Step Back

I did not realize Hillary was the one that made Obama so popular. She pushed him to run for Senate in Illinois because he was talented and there was a new star in Chicago. She was responsible for helping him campaign and responsible for putting him out there. Of course, there were others that helped Obama become who he was and is. Mayor Daley of Chicago pushed, Oprah pushed, other politicians pushed, but Hillary? I guess I have been so out of it and should have realized this quite a long time ago. I feel as though Hillary might have dug her own grave or bought herself more time to possibly run for elections 2012.

During his time as a Senator for Illinois in DC, Obama consulted Hillary in everything. She aided him and gave him much advice to boost him. She made sure he was comfortable and knew how to handle himself. She told him to be ambitious but stay out of the limelight and avoid the elders (he was not pleased at how old everyone was in the Senate and how yappy they were). But, Obama was already experiencing so much publicity even as a Senator. The book says he was followed around constantly by reporters, photographers and journalists. Everyone wanted a piece of Obama. He appeared on numerous TV shows including Meet the Press with the late Tim Russert and others. He was happy to get himself out there and let people see who he was. The only thing he was pissed about was missing weekends with his wife and children. He had to miss some time with them in order to travel and speak, etc. This made Michelle crazy. While he was in Senate, they decided to keep their home in Hyde Park which he said was a good idea. They all really liked the area and Michelle was established as a Chicago lawyer. As his Senate term progressed, he got some fire under his butt to start running for President. He said he would most likely serve the six years he promised...of course we know he broke that (but at least he did not quit like Palin quit Alaska).

Back to Hillary. She was not even planning on running for President for 2008. Someone pushed for 2004, but she was too hard pressed to keep her promise to New Yorkers to stay in her Senate seat. The Clinton name already came with a multitude of positive and negatives. She did not want to add to this list. So, as her daughter Chelsea advised, she stayed in Senate. But, she remained very quiet about her decisions to run for President of the United States. She did not really tell anyone she was going to do so for the 2008 election, it just kind of happened. She filled out her paperwork for President relatively late and got it turned in just in time. She had to also conduct secret polls to see what Iowa and New Hampshire thought of her before going on this race. So, after much deliberation, she decided to go in. The book said that Obama once gave her a pic of he and his family; she kept it in her office all the way up to the elections despite the heat between the two of them.

Funny stuff in the thoughts for the 2004 election...Hillary figured if she did run, she had it because she would be ahead of that Lame-O George W. Bush. The terminology used to describe him was pretty funny. I laugh every time I get in Dena's car. She has a cut out head of George W. Bush. On the pic, it says "George Bush's dumbass head on a string." I have to laugh every time I see it. Oh politics...What shall happen when we throw Palin and McCain in this book? I also have a feeling South Carolina is going to pop up a lot. One chapter is titled Fear and Loathing in Lizard's Thicket. This is going to be good.

Today was a nice day. I worked out for quite a long time with my buddies Brandon and Arturo. We had a blast, but I was in the gym two and a half hours...aye. I also met up with my new potential roommate from Alameda, California (where I stayed when I went to San Francisco...the Bay Area), Bridget. She was hilarious. I think we are going to make this work no matter what.

Tomorrow, clean, bill pay, clean closet, work out. Barnes at four. YAY. Sleep in!!!!!

Politics are amazing

I am not far into the book, but it is a riot. I cannot believe how catty and crazy these people were. What a crew to run a country.

This is going to be one of those once-a-week I am too tired to type blogs. I had a crazy day.

Time for sleep.

:)

Change We Can Believe In...the H Book

John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (conveniently enough...two H names) have co-written this week's H book, Game Change. Game Change is the US Weekly of politics in the hardbound form. It is the scoop on the election of 2008...this is the trash, the gossip, the crap, the substance of politics. The sub title of this book is Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. I am most excited about reading this book because I did not really delve into the politics of the election and the whole election process. As an ignorant American, I did not take the time to really pay attention to the election nor did I care. I think I saw it as basically anyone is not Bush and anything not Bush is probably good (I hate to sound so out of it and not intelligent, but politics do not really concern me. The way I see it is that hopefully, America is going to elect someone who is halfway intelligent and will make good decisions...as long as something is happening, then we are good...hopefully...but then, look how happy Germany was before Hitler). Well now, I can sit back, sip a Diet Pepsi, and relish in all of the political garbage that stemmed from this beautiful election of 2008. Today, actually, Rob Lowe Twittered that this was a fantastic book!

Heilemann and Halperin are leading political reporters in the United States. Heilemann was born January 23, 1966 and is a contributor, corespondent and columnist for the New Yorker. He wrote the book Pride Before the Fall. I could not find much more information on him other than that. I saw a few conservative blog listings for him, so I am assuming he might be a Republican which means he might be a little hard on the Democratic party within this book. Mark Halperin was born January 11, 1965 in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a political analyst for Time Magazine. He has been aired on ABC's World News Tonight numerous times and was an off-air full-time reporter of Bill Clinton affairs. He was once called "very liberal" on a conservative radio talk show...this upset him. I think I now know what standpoint we will be seeing in the book.

I do not think I have ever heard so much trash about anything as I have about all the people in this election. It was heavier than the Bill Clinton affair with Lewinsky back in his term. A moment did not exist when someone was not politically and personally bashed within this election...from McCain's age to Palin's unwed pregnant daughter, the trash did not stop. So, obviously, the best thing to do is produce a book that is 450 pages. Now, you can buy this book in the entire United States, including Alaska and probably the parts of Russia you can see from Alaska.
I don't think a day goes by that I do not see or hear something about the crew that ran in 2008. In fact, I spent the whole weekend hearing about Democrats and Republicans and how Rush Limbaugh needs to move, Glenn Beck needs to think before he speaks and Palin needs a brain transplant. Obama bashing, Palin bashing, Edwards bashing. No one was left unscathed...so quickly we have forgotten about the damaged United States legacy Bush has left us with...No Child Left Behind...sure...how about now when all the teachers are left behind...the US is gone...and what is happening? A Nobel winning president who has done..........nothing. Wow, Palin could have done nothing, as well. Fortunately, she is sitting in Arizona rounding up the crazies with McCain. What has happened to the United States? We are in change...change for the better. Obama and Palin have signed at Barnes and Noble Old Orchard, so I am certainly so privileged to work in an environment where both of them have sat. This, on top of Palin's book Going Rogue (there is a parody titled Going Rouge) being shelved in our store has caused me to be slightly stupider. You should hear the trash the workers talk about Palin. And now...you can go online and see the neighbors of Obama's house! They are selling their house in Hyde Park. I can see this going to some type of gossip.

So, Game Change has come just in time for Summer reading. The book came out in February, yes, almost two years after election, but it was sold out in the first four days. The publishing company had to do a re-printing within the first week and create a second edition. It literally flew from our shelves...the elderly have been entertained for a lifetime now. Now, to add to the political hysteria, we have two more top 10 bestselling books...Edwards' book and Jenny Sanford's biography. I find it utterly fascinating Jenny Sanford is from Winnetka (4 miles from work...home of the Home Alone home). Now we can hear about Mark's trashy Argentinean soulmate affair in a book! YAY for more trash! I hope she comes up here and signs in our store since it is her Barnes and Noble. I am so happy to say I am from South Carolina with its political mischief...and now, I live in Illinois with a poofy headed (I thought show choir girls had big hair) ex-governor who sells Obama's Senate seat and goes on reality TV. I love it. And, I live in the most corrupt city in the United States: Chicago and Mayor Daley who has dead people vote for him. Delicious.

American politics are followed around the world. I would love to see them cleaned up so our reputation can be fixed just a little. We are at the bottom of the world for everyone. Hopefully, if Obama does not turn out to be the second coming of Christ, we can be cleaned up a little.

So, Happy Zombie Jesus Day or Easter! I drove home with Dena today from Ohio. It took 6 hours to get home because 1) people cannot drive 2) it is Easter 3) there were some big storms. But, it feels nice to be back in the city again! Tomorrow, I work 5AM (at Gap...ugh) to 4PM. I am glad I am going to be out early tomorrow so I can work out and enjoy the evening and READ!

Have a wonderful night and Happy H Reading! So now, go turn on some old SNL skits, watch Tina Fey and chow down on some fun!

Closing Dreams

I finished Preludes and Nocturnes tonight. I will have to say it is a fantastic graphic novel. I think when I have time and money (they cost around $20 each) I will certainly continue the series. It was a lot easier to follow than I thought. I got the hang of it. Man, it sounds like it was too much of a chore for me to read this, but it was not. So, needless to say, Gaiman did an excellent job of narrating a graphic novel. The illustrations were not bad, either. Each one is paired up with a different artist. Some of the sketches were pretty raw and pretty gruesome, but they certainly helped move the storyline right along.

Basically, Preludes wraps up with Morpheus finding his tools. He reclaims all of them. The sand was the easiest to claim. The helm was more difficult because he had to descend to hell in order to claim it. In Hell, we find Lucifer has two other "co-monarchs" to help him run the show. In order to win his helm back, Morpheus has to battle with one of Beelzebub's minions. They do a stand up type routine only using animals and death. Obviously, Morpheus wins or there would not be another 11 graphic novels based on the Sandman to follow.

The ruby that helped him was being held by a mortal named Dr. Dee. He was a patient of an asylum. His grasp on this ruby basically turned him into a Tolkein's Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Dee basically withered away because the ruby had so much power over him. Dee breaks out of the asylum which has him detained and hijacks a car. After he reclaims the ruby (we find out that Dee's mortal power currently has more sway in the ruby's doings than Morpheus' own powers) he goes to a diner. There, he plays a game with the world of sorts. The segment is broken into 24 hours. Over the span of hours, he plays with everyone there and invades the world of dreams of people all over the world. This causes much pain, panic and devastation. Armageddon is being predicted because of everyone's wild behaviour and erratic sleeping patterns. We find out a piece of Morpheus' soul lies within the ruby and that is why it is so powerful.

Finally, after time, Morpheus finds Dee and challenges him in the world of dreams for his ruby. Dee smashes it within the dream world thinking it will destroy Morpheus; it only makes him stronger. Morpheus then defeats Dee and sends him back to the asylum. The world sleeps and life order is restored.

The novel ends with Morpheus meeting up with his sister Death.

So, some interesting things to point out.

1. Morpheus basically resurrects in the ending of the graphic novel. Today is Easter, a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am not comparing them, I am just pointing out how interesting it is that I finish this on Easter Sunday. Morpheus' resurrection basically restores order to the world.
2. A Jew shows up in the final pages. I find this interesting because, as I stated, I have been exposed to a lot of things Jewish lately.

So, tomorrow, I will lead in with my H book. I am excited about it and will explain. It is like nothing I have ever read. All I can say is that it is going to be trashy and fun!!!

Today, I took a four hour road trip to Toledo, Ohio with Dena. She had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago so she cannot drive. I brought her home to her family. They are great people! I met a baby named Chloe and Dena's dog, Drama (named by the Humane Society shelter because she was crazy!). The food was good and I have had a lot of good conversation. It was interesting to see how divided the family is with Democratic and Republican views. Such a good segway into next week's reading. I heard some Palin bashing and Palin loving, Obama bashing and Obama loving. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and a whole other cast of characters including George Bush showed up in conversation. Wow. I am getting the hang of politics very slowly. Scandal is the only thing that really interests me...Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Palin, McCain, our lovely Governor Sandford and his bestselling author wife and the great Rod Blagoyevitch, former governor of Illinois now reality TV star.
Tonight, Dena, her sister Missy and I dyed Easter eggs. Remember the Paas mixture? I do! So, we had fun doing that.

Right now, it is time for me to go to bed. I have a long day of driving to do! YAY for Ohio! Tomorrow, flat-ass Indiana and the ugly Chicago Skyway.

Night and when you dream, dream of me, tonight... -Tony from Tonight, West Side Story

Chicago dreams on...

So, today, I got to a new section of Preludes and Nocturnes. Morpheus is finally gaining some strength in his dreamworld and now needs to seek his tools to keep his dream land working. In order to find out where his helm, amulet and pouch of sand are, he needs to consult three witches which are basically the Fates and a little bit of the witches from Macbeth (Double, double toil and trouble...you get the deal). They are three sisters bound together like Cerberus (three headed gigantic dog that guards the gates to Hades in Greek mythology) except they are women. One is young, the other is elderly and the other is a crone. Morpheus utilizes their premonitions in order to find the whereabouts of his tools. Unfortunately, they can only get him so far. Each one answers questions regarding the whereabouts of each tool. After they answer he keeps wanting to ask more questions, but the rule is one question, one answer from each of them. Although their answers do not get him directly to the source of his needs and problems, they do get him on the right path (they are kind of like the temp agency of the dream world).

As to the location of his sand...John Constantine was the first to end up with it. He tells Morpheus that he has no idea where it has landed and that he never even tried to touch it before. He is pretty innocent because it ended up in his hands unknowingly. He said even if he wanted to get into the pouch he couldn't because it was sealed so tightly. Prior to Morpheus showing up at his house, every time John would touch the radio or hear a song it would be a song about dreams like Mr. Sandman, Bring me a Dream. I think this was an excellent idea for Gaiman. I think it drove the story and foretold the presence of Morpheus.

Today was a busy, busy day and here I am still wired so late. I am driving to Toledo tomorrow at 8AM. I need sleep, but I have been so busy. Today, I had to wrap up loose ends before work. Rent, errands, etc. I had a good workout and a great run on the lake again. The city is truly turning beautiful again. I am even starting to get color on my skin. I am a little red, but it does not look bad. I think since I gained so much color last summer, I will be able to easily get it again since it has not been that long since I last had it.

I realized how fortunate I am to live in Chicago tonight. I realized how amazing this city is and how amazing its history is. I don't think anywhere in the United States has quite seen what Chicago has seen. I know New York is the first city, but we are the Second City. From Capone, to the 1893 Columbian Exposition World's Fair to the 2016 Summer Olympic bid to slaughterhouses to railroads to architecture to Native Americans to Jews to Polish people to lake to diversity to the Magnificent Mile to Oprah to everything, no one can lay a finger on this scandalous city. So much has occurred and so much is to happen. Politics are crazy, Broadway is big, the third opera company in the world to the nation's best symphony...everything is so amazing. Plus, the food. So much food. And then, there are 75 neighborhoods and 300 sub-neighborhoods. There is so much to see and there is so much offered.

So, to get to the point, I was looking at a book of the Chicago World's Fair. I don't know if anyone has paid attention to any pictures of it, but Chicago was probably the grandest city in the United States, if not the world during the 1893 World's Fair. It got the name the White City from the World's Fair. I cannot even describe it, so I want to show a couple of pictures. We have a book at work that I want to buy when I have money again that shows the city during this time. I think for my L book, I am going to read Larson's Devil in the White City. It is about the World's Fair and murder. Oh...and the first Ferris Wheel came out of Chicago's World's Fair.

I think these all represent what dreams were made of during this time. I think it would even be overwhelming to see now in this time. Only a couple of buildings still remain...the Museum of Science and Industry, The Art Institute of Chicago and the statue in Jackson Park...that is in the lake in one of these pictures.

Well, that is it for me. Time for bed and time for a road trip. Night. :)

Nada in my dreams...

No blog today on book. I did not read. Busy day...well except for the part where I walked to the gym. It was beautiful out. Tomorrow, I am going to get more power steering fluid in my car for my super awesome road trip to Ohio for Easter. I will read at Midas.

Sweet dreams...

Are graphic novels on Nook?

Well, Morpheus is back in his dream world, kingdom, palace, place of residence. And now he is vindictive. He has ensured that some people will not be sleeping for quite a while. At the same time, a pair of brothers is introduced. They are immortal because one spends all of his time trying to kill the other. What a life. One happens to give the other a gargoyle, but at that point, I quit reading.

Speaking of not sleeping: A robin decided to take residence outside of my window. I mean, of all the trees on North Sheridan, he picked the one in FRONT of my window. He is loud and sings ALL night. And out of ALL the robins on North Sheridan, he happens to be the one that is singing. You can hear him by the lake. I would like to take a blowtorch and have a flame throwing competition out of my window. It is obnoxious.

Tonight at work, a man was moving with deliberation toward me down the escalator. He rushed up to me and said Do your Nooks on display have a copy of Pride and Prejudice as it is advertised on your Nook ads? There is a version of Pride and Prejudice that has a typo and I need to see if that is the one. This man made me get on the Nook and figure out what version we had. He said it made a big difference...one sentence. Just one.

What a gorgeous day it was in Chicago today. I could not believe it. It was almost 80. I started the day out working at Gap...they held me one hour over my scheduled time to dust mop. I am so glad I at least have a job (gritting my teeth). After, I went home and decided to do laundry! YAY! FUN. I have not done laundry in over a month! There are MOUNTAINS of clothing in my room. I will be dreaming about clothing. Well, the good news is that someone decided to leave all their crap in the dryers and I could not dry any of my darks before work. The below picture is a pictorial description of what happened to all of my darks and skivvies:
And, the even better part. They are all still damp after a full day! SCHADENFREUDE.

While my other clothes that I could get in were drying, I took a run through Rogers Park and along the lake on the beach. AMAZING. I love it. Also, who can say a Frank Lloyd Wright home is on their running path? It was also so cool to run past hyacinths welcoming spring. So many bulbs are coming up and dotting the neighborhood in purple, pink and white.
:)

Well, this is it! I am off to bed!

Sweet dreams!