What a wild ride it's been

My apologies for the delay, but man oh man it's been a crazy couple months. Let's dive right into it:
The calypso gig we did was just like last year, playing for several hours outdoors for a youth soccer tournament. Pretty sweet getting paid to jam with some old steel drummers, not to mention the free snacks we got.
The day after that my buddies and I went to Six Flags Great America, which predictably blew my mind. Much like the park in New Jersey, this place was HUGE. Tons of cool rides, plenty of massive roller coasters with a nice variety. They had the old wooden guys which shake you to the core, as well as the flashy newer models which go higher and faster than anything humans should ever do. To me, the scariest coasters are the ones that tilt you down and make you stare at the ground, like Superman, mostly because during the slow ascent I cannot stop thinking about falling out. Still, American Eagle is an amazing wooden coaster, and Raging Bull is your classic out-of-this-world ride.
And what should come two weeks after that awesome trip but our house's Halloween Party. I had two batches of beer ready, the IPA (so good I almost cried) and the American Amber Ale (sadly I didn't have the time/confidence to add pumpkin to it, but delicious nonetheless). My roommates and I set up the apartment and a great crowd stopped by. Needless to say, our costumes were of the highest quality. Some of the best would be Riccardo Muti (conductor of the Chicago Symphony), a Roller Derby team, Bob Ross, a Publishers Clearing House enormous-check-giver and receiver, and then me: Ace Ventura as he sneaks into the mental institute. Special thanks go to Anna for sewing me the tutu, it really made the costume.

Dance party in the basement, Paul Bunyan chopping wood in the street, and my beer thoroughly satisfying the thirst of people I had and hadn't met before, all in all it rocked.
For my actual birthday Anna and I grabbed some fantastic tapas (only to be challenged by our homemade tapas, but we'll get to that later), followed by a concert by Oh No Oh My, a band that came to Bowdoin in 2006 and even partied with us after the show. Their first album was very nice, and their new stuff was just as good. The week after a group of us saw Benjamin Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream, that was lots of fun with very cool visuals.
Our Butler buddy Max came to visit, and he even brought his accordion. What a guy. We took him around our hood to some of our favorite food and drink spots, talked about music, and basically had an awesome time.
Now we come to the crux of this post: Thanksgiving in Arizona. For those of you who weren't aware, in 2004 my family spent this holiday week in Maui. Swimming, snorkeling, hiking, eating like a king, it was great. Now I've got this little niece, and my stepbrothers have two kids apiece, so we decided to find a cheaper and more convenient spot. Tuscon won the bid, and then we found this mansion for rent which sounded too good to be true. Considering there were 10 adults and 5 little ones, it just made sense, but man oh man this place was nuts. Amazing house, pool and jacuzzi, outdoor grill and patio, massive tv, secret room behind a bookshelf, enormous living room and solarium, and...a grand piano. I couldn't believe it. Plus the landscape was like nothing I had ever seen before, it really did feel like an alien planet. My apologies for the quality of my pictures, I'll try to post better ones soon enough.

And the sunsets were too good to be true.

We had this nice dinner tradition of divvying up each night to two people, so for our night Gabe and I did what we know best: tapas. Well, he did most of it. There was steak, grilled eggplant, bruschetta, prosciutto with melon, homemade sangria, and my pièce de résistance: tortilla de patata, also known as potato omelet. We ate these all the time in Barcelona, and they were always one of my favorites. I was pretty nervous, but it turned out perfect. Gotta try that at home more often.

But seriously, the quality of the food all week was too high to describe with words. The thanksgiving feast itself was beyond compare, as usual I whipped up my broccoli casserole which is paralyzingly scrumptious. Watching football, eating buffalo chicken dip (another Adam contribution), going on hikes, checking out the desert museum, and getting to play with all of these tiny nieces and nephews, it was too good to be true. In summary, check out these cute little guys!

I couldn't fit everything in here, it was just an amazing week, so bear with me if I add more in future posts.
As for books, Pugilist at Rest was fantastic. I read American Psycho, easily one of the most gruesome books every written. If you're not familiar, it is Bret Easton Ellis' story of a rich, young New Yorker who parties and dines and shops and exercises at only the best places with his fellow yuppies, but he also has this hidden, surreal side of murder and horrific torture. After that I read Pandora's Seed by Spencer Wells, all about the hidden consequences of our shift from hunters to cultivators. He talks about everything from our genetics, to diseases and mental illness, relating it all back to our decision to control our surroundings instead of letting them control us. A little scattershot, and I was hoping there would be more of a final message or suggestion of hope, but hey, still great.
The Cellist of Sarajevo was fascinating, a fictional story about people surviving during the Siege of Sarajevo. It's based on a real cellist who, once a day for 22 days, played in the rubble of an explosion which killed 22 people waiting in line for bread.
I finished Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine, another collection of stories by Thom Jones. Once again, it floored me. His stories are sometimes heartbreaking, other times uplifting and even hilarious. Whether they're about Vietnam, boxing, drinking, or mental illness, I never finish one of his stories without sitting back and just marveling at his uniqueness.
Well, that about sums it up. I'm heading back to Boston for the weekend of December 10-12 to say goodbye to the house I grew up in, should be as bittersweet as ever. I don't think it's really set in yet, but what better way to bid farewell to that place than to have the three F's: friends, family and food.
As for the Patriots, ever since I witnessed their assault on Miami a month and a half ago I have been keeping close tabs. Love this team. By no means are we perfect, but we're a solid, exciting group of guys that I enjoy watching. The Celtics are still doing their thing as expected, which means I just have to sit here and wait for the playoffs. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

More of the goodness

Things continue to be awesome, who would've thought. The apartment is still perfect, and here's the proof: a few weeks ago I made another batch of home-made beer (my 4th overall if you've been keeping score). Just to refresh your memory, my first batch was an Oktoberfest, which was fine. Nothing special. I blame it on my first time jitters. Second beer was a red ale, which was too good to be true. Delicious and strong at the same time. Third batch was a stout, dark like outer space. More potent than the red ale, definitely more of an acquired taste, still delicious but not quite as accessible. This time around I was more adventurous, going with an IPA. Slightly more difficult to make, but oh man. We popped open a bottle last night and I almost cried it was so good. The hard part will be saving it for our Halloween party. And to top it off, today I brewed an American Amber Ale which will be ready right on...you guessed it, Halloween. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Adam, come on, an amber ale? BORING!" To this I say, "Ah, but what if we were to add something to it...something, like, I don't know, PUMPKIN?!?!" That's right, the guy at the home-brew store suggested adding pumpkin and spices to it right before we bottle it, so I took the challenge. I've never felt to alive!
So yeah, Chicago continues to rock. We got to see the International Contemporary Ensemble play at a museum downtown, amazing stuff. My roommates and I got a Costco membership so now I can eat a platoon's worth of Cinnamon Toast Crunch in one day. We watched Roadhouse, a fantastic Patrick Swayze action movie which I highly recommend. The big event though was a free concert in Millennium Park of the Chicago Symphony playing some classics, conducted by none other than Riccardo Muti! Check it out:

Seriously, all of Chicago was out on that lawn. The concert rocked, the crowd loved it, and they ended with fireworks! Unreal. All this for the new conductor of the symphony. I wish I could compare it to Boston when we signed Curt Schilling, but I seriously can't.

That rocked. Unfortunately he got sick and is missing some concerts this fall but hey, I probably wasn't going to any of those anyway. That's life.
Will and I also got to see the Chicago Civic orchestra play some amazing stuff, Betsy got us free tickets and we composers do not turn down free concerts of that caliber. I went to a Cubs game with Ross, which was a blast despite the rain delay and loss to the Giants by the final score of 1-0. I saw a concert by a pretty cool band called Walter Meego, and took care of some crazy little doggies:

We've eaten some great local food, continued the barbecues, and we made it to the Museum of Contemporary Art for an exhibit on Alexander Calder which was fascinating. And our calypso band has a gig next weekend, woohoo!
I read Pygmy, another strange one by Chuck Palahniuk. This one was from the perspective of a foreign exchange student living in the Midwest who is secretly a spy sent to destroy us. Nice take on American culture, brutally graphic and hilarious as always.
After that I read Franny & Zooey, which I really liked. Then I finally read Fight Club, although I must admit I kind of preferred the movie. I know, I know, I'm sorry. Great book, but even better movie as far as I'm concerned.
Next was Just Kids, an autobiography of Patti Smith detailing her youth and relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. Very cool stuff, loved hearing about the artists' life in the 60s and 70s. Next up was another one by Bret Easton Ellis, Lunar Park. Unlike his other works, this was a thriller/sci-fi kind of thing. Parts were amazing, especially the faux-autobiographical sections, but overall it didn't wow me like his other stuff. And lastly, I read Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I didn't realize it was a young adult book when I got it from the library, but as usual he's amazing at combining the humor with the heartbreak. And I just started Thom Jones' collection of short stories called Pugilist at Rest. So far, on par with Cold Snap. Love it.
And that wraps it up! My apologies to the Red Sox, another good year as far as I'm concerned. And come on, Tampa Bay is clearly going to lose their best players in the offseason and suck next year so I guarantee a playoff spot for us. Watching the Pats last Monday night was one of the most fun games I've ever watched. And the Celtics are getting ready for another long season, I am truly excited.

Has it really been a year?

It blows my mind to think that I moved to Chicago a little over a year ago. It's been an amazing year, probably in some part due to the fact that my two previous years were in Indianapolis. Anyways, all the friends, music, visitors, food, art, etc. has proven Chicago to be a great fit. I've also been racking my brain for some way to "celebrate" a whole year of adamidwest, so I decided to list some of my favorite things this past year has shown me. Not all were created in the past year, but let's say I discovered them since I moved here.
First off, favorite book: I had a lot of choices, I actually counted 47 books on my running list since I moved here. But if I had to choose only one, I'd go with Farewell to Arms. Such a great mixture of adventure, romance, traveling, and heartbreak, blended with Hemingway's incomparable style. At the same time, I read so many other great books that I just want to list them all. Alas, we must move on.
Favorite movie: the Room. Released in 2003, this movie is so bad (and I mean AWFUL) that it's fun to watch. Terrible script, atrocious acting, plot-holes left and right, unnecessary dubbing, the list goes on and on. It was written, directed, produced, and executive-produced by Tommy Wiseau, who happened to have the lead role. It's hilariously putrid, so if you have a chance, watch it. You will be disappointed. Runners-up: Armed and Dangerous, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Favorite food: close call, but I stick with Flub a Dub Chubs. Perfect burgers, dogs, and fries, usually has a Cubs game on TV, right below a bar, and I've never had to wait in a line. Close second: Kuma's corner. Possibly better selection of burgers, nice beer selection, but there's always a long line and they only play death metal. Tough decision, but I stick with the Flub.
Favorite Album: this is another tough one, since nothing totally blew me away. I'll go with Boxer, by the National. Something about the cool, dark music plus the lead singer's deep, deep voice is the perfect combination. Nice mix of slow jams with some up-tempo hits too. Runner-up: the Suburbs by Arcade Fire.
Favorite Song: another tough call. I'll go with 11th Dimension by Julian Casablancas. Runners-up: Crystalised by the xx (for the record, I chose this song before I realized they don't have a real drummer) and Zebra by Beach House. Once again, something about that deep voice kills me. Wonder what Freud would say about that?
Favorite Concert: I'm gonna go with seeing the Quartet for the End of Time at our old rehearsal space. Such a phenomenal piece of music, played extremely well, in an intimate atmosphere. Runner-up: seeing the CSO play Beethoven 7 (they lost points for starting the concert with Beethoven 1).
Favorite spot in Chicago: this is a strange category I just came up with. Being on the glass balconies at the Willis Tower is pretty cool, but I'm leaning towards this one little spot as you walk under Lake Shore Drive. The acoustics and lighting always remind me of being in an aquarium, as if penguins were by your side. It's hard to explain, but I'll take you there next time you visit.
Now, I probably forgot some good ones, and I apologize. To make up for any mistakes, here are some puppies I walk:
This is Lexi, a new labradoodle.

And here's this wonderful dog I only got to walk for one day, but guess what his name is? Adam C! No joke. I've always wanted to say "Adam, stop licking yourself!" and "Adam, don't sniff her butt! Inappropriate!!"

Lastly, if there were an award for cutest puppies, they'd win in a heartbeat. I believe they're half poodle/half cocker spaniel. Get ready:

Yup, this is my life. They're named Toby and Charlie. And I could probably fit one in each of my pockets.
So yeah, Chicago is great. If I think of any other good awards or things that should have been nominated, I'll let you know.
As for my reading, Homage to Catalonia was intense. Gives me a whole new perspective on Barcelona and the Spanish Civil War that I never even imagined. After that I read Brave New World for the first time since 9th grade or something, brilliant stuff. Then I went for Palahniuk's newest offering, Tell All. Interesting take on fame and aging stars who date younger men, as always very dark and graphic. Next was Less Than Zero, Bret Easton Ellis' take on a college freshman coming home for winter break and all of the crazy (and I mean crazy) shit he and his LA friends get into. Love that guy's style, barely any emotion whatsoever, almost like it's narrated by a robot. And on dad's recommendation, I tried Cold Snap by Thom Jones. Great collection of short stories, dealing with everything from Peace Corps to drug addiction to boxing to mental health to sex to suicide. Both humorous and depressing at the same time, really great stuff.
Ok, time to wrap this mega-post up. Work is good, weather is good, friends are great, everything is superb. I've been able to sample some improv comedy, some free-jazz (not money-free, more like stream-of-consciousness-free), more barbecues, lots of great everything. Go Pats!

Weekend at Charlie's

aka It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Town.
Ok, done with the puns. My weekend in Wisconsin was phenomenal. Getting to hang with my aunt and uncle has been one of the best side-effects of moving to the Midwest. I took the bus up last Friday, we caught some great music, I had the best duck of my life, and we just walked around Madison. I'm pretty sure I hadn't been there since my cousin's wedding which was 5 or 10 years ago. On Saturday we had beers in the Union, a sweet patio by the water where all the UW kids congregate. Then we prepared our tailgating ingredients and drove the hour to Milwaukee to catch a Brewers game. What an experience.

I've never actually tailgated before, but having my first experience with Uncle Charlie at the helm might have raised my standards too high. Not only did we have sufficient meats and sides to stuff an elephant, but he brought an entire box of liquor just so he and Jeanne could have a couple Martinis. What a classy guy.
The game itself was equally awesome, the first Brewer to bat hit an inside-the-park home run, and it ended with the all-time saves leader notching his 597th save. I wonder if there's anything that impressive that I could do 597 times in my life. Here's a video I took of Trevor Hoffman coming out of the bullpen, bonus points if you can hear what his entrance song is.

All the fans, and I mean ALL the fans were on their feet, the stadium was literally shaking. Seems like a great fan base, and I can only assume it is because everyone tailgated before the game and thus were in great spirits.
Back in Madtown we caught some more jazz, indulged in a variety of delicious Wisconsinite beers, and devoured fantastic food. We climbed up the capitol building, perused the museum, and they even took me on a tour of their old apartments on campus. What a ride.
I returned to Chicago last Sunday, and it's good to be back. Monday night our rehearsal space hosted a performance of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, one of the most amazing pieces of music ever written. And that was in 1941. Tough to beat, check it out if you can.
Other than that, my buddy Dean is in town visiting for a view days. We already did so much when he came here several months ago, so now we're taking it easy, hanging out in my new pad, going to art shows, introducing him to everyone, and just kicking it. He Ruth and I got all-you-can-eat sushi, a Chicago staple, but they made us order it all at once. Here's the proof:

So yeah, that rocked. Ok, time for animal pictures!!
Here's my new roommate Dmitri. At least I know someone still values my extensive CD collection.

This is the face this dog makes when I rub her belly. Terrifying? Perhaps.

And here's a cat in a sink!

¡New Apartment!

In case you haven't gotten the memo, I am fully moved into my new apartment. It is about 10 minutes from my old place, still in Logan Square. The address is:
2700 N Monticello Ave Apt 1
Chicago, IL
60647

It's a beautiful house, with central air, front and back porches, a back yard, dishwasher, washer and dryer, the works! We've got Will, my Arkansasian fellow composer from Butler, his buddy Ryan from Arkansas, Ryan's old roommate Adam (I know, confusing, we're working on it) from Alaska, and Ryan's friend Dan from Michigan. So it's 5 guys, but we've got the first floor and the basement. We've already had a few barbecues, which have been beautiful. We have 5 couches, so plenty of space for guests to sleep over. We have way too many dishes and pots and pans, but I know they'll come in handy when we have 100 people over for dinner.
So other than having friends visit and helping unload all of Will's junk, it's been back to the grind. Rehearsing with our band, recording some tracks soon and then getting gigs around town. The calypso band is playing next weekend, hopefully we'll squeeze some rehearsals in before then. And I've got my gorgeous keyboard in my room so I've been playing and writing more. Recently I've been on a big lullaby kick, so maybe next post I'll have a link for a site where I can put my pieces.
I finished Flight by Sherman Alexie, which really took some surprising turns, and it just blew me away. I always love writers who can both break your heart and make you chuckle in the span of a couple pages.
After that I jumped into Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth. As I've come to expect, it's super dense, and most of the book is introspective, like an internal dialogue in the narrator's head. This one is about an old sex-crazed puppeteer, his mistress, his wife, his family, his old friends, basically everyone involved in his life as everything just starts falling apart. Dark, extremely sexual and graphic, and surprisingly replete with humor.
I just started Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, something Dad has been suggesting ever since I studied in Barcelona. So far, it is somewhat reminiscent of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms or For Whom the Bell Tolls, except written more from a journalist's viewpoint.
So that's what I've got going for me. Tomorrow I head to Wisconsin to hang with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jeannie, seeing the sights in Madison and catching a baseball game in Milwaukee. It's gonna be a blast.
Unfortunately this post hasn't had any pictures, so I will leave you with a couple goodies from a little while back. First, the view from the roof of our rehearsal space:



Second, the sweetest little kid on the planet:

Bye Bye Boston

I just got back from an incredible trip home to Boston, but let's back it up a bit first.
Last weekend my bosses invited me to their wedding in Savannah, Georgia. Very cool city, amazing weather, I even got to stay at this beach house their parents rented. It was super fun, unforgettable food, and I met a ton of nice people. The ceremony was supposed to happen on the beach, followed by a reception at this cool historical restaurant downtown. Unfortunately it started pouring (like monsoon-style pouring) half an hour before it was supposed to start, so they just moved the whole thing to the restaurant. Luckily they had reserved a big room in the back, and there were only about 40 guests, so it all worked out in the end.
I came back to Chicago for couple days, and then hopped on another plane, this time to my hometown of Boston. My brother Gabe took a month off from his Peace Corps work in El Salvador to come home, so I had to make my way over there and join in the fun. I hadn't been back to the East Coast since Thanksgiving, so this was a perfect excuse to take a few days off work and see everybody again.
One night we went to the Jamaica Plain lantern festival, a nice little gathering of people in the Forest Hills cemetery with music and dancing followed by everyone putting paper lanterns into the pond with lit candles inside. You draw on your lantern, it's supposed to memorialize the dead, and it was my first time going, but I loved it. As always, the proof is in the pudding:

Another night we celebrated with our unfortunately less-than-annual Lobster Dinner, yum yum yum. Only on the East Coast.

But the best was seeing my beautiful little niece Addison. I saw her right after she was born, and over Thanksgiving, but she keeps growing! What's up with that? She's a little person, talking all the time, running around, playing in the water, she's too much. She makes everyone around her smile, case in point:

And then there was Gabe, hadn't seen him since last August when Ben and I visited him in El Sal. Sure, we spent some quality time playing video games, cruising around town, checking out the zoo and eating amazing burritos and Chinese food and everything else. But he also held a get-together/fundraiser for aidelsalvador.org at Doyle's Cafe, the famous pub down the street from our house. He gave a presentation about what he's been doing down in Central America, and how any donation will go right to scholarships for Salvadoran kids who can't afford to go to school. Not only did we get to reconnect with friends from around town, but he raised a bunch of money. Win-win.
So yeah, that trip rocked. I also finally had a chance to clean out the room I grew up in. I was literally throwing out papers from high school. Not just senior year, I'm talking 9th grade stuff. I guess you could say I've been meaning to get rid of that junk for a while. It was kind of nice always having that room to fall back on, filled with uncountable memories, but at the same time it was just too much. Most of that stuff was completely useless anyway, like essays I wrote for old English classes or posters I made for History classes. And tons of books, most of which I would never open again in my life. It was tough to discard and donate so much, but it was also completely necessary and somewhat cathartic.
I did keep a bunch of stuff, including the books I actually would want to read, which brings me to my book list. I know, it's been a while, so let's just cut to the chase.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a beautiful collection of short stories all about living on a Native American reservation, dealing with alcohol and depression but generally with a hint of humor. Loved it.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was intense, super dense, but totally worth it. If you can't make it all the way through, I understand. There were parts where the philosophical jargon was way over my head, but the subtlety of the characters' relationships and the occasional rhetorical breakthrough really drew me in.
Snuff was another great Palahniuk novel, I won't go too much into the plot but let's just say it's about an adult entertainer on her last legs. Was that a pun? Anyway, very funny and dark as usual.
Make fun of me if you must, but in Savannah one day I read Charlotte's Web. So sweet, a nice change of pace.
And then I read the Old Man and the Sea again, I originally read it in high school and didn't love it. This time, after reading his three other masterpieces, I clearly appreciated it much more. Much much much more. Except for all the talk about DiMaggio, come on! Would it kill you to put in a Ted Williams reference?
And I just started another Sherman Alexie book, this one called Flight. So far it actually kind of reminds me of Palahniuk, which means I love it.
Ok folks, time for bed, but before I go I just wanted to thank my large and wonderful family in Boston for such a great trip. Really glad I could stay for longer than just a weekend, every day was pure magic. And good luck to all the bikers who are embarking on the ALS ride this weekend!
Hasta pronto!

Some don't like it hot

Hey y'all, time for another update from Adam country. It's summer, and it's hot. Super hot. Makes me fondly remember that kiddy pool we had at Robeson street. I've had more time to get over the events of the Game 7 that shall not be named, but before I really let it go I'd like to publicly compare the 2010 Celtics to the 2010 Butler basketball team. Magically making it to the finals but sadly falling to the enemy in a hard-fought effort, valiantly giving it their best. I truly loved that Celtics team, and as someone on ESPN brought up maybe even more than the 2008 team that won it all. This year's team clearly had its ups and downs, seemed to be falling apart at the seams, but they stepped up huge in the playoffs and defied all expectations. You never knew from one night to the next who would be our best player, every night had a different hero and it was always about teamwork. And to top it off, the Boston celeb contingent put an ad out in a Boston newspaper thanking our team for giving it their best.


As a fitting comparison, did anyone else watch the footage of Lakers fans lighting a taxi cab on fire during their celebrations? Stay classy, City of Angels.
The other big news was my roommate's wedding in Atglen PA. I was a little nervous at first about not really knowing anybody, but their friends and family were so welcoming, it was awesome. I've been hearing them plan their wedding via skype ever since I moved in, and it was wonderful to see it all come to fruition without a hitch. I got to meet their relatives, as well as Nate's friends from RISD who were unbelievably nice to me. It was a gorgeous day, beautiful ceremony, I even played a little Debussy as the grandparents were seated. There was great food, beer, company, and even dancing! I was considering putting up a picture of Nate and Elf posing for the camera, but I think this does them more justice.



They're still unpacking all the gifts they received, but I know they're just thrilled to be together and in Chicago. As some of you might have heard, I am moving into a new apartment with 4 friends, I'll go into more details for the next post.
How about that World Cup? Fun stuff, I did get to watch our goal in the 91st minute which got us out of the group stage. Unfortunately I also watched Ghana defeat us in extra time. As I've noted before, you can't have the ups without the downs. Luckily Ben gave me something a few years back that is the perfect consolation prize.

I hate them so much

Normally I give myself time to take a breath, step back, and analyze the situation. Can't do that now. I can't sleep. I hate the Lakers. I hate every single player. The person I hate the least is probably Ron Artest, because of his history. And because everyone else on their team was there in 2008 when we manhandled them. I am glad to know that everyone else from Boston in my generation, who admittedly disliked the Lakers but didn't truly hate them, now hates them with everything they've got. As in, violence will ensue. Maybe we needed this tough loss to bring us back down to earth, to realize that even though Kareem and Magic are occasionally funny on tv and movies, they are still the enemy. Maybe we needed this to remember how great the Celtics legends were, and to be thankful of every single game we were able to watch. I love the Celtics. I am saddened at how our postseason ended, but I will never forget how we upset Cleveland and Orlando. Remember how we felt after Orlando beat us in Game 7 last year in Boston? They ended up losing to the Lakers in the finals (with much less dignity than we did), but turned that loss into a great regular season this year. I hope we can do the same. Obviously with better results.
Oh Boston, our decade of sports dominance is officially over. I am glad that I'm not there right now to walk the streets and feel the general malaise, then again I did just experience Chicago's ecstasy as their Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. Let's all take a deep breath, and be thankful our longest championship drought is only 38 years (Bruins, but let's not go there, that wound still hasn't healed). I know Bill Simmons will have his own take on the series, how we completely folded in games 1 and 6, got pounded on the rebounds, Ray Allen's demise post-game 2, blah blah blah. For the rest of my life I will fondly remember the sheer disbelief of beating Lebron (and perhaps single-handedly destroying the city of Cleveland), and then beating Howard, and to a lesser extent beating Wade. The Lakers can never take those series away from us. Unfortunately they won't make a DVD set of those games, but we should still be proud of our team. And now I will try to sleep confident that the younger Bostonians will feel the need to disembowel anything and anyone wearing purple and gold, that is until we redeem ourselves and destroy them next time. And there will be a next time.

Don't Freak Out!

I know, everything looks different! You're scared! You don't know who to trust! Fear not. The content shall maintain its high quality, I give you my word. The visuals just needed a little sprucing up, that's all.
Where to begin? As the school year ended, I had my last guitar class at the Pilgrim Lutheran school. Unfortunately some of the older kids missed our last day because they were on a field trip, but I still got to photograph a few.
Here are Adrian and Riley showing off their guitar/pokemon skills:
And here are Hayden and Hayley, the best brother-sister guitar duo since the Gallaghers (zing!)











It was a great semester, the kids who practiced showed a heck of a lot of improvement, and I learned more than I thought I would along the way. Maybe I'll be back in the fall to teach them again, but if not, don't stop believing!
Directly after this last class, Mom and Ellie flew into town for a weekend of adventures. Needless to say, we sampled all of the finest Chicago had to offer. Ellie captured some great moments and views, so we'll start with a classic shot from the tour boat:
We took an architectural boat tour of downtown Chicago, so they take you up and down the river telling you about all the cool buildings and architects and history and so on. Tons of information, most of it quite interesting, and ample time to set up your sweet camera to grab cool pics like this:
We spent some time in the Art Institute, saw awesome paintings, and walked around the loop just taking in the amazing weather. Even made it to Old Faithful:
Ok, my sources are telling me that may not actually be Old Faithful, but rather Buckingham Fountain. We'll just have to agree to disagree.
We heard some killer jazz at the Jazz Showcase, another fantastic recommendation from Uncle Charlie. And then we saw a Cubs game!!!!
Like I said, the weather was AMAZING. Apparently parking spots are so tough to find in Wrigleyville that someone decided to try the warning track. Probably a lot cheaper, why not.
So that was a blast. In other news, my Calypso band has returned from hibernation, and we're back to rehearsing. It feels good, real good. Bricklayers Foundation is moving into a new practice space, which is inspiring. I'm writing more music for my solo album, and as always reading up a storm. I finished the Blade Runner book, very fine indeed. It's nice mixing a little sci-fi into my collection every once in a while. I read Vonnegut's Galápagos, which blew me out of the water (pun probably intended). After that I cruised through Eric Ambler's A Coffin for Dimitrios, a brilliant detective novel with suspense that just grows and grows and some unforgettable characters and stories. Now I'm onto Mountains Beyond Mountains, detailing one doctor's quest to actually help a third world country (pre-earthquake Haiti), but most of the messages could be applied to so many other places. Obviously there are parallels to what Gabe is doing in El Salvador (getting clean water, building schools and hospitals, fixing roofs, etc) so that brings it a little closer to home, which is cool.
Dogs and cats are mostly doing well. Here are a couple of wonderful little guys I got to spend a week with, Oliver and Gus:
On a sad note, Elmer the puppy bulldog I've been walking isn't doing well. Apparently he's had a few heart attacks, I honestly couldn't believe it. He's in the hospital, and it's not looking good. It's very surreal to me, they say it's the breeder's fault, but he's so young it doesn't make sense to me. Mega bummer.
Luckily the Celtics have been carrying their load. As if beating the Heat, and Cavs, and Magic weren't enough, we're one win away from beating the Lakers. Granted, this series is far from over, but I think we can do it. Our bench has been huge, and everybody's been helping in one way or another, that's just good basketball. But here's a thought that few in Boston will agree with: even if they lose the next two games, let's give our 2010 Celtics a parade. First off, who knows if Ray Allen will come back, let alone the rest of our team. Second, this has been an unbelievable run. If you had asked anyone in mid-April when the postseason started how the Celtics would do, it was pretty unanimous that we would maybe make it to the second round and then definitely get destroyed by Lebron. But we keep beating these amazing players one by one, and it really makes you see how important this whole "team" thing is. The Impossible Dream Red Sox got a parade after losing to the Cardinals, simply because they exceeded everyone's expectations. Of course, I think we're going to win, but it's food for thought.
Lastly, I'm seeing the Chicago Symphony do Beethoven's 7th Symphony this Wednesday. Rock and Roll!
And here's a little parting gift, care of the Bean:

Sorry for the confusion...

but I don't actually own a bulldog. I have already heard from a couple people who thought I went out and bought a bulldog. Are you crazy?! I spend every day with other people's crazy dogs, what reason would I possibly have to buy a dog of my own? That would be like a teacher having their own kid...Oh wait, nevermind.
Those pictures were of Elmer, the puppy I walk downtown twice a day. Just to add to the confusion, here's a dog Mazy I walked a couple times.
And here's a cat I took care of named Snowball. I really like that her eyes are different colors, it was hard to capture via cameraphone but that's the best I could do.
In other news, May has been glorious. The weather is fantastic, and we have continued our weekly barbecues. Here's an old pic that I forgot to post because it's too amazing for your human eyes.
Yeah, that's right. WE ATE THAT. One of the few truly American things I am actually proud of.
Other than that, I went to Butler to see my buds graduate. As usual, a wonderful time hanging with great friends, drinking and eating great food. Here's our creepy clan with our mentor Dr. Schelle leading the way.
Not sure if you got this from looking at the picture but some of us were doing our best "serious composer pose." Others were smiling for some reason.
That was a blast. Of course there was Mother's Day, and even though it's belated I would like to thank all the matriarchs out there, even my non-biological mothers like Ellie and Jamie and Vicki who make sure this crazy family doesn't fall apart. Well done!
Chuck Palahniuk, my favorite living author, actually came to Chicago recently to speak about his new book. He was at the big library downtown, and I got there 25 minutes before only to find that the main hall was full. So they started putting us in nearby rooms for a simulcast where we got to watch him speak on live video feed. Still pretty awesome, I love that guy. Funny, dark, and original stuff.
Then there are the sports subplots. The Bruins blew it big time, but who really cares anyway? Would've been cool to see them win something or whatever, but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. On to the more important matters: the Celtics are back! I know what you're thinking, "Adam we just lost two in a row!" Blah blah blah. Beating the Cavaliers was insane. The Magic are giving us a good fight, but I think we'll overpower them in Game 6. And then the Red Sox are surging again. Our pitching is coming back nicely, which is awesome.
In terms of books, I finally finished the Fountainhead. I liked it, definitely too long and repetitive but it was certainly interesting even though I didn't agree with everything she said and the ending was disappointing. After that was Hocus Pocus, another Vonnegut masterpiece once again taking a good plot and just playing around with his narrative structure to make it even more memorable. After that I took on another Palahniuk book, this one called Rant. Dark, slightly disturbing, slightly sci-fi, definitely funny and entertaining. After that I read The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis. I actually saw and enjoyed the movie first, about disillusioned kids in college whose lives consist of drugs, alcohol and sex, but the book had many more layers to it which I liked even better. Now I'm almost done with the book that inspired Blade Runner called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K Dick consistently creates phenomenal dystopian futures with conflicted characters and great plot twists.
Last weekend my buddy Charles came to town with his girlfriend Artie and we had a blast showing them the wonders of Chicago. Great food and drinks, the Art Institute, a boat tour, checking out the top of the Sears/Willis tower, just a killer time had by all. And now mom and Ellie fly in tomorrow! Gotta put on my tour leader hat again and show these East-Coasters the majesty of our fair Windy Cindy. And we're going to a Cubs game Sunday! Eat that!

Read it and weep

I think I got videos to work! Party time!
First video: Elmer chewing on my shoes. He absolutely LOVES biting my shoelaces. And the drawstrings from my hoodie. And my jacket. And my jeans. And my toes that day I wore flipflops. Not doing that again!
My favorite part: towards the end he looks like a panda.


Round 2: Playing fetch.


Round 3: More shoes!


So yeah, that's awesome. You can wipe the tears of joy and jealousy off your faces now.
The weather is nice, the doggies are good, and I'm back to giving group guitar lessons at the school nearby. Those kids are so smart and enthusiastic, they're bored with the standard songs in our lessons plan (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Little Lamb, even Smoke on the Water!), so last class I wrote out Iron Man and the Zelda theme.
Still recording with Bricklayers Foundation, and I decided I'm going to record another solo album. Not sure how many people remember/were aware, but in the summer of 2004 I formed "A Hand" and recorded my first album, "High Five." It had some good tracks, and some not-so-good tracks too. Anyways, I got the idea because since I've been in Chicago I've written a few classical/instrumental pieces as well as some more pop-oriented tunes for the bands I'm in. I thought it would be cool to combine them. We'll see what happens!

I finished the Spanish Bow, which was surprisingly good. Like I said, Mom bought it for me solely because it is about music and Spain, but it was a winner. Kind of an epic journey through 20th century Spain, constantly mixing the political and musical worlds. After that I tried The Devil in the White City, given to me by our very own Eleanor Sullivan. Another fantastic book, it reminded me of Sister Carrie in its portrayal of turn of the century Chicago. Nice job of juxtaposing the inspiring story of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition with the serial killer who lived blocks away. So cool.
Now I'm on to the Fountainhead. We watched the movie in our Humanities class at Boston Latin, but the book is really good. It looks like it's 800,000 pages long, but that won't stop me! I'll probably be reading it for the next thirteen years.
Hopefully the videos worked, but in case they didn't, here's a peak at some chili my buddy Justin made a while back.
We're turning it into a weekly barbecue session. He loves cooking, and I love eating, so we go over, drink beer, fill our bellies, take in the nice weather, and maybe even catch a little Star Trek. Does it get any better than that?
In sports news, Game 3 of the Celtics series was awesome. I hope everyone got to watch it, I hadn't been that excited in a long time. Bring it on Cavaleotards!
As for the Red Sox, we hit a rough patch, but things are slowly moving in the right direction. Anyone else notice how our wins are always by one run? That's a dangerous trend to continue, but hey, we're a .500 team again! Party!

Time for some pictures

Chicago is beautiful. The weather has been amazing recently, and it makes being outside all day just wonderful. Randomly it would shoot up to 70 or 80 degrees, which just boggles my mind, so Justin and I were hanging out by the water, just soaking up as much sun as possible.

That night we went to his place and grilled some chicken on his barbecue with some friends, it was glorious. Even though the legs were enormous and not always cooked all the way through, they were drenched in Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce which makes everything better.
Friday I came home with a craving for mac n cheese, but I decided to live on the edge and try baked mac n cheese. I think it was an awesome first try:

Then there are my doggies. Here's a new guy named Chief, he has way too much energy to be living in a studio apartment, but I guess that's what I'm there for. Anyways I am not picky with big dogs, I just love not having another tiny little guy I have to worry about stepping on.

And here's the coup de grâce: my bulldog puppy. His name is Elmer, and he's literally too adorable. Like borderline illegal. Basically everyone on the street stops and tells me how cute he is. He's just irresistible.

So you know, I got that going for me. Other recent events include watching the Red Sox Opening Night on my laptop (very exciting game, the beginning of a new season always makes me jump for joy), watching Butler almost defeat Duke (crazy game, still proud of those guys for almost single-handedly writing Hoosiers 2), and seeing Julian Casablancas live (great show, I'll never get tired of that guy's voice).
In terms of books, I finished Sister Carrie which was incredible. The story takes some totally unpredictable twists and turns and never ceased to amaze me with its brutally honest look at metropolitan life in the 1890s. I just finished Player Piano, Vonnegut's very first novel. This one is based on his experiences working at General Electric, and details a future in which we basically have machines do everything for us. On one hand it's great, as technology and mass-production are streamlined without any human faults. At the same time, the average human feels worthless and expendable, unless they have a high enough IQ to be an engineer or manager. As usual, I loved it. I just started The Spanish Bow, given to me by my adventurous mother who bought the book for me without knowing anything other than it was about Catalonia and music. So far so good!
And that about wraps it up. Far Things is playing a show Sunday night, Bricklayers Foundation is still in the studio, and hopefully my calypso guy will come back from Florida soon so we can get back to jamming! Go Sox!

Proud to be an American...finally

Obviously I was heavily invested in all the health insurance hubbub going on in Washington, and despite all the craziness it finally passed! And instead of conceding defeat and moving on, the Republicans are going to sue! Whatever, maybe it'll distract them while the Democrats pass some legislation to curb Wall Street and pollution and other fun stuff, that would be sweet.
Anyway, things in Chicago have been going really well. The weather is getting better and better, which makes walking dogs more and more enjoyable. I also joined Ross' other band, Far Things. They're definitely harder and punkier and louder than Bricklayers Foundation, but we played a gig Friday night and it went really well. It was in a basement, and the ceiling was about 6 feet high, so I had to play with my head down the entire time, and we still sounded really good. Hopefully we play some more gigs together and get more comfortable.
As for reading, I finished the Human Stain, which was great. Roth's style is very unique, and I really like it. After that I went back to the sci-fi genre, trying another Philip K. Dick book called Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Very cool stuff, definitely trippy, as usual a neat glimpse into a possible future. Now I'm halfway done with Sister Carrie, recommended by Uncle Charlie himself about a Wisconsin girl who moves to Chicago in 1890. I love reading about their adventures downtown and in Lincoln Park, riding in carriages and paying 5 cents for breakfast. After that I'm thinking about another Vonnegut book I got from the library, Player Piano. And then hopefully some of the books I actually own for a change.
Ooh, I'm seeing Julian Casablancas when he comes to town April 6th. For those of you who don't know him, he's the lead singer of the Strokes, one of my favorite bands. His solo album is pretty good, but he's just too dreamy to miss in person.
Last night me and my buddy Justin grilled on his porch, made hotdogs and garlic fries, and just ate up the gorgeous weather. Followed by watching Star Trek and Adult Swim. Great night. Here's a glimpse, with his aunt's crazy Chihuahua in the background:
Who else is excited for Opening Day?!?!?!?!?! Go Orioles!

A Masterrific Weekend

Great Success! I passed my oral exam. And I turned in my revised thesis to the library. I have completed my Master's Degree. It was a phenomenal weekend with the gang, hitting the bars of Broad Ripple, tasting the wonderful cajun/creole splendor of Yats, celebrating the timeless festival of Purim, watching the most awesomely terrible movie The Room, and perusing my old notebooks. I had been preparing for weeks, even rereading the beginning of The Rest is Noise, but I was always confident. Well, almost always. Luckily my professors are great guys, so they asked me some tough but good questions relating to my 2 years of studies at Butler. I wasn't perfect, but I proved that I knew my stuff. I got over the nerves pretty quickly, and by the end of it we were all smiling and laughing. To celebrate, we went out for buffet Indian food. Doesn't get much better than that. I printed my officially completed thesis on some special paper, turned it into the library, and am now done. It was a bittersweet ending, as expected. I love that Butler gang, and even though Chicago is a far superior city, I still miss being there sometimes. Those two years were unforgettable. Granted, I will probably go back and visit again, and they will come up here and visit me, but it was still a surreal feeling.
Here are some pictures of our third and final Purim Party (I apologize for the low quality, these moments were too good to ruin with a flash):
Dace opening the ceremony with a song.
Max and Scott were chosen to be the cantors for the evening, and did a great job of improvising some modern prayers.
And Max tells us how Mordecai and Esther defeated Hamen on the Lower East Side.
I finished the Power and the Glory, and have just started the Human Stain. I have a nice long to-read list, but please keep the recommendations coming!

It's Go Time

Biggest news first: my thesis was approved. I scheduled my oral exam for Monday, March 1st. It's so soon! The plan is to spend that weekend in Indy, hanging with the gang, getting signatures and preparing my thesis to be bound at the library. Then Monday morning I sit in a room with my composition professors and my theory professor, and they ask me questions relating to the classes I took at Butler. It's supposed to take about 45 minutes, and it's gonna be awesome. I can feel it. Should be a great weekend because it coincides with Purim, so we will be hosting our third annual Purim Party.
Bricklayers Foundation had another performance, this time at a legitimate bar in Wicker Park. There were more people in the audience, we had more time to rehearse, and we played more songs, so basically it rocked. The microphones weren't perfect, but that's life.
Betsy came to visit for an audition, and then I went to Michigan to visit her over Valentine's Day. As always it was a blast, super fun place, we made some great food, played euchre, and lived it up. When I came back, Dean Colpack was in Chicago. He visited for a week, so we had fun checking out some of our favorite bars, his old barbecue restaurant, the Art Institute, and other such adventures. I can't divulge where this came from, but we even got to meet a sloth! It was the coolest thing ever. I want to be one.
No joke. This was not taken in El Salvador. This was in Chicago.
So now that he's gone, I've had more time to study up for my oral exam, reading my old notebooks and papers and textbooks. And watching Rambo 2. Great movie.
It's hard to remember all the books I've read recently. After Catch-22, which was amazing and will require another read in the future, I tried a book by Philip K. Dick called The Man in the High Castle. Really cool story that describes the world if Japan and Germany had won World War II. After that I went back to another Palahniuk book, this one called Diary. As usual, it was dark, a little disturbing, and very enjoyable. Right now I'm trying the Power and the Glory, but I also want to reread the Rest is Noise, which you might remember I finished last year.
Other than that, the doggies are doing well, and the group lessons are going better than I expected. The kids are actually practicing at home and getting better! It's a cool feeling seeing the improvement right before your eyes.
Ok, that's it for me, but I'll definitely let everyone know how my epic weekend in Indianapolis goes. Wish me luck!