It's insane......

1) The last few weeks at work, the word "taint" has been bandied about with much regularity and near gusto.
To which I never miss a chance to laugh at. And so should anyone who has ever seen the late, great Mr. Show on HBO about 10 years ago. Definitely NSFW, fyi.



2) To say I am jacked for this trip is an underestimate. I haven't been this excited since I first went to Paris last summer. I have vacation glow 3 days before it starts.
And this, with me knowing I am gonna run into problems in Tokyo. Heck, I want to. It's the ultimate in metropolises. Overload central. I know I'm gonna get frustrated, run late, get lost. But it's Japan; the country works, and I'll figure it all out.

3) Fuji Rock Fest: The Battles, Deerhoof, The Shins, some Japanese bands I never heard of.
Lollapalooza: Modest Mouse, Spoon, Polyphonic Spree, LCD Soundsystem, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Heartless Bastards, !!!.
Baseball: In Japan, Chicago, Milwaukee, hopefully New York and Baltimore.
Food: Japanese food in Japan. Hot Doug's and Frontera Grill in Chicago.
What's not to love about this trip?

4) No more posts till after Japan. Then, hopefully, a motherlode of beer, music, baseball and other goodies.

I can smell....

1) After hiking up to the Peak today in 32 degree humidity, I stopped by the FCC to shower and clean up before work. I opened up the door to the men's locker room, and standing right there is a former coworker in only his skivvies.
I never got along with said person. He was a pompous New Englander who was in Asia for a long time, developing the air of pompous righteousness that some do. He did his job poorly, yet was a tool while doing said job crappily.
He wears loafers without socks.
Anyway, said tool refused to acknowledge even my hi as I passed by. He was too busy rubbing lotion into his leather carcass.
All I could think of was the line from "Silence of the Lambs": He puts the lotion on the skin, or else he gets the hose again.
I wish.
2) After hiking said peak, I was drenched with sweat. Drenched in a stinky way. I'm not the person you wanted to sit near on the tram ride from the peak back down. But you know what? I don't care. Because this is my city, dammit, and the tourists on the tram (which make up 90 percent of the passengers) be damned. It's much like how I loved to run through Navy Pier, all sweaty and gross with punk rock blaring in my headphones, during those busy summer days in Chicago.
3) From today's paper:
Barry Bonds did not make himself available to speak to the media, but Jesse Jackson made his way into the Giants clubhouse before the game and the two prayed together
The only way I will be convinced if there is a god(s) is if a righteous lightning bolt strikes both of them immediately during said prayer. Paging Zeus!

Shakin' the tree for some postings, boss

1) After a night of unabashed gluttony at Morton's - which proclaims itself a Chicago steakhouse, though I never went to it while living in said city - I still was stuffed the next morning and couldn't comprehend eating. And what's on television? Cool Hand Luke. The movie that is essentially the book of Genesis for competitive eating. Though Luke's record of 50 eggs in an hour has been surpassed, and how.
2) While there is no cheering in the press box, there is occasional victory dancing in the newsroom at 11:30 at night.
3) On the way home the other night, I passed a bus with an ad for "English lessons" by Eric Lawson. And what's Eric doing in the picture? Holding his figures in the L shape. Raff out roud!
4) I've been trying to get outside and do more stuff in the mornings before work. The weather is beautiful at first glance. Extremely sunny, with nary a cloud in the sky, and temps in the low 90s. Perfect for heading to a beach and chilling for a few hours. Not quite as good for hiking to the Peak from my place. Again and again. Just like Cool Hand Luke, I refuse to learn my lesson.
5) If you ever want to piss off a cabbie in HK, accidentally spill on his back seat a side of fresh blue cheese dressing from the FCC to go with your takeaway salad. I have never seen such a combination of "what the hell is that smell/ah, you goddamn stupid gweilo" on someone before. Because I can't think of anything more disgusting to a local person here than the smell of blue cheese. Even that 35% tip you give won't make up for it.

It burns

1) Painfully sunny and clear here lately, like a real summertime. Somhow, someway, someone stole the smog for the past week, and I likey.
2) I've been binging on movies the past week, and I'm going to go see the new Harry Potter movie this afternoon. This, after watching some of baseball's all-star game this afternoon. And there's a connection, too: To me, seeing the movie version of a book is the same as baseball's all-star game. You may get a feel for what makes it good, but it takes out all the subleties and nuances that make it great for a collection of highlight reel moments.
3) In what would do him proud, the wake on Saturday for my friend Geoff was the best-catered and had the best bar of any that I've ever been to. That, and the guests were the best-dressed, all as he would have wanted it.
4) It is weird now to go to the Globe without Geoff as the wingman. Especially so since one of the bar's anchor bartenders left. Now if kinda feels like when a band fires the lead singer and replaces hime with someone who's supposed to sound the same. It sounds allright, but some of the soul is missing in something you really loved.