movie locations

When I was in Chicago earlier this year, I wish I'd come here, but I'm glad I didn't. But the record store John Cusack's character owned in High Fidelity, looks like it's boarded up and graffiti'd, circa whenever GoogleCorp drove their surveillance vehicles through that neighborhood.


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I mean, yeah it's sad, but it's Chicago. They'll do whatever the fuck they like. Movies are always temporary to cities like that. They'll never commemorate the fact that a good chunk of a great movie was filmed there.

There's no Filming Location Preservation Society (FLPS). People driving by most likely just look at that corner property and go, "Hrmph...there's that old 7-11 I used to go to as a kid. Now it's nothing."

That is, if they even actually care.

All I know is that whenever I drive past the place that used to be the cafe where Marissa Tomei worked in Untamed Heart, I shed an invisible, misty tear. It's a good thing I don't drive past it often.

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I miss my blog

It seems I get more readers when I don't write than when I do. It's weird.

I'm still waiting for that light at the end of the tunnel where it finally doesn't seem all that bad. I'm not depressed or feel like I'm in a hole or anything. It's more like the carrot dangling in front of the donkey, and I'm the ass. Well one day, I'm going to figure out that sitting down is going to get me that carrot. After that, I'll be one happy burro. (I don't know...is burro/ass/donkey the same thing?)

I really can't wait to get home tonight. I get to paint my new room. Well, ok...I get to "prime" it first, and then probably paint tomorrow, because hey, what's more fun to do on a Friday night than paint? Ok, there's 3 bars within walking distance, and I need to "prime" my stomach for a bachelor party on Saturday night, too, so I'll see if my roommate is up for shots and tall beers.

The bachelor party should be a good time. It's starting off with horse racing, but I'm not so into the whole gambling scene, so I'm skipping out on that, but meeting up with everybody at 7:30 at Rudolph's. Should be a good time. I've never eaten there. I've only had their famous cole slaw dressing from the grocery store, and lemme tell you, I might just get a plate of that and deal with the CS farts later.

The night will end at the Vegas Lounge in NE Minneapolis. From what it looks like, if you want to get your karaoke on with a cold PBR and Grandma Betty, this is the place. We'll see. I'll wear my Saturday night best and aim to please.

Can't wait for Saturday, lemme tell ya.

Bullshit and the price of parking tickets

Another parking ticket. This time, it's for being within 20 feet of a crosswalk. Before it was for being within 30 feet of a traffic sign. Now, at least in Minneapolis, they pretty much post where you can and can't park with clearly visible signs. St. Paul must be lacking the proper funding needed to get these signs in place and to avoid having people get fined...ooh! I see what they did there.

The fines I've paid this year alone (year starting June, '07.) would have most likely funded the proper signage in the immediate areas where I park my vehicle.

I'm just worried that I'm going to get a ticket for "parking within 20 feet of (random colored) house".

Ridiculous.

Fine dining and the price of consumerism...

I recently learned that tapas is the name for a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine. I also learned that it means small and overpriced and not that tasty.

Upon dining at Solera I realized that I don't know what kinds of food there are that are out there. I also realized that I don't care too much.

Gimme my steak and 'tatos. Well...just gimme my steak, I can do without the 'tatos.

Tragedy

With every tragedy, comes ridiculous quotes and other things that anger me when I read about them.

"Obviously, this is a catastrophe of historic proportions for Minnesota," said Pawlenty said.

This line upsets for two reasons: First, because when all is said and done, and everybody looks back on this event, Tim Pawlenty wants to be remembered as the Governor who got everybody through these times. This is a catastrophe of ANY proportions, dickweed. Second, just read the sentence. "said Pawlenty said." Really? Did he say it twice? This is an AP article posted on Yahoo News. Now, after dating an AP-phile, I know that the standards associated with their "style" and journalism is second-to-none. Jesus...fix this. It makes you look like a goddamn commenter on some douchebag's blog.

Then, I read about additional coverage on the story:

* Rescuers brave horrific scene
* Cracking, vibration may have contributed to collapse, former NTSB official says
* Bridge was rated 'structurally deficient' in 2005
* 'It was the worst thing I've seen in my entire life'
* Contractor working on bridge repair is a major player in the state
* 59 on school bus survive plunge
* Hospitals deal with injuries
* Other bridge collapse disasters
* Wolves owner says his granddaughter was on bridge when it collapsed

What makes the Wolves owner so goddamn special, that he gets his own link to the tragedy by saying his granddaughter was on the bridge. That's about as relevant as saying that my third cousin knows someone who dated someone who walked on that bridge as a kid in the fifties. Who fucking cares? That being said, I hope she's ok.

Oh...and the seventh relevant story, "Hospitals deal with injuries"? Brilliant. Coming next, Police deal with crime, and the fire department extinguish fires.

I'm upset because now I have to deal with people saying to me, "Wow...how about that bridge collapse?" or the constant updates about how many people died, how many cars were involved, or how long it's going to take for the bridge to be rebuilt. It's not like I'm not looking for this information myself, and if I'm not, it's because I don't want to know. Quit bringing it up. I don't look forward to work today.

All in all, my thoughts are out there for the people involved with this, and I wish them the best. And I'd like to thank Yahoo News for giving me a little chuckle while reading:



I selected it to notify me when boom boom boom happens.