Seagull Steals From World's Laziest Cat

I finally visited the French Market below Ogilvie and they currently sell 49 cent/pound amazing, big, suculent peaches...

And yes, it is this video that finally inspired me to blog after a nearly two week hiatus:

Seagull Steals From World's Laziest Cat

Absentee Voter

Yep, I've filled out my absentee voter card when it comes to updating this blog. My parents are coming to stay with me this weekend, so hopefully we will have some adventures that will be worth talking about.

Sunday Sunday...Bah Dah Bah Dah Dah

Just in case anyone started to feel the doldrums of Sundays and goodbyes and bedtimes starting to creep up on them, check out this song and remind yourself why it's great to be alive. Ahhh...

This is an unofficial video of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song "Home." Below that is an enigmatic and completely contagious performance of theirs on David Letterman. It's exhilarating. They are performing at this year's Lolla in Chicago. I also recommend checking out interviews of theirs--the lead Alex is completely zonked out, though intelligent, is completely incoherent. A good lesson in why it's not always that much greener on the side of a rock star...





I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I did--spent too much money, got lost in the city, ate, and laughed.

Special Contributor: James Baker

Today's conversation, in the media and among visitors to my store, has to do with the economy, specifically what should be done to stimulate jobs and the economy. Republicans want to stifle spending, while Dems see spending as the generator. I'm somewhere in between, with an appreciation for what saving can provide in the long run, and a belief that money is energy . . . and that to not spend is like having a Ferrari in the garage.

Truth is, the stimulus kept the economy from free-falling, but hasn't done much else. The fat cats who received stimulus money kept it for themselves, either in the form of bonuses or by sitting on it as capital in the bank. People aren't buying, so companies aren't spending on infrastructure like equipment that creates jobs, inventory or new employees, etc. To get it going, we need to extend the unemployment package so people can pay their bills while job searching, continue spending judiciously on the right programs, tighten or eliminate ridiculous and just plain immoral subsidies and tax breaks, and look for the unemployment rate to return to around 7%.

At that point, we can become more parsimonious, temper expectations about spending returning to levels that got us into trouble in the first place, and enjoy a life freer of demands to keep up with the neighbors.

To contact my dad about more of life's lessons, or whatever, reach him at james.baker47@gmail.com

Lady Macbeth

Ok so I might be becoming one of those crazy dog ladies. Most days, I consider myself a cat person, but dang, this Smith dog is really starting to grow on me.

This Fourth of July weekend I spent in Elmhurst, IL, doing a lot of eating, sunning, drinking, and playing with this little pooch. She's an 8 month old coon hound mix who's way stronger than she realizes, and in a lot of ways, a lot weaker than she is willing to admit. Her name is Lady Macbeth, and she goes by Lady for short. She loves to swim, eat apples, and have her belly scratched. She's a good girl and has a good family...



I also was able to see a lot of old friends this weekend, plus make some new ones. The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays and this one lived-up to all of my expectations.

More videos of Lady in the future I hope...

Sowy

Hey electro pop people,

I've been crazy-busy lately, ok not really, but I have started a new job so I have had about a million other things going on in my head besides the latest happenings on Blogspot. So I'M SORRY! I won't do it again (but c'mon, how many times have I said that one before...)

Yes, I started my first day of work of my first 40-hr-week sufficiently paid job out of college on Tuesday. And I gotta say, it feels great. First off, I work downtown, one block north of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. I ride the Metra in--I feel a part of this special club, where everyone walks and moves in unison without discussing first, kind of like a musical. It's like we're all acting out some huge theatrical play that we rehearsed in a past life. Plus, I love observing how the city evolves from region to region, uptown to downtown, from suburb to highrise etc. It's like tracing your genealogy and understanding where (or rather who) that damn nose came from.

Second of all, I really love the work I'm doing. It's not so much that it's glamorous, or even that important (even though it is), but it's the people I'm working with, or really, working for. They are teaching me so much, making sure I'm exposed to so many different aspects of the business (which is Public Relations recruiting) and are uber-thorough about everything. And thoroughness isn't exactly a common thing when you're being trained at a new job.

And third, and maybe most important of all, the money. No, I'm not making 6-figures (I know, can you believe it?). Instead, it's that for the first time in my life (and hey, I'm in no rush--I'm only 21!) I will be able to be (hopefully) completely financially independent from my father. And while I've never been a spoiled girl, or even comfortable asking for an allowance or 20 bucks to go out to a movie and dinner with friends, I feel like this is such a huge step for me, and for most "kids" my age. It is such a pride moment (and probably for our parents too) when we realize that the safety net of our parents is gone and that we can actually survive without them. And as I separate myself from them financially, so will I emotionally. And not in a disdainful or resentful sort of way, but rather in a "You taught me all the lessons you could, now it's time I play the game of life."

And jeeze, some day, it may be my turn to (sigh, roll eyes, snicker, snort in that order) support my own lost, quirky, troubled beauty of a kid...myself.