Thought...

Thought of the Day (courtesy of our dojang's whiteboard):

A wise man makes his own decisions; only a fool follows public opinion.

Art break

Sunday, Bryan and I went to the Art Institute to see the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit. Very nice exhibit - he mostly did poster art for performances in Montmartre, Paris, but also did some other work that I'd not seen before. An enjoyable way to spend the morning of the hottest day in 10 years in Chicago!


(The facade of the Art Institute; me with one of the Institute's lions.)



I could have done without the crowds though. The Institute rents headphones with taped tours of the exhibit, and most people seem to get them (we didn't). As a result, the people wander around, planting themselves in front of the assigned work of art, then moving on suddenly (searching for the next number on the tour), with no regard to the fact that there are other people in the gallery. :-) It led to some nimble jumping out-of-the-way - a little exercise with your art!

International

Last night, we met our friends Asha and Lou over in Lakeview for dinner. They just moved into a new condo over there, so we got the quick tour before dinner. Great place! Multi-level, including a sub-basement for storage and (best part) a kitchen with a huge cut-out looking over the living room.

After the tour we went to a Chinese restaurant, Dee's, on Armitage. Great food, nice setting. It wasn't even too hot last night, so we were able to sit outside and take advantage of neither boiling nor freezing. Always a plus!

Part II

Ok, so much for less-intense. :-) We ended up sparring (light contact) for about a quarter of the class - and had a black belt who is not usually there leading warmups. We got *really* warmed up! It was good to be back, though!

Back in the Saddle

Tonight, I'm headed back to my tae kwon do class after taking a couple of weeks off. The time off was necessary, but the first night back is likely to be somewhat painful! :-) I've picked what is normally a less-intense night for the first night back - we'll see if Sir (what we call the instructor at this school, rather than Sensei) goes along with that plan. We'll see if I can move tomorrow!

I've also added the dojang's website to the links here - it's pretty basic at this point, but a fellow student is supposed to be updating it.

Friday Nights

A group of us (mostly co-workers) hang out a couple of times a month at a local pub - Lemmings.

It's a great little place, about two blocks from our condo. They have a small room in the back we usually commandeer - with a couple of little tables and a pool table. Makes for a couple of relaxing hours after work.

We went up this past Friday, and the owners decided to register their feelings about recent political events on their advertising chalkboard (in front of the pub):

Greatly appreciated in our group. :-)

Death Watch Cancelled

So, I'm not a huge fan of Justice Rehnquist (to put it mildly). But you have to feel bad for anyone who the media descends upon in such numbers. They were just hovering around, waiting for the poor man to die (or retire, which may be one and the same in his mind).

He's decided he's had enough of it. Earlier in the week, he was taunting reporters, saying that his retirement plans were for him to know and them to find out. :-) But after his trip to the hospital mid-week, he's announced that he has no intention to retire. (Trib story - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0507150143jul15,1,212434.story?coll=chi-news-hed )

While I'd love to see someone more liberal on the court in his seat, I generally don't have a problem with Justices (or other judges, for that matter) serving for as long as they are interested and mentally capable. In fact, the experience that comes with tenure is probably a very positive thing. So, I applaud Justice Rehnquist's decision. (I just wish Justice O'Connor had come to the same conclusion!)

Vindication

I'm always talking to people about how great living in Chicago is. I've only been here for about two years, but in that time, I've really come to love this City (warts and all).

It looks like I'm not alone in singing Chicago's praises. Outside Magazine (http://outside.away.com/outside/toc/200508.html) had a feature on the 18 "Perfect" Towns this month, and Chicago is among them!

The article talks about all of the progressive/environmental steps the City is taking: "green roofs" on a lot of City buildings, sustainable makeovers of older houses, recycling, solar energy, and much more. It also talks about the liveability of the City: the vast opportunities to enjoy both the City and the surrounding land (kayaking, hiking, biking, etc.).

Check it out! (It's also a great magazine, in general.)

Condo pics - enjoy!