(A repost, originally published here on October 4, 2005. The documentary referenced here, Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, is available in several parts on YouTube, with part 1 at this link.) Today is Buster Keaton’s birthday. Those are his words in the title of this blog entry, denying the “genius” title given to …
Continue reading No man can be a genius in slapshoes and a flat hat
We attended a very unique event last Saturday night: we saw Brazilian guitarist Paulinho Garcia at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. The Auditorium is a huge venue– almost 4000 seats– and it’s where we’ve seen REM, Bob Dylan, and a memorable production of Evita (follow the link to see why I said “memorable”). This show …
There are a couple internet memes going around asking for compilations of “15 Important Albums” and other such lists, and I decided to take a different tack. Here are 10 of the most influential albums I’ve heard. This is not a “best-of” list, and it’s not a list of “what you need to hear before …
We went to Ravinia last Saturday night to see Rodrigo y Gabriela, a guitar duo from Mexico City (via Dublin, of all places). The show was amazing. Rodrigo y Gabriela’s music clearly shows its Latin influence, but there’s something very different about the way they play: the duo met when they were playing in a …
We had the pleasure of watching some great live music performed at one of our favorite venues, the Park West in Chicago. Tuesday night was an evening of Progressive Rock featuring former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett and symphonic rockers Renaissance. I’ve been a fan of Renaissance’s music since I was in college, and by 1996 …
The Silent Film Society of Chicago just announced the 2010 lineup for one of our favorite events! It’s the annual Silent Summer Festival (link to be updated soon) at the Portage Theatre on Chicago’s Northwest side. This year’s schedule looks like this: July 23: The Freshman (1925) with Harold Lloyd. July 30: Ben-Hur (1925) starring …
As mentioned in this blog post, we got rid of cable TV in our house about 5 months ago. I figured this was a good time to give a status report. What have we missed? Not much. We’re not inclined to watch shows like “Jersey Shore,” and most of our former favorite channels– Food Network, …
I was watching an old episode of Northern Exposure and discovered this scene of Shelly talking with her as-yet unborn daughter. Fans of The Big Bang Theory on CBS will recognize the little girl as Kaley Cuoco, “Penny” on the show. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas, everyone! Here are some photos of North School Park for your enjoyment.
In these economic times… okay, I admit that was a cheap way to start off this piece. I only did it because for the past year it’s become the hackneyed phrase of choice. I’ll start again. Like many people, we have a certain amount of money allocated for what can broadly be called “entertainment.” We …