Good Times While They Lasted

France, Noah, Megan and I went to Sticky Rice for some good curry


Frances and Noah


We moved the shindig over to the Savemore and hung out with Jason.


Obligatory stupid faces


Looking human again


Went to the Do Division Festival. Here's Mucha Pazza (sp?). Everyone says they like them, but I found them to be very boring very quickly. The concept: We are hipsters that dress up in old marching band uniforms and play all your favorite marching band songs from high school. I expected something a little more cleaver with all the effort that went into the costumes and instruments...


It was a nice day though...


Some things never change. This could have been taken yesterday or 1000 years ago...


People milling around the Cafe Gilato (sp?) parking lot


I love these carnie food stands at festivals


The Wicker Wash has been turned into a club. Inside, they had a DJ and lights and all. If you can't make money washing cars, just sell beer and dance!


Megan and I went for a walk and discovered the Bohemian National Cemetery where Mayor Cermak is buried. This is their old water tower.


This is the crematorium with a grave in front of it that says "mother." Who's mother wouldn't want to be the most prominent grave in a national cemetery?


This was the coolest part about the cemetery. About 1/3 of the graves had these old pictures on them printed on porcelain or something.


It's weird just popping up on another Kraus. I doubt they are related even if there was a Charles Kraus in the family. I believe he was born and died in Rozellville, Wisconsin. But, I did have quite a bit in Chicago. They weren't Bohemian though. Yet, there's is a Catholic cemetery across the street and I can see a relative of mine accidently buying a plot at the wrong cemetery and upon discovering this fact saying, "Ahhh, screw it!!"


If you've ever been to my place, Cherry House, in Grand Rapids you probably remember this fellow. It was the statue across the street in the tiny triangle park where the bums drink. This is to celebrate the Spanish-American War. The plaque in Grand Rapids is hilarious in a historical context because it talks all about how the US "liberated" Cuba and has a picture on a Cuban woman on her knees before an American soldier. Through our modern eyes knowing the US installed and supported a brutal dictatorship there which lead to the Communist revolution and the never ending embargo, it's a funny piece of history.


Creepiest... Porcelain... Picture... On... A... Grave... Ever... It's a picture of the woman buried at this site in her own coffin. This was the best picture her family had of her? Yikes!

Memorial Whiryball Taco Day Party

A big thanks goes out to Cliff and SME for hosting the completely awesome BBQ Wednesday Taco Party last week. It was a nice break from the sausages.


It's like a daycare center for young adults...


Cliff, Frances, and Mike Nummerdor BBQ Taco Night


Brent (Remember it's Red Wings & Pistons Playoffs tonight!), Amanda, Karli, Nick, Angela, and Kevin. I think I got that all right...


While all my friends went up to Manistee to shoot guns and all, I stayed in Chicago with Megan while her friends from New York City came in. Here's Ian, not from NYC, and Danny, from NYC. We're playing Apples-to-Apples.


He's much happier when he plays the "Helen Keller trump card."


This just looks like one of those photos you find of your parents from before you were born.


I don't understand why it's so difficult to get her to take a nice picture with me once in a while...


Danny, Chessie (sp?), Kevin, and Lorraine.


I sat next to this kid for a long time and can't remember his name. What an ass I am...


This is some very serious Apple-to-Apples play.


Man, you'd think we were gambling or something.


Here's Paul. I think he's a distant relative of someone from Muskegon because he's a very Muskegon-esque kind of guy.


Me and Ian. Ian seems to be awaiting my "Festering Wound trump card."


Megan demonstrating how to straggle someone taller than you.


Com'on guys, just one nice photo...


WHIRLYBALL! Here's a description of the game from http://www.whirlyball.com/home/index.php:

"Agility. Speed. Strength. None of these qualities will be of any use in the highly-competitive world of WhirlyBall. Although it combines lacrosse, hockey and basketball with bumper cars, WhirlyBall has caused great athletes of every stripe to laugh and holler their way to a crushing defeat.

If you choose to accept the challenge, you'll use hand-held scoops to propel whiffle balls at your scoring target. In a team of five, and with the help of a professional referee, you'll have a bang-up time trying to outscore the competition."


I found it amusing that the only other people at the Whirlyball place when we were there was a group of eight year olds playing pool.


Here's my team: The Chicago Queef! We never did get to do the flying-V in the bumer cars. Next time...


I like this photo because it looks like I smeared vaseline on the lens. It was difficult to take pics while playing because the bumper cars shook so much.


Have you ever been in a car accident. You know how you remember things happening in a blur? This is the best photo I've ever seen capturing that kind of moment right before Danny smashed the hell out of my cart.


Sweet Victory


Here's couple of the all-stars from my team


Gotta love action shots


I guess Johnny Depp is in town for the new gangster movie "Public Enemy." Here's more info if you want it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/. This was on the set, which is actually just Lincoln Ave. (just north of Fullerton) all dolled up.


Here's the Biograph Theater. You might know it as the place where the Feds killed Dillinger. If you are a hipster, you might know it as the theater next to Clark's Diner. If you're a Lincoln Park Trixie, you don't know anything about it and think the gangsters where around in the 1800's when Chicago wasn't anything more than a swamp in the western United States...


So many people were talking about how much nicer the area looked without all the billboards, neon signs, and other junk. It's an international trend to ban that kind of stuff. Think Olympics 2016 Chicago...


Look at the streetcar rails in the center of the road. Those are not real. It's a think veneer of bricks and metal to replicate the old streetcar system.


Here's Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant. It's pretty hard to recognize since they literally put an entire new facade on the place. It was pretty amazing that all of the stores and restaurants were still open during the down time of the shoots.


From old architecture to new. Here's the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building downtown. It's a 30-some story tall building on the north side of Grant Park. It was designed so it could be added to and they decided to do so. So, they are going to add another 25-30 stories to the building. Pretty amazing.


Here's Trump Tower. I don't care what architecture snobs say. This is far better than the Sun Times dumpy warehouse that stood on this spot. It's a whole lot more interesting than Mies van der Rohe's super boring IBM Building. Yeah, I said it...


The new stature of King Lear on display at Tribune plaza.

That's about it for now.

xoxo,

Mike

Soooo, Remember That Job I Have...

So, on Day 3 of work, I was laid off. Pretty funny actually. At least they told me before they sent me to Dallas for 3 weeks of more training. I was laid off because gas prices reached $130 per barrel today. That meant me and 11% of American Airlines staff had to go. Thank you George W. Bush for your Iraq War and all your efforts to help the profits of large oil companies, being a failed oil man yourself.

It was a good time while it lasted. I got to check out the inner workings of O'Hare airport, one of the busiest airports in the world. Went into the control tower, met a lot of great people, and there was the guy jump-roping at the gate in a Speedo.

Anyway, the search for a job shall continue....

Skateboard Picnic

Here's from the Chicago Youth Skateboard Project Skateboard Collection and Picnic last Saturday. Check out their link and befriend them:
http://www.myspace.com/chicagoskateboardproject





























http://www.myspace.com/chicagoskateboardproject