Watch out for the "Guilty Pleasure"

One should always be wary of one's guilty pleasures, lest they turn into a dangerous addiction. Unfortunately, as far as a certain guilty pleasure is concerned, I am past a point where I could acquiesce to piqued caution and am heading dangerously down a slippery slope. Yes, right now bad 1980s music is my caffeine, nicotine, crack/cocaine, if you will. Sure it was all fun and games when I got Wham!'s "Last Christmas" in my head around the holidays and decided to download it "because it's hilarious!," and it seemed like a great discovery when I embarked upon my New Order obsession with one of my friends, but today, as I forked over $.99 to purchase Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle's "On My Own" because I heard it in a store and remember "how great it is," I began to question whether I was just having fun, or whether I am indeed heading into unpredictable and unwise music territory.


The Awesomely Bad Spandau Ballet, who sang "True" and "Gold" among others.

Lately I've started to worry. After trying in supposed jest to convince several people of how great Spandau Ballet is, I began to realize that perhaps I like Bad 80s Music. After all, I seriously enjoyed the 80s songs from VH1's recent special "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs", songs like Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night," Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," and the number one choice for most awesomely bad song, Starship's "We Built this City." It's a good song! Yes, I know, the joking "it's a good song!" protest is the first sign of possible addiction and skewed musical perspective. Yes, I am beginning to realize most people do not like these songs, not even as a joke. Worst of all, for me, there are no more jokes anymore, and I think I should be worried, because when the jokes end, the bad tastes begin...

Person No 1: "Do you want a banana?"
Person No 2: "No thanks, I'm trying to quit.

I heard that today helping out at a rest stop along the path of the Tour of the North Shore Bike tour to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Adventures. Yes, I feel the best way to live life is to look at each situation that one encouters as an adventure, find the humor in it; then the next adventure comes along. When this works, it's good.

Adam Brody, so great

How one teenager can affect the world. The little bastard.

The Supreme Court Justice Rankings

1. Favorite Supreme Court Justice: David Hackett Souter

Recently thrust in the spotlight because of a jogging incident, Souter is much more than a "stealth justice." He was appointed by George H.W. Bush, who was encouraged to nominate Souter by his aide John Sununu. Sununu was sure Souter would be a Scalia clone with a less controversial paper trail. Souter surprised everyone by voting with the "liberal" wing of the court on abortion, affirmative action, search and seizure, etc. cases. He's awesome.

(more to come...)

And the Favorite Person of the Week Award goes to...

This Man. The washed up rockstar character of Billy Mack (Bill Nighy), in the film Love Actually. He has some especially hilarious and character-perfect lines in the movie, such as,

Billy Mack: Kids, this is a message from your Uncle Billy. Don't buy drugs. Wait until you're a rock star, and they give you them for free.

Dec: So Billy, I believe you've brought a prize for one lucky viewer.
Billy Mack: Yes, Ant or Dec. I've got this fabulous, personalized felt pen.

Mikey, DJ interviewer: What's the best shag you've ever had?
Billy Mack: Britney Spears. No, only kidding, she was rubbish

Billy Mack: And as much as it grieves me to say it, it might be that the people I love is, in fact, you.
[Pause]
Joe: Well, this is a surprise. Ten minutes at Elton John's and you're as gay as a maypole.

And of course, Hugh Grant must be mentioned, because, well, no explanation is needed here, I mean really now.



His quotes:
The Prime Minister: Who do you have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit?

[The Prime Minister is knocking on doors to find Natalie]
Old Lady: Aren't you the Prime Minister?
The Prime Minister: Yes, in fact, I am. Merry Christmas. Part of the service, now. Trying to get round to everyone by New Year.

I like this quote from a movie reviewer about the movie:
"Love Actually is like a romantic comedy for people with ADD. The film requires little thought, it passes quickly, and one will be smiling the entire way through."
He definitely has me pegged.

And with all of the pictures I post on my blog, I feel as if it is a weblog for people with ADD, the Love Actually equivalent of the internet

The Green Mill

Last night I went to one of Chicago's most well-known establishments, The Green Mill, a jazz lounge on the Northside. It was frequented by Al Capone back in its heyday when the Uptown neighborhood that it resides in was the place to be, especially if you were a criminal (haha). I recommend it to anyone who comes into town. There is usually a $8-15 cover, but the live jazz is great and well worth it.



The place is classic Chicago. When my friends and I got there, there was a Cubs game playing on the TV in one corner, and jazz playing on the stage. The sign outside has been there for ages; it's lighted with yellow and green lightbulbs and is hardly a glamourous sign like those that adorn the yuppy bars of Chicago. The bar is made out of old, dark wood, with an old unused cash register that sits behind it, and a crusty, bald-headed bartender. The seating space consists of vinyl booths, standard tables and chairs, and the barstools by the bar. The bouncer lays down the law if anything is moved around.



At one point the bartender said to another guy who works there (mostly bald, beard and mustache, dressed in polyester pants, glasses="very Office Space" as one of my friends pointed out) "I was talkin to Benny last night and we decided we should write a Country Western song about me." It was hilarious.

Anyway it was a lot of fun, and I recommend it for a night on the town. Get there early though! The booths near the jazz acts fill up fast!!