Last night I debuted my standup comedy routine at the Revival Theater here in Hyde Park. The video misses the first 5 or 10 seconds, but it won’t take long to pick up the plot. 4:41.
Short Story: Traditional
Engaged? Or thinking of popping the question? Then this is for you. It’s barely a two-minute read, and come on, is being on time for that next thing you have to do really all that important?
Short Story: Perfect in Almost Every Way
Here’s a romantic story, with time-travel, that went up on a site called /Asymmetry. It will take 9 minutes to read.
The Little Rock Marathon
When a Race’s Logo Foreshadows its Own Cancellation
The orange goo oozed down the windows, casting the cabin in an eerie Halloween glow. I had never been on a plane while it was being de-iced before. It was an airplane that was supposed to be on its way to Little Rock, Arkansas, where the next day I would be running in the city’s eponymous marathon. Today, I had to get to Little Rock’s convention center in time to pick up my race number. When scheduling the flight I had allotted a couple extra hours for contingencies, so there was no need to panic just yet, but delays at O’Hare during the winter have a tendency to become sentient, and start fighting for their own survival. We needed to get going. Continue reading “The Little Rock Marathon”
Fine Art Zombies
An Evening in Chicago with the Living Dead
Chicago is known for its vibrant amateur theater scene. Usually low budget and unvarnished, the stereotypical performance is clever and quirky (or at least aspires to be) and takes place in a subterranean space where maybe the heat works, and maybe it doesn’t. Continue reading “Fine Art Zombies”
Living the High-life on Colombia’s Pacific Coast
I hadn’t been this apprehensive about a trip for a long time. We were traveling to a place we had never been before and I was on edge. This foreboding foreign land for which we were bound was the four-star accommodation. For the first time, we were going upmarket.
Continue reading “Living the High-life on Colombia’s Pacific Coast”
A High Wire Act – Public Transit in Medellin
I was compiling the list of things to do during our five days in Medellin, Colombia and I came across a source that recommended riding the metro. Sure, but to go where? No, just ride the metro. The point of the blog was that the above-ground train offered an attractive tour of the city for the easy price of 85¢. I was suspicious: had the author of the blog just run out of things to write about? Perhaps he hadn’t even been there and just made the whole thing up (as really did happen with the Lonely Planet’s Colombia researcher back in 2009)? Continue reading “A High Wire Act – Public Transit in Medellin”
A Hot Tub in New Mexico Without Towel Service
Black Rock Hot Spring
If you google “Black Rock Hot Spring”, one of the first pictures you’ll be treated to is that of a group of naked hippies covered with mud. Continue reading “A Hot Tub in New Mexico Without Towel Service”
The Rock n Roll Half-Marathon
A Musical Tour Through Downtown Chicago
The Rock n Roll Marathon Series is a corporate entity spawned in the late 1990s. One of their first races, a June marathon in San Diego, was a disaster. Marathon day was much warmer than expected, there wasn’t enough water, and at a post-race press conference the race director, in a quote he desperately and futilely tried to retract, Continue reading “The Rock n Roll Half-Marathon”
Parking the Car, and Other Puerto Rican Adventures
Our third child arrived in December. By the time she was five months old we had already taken the enlarged family on a couple of trips, but those ventures were to introduce the new daughter to relatives. While we did earn some stripes taking three young children on a plane, trips to visit relatives only technically count as “travelling with the kids”. Once you arrive, someone else wants to hold the baby or play with the kids or feed all of you. It’s an easy life. Continue reading “Parking the Car, and Other Puerto Rican Adventures”