Fuzzy did the animation for this. Yay Fuzzy!
July 31, 2008
Shy Calpurnia
I'm not the only girl in the house who likes to hide under the blanket when things get a little overwhelming.Calpurnia was being very coy this morning and I almost sat on her because I didn't realize she was curled up under the quilt.
July 29, 2008
My Brother Andrew on Don't Spit the Water
Keep in mind I edited this clip for my parents, so it's not a comprehensive example of what the show's like; it's heavy on the Andrew Snyder participation portion of the show and starts off with Bryan's Timekeeper Willis dance (because it's cute!).
July 28, 2008
Little Elizabeth McQuern
Yeah, I'm doing a lot of tranferring of files now that I have a cool new external hard drive. Look at these six million and twelve pictures I found burned onto CD!
July 27, 2008
July 24, 2008
"Painful Punchlines" Reactions on the Bastion
A spirited discussion is bubbling on the Bastion about the Time Out Chicago piece about sexism and misogyny in the stand-up scene here. Honestly, I'm surprised. There are 14 comments up there now but I thought things might sort of explode.My own comment, on the Bastion and on the TOC piece itself:
Painful Punchlines: Sexism in Chicago Comedy? Oh Noes!
From TimeOut Chicago:Clearly, that sexism isn’t going away anytime soon, but Elizabeth McQuern, a Chicago Underground Comedy coproducer (and one of the few female bookers in the city), believes good comedy always prevails. “Negative, hateful comedy isn’t fun for anyone, and it’s lazy,” says McQuern, who also edits comedy blog the Bastion. “When you see someone breaking through with something truly creative, people respond to it so well that hopefully more of that will encourage us all to hold ourselves to higher standards.
Ever the optimist, I am. Lollipops and hugs all around!
July 23, 2008
$20 at the MexiGrocery Gets You This
I wrote about the amazing low prices at Edgewater Produce earlier on Chicago Metblogs.Here, a visual representation of what $20 can get you there:
Chocolate covered pretzels - $2.17
Chocolate covered peanuts - $3.35
Sesame sticks - $1.36
5 MacIntosh apples - $1.25
Big box of assorted cookies - $2.00
Fresh blueberries - $1.98
20 small flour tortillas - $1.69
Big hunk of jalapeno cheese - $3.89
10 Senor Freeze popsicles - $.99
Fresh bunch of spinach - $1.98
Broccoli crown - $.36
As a comparison, if you were going to spend $20 on Guinness at your average Chicago pub, you'd probably get two beers.
July 22, 2008
Teresa Practices Her Flute
This is what I wake up to some mornings (like today!). Much nicer than an alarm clock.
(For the curious, Teresa is playing from Le Carnaval des Animaux by Camille Saint-Saëns.)
(For the curious, Teresa is playing from Le Carnaval des Animaux by Camille Saint-Saëns.)
The Winner and Still Champion!
Chicago comedy's cutest baby (well, maybe neck and neck with Colin Flannery).Dan and Victoria's Novella is growing by leaps and bounds.
Three months old?? She's ready to start walking, talking, and workshopping stand-up bits.
(Photo by the proud parents.)
July 21, 2008
Calpurnia and Flora Snuggle in the Air Conditioned Comfort of my Bedroom
Well, I did warn you all about the impending influx of pictures. I didn't promise they'd all be cultural events and comedy happenings, did I? Adore my cats. I command you.
Lost Kitten Update - Sadie Is Home!
Keith just called to say Sadie took advantage of the open door not to explore the Greater Chicago area, but to dash into a neighbor's apartment. They discovered her hiding in their closet.Thank goodness.
Welcome home, Sadie. Now keep your stripey little butt inside! Your papa loves you.
Lost Kitten - Please Help
(Oh behalf of my friend Keith):Lost - female tiger kitty, known as Sadie, from W. Winnemac and Clark (by T's Bar).
Visiting friends left a door open during the night of Sunday, July 21, 2008, and her owner is heartbroken.
She is wearing a red collar with a little red bell.
She is not declawed.
She's still a kitten - 10 months old - so her head looks a little small on her body.
Please, please email anonymousimproviser@gmail.com if you find or see Sadie.
Update - Sadie is home safe and sound!
July 19, 2008
Sweet Dreams
A few nights ago, I dreamt I was the Obama family's nanny. Awesome.That same night, Nellie dreamt she was the Blagojevich family nanny. Ew.
Everyone feels like partying tonight except me. Bryan is at Pitchfork for the second night in a row. Nellie and Teresa are heading out to do karaoke, and at the moment they're playing dueling stereos down the hall. Teresa is doing her best Julie Andrew with selections from The Sound of Music and Nellie is blasting her favorites from Annie.
I'm going to be asleep in about ten minutes. I have cut out drinking for the past week in an attempt to stave off the side effects of late nights and extra work but it's not quite doing the trick. I'm beat and I feel really overwhelmed.
Today's expensive life lesson: don't accidentally put alkaline batteries in the Ni-MH charger. Unless you want to part with a totally unnecessary $42.30 to replace your charger and batteries that sizzle, spray, and melt all over your bedroom floor.
"Gerta" at Second City Chicago, Donny's Skybox, July 18, 2008
Pictures by me. Entire set here. Featuring Elizabeth Bell, Sherra Lasley, Megan Yeomans, Adam Schwartz, John Sviokla and Christopher Jablonski.
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With all due respect to the writer, I can't agree with this bit from the article:
"It’s no secret that sexist and misogynistic jokes run rampant in the Chicago stand-up scene: Blow jobs and bitchy girlfriends seem to be topics of choice among male comics."
Granted, I have not been to every room and every show in the city, but by and large this scene's male comedians are great people and nice guys, and they're much more creative than that statement gives them credit for.