kevin barnett

Satan says to Ren, Stimpy and Sv�n H�ek in Season 1, Episode 10 “Sv�n H�ek”. After finally making it down to Chicago Comics near Clark and Belmont to blow a gift certificate Devin had gotten for me last year - I couldn’t figure out what to get. Too many comics and I’ve been out of collecting for so long, I didn’t know where to start. That was until Meghan noticed that this place had DVDs. The selection was a bit obvious - the animated series of Batman, Justice League to name a few and some Region-free Kung Fu films from China. But there it was in all of it’s glory - Ren & Stimpy, Seasons 1 + 2 UNCUT.

A couple hours later, Ren and Stimpy were on the television just like old times. What a great DVD set to have! Those cartoons are as equally brilliant as they are funny and weird.

I was just listening to Kings of Convenience - I’d Rather Dance With You

I take mine smoked. The parents fell in line with tradition once again by ordering a delicious smoked turkey from this place in Tyler, Texas. I heard Oprah made them popular by giving everyone in her audience one of these turkeys around thanksgiving a few years ago. Not that these birds are the Pontiac G6’s of Thanksgiving Turkeys. No, these are definitely great tasting birds � that is if you liked the smoked thing.

However, not everyone likes smoked…meats. Dev’s sister Meghan, who came into town for the long weekend, was not a fan of the smoked turkey. Apparently, they don’t do much smoking of the meats on the east cost sans the occasional salmon or mussel.

Each to their own. The turkey was followed up by my favorite Thanksgiving side dish, the southern classic Cornbread stuffing. Especially with sausage. Dear lord, it’s sooo good. Mom also makes this prailene n’ sweet potatoes dish. That’s a favorite among the eaters.

And having pecan pie at the end of it all just makes the whole eating process…the ultimate comfort meal of the year.

Afterwards, we retreated to avoid a client party my dad had comitted to and went back to Rogers Park for more dessert and to see National Treasure - it was fun and you learn the darn’dest things about American History in the process.

I was glad I was with Devin this year and that Cliff and Meghan could join us. Most of all, I was thankful for my health. Just a year ago, I was in week one of the Death Flu.

I was just listening to U2 - A Man & A Woman

This past weekend, Devin and I hosted her friends from Salisbury, Md. - Bill and Charlene Creese. They’re a nice couple, both finishing their undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively. “Char” was Dev’s roommate when she attended Salisbury so they have been friends for a while. Since Dev was in their wedding last fall, I suppose they thought this was the year to visit Chicago.

Friday, after work a few hours of sleep, Devin and I came home to them waiting for us to make enchiladas. Bill and Char, suprisingly, fell into that category of east-coasters who have never really experienced home-cooked mexican food. In fact, it was Char’s first experience with guacamole. Ever. I think she’s a better human being now for the experience and the baby probably appreciated it, too.

Oh, did I mention Char was 4 months pregnant? Dev advised for me to make a milder ranchero sauce which I did and it turned out great and did not enduce labor. But now I know I can do better. I think I may stick with the ranchero sauce moving forward, saving the chile sauce for special occasions.

The food was devoured Friday night and then again on Saturday for lunch, just before we left to go take them around the city. We drove downtown but then decided to head back to Wrigleyville to find parking since we would be down there later that evening. We got Bill and Char through the handicap accessible Addison L stop.

Oh, did I mention Bill had broken his leg playing rugby and was on crutches? That slowed us down a bit but I was amazed at how well Bill negotiated stairs and probably walked a mile or so. I guess that’s the Marines for you…

We did the Michigan Avenue lighting ceremony. It consists of too many people, cold temperatures, strong wind and Mickey Mouse on a float “magically” lighting the trees on Michigan Avenue. I wonder how he does it?

After we recovered from the sheer spectacle of it all, we headed back to Wrigleyville for some Giordano’s, the best stuffed pizza in town IMHO. And then after stuffing ourselves, we took in a funny performance at Improv Olympic. Definitely a different feel than Second City especially since the performance is long form and not a collection of sketches. The show was very funny and I recognized one of the cast members from Second City. Improv in Chicago is very incestual.

Sunday, Dev had to work but I had the pleasure of taxi’ing Bill and Char to Soldier Field for Bears v. Colts. Driving underneath McCormick Place was both cool and scary. It was a little wacky but I got it done.

Roger’s Park, Wrigleyville, Michigan Avenue, Theater, Stuffed Pizza, The L and Da Bears all in a weekend. Definitely a classic Chicago experience, Popeye.

I was just listening to Finely Quaye - Dice

How does a recently bankrupt company like K-Mart come up with a cool 11 billion to buy Sears? Maybe I could merge with Warren Buffet - together, we would really be a force to be reckoned with.

I’m feeling the need to do something like that. Last night, I bought my first lottery ticket (actually I bought 5 numbers, but they printed it on one ticket) for a big $126 million Superpowermegaduper Ball.

Yeah, I didn’t win.

I was just listening to Fluke - Kitten Moon

But a mouse would. Or so says one of my co-workers. His theory is that because a mouse cannot “burp”, you feed him an alka-seltzer or leave out some coca-cola to drink - that the carbonation will swell up inside of the mouse and kill it.

I’m not buying it…yet. Apparently he’s got a rogue mouse problem anyway so I wished him best of luck on his experiment.

I’m glad I did some research and debunked the seagull myth. I had been wondering about that for a long time.

I was just listening to Fila Brazilia -The Speewah

I started the morning off right with a big breakfast. Eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon - yeah, all of the good stuff. And I didn’t have to make it nor did I have to pay for it. Gotta love those corporate carrots. I now have a massive splitting headache and I want to pound my head against my desk. And I’m feeling a little down…a little weary. Hmm, what in the world could be wrong when all is so right with it?

The good news is that the new Primus DVD was released today. So as soon as I get it, I will psuedo-experience the Chicago show I didn’t make it out for.

Oh and if this posted, this will be my first post using the blogger email-o-matic feature.

I was just listening to Morcheeba - Tape Loop (Diabolical Brothers Mix)