Lincoln Park

Since we've actually had some unbelievably good weather around here for the past few days, I was able to get out and see a little of Lincoln Park yesterday.

The Hard Way

So last week, Stephen Colbert found out the hard way that, sometimes, that joke just isn't funny. He did a bit on one of his shows that attempted to show the hypocrisy of the Washington Redskins' management for creating a fund to help Native Americans. (Yes, we want to help you while we continue to refer to our team as the "redskins." Right.) But Colbert's mistake was to use Asian stereotypes to get this point across. This is what happens when you have a writing team comprised of primarily white men. I don't know if Colbert's team has any people of color or even any women on its writing staff, but I suspect if he did have some minorities, maybe (hopefully) one of them would have spoken up when this skit was put on the table and argued that a joke involving Asian stereotypes isn't the best way to expose racism against Native Americans. "But it's satire!" Colbert's fans argue. Yes, but at one point are you laughing AT me rather than laughing WITH me? That's what these folks don't get.


I am a big Colbert fan, but I think he failed with this one and people (Asian and non-Asians alike) were right to call him out on his bullshit. When you're at the helm, you need to steer the ship and Colbert needs to step up this week, admit an error in judgment was made, and apologize.

Chicagoland

Since I now live outside of Chicago, I have been eagerly watching CNN's "Chicagoland" series so I can learn more about my new community. I read criticism of the series before it even aired, mainly that the series episodes are very pro-Rahm Emanuel---and they are! This week's episode was particularly Rahm-friendly in that it showed Chicago's Mayor mentoring a young black man and attending community workshops designed to help young black men. Not to say that Rahm doesn't care about inner-city kids, but as I watched Rahm and his young black protégé get out of his SUV limo and walk together to City Hall, I felt like the entire scene was a photo-op for the mayor. As he greeted folks on the street, I felt like he was thinking, Look at me out here on the streets of Chicago with this black guy! I'm helping him! We're friends! Take a picture of us together! Also, when he met one-on-one with the principal of a failing Chicago high school, I wondered how he had the time to meet with this woman. Maybe he meets with public school principals all the time. Or maybe he just had time for her because she's featured in the CNN series. Likely, it's the latter of these two scenarios.


I like Rahm, but I'm critical of this series and the way he's presented in it. "Chicagoland" does seem, at time, like one long campaign commercial for the mayor.

Math Is Essential

I stopped at Boston Market to pick up some dinner for my sister and me and the total order was $15.24. I gave the cashier $20.25. How come she counted out $4.98 to give me back in change? Then, when I alerted her of her error, she said that she punched the wrong amount into the register. Okay. Regardless, my change is $5.01. I gave her the .24 cents so I wouldn't get back a load of change and a bunch of ones. Math is essential, folks!

Collusion in Paperback

Collusion is available in paperback now. 

Sheena Easton

During my commutes to and from work, I often listen to CDs since Chicago radio largely sucks. (I know I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.) This week, I broke out Sheena Easton's greatest hits. I hadn't really given a lot of thought to Ms. Easton, but in listening to her greatest hits, I realized that (A) "Strut" is a great song and (B) "Sugar Walls" is ridiculous. Come spend the night inside my sugar walls. Heaven on earth inside my sugar walls. Really? Isn't Prince the genius behind these inspiring lyrics? He must have written this song on one of his off days. In other singer-related news, I read Kate Bush is planning to perform again. Good for her. I like Kate Bush. Her voice is an acquired taste, but I love "Hounds of Love." Maybe I should put that CD in the car for next week's drive (if I can find it).

Daddy Issues - On Sale Today

My new book, Daddy Issues, is available for sale today. Twenty-four-year-old Jason Townsend has issues. His boyfriend Jared Theuer, who’s also his boss, adores him in the bedroom, but treats him like dirt at the office. His father frowns on his homosexuality and constantly criticizes the way he lives his life. And, just when Jason thinks things can’t get any worse, he discovers his mother’s new boyfriend, Paul Everett, is the same man he had a drunken one-night stand with last summer.

Jason pleads with Paul to break up with his mother and Paul refuses, claiming he enjoys being with women and shrugging off his hookup with Jason as one-time thing that, while great, really didn’t mean much to him. Unwilling to reveal his and Paul’s history to his mother, Jason stews in silence as he watches his mother and Paul grow closer. Meanwhile, Jason’s relationship with Jared falls apart, he and his father become further estranged, and he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to Paul. Unable to keep his feelings for Paul under wraps any longer, Jason makes a pass at his mother’s boyfriend and is surprised when his affections aren’t spurned. Jason and Paul quickly begin an affair that is filled with tremendous passion and crushing guilt. Paul is everything Jason wants in a man. He’s the boyfriend Jason has always wanted and the father he never had all wrapped in one. But Jason knows every time he and Paul are together he’s betraying his mother and he hates himself for it. As Jason struggles with his and Paul’s deceitful relationship, he watches his relations with those around him suffer as well and he is ultimately forced to decide between his man and his mother.

Daddy Issues is the story of love that comes at the right time with the wrong person.

Get your copy today at JMS Books:  http://www.jms-books.com/

I Don't Get It

Rather than complain about yet another day of snow (because, really, what good would it do), I'll do a post about Wes Anderson movies and how I just don't get them. I don't. Granted, I've only seen three of his films: Rushmore, Fantastic Mr. Fox (that he wrote the screenplay for), and The Royal Tenenbaums, but I didn't really care for any of them. They all seemed pretentious and the characters weren't interesting to me. I know critics and many fans adore him, but I guess I'm just not the right demographic for his films. I'm not hip enough. Critics are raving about his new film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Quirky hotel guests! An Indian bellhop! Bill Murray! Ed Norton! Yawn. When I saw the trailer for this movie, I quickly came to the conclusion that this was yet another Wes flick that I'd be taking a pass on.


Speaking of Edward Norton, I'd just like to take a moment to praise Ed for his performance in Fight Club. The actual fight club in the movie gets a lot of press, but I enjoyed Ed's addiction to support groups in the film so much more than watching a bunch of dudes fight each other, make soap, and blow things up. Seeing Ed Norton at a sickle cell support group being hugged by a circle of black folks makes me laugh every time I see that movie.

The Play That Dare Not Speak Its Name

I went to see the play C*ck yesterday at the Profiles Theatre. I'm not spelling out the entire name of the play for fear of getting co*kblocked (get it?) by Blogger. The play was about one half of a gay male couple who steps out on the other with woman. I guess the one guy, John, didn't really step out on his unnamed partner were kind of on the outs at the time, but it's not clear to me whether they had truly broken up or not. I get the feeling they hadn't. In any case, during the downswing on their relationship, John had a relationship with a woman and when he confessed this to his same-sex partner, all hell broke loose. First, the two guys go at it, then John and the woman have it out, then John, his boyfriend, his girlfriend, and his boyfriend's father all get together for dinner and the chaos continues.

I enjoyed the play, mainly the performances by the two male leads. The fact that they were both quite attractive didn't hurt either! The unnamed woman in the play was clearly out of her league with the two male actors (especially the boyfriend) and this is painfully obvious during their scenes together. The one thing I couldn't figure out was why everyone in the play spoke in British accents. I know the playwright is British, but I really didn't see why the play had to take place in England because there was nothing particularly British about it. It could have taken place in the States and the actors could have spoken American English rather than adopting these British accents that seemed awkward at times. But that's my minor quibble.

That's Mine

I love the Cadillac commercial that's out now with the older brother, Kyle, bullying the younger one and taking his stuff during their childhood years. Then, as adults, the younger brother is able to get revenge on Kyle by locking the bully out of his new Cadillac and letting him know who's the owner and who's the boss. Yeah. Suck it, Kyle!


As the younger sibling, I find this commercial refreshing. Not surprisingly, my older sister does not share my view. She sarcastically noted that it took the younger sibling many years to get back at his older brother. True, but the point is not how long it took for the younger brother to get revenge, but that he finally DID get revenge. Plus, now Kyle, the older brother, is fat and looks like a slob while the younger brother is svelte and sexy and a Cadillac owner. (What is Kyle driving? Is Kyle driving? I like to think he's hitching rides and taking the bus due to a DUI, but I digress.) Time has taken its toll on Kyle...and not in a good way, so the younger sibling can sit back and bask in  the schadenfreude of his brother's downfall.

Pharrell Was Robbed!

I used to work with a woman who called herself Charlie Brown when she did something stupid. I, my friends, was a Charlie Brown last night when I missed the first half hour of the Oscars. I thought the show was starting a half hour after it started, so I missed the opening monologue and Pharrell's performance of "Happy." Doh! I kept watching the show waiting for Pharrell, not even realizing that he'd already performed. I didn't realize I'd missed him until they awarded the Oscar for "Let It Go" from Frozen. No offense to Idina Menzel (or whatever John Travolta called her last night), but "Happy" is just the kind of song that deserves praise. It's the kind of song we need now in these troubled times, a little ray of sunshine through the clouds. I was able to watch Pharrell's performance online this morning and I was glad to see everyone so upbeat and the kids dancing. But I'm still kicking myself for not being aware of what time the Oscars started last night so I could have seen the performance live.

Weird and Annoying

My father told me today that he'd been given a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey to read. Okay. Even more puzzling was that his brother had given the book to him. Huh? I can't imagine my father reading this book. I can't imagine my uncle reading this book. I can't understand why my uncle gave this book to my father to read, although when he gave it, he did add a disclaimer that he wasn't sure if my father would like it. I'm going to go with, "No. He won't like it." Then again, what do I know? Maybe my father will enjoy reading about some weird, obsessive businessman who likes to do awful sexual things to a naïve, submissive young woman.


Moving from the weird to the annoying, I was trying to figure out the name of an NPR reporter whose voice just drives me crazy (and not in a good way). Because so many of the radio stations in Chicago suck, I often listen to NPR when I'm not listening to CDs on the way to and from work. However, when this particular NPR reporter comes on, I found myself changing the station with a quickness. That reporter is Zoe Chace. Oy, her voice is annoying. How in the world did she ever get a job in radio? Maybe she knew someone or blackmailed some bigwig at NPR with incriminating photos or something. Her voice, to me, is like nails on a blackboard. I don't know if it's her weird accent or her enunciation, but the entire vocal stew she spews makes me ill.