No Beaks

Neighborhood Tales

You may remember a story long about about our neighbor who we refer to as Johnny Grass Seed.  If not check out this previous post...

He has now become part of the trio we call the Grasssseeds, there is Mrs. Grassseed, a new baby Grassseed and of course Johnny.  Johnny lives in infamy as a douche.  Mrs and the baby are on good terms as decent people...  but that is up for discussion.

Since the last post when Johnny yelled at us for being loud, we've really taken things down a notch.  Which isn't to say we were too loud in the past...  I mean we've never held a kegger or any other type of big time party here, those were all at good ol' 1856.  But anyway, with the birth and prenatal care of the Lil' Boss, keggers and parties were especially on hiatus.

Moving on to the Spring of '08...  As a result of our quitting smoking there was much less reason to be on the deck during the cold Chicago winters, therefore, we saw little of the Grassseeds.  But as winter thawed, I noticed that the Grassseeds seemed to be carrying around a baby!  This, of course, was big time news because A) We are nosy neighbors and B) we didn't think they were married or at least the Boss didn't.

Then, one day in the Spring we came across the Grassseed family whilst walking Bascom (I'll post more on this pet peeve "Parents Walking Their Children in Strollers" later.  I mean, would you normally just walk around the block on a nice day by yourself or are you literally walking your child like it's a dog?  I mean we have a dog, it's normal to walk a dog and bring the child with, not the other way around!).  Anyway, since the Grassseeds enjoy walking their child and we have to walk the dog, we at times have crossed paths.  Since they are neighbors, the friendly pleasantries are passed along between one another.  The truth is that the Boss talks to them, if it was me, I'd just say hi and keep walking.  And now it brings me to the point of this tale...  I convinced the Boss she should invite them over for dinner sometime!  And she agreed! 

But...  it hasn't happened yet.  I'm fairly convinced that she wants to invite them over just to get a better understanding of the craziness that seems to consume Johnny Grassseed.  Take for instance...

We walk past the trio with our quartet a week ago in front of the condo and of course we stop to ogle each others child to privately see which is cuter (ours of course).  While Mrs. and the Boss talk about diapers or some other nonsense, Johnny mentions some graffiti on the building across the street...  To make a long story short, this led to a discussion about crime and gangsters and criminal activity around the neighborhood and how he has called the police several times for suspicious behavior like a man going into his trash can!  Yeah...  that's what I thought.  Crazy bastard!

Anyway...  We'll keep you posted about the dinner and whether it ever happens.

The Movies Watched

As has happened in previous years during the Summer of Art, movies have been a focal point of accomplishments during this time period.  I thought this may get lost in the mix with a newborn and all...  but turns out that newborns sleep an awful lot, nearly 16 hours a day, which opens things up for some quality movie watching!

I finally finished Season 3 of Entourage!   Which I almost finished last summer and wasn't entirely impressed...  Anyway, I'm finished now and really not that into it anymore.  Since the Boss is off with me for the next few weeks still for the Summer of Art Season 4, I've decided to jump into Season 1 of The Weeds because she mentioned interest.  Has anyone else watched this show?  It gets great reviews, and I always liked Mary Louise Parker on The West Wing, so we'll see!

As for movies, I have watched 30 Days of Night, Hot Fuzz, Dan in Real LIfe, Rescue Dawn and Charlie Wilson's War in the first half of the Summer of Art.  Here are the official No Beaks details on these flicks:

To begin, from worst to first Charlie Wilson's War...  is crap.  It is mostly all bullshit and the acting by Julia Roberts made me want to jump out of the window.  The historical validity of this movie is suspect and in the end this Wilson character is lauded for essentially starting the war in the Middle East in the 80's.  The movie tries to argue that this was some sort of accomplishment because it stopped the Red Army and defeated Communism.  Bullshit!

Dan in Real Life was okay except for Dane Cook who is a douche.  Steve Carrell was pretty good... and the story was okay for a cheesey romantic comedy.

Rescue Dawn was a great story about real life events of an American pilot who crashed and was held prisoner in Laos in the early days of the Vietnam War.  Christian Bale is awesome!  But the movie kind of hits a bump with Steve Zahn as another American soldier in the prison camp.  That guy is always the goofy guy in comedies like Saving Silverman, although he seems to be attempting to be in more dramatic roles these days.  Still he ruins this movie.

It was a tie for 30 Days of Night and Hot Fuzz.  30 Days of Night was good, not great, but good for a  vampire movie.  This horror crap is usually not my forte but the story of vampires taking over a small town in Northern Alaska where there is 30 days of night and a small group must fight to survive till the light comes...  was unique from most others in this genre and entertaining.

I really enjoyed Hot Fuzz.  I've only seen parts of Shaun of the Dead but Hot Fuzz was much funnier!  If you watch this movie...  stick it out to the end, it's worth it!

That's all for now, coming up will be Season 1 of Weeds, The Brave One and The Counterfeiters!  I would also like to get out and see The Dark Night but not until the crowds and freaks dressed as the Joker and Batman thin out...

Friday Questions....?

Some queries you may have...

What's up with the Rooster?  I have been assured by the young man earlier this week that he is driving back to the Midwest for good this weekend.  Welcome back buddy!

Will the White Sox go all the way?  Where?  To the World Series?  We'll see...

How is it being a dad?  Fun, tiring and exciting.

What is with the new "Blogists" on the left column, namely Lil' Boss and Speedy Willie?  I explained that Lil' Boss is the new website for the Lil' Boss which by Monday will be able to be accessed at www.lilboss.net.  Speedywillie.org is the brainchild of the Domb Squad.  It is the official website of the Speedy Willie party and tailgate bus.  Check them out!

How come No Beaks doesn't have its own domain?  Ahhhhh....  you spoke too soon.  www.NoBeaks.net will be available come Monday as well.  So No Beaks and Mr W Co has branched out into the world of domain mapping...  and purchased us some of the Net or the World Wide Web!  Just to make it easier to find us... 

Have a weekend folks!

Weekend Notes...

Chicago festivals are interesting...  They all have their own unique mood to them.  I met my wife at the Lakeview Festival, which used to on Clark and Addison and was moved over to Sheffield and Addison.  Today, I'm not sure that festival still goes on since the Metromix Festival Guide doesn't seem to list it.  That festival was about drinking...  considering all the bars on the street in which it was held...  once it was moved over to Sheffield, it changed.  I went the year it was moved and did not have a good time. 

I find Ribfest to be enjoyable because of the good food and descent location on Lincoln right at the six corners of Lincoln, Irving Park and Damen.  I first met a helping of ribs and cheese fries there, which has brought me back year after year...

This past weekend the Boss and I returned to the Folk and Roots Festival sponsored by the Old Town School of Folk Music on Lincoln at Montrose and Welles Park.  I like this festival because it is great for hippie watching.  It is less about food and more about the music, (which from what we heard, granted we were only there for the first three hours of the festival with baby in tow, sucked and the band Unibrown is NOT good) and sales of hemp necklaces and ferret discs.

Anyway...  these are three unique festivals that vary so greatly in what they offer and the vibe they exude.  And that my friends, in a nutshell, explains Chicago.  Much like the differing neighborhoods and diverse population, summer in the city of "Big Shoulders" is about the different ways we like our festivities and how ALL of us can go to each to enjoy and take part in it together. 

TwS. LATE!

I'm so busy on Thursdays, but I didn't want to go another week without sharing the gloriousness of the bus.  ENJOY!