WILDLIFE IN PORTAGE PARK

My new 'hood is swarming with rabbits. On any given evening as I walk up the alley from the bus, I can see at least one rabbit. I have not (yet) seen a rat, but I have flushed rabbits several times and just seen them hanging around a bunch of other times. Here is one in my backyard, on the sidewalk, just staring at me.

Where did they come from? Have they outcompeted the ultimate urban warrior (the rat)? Why haven't any of the old immigrant dudes in the 'hood trapped them and made bigos out of them?

NUMBER ONE IN THE 'HOOD, G

I have enjoyed Aqua Teen Hunger Force for quite a while. It is absurd, and makes no sense whatsoever. It is funny. I especially like both Shake and Carl. They are excellent. I also love the theme song.

Here is my concern. My boy U likes to be up too late for normal people (like L and me). Sometimes I take him downstairs to chillax. One thing that is on the TV that time of night is Aqua Teen Hunger Force. My boy is being surrounded by a lot of ATHF. He doesn't see that well (he's only a month old), or appear to process speech very well, but I have a serious question in my mind if he is exposed to too much Master Shake ("My name is Shakezilla, the mike rulah, the old schoolah, you wanna trip, I'll bring it to ya").

MY NEW REALITY

My new reality was made clear to me Thursday evening. I reached into my pocket and pulled out an index card. I didn't remeber what it was until I unfolded it:

Nursing pads (Johnson & Johnson)
Sweet relish
"N" diapers
Eggos (plain)
Cherry Garcia

No beer, but specifics on nursing pads and diapers. And I was unreasonably happy that I was able to get everything on the list at Jewel at Six Corners.

THE AMAZING NICKY

These pics are old and they were taken by cousin N's girlfriend B, not me. Still, they show the amazing beer opening Nicky the Macaw in action.

TIME ON MY HANDS

This morning my 45 minute commute took two solid hours. That means I had some time on my hands and a Chicago Tribune burning a hole in my bag, so you get a blog entry.

Kurt Vonnegut passed away yesterday. That is too bad. He was a great author, and had real insight. If you are unfamiliar with his work, check out Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, or God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, among others.

Today's Chicago Tribune had two interesting articles this morning. First, there is a court case in the Southern District of New York called Bigio v. Coca-Cola. The case has helped highlight the history of Sephardic Jews after 1948. Sephardic Jews are technically formerly Spanish/Portugese Jews, but the term can also be used for Jews not from Germany, Austria, or Eastern Europe. Practically, these are Jews who left Spain and Portugal in 1490s (under extreme duress) and settled in Muslim lands. After the establishment of Israel in 1948, almost a million of these people fled from Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, and other Muslim countries. However, because these people have generally been quite successful, their status as sort of a counterbalance to the Palestinian refugees displaced in 1948 (and later) has been lost. Good article.

The second article is about traffic in New Delhi. Apparently driving in New Delhi is insane, and fines were typically in the $2 range. They have raised the fines by a factor of six, which is significant in a poor country. Anyway, blah blah blah, except for this tidbit: "In a city where the Indian Institute of Road Traffic Education estimates the number of daily traffic offenses at 146 million, enforcement is a challenge." 146 million traffic violations a DAY?!?! My God. That means that drivers, when given equal options, must opt to violate the law whenever possible! That's impressive.

BEST THING ON TV

Watch this clip. It is from a show called Ninja Warrior or Sasuke, which apparently means "ninja warrior" in Japanese. This is either a Japanese game show, or a recreation of the kind of stuff kids dream up when they have an erector set and weeble-wobbles.

THE COMMUTE HOME JUST GOT BRIGHTER

A post not about U. What are the odds? Anyway, the Chicago Sun-Times just stole a march on their archrival Chicago Tribune. While the Tribune is busy being sold to Sam Zell, the Sun-Times launched a new version.

Sun-Times p.m. is available after 4 p.m. Chi time every day. It is a pdf, 10 page paper that you print and take with you to go home. It is 8.5 x 11, so no issues with crowded trains or buses. It has a crossword and sudoku different from the morning edition, and it has very short stories updated during the day. Yesterday was the first edition, but I think I am really going to like this thing. In fact, there is no compelling reason that only Chicagoans would find this edition worthwhile. I mean, the stories are likely to be national, and the puzzles are good for anyone.

By the way, Sam Zell's purchase of the Tribune means the Cubs will be sold. Let's hope that the last ingredient the Cubs need will be in a new owner. They have had ownership that would spend money for 25 years. They have never had an individual whose self-worth was tied to winning, and who could spend money. That is not a perfect scenario (I'm looking at you overpaid, underachieving Yankees), but it is a step in the right direction. The fact is, when the Cubs are tremendously popular, sell out Wrigley every game, and otherwise maximize their revenue without winning, only a light shining inside of the owner will inspire the owner to take the next step to try and win.

LAMARCKIAN EVOLUTION IN ACTION

Back before Darwin there were other theories of evolution. Science, and people prone to observing the world realized that animals appeared to adapt to their surroundings. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck theorized that traits were acquired by one generation, and passed on to succeeding generations. Thus, instead of being in-born, important characteristics were acquired by a generation, then encoded into the genes.

What is my example of Lamarckian evolution? I am amassing the traits of fatherhood. Presumably U will acquire them . . . well, Lamarck had some issues. Anyway, my evidence of my new traits? Yesterday I spent the morning with U. This included burping and changing him several times. I had a burp cloth slung over my shoulder. I went to Target, and to the hospital to get some blood taken off of U. The whole time I was out I felt like I had a wrinkle in my undershirt. I kept fidgeting with it. I got home and took my shirt off. I had a burp cloth under my shirt the entire day.

This is going to be a long ride.