Terry Sullivan and the Chicago Jazz Caravan at 12 West Elm -Sunday, July 15 at 3 PM

CHICAGO JAZZ CARAVAN

with vocalist Terry Sullivan

Sunday, July 15, 2012

3:00 pm

TWELVEWEST nightclub

12 West Elm, Chicago

Admission $15

Limited seating; reservations recommended

at 312/337-3200 or www.12westelm.com

Dress: business casual or better

                                                           

The CHICAGO JAZZ CARAVAN

is a roving ensemble of some of

Chicago’s most seasoned jazz musicians,

performing music reminiscent of

New York jazz supper clubs of the ‘fifties.

Personnel:

Tom Muellner, piano     Art Davis, trumpet

Larry Kohut, bass     Terry Sullivan, vocals

TWELVEWEST is Chicago ’s

sophisticated new gold coast nightclub.

Canaryville Roots

  Leo President Dan McGrath and four of the seven Canaryvillains at Leo High School with Joe's Mom and Coach Fogarty: from the left (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell,)

“When I went to take the entrance exams, it was during the famous winter storms [of 1979]. We took the test that day. They had to make arrangements to get us back home. Jay Strandring drove the Canaryville guys back home. He dropped us off at one of the viaducts because he realized he wouldn’t be able to get back out if he went under the viaduct. We walked back in the neighborhood. I think that was my first time ever at the school. I must have shadowed with my brother there once or twice, I suppose. But the first day I went to Leo as a student, I had to ask the bus driver if that was the school. We stopped at 79th, and I asked if that was Leo, and he said, “You’re going to a school you don’t even know where it’s at.”
I said, “Yeah.” He said, “That’s it.”
“My two oldest brothers went to St. Ignatius. My brother right above me went to Leo. My mom didn’t really like St. Rita at the time because my uncle—her brother—had gone there. My brother [Michael] just didn’t like school. It didn’t matter where he went. A funny story about my first day at Leo, I’m walking past the doorway and I hear: ‘McFarlane.’ I backed up, until I was in the doorway, and it was one of the [football] coaches, Dave Mutter. He grabbed me by the shirt and said: ‘Are you anything like your brother?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Absolutely not.’ That kind of shocked him. He let me go and he said something like, ‘Good for you.’ My brother had a reputation by the time I got to Leo. During my time at Leo, my brother would stop me in the hallway and say, ‘We’re going to the beach. Do you wanna go?’ With his buddies, he would just disappear. I was always afraid to do something like that with my parents.
“I took the Halsted bus when I first started at Leo, and then we had a bus service that started to pick us up. It was close to my house, I had to walk down like five houses to the corner.”

Father William McFarlane '83

This summer it has been my pleasure and pride to pick-up and deliver incoming freshman to Leo High School -one very big lad from Bronzeville and seven gents from Canaryville -One huge black kids and seven hard-scrabble pale-faces from St. Gabe's.  I pick them up between 7-7:25 AM and they are never late and very rarely absent.  My task is merely a cog in a recruitment and marketing machine developed by Leo football coach, admissions director and Father Flanagan to hundreds of Leo Men, Mike Holmes and Leo President Dan McGrath.

Leo High School is a Catholic high school for young men situated in the Gresham neighborhood on 79th Street just west of Halsted ( 7910 S. Sangamon Street -60620).  This iconic lion of a building is home to thousands of men from Chicago's stockyard, industrial and railroad past. Leo was built at the command of George Cardinal Mundelein and under the supervision of Msgr. Peter Shewbridge, pastor of St. Leo Parish, now, closed but still serving veterans through Catholic Charities. The building designed by Joseph McCarthy, lieutenant and disciple of Daniel Burnham went up in 1921;  the school opened in 1926.

Catholics from all over the industrial south side of Chicago sent their sons to Leo High School. which competed huskily with older and more established Mount Carmel, St. Rita and De La Salle. One of the most powerful cadres of talent attended Leo from St. Gabriel Parish in Canaryville.  e.g. Basketball standout James "Bro" Farrell dominated the hardwood floors of local, state and national opponents. St. Gabe's, south of Bridgeport, is the incubator of south side Catholic Chicago.
That is because of a man and an institution - Msgr. Maurice Dorney* and the Chicago Stockyards.

The Chicago Stockyards, St. Gabe's, was home to workers - not the affluent scions of burger families from Lake or DuPage counties who Occupy Chicago with Visa and Mastercards in their wallets - workers who scratched out a living, contributed to their church, built schools and spent their free-time fighting for the eight-hour day.  These workers penned, drovered, killed, butchered, rendered and cleaned every thing on four legs for meat, teeth, bones, marrow hides, horns  to be transformed for America's tables, hairbrushes, buttons, wardrobes and footwear.  They made soap, gelatin, fertilizer and bacon for the Armour, Agar, Cudahy, Swift and Hammond families.  They lost fingers, lungs and lives in the act of building community.   Father Dorney protected their paychecks from gamblers, pimps and thugs and their dignity from Social Darwinism. There is no expressway named for Msgr. Dorney. Dorney was and remains the spirit of Canaryville, That spirit is reflected in the accomplishments past, present and to come by his spiritual children.

Muhammad Ali said that, in his opinion, the greatest boxer of all time was Canaryville boxer Packy McFarland; Chicago White Sox 1st baseman George Moriarty was Canaryville born and bred and would become a Cub and later move to a long career as Detroit Tiger, where he took root as a coach and American League umpire - his grandson ( here with Robert DeNiro)would become one of America's greatest actors and accomplished musician, composer and author Michael Moriarty. Canaryville is home to priests as well as  punchers of pigs and pedestrians.

The south side Catholic union family began in the blood, bones and hides of Canary.  Many of those families became wildly successful and moved from The 'Ville but never out of it. My maternal grandfather was a lather according to his union card, but moreso a Regans Colts shoulder-hitter and utility tough guy for the Cermak/Kelly/Kennelly and Daley Reg'lar Demacrats as well as occasional operative for Ralph Sheldon.  His brother became a priest and labor chaplain - he would give the last rites to Brady, McCarthy ( Leo '67) and Delahanty in Washington D.C. when Jodie Foster's stalker tried to kill President Reagan. Carnaryville seems to be everywhere.

Canaryville is physically and spiritually manifest at Leo High School once again. African American and white Catholic Alumni have worked with Mike Holmes and Dan McGrath for the last three years to give Leo some ethnic diversity - since 1991, Leo High School has been 100% African American. Black alumni behind Mike Holmes have pushed to recruit Hispanic and white students.  Black Alumni Mike Anderson and Mike Lee have teamed with Canaryvillains and Irish Catholic alums Brian Fogarty and Jack Farnan and impressed young white guys from St. Gabe's parish to be Leo Men. Last year Jeff "White Chocolate" X___________ added his see-through Irish pelt to the darker hued Lions.  This year, Leo welcomes seven more Canaryville gentlemen:Tommy, AJ, Brian F, Brian C, Joe C, CK, Mitch C are Leo Men!


My morning's route takes me to Bronzeville, where in the shadow of the Black Doughboy on Martin Luther King Drive at 35th Street, I wait for Daylon F - a mountain of sweetness and innocence packed into 6'3" and change. Daylon is the latest in the many Leo Men from Bronzeville, like Leo Akim Hunter (Leo 2004 & Northwestern University 2008).


 Daylon and I head west past De La Salle Institute and hang a left at Wentworth on the front porch of Comiskey Park ( it will never be The Cell) and head south with this daily admonition from my co-pilot Daylon -" Don't Turn on Root Street and get to swearin' Mr. Hickey."  Architect John Root, for whom the street is named, helped Maurice Dorney build St. Gabriel's Church, school, rectory and convent, as well as affordable housing for the working families - many of whom still call St. Gabe's home more than century later.  We maintain our course to 43rd Street and hang a right westward to Emerald Street and carefully wind around the cul-de-sac lite south to Graham Elementary School parking lot. 


We are usually greeted by this school's engineer Dean Fuller Leo '71 a resident of Canaryville. The red-heads and pale faces load the Ford Van with critiques of the Dunkin Donut selection, " No long-johns?  Don't get powdered, please it's as bad as the nut-sprinkles on them, Mr. Hickey. Just get frosted and we won't have a problem"  Likewise, I get informed about the upcoming Freshman football season, Miss Meany's math and Coach Ed Adams' reading classes.  All of the young men will play football, basketball, baseball and a few will box. They are good students and delightful companions who lack not a jot for self-esteem.  None of them have central air conditioning and universally accept heat.  They are tough kids from Bronzeville amd Canaryville. Daylon's only complaint is the obviously racist hornet who torments his daily drink of water at the public fountain west of the CPS school parking lot.  The Dunkin Donuts have a very short life-span - roughly 43rd Street to 79th Street.

*Saint Gabriel Parish & Elementary School are positioned in the heart of Canaryville, a small community of several third and fourth generation Irish immigrants. The neighborhood is extremely proud of its strong roots to Ireland with family ties running deep and strong in the parish and school. Saint Gabriel is a hidden gem, tucked away amid century old homes and secluded from the neighborhoods surrounding Canaryville.
As Saint Gabriel Parish celebrates its 130th Anniversary, we would like to share how the school and parish began. Many people know that Father Maurice Dorney was St. Gabriel’s first pastor, but did you know… • Father Dorney had the foresight to purchase 20 lots (from 45th to 46th and Lowe) for $500(!) to build the church, school, convent and rectory for Saint Gabriel’s • While pastor, Father Dorney graduated from law school • Also know as “The King of the Yards,” Father was friends to both workingman and company owner, procuring jobs and helping avert strikes • Father Dorney was gifted with a block of stock from the head of National Livestock Bank – after two decades the dividends grew to $68,000, and the money was spend “for the welfare of the church, and assisting in the school’s of Saint Gabriel” • Father Traveled to Ireland in 1887 and was instrumental in the exoneration of Charles Stewart Parnell (champion of home rule for Ireland) who was accused of complicity in a murder.

 http://www.leohighschool.org/
http://www.ottawalife.com/2012/07/moriartys-musings-my-french-symphony/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragen's_Colts
http://www.leohsalumniassoc.com/alumni%20stories/mcfarlane83/mcfarlane.html
http://www.connorcoyne.com/blog/2004/09/back-to-canaryville-blues/
http://saintgabes.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=56
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/mcfarland.html

Latest UICC Study Confirms - Corruption is a Connotation

Only this week the Chicago Tribune editorial board may, may, mind you, have considered a university study as useless as a blind pig with a dysfunctional smell-er.  Thus!

In an exhaustive report from the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School, two faculty members finally expose the cause of state-level corruption.
It's not Super PACs or power or greed that corrupts. Not comfy relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers. Not overlap between private business and public service. No, sir.
It's geographic placement of capital cities. That's right. Illinois breeds more corruption because Springfield is isolated. Politicians get less scrutiny, citizens pay less attention and the news media aren't as aggressive as they tend to be in larger metropolitan areas. Elected officials are free to roam the prairie like cowboys, the authors concluded

Isolation breeds corruption . . .DooDah! DooDah!
Isolation breeds corruption . . .all Da DooDah Day!

Give a university a back-loader and a mountain of dough and it will come up with a study that concludes that G. Flint Taylor, Jon Loevy and Locke Bowman are on the level; great guys with hearts of oak and souls of free-handed generosity and not Cadillac Commies hell-bent on undermining faith in law and justice.  They might also prove with geometric attention to data that Chuck Goudy of ABC Seven is a newsman, or that Forrest Claypool can hold an un-appointed job longer than an election cycle by dint of his talents and work ethic.

The latest university study was read to me by the janitorial crew from University of Illinois Chicago subsidized by Illinois, City of Chicago and Cook County tax-payers, as well as a grant from Joyce, Spencer, and John D. Catherine T. MacArthur foundations.

This dialogic exercise posed the question of Corruption in public life to Old Tom Placko from over by Ukranian Village and Brachero 'Cherry' Sundstrom a former U of C grad student, mental health beneficiary, and Anarchist.  Both gentlemen have more than twenty-five years ( Old Tom since 1971 and Cherry Since 1989)  membership with Services Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 73.

The grant covers a seven month dialog between Old Tom and Cherry Sundstrom during each of their meal breaks, for which they were compensated and covered by other workers in the event that no Piso Mojado emergency would break the chain of discourse.  The dialog was recorded in the tradition of Louis "Studs" Terkle and presented with some redaction by the grant committee.

Here is an excerpt from those dialogs:

Cherry - Corruption rots.  The corporations crush.

Old Tom - Cop gave me ticket -паршива ублюдок - Friday.

Cherry - What for?
Old Tom - He's big black cop.

Cherry - Race does not matter . . .because you are white and part of the systemic racism that created black cops who suck revenue from . . .are going to eat your pickle? . . .workers and then kill black children with impunity.

Old Tom - He's big black cop. I'm cashier my check at Courtyesy Exchange five munute! New meter don' take coins. Is 60$ ticket!

Cherry -Did you ask . . .

Old Tom - I tell him ' Kiss my ass!  That's what you are!' He write ticket. Maybe call Some Peoples Law and get money?

Cherry - Dude, this wrong on so many levels. “Corruption, law-breaking, the arrogance of intellectuals, the wish to do honour to one’s family by becoming a white-collar worker and not dirtying one’s hands anymore, all these stupidities are only symptoms. Inside the party and out. The cause of them is the historical conditions themselves. But also the political conditions” As Stalin said “We did not bring about the October Revolution in order to give power to the kulaks!”.  Dude, that cop was kulak! 

Old Tom - Cop was black fella!!!!!  Goddam$hitF#$king . . . too much drugs you take! Take the лайно out of your ears!

Cherry - No man. . . forget it. Corruption is bad. Dude, solid me; punch me out at 2, today?  I have meeting with the Occupy Brethren.

          Old Tom - Kiss my ass! That's what you are! Punch you clock self!

In the words of Andre Malraux "The human mind invents its Puss-in-Boots and its coaches that change into pumpkins at midnight because neither the believer nor the atheist is completely satisfied with appearances."


Then again it was Festus Haggen from the Old Gunsmoke episodes who spoke clearly on the dangers intellectual legerdemain - studies and likesuch:

 "Supposin' I was to go to work and learn how to... to read writin'. Well, how'd I know that the feller that... that wrote the writin' was a writin' the writin' right? See it could be that he wrote the writin' all wrong. Here I'd be just a readin' wrong writin', don't ya see? You probably been doin' it your whole life, just a readin' wrong writin' and not even knowin‘ it. —“The Devil's Outpost”

Indeed.



http://www.eviltwin.velvetsofa.com/Curtis/guide.html

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2010/4/14/network-fight-economic-justice-march-may-day

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-isolate-20120703,0,6116826.story

George Murphy - 4th of July Guy -Dances with Fred

George Murphy was born on July 4, 1902. George Murphy was a hoofer.  He was also a U.S. Senator from California. Ronald Reagan called Murphy. a Democrat turned Republican actor-politician - his John the Baptist.Murphy served as Republican U.S. Senator from in from 1965-1971 and was defeated in one of pioneering Democratic Public Relations/Smear campaigns.  The movie "The Candidate" with Robert Redford is said to mirror the election of John Tunney over Murphy.

Murphy was born on the 4th of July in New Haven, CT.  His old man was a teacher and coach which provided a great education to the son of Mike Murphy. He attended prestigious east coast prep schools and eventually Yale.  From Yale, Murphy worked like the son of an immigrant as a  machinist, miner, real estate agents and night club hoofer.

A devout Roman Catholic American, Murphy married and was widowed twice.


Here is a the 4th of July Guy, Senator George Murphy hoofing with Fred Astair.

Born: July 4, 1902, New Haven Died: May 3, 1992, Palm Beach Spouse: Betty Duhon Blandi (m. 1982–1992), Julie Johnson (m. 1926–1973) Children: Melissa Elaine Murphy, Dennis Michael Murphy Parents: Mike Murphy, Nora Long

George Murphy, Singer and Actor Who Became Senator, Dies at 89
 By JACQUES STEINBERGPublished: May 05, 1992George Murphy, a Hollywood actor, singer and dancer who was later elected a United States Senator from California, died Sunday night at his home in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 89 years old.
He died of leukemia, his wife, Bette, said.
From the 1930's to the 1950's, Mr. Murphy acted in more than 40 motion pictures, many of them M-G-M musicals. A tall and dignified performer, he danced opposite Shirley Temple in the 1938 film "Little Miss Broadway," acted opposite Judy Garland in the film version of George M. Cohan's "Little Nellie Kelly," and worked with Ronald Reagan, who later became a close friend and political ally, in the film "This Is the Army."
Years later, Shirley Temple Black recalled: "He was calm, no temper, and always knew his lines. He had a natural sense of rhythm."
Mr. Murphy, a Democrat who switched his allegiance to the Republican Party in 1939, became active in Hollywood politics in the 1940's, serving two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild. He retired from films in 1952 and became a public relations executive in the motion picture industry, working for M-G-M and Desilu Productions, among others
.

The God Particle Discovery! Who Made the Particle?

Physicists say they have all but proven that the "God particle" exists. They have a footprint and a shadow, and the only thing left is to see for themselves the elusive subatomic particle believed to give all matter in the universe size and shape. . . .Rob Roser, who leads the search for the Higgs boson at the Fermilab in Chicago, said: "Particle physicists have a very high standard for what it takes to be a discovery," and he thinks it is a hair's breadth away. Roser compared the results that scientists will announce Wednesday to finding the fossilized imprint of a dinosaur: "You see the footprints and the shadow of the object, but you don't actually see it." - Really Smart Guys in Chicago Tribune article 7/3/2012

1. Those truths are self-evident which are recognised at once, as soon as the terms in which they are expressed are known. Such a truth is the assertion that God exists: for by the name 'God' we understand something greater than which nothing can be thought. This notion is formed in the understanding by whoever hears and understands the name 'God,' so that God must already exist at least in the mind. Now He cannot exist in the mind only: for what is in the mind and in reality is greater than that which is in the mind only; but nothing is greater than God, as the very meaning of the name shows: it follows that the existence of God is a self evident truth, being evidenced by the mere meaning of the name.
2. The existence of a being is conceivable, that could not be conceived not to exist; such a being is evidently greater than another that could be conceived not to exist. Thus then something greater than God is conceivable if He could be conceived not to exist; but anything 'greater than God' is against the meaning of the name 'God.' It remains then that the existence of God is a self-evident truth.
3. Those propositions are most self-evident which are either identities, as 'Man is man,' or in which the predicates are included in the definitions of the subjects, as 'Man is an animal.' But in God of all beings this is found true, that His existence is His essence, as will be shown later (Chap. XXII); and thus there is one and the same answer to the question 'What is He?' and 'Whether He is.'* Thus then, when it is said 'God is,' the predicate is either the same with the subject or at least is included in the definition of the subject; and thus the existence of God will be a self-evident truth.
4. Things naturally known are self-evident: for the knowledge of them is not attained by enquiry and study. But the existence of God is naturally known, since the desire of man tends naturally to God as to his last end, as will be shown further on (B. 111, Chap. XXV).That must be self-evident whereby all other things are known; but such is God; for as the light of the sun is the principle of all visual perception, so the divine light is the principle of all intellectual cognition. St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles, Book I (1258-64) Circa 1256 to 1259 Anno Domini

1st Grade Catechism -Little Flower Grammar circa August 1958
Galway-born Hairy Faced Sister of Mercy :  "Who Made the World?   You!"
Me - " Carpenters and Bricklayers."

That was my first plunge into ontological matters and my first of eight years of daily and at times hourly ass- kickings at the hands, rulers, rad-sticks, whiffle-ball bats, 18" Chalk erasers and the odd handy object from the Religious Sisters of Mercy.

Okay!  The lads at Fermi Lab, between Wilson and Butterfield Roads in Batavia over by Route 88, seem to have identifified the God Particle AKA Higgs Boson.  This elementary nugget of scientific gold must have the science community and atheists doing hand stands and huzzahs.  The God particle is believed - get that - believed to demonstrate the source of all stuff.

Like the warning pack on my Marlboro Reds, the God particle is science's proof postive and caveate to behave accordingly.  Hell, I started smoking on and off with a ten year abstinence, at the hot-house in O'Halloran Park at 83rd & Wood Street circa 1964 - punk-ass little Mick hoodlum - and continue to believe that I am not only toxic to cancer, but essentially bullet-proof.  I know better.

Boson is any particle with zero spin that obeys the laws of Bose-Einstein, for whom the particle(s) are tagged and not a mispelliing of Boatswain, or bosun, who serves as the deck wrangler of a ship,

I do not believe that Fermi Lab's swell announcement includes the source of the God Particle.  You know the Captain giving orders to the Bos'n Higgs.

When the lads at Fermi Lab get a shout-out from  יהוהYHWH  Yaweh. -to us Cat'lickers, you know the Old Tetragrammaton -give me a heads up.


I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth . . . and I believe I'll have me a smoke.






http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-proof-of-god-particle-found-20120702,0,6433990.story

Adopt a Sailor by Charles Evered - Brilliant!

 

This film of Charles Evered's 2002 play Adopt A Sailor is an uncompromisingly human presentation of people responding to one another and examining the core of life's value.  Charles Evered avoids every obvious pratfall to genuine dialog and avoided any trace of obvious candy-coated heart-tugging.  More significantly, Charles Evered likes people, even the most self-absorbed, petty and thoughtless of us.  This is drama without the trace of sneer.

Bebe Neuwirth is a knockout and an even better actress.  Give this film a look and listen.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1015456/

(2008 - USA) Richard and Patricia are a dysfunctional but successful  NYC couple who live on the affluent Upper West Side whose lives intersect with a young man from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas.  This sophisticated New York couple inadvertently sign up to “adopt a sailor,” during Fleet Week, only to have completely forgotten they’ve done so by the time he shows up at their doorstep. His presence not only throws their schedules off kilter, but brings a shift to their very outlook of the world outside their apartment. These three very different people eventually effect each other's lives in a huge way and find they have more in common than they might have ever imagined. _________________________ Cast Ethan Peck...................................Sailor Peter Coyote............................Richard Bebe Neuwirth.........................Patricia Credits Directed by ...................Charles Evered Written by.....................Charles Evered Cinematography............Ulf Soderqvist Running time........................81 minutes Premiered at the Williamstown Film Festival on October 24, 2008 DVD release - April 20, 2010

Creative Tips from the Kids at Mental Floss

Creativity separates the weird of us from the the rest of us.  Creativity is often hard work and often misconstrued by the round haircuts to be doping off.  Most creative people are not necessarily geniuses, but have moments of merged  illumination and productivity that make our world happier and human.

Thus!



Rene Descartes, the Jesuit trained math-whiz, soldier and philosopher, hated the cold and climbed into a stove while on winter campaign - it was while warming his pelt in a Bavarian stove that DeCartes developed his Meditations and developed his patented Cogito Ergo Sum- "I think; therefore, I am." Jimmy "Frosties" McGourty, who began every day with a 16 oz, Schlitz went one better  Bibam ergo sum - " I Drink, Therefore, I am."

Creativity has its quirks.  Here, from a great website Mental Floss, comes examples of such oddities found in creative people:

 There are plenty of competing theories for how to boost your creativity: paint your room blue, work someplace noisy and distracting, complete a bunch of silly sentences Mad-Libs-style. But there’s no better source for creativity advice than a creative genius. Here are 11 tactics practiced by big thinkers, artists and innovators.1. Hold your breath
Nobel Prize-winner and Japanese inventor Yoshiro Nakamatsu, who has more than 3000 patents to his name, has a Plexiglas board installed in his pool. He thinks underwater and takes notes on his board, a process he calls “creative swimming.” And while it seems silly to take notes underwater when there are perfectly serviceable desks available, Nakamatsu swears by it, saying “oxygen is the enemy of the brain.”
2. Embrace insomnia
Leonardo da Vinci had a lot going for him, what with the still-unmatched talent and cultural importance and, you know. Mona Lisa. But he was a weird mix of perfectionist and procrastinator, and sometimes he’d work for hours on one minuscule detail while leaving the larger scope of a project untouched. To keep himself going for as long as possible, he practiced polyphasic sleep — short naps every four hours, for a total of around two hours of sleep per day. Probably not for everyone.
3. Or just take a nap
Thomas Edison was a fan of the power nap. He gave it a good twist, though, which he claimed was integral to some of his best ideas. Edison would sleep sitting upright in his chair, elbow propped on the arm with a handful of marbles. He would think about his problem until he fell asleep, and soon enough he would drop the marbles on the floor. When the racket woke him up, Edison wrote down whatever was in his head, regardless of what it was—creative solutions, new ideas, a reminder to pick up milk on the way home.
4. Save yourself for science (or what-have-you)
Though he’s been called the greatest geek of all time, Nikola Tesla was a reasonably handsome guy, and the ladies liked him. But he attributed much of his success as an inventor to his strict celibacy, and no evidence exists that in his 86 years he ever had an affair with anyone. Ever. But rumor has it he recreated ball lightning in his lab, so it was probably worth it.
5. Find the bad apple
There’s no reason to believe it’ll work for anyone else, but Johann Wolfgang von Goethe insisted that a rotten apple on his desk helped him write effectively.
6. Engage hermit mode
Artist Jasper Johns worked three full months of each year in total solitude, painting and hanging out in a cottage in St. Martin from Christmas through March. Before he defiantly flew to Yugoslavia to reclaim his international chess champion title, Bobby Fischer lived for nearly 20 years in undisclosed locations. Add to the list J.D. Salinger, Harper Lee, Howard Hughes, Emily Dickinson… the list is long, but it’s clear that for some people, hiding from the public eye is the key to thinking differently. (With mixed results, obviously.)
7. Chill out for a while
When Cervantes has deep thoughts to think, he filled a tub with frigid water and sat with his feet and calves submerged until he had an epiphany.
8. Head north
Charles Dickens was a quirky guy. One of his required writing-time necessities was a desk that faced due north, and even when he slept he took every precaution to ensure that his body was aligned with the poles—head at the northern end, feet toward the south.
9. Get a little macabre
In addition to his bizarre directional work and sleep arrangements, Dickens also liked to hang out at the morgue, where he watched people work on incoming bodies. He followed his “attraction to repulsion” to crime scenes, too, where he’d try to analyze the locations to solve murders. Whether any of this was helpful to his literary plots is second to the regular practice of thinking creatively to solve hard problems. (That said, there’s no report that Dickens ever solved a murder.)
10. Invest in that Clover machine
Just about everyone loves coffee, but almost no one loves coffee in the way Honore de Balzac did. He worked 16 hours a day, tossing back cup after cup of specially blended Parisian java (some sources say he could down 50 cups in a day). To overcome caffeine tolerance, he ate dry grounds, and on an empty stomach, no less, famously saying that after a mouthful of coffee beans, “sparks shoot all the way up to the brain. Ideas quick-march into motion like battalions of a grand army….”
11. Booze!
Alcoholism and artistry go way back, and everyone has a favorite drinky singer or writer because there’s no shortage of them, really. But it seems science is siding with Hemingway and Winehouse on this one: a recent study shows that a few drinks can release your verbal inhibitions (obviously) and allow your mind to wander just far enough to come up with novel solutions to complicated problems. At a blood alcohol level of .075, the study’s volunteers were able to solve word association puzzles faster and better than the control group of sober peers.

Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/132151#ixzz1zT9QmYoy
--brought to you by mental_floss! 
 

Talitha Koum - Womans Health Care Without the Murder

Usura slayeth the child in the womb 
It stayeth the young man's courting
It hath brought palsey to bed, lyeth
between the young bride and her bridegroom
                                        CONTRA NATURAM. Ezra Pound -Canto "45"

Following enactment of ACA, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has not joined in efforts to repeal the law in its entirety, and we do not do so today.The decision of the Supreme Court neither diminishes the moral imperative to ensure decent health care for all, nor eliminates the need to correct the fundamental flaws described above.We therefore continue to urge Congress to pass, and the Administration to sign, legislation to fix those flaws. -USCCB Statement on Supreme Court Ruling of Affordable Care Act

I tend to re-read.  I ain't that bright.  The more something is explained to me the more clear the nature and the necessity of instruction cuts through my brain-fog.  Given my all too human limitations, it is often best to clarify instructions before proceeding - e.g. shut off all electrical circuits before placing the pliers in direct contact with the wires.  No room for a quibble there. Will do. Authority speaks.  "Eat not of the Tree."  Simple.  "Yeah, but . . .however, the Snake said 'the fruit is mighty tasty' and, after all, we are God's BFsF!  What could happen? "

Original thought begat Original Sin.

An Original thought, impulse, show of will, or test of outcomes ( John Dewey) is and has been historically stupid. Disobedience and not lust or greed is  result of origin of evil - have not all of us Banished Children of Eve stuck our tongues on Arctic-ly chilled flag pole?

Ignoring authority is the one sure path to pain - " Hold my beer and watch this" is often the prelude to disaster.  I imagine a pale young Caucasian chap well versed in Hip-hop libretti *deciding to tell a corner full Gangster Disciples -wats up wit to all my folks imma “GD” AND ALWAAYS WILL BE TILL DA DAY I GET BARRIED SIX FEET UNDA TO ALL MY LADIES THATS UNDA DA SIX STAY UP AND TO ALL MY GANGSTA’S ONE LOVE.

A very unsalubrious outcome that -if not mortal.

Therefore, I read and re-read Authority . . .the Gospel, if you will. I have read Confederacy of Dunces as often as Gargantua and Pantagruel and Rape of the Lock much more often than I have Bridges of Madison County. In case of the former the rules of comic genius merge nicely, in the case of the latter Pope has more to say on love, vanity and heart-break than What's His Name? - Judgment works only when authority is obeyed. I might be a tad vague in this matter; therefore, do ask questions.

Feminism is a goofy comic-strip attitude.  It is wildly confused and confusing.  The only real authority on Woman in the last sixty years is Camille Paglia. Ms. Paglia makes sense and sound argument for her gender that runs counter to sexist arrested adolescent boys like myself and Frank Sinatra, but also the Amazon Gorgons like Katha Pollitt or Naomi Wolf.  More on that at another time.

Feminists, like most Progressives, believe that Trees have Souls and a Fetus is merely Tissue.  In the most recent paste-up for The Nation, Katha Pollitt decries the incarceration of a pregnant woman whose 'attempted suicide' ended in the murder of her unborn child , with the Medusan sneer for those who defend fetal personhood. These clowns must spend every waking hour crafting goofier memes for their tribe than Chester Gould drew villains for Dick Tracy. Feminism, as well as every Progressive Advocacy Meme, are Original Thoughts with the volume turned up most high.

Feminism, as well as every other Progressive Advocacy Meme (Eco-Pantheism, Marital Ambiguity, Mad Secularism, Classism & etc.), are Original Thoughts with the volume turned up most high.
America turned the corner on itself with Roe V. Wade and will only get better once American return to Authority and burnish its dulled judgment.


Womans Health has come to mean the murder of children for the sake of cosmetics - baby bumps.  The dead heart wants.  The living heart protects, provides and promotes the precious.


Great Gospel today and a great start for the month of July - America's Liberty Month. This is woman's health care - Jesus, heals and defeats death.  No Medusa here.

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

Yep, came home and re-read the instructions. Ignore the ridicule; grab on to the garments; Arise when told; keep your trap shut on the details ( Jesus did the masterminding, there and Pete, Jimmy and John were along for post-operative reports); feed the kid.

I better read this one again and again and again. Talitha Koum!  Old Saint Augustine wrote in his Confessions about his departure from thinking purely on his own, or without reference to a solid Authority that he heard a voice cammand him - Tolle Lege!  Take up and read. “The repentance that accompanies salvation is a continued act, a repentance never to be repented of (2 Cor. 7:10).  That seemed to work pretty good for him and Old Augie didn't have an IPad.  How about that?  Read it and read it again. Got it?  Not yet. I'll get there.

*Insecure white people that feel they must act "Black" to fit into society. Wat they  dont know is that they are further outcastinq themselves & will never fit in with blacks or actually be black. May use words like: Niqqa, Homey....etc. We weep for these types of people .Dexter: Yo wats qood mah niqqa ?
Riley: Nm mah niqqa just chyllin bout to qet sum druqz and then later qo to this rap concert.
Dexter: Word, word. -Urban Dictionary

http://www.thenation.com/article/166664/protect-pregnant-women-free-bei-bei-shuai#
http://dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM
 http://news.investors.com/article/616718/201206291848/obamacare-threatens-religious-liberty.htm
http://www.reclusland.com/compass/2009/08/10/laws-of-gangster-disciples/

Rahm's "Start-Up" City Plan for Chicago - Fresh Air in a Can?

Mayor Emanuel with the electoral losers on Carol Marin's Crone Circle WTTW-Chicago. I mean Chicago Tonight . . .and every night.

So, Mayor Emanuel is making Chicago Start Up City?  What is that?  A Real 'fix-er-up' for first time home buyers? Nope.  We have enough Stans, Cliffords, Ignatios, Mikes, Stellas, Beullas, Dotties, Gerts, and Kareems and it seems Rahm and the Smart-Sized Set of Urban planners want them the Hell out of the City limits between the hours of 7 P.M. and 5 A.M. and welcome scores of  Calis, Hadleys, Khloe's, Myas' Paisleys, Chens, Daxes, Jaxes. Kians, Kylans and Lennons with math and techn-dweeb credentials to make non toxic, expensive, digitally non-essential services and goods for disposable incomes.

Last year, 50 outstanding seniors from schools in Illinois and seven Midwest state were invited to Chicago for an action-packed weekend that mixed business and fun.
They visited Chicago businesses and firms with offices here, such as Groupon, Google, Grubhub, Microsoft and Accenture, to learn about job opportunities.
They attended panel discussions with industry leaders on topics ranging from innovation and tech entrepreneurship to how to start a career in Chicago.
The seniors even sampled Chicago’s rich cultural institutions and pulsating night life and got passes to Chicago Ideas Week, a seven-day event featuring marquee speakers and interactive sessions that Emanuel and Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell hope will someday take its place among the best known idea symposiums in the nation.

Kewell!  I mean Cool, I mean Brad Keywell. Group on!!!!!!!!!  At what cost and to whom? This dramatic and historical boondoggle was announced at 1871 -Remember?  Chicago Fire? Random Big Blaze the Micks started?  Dying Embers and all that? Of Course one might, if of course one is not graduate of Chicago Public Schools.

1871—(1) catalyzing moment in Chicago history, when the most brilliantengineers,
architects and inventors came together to build a new city; (2)where Chicago’s brightest digital designers, engineers and entrepreneursare shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models
andresetting the boundaries of what’s possible 

This year, ThinkChicago will double—to 100 students—with half the slots reserved for outstanding juniors and seniors from the University of Illinois.Emanuel made the announcement at 1871, a new start-up center at the Merchandise Mart that helps connect entrepreneurs to would-be investors, mentors, partners and peers.He noted that there is “an energy” in Chicago today that “did not exist” when Groupon was starting out.“Remember You Tube? Pay Pal? They started here, but they thought they had to get to the coast. If those companies were around today in this type of venture position, they would not have to go to the coast.They would have all the pieces: talent, capital and innovation,” Emanuel said.“We have over a thousand digital tech companies now in the city of Chicago. 128 start-ups launched in Chicago last year alone. Our venture capital--$1 billion—is up 50 percent. That’s in just a year. There is a new energy. The Second City is becoming the Start-Up City. That’s our goal.” 

Who is the WE in that OUR?  Let's begin with thinkchicago.org/. Click the old mouse-eroo and . . .

The page you were looking for doesn't exist.

                           You may have mistyped the address or the page may have moved.


Shucks, you can not find any information on that source launched August 3, 2011.  Totally . . . expunged.  You can find Congressman Jesse Jackson easier than info on ThinkChicago.org.
A digital Solyndra Mayhaps?


Groupon's site is Oooops, Down! as well.

http://www.groupon.com/chicago

By Gad those kids are smart fellers! or is it the other way around? Random Irony, Dude.


Ironically enough, and the Smart-sized Urban Center Chicago denizens of the future like Kali and Dax love irony, Chicago's owned Crone Columnist Carol Marin has another heart-tugging-Where-in-the Hell -is  Carol- Going -with-this-One, yarn about laid-off janitors and the smart sizing of Chicago.  

Fifty Chicago janitors lost their jobs this week.. . .They all lost their jobs because the City of Chicago, which long ago privatized much of its janitorial work to outside firms, rebid its janitorial contracts. And 20 percent of the new contract, unlike the old one, went to a nonunion firm called Dayspring, a minority- and woman-owned company in South Holland.
Dayspring, while promising to pay the prevailing rates for janitorial work, is under no obligation to keep the current employees. And by hiring new workers at entry-level wages and turning some full-time work into part-time work, they can save money and charge the city less.
Is there a villain in this story? It’s not that simple.
In a wretched economy with state and local governments drowning in red ink, city procurement officer Jamie Rhee said, “As stewards of taxpayer money, we put out the bid to get the best price for the city. We keep it open and competitive. . . . [There are] tough choices . . . to make sure the city is on a sustainable financial track.”
The new, nonunion company that got the bid argues it shouldn’t be cast as a villain either.
“I know you have to report this story,” said Dayspring owner Anita Harris, “but this is a dream for us. Talk about small businesses growing. . . . We are not doing a bad thing, we are doing a good thing.”
SEIU contends that with this new contract, the city is trying to kill the union.

SEIU created the Union Busting, Carol!  Rahm is an SEIU, Dude! So is Forrest Claypool who times the pee-break for Rahm's CTA.  So is Pat Quinn. So is Jan Schakowsky. So is Wee Mike Quigley. So is President Obama.  SEIU will be fine - remember they are now "organizing the unemployed." This City layoff of janitors is only the itching sensation - the real bleeding is yet to Garbage Grid & etc. Carol's cynical Boo-Hoos for the laid off Chicago 50 rings way hollow, as there has not been a Progressive boon-doggle to come down the pike that she has not lapped up with gusto.


During the early days of WWII, Mayor Ed Kelly was as tight as a tick with FDR.  Rahm and President Obama more than likely exchange tighty whities they are that close.  Ed Kelly got General Motors to build a massive series of plants on the south west side to build engines and components for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Immediately, 17,000 people went to work.  General Electric owns a huge part of the Obama Regime, just saying.  President Obama made General Motors a part of the Obama Regime, while Mayor Rahm was Chief of Staff.  Now, get this - Boeing is headquartered in Chicago . . .honor bright!  Here is the beauty part - the CEO of Being is James McNereny.  Guess what?  Mr. McNereny is an Almnus of New Trier High School - the alma mater of Mayor Rahm. Not only that, but also this, James McNereny is reported to be a huge Obama and Rahm money dropper and a member of the Mayor's inner-circle.


Those nuggets plucked from the stream of consciousness - would one not venture a notion that were Rahm, or SEIU, or Carol, in any way, shape or form inclined to really, really, really make a difference to the people of Chicago by way  getting Boeing, GM, GE, or any huge, established captialist on-going concern, just might . . .might mind you . . .bend an interested ear or two and invest?  Hmmm?

Silly Goose Island goslings!  A corporate possiblity such as industrial opportunity for skilled, educated and work-ethical people is not in the Urban Center "Start-up" Plans of Rahm Regime.

Stan and Stella over by Ford City -pack your bags and call Mayflower,

Dax and Kia, down in Urbana - hook up the UHaul and get thee to Bucktown.  Rahm is calling the White House for some investment capital, Kids! Not only that, you can fire up some quality weed without a trip to the Bridewell.

Invest now has come to mean taxes, after all.

Naw, we have our supine Media doing hand-stands and Huzzahs over nothing in a sweet, random package.

FORD CITY* has space aplenty and Chicago is already packed with smart, practiced, skilled and willing workers. The problem is - one can point out the piles of horse-shit cast upon our ground, but it takes genuine human effort to refrain from rolling around in it.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/13489965-418/mayor-intent-on-making-chicago-a-start-up-city.html
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/10537450-418/rahms-inner-circle.html

http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/13481481-452/delicate-balance-city-budget-workers-lives.html
http://www.1871.com/2012/05/opening-day-for-1871/


By the Way FORD CITY:

Construction started in 1942. The purpose for construction was to build a defense plant. Approximately 17,000 workers were employed. This caused the southwest side of the city to become more populated as more people were moving there for work. By October, Building No. 1 was finished. Testing of aircraft engines to be used for the B29 bomber began. Throughout the winter, they continued building. By the spring of 1943, 10 buildings, made of steel, concrete and wood, had been constructed. The building covered approximately 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m²). The largest building was Building No. 4. It covered 62 acres (250,000 m²), and it was built out of reinforced concrete. The plant consisted of 7,000 miles (11,000 km) of underground piping and 15 miles (24 km) of cables and wires for water and power.

By December 1945, the building was left vacant due to the end of the war. The government attempted to sell it without success. It was later retrofitted for automobile production for Tucker Corporation and then Ford Motor Company.

The building remained a white elephant until the Korean War, when it was reopened to build airplane engines for the war effort, under contract from Ford Motor Company. The Ford company modernized everything inside the building, employing nearly 12,000 people. The building closed again in 1959.

In 1961, the government sold it to Harry F Chaddick, along with other Chicagoans. They had a vision for the greatest commerce center in Chicago. Some buildings were torn down to make room for parking lots. The buildings that remained were remodeled to attract retail tenants.^[2]

Developers divided the building into a separate portion for the mall. The mall opened in 1965 as Ford City.^[3] The mall consists of two halves - a strip mall and enclosed mall. The strip mall portion is connected to the enclosed mall by a tunnel called "The Connection". It utilizes the basement between the severed halves of the buildings directly below the parking lot. The Connection was originally called Peacock Alley from the late 60s through some time in the 1980s. Wieboldt's occupied the western-facing space until 1987 when Carson Pirie Scott moved in. The southern-facing space was last occupied by Montgomery Ward until that chain's bankruptcy. JCPenney occupies the eastern facing space.

Until February 2008, the mall was managed by General Growth Properties Inc. for a private investment company.^[4] The Mall is now managed by Jones Lang LaSalle.

In 2009-2010, Ford City Mall began a multi-million dollar long term capital redevelopment program undertaking North Mall infrastructure work, Cicero Avenue frontage and North Mall parking lot resurfacing. During this time new tenants such as Conway’s, US Cellular, Rodeo, Amici, Star Diamond Jewelers, a new GNC, She Bar, Eldorado Fine Jewelers, Avon, China Max, US Sprint and others opened for business at Ford City Mall.

Early 2011 – Phase 2 of the long term capital redevelopment plan began with refurbishment of the Cicero Avenue Pylon signs enabling large square footage use tenants the ability to gain maximum store signage exposure along the heavily trafficked Cicero Avenue roadway.

As part of the 2011 capital redevelopment program, Ford City Mall is in the process of demolishing several small outparcel buildings and a former vacant anchor store, leading the way to future development options under discussion at this time.

[edit]Transportation

[edit]CTA Buses

• #54B South Cicero
• #67 67th/69th/71st
• #79 79th

[edit]Pace Buses

• #379 Midway-Orland Square
• #382 Central/Clearing
• #383 South Cicero
• #384 Narragansett/Ridgeland
• #385 87th/111th/127th

[edit]Orange Line Extension

Original plans for the Orange Line was called for the terminus to be at Ford City. Due to lack of funding the city decided to end the line at Midway with a layout allowing for future expansion.^[5] The CTA recently undertook an Alternatives Analysis for the Orange Line extension to Ford City and determined that the project currently stands at an estimated $200 million.^[6] On August 12, 2009, the CTA approved the extension plans.^[7] The extension will open in 2016.

Chief Justice John Roberts Challenged America

“It is not our job, to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” Chief Justice John Roberts


The SCOTUS ObamaCare Ruling " allows use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions and for plans that cover such abortions, contradicting longstanding federal policy,"  Timothy Cardinal Dolan


How did Chief Justice John Robert's ruling on ObamaCare affect me?


About the same as my vote for Gery Chico in the last Chicago Mayoral Election and my vote for Pat Quinn as Governor.  One in the loss column and one elected but both extremely costly and most disappointing. The mayoral winner, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, increased Chicago property taxes by $ 41 Million, gave $1 Million to Gang-Banger Emeriti of CeaseFire, set the table for a CPS strike, made Blunts more accessible to the Soul Patched Knit Hat crowd, imposed the garbage collection grid in order to geld any remaining autonomy at the Ward level of Chicago Government and we have yet to see the bill for the swell NATO Tribute to Andy Thayer. Gov. Pat Quinn proved himself to be the Governor Le Pétomane to Illinois Abortion Trail-Boss Terry Cosgrove's Hedley Lamarr. Quinn does nothing without Boss Cosgrove's say-so. Both electoral experiences have been as pleasant as a vigorous, drug-free, gum scrapping by a periodontist in the late stages of Parkinson's Disease.


Hey, it's how we vote neighbors.   Sometimes you get the bear and most times the bears maul the Hell out you.


I happen to be Roman Catholic.  As far as I can tell, it will be a very tough couple of months. The only thing keeping me and my co-religionists from being outlaws is the ballot-box.  ObamaCare is all about Abortion, Contraception and Planned Parenthood; everything else is spoon vittles.

Chief Justice John Roberts took a tough path and upheld the Mandate/Tax for ObamaCare in a 5-4 decision, siding with the liberal half of the bench.  Immediately, the left of America laid palm branches and shouted Hosanna's and the right leaning Americans demanded Robert's pelt . . .for starters.  Personally, I believe that Chief Justice John Roberts proved himself to be wiser than Solomon and craftier than Richelieu.  President Obama won a huge jackpot yesterday on a low straight flush hand. The Springfield Illinois Poker Superstar is high-five-ing and knuckle-bumping.

Chief Justice Roberts called for a clean deck.

ObamaCare's Chip Leader, President Barack Obama now heads to the final table set for November 6th 2012.  He will be facing the American Voter.

Shuffle the Cards and Deal!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/us/politics/a-defining-move-for-chief-justice-roberts.html