mini blog: chicago, day III

Mmmmmm..... another day. Up at 11, stopped to eat pizza at Lou Malnati's on the way to the Shedd aquarium. The waitress at Lou's misheard/misunderstood me and brought us the wrong pizza... and it sucked hardcore. BUT I did have the best salad ever. ever. (and she didn't charge us for the pizza)
The aquarium was crowded and disappointing.
It was cold and foggy/misty/rainy AGAIN.
But we didn't argue at all. ...maybe we'll win the Amazing Race afterall.

OH!!! Yesterday, my brother got tickets on my scooter!!!!!! I've driven that thing around for three years and was never pulled over for anything! He has it for a day, and boom... two tickets. Ugh.

Anyway... we went back to the hotel to rest and find a steakhouse. We went to Sullivan's and it was derishious! The best scallops ever. ever.  (two best things in one day!?!?) We had oysters (raw AND rockefeller), iceberg lettuce wedge (with blue cheeseiness!!), martini's (orange and blueberry), au gratin potatoes, and banana fosters bread pudding.... I still can hardly move.

Not much else. Watched some tv, read some of a book. Wrote this.

mini blog: chicago, day II

Got up at noon, showered, ate leftovers, planned itinerary. metro'd to an intersection of galleries, took a cab to their contemporary art museum--they had a retrospective on Jim Nutt!! I JUST discovered him, and didn't realize he would be showing here... awesome! Ate some sushi at the 'only' Japanese sushi place (most of the rest are Thai, apparently.), went to the Art Institute and saw their modern wing (not as impressive), their new tapestries (which were impressive), a watercolor exhibit, and then rushed through the impressionist and classical art sections before they closed.
Drank more sbux.
It started raining, so we took a cab to the AMC North Riverside, and watched Insidious... it was inventive, but cheesyish, thought it got better.
Ate (again) at the Emerald Loop--halved a curry burger, and drank a cider.

Yet another busyish day... lots of walking, and a bit of arguing.
I don't think we'd win The Amazing Race.

mini blog: chicago, day I

Today is Wednesday, and I'm in Chicago with the gf...
Got up around 630 in the morning, flew away at 1020, in the hotel at 245, ate pizza, shopped, pic'd Gehry's thing, and finally sat down again at an Sbux by 634, then saw a robot opera at the Harris Theater at 730.

Death And The Powers was incredible, BUT it was just the beginning of a question... it ended with such a cliffhanger, I wanted (and expected) it to go into another act or two. It's about a man, Simon Powers, who puts his consciousness into digital, and thus immortal, form. It culminates in a tragic but 'powerful' debate between father and daughter over so many things, but centrally suffering and what it is to be human.
The mythology is great, and deft for our millennium, but it didn't really say anything more... other than that the digital transformation happens to everyone eventually, and the ritual of retelling the story is repeated without the understanding of death or suffering ('cus they're robots).
I guess what I wanted was more explanation of the mythology of the robots, other than occluded repetition... but I guess that's not any different than what happens now. yay ritual & myth.
Oh, and the technology used was amazing.

After we recuperated, and uploaded pics, we went looking for food... almost everything closes between 9 and 11... BUT we found a tasty Irish pub around the corner (the Emerald Loop). We'll probably eat there again (and maybe again) this week.

Chicago is pretty cool. I'd consider moving here if it weren't so cold and grungy. (and "too dangerous to be out after dark.")