And listen to some Duran Duran.  Unfortunately, I can’t embed any of their awesome videos, so you’ll just have to sing out loud at your computer.

We’ll start with Hungry Like the Wolf.

A visual essay of logos for women’s health/support/lifestyle type groups. (via Consumerist)

Here’s what I learned about women:

• Women like to dance.
• When women dance, they like to raise their arms above their head.  This is very useful when YMCA is playing.
• Women have long, flowing hair.
• Women often have to jump over things.
• Women like to tip-toe.
• Women like pastels.
• Women raise their hands & wait to be called on.
• Women like to hug.
• Women live in Florida & Nebraska.
• Women have vaginas. And big hips.
• Women sprout trees from their arms or head.
• Women like hearts & flowers & affirmations.

I hate this woman shit.  Where’s the logo for the woman with piercings in her face & tattoos, who drinks whiskey & curses?  Which of you broads wants to join my support group?  We’re not Earth goddesses, we’re not gonna dance & hug & celebrate our vaginas (although they’re awesome, don’t get me wrong).  It’s ok if your hair is short – mine is too.  We’re not going to turn into trees or get in tune with the lunar cycles.  We will not ovulate together.

What the fuck does our logo look like?

An interesting article about professional restaurant critics, from Chicago magazine.  Apparently Anthony Bourdain is on the side of Yelp, which makes me like Yelp a little more.

Since I have not yet divorced a rich man, I can’t really afford to eat at most of the places Chicago magazine reviews.  Plus, Chicago magazine will never help me decide where to get my Vitamin Grease intake after a hard night of drinking.  That’s where Yelp really shines.

Cats have taken over the internet & the Library of Congress wants in on the action:

Where do you get kitty cat sized boxing gloves?

I am terrified of spiders.  Especially those white house spiders that seem to flock to me.  As a species, they’ve recently fallen in love with my car.  See if you can guess where this story is going.

Yesterday, as I’m driving to work, I notice something out of the corner of my eye.  It’s a spider, climbing up its web.  It disappeared into the glove box.  Great.

So I go to work, and then to class.  I again see the thing scampering across the passenger side floor mat.  Awesome.  Because now I know it’s going to take a walk up the inside of my windshield as I’m driving home on the Kennedy.

True story: That happened to me once as I was driving north on Lake Shore Drive.  There was some serious screaming.  Fortunately, it was during rush hour, so traffic was moving slowly & predictably.  And I know Lake Shore Drive by heart.  The spider made it up the entire windshield, and started crawling onto the car ceiling.  There were tears.

My plan was to make it to the Addison exit without crashing, and go to the police station on Halsted.   I was not in my right mind people.  It was the best I could do.

But the spider turned around and crawled back down the windshield into the vent.  And then I turned the heat all the way up & cooked that fucker.

Back to last night.  I was driving home down Logan, and saw that the spider was now doing a lap around my steering wheel.  Oh Jesus Christ.  I managed to turn off Logan without killing anyone, and got the car into park.  I hopped out just as the spider made a jump & landed on the seat.  IT WOULD HAVE LANDED ON ME. I found some loose paper & squashed it.

Oh, and the soundtrack to this moment?  “Every Little Thing is Gonna be Alright.”  I’ve never been a Bob Marley fan, but I appreciated his words at that moment.  And I’m sorry to the commuters walking home from the L stop who were perhaps a bit alarmed by the hysterics.

To conclude the day, at about 11:30 I walked into a spider web outside my building.

I wish to express my appreciation of Maker’s Mark.

Were you a kid in Chicago in the late 80s? You know you can totally sing along with this.

The idea of a blog devoted to MRIs of fruits & vegetables is so wonderful I’m surprised no one’s thought of it before.

A cucumber looks pretty much exactly like I expected.

Chicago skyline at sunset

Chicago isn’t really known for sunsets.  The lake is to our east, so we’re really better at sunrises, but who’s ever up in time for those?

I took this photo with my iPhone yesterday.  I was on top of the parking garage looking east.  It was real quiet up there, and the light was reflecting softly off the big buildings downtown.  It was one of those perfect fall days, not too warm, getting cool enough that maybe you want to put on a sweater.

During Chicago summers, the mere act of walking to your car can be a trying activity.  We’re now in the small window of opportunity where it’s a pleasure to walk places.  In fact, you might find yourself strolling if you’re not careful.

Is there any better music for a singalong jamboree than bluegrass?  And how much do you want to visit Bill’s Pickin’ Parlor?

Your thoughts?

Great article from the AV Club Chicago on Block 37. I’d compare this place to the mall in Dawn of the Dead, but it’s not popular enough. I think of zombies as having higher standards that this place.