The Chicken Bowl, Part Deux

So it's been more than 24 hours since I finished off a Chipotle chicken bowl and I'm here to tell the tale. No kidney failure. No upset stomach. No nothing. Whew! I never got sick from Chipotle in the past, but once the stories started about the E. coli outbreaks, I had to take a step back and cross this place off my restaurant list. But, as I said yesterday, maybe it's time to give them another chance.

In other news, I'm taking swimming lessons again since my first set of classes didn't take. (The first round of classes failed, I think, for two reasons: 1. My teacher was more accustomed to teaching children than adults and 2. I wasn't ready mentally to learn how to swim. This time around, I have a better mindset and a better teacher. I'm taking private lessons at the local Y and my instructor is great. She's around my age and she also learned to swim later in life, so that helps a lot in her work with me. I told her, "I don't need to be Michael Phelps, I just need to know how to save myself from drowning!" I also want to be able to use the pool at the Y like any other person. I still think I might have to take another set of classes after my current session ends, but that's okay.

Return of the Chicken Bowl

I broke down today and went to Chipotle for a chicken bowl. I haven't had Chipotle in probably eight or nine months due to the health scares. What really terrified me was an article I read in Bloomberg Businessweek about a healthy guy who was in his early 30s. He did P90X and was in great physical shape, yet his kidneys nearly failed after eating a Chipotle chicken bowl. Oy! That story (on top of all of the other Chipotle-related illnesses I kept reading about), kept me away from my beloved chicken bowl for months...until today. I just had the bowl less than an hour ago, so there's still time for illness to set in, but I feel okay so far. My sister was in New York last week and she told me she ate at a Chipotle there and felt fine, so I decided it was time for me also to take the plunge. Even though I ate Chipotle today, I doubt wonder if I'll ever eat at the restaurant with the frequency I did in the past. I remember going there weekly when I lived in New York. There was a Chipotle in the lobby of the building where I worked and I ate there probably once a week. I suspect those days are over, but I'm willing to try and slowly get myself back on the Chipotle wagon.

Conjuring and Compton

I saw two movies over the weekend: one at the theater and one on DVD.

My theater movie was The Conjuring 2. I saw the first Conjuring and thought it was okay, so I went to see the sequel. It was okay also. A little long, but pretty good. The plot was your typical demon possession/exorcism story line, but what I found interesting was the relationship between Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). Patrick and Vera make such an great on-screen couple and whenever they weren't in the movie, I found myself wishing they were. (Watching possessed British kids in run around a dirty row house got old after a while.) I'm still waiting for a scary movie that's truly scary. The last movie I saw that really scared me was The Ring. Yes, The Ring. Creepy. I saw the Japanese version, Ringu, also. The Japanese make some strange scary movies. Check out Audition if you're in the mood for that kind of thing.

My DVD movie was Straight Outta Compton. I didn't see this one when it was in the theaters, but I kept hearing it was good. Gangster rap music isn't my thing either, but I enjoyed the movie. It was a little too long and a sanitized version of the story of NWA, but a lot of the old-school music in the film was great. The story of how Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Easy E came together made for a pretty good movie. I thought some of the raps in the movie were hilarious, particularly Ice Cube's angry song "No Vaseline." Anyone who can rap about Kunta Kinte and then throw in a line that says "I got a whip for ya, Toby" gets kudos from me. Toby? Really? I'm sure that line went over the heads of kids who saw the movie and didn't get the whole Roots reference.

Summer Sickness

Having a cold is terrible at any time of the year, but it's particularly annoying when you're sick in the summertime, as I am right now. I don't think I had a cold all winter, but I've been down all week with various ailments: sore throat, draining sinuses, congestion. And the sad thing is it's beautiful outside, but I'm so sluggish and congested that I really can't enjoy the weather. So, I've been indoors watching a lot of television. Coverage of the Brexit vote has been all over the news here. You'd think the election happened in the US rather than the UK with the amount of press I've seen. I won't even claim to understand what the crux of that situation is about, but I will say this. Once again the media seemed to have been wrong in their predictions of how the vote would come out. That goes to show you can't always trust the polls and the pundits.

Moving on, I've been watching my guilty pleasure show "Million Dollar Listing New York (MDLNY)" via On Demand and I'm caught up now. This show is so ridiculous for so many reasons. (Do these agents do anything other than throw parties and go out for dinner and/or drinks? I don't think so!) When I watch MDLNY, I have to laugh because I wouldn't let any of these jokers sell me a dog house let alone real estate over $1 million. (Okay, maybe I'd let Fredrik because he seems the most competent of the three, but I'd have to think seriously about it.) Ryan just strikes me as a thirsty actor who's auditioning for a movie role. (And what's up with the lack of socks? Unprofessional!) And Luis? Luis is a hot mess. Someone on a blog I read described him as a "walking Almodovar movie." That sounds about right. I don't know what kind of internal demons he's struggling with, but he needs to get that shit under control.

Haters of Change

Iowa state representative Steve King doesn't want Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill because he doesn't like change. He prefers the white guys (Hamilton, Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin) on his currency because that's what he's accustomed to. Some nut job running for some political position in Tennessee is using the slogan "Make America White Again" in his campaign materials. (Was America ever white? I don't think so.) In any case, what King and the Tennessee idiot want is not to have to see or deal with people who aren't white. The Tennessee guy said he longed for the days of "Leave It to Beaver." Those days are over and, God willing, they aren't coming back. I've said before that a lot of the people who loved "Mad Men" liked the idea of white guys running everything while racial minorities and women existed on the periphery. I was a "Mad Men" fan myself, but not because I longed for the 60s to return. (Hell, I wasn't even born in the 1960s!) I liked "Mad Men" because I thought the show was entertaining in its absurdity and I liked Jon Hamm. I get nostalgic for the past also, but not the bad parts of it. I don't long for the days of segregation and all-white TV shows like "Leave It to Beaver" and "The Andy Griffith Show." (I do miss the terribly politically incorrect cartoons of my youth. I'm sorry [not really], but that stuff was funny.)

Race Against the Hate

Since moving to Evanston nearly three years ago, I've participated in the yearly Race Against the Hate. I don't exactly "race" against the hate. I do a brisk "walk" against the hate. Whether you run, jog, trot. or walk, it's a great event that supports a worthy cause. The weather has also been great each year that I've participated.

Chi-Town Fail

I saw on the local news that the Chicago City Council is trying to regulate Uber and Lyft drivers by making them get a chauffeur's license (for a fee), be fingerprinted, etc. like a regular cab driver. I saw a councilman on the news today defending this move saying it's to protect the citizens of the city. I wonder if he's the same guy who was given a sizable contribution by the taxi lobby. In any case, this move is just another way for Chicago to shoot itself in the foot (pun intended) because if Uber and Lyft drivers are forced to adhere to these regulations, both companies say they'll pull out of the city entirely. Chicago doesn't need to lose any businesses right now. Hell, the city needs all the business it can get!

Many people have come to depend on Uber and Lyft to provide rides in places where local cabs won't. I have issues with gig economy jobs like Uber not providing benefits to their employees, but I don't fault these companies for providing services that consumers want and need. Anyone who's lived in an underserved area knows that getting a cab can sometimes be a problem. Hell, you don't even have to be in an underserved area. Cabs in Manhattan won't even take you to Brooklyn even though they're supposed to. So in comes ride services like Uber and Lyft to fill that gap. Cab companies have been behind the curve with the technological advancements companies like Uber and Lyft are utilizing and it's no surprise that those cab companies are being left in the dust. So if that cab driver doesn't want to drive you to the Bronx or Chicago's South Side? Screw that guy. Book a ride with someone who will drive you.

Endless Loop

As we continue to mourn the victims of the Orlando massacre (because, really, that's what it was), I have to shake my head at the non-stop coverage on the cable news networks. I know whenever a tragedy like this occurs, the cable news networks go into near hysteria and work to dig up any bit of news they can use and run in an endless loop because the 24-hour news cycle never stops. Oh, here's a guy who talked to the shooter once at Burger King. Let's interview him! Here's a lady who spoke to lived next door to the shooter's wife five years ago. Let's interview her! I understand the need to get information out to the public, but when does the quest for legitimate information turn into ridiculousness in the quest for ratings?

Tragedy and the Tony Awards

I don't know what else to say about the shootings in Orlando other than that I continue to hope and pray the survivors are able to recover and that those who lost loved ones have support and love from those around them to help them get through such a terrible situation. Why some people just can't mind their own business and let grown folks live their own lives is just ridiculous to me. If you want to live in a country where the government rules your life with an iron fist, then you shouldn't be living in the United States. There are countries out there where you can live with a government that controls who you love, who you marry, what you eat, what you think, when you can come and go, etc. and I'm sure they'd be happy to take you if that's what you want.

Moving on to a more upbeat topic, I did see the Tony Awards last night (well, most of them anyway) and I largely enjoyed the show. I loved seeing Bebe Neuwirth come out and do a little bit of "All That Jazz" from Chicago and I enjoyed the opening number by James Corden. I didn't like the Spring Awakening number. "Mama Who Bore Me" is a great song that was ruined, I thought, by the woman singing on the Tony's last night. I was so worried about Audra McDonald when I watched a clip this morning (because I missed it last night) of her in a number from Shuffle Along. Audra, as I've mentioned in another blog post, is pregnant and she's not exactly a young woman. She shouldn't be hoofing like that! Watching her tap dancing made me nervous. It's time for her to leave Shuffle Along. Sit down, Audra! Take a bow! My sister is going to see Shuffle Along and Hamilton next week in NYC. Oy! That's a lotta Broadway! I hope she enjoys both. I passed on going to see Hamilton because, as I've blogged before, it's just not my thing. I'm glad to see Lin Manuel on top and a diverse Broadway cast, but history and hip hop just don't do it for me personally. (No offense Hamilton fans!) I would like to see Shuffle Along though. Maybe if I'm able to get back to NYC before the summer is out, I'll check it out.

Terrible!

I've been reading all morning about the shooting at the Orlando nightclub, Pulse, and it's such a terrible tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their loved ones. Unfortunately, when tragedies like this happen, we see all too often how ugly the world (and some people in it) can be at times.

Learning the Hard Way

Most of us (myself included) sometimes have to learn the hard way how things we say or do can come back to bite us in the ass. Today's recipients of those who have learned the hard way that they'd messed up are Nick Denton and actor Noah Galvin. Let's start with Denton. According to what I've read on the interwebs, he's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Gawker Media due to the whole Hulk Hogan lawsuit. I've expressed my feelings about both sides in this case (there are no winners here) so there's no use rehashing that, but I will say that people should learn when you put anything and everything out in the internet, particularly when you're putting other people's business in the universe, you need to be prepared for blowblack. Putting a sex tape on the internet (that's not your own), is probably a mistake and a mistake that could have been avoided if you'd simply minded your own business.

Now on to Galvin who gave a scathing interview to NY Magazine where he badmouthed some other actors and basically called a director a pedo. If you're going to make those kind of statements to the press, you'd better be prepared to back them up. Galvin, clearly, was not since he issued an apology less than 24-hours after the story was posted. After all the bravado he expressed in the interview, he was practically cowering in his apology to everyone he said awful things about. In this day and age of the internet and 24-hour news, it's hard to say anything publicly and not have it come back to bite you. It's not just celebrities or people in the media either. Plain, every day folks have found themselves out of a job because of something stupid they Tweeted or posted about on Facebook. I read today about a guy (a Cavs fan) who Tweeted  a nasty comment about Steph Curry's family and the guy put his place of employment (a realtor or realty company) out there with the Tweet. People complained to his employer, and he was promptly fired. He wasn't a media mogul like Denton or a TV show celebrity like Galvin, yet he, like them, learned the hard way that what you say (or do) in public can come back to get you and take you down.

High-Brow Smut

I read that a movie version of the book Call Me By Your Name (CMBYN) by Andre Achiman is being made starring my favorite blond at the moment, Armie Hammer. I was surprised to read that someone not only had optioned the book for film but that an acutal movie (and apparently not a small-budget movie either) is being made. I read CMBYN some years ago and remembered that it was dirty. I recall having a discussion with a woman in my Philadelphia book club about the book because she'd read it for her Washington, DC book club. (She used to live in Philly, but moved to DC, but returned to Philly often to see friends and attend our book club meetings.) Anyway, I was shocked when she told me she'd read CMBYN for a book club because it's so smutty. I'm currently rereading it because I couldn't really remember much about it except that it was smutty. In my second reading, I'm still finding it smutty, but it's high-brow smut. There's a lot of talk of Greeks and religion and Haydn, but underneath all of that high-brow talk is a lot of sexual angst and sex itself. I have to say, reading the book a second time makes me more inclined to see the movie (and not just because of Armie Hammer--hey, I passed on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.). I mainly want to see the movie to find out how much they cut out (or leave in) from the book. The book centers on a 17-year-old boy who's in lust with a 28-year-old house guest who's staying with his family at their Italian villa for the summer. Are we really going to see Armie getting it on with a 17-year-old? Yeah, I doubt it. I have a feeling it'll turn into a series of scenes with the teen staring at Armie in lust and then being filled with angst because he can't (or won't) express his feelings or, when he does, he's rebuffed. The film is scheduled for a 2017 release, so if it finishes and sees the light of day, I'll certainly check it out.

Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66

I forgot to mention that I saw Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (well, Brasil 2016 now) at the City Winery in Chicago last Monday night. It was a great show. Sergio and the band performed many of their hits (Mais Que Nada, Magdalena, Fool on the Hill). Some of the songs were updated with a rapper named H20. I could have done without his input, but I guess Sergio wanted to try and update some of his older tunes to try and attract a younger audience. If you read my blog regularly, you know I love Brazilian music so I didn't want to pass up the chance to see (and hear) Sergio Mendes when he came to town. At his age, I'm surprised he's still out there touring. Go Sergio!

Pre-Shingles

I keep seeing these commercials for shingles medication that warn if you've had chicken pox, the shingles virus is already inside of you and they're freaking me out. I believe I did have chicken pox as a child. I distinctly remember my father telling me I had them when I was a baby and he and my mother put socks on my hands to keep me from scratching myself. But when I asked my father recently about my bout with chicken pox, he said he couldn't remember if I'd had it or not. (Too bad my mother's not alive so I could ask her because I'm sure she'd remember.) My father is in his 70s, so I don't expect him to remember events from more than 40 years ago. In any case, I fear it's just a matter of time before I get shingles...painful, blistering shingles. I think I'm in pre-shingles mode now. Do you have shingles? No. I have pre-shingles. I'm a carrier of the shingles trait. Shingles just seems like an awful thing to have to suffer with. In the commercial I saw, the narrator said a bout of shingles could last up to 30 days. I can't imagine having a painful, blistering rash for a month. Oy! My father told me his doctor wrote him a prescription to get a shot that helps with shingles pain. The shot doesn't prevent you from getting shingles, but it lessens the pain if you do get it. My father told me he was still in the "thinking stage" and he hadn't decided if he was going to get the shot or not. I'm probably too young to worry about shingles now, but I just have a feeling the shingles will be a part of my life in the future. Now I need to get on Google and read everything I can about shingles to try and prepare myself for what's to come.

Hurry Up and Wait

For the past two afternoons, I've been stuck in traffic coming home from my day job. I have a long commute anyway (an hour each way) but my commute time doubled yesterday and today. Yesterday, heavy rain just forced everyone to crawl along the freeways and surface streets. Today, a semi was overturned on I-294. Oh, and the semi was on fire. While I hope no one was injured in the crash, it really jacked up my commute. Once I got past the wreck and was finally on my way, I saw my first Trump bumper sticker. I hadn't seen one until today. I'd seen a lot of "Feel the Burn" stickers and an occasional "Hillary" bumper sticker, but never one for The Donald. I had to speed up to look at the driver and was just as I expected: white, white-haired, and male.