Common Sense

So my first column is in the Herald News today, click here to check it out. I have to say I did not come up with the title. I like the title, I just don't use the word "bastion" too often. I'm more familiar with "bastard."

In recent radio and pop culture news, 99.9 has apparently changed its format yet again. While Saturday was Bruce Springsteen day (Patrick, too bad you're in DC), and Sunday was Beatles day (AWESOME), yesterday and today have been an extremely random mix of tunes ranging from MC Hammer to Cypress Hill to the Beach Boys. I heard a commercial that stated that the station is now called "the 9" and will be playing 9999 songs in a row. I don't know how much time that takes (estimating 3 minutes per song, that's about 500 hours of music, or about 20 days), so we'll see what happens next. TV-wise, I'm liking The Next Action Star in the "so bad it's almost good when I'm bored" category, but my current obsession is watching Ken Jennings, the Jeopardy master, kick ass. He's been winning for 10 days now, the man is a BEAST.

I forgot to add in something from last Thursday. Nancy and I were out on the patio at Heroes and Wendy, who had just left, called my cell phone. I began chatting with her when some random guy came up to us and started talking. I told him I was in the middle of a phone call, and he informed me that my phone call wasn't going to go through. I told him I was on the phone with Wendy, and handed him the phone. He introduced himself to her as Chris "After-Party" Samuelson (not positive on the last name, i know it ended in "son"). The conversation ended quickly, but I'm just curious about whether "After-Party" had given himself his nickname or was dubbed it by others for his mad partying skills. Either way, I did not see him at Truck Stop after Heroes, so I don't know where the after-party was at.

Late Saturday evening I went over to Samy's with Nance and Aaron for a while. An interesting turn of events: Samy's is classing itself up. You wouldn't think I'd use the phrase "classing itself up" with a bar that has stripper poles, but it happens. Samy's now has a bathroom attendant in the women's room (according to Aaron, not the men's). I was confused by the role of the attendant as she didn't do anything, no towel handing or anything, and I was amused by the basket of extras on the counter; as typical of Joliet, the bandages were Dollar Store brand. I also don't know how often Samy's patrons get cuts or lacerations, but i'm guessing that falling off the stripper pole could cause some contusions. The other new addition to Samy's: the remodeled outdoor area. I'm serious, this place is awesome. We have a tiki bar type deal with Jimmy Buffett music, beanbag toss (Mel, I know you're salivating), palm trees, fountains, etc. It kind of reminds me of a heightened version of Tuckaway back in the day. Other than that, Samy's was its usual self, as always they played this random rap/r&b song that I have only ever heard at Samy's, I have no idea what it's called, but the lyrics are something like "You don't gotta say too much, by the look in your eyes I can tell you wanna [bleep]." Maybe it was created exclusively for Samy's, I don't know.

On Sunday I went to a brunch at the Renaissance Center with my parents honoring Vera Smith's 100th birthday, and on the way there I spotted a new restaurant on Jefferson. I'm bad with exact locations, but it's in the shopping plaza that used to have Kids Korner shoes back in the day, but it's on the opposite side of the plaza. This new spot is called "Carnival Foods," and features funnel cake, cotton candy, caramel corn and other festival treats (most likely corn dogs, shudder). I wasn't aware there was a market for such treats outside of actual carnivals, but I may have to stop by to see if a. they have lemon shake-ups and b. if the shop is run by actual carnies.

Sunday evening Melanie and I went to St. Joe's Park for the first time this summer. I was less than thrilled when I arrived and Melanie informed me that they ran out of smokies, but it ended being a fun evening. We met up with some friends of Melanie, and ran into old friends O.J., who's a fellow fan of 99.9, and Jeff, and some friends of theirs. Afterward we all headed over to Just One More for some karaoke. Two firsts for me this night: I'd never been to Just One More, and I'd never sung karaoke in a bar before tonight. The crowd there seemed less hardcore than the Grapevine performers, so I figured why not. O.J. and I did a couple duets, "Ring of Fire" (this did not go so well as we realized that we only knew the chorus) and Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow's "Picture" (I had to pay tribute to my former employer), and Melanie and I did a decent job of improvising "Crazy for You" after Melanie's singing partner left and the guy couldn't find the song they originally want to sing. Melanie, good job at remembering the "oh, oh" part! We all ended up with some odd marker tattoos on our arms courtesy of the owner (thanks for using washable marker!), and it was an entertaining night.

Not much else to report, but if anyone checks out Carnival Foods before I do, please let me know. As long as the smell of corn dogs isn't too strong I'll try to stop by soon.