDZ5y9hUTSLRUCKYzHoM1T1KmjQEQXW_A113vnWy/s1600-h/slaveship.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfVUtxsW4YpHr-kI_Ygc3G9qWzNlu-3W93sGz7JzT6Pr0rMaBbRFWUh06UIqEEmnhqDw2EJplJ1cxHZ7bBgnPnHg53X5IGIDZ5y9hUTSLRUCKYzHoM1T1KmjQEQXW_A113vnWy/s320/slaveship.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5158325647103163346" /></a>Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-47546430480853555712007-11-12T20:39:00.000-06:002007-11-12T20:46:18.264-06:00Happy Veterans of Imperialist Wars Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHUk7FQtI9MXN2ZZKDo-pom9rZH9YNxPPuC7w8ntL2tGpU23R4LChLgviM6O-JWvHPgbV1IHbRgg8IY7co5XRR6KuBQPOsM6iLiJIKf_J7WMMGPepJfBwL09mHgb7Z7dazrFn/s1600-h/vetsday.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHUk7FQtI9MXN2ZZKDo-pom9rZH9YNxPPuC7w8ntL2tGpU23R4LChLgviM6O-JWvHPgbV1IHbRgg8IY7co5XRR6KuBQPOsM6iLiJIKf_J7WMMGPepJfBwL09mHgb7Z7dazrFn/s320/vetsday.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132150371795655474" /></a><br />There should also be a holiday when we pay tribute to all the foreigners who had to die that America might control the trade routes/resources/international institutions.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-72817119161554877872007-09-12T13:12:00.000-05:002007-09-12T13:16:58.114-05:00When to flySeptember 11 is the best day of the year to fly. I flew from Midway to Logan yesterday at 9am, and the airports were deserted. My plane had maybe 25 people on it, total capacity around 150. No lines at check-in or security, boarding and deplaning were quick, everyone was happy.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-55021289077183494352007-09-09T13:40:00.000-05:002007-09-09T13:42:35.717-05:00It's fucking Napoleon!This is one of the greatest visual images ever produced by humans.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2u37ALz4wk0E0tsknv_p4WN5rMMb1LQo8EC2WdM5TT9Pym40PmyP8xTWpyXX0RrZTwIlEtvkh256aTyj4k4V6Sch2knJ_6Dx859jJk_DQvz-HAhKf_YJvzv-aJWccFeLHh_5/s1600-h/napoleon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2u37ALz4wk0E0tsknv_p4WN5rMMb1LQo8EC2WdM5TT9Pym40PmyP8xTWpyXX0RrZTwIlEtvkh256aTyj4k4V6Sch2knJ_6Dx859jJk_DQvz-HAhKf_YJvzv-aJWccFeLHh_5/s320/napoleon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108276646054335010" /></a>Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-30111696837733363042007-09-05T17:07:00.000-05:002007-09-05T17:08:53.114-05:00Revive the beard tax!In 1705 Tsar Pyotr I of Russia ("Peter the Great"), as part of his Westernizing reforms, decreed that all men except church clergy must shave their beards. However, if you wanted to keep your beard you just had to pay a tax, which was verified by the receipt of this coin:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5T_qDhIn3BfIbc3PAR-2YFZxa44zSChFUrwnCG3rNgnJSVgt2rUqL0OzLslyC_Z2AYm6870SQtpeUaYN9TvzpNaV3cnyWJW9jSP3h4FOfEtygF2z6uMUU9vayIepLaBux6JC/s1600-h/beardtax.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5T_qDhIn3BfIbc3PAR-2YFZxa44zSChFUrwnCG3rNgnJSVgt2rUqL0OzLslyC_Z2AYm6870SQtpeUaYN9TvzpNaV3cnyWJW9jSP3h4FOfEtygF2z6uMUU9vayIepLaBux6JC/s320/beardtax.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106842809877271058" /></a>Seems to me that a coin with a bizarre disembodied beard would alone be worth the cost of the tax. This policy would also be effective in cracking down on hipsters. I think the time for the beard tax has once again arrived.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-12103421090834386352007-06-09T09:46:00.001-05:002007-06-09T09:51:38.821-05:00Quote of the dayReading thru old copies of the <i>Reader</i> I never got to, I found this great quote from architecture critic and preservationist Lynn Becker, responding to people who leave comments on his <a href="http://arcchicago.blogspot.com/">blog</a> like "The idea that a group of people can impose their will on the property rights of others' economic self-interest is a slap in the face to the modern business spirit."<blockquote>When the market economy remains our one true religion, there's never a shortage of those who would destroy beauty with malice and replace it with shit for spite. (2006.11.24)</blockquote>Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-47957147939285871102007-06-08T14:43:00.000-05:002007-06-08T14:51:16.738-05:00Recycling drop-off spotsChicago is <a href="http://razetheladder.blogspot.com/2006/09/recycling-in-chicago.html">inching toward</a> a decent recycling program, and as part of that very slow process the city has opened a number of dropboxes that you can leave all your recyclables at. See the list <a href="http://www.chicagorecycling.org/other/dropbox.10.06.pdf">here</a>. This is good news since most of us live in apartments that are legally required to have recycling pickup, but which don't because the city doesn't enforce the law. I for one will be dropping off my last 9 months of bottles, cans, junk mail, and newspapers this weekend.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15098762.post-85389993734152495412007-06-04T21:16:00.000-05:002007-06-08T16:23:26.397-05:00Best Chicago websitesWhat do you think are the key websites for Chicagoans? Here's my nominations:<br /><br /><a href="http://chicagoreader.com">Chicago Reader</a>. This is a no-brainer - decent articles (could be a lot better tho) and all the music, movie, and restaurant listings. <a href="http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/">Clout Street</a>, the <i>Reader</i>'s political blog, is also one of the best sources on city politics.<br /><br /><a href="http://chicago.menupages.com">Chicago Menupages</a>. Most of the restaurants in the city, all with online menus.<br /><br /><a href="http://beachwoodreporter.com">Beachwood Reporter</a>. Digging thru all the fluff and crime reporting of mediocre papers like the <i>Tribune</i> to find out what's going on in your city - often to find that there isn't any decent local news in the first place - is a tiresome and disillusioning experience. The Beachwood Reporter pulls out the key articles and adds biting humor in a progressive critique of Chicago politics and media. Also featuring the Lou Piniella Alert Level.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCpaQ-m1KIwybHNZEbs7zJKzyjV00vIGcH5YtaUwnuPWUSma-3dCeicN_n_oPKuX1x_AfRFTkSN0ZkC8XjfPQ7nUBSg-ZKa8RN4PkjAqcza5zFj4DPaa4UEZbrEAvl41rDueH/s1600-h/mtlou_orange.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCpaQ-m1KIwybHNZEbs7zJKzyjV00vIGcH5YtaUwnuPWUSma-3dCeicN_n_oPKuX1x_AfRFTkSN0ZkC8XjfPQ7nUBSg-ZKa8RN4PkjAqcza5zFj4DPaa4UEZbrEAvl41rDueH/s320/mtlou_orange.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072396459874428530" /></a><a href="http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/">Encyclopedia of Chicago History</a>. Short articles on all the neighborhoods, personalities, and events of Chicago's past. Check out this <a href="http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3717.html">historical map of the El</a>, complete with all the lines - both operating and decommissioned - and when they opened.Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06912406198051338502noreply@blogger.com1