-- Smaller and slower pace than NYC. These are two massive positives. While I'm sure that I missed some vital parts of the city, I spent an entire afternoon strolling about and felt content with the amount that I saw. Invariably in NY, if you do nothing but walk around, you WILL miss a tremendous amount, no matter where you are. I don't know if that made sense to you, but if it did, then Chicago is a hell of a great place to me. Trust me.
-- Saw a lot of women with beefy arms in Chicago. Maybe it was the gorgeous weather, but I feel as though I see out-of-shape people of both genders (raises beefy hand) all the time. Chicago seemed unique as I felt as though I saw a number of attractive women who just had big, sweaty hams of arms. Is this normal? I've seen women with wide hips ('birthing' hips, though for whatever reason I call them 'baby-making' hips), and obviously there are women with a nagging 'area'...I just don't think I've ever seen it centrally located in the elbow. I'm not even saying I was repulsed/turned off/offended... I would say a cross between curiosity and fascination is more accurate.
-- If Chicagoans throw down deep dish slices like I throw down "regular" slices, I am surprised that I wasn't a freak for wearing a belt. In a related story, it would justify beefy arms.
-- Another stellar experience at Bradley Int'l. Keep it up, guys...
-- I will not be meeting my book-reading goal for this month on account of traveling. I do not regret this at all.
-- I've been listening to and becoming increasingly interested in podcasting. Among the 'casts I've been listening to is Adam Carolla's (of Man Show, Love Line, and Crank Yankers fame), and I must say it's been rather enjoyable. It's like talk radio without the commercials and ass-kissing callers. Anyway, one of the pet peeves shared on the most recent episode that I listened to is when people say "I hate to do this, but...". Suffice it to say I was nodding vigorously in agreement. That sounded a LOT like "I don't mean to be a dick, but..." or "I don't mean to be rude, but...". It's like you're building in an excuse, much like these public apologies we are hearing so frequently for offensive comments/people.....
"I'm sorry if I offended anyone" is a blanket statement for anyone who says anything even remotely offensive about anyone else. This false apology idea was covered excellently by Nancy Gibbs in her recent TIME magazine article (linked above). Though she focused much of the article on big bank CEOs and their NOT apologizing, there was a bit that unearthed the sad truth behind the fact that when people DO apologize, it's half-assed and vague, as if to blanket any- and everything they "may have" done wrong.
"I don't mean to be a dick, but..." is a great way of preparing anyone listening to you that you will, in fact, be a dick. If you're going to say something that may offend someone, JUST SAY IT. Give whomever it is that you're talking with the opportunity to figure out for themselves whether or not they should be offended. Prefacing whatever it is that you're going to say with something like "I don't mean to be a dick, but..." is roughly translated to "Get ready to be offended/I AM a dick, and here's why". I'm not exactly worked up over this. It's just a frustrating use of non-confrontational language at an inappropriate or inopportune time. Silly.
I don't mean to be a dick, but could you stop talking so fucking loudly? You're annoying the shit out of me. No one cares whether or not your kid survived the car crash. Be courteous to your fellow passengers. Dick.P.S. I hope you all get that the above is a dramatization. I'm sorry if I offended anyone (see? works like a charm!)...
So the meat of my post today is focused on baseball. It's baseball season. I am excited. There's nothing that you can do to stop that. Just let it happen. ANYWAY, I went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field during my trip and let me just say that as a baseball fan, I can think of no better place to watch a ballgame. It's the truth. Now, I don't mean to be a dick, Buuuuuuuuuuuut... Yankee Stadium (the old one, not the eye-opener) in later years became a more business-oriented establishment. Were games still enjoyable? Sure. Was the atmosphere late in a close game downright hostile? Yes (one of the best aspects of the place). Was it intimidating for opposing teams to come into town? You bet. My problem is that for people who go simply to watch a game, the jumbotron and the excesses that come with it (advertisements, commercials, gimmicky games) distract from the beauty that is baseball... There's something about the intimacy and the individualism of baseball that appeals to me, and the more I see ads promoting shit that has NOTHING to do with baseball, the more I just want to watch people throw, hit, and catch baseballs. While the on-field business of a Yankee game remained relatively true to the game (barring the DH, of course), the stuff in between offefred a minor- or major, if you let it- distraction.
Wrigley Field was devoid of that.
It was baseball, and only baseball. No one was there to watch the scoreboard light up and dazzle with games and gimmicks. The players on the field were THE show. The whole show. The entire show. Nothing more. It was baseball Heaven. I cannot possibly describe the whole feeling of being in a place where baseball is the main attraction, though I can now say from experience that the new Yankee Stadium loses a little something with the sleek new packaging. Now before anyone goes and makes a big fuss over this, let me just say that there are things that I am ecstatic about with the new stadium. Thrilled. However, looking at just the picture below, can you honestly tell me that baseball is the undisputed subject of the atmosphere there?
No caption. What I will leave you off with is this: look at the picture above. Look at the picture below. In the picture below, YANKEE STADIUM is PART of the building. In the above picture, I got the feeling like it was a sadly necessary afterthought to place the name of the place on top of everything else, as if to say "oh, you don't recognize this place...it's Yankee Stadium". The problem is that we have to be told- in an afterthought moment- that this is where baseball is played between ads and games. Give me Wrigley.
Well said Swingle, I've never been to a better park than Wrigley, I totally agree. It's great to see that many people care about a baseball team and the actual game of baseball. You'll never see empty seats during a thursday afternoon game. Seeing all the high priced seats and suites it makes me sick that it forces the real fans out.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the wave, get rid of the subway race, cotton eyed joe, YMCA, Hat Game, Match game...These kind of gimmicks belong in minor league baseball stadiums or places that need to attract more people (funny thing is the Yankees never needed these gimmicks before but are hurting to fill all the seats.)