Northwest Tower, or the Coyote Building. This weekend, October 1 and 2, Around the Coyote Arts Festival will be going on, so head to Wicker Park and check it out.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Day 29 - Grand & Milwaukee
I caught the Blue Line home from my morning errands before work, and here's a shot of the station. I had an appointment for a hearing test (I've played drums for about 30 years), but the Hearing Center didn't send new forms to my doctor's office, and who knows how many others, whenever they may have moved. So I went where the referral said I should go, which is now a dermatologist. Then I walked a mile and a half to an address 3 blocks away from where the receptionist told me to go on the phone, because I didn't hear her too clearly. Then I called them to say "forget it" and took the train home. Reschedule? No. I'll just continue to wear earplugs around bands to prevent further damage. It's not like I was gonna get any hearing back.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Day 28 - Roger Roger
This was really the end of my night on day 27, but it is 1:30 am, so here it is for day 28. I saw this wall down a side street while I was walking the dog, and went to get a photo. Then I heard the rumble of the train pulling into the station a couple of blocks away and decided to wait. This is the result, which I'm quite happy with. My other choices for today's photos were the view from my bike riding home from the grocery store, and the terrible meal I made for dinner. Something just didn't work. I think it was one of my three worst cooking experiences, but at least I still found it to be edible.
Day 27 - Rain Ride
This was taken on my ride home. It was kind of rainy, though when I left work it was just a slight sprinkle, so I left my camera out. This is the approach to the left turn lane headed south on Damen Avenue. I'm about to turn left, southeast on Milwaukee, where I didn't see anything really crazy, believe it or not.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Day 26 - Dog Clichés
Of course I went to work with two depleted camera batteries. When I locked the door I realized I didn't have a memory card in the camera, so I went back in. Then when I got to work I noticed the battery was dead, so I switched to the other one I had. It indicated half power, and I left with my camera to get a smoothie. I snapped three frames of this dog in a time of some difficulty - she couldn't walk more than five feet without scraping or stubbing her cone on the ground - then that battery died too. It's only 8 pm, so I suppose I could still shoot something, but I'm happy with this sweet thing. Tomorrow, though, I'll definitely have a fully charged battery.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Day 25 - Finkl Birds
Because it was a rainy day and I already have a cold and a nasty headache, I rode the bus instead of biking to work today. When I got off of work, the rain had quit for a little while, and the clouds broke up a bit, resulting in a lovely evening sky which helped me decide to walk home rather than wait for buses. As I was working on getting this photo, a bike came down the sidewalk to my left. I admit I find it incredibly annoying when people ride on the sidewalk, but I stepped forward to the edge of the sidewalk anyway so the rider would have more room. I honestly don't recall encountering a bike on a sidewalk where there wasn't a bike lane, and this road has a very large bike lane that buses also use (infrequently) making it one of my preferred bike routes. The cyclist bearing down on me was well-equipped with lights, helmet, gloves, a basket, panniers even, I think. When I stepped to the edge of the sidewalk, he rode right up to me and demonstrated another piece of safety gear. He had an electric horn that's clearly meant to make a sound audible inside a car. It was ugly and fucking loud. Really, a bell is enough for warning pedestrians, even when they hear the way I do, which isn't great. But this jackass, who should have been in a bike lane on the other side of the street, was apparently so offended by a pedestrian being on the sidewalk, that he rode closer after I moved out of his way and laid on his electric horn. Of course, I then yelled, "Get off the sidewalk, Honky!" and he flipped me off. There were two more exchanges of gestures and words while he continued to ride, then he stopped about 50 feet away and I told him he was stupid. Then he pointed at me and did a little wing thing. Kind of like calling me chicken, except his arms were extended, which I've never seen when calling someone chicken. I mean, our thumbs fit in our armpits for a reason, and that reason is to make chicken wings. He took off immediately after that (maybe he was saying, "Hey, you, I'm a chicken, watch me run") and I asked myself, "What the hell?" Then I flung my camera over my shoulder, held it to my body and took off after him - down the sidewalk…still! It was like the Terminator except he was on a bike instead of a truck, and I couldn't catch him.
So cyclists, stay off the sidewalks, please. And Honky, you won't ride past me on a sidewalk again. I won't step out of your way, and I will destroy your little fucking loudass horn. If I run across you while I'm on my bike, I'll just berate you, and we can talk about it while riding.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Day 24 - Time Is Tight
Today I went to the Hideout Block Party where I caught the end of a set by Kids These Days, and sets by The Eternals, Booker T Jones, Jon Langford and the Burlington Welsh Men's Chorus, Mavis Staples, and Andrew Bird. It was a fantastic day in which I was reduced to tears when Booker T, two-thirds of the way through an instrumental version of "Hey-Ya" switched into "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)." I was not the only one, as you may guess.
Day 23 - Sideways
At home, the copout pictures seem to be pets most often (as in day 21). At work, there are the coworkers. This is the first of my coworkers in my 365, and I believe her third appearance in a project 365 by a coworker. I had planned to go to a "zombie dance party" at a club, but ended up hanging out with my wife and some of her coworkers instead. So, there went my planned 365 photo, but I like this one.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Day 22 - Zebra House
This zebra has appeared to be waiting for someone for at least three years. When are these people (or zebras, perhaps) going to come home?
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Day 21 - Curious Mali
At last, a photo of my dog, on the twenty-first day. Not bad. The question is, how often will I fall back on dog pictures over the course of a year? There's still a cat as well. As handsome as they are, every three weeks may not be often enough to share with the world.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Day 15 - Working On The Water
More industry - somehow I didn't post day 15. I was crossing the bridge coming home from work when I saw this barge and boat going under it. I continued across the bridge on my bicycle, did a u-turn, hopped up on the sidewalk and to the rail and started shooting. Ta-da!
Day 20 - Cargo
Here are some trucks. And a train. And one of the biggest gear/shaft thingies you'll ever see.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Day 19 - North & Clybourn
After work I knew I had to go to the grocery store, but Shereen left the power adapter to her laptop at work and decided it might be wise to leave one in her office and one at home. I ended up at the Apple Store taking care of that for her. This is the Red Line station next door which was renovated by Apple in time for the Apple Store's opening. I thought I'd get a shot of the fountain in the courtyard between the station and the store, but there's some kind of work going on at either end of it. So here's a quick snapshot of the North & Clybourn Station!
Day 18 - New Threads
Day 18 I didn't have a single photo (well I had two frames not worth posting), but on my way home I saw good old Busty Mannequin in a new dress. It seems her punishment for the brazenness described in my Day 2 is finally over. I shot 4 or 5 frames at the window, and fortunately had something I didn't mind posting, because I didn't have another click after.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Day 17 - Hispanic Heritage Day
At least partially in commemoration of Diez y Seis, Saturday the 17th was Hispanic Heritage Day at Toyota Park, where the Chicago Fire won against Chivas USA by a score of 3-2. Before the game there were performances such as this Ballet Folklorico group as part of the celebration.
Day 16 - Erasure
I took Shereen to see Erasure, her favorite band, at Chicago's Congress Theater to celebrate our second wedding anniversary.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Day 14 - Chivas and Fire Fans
This is a group of fans we met on the way into the stadium to see the Chicago Fire play Chivas de Guadalajara. Despite the guy on the left predicting three goals from Chivas, the Goats won by a score of 1-0. From our usual seats, it seemed Chivas was the home team, so we moved to Section 8, whose singing usually is the dominant sound in the stadium and threw our voices in as well. The guy on the left said he'll be cheering for Chivas USA at Saturday's match as well, even though he's a Chicago native. Oh, well. He did say that against everyone else he cheers for the Fire.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Day 13 - Oops, I Did It Again
Not for the first time, I came across a truck stuck at this underpass on my way to work. Fortunately, I'm not one of those folks stuck in cars for who knows how long. The previous truck I saw was a bit more photogenic, with its crumpled roof and confused looking driver walking around the truck. Unfortunately, I was on my way to work both times I've seen this happen and didn't get to hang around to watch the process of extricating the trucks.
There was another fun thing I saw today involving a truck. A tow truck whipped into a parking lot that warns of towing non-customers' cars away, and a guy jumps out of the passenger side in an apparent hurry to snatch a car. They drag the car sideways in order to get into a position to attach it the truck and the girl who owns the car walks across the street looking downright hostile. The passenger gets a wide-eyed "it wasn't me" look on his face and walks backward quickly to the tow truck, which then hauls ass out of the lot. I didn't have a good angle for photos, but I did find it entertaining
Day 12 - Pretty Pedaler
Yesterday when I tried to post this, I wrote a long entry only to have it disappear when I finished due to my internet going out while I was writing. I got an error message, but it didn't go back to what I had written. It was just gone. I don't feel at all compelled to try to recompose that post, either, so here's a photo.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Day 9 - Beach Bike Shereen
Today both my wife, Shereen, and I were off work so we went for a bike ride. We rode for about an hour and a half through Wicker Park, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, and about seven miles on the lakefront. This is remarkable since Shereen just got a bike last year and learned to ride it on the lakefront. This year she started riding in the city, today being one of her more epic rides.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Day 8 - After School
My lunch break is often an opportunity for me to look for photos on the days I work, and today I walked about in the rain after my mushroom stuffed slice at Amato's. Walking by the Red Line station, I first shot the canvasser with the umbrella hat soliciting donations (or signatures, maybe) from bare-headed people standing in the rain, listening to his spiel. Then, when I had crossed to the opposite corner, I saw a kid just out of school with his scooter in the rain. He seemed not quite miserable, but certainly a little unhappy.
Day 7 - Curbside Eats
Day 7 could have had a photo of my doctor during a physical, or a gangster I met in the park, but I missed those opportunities as well as a girl pulling a massive pile of tree branches out of her car on Milwaukee Avenue. Being hesitant with the camera does me no favors, but I got this instead.
Day 6 - Big Baby
Yep, a big, creepy baby. I wonder how many times I'm going to use a photo of street art in my 365, which makes me think I should have used the photo of caprese salad i took at Santullo's that night. I think this is one of my good street art photos, though, so I'm sticking with it. The artist responsible for these babies was previously plastering a Bananaman throughout the city.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Day 5 - Michiganders
For the second year in a row, Labor Day proved to be the end of summer in Chicago. These two came from Michigan hoping for some beach time, which they haven't had on previous visits. The weather didn't work out for that, but it was a really beautiful day despite being chilly and very windy. I saw the sky when I got out of work (Labor Day is the day that everybody in the US goes to work and declares a holiday, right?) and had to head for the lake to get some photos. The colors and the clouds were fantastic. The wind was pretty forceful, which resulted in crashing waves and sand everywhere. I'm still trying to get it out of my ears. I ended up with several photos that I'm quite happy with, including this one. The last gasps of warm weather are still to come, including one later this week, and I really am looking forward to it. Summer goes far too quickly now that I don't live in Texas.
Day 4 - BP
My friend Bryan played at the North Coast Music Festival with of Montreal. This was taken in the green room at Cobra Lounge, Chicago, at an afterparty featuring his bandmate Kevin deejaying as well as a set from Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Day 3 - Bubbly
Today we went to an "end of summer" party. It turns out our friends also wanted to announce to friends and family, who came from far and wide for the party, that they were recently civil-united. Cheers!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Day 2 - Piano Across America
Today's project 365 post was quite unexpected. A thrift store in my neighborhood has a very well-endowed mannequin that is sometimes a bit provocatively dressed. This is accompanied by a disheveled appearance from the barely-on clothes to the messy wig which may not be on forward sometimes. I have opined that there may be an employee or volunteer doing it on purpose out of mischief, or there may be a sweet, somewhat batty older lady with little regard for detail or modesty keeping the mannequins dressed. In the early morning hours of day 2, I walked my dog by the shop window to discover that the mischievous prankster had given up on subtlety, or the batty lady really had other things on her mind. Busty Mannequin had the goods on full display, wearing a purple skirt and an open cardigan over her shoulders. Her hair looked like she had been rolling around a parachute and a pile of combat boots with one of the mannequins a few doors over at Belmont Army. She had on lovely earrings. Busty Mannequin has a very fair complexion, and I can now tell you, nipples of the most delicate shade of pink. Busty Mannequin was a shoo-in for Day 2 after upping the ante so high in her shouts for attention, but then I rode down Milwaukee Avenue on my way home from work. I looked to the sidewalk, where I heard piano playing, and what the heck did I see? Of course: a chihuahua with a sombrero atop a piano that has traveled 14000 miles so far entertaining people on the streets of the USA. Don't do anything crazy, Busty mannequin. Your day will come.
P.S. There's another shot in the comments section if you click through to the flickr page.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Day 1
Today I'm beginning my third Project 365 - one photo a day for a full year. It's a somewhat difficult undertaking, even though I shoot nearly every single day anyway. Maybe this time will be a little easier since three friends began on the same day. My hope is that day 365's picture will be all four of us celebrating the completion of our projects. Two of us have done it before and are aware of how often we end up with mundane copout photos taken after 11:30 pm. Of those photos, it seems the obvious subjects to fall back on were our dogs and ourselves. Our averages for relying on those wasn't too bad, though - somewhere around ten (of our own) dogs per year and a dozen or so self portraits on average. I can't imagine doing this with a self portrait every day. My admiration goes to those who do it. I don't like to feel that I've used the same shot twice in my Project 365.
So here's the beginning - my bike with a new drivetrain after fifteen years, and riding great.
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