tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post920903429166902468..comments2024-03-28T22:15:17.067-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: Chicagoans burn while Great Chicago Fire Festival fizzlesNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-59243836298374537662014-10-06T17:15:55.853-05:002014-10-06T17:15:55.853-05:00I saw their "Moby-Dick" years ago. Excru...I saw their "Moby-Dick" years ago. Excruciating. And I hate pretense, and they've got it in droves. It isn't the private parties aspect so much as the combination of trying to be Cirque du Soleil and the Goodman at the same time. I just think their aesthetic sucks. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-89139697452758239732014-10-06T15:28:38.002-05:002014-10-06T15:28:38.002-05:00It seems that your distaste for Redmoon existed be...It seems that your distaste for Redmoon existed before they forgot how to light a match -- is it solely because of whatever they did with Zell, or is there a larger story I missed that moved the troupe from arty-theatre-spectacle group to lapdog of the undeservedly wealthy? Is doing a private event something that negates their usual artistic output? I only know Redmoon by reputation, but suspect that other artistic groups I know and love would be tarred by the same private-event brush, and hope that if Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, or the Lyric ever do a private event, you don't find out about it!Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03634642987617262810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-15308217518106955502014-10-06T13:13:56.867-05:002014-10-06T13:13:56.867-05:00Then it's changed, which boggles the mind, fro...Then it's changed, which boggles the mind, from when I was living there 20 yrs ago-your kids must be w right crowd - peace outCass Johnsinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-41369567305010300252014-10-06T13:00:25.687-05:002014-10-06T13:00:25.687-05:00Both places I've lived, so am familiar with th...Both places I've lived, so am familiar with the kind of entitlement you feel. Northbrook, frankly, doesn't quite rise to those heights. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-69129039396472821352014-10-06T10:51:25.648-05:002014-10-06T10:51:25.648-05:00Oak Park / Evanston ripped on radio by Neil before...Oak Park / Evanston ripped on radio by Neil before he goes home to leafy NorthbrookCase Johnsinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-55383837222186884392014-10-06T09:29:24.539-05:002014-10-06T09:29:24.539-05:00They will have this festival every October to put ...They will have this festival every October to put people in Rahm's hotels and restaurants to generate tax to make up for Daley's fleecing of the city- failure is 30k not showing next year but instead staying home for gelato and a movie. (What did you see, Neil?)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16528933631707846476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-71410364136876884662014-10-06T08:01:34.723-05:002014-10-06T08:01:34.723-05:00Beyond the "we don't quit" spirit of...Beyond the "we don't quit" spirit of Chicago, I would add the basic lesson of "we learn from our mistakes." Didin't General "Desert Fox" Rommel once remark that the American soldiers knew less but learned faster than any he'd seen before? I sometimes feel we're too quick to abandon ship - or in this case barge. <br /><br />As for "Always a bad idea to give the finger to the God of Deuteronomy" - not what I would expect given this blog's title! If you'll forgive a tangential thought this sparks, I've had the pleasure to know several fundementalist Christians - not the hate-spouting types you see in political contexts but people who take the Bible literally, especially the fall of Lucifer and his sin of wanting to be like the Most High. Ask them about gay rights and they'll be against them sure enough, but they'll also say it's no more sinful than an NFL player working on the sabbath, and to say otherwise would be rewriting Scripture to fit their own preferences. I imagine the same is true with Orthodox Jews - ocassionally you see something unseemly in Israel (people dressed immodestly in the wrong neighborhood attacked, threats against Israeli soldiers who might dare remove an illegal settlement (I mean "illegal" in the context of Israel's own government deeming it illegal, not the broader Geneva Convention sense) but I'll bet you there are legions of quiet devout, ultra-orthodox out there too. And yes, Islam, Hindus, etc. etc. My point isn't to dis everyone else but give a shout-out of respect to these folks. Anon-not-Anonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-89493420745465379612014-10-06T00:47:23.913-05:002014-10-06T00:47:23.913-05:00You left out the Venetian Night boat sinkings of y...You left out the Venetian Night boat sinkings of years ago.<br />Every year at Venetian Night, at least one boat sank in the harbor.<br />Only in the last few years of that mess, did they manage to not have anything sink.<br />When they stopped the sinkings, they took all the fun out of it.<br />No one was hurt, just their feelings & the cost of the boat.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-47958083466777583202014-10-06T00:36:12.497-05:002014-10-06T00:36:12.497-05:00Having attended 2 of the 3 "occasional disast...Having attended 2 of the 3 "occasional disasters" referred to, I can assure you that 8/8/88 was more fun than last night's fiasco. Was that only because of the quantity of beer we consumed in the bleachers at Wrigley? Perhaps, but it was a lot warmer that night, too, and even sitting on a wooden plank is preferable to standing the whole time! The thing that ties them together for me, now that you mention the first night game, were my frequent glances up at the clock on the Wrigley building last night while lamenting the passage of time during which nothing was happening on the river. Though some of the stuff was interesting enough, I don't think I'd disagree with the characterization of "New Age, twee, self-adoring execution," either. That being said, the sense of community was refreshing, though it was mainly communal disappointment. Oh, and the fireworks were pretty cool, especially with the noise magnified by the proximity of the buildings.<br /><br />FWIW, we've marched in a couple WOOGMS parades, too. Not a lot of execution required there, back when we participated. ; )Jakashnoreply@blogger.com