25 posts tagged “moblog”

This Saturday I headed down to the 18th annual Chosen Few Picnic at Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side/Lakefront. This is a musical celebration of classic and new-school house music that draws thousands of music lovers from all over the world for lotsa food, body jackin music and a whole lotta fun!!! 

 

It's like a little city pops up in the middle of the park...folks with their tents and their grills and kids..it was Incredible!!

The picnic is hosted every year by the Chosen Few, a group of six DJs: Wayne Williams, Alan King, Andre and Tony Hatchett, Jesse Saunders and Hunter. The picnic started in 1990 with just a few hundred participants and has grown exponentially, attracting in excess of 5,000 people!!

 

Here are a few pics and video from the Biggest House Picnic in the Midwest!

 

 

 

Today, Jeremiah graduated from kindergarten. Hallelujah!

We celebrated by going to a traditional English Tea at The Drake Hotel. I thought they might not enjoy it but even though it is a formal tea service, it wasn't stuffy at all. Live harp music plays while high tea is served with finger sandwiches, scones, and French pastries. Champagne, mimosas and bellini's are also available (and yummy) and they served peanut butter & jelly sandwiches to the boys.

The Harpist and Super Personable Maitre D' both came over to our table to talk with the boys and the boys were on their very best, most polite behavior; asking each other if they cared for more sugar or sandwiches, using their napkins and softly applauding after each harpist selection. It was a wonderful experience for all of us.

If you are in or plan to visit Chicago, Tea Time at the Drake should definitely be on your itinerary.

The Drake's Traditional English Tea Service is available daily from 1:00pm - 5:00pm and costs $29.00 for adults and $15.00 for children.

For more information go to visit http://www.thedrakehotel.com/

Here are a few pics from mere moments ago...

 

I remember when I was young, Mom would bring home yummy Garrett's Popcorn on payday. It was such a treat! Fresh warm cheese popcorn mixed with sweet caramelcrisp (a.k.a The Mix) is pure indulgence.

The Garrett's on Michigan Ave can have lines down the block, the one on State Street is always packed to the walls. Lucky for me, there's a Garrett's inside my office building (Citicorp at 500 W. Madison) and the lines are only long there during the evening rush when folks are grabbing a bag of The Mix before hopping on the Metra commuter trains....hopefully bringing that deliciousness home to their own eager little kids.

Today, the boys came downtown and before they left, we made a quick stop at Garrett's and enjoyed a few cheesy handfuls in the warm sunshine.

 

 

Find out more about this Great Chicago Foodie Tradition at http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/

Today, the boys and I along with my best friend Khary headed to the 18th annual Fiesta Back of the Yards. The event spans four blocks in the primarily Mexican community known as the Back of the Yards (1800 W. 47th St) and highlights the ‘hood’s diversity with more than a 100 vendors selling everything from tacos and tortas to jewelry and brews. Three stages feature local DJs, bands and dance groups, and there are carnival games and rides and tons of community outreach services (free condoms at the Planned Parenthood Booth).

The Fiesta is one of many neighborhood festivals being held this weekend and runs through Sunday.

As usual, here are pics from mere moments ago....

Back in the Chi and this morning headed downtown with my girl Aisha to Millennium Park and enjoyed a Gospel Brunch at the Park Grill (11 N Michigan). They don't normally have a Gospel Brunch, today's event was a special offering as a part of the 24th Annual Chicago Gospel Music Festival where choirs from all over come and perform soul stirrin feet stompin hand clappin music right in the middle of our beautiful park.

The restaurant had a really nice spread, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, omelette station, etc and they made decent mimosas. The Celestials and Light of Love performed at the brunch and really kept the SuperDiverse audience engaged and entertained.

After brunch, we walked through the art installations and the Lurie Garden.

 

As usual, here are pics from mere moments ago...

Funny thing about Chicagoans....when it hurts this bad we just laugh....the tears of a clown.

My Mom forwarded me an email about how most consumers will spend their rebate checks on goods made in and profiting the foreign economies. I believe it said the only ways to keep it in the US Economy was to spend it on gambling, cigarettes, or prostitution. But, there are in fact many ways we can consciously spend this money and assist in stimulating our Own Economy. Who else is going to do it? Not one man or one woman....All of Us will have to do our part in order for the stimulus package to accomplish the goal of actually Stimulating the US Economy. I wouldn't have minded a brief note from the Government on how they thought the money would best be utilized....I'm left on my own to figure it out.

Here's what I've got so far, feel free to comment with more ideas:

- Pay off bills/debts with government/municipalites: this would be parking tickets, electric bills, property taxes, estimated tax payments, etc. Money that helps the cities, states and country that we live in Function.

- Take a vacation on the Amtrak trains: my favorite memories of my childhood are of me and my Mom taking the train from Chicago to Seattle, L. A., Las Vegas (Mom refused to fly) and having the times of My Life! I made pen pals (remember those?) and saw the landscapes of our Beautiful Country. Aside from putting some money into our very own local transportation systems it eliminates the need to buy your own gasoline (at these astronomical prices) or fret over the Krazy Airlines. (sidenote: May 10th is National Train Day, google it or go to Amtrak.com

- Donate (some of) it to a Museum. Preferably one that houses the history of your own ancestry or of your passion (art, music, science, history) They are often very under funded and if You don't do it, who will??

- Go to a farmer's market...or if you can, go to a Real Farm Market (those little storefronts on the edge of Lush Acerage!): Buy their produce, milk, juice, eggs, plants, seedlings, whatever they've got! They need our help and We Need Our Farmers.

- Get a MakeOver: Beauty and Nails Salons, staples of the US Small Businesses buy and spend operational dollars locally. And we could all use a fresh face after such a torturously long winter, dontcha think?

While you mull that over...grab a couple o' hookers, a carton of Marlboro's and hop the next plane to Vegas Baby!!! Yeah!

Today the boys and I headed down to the UIC campus to the fifteenth annual ReptileFest - the largest educational reptile and amphibian show in the country, sponsered by the Chicago Herpetological Society. We were able to touch alligators, hold snakes and turtles and feel the feather-light touch of a corn snake's tongue...creepy.

It was an incredible exhibit and Shan and I even got interviewed by the tv camera's.

Whoo hoo! We had a Blast (and I said that on TV!)

As usual here are pics from mere minutes ago....

A good friend of mine treated me to lunch at this spot. Soooo yummy! They make your guacamole fresh tableside and it's the best in the universe! They have a gazillion types of tequila and even Tequila Flights. The one I had was only $9 and that's a Steal for 3 shots of premium tequila (Don Julio blanca, repasado and the extra aged tequila...the name escapes me)

Delicious. Visit: http://www.adobogrill.com/

Here are pictures to drool over...

From Rob Brenzsy's always timely Freewill Astrology (http://FreeWillAstrology.com):

ARIES (March 21-April 19): This is Celebrate Your Broken Heart Week, Aries. Even if your heart's not exactly shattered at the moment, it has no
doubt been so at sometime in the past.

So why celebrate? Because having a broken heart is one of the best things that can happen to you. It
strengthens your humility, which makes you smarter. It demonstrates to you that you have a tremendous capacity for deep feelings -- far more
than you're normally aware of. It breaks down defense mechanisms that have desensitized you to the world's secret beauty. It should also inspire
you to treat other people's hearts with great care, making it more likely you'll be able to create intelligent intimacy in the future. Here's what I
conclude: A broken heart is a gift the world gives you to awaken you to the truth about what matters to you most.

Thanks Rob, Cheers!