a walk through the neighborhoods

I walked to downtown last weekend. It’s about an eleven mile walk. Not really a far distance when you can drive or even bike. But, when you walk – yeah it’s a long distance. It was a nice sunny Saturday morning and afternoon. The temperature was probably around the mid 80s. A little hot, especially since it has been such a cold summer. We were going to walk the lakeshore to downtown but then decided that we walk downtown under the shade of the trees and we could keep cooler that way. It worked. Couldn’t have done that in the ‘burbs. We packed lightly for the walk – two water bottles and some granola bars and headed out the door.

We went east for a little bit and then followed streets going south until we arrived downtown. We followed mainly residential streets and stayed away from the main thoroughfares with all the loud traffic. We were able to do this for most of the way. We got to see several neighborhoods this way and got an eclectic feel of Chicago that few people ever get in at one time. It was great to see all the different houses, apartments, and condos, and to take in the different personality of each neighborhood.

We were able to walk that far without getting too tired. Well, at least until we got home and realized we had major blisters and aches in our legs. It was well worth the experience of being able to walk downtown and really see what Chicago is for one last time.

by the numbers: my morning commute

15 minutes to get ready



10 minutes waiting for the anti-theft lock to turn off so I could drive to work



16 lights to the highway



30 miles to work



40 minute commute

birding in chicago

You don’t usually think about there being a lot of species of birds in the city. Or at least I don’t. I’ve recently started to get into birding after receiving binoculars for my birthday. I’ve been interested in birds for years, watching many of the birds coming to the feeders at my parents’ house. But, that is only a small amount of birds and only a select few even go to home feeders. So, in May when I went on a North Park Nature Center migratory birding walk, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

They gather early - the bird watchers. At eight o’clock in the morning on Saturdays they gather for two to three hours to see (and hear) all the birds they can. I wasn’t sure how many people would show up. I mean, it is eight o’clock on a Saturday morning and it is birding. I was surprised by the amount of people each week (probably around thirty). We had to split into two groups each week. From there we would walk around the grounds with our binoculars and search out what we could find.

I saw about forty-eight different species of birds. Many of them common to the area, but many more I’d never seen before. Here’s what I saw:

Permanent Abundant
Canada Goose, Mallard, Mourning Dove, House Sparrow

Permanent Common
Ring-billed Gull, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Crow, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, American Goldfinch

Permanent Uncommon
Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker

Summer Abundant
Chimney Swift, Tree Swallow, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird

Summer Common
Green-backed Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Indigo Bunting, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole

Summer Uncommon
Eastern Phoebe, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Summer Rare
Cooper’s Hawk, Veery

Migrant Common
Magnolia Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart (warbler)

Migrant Uncommon
Solitary Sandpiper, Brown Creeper, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler

Migrant Rare
Black-throated Blue Warbler

The Saturday mornings brought adventure, thought, and a birding community. One of the best things I learned from this birding experience is that identifying birds is a skill and it takes time and practice. I hope to do more in the near future.

burb nation: a review

I recently read Suburban Nation. It’s a book that lays out what is wrong with Suburbia and how to fix it. The authors are neighborhood planners, so the facts, claims, and evidence for their thesis are fairly concrete. The overall book is great. A must read for anyone - whether they live in sprawl or not. The book bases its ideas on practicality, function, and economics. Although the book does reference racism and sexism as issues in suburban/urban problems, they are not the theme. I think this is an important prospective, as it can convince the average Joe White that the sprawl that is going on is bad without turning average Joe off with harsh language and realities he would rather not face. For example: claiming that much of urban decay began in the 60s (although racism and redlining was a factor), the policies that were in place to build a mass highway system, and housing laws back then (and today) that allow developers and such to cater to the ‘burbs and care less about the urban city.

In the end the book gives excellent reasons to move away from Suburbia the way it currently exists (and even more reason in a recession nine years after the book was written). I am still left with some questions though, and wondering this: is the idea that the authors present actually possible in the United States?

First, let’s address the idea of the neighborhood being less car reliant. In the neighborhoods that are created, it would create towns that depend less upon the car. It would allow people to walk almost everywhere they need to be including work, school, grocery store, and shopping. In an every growing globalized world is walking really the way America is going to go? Kids have travel soccer in the next town. That takes a car. Now, the authors at no point say that cars are bad and should be done away with. They just want less driving, especially since as a nation we are too dependent on cars and oil. But, for example, for a Chicagoian one day to be working in Chicago, the next to be vacationing in Wisconsin, the next to be carpooling a kids’ group to Indiana, public transportation certainly can’t accommodate the demands of American life.

The book builds an idea of more community in neighborhoods in a world that is expanded past its city limits. Although the book addresses many of these issues, it doesn’t fully address the problem of cars verses public transportation. Until there is a full overhaul in public transportation that makes it not only easier, but also faster and cheaper than a car, cars will the mode of transportation. This means when I do need to travel somewhere beyond my community that public trans will actually be a better idea. In today’s world if I travel from Chicago to Elgin it would take about 2 ½ hours compared to 45 minutes in a car. I don’t have to continually wait for a bus or train, or to transfer. Plus, to go to Elgin by train I would have to go south several miles even though Elgin is directly northwest. And in the end when the authors call the car “free-good,” it is actually cheaper for me to drive to Elgin than to spend money on two buses and two train fares one-way.

The authors present the idea that the car is “free-good.” It’s the idea that I can travel places, park places, etc for free. In the end it is more expense overall compared to public transportation. However, as I stated above, until it is made clear to the public’s perception that public transportation is easier, faster, and cheaper the “free-good” will always win.

Secondly, like many Americans, members of a household do not necessarily work in the same town. Many families live in between workplaces or live in one workplace area but the other may be miles away, thus making car travel inevitable for someone in the family. I think many of the ideas for a traditional neighborhood, the type of neighborhood that the authors present, would bring less driving in the community but may never address the practicality of multiple job locations.

Thirdly, American culture loves the one-stop shopping of big box stores. The book doesn’t fully address what to do with big box stores. In such a capitalist country that is driven by low prices, big box stores are not going away anytime soon. And every town can’t provide a Wal-mart, Target, IKEA, etc. within walking distance or even in each town, which will inevitably just create the same traffic and parking problems that the book is trying to disperse.

Burbs verses the traditional neighborhood layout


Finally, can the culture of the suburbs be really tamed? Isn’t the idea of driving run by the spirit of freedom? Don’t people like driving? Don’t people like living in cul-de-sacs? I mean, I pass by thousands of people sitting in traffic everyday trying to get to work in Chicago who would rather sit in traffic and have a big house with a big green lawn than an overpriced smaller house with no lawn in the city. The book again addresses many of the problems of creating better laws for the city to compete against the city, but would it create cheaper housing? Isn’t Chicago about location? The junky house at the end of my block isn’t selling for $700K because it is nice, but because it is in Chicago. Until the city can compete in pricing there may always be traffic jams (either that or like I stated above do an overhaul of public transportation).

The books also states over and over again about a priority for narrow roads over wide roads. I agree with this statement as the authors claim the roads function better for pedestrians. The authors also claim it will slow traffic down. Do people want to slow down? It seems as though everyone is in a rush today to get anywhere and everywhere as fast as they can. Just yesterday standing next to a narrow road a car buzzed by at an alarmingly high speed (for seemly not reason except to speed). Although narrower streets, and especially shorter streets (compared to long streets that are uninterrupted by street lights, stop signs, and speed limits of 55) I am still not convinced that the narrower, shorter streets fully address the safety issue.

At one point in the book it is stated or inferred that there is no end to sprawl. There is no tipping point. An example is that if instead of creating a four lane highway we created a ten lane highway that it wouldn’t exhaust any of the traffic problems. The best example of proof of this is in Atlanta. The idea is that if we create more people will come and use it and fill in the spaces that were created. Therefore requiring more lanes, etc to be created. I’m not sure that the amount of lanes are the problem as much as the problem of diverging and merging traffic of multiple highways. An example where I live is by O’Hare airport where three intersecting highways convene at once, creating traffic jams not because of the amount of lanes, but because people have to merge to a different highway or merge onto the existing highway. In the end the authors are probably right: there is no end to sprawl. And that’s a scary thought.

I loved the book. I am just not convinced and unsure about everything the book addresses. Much of American culture, developer and building laws, and city, state, and regional laws would have to do a complete 180 to make many of these dreams a possibility. In the end, the traditional neighborhood is a direction I would like to move toward rather than the ever growing sprawl that America is moving toward.

pondering chicago 2: what i will miss

Yesterday was the bad. The things that I dislike, cringe, and fear about Chicago. Today, are the things that suck me in to such a great city. These are the things that I like and will miss when I leave.

Diversity. The diversity of the city is amazing. So many different ethnicities, races, and cultures all huddled into one place as community. Life as it should be, or at least close.

There is something about urban life that is so great. The culture, thoughts, activities, and life in the city is just different and it is ‘good’!

Urban design. I love narrow streets, back allies, and diverse housing. The city equips neighborhoods to have mixed housing. This creates diversity among the rich and the poor, black and white, and different cultures. Among that, there are sidewalks everywhere. Creating the opportunity to walk or bike where you need to get to. I will also miss street parking.

I love getting on a bus or the el. Mass transit is underrated. I feel like we are missing something when we forgo community in transportation. The el brings a viable and fun way to see the city. It allows people to get around the city fast and views of it that are otherwise not possible.
Really tall buildings. There is something ingenious about seeing the engineering and design that goes into a skyscraper.

I’ll miss my church.

I’ll miss my friends.

It’s been something of a privilege to live next to Lake Michigan for the past four years. The beach is a wonderful place to be in the summer time. Picnics and walks are also fun.

The endless opportunities for food. You can find just about anything in Chicago and best bets are that it is close. From Thai to steak to anything in between it is all here.

I’ll miss the North Park Nature Center. It houses nature trails, nature programs, and birding. Also on the grounds is the recycling center.

Sometimes the parking lot is a little small and the aisles a little narrow, but Traders Joe’s serves up some of the best groceries in the city for your money. I’ve come to love Joe Joe’s and mango vanilla soy ice cream.

Kind of an odd thing – but the $5 pizzas at Dominick’s on Friday nights. It’s not as good as a quality pizza place in Chicago, but it is way better than Pizza Hut or Dominoes.

Chicago hot dogs. Yummy!

Wrigley field. It isn’t the cheapest place to see a ball game, but there are very few places left today that have so much history and baseball in one place.

Good radio stations. If you’ve ever been in a region with a bad assortment of radio stations you will appreciate this one.

Someone is always standing up for justice. It seems as though there is always a rally, march, or activist fighting for someone here.

It’s always easy to pick some one up, drop someone off, or take my own trip with O’Hare being so close. I will miss the easy access to a big airport.

It’s impossible to be bored in Chicago. The countless museums, parks, festivals, and programs make the city a tourist attraction and a fun place to be.

Grant Park Music Festival. World class music for free.

I love being so close to Michigan and Wisconsin. I will miss the days when I am only a quick drive to the border.

I love Chicago and Great Lakes history. It will be sad not to be a part of that.

pondering chicago: the bad

At the possibility of moving from Chicago I ponder the things that I love about Chicago and the things that I do not like so much. Back in December I wrote about my love-hate relationship with the city. Over the next two days I’ll be describing some of the likes and dislikes.

Especially over the past few months I have felt an even bigger urge to just “get out” of Chicago. Here are some of the reasons why:

• 
  Although Chicago is full of alternative ways of travel: buses, trains, and bikes the city and surrounding suburbs are still controlled by car travel. Many people are able to walk or bike to most of the activities in Chicago, however many more still have to depend on a car (or bus) to do shopping and other community activities. Wherever you go cars are everywhere in huge amounts. Working outside of the city has created quite a commute for me. And I will never miss it. Traffic is by far the greatest thing I will love leaving.
• 
  Along with traffic is the amount of time it takes to get somewhere. Even though the closest grocery store is only a mile away, it can sometimes take up to twenty minutes to get from point A to B. A “quick” trip to the grocery store can take thirty plus minutes.
• 
  The home prices in Chicago are outrageous. Many people are taking advantage of cheap houses right now. As I stare at the $700K house for sale at the end of my block, I think I could never be a home owner here.
• 
  No yard, no garden, no fun. Without any seeable future of owning a home in Chicago the only prospect left is a condo or rented apartment. Like most in the city they have no yard, no opportunity for a garden, or to use the yard for activities.
• 
  Chicago has its own culture like any place. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, some of it is not so good. People don’t say ‘hello’ to each other here. Driving etiquette is out the window. And it always feels like I am wearing an invisibility cloak around when I am here.
• 
  Much of this bad culture is expressed in mass aggression and dangerous driving. Everyone feels like they can do whatever they want to other drivers. Much like what we all did in the first-grade lunch line to get the food first.
• 
  It always feels odd to walk or drive in the dark. Why? Because in Chicago the street lights are always on and they are everywhere.
• 
  With thousands of lights always on that means I can’t see the stars. Well, unless they are moving stars.
• 
  I live in a fairly busy neighborhood. There are always cars driving by. (You could never play a pick-up hockey game in the street.) But, that’s not the problem. The problem is there is always noise. Whether it is a car, blaring, ambulance, and sometimes simply just noise.
• 
  Chicago has a lot of people. So many in fact that everywhere I go it always feels like it is crowded.
• 
  High food costs. Jewel is out of their mind! I don’t know how people can afford it.
• 
  My job is thirty miles away. Enough said.
• 
  It is hard to run (and I won’t bike) because of all the unsafe drivers in the city. I don’t know how the bikers bike around without a helmet.
• 
  President Parkyn. Grrrr.
• 
  Police that disregard red lights just because they are police. Just the other day a police car got stopped by the red light. No one was coming so the car just went through the intersection. It didn’t do it because they had to get somewhere. No flashing lights were involved. They gladly stopped at the next light that was 100 yards ahead without going through that one. No wonder regular drivers decide to do the same thing.
• 
  Jewel. It deserves its own bullet point.
• 
  Fear of little children. I always feel like when walking around all the punk kids are going to pull out a club and beat me. Why does everyone have to have an attitude problem around here? Would it hurt so much to smile every once in a while?
• 
  Flooded apartments. Never again!
• 
  Weird and crazy neighbors. Never again!
• 
  The sight of sleazy, pay-by-the-hour hotels.
• 
  High sales tax. Chicago has a 10%. What do you have?
• 
  Everything is so fast paced. I don’t mean slow paced, as in when I say I’ll build you a shed in two weeks time I it actually end up doing it in 4 months time. I mean everyone is going 80 in a 30, cutting me off, running red lights. Just take a chill pill - we are going to all get there at the same time anyway. At least you could drive safe!

If it looks like I am ready to move you are right. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything good about Chicago. Tomorrow I write the even harder list: the reasons why I love Chicago.

culture gone bad

As much as I love Chicago sometimes; its diversity, endless activities and sights – sometimes the city makes me go crazy. At the core of Chicago culture is good ole fashioned Midwest culture. The culture that was founded on farming, thrived in industries like steel, cars, and logging, and was populated by trains and canals. Here in Chicago though, it’s where ‘friendly’ goes to die. Common courtesy dwindled away like the train in the 20th century. Mores treated as if they never existed.

It all started about four years ago when I moved here. I was at a red light patiently waiting for it to turn green. Next to me was a turn lane. Across the intersection was my lane and to the right many parked cars. The light turned green. I let off the brake and on to the gas. The car to the right of me instead of making a right turn slammed on the gas, sped in front of me, cut me off before it slammed into the cars parked in front of it, and preceded to pass me for absolutely no reason. That day I didn’t know it, but it would only be the first of hundreds of times that this exact scenario would happen or something similar.

I’ve seen cars in the left lane of a two lane road cut off the rest of traffic to make a right turn. I’ve seen cars pass me illegally down a highly populated street going 80, skipping stop signs, only to catch up to them because they were stopped at the light. I’ve seen cars drive backwards down one ways. I’ve been honked at to go at a light even before the light turns green. I know if I leave room for a car to fit itself in while driving on the highway, that a car will manage to fit itself there. I’ve seen cars swerve to the break down or on ramp just to be in front of another car while in a traffic jam. I know at any time a car from a side street or side parking lot may dangerously pull out in front of me.

I know when I go running I have to make sure cars actually stop at stop signs before running across the cross walk so I don’t get hit. I know when I run I will have to get out of every single person’s way because not one of them will get to their side of the side walk or move over for a runner. I know while taking a walk I have to do the same thing.

Living in Chicago sometimes is like always having an invisibility cloak on. These are the new mores of Chicago. It’s a society of neighbors that don’t even look at each other or say “hi” when walking by. A society that sees more birds flying than friendly waves.

Not everyone is like this. Every time I go running I give the guy that sells the watermelons on Peterson a smile and he reciprocates. Sometimes I get a friendly greeting at a store or restaurant. And just last week while going for a run two little girls actually stopped their game on the side walk to move over and let us run by.

I don’t think I ask for much: just that people obey basic traffic laws, respect each other, and give up half the side walk when passing each other.

the forgotten cities of columbine

On the brink of the ten year reunion of Columbine, is gun violence in the United States any better? All cases point to no – but does anyone care?

Some of the latest school shootings have happened on college campuses. And some of the latest shootings happened in Pittsburgh, PA and Binghamton, NY. Many of these shooting don’t create chaos or panic in the United States. Many are just talked about for a couple days and then left hanging – others are left to tribute. On college campuses and in schools it has created more hysteria and controversy than any other type of gun murder. Every since Columbine, school shootings seem to get all of the attention. Yet, they are not a bulk of the murders. In the documentary Bowling for Columbine, the movie addresses the ease of accessibility of bullets and guns to kids (as well as people who should be denied a gun). And five years later at Virginia Tech people are blaming again the accessibility of guns.

Gun owners, the NRA, and the like refute that guns are the problem. In a world that is built on the idea of freedom, guns will never be restricted. But as advocates look at the destruction and death that befall the United States (and the world) they can’t help but think that accessibility is a problem. And yet, it is only a tip of the iceberg. Is it not?

In Chicago last year there were 510 murders. Chicago “beat” out both the larger cities of Los Angeles and New York City in murders in 2008. It’s a staggering number, no? The number is indicative of something far beyond guns: it is an issue of poverty, health care, racism, injustice. We’re not talking about the grand suburbs like Columbine. No, when we look at the cities at the top of the murder rate they are cities like Camden, Gary, Detroit, Flint, Compton, etcetera, that have been riddled with injustice. Cities left to fend for themselves, just trying to survive each day.

They are the cities that are forgotten. The cities whose murder rates are so high that people avoid even driving through that city, who avoid driving through that part of town. It is in the forgotten that schools and children are left to fend for themselves. It is the forgotten who are left without jobs not just in a bad economy, but in a thriving economy. It is the kind of place where families, businesses, and companies are there one day and paving a yellow brick road in the ‘burbs the next.

This is what we do though. As Rob Herbert writes in his article in the NYT,

“This is the American way. Since Sept. 11, 2001, when the country’s attention
understandably turned to terrorism, nearly 120,000 Americans have been killed in
non-terror homicides, most of them committed with guns. Think about it — 120,000
dead. That’s nearly 25 times the number of Americans killed in Iraq and
Afghanistan.”

When does it stop? When do we turn back to the places that were left behind because of the social issues at hand around the United States?

irish at the corner of elston and kedzie

On February 14 you know that all the local Italian and French restaurants are going to be packed. It’s a given. That’s why this February 14 when I found myself not at an Italian or French restaurant I was pleasantly surprised.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Italian and French food. My taste buds thrive on pasta and French cuisine. My taste buds also have a very relaxed sense of food. That is, if taste buds can be relaxed. I like burgers and pizza. Nothing exquisite there. So when I found myself in an Irish Pub with a menu full of meat and potatoes, bangers and mash, fish and chips, and a selection of great Irish and English beers I was in heaven.

So who supplied this bliss of food? None other then Chief O’Neill’s (and my awesome fiancé). It’s a great little pub with a bar, dining room, and outdoor seating. It may not feel like an authentic pub in Ireland, but the owners do a great job of celebrating Irish heritage and feel. I recommend this little pub to anyone that is around Elston and Kedzie.

give me a burger, a beer, and some random junk on the wall

Last year I came up with a couple of posts of my favorite places I have been to eat and favorite places I would want to go to to eat. Well, it’s been a year, and both lists have changed a little bit. I’ve updated where I would like to go by adding a few restaurants that I have heard about in the last year and deleting a few that just shouldn’t have been on last time. I don’t know how much longer I will be in the city so I have titled it: “The restaurants I would like to go to before I leave Chicago.” For the restaurants that I have listed as my favorites they represent some of the best food I have had in this city. Many of the places are hole-in-the-wall hot dog and hamburger joints others are bustling tourist traps, but all of them are unique places that serve excellent food.


The restaurants I would like to go to before I leave Chicago:

Five Guys
2140 N Clybourn
Why: Although a chain they do serve up some of the best burger and fries you can find

Monk’s Pub
205 W Lake St
Why: It was rated as having one of the best burgers. Plus, it just looks like a great place to hang out

Julius Meinl
4363 N Lincoln Ave
Why: My sources say this place is great. And my sources don’t lie.

Chief O’Neill’s Pub
3471 N Elston
Why: Two words: Irish Pub

Paradise Pup
1724 S River Rd, Des Plaines
Why: Because 1) they serve hot dogs 2) It’s a hole in the wall 3) It’s close

Kuma’s Corner
2900 W Belmont
Why: They seem to have good burgers

Huey’s Hot Dogs
1507 W Balmoral
Why: Because 1) they serve hot dogs 2) It’s a hole in the wall 3) It’s close

Jury’s
4337 N Lincoln Ave
Why: They always seem to be rated as having one of the best burgers. Plus, I pass it every time I go to the grocery store

Boca di Beppo
521 N Rush St
Why: I said I would go here with someone

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.
2121 N Clark St
Why: Because they have pizza and grinders. The sign says so

Abbey Pub
3420 W Grace
Why: Music and food

Costello Sandwich and Sides
4647 N Lincoln Ave
Why: They just look like they have great sandwiches

La Creperie
2845 N Clark
Why: Crepes

Milk & Honey Café
1543 N Damen
Why: They just look like they have great sandwiches

Anything Indian
Why: Because I love Indian and I haven’t had it in the city yet

Good Cuban food
Why: Because I have been craving good Cuban food ever since my trip to FL

Honorable mentions:
Bobtail Soda Fountain
Café Bernard
Heaven on Seven
Park Grill
Rosebud on Rush

I would go back to in a heart beat:
404 Wine Bar
Why: The have great food and a great atmosphere
Boston Blackie’s
Why: The best burger in town
Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!
Why: Tapas, Tapas, Tapas!
Calo
Why: Great Italian food surrounded by a great atmosphere
Celtic Crown
Why: Great hang out spot. Plus $2 burgers on Mondays
Cyrano’s Bistro
Why: Because some of my greatest memories are here. Plus their French food is killer
Elphant Castle
Why: Because the English know how to run a pub
Garcia’s Restaurant
Why: Because the burritos are big and the drinks go down easy
Geja’s Café
Why: Best fondue ever!
Gino’s East
Why: Even though it is touristy, there is writing on everything and they make great pizza
Giordano’s
Why: Because it is hard to pass up Giordano’s
Hot Doug’s
Why: It’s a fun place to be. Plus they are cheap and give you a huge amount of fries
Jimmy’s Red Hots
Why: They have the best hot dog in town
Lou Malnati’s
Why: The epitomize what is Chicago
Manny’s Coffee Shop & Deli
Why: It’s got history, it’s got great Jewish food, and they make the best corned beef sandwich
Moody’s Pub
Why: A great burger
Noon O’Kabob
Why: They make great Persian food
Pizza DOC
Why: Awesome pizza
Rockwell’s Neighborhood Grill
Why: Great family friendly bar that is off the main street that carries a great burger
Superdawg
Why: They are an icon of Chicago hot dogs. Plus, you can’t pass up their chocolate shake
Tre Kronor
Why: Because I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else for a brunch
The Weiner Circle
Why: It’s one of a kind
Yes Thai
Why: Yes Thai

i love you, no i hate you, no i...

Do you have any love/hate relationships? One of those truly mind-blowing “I hate you, but I also love you” type things. Until recently I didn’t. I always thought I knew what people were talking about. In the end after reflection though I could always say, “Oh, I don’t really hate that” or “You know what? I just don’t like them.” Well, I can finally say I have found a relationship with so much push and tug, love and hate that I can call it an official one of love/hate.

Of course it is not just one person. It’s 2.8 million (9.5 metro area) people. It’s the city (and metro area) of Chicago. There are so many things that I love about the city and so many things that I hate that I struggle with how I feel about the place. It’s a place I long for, yet long to get away. A place I have hope for, yet sometimes seem hopeless towards. A place where good truly reigns, yet destruction and evil lurk. A place of great diversity, yet a place that is segregated. It is a place that can make me very happy and also very mad. It is my relationship with Chicago.

november round-up

Holy freak Batman where did November go? I don’t know Robin, but it sure isn’t November any more. I’m not sure where November went either, but boy did it go fast. And now we are already one week into December.

So, what happened in November? Well – an African American was voted president – of the United States – for the first time – ever! And on election night, I was there – to witness it all. Besides that though it has been a pretty low key month with time spent with family and friends. Also, even though it didn’t “technically” happen in November it happened over Thanksgiving weekend – I had the worst road trip back from Michigan to Chicago. Although it is a funny story now that it is over, it matches up with me flipping out once while driving across the five mile Mackinaw Bridge in a snow storm.

Interesting enough: I got to go to my favorite restaurant twice this month, Tre Kronor, and in some genealogy research I found an additional three-hundred years of family lineage.

the shack: an un-review

No, I’m not going to review The Shack by William Young. I will let you read it for yourself with unblemished eyes if you haven’t already read it. I think the book is worth reading whether you have heard positive or negative feelings about it. I’ve recently read the book. I thought Young did a great job. I have a lot of praises for the book and also a few criticisms. I went through a few reviews on Amazon to get a general consensus and I thought one reader put it quite well: “A parable, not a text on systematic theology.” The Shack is fiction – a story. I think it draws out a lot of ideas, thoughts, and feelings on how many Christians and non-Christians alike see God. Like a story it is not a theological guide to God. I would leave something like that to the Bible or books written by theologians. But, with that said - the book is out-of-the-box.

And with being out-of-the-box it causes controversy. Just under 19% of the reviews on Amazon gave the book a one or two star. Reading through some of those reviews you could see the book-burning mobiles coming out of the garage with ashes from Harry Potter in the back and books being written in response to the theological fallacies of the book.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Left Behind series. Almost 20% of the reviews for this novel gave the book a one or two star score. Several of these reviews describe the book as one that condones hate, and it is evidently a book for ‘fundamentalists’.

Both of these books are used as ‘evangelism’ tools for non-Christians. But the stories and ideas that these books convey are almost polar opposites. Where does this leave us as Christians? Where does this leave Christians in the mind of non-Christians? Being in America’s candy box of Christianity, it is apparent that there are thousands of ideas of what Christians believe about God. Many of those divides are as simple as back in the day one part of a congregation wanted red carpet and the other wanted green. So, maybe the argument wasn’t over carpet, but the divides were just as important. Is there another dividing shift among Christians? Are we living out a modern day protestant reformation of these different theologies? Could we see visual split of churches over this? Have we already? Obviously I have many more questions than answers.

Is it okay to be gray over this issue, and that there are these disagreements? Or, are these disagreements over serious fundamental truths and that there needs to be a black and white “yes” or “no” agreement?

I ask these questions from the context of which I live in. Currently in my job I see conflicting views in Christian mission, more specifically the work being done in Sudan. What is moving forward is a peace and reconciliation ministry in Sudan. It is a ministry that seeks to heal, reconcile, and redeem a war torn country. The other side is critical of the peace and reconciliation ministry and wants purely and solely church planting done to evangelize.

The story of the Sudanese is not fictional. It is a story of violence and genocide. In this story though, God is working in the lives of Sudanese: in healing, in reconciliation, and in forgiveness. There are stories like this all over the world. These stories are of the love, grace, and mercy of the God that created it all.

october round-up

Let’s see. It’s almost Thanksgiving so that means it’s time for October round-up.

Well, not too much happened in October. It got colder so I was outside less. Small group started up at church. We’re in a small group that meets up bi-weekly. The group so far has been about six to eight people. It’s been encouraging to be in community with others and to have casual conversation about God. The food has also been good.

On the eighteenth I early voted in Chicago. It was great because it literally took me fifteen minutes including travel time. It helps that I went over as soon as it opened up and that the polling place is my local public library which is literally a stone’s throw away from my apartment.

Also, on the eighteenth a bunch of went to seek the folk artist, David Wilcox at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I had never been to the Old Town School of Folk Music so it was excellent to see the inside and to hear about all the great stuff that goes on there. Definitely check it out. And if you are into folk music or music at all I would definitely check out David Wilcox. His music is fantastic and he puts on a really entertaining concert.

One of the best parts of the month was to visit my brother who lives in Texas for a long weekend. I hadn’t seen him all year and won’t get to see him over the holiday months so it was really great to be able to visit him and his wife. We visited the Dallas Arboretum, and ate at some wonderful local restaurants including an authentic BBQ place for lunch. We saw an opry at the local theater. It reminded me of a country music American idol. The singers were very good. On Sunday we went to a Dallas Cowboys game. It was a great weekend, but too short of a visit.

Great places I ate during the month:
Rockwell Neighborhood Grill – This place is excellent. It’s off the main street, and they are known for their burgers. Which were awesome! The restaurant had a cozy ambience for a bar, but it was kid friendly. It was also one of the first smoke free places in Chicago.

Dallas Arboretum

Dallas Cowboys Game

My brother and I cooking marshmallows

to Maine and back: June & July roundup

June and July have been filled with all kinds of summer fun. It all started with the first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. The share, which is from a farm in Ottawa, Illinois, is a program started by Resurrection Covenant Church to support local farms, eating healthy, and community outreach. It has changed the way I eat and think about food. It has also been some of the best food I have ever eaten.

First CSA share box

The first share of veggies!

Me, cutting up some kohl rabi.

Swiss chard, tomato, cheese loaf. It's freakin awesome!


The mangos are chopped.

Mango ice cream.

The summer has also been filled with concerts, movies in the park, and lots of walking. July has been an especially busy month. I’ve listened to a little Beethoven while enjoying downtown. I saw the original The Odd Couple with friends under the stars of downtown. In July I ventured to two new states – Maine and Virginia. On my trip to Maine I got to see the Atlantic for the first time in the Northeast. The New England trip was too short and the Virginia trip was too long. I also got to go to the Shedd for the day!

I’ve enjoyed cooking over the past couple of months. I hope I can continue to enjoy it in such a fast paced world. I’m exploring how to make cheese and other dairy products. Along with looking into another career lately, there are also lots of unknowns and surprises to come in my life. Amidst not having a lot of money in a rich city, I am enjoying life at its fullest.

may roundup

June has begun and summer is starting to come around after a cold May. Although May was cold it was a great month. I went up to Wisconsin (I wrote about this on May 28) over Memorial Day weekend. I also went to see the musical Wicked, along with a Cubs game at the end of the month against the Rockies. Wicked was great and I would recommend it to anyone. It leaves Chicago in January of 2009. The Cubs game was great too! It was the first warm sunny day of the year. It was great to be at such a historical ball park for a great game.

In the blog on May 12 I set some goals for May. Some I accomplished. Others I did not. I didn’t manage to finish the book I was on. (Although I have read 200+ pages since then.) I also did not go out for a meal with a friend I don’t usually eat with. I did get to go out to a Cuban restaurant (blogged on May 19) which was great. I also had a great conversation with my brother on the phone.

Over the past couple of months I have been trying to be more ‘present’ with God. In a world that cannot stop moving (i.e. work, hobbies, music, tv, etc) it is no wonder that I find it hard to converse with God. It’s been a challenge but a good challenge for me and I will continue to be more present with God each day.

Lastly, in the month of May I have really appreciated the few friends in my life and the generous, gracious, and loving manner that they each bestow. In a world that is not always welcoming, it is gratifying to have good friends that stand by me through thick and thin.

saline to chicago: a rich experence

Life’s a little bit different living in Chicago compared to my home town of Saline, MI. Although the towns were founded about the same time, their histories are completely different. Chicago became a great port city for the United States while Saline stayed a small agricultural town in Michigan. The two towns’ size, population, and population make-up are polar opposites. The side-by-side comparison below shows just how different the two towns are. Living in such a different place has taught me a lot about myself and the world. I have learned to see the blessings of my past and see the riches of my present. Both cities have their positives and their negatives. Living in such a different place for so long I have come to love the diversity, immensity, and hope that is Chicago.

the black and white of books

If you know anything about me, you know that I would fight to the death to bring justice to the racism in the U.S. As a white young male I walk in the steps of racism everyday. As a white male it is easy not to think about racism in the United States, so easy that I can compare not thinking about racism to not thinking about having to breathe. Everything is catered to the white world so I don’t have to see, hear, smell, touch, taste, or think about racism.

There is no easier way to learn about racism then being friends with someone of another ethnicity. (I’m not saying to search someone out for that mere purpose.) In addition to friendships, reading is also important to know history, systems, and other opinions on the subject. Below I have created a list of the books I have read or that have been recommended to me and what they are about. I own most of these books. If you would like to borrow one please let me know or go to your local library and check it out. Some of these books may be hard to find at a library or general bookstore.

African Americans A Consice History vol 2 by Hine, Hine, and Harrold
Easy to read topical history of African Americans since 1865

Alienable Rights by Adams and Sanders
A great book on the politics, laws, presidents, and the policies of racism in the United States.

Being White by Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp
Sometimes understanding your own culture helps you understand other cultures. Being White helps to uncover what is white identity.

Better Together by Robert Putom & Lewis Feldstein
Putom is also the author of the book Bowling Alone. Better Together, a sequel to Bowling Alone seeks out building communities together utilizing everyone and their gifts.

Breaking Down Walls by Washington and Kehrein
A black and white duo write this book. The book was written in 1994 in the midst of huge popularity in racial reconciliation and Christianity.

Canaan Land by Albert Raboteau
Canaan Land gives a brief religious history of African Americans. It is a great book and has an excellent chapter on the syncretism of African and European religions.

The Debt by Randall Robinson
Robinson is one of the best authors I have read. He touches on topics such as restoration and reparation.

Enter the River by Jody Miller Shearer
I haven’t read this book yet, but it talks about the definitions of prejudice, racism, and the issue of white privilege.

A Fire in the Bones by Albert Raboteau
Interesting religious history of African Americans.

Journey to the Center of the City by Randy White
Living as a Christian in the city.

Dismantling Racism: The Continuing Challenge to White America by Joseph Barndt
A challenge to all white Americans and to seek out racial justice.

Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith
The best book out there that talks about racism and Christianity, hands down. A must read whether you are a Christian or not.

Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents by Yep, Cha, Riesen, Jao, and Tokunaga
A great beginners’ books for understanding Asian Americans.

More Than Equals by Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice
The best book out there that demonstrates a real life story for a black and white man seeking racial reconciliation.

My First White Friend by Patricia Raybon
An account of Patricia’s experience of racism growing up. Very powerful.

Philosophy of Science and Race1 by Naomi Zack
An academic book on the creation and myth of race. No better book to understand the science and history of race.

Race Matters by Cornel West
A must read from a brilliant writer.

Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma by C. Eric Lincoln
Lincoln addresses a wide variety of issues and concerns around race in American.

Real Hope in Chicago by Wayne Gordon with Randall Frame
The story of Wayne Gordon and his family as they began a church and changed the neighborhood of Lawndale in Chicago.

Reconciliation Blues by Edward Gilbreath
Ed speaks truth into the hardships as a black man trying to live his life in the midst of white Christianity.

The Souls of Black People2 by W.E.B. Du Bois
A great foundational book.

The Truly Disadvantaged by William Julius Wilson
Wilson gets at the heart of the issues of the inner city. There is no better way to look at understanding the problems of the inner city and underclass.

United by Faith by Curtiss Paul DeYoung and Michael Emerson
An uplifting sequel to Divided by Faith.

The Urban Christian by Ray Bakke with Jim Hart
Ray Bakke uses his own experiences to explain effective ministry in the urban city.

Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
The quintessential book on the basics of racism and understanding the bonds of race and racial identity of minorities.

[1] This book is currently being borrowed by someone.
[2] I don’t own this book.

go cubs go!

I don’t usually write about the same topic one day after the other. I also don’t get many hits or requests for anything either.

The first place Cubs. Holy Cow! I wasn’t sure how the Cubs were going to do this year. After last season’s sweep in the playoffs I wasn’t so sure they were going to amount to anything this season. So far, they have proved me wrong. The Cubs are out to a 15-6 start and are 9-1 in their last 10 games. They have also scored the most runs in the majors with 133. So, what’s the difference?
The Cubs pitching is doing well behind Zambrano and new starter Ryan Dempster. Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, and Jason Marquis are also pitching better after slower starts. Kerry Wood (Who hopefully can stay healthy. Knock on Wood.) and Carlos Marmol are teaming up to make a killer one-two punch as relievers.
The batters all seem to be doing well. The team has seven batters with a .311 batting average or better. Although most of the batting averages will go down thoughout the season, it is a good sign. Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are having great seasons so far, after having mediocre seasons last year. Kosuke Fukudome, the newcomer from Japan, has added great speed on the bases and the field along with batting .351 with 9 RBIs.
For all of us in Chicago and Cubs fans around the world we hope that the bats keep swinging and the pitchers keep throwing through October.

the el, a green river, and a giant leprechaun

I went downtown on March 15th to see the Chicago River dyed green and to see the St. Patrick’s Day parade. It was quite an experience. Nothing too crazy, just another day in Chicago. On the way downtown we took the brown line. After a couple of stops the train was beginning to become full of people heading downtown for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. For the next forty minutes we got to listen to ‘buzzed’ college students sing ‘Irish’ jigs. We were ready to get off the train when it was our stop.
After walking the rest of the way to the river we got to see the river dyed. It is quite an experience and I recommend it if you have never seen it before. The green really pops out! When we first got to the river there was a family behind us that kept wondering if the river had been dyed yet as the river is naturally green. They were notably amazed when they finally started the dyeing.
After seeing the river green, we walked across one of the bridges to go see the parade. It was packed - so packed that it took us at least fifteen minutes to cross the bridge. The parade was okay. It had a couple bagpipe bands which were really cool. And they had a couple cool floats. And of course they had the Celtic dancers. The only problem was that they had like thirty different groups with dancers, including their parents walking (and talking on their cell phones) behind them. Besides that it was this politician and that representative and tons of people just walking in the parade with no seemingly connection to the parade or St. Patrick’s Day. After a while the parade just kept going and going. We decided that it was time to go. The only problem there were so many people it took us another thirty minutes just to leave the main street.
Next time I think we will skip the parade and just watch the dyeing of the river.