For the second time in my life, my Massachusetts driver’s license was questioned by an overly-cautious clerk. This one has a happy ending, though, and I got what I was after. The shades of green and blue wavy lines on my driver’s license are for security, and are of course mathematically complex. But they make my ID look like a passport to Dreamland.

And I think it’s pretty cool. It’s one reason I’ve been such a slacker about getting myself an Illinois license. Illinois still has the boring white background. Also, I paid $90 for my Mass ID and I’m not so quick to dump it just because I don’t live there anymore. But mostly I just like the colorful wavy lines.

Filed by Bil at 10:49 pm under The Arts, The Science
No Comments

The Absolute works with nothing.
The workshop, the materials
are what does not exist.
Be a spot on the ground where nothing is growing,
where something might be planted,
a seed, possibly, from the Absolute.
– Rumi

Since my becoming unchurched, I have had some time to think about what speaks to me spiritually. And I’ve come to no conclusions whatsoever. What I have learned, however, is what I don’t like.

One of them is bad sermons.

Sadly, if you’re a Unitarian Universalist, unless you’re attending a church that has hired an amazing minister that always knows just what to say to draw people in, or keep people around, or whatever that congregation wants to do at the time, you’re pretty well guaranteed to get bad sermons at least half the time. And that’s if you’re lucky.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Stephen at 6:53 pm under General, Religion, UU, The Arts, Fightin' Words
9 Comments

This is my absolute favorite scene of any of the Cirque du Soleil shows — yes, even O and Zumanity. Not just because of the trapeze, not just the song that I really, really wish I’d written, but fundamentally because this is a perfect sample of my absolute favorite voice to listen to: clear, strong, and perfectly straight.

Incidentally, the soloist is Zara Tellander — she’s got some great clips of some of her previous work, including her jazz combo.

Filed by Trevor at 1:31 am under The Arts
No Comments

So, like Trevor said, Bil will explain Hatemail in greater detail. So here it is.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 1:44 pm under Shameless Plugs, Social Issues, The Arts, Fightin' Words
3 Comments

The Artist Formerly Known As Prince Trevor and I went to see Jenny Owen Youngs this evening. It was just about the most glorious rock concert I’ve been to in years. I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, “But, Bil, Jenny’s brand of rock isn’t exactly what you’d call ‘glorious.’” Or perhaps you’re thinking, “But, Bil, that doesn’t count, because you hadn’t even been to an actual rock concert in years.” And you’d be right in thinking those thoughts. But I have ways around them both. First of all, the word “glorious” is as vague and re-definable as the word “fuck.” It can mean anything I want it to mean. If I say so, it can include the words “mellow” and “hipsterrific” in the definition. Second of all, I’ve been to so many events that have included rockin’ out that I can add them all together and easily make the claim that my life is practically an ongoing series of rock concerts. (This claim is especially easy to make when you count going to a bar with a decent jukebox as an “event” – and when you realize that the word “practically” is as vague and re-definable as the word “glorious.”)

It was a new experience for me, however, when the headliner came up first and at the end of her set encouraged us to hang around afterward and listen to the opening act. I was expecting it to go the other way around. In fact, I had been told that it would be the other way around. But hey, I can respect that you have to keep an audience on its toes.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 1:56 am under Shameless Plugs, Social Issues, Pop Culture, The Arts
2 Comments

Which, of course, stands for Jenny Owen Youngs, my latest hetero crush. Move over, Regina — you had your chance, and you just threw it away.

Below is the new video for Fuck Was I, a must-listen for any of you with at least half a soul.

Filed by Trevor at 5:49 pm under The Arts
No Comments

So — having met with our legendary Third Napoleon, Per Diem has made some genuine progress in terms of not just forming the company but putting plans into motion. We have set guidelines and deadlines. We have made solid decisions (accidentally) and kept some of our ambiguities (on purpose). We’re on the road and inching forward.

One particular deadline we have set for ourselves is to decide on our shows for next year by the end of next month. We all agree this is the smart way to do it, because the longer we wait, the harder things will be. So we will plan WELL in advance.

We’re going to be doing a play I wrote just as a little introductory showcase-type play to kick things off, and then the official era of this company will begin. I’ve been spending so much time talking about this introductory play and so much time thinking about future plays (for, like, when we have money to spend on shows) that I hadn’t yet really thought about the first show of the actual season that I want to do.

Suddenly, there’s all this pressure to find a good show that means a lot to me that we can do for little to no budget. That means lots and lots of reading in my immediate future…it’ll be just like college all over again, except this time I really do have to read everything. Because the consequences matter.

In addition to Per Diem, I have also been cooking up a project with Trevor that should go live sometime this season…and oh, don’t worry, dear reader(s), you’ll hear all about it. It’s going to be SUPER-fun. It might also be therapeutic.

Oh — speaking of SUPER-fun and theatre…if you live in or near Chicago, go see “Crucible the Musible!” You won’t regret it. But you will regret it if you don’t see it, ’cause it’s pretty much the best show in the history of theatre.

Filed by Bil at 1:31 am under The Arts, Activism
2 Comments

I am preparing to write my first real high-stakes proposal. By high-stakes I mean there’s a chance of rejection. I wrote grant proposals in college but that was pretty much like asking for pennies that fell through someone’s pants-pocket and into their shoe.

I’m not sure why I made that analogy, because there isn’t any money on the line. What I mean is this: I have a shot at getting an actual theatre space to have a staged reading of a play I wrote. Our bad-ass new theatre company, Per Diem, will be producing it in the spring and I want as much publicity for our ice-breaker show as we can get. And staged readings are key. I want to have several of them, in fact, at various venues around the city. I’m thinking small stages at bars and cafés may be the way to go, but if I can get a space that is known for doing staged readings, that would help take it a lot further. So in that sense, the stakes are rather high. At least, they are in my mind.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 10:57 pm under Shameless Plugs, The Arts, Politics, Fightin' Words
3 Comments

It takes a very unique news article to really unsettle me. I would say it takes something really big or really awful, but obviously really big and awful things happen all the time, so big and awful is kind of routine now. At least when reading the news.

But then today I read this:

Scorching Chicago Marathon leaves 1 dead

And that freaked me out.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Bil at 12:43 am under General, The Arts
No Comments

Several months ago, Devon got me hooked on This American Life by selecting several fascinating shows pertaining to an older post I’d written regarding my own flirtation with atheism. So, inspired by her longstanding plans to journey out to South Bend to hear Ira Glass speak at Notre Dame this past weekend, I decided to see if he had any other speaking engagements planned within a reasonable distance. Now, while I was thrilled to see that a discussion and signing was planned for October 2nd at the Barnes & Noble in Evanston, I was — and still am — a little puzzled that not a single venue in Chicago proper was on the list. Especially since the show itself originated on Chicago Public Radio. Huh.

My purpose for attending became that much more noble when I received the following phone call at around 6:30 last Saturday night as I was heading out the door to the West Loop to get my flute on:

DEVON: I hate the Dan Ryan.
ME: Oh, God. Are you just now getting out of Chicago?
DEVON: Um, nope. We’re on…yeah, we’re on Ashland right now.

Ah, the Dan Ryan. A cruel, twisty parking lot cleverly disguised as an expressway.
(Keep reading…)

Filed by Trevor at 10:20 am under The Arts
No Comments