Blue Man Group

Anyone who's reading this and has never seen the Blue Man Group at the Briar Street Theater, you should! They're amazing but the price might be a little hefty. I think some schools sell the tickets for cheap but to get the best experience, you have to get tickets for the poncho seats which are the fisrt 4 rows

Museums

I know that the last time I went to any museums wa about 7 years ago. I kind of miss it really. What really deterred me from going was the price and just not having the time. I had a chance to go with my firends senior year, but that never really worked out. I know some museums offer free days but with the schedule I have, I can bearly get enough sleep, let alone visit a museum.

Nadia's blog

Commenting on Nadia's blog on the topic of UIC development, I didn't know that UIC was a gated University when it was first built. I know there is a gate as you walk west on Taylor past the Science and Engineering buliding. This just supports my belief that the University sucks out out souls of those that study or work in the University.

The Bears

So the Bears suck this season...

Grossman is grossing me out...for way too long

Lovie needs to get his eyes checked so he can see that Grossman is NOT a good asset to the team

Cedric Bensen needs to learn how to dive because obviously running into a big pile of bodies will not get you a first down.

Urlacher should kick some *%! out on the field

As Hester's ego is fueled by the fans and media, his performance deminishes

Robie Gould is my hero

Cubs and Sox

I always wonder...

Even when the Cubs have lost the majority of their games last season, fans still pack Wrigely field the next season. On the other hand, the Sox won the 2005 World Series, but not many even give a hoot about them the next season.

Why are they so many cubs fans wether they be die hard fans or just passive fans, while for the Sox, either you are die hard or you are not

Why are the Cubs wrist bands sold for 5 bucks outside the gate where the Walgreens down the street sells them for a fifth of the price.

What would happen if poison ivy were grown on the walls of Wrigley Field.

What were they thinking when changed Comiskey Park to US Cellular. MAybe that's why they lost all the fans...

Richard Florida

I believe Florida is correct to a certain extent. Cities that tend to diverisfy themselves with sulture, art, and gays, I believe are sometimes more prosperous than cities that don't have these attributes. This is because people from other places tend to feel more connected to the specific city if it have something that they can relate to .

UIC, the epitome of the word DRAB

UIC I think looks like a place where your soul would be sucked out of your body. The buildings such as the halls and the UH should be torn down and renovated. The designs of the glass windows and huge chunks of concrete makes those buildings look like place where people can go in...but never come out. One big improvement I have witnessed is the construction of the SRC (Student Recreational Center.) I would also say the new dorm buildings, but I haven't been in there myself. The SRC makes the PEB (Physical Education Building) look like it came from the stone ages. Also, there is the creation of the building next to Lincoln hall (but I usually see the fire alarm light blinking; is it suppose to happen like that?) The landscape around it was also recently put in, but that is only like %2 of what the campus is. Lewis University is a school that is beautiful. It looks more of a place where you can enjoy walking on campus, instead of just hurriedly walking to your next class. Washrooms are pretty dirty and smelly, which leads to unsannitary breeding grounds for bacteria and disease. Unfortunately some people never learned how to take a number 2.

Land Use and Housing

I never new what this meant until we talked about in class. I check out the website pertaining to this and it was pretty cơl to "kind" of understand why your neighborhơd was built there and what it was meant for.

Chicken Fever!

I'm a big fan of chicken, especially fried chicken and sauced up chicken. Three place that I visit a lot for my fix. One, the basic fried chicken. Popeyes is a good supply for my fix for the longest time until I found out about a small chain near and around Humboldt Park called Best Sub. Unfortunately I don't live around this area so I can get it usually when I'm around my friend's house. Don't get me wrong about Popeyes. Their chicken is delicious and cheap but I don;t think anyone can beat Best Subs chicken or it's cost. For $3.25, you get two jumbo legs, a wing (I'm salvating right now), a slab of garlic bread, and some fries. It's a heart attack waiting to happen if you eat it but it's so good...and cheap! The one that I like to go to is on Central and Fullerton becuase it's near my friend's house compared to the other ones.
Another chicken place I enjoy is on Lawrence and Ainslie. It's called Great Seas. It's a Chinese restaurant but is known for the chicken that they serve. It's sort of like wings but they are shaped in a wierd way. Some are legs, while the wings, they have removed one of the bones and cut the lower part off to make it look like a drumstick. The sauce is the key component to this dish. It is syrupy, sweet, and very spicy. In truth, a batch of about 19 pieces is $12.00, and I probably have invested about $1,500 solely on chicken for the past 4 years.

Racial Resurgence

I have always liked the diversity displayed in Chicago. I went to high school at Northside Prep and the student body and faculty there was quite diverse. It seems, however, that there is a racial resurgence recently. Most people have heard of the Jena 6 case and because Chicago is so diverse I would like to touch on this important topic. I think it is so ugly and terrible to be so demeaning and inconsiderate to another human being, despite whatever differences in skin color or whatever. And to use nooses to intimidate these minority individuals is so disrespectful and scary. The persons who commit these terrible acts must have terrible hate in their hearts to do something so extreme. And a lot of cases are popping up after this Jena 6 case. Some may just be copy cats carried out by ignorant teenagers who do not know truly the symbolic nature of the scenario, but other cases are real and violent in their very nature. I'm not sure of which specific cases or whether any took place in our very own Chicago, but minorities are coming to work to find nooses hanging over their things. I've read an African American police chief deputy being a victim, a sailor, etc. I thought that these acts of ignorances were for the most part gone (although I know it still exists, and racism may never actually go away entirely) and that intelligent beings were replacing them, but this resurgence in racism is proving otherwise. I really hope Chicagoans are not so ignorant to sink to intimidating blacks and other minorities. This city is so diverse that such acts would have an enormous impact, not to say that such acts wouldn't have of similar impact in any other city.

Pizza!

Okay, another thing I love is pizza. I can eat pizza all the time any time. And yeah its gotta be stuffed pizza, what Chicago is known for (way better than New York's flat pizzas). Gulliver's is where it is at. This restaurant is pretty cool, once you step inside they have a variety of light fixtures all over and other statues and a vintage feel I guess. It has an outdoor patio too, just as decorated. Anyways, Chicago is just reeking of pizza, and even though Giordano's is a big chain, I personally think their pizza is crap.

House of Sushi

House of Sushi is the best restaurant to eat at if you want sushi. It's located on Belmont and Ashland, right across from the bank where I used to work at. Whether you are a sushi lover or not you should check this place out. It offers a sushi buffet (minimum of 2 people) for $14.95 I think. It's the only place my girlfriend trusts because she got food poisoning from another Sushi restaurant before (although she avoids raw foods in general now). I eat the raw stuff, they all taste good to me. My favorite is the Godzilla (yeah the names are funky but they tell you all the ingredients don't worry). After you place your first 3 types of sushi (round 1), they bring you an appetizer of tempura carrots and beans and a hot soup-drink thing, all delicious and good but I try not to eat it because I think its a plot to get you full so you don't eat too much sushi. I'm just kidding but I really do try and save as much room as possible. The only thing about this restaurant is that they charge $5 if you don't finish everything off your plate, which I understand, they don't want to waste food-big Asian thing, plus sushi isn't cheap). Just once I was so stuffed (and thats usually how you leave that restaurant being so full and it's not that good feeling full either, more of I'm going to explode full), that I wrapped up the 2 sushis that we could not finish in a napkin and stuffed it quickly in my girlfriend's purse. Oh and another thing, yeah it may be $15 for a buffet, minimum of 2 persons, so you think you can pull a quick one if you come with 3 people and just order two buffets and a little thing supposedly for the 3rd person. But they tell you straight out, "you 2 can't share with him/her". And if thats not enough they walk back and forth to subtly check on you. Then that poor 3rd person can't even enjoy those delicious sushis because he's more concerned with not getting caught and just stuffing them in his mouth. Bad sushi experience, and yes I am talking from experience. But all this oddities aside, everyone should try this place out it'll get you craving sushi. I'm actually craving sushi myself now. But I love this place, glad it's in Chicago, bringing in the diversity- all the time.

Olympics, Chicago 2016

Bringing the Olympics to Chicago would be like a dream come true, or at least thats what I hear. Personally I could care less where the Olympics settle every four years. However, bringing the Olympics to Chicago would provide great benefits to our city. Even though every city is different in some aspects or others, I think its reasonable to assume that Chicago will receive similar benefits to Greece when it hosted the Olympics in 2004.

So the Olympics came back to its origins in 2004 when it took place in Athens. The results were overwhelmingly positive. First the number of viewers and attendees was a record high I believe. Second, this special event put Greece back on the tourist map. Yes the cost for preparing for the Olympics was great, but the long-term benefits prove substantial, aka worth it. Each year the percent of increase in tourism increases, and the revenue from this is great, which is great for the overall economic growth. With this revenue they can attend to improved transportation and other issues to advance their country (i.e. new roads, new airport, thousands of new jobs will be created, etc.).

Thus their are many advantages for bringing the Olympics to Chicago, which most know since other cities are bidding for the Olympics too), and aside from the revenue gain and the benefits mentioned above, I think the Olympics would be a good opportunity to unite the city, more or less, and it will give us a chance to show the world our essence. It's really an exciting occasion that Chicago would be honored to host.

A Trip to the Gardens

When I was little, my family and I would take a trip to the Botanical Gardens for a day in the summer. I remember vividly the dragonflies and lily pads in the water near the Japanese Banzai trees. Till this day, I believe it is a beautiful place to visit and enjoy the scenery. Until recently, I thought it would be hard to visit the gardens without a vehicle considering it is a considerable ways up north from Chicago. But then I found out from my biking friends that there is a bike trail running all the way up to the gardens. Haha! I can combine my frequent bike rides around Chicago to now accommodate for this trail! I was pretty excited because the trail is about 14 miles long... I believe it starts from Foster and some other street, but there is an entrance at Devon and Harlem or Austin, I can't remember which one, but if you go west on Devon, you are bound to see it (I thinks it's by Nagel, going on I-90). Well anyways, the only "trail" I've gone on is the Lake Shore drive one and I'm sorta tired of it. I needed something new and also I wanted to go back to the Botanical Gardens and see how it is during these days. The first time taking the path, I went with four other friends. Basically, the path goes through a forest preserve and cuts through some big roads like Touhy and Golf. There are some steep bridges which sucks going up but awesome going down. Also, there were A LOT of cicadas.
It's a nice trail to go on if your have about half the day to go on the trail and also visit the gardens. Also, you are saving gas and enjoying such a beautiful view.

Louisiana vs. Illinois

Before I looked at the report card for both states, I thought Louisiana will get a lower score than Illinois, but surprisingly to me, Illinois scored lower. But then I realized that the socores were given pre-Katrina. The reason why I thought Louisiana scored lower was because the way Katrina was handled. So I guess you can say it's just a guess with no hard evidence. I've never been to Louisiana nor have I been to many parts of Illinois. I thought these scores are based on the large cities that the state is known for, so for Illinois, it's Chicago and for Louisiana, it's New Orleans because I don't know anything else about Louisiana and minimal about Illinois.

Jane Addams

Nice website about who she was and also links to other websites dealing with her. http://www.sittingbull.org/americanwest/BUFFALOBILLCODY.NET/americanwest/hallofusa/virtualmuseumofhistory.com/hallofwomen/JANEADDAMS.COM/

Miltary Establishments Around Chicago

I've always wondered why there are no military establishments around Chicago, like an armory or a reserve base. Anyone got an answer?

The Olympics in Chicago

I think having the Olympics in Chicago would raise awareness of Chicago throughout the world, but I also think we can spend that money more wisely to help struggling communities in Chicago. I don't think the city is ready for such a world event, with the cost of CTA on the rise, and poverty levels still rampant in many neighborhoods. It seems that the reason why they want the World Olympics to be in Chicago only for commercial reasons.

Chicago's Gang

A nice website I've stumbled upon related to gang research is: http://www.chicagogangs.org/

Chicago's River

The Chicago's River I believe plays a significant role in Chicago. It winds right through the city and gives it a natural feel. I went to Northside College Prep for high school, and the river is right in the backyard of the school. I always had wondered if the water is even drinkable, but now, I highly doubt that's a good decision. I knew some of my friends had a meeting by the river to see who could swim across the river and back the fastest. I don't think any of them had any side effects afterwards, so it won't kill you, but still, the water isn't all that clear.
I read a Red Eye article about fish in the river. Apparently, you can eat the fish that lives in the river, but be aware of how much you consume. Most of them are contaminated with small amount of mercury and other chemicals.

Sewage Plant

There's a sewage plant on McCormick and Touhy in Lincolnwood and heard it is closed down but there is sometimes always this funky smell around the area, especially when there is an East bound wind. Sometimes during the winter or when it is cold, billows of steam would come up from wholes that probably leads to sewage. Pretty disgusting. Overall, just wondering if this plant is still functioning or not.

Ahmad's Blog

In response to Ahmad's blog about parking meters, I didn't think about the numbers of parking meters on the Sazouthside being less than the number on the Northside. It sort of makes sense though because more attractions are located on the Northside rather than the Southside. This did bring up my memory of an article in the Red Eye about parking meters and towing vehicles. Last year the city of Chicago collected about 200 million dollars in fees and tickets (estimate; I don't really know but it's up there). With all that money you would think they won't be such a stickler when someone goes past their meter by a few minutes.

Gentrification

I have seen a different gentrification, where instead of building over impoverished lands, it renovated the area. Back where I used to live, was on Ashland and Grace (Addison). About 10-15 years ago, the neighborhood was predominately single homes and small businesses. But the influence from Wrigleyville and other neighborhoods surrounding it gave birth to many new condominiums. Young, predominately Caucasian couples, starting a new family took interest in the community. I left the area about 4 1/2 years ago and when I pass by several times over the years, I saw a new condominium with its huge "For Sale" or "Many Units Available: from $250,000 to $500,000" being erected over what used to be a diner, or a small auto dealer, or a movie store. It saddened me to see this because it was like my old neighborhood is being exterminated. The rise of condominiums has taken over.
Another place of gentrification is areas North of IIT on State and 18th and further south. I see condos being built up across the streets from public housing buildings, on my way to ROTC on the train. I have a feeling sooner or later, those public housing buildings will be demolished and built over with luxury condos. The residents of the public housing will be forced to live elsewhere.

The Great Chicago Fire

I always wanted to get the story of the Great Chicago Fire straight. I pulled this info out of a wikipedia page(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1871_Great_Chicago_Fire). Basically, the myth that everyone knows is that apparently a cow owned by Ms. Catherine O'Leary, had kicked over a lamp and the fire started. The website said what really happened was a shed caught on fire near Dekoven street. Due to the construction of the surrounding areas, the wind, and lack of coordination to put out the fire, the fire raged on for nearly three days. It destroyed much of what we see today as downtown. But because of the fire, plans for skyscrapers and commercial buildings took affect. Now we see the magnificent aftermath of such a dreadful tragedy in Chicago's history.

The University of Chicago has a very unique page about Chicago. The link is: http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/legendsmyths/City/index.html

In this link, you can find a different picture and information about them in each category explaining Chicago's commercial, entertainment, and culture aspects.

Census Tract

For my census tract, I typed in my area code. My area code is 60645. I am around a predominately Jewish community and also near an African American community. The statistics on the census tract shows that with a population of around 44,000, more than half (27,000) are Caucasian. About 5,000 are African American and 7,000 are Latino. I was mostly shocked by the number of Asians in the area, which is nearly 7,000. For the 4 1/2 years I've been living here, I see mostly Caucasians, but rarely wold I see Asians.
Another interesting fact is that about 16,500 are foreign born. If I had to take a guess, I would guess around 10,000 to be foreign born. This fact shows that immigration has made a huge affect on the population

The Metro Chicago Immigration Factbook

I chose to talk about the immigration issue in Chicago. They had charts and graphs that showed a steady increase of immigrants moving to Chicago since the 1980s. The decline of immigration to Chicago started back in early 1900sprobably due to the Great Depression. What I found interesting in this article is the talk about "port of entry." I've never heard of the term so I decided to look further into it. It is the neighborhood or region of the city where immigration is more common than other places. Apparently, Edgewater is the leading neighborhood in immigration in 2000. I live in West Rogers Park but come by Edgewater a lot. I really never notice an immigrant population in this neighborhood. The statistics say it's around 3,000 immigrants that live there since 2000. Other neighborhoods that follow it is Albany Park , Union Square, and West Ridge. Overall, it's interesting to find these port of entries in Chicago because it can definitely tell you where dense or sparse concentrations of immigrants are present.

My Photos

If I had to photograph pictures of Chicago, I would focus on the aspects that Chicago is less known for and what tourists would less know about. Many non-Chicagoans are familiar or know of Chicago's skyline and sport teams but not of the neighborhoods itself. The neighborhoods in Chicago are what gives Chicago that authentic feeling of a "melting pot"; where all the races of the world collide. Unfortunately Chicago is also one of the most race segregated cities in America. Truely, that melting pot, in a sense, isn't a melting pot at all. Still some of the photos I would take shall glorify what Chicago is all about; their culturally enhanced neighborhoods. I would take photos of Devon street, where many Middle Eastern cultures, ranging from Pakistani to Indian, come together to establish storefronts and community enhancements. Another neighborhood of mixed culture but yet same race, is Argyle. This small strip is predominately a Vietnamese and Chinese cultured area with a variety of storefronts and community programs. Both these areas represents why Chicago is so diverse as a city.
Another aspect of Chicago I would like to capture is its public housing. There are many public housing areas in Chicago but most of them are on the Southside. I know of one that is placed right on Diversey and Damen. When I first saw the "Diversey Projects," I thought it was an odd place to have housing projects there because the surrounding neighborhoods were different. I would take pictures of this to show the inconsistent borders of Chicago relating to economic housing.
Also, I would take pictures of the surrounding suburbs because they too, are a part of Chicago. It shows the history of Chicago after World War 2, where many Caucasians left the city (especially veterans) to settle in cheap houses around the city. This was known as "white flight." Also my pictures of these suburbs will show how some suburbs are mixing races.

Chicago's weather

Chicago's weather is ridiculous. You can safely say that Chicago doesn't have seasons. A good example of weather fluctuations in Chicago is the Marathon today. Almost 250 people were sent to the hospital and one pronounced dead due to heat related issues. I remember last year during the Chicago Marathon, it was a chilly October day and I had to close my dorm window. Another time, I forgot which April, actually two Aprils, when it snowed... It was April!!! Birds should be chirping, tulips should be growing, and that snow should have been rain! And of course, when it's cold, it gets bone chilling cold, and when it gets hot, it get scorching hot. It might sound like I'm complaining, but everyone who has lived in Chicago for a while can relate with me.

The City Through Lenses

Looking at the website http://www.revealingchicago.org/, I was astounded by how much more depth and character Chicago has. I've lived in Chicago for about 16 years but of course not have visited all the places where Terry Owens have taken arial photos of. For instance I didn't even know we had a World War 2 exibit submarine docked at our ports! Or that Cabrini Green had a "organic farm" growing in their backyard! These pictures convey a city that is so vast in area and amount of activities and information, that it is hard to keep up with. I also like how she encompasses the surrounding areas of Chicago, because I believe these ares are a part of Chicago as well. No one lives in Chicago for just Chicago. I think everyone has, at least once, stepped into other counties surrounding the magnificent city. If not, that's sorta sad.
The categories of pictures that show the aspects of Chicago ranges from commercial and housing to farms and landscaping. You can see the contrasting images of the urban poor to the suburban class where "every house" has a swimming pool in the backyard. You can notice the fluctuating changes in the weather throughout the year. The weather is never static in Chicago. The one negative thing about this website is the inability to enlarge the photos. I thought the photos were beautiful but it should be able to enlarge so one can see the image larger.