| You are cool. |
the commute: world subways
It's a transit kind of day. Following a link from This Is Grand, I discovered this comparison of subways around the world depicted on the same scale. Wonder why no one takes the subway in LA? That's because instead of a mass transit system with real trains, it's actually the symbol for Prince.
Just as a reminder, the tangentally useful Chicago Bloggers is a map of blogs by CTA and Metra stops.
erik 12:55 PM | permalink | yap
the commute: CTA tattler
One of my favorite parts of the Metro section of the Chicago Tribune is the column "Getting Around with Jon Hilkevitch" about mass transit and local traffic. Today's installment includes a lengthy profile on the CTA Tattler, a blog of insteresting things spotted on the El or bus. I haven't seen this blog before, but I'm hoping it's as good as This Is Grand, which is an excellent collaborative blog named after the recording heard on the train as you approach a certain El stop.
erik 12:16 PM | permalink | yap
the commute: seen at Union Station
Walking through Union Station this morning, I noticed a new kiosk over by the veding machines: a Target gift card vending machine. Did you forget to go shopping along the Mag Mile or in the Loop during your lunch break? Was there nothing suitable to be bought somewhere in the seven floors of the Marshall Field's on State Street? Quick, grab a lousy gift certificate to a discount big box store on the way home! Problem solved!
Of course, Target owns Marshall Field's, but, come on, the merchandise crossover is pretty small.
erik 10:37 AM | permalink | yap
| You are cool. |
hip news: New Black
Hey, no one told me that you can get the debut album by Liam & Rachel & Nick & Patti over at the iTunes Music Store. Hot bat wings!
I was going to spend the last of my birtday gift certificate (tanx, Chewbacca!) on the SpongeBob Squarepants soundtrack (I'm being serious--it's got The Shins), but now it's going straight to the Booze Olympics. I should have just bought the actual CD last spring, but, hey, I'm lazy and/or fighting a crusade against the corporeal.
Last-minute-notice: New Black is playing tonight at the Bottom Lounge.
erik 2:46 PM | permalink | yap
| You are cool. |
paperback writer
Following the successful release of my mystery set in a doctor's office, I'm working on the followup, set at a rock 'n roll concert: Well, It's One for the Money, Two for the Show, Three to Get Ready, Now Go Cat . . . Murder?
Editor's Note: the use of "cat" should not be taken literally. "Cat" is rock 'n roll terminology for a cool person. No relation to the books by Lilian Jackson Braun.
Editor's Note: the use of "cool" should not be taken literally. "Cool" is rock 'n roll terminology. No relation to the temperature of the figurative "cat."
erik 12:36 PM | permalink | yap
| You are cool. |
paperback writer: Google Search
On the bus this morning, I could see the back cover of a paperback that a woman was reading. I missed the title, but the description on the back began with "Lights, Camera, . . . Murder?" Yeesh. Judging by the google search for the term, that awful phrase is well-trodden. Yeeshes.
Given all the crap that people read, and all the crap that I read, I figure I can take a stab (groan) at this paperback mystery hackery. My first effort as one of the most ambitious paperback writers of the Midwest will be titled Take Two Aspirin and Call Me in the . . . Murder?
erik 10:33 AM | permalink | yap