Thursday, November 5, 2009
Irving Park & North Ave
Got the car fixed! (Yay!). Pictures from Irving Park (waiting on car), and a detour into the suburbs (got lost) and finally from wandering North Avenue last night. Click the here for link to flickr.
Labels: exploring chicago
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Out y About in Chicago
So...my car died yesterday. Ok, maybe it didn't die, but its on serious life support. It completely overheated on the way to the free show at Empty Bottle last night. So today I was on mass transit--which was totally fun. Stop one: the Handlebar, which was NOT a bike shop but a REALLY cool bar...where a regular pointed me in the direction of a cool bike shop down the street, Rapid Transit Cycle Shop (where I nearly bought a bike without a second thought to getting poor little sully repaired). Here are some random pics from the day.
Me at the end of my trip.
Me at the end of my trip.
Random girl with neat shoes at the start of my trip.
Under the elevated train.
Said Elevated Train.
A bath house. Not sure if its STILL a bath house, but who cares?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Finally here
After what seems like an eternity of planning and worrying I finally did it: I'm a Chicagoin..sorta. It was a LONG, LONG trip!
I've been in the city for a week and two days now. but I still sort of feel like I'm on vacation. There's a lot of excitement that comes with this move, but under it is a little sadness. Who expects to be homesick just days after moving away? The sadness certainly took me by surprise.
I think of my quirkey ex coworkers (some of which call me religiously to see how I'm doing), my family, friends from the hall...its easy to take them for granted and its hard to figure out how exactly we became friends (or what exactly we are now). Today I'm setting out to meet new people and make new friends and it made me wonder: how do any of us make friends? Google says to join a running club, a cooking class or have lunch with my coworkers. In fact, google says that its socially critical to have lunch with one person a week (does the guy at the wholefoods counter count?).
Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure: my goal today is to meet three new people. Because honestly: when going to Whole Foods has become the highlight of your day...its time to do something new.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
FEATURE: Everyone's a Twittic...
Lie To MeFour personalities – three girls and a guy, all living inside one body. Yes, the Season 2 premiere of “Lie to Me” showcased a scintillating account of a girl suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Cal Lightman was intrigued by Trisha, who came to him with the “truth” – she witnessed a murder--intrigued enough to shuffle off a Supreme Judge candidate to his protégée, Ria Torres. But when Trisha turned into Jessie, then into Sophie and RJ, you had to wonder: was the “truth” really the “truth”?
The cast of “Lie to Me” did an impressive job in this season opener, but my hat goes off to guest star Erika Christensen for her brilliant performance as Sophie/Trisha/Jessie/RJ. Combined with a well-structured plot, Season 2 of “Lie to Me” is off to a great start. Stay tuned.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Twittic: @janehungoz
Twittic: @janehungoz
Doll HouseI give it 5 out of 5 Echoes
Twittic: @buffsterbloody
Twittic: @buffsterbloody
The OfficeOn the first day Jim & Michael share management responsibilities at the office, it doesn’t take long for a power struggle to brew. Jim wants a reduction of wasteful meetings and Michael undermines his co-manager’s abilities. A call from David Wallace interrupts their feud to introduce a dilemma: the managers must pick which staff members will receive cost of living increases, since budget cuts won’t allow for everyone to get one. Confined to the conference room, the managers rank staff using baked beans. In the chaos the two managers learn valuable lessons and find common ground in hiding from the angry staff. They end with a toast on World’s Best Boss mugs full of gin. Also of note: Dwight tries to raise an army, Pamela Halpert debuts.
I give 4 out of 5 mugs.
BonesClassic episode reminiscent of Seasons 1 & 2. Interesting case, great character moments, and a surprising twist in the last few minutes. Yes, it was a Cam-centric episode. Yes, it had less B&B moments, but in my honest opinion, that's needed every so often. Its nice to see Cam's growth as a mom to Michelle. Frankly, we all would think HH & Co. dropped the ball if the Cam-Mom storyline was never revisited. One of the best things BONES does is complement the character story of the week with the case at hand. This weeks victim couldn't trust his parents with what he was exploring during his rumspringa, meanwhile, we see Cam and Michelle struggle with talking about sex and trust.
Highlights: Piano, Titanic theme, Booth's shoulder holster & talk with Perry, B&B age sex talk.
I give it: 5 out of 5 dancing phalanges
GleeEvery week I’m afraid I’m going to hate Glee—and every week the cast and script continues to deliver, disproving my doubts. This week was no exception. Devoid of the major shockers of the last two weeks, “The Rhodes Not Taken” brought nuanced character development and solid plot movement. Against Emma’s (comical) caution, Will digs into the past and drags April Rhodes, a former Glee superstar turned wino-dropout, back to school and tries to give her New Directions. Rhodes was all about manipulation: Will manipulates April, April manipulates the Glee kids, Sandy, Sue and Finn manipulate Rachael. In fact, the only person who isn’t trying to manipulate anyone in this episode is Rachael, who—after realizing that getting everything she wanted wasn’t everything she needed—returns to Glee (yay!) with a humbled attitude and genuine appreciation for her team mates.
I give this 4 out of 5 high notes
Every week our team of twittics bring you a recap of your favorite TV shows in 140 words or less. Be sure to send your feedback to twittic@jenthinks.com and follow each of your twittics on Twitter. Add @tvtwittic for news and announcements regarding this feature of Jen Thinks!!
Labels: twittic
Thursday, October 1, 2009
NEW FEATURE: Sunday Twittics!
Forget "Kill Your TV." I like TV, and so do my friends. And I don't mean crappy reality tv, or cooking shows or home-improvement television either. I mean real, scripted, costumed television. From comedy to drama--when done correctly good TV is like watching live theater--in your living room--IN YOUR PAJAMAS! Whats not to love?
To that end, I found myself rehashing the finer points of my favorite TV shows with Twitter buddies throughout the week. And so an idea was born. Every Sunday, we're going to recap our favorite shows on this website. Here's your chance to get compelling character analysis and story recaps with wit, humor and intelligent thought in 140 words or less. Wanna meet the Twittic team?
@Janehugoz will be covering Fox's show Lie to Me
@Ninirific will be covering Fox's show Bones
@Buffsterbloody will be covering Fox's show Dollhouse
@DrDreia will be covering NBC's show The Office
@quodsumeris will be covering Fox's show Glee
@TVTwittic will cover AMC's show Mad Men
As the feature develops, we'll be adding more shows to the line up. Send suggestions and comments to: twittic@jenthinks.com and follow us on TWITTER! So tune in this Sunday for our first set of reviews--and don't be shy with your feed back!
Its a Dogs Life...
Food and Wine Magazine has named the countries 5 Dog-Friendliest cities ang guess who made the list? Chicago! (So did Miami, my home town!)
If you're in the Windy City, check out my favorite Dog Boutique Tails in the City for cute dog-clothes, gourmet treats and general pet-themed fun.
If you're in the Windy City, check out my favorite Dog Boutique Tails in the City for cute dog-clothes, gourmet treats and general pet-themed fun.
In the sunshine state, head just north of Miami to Victoria Park and check out Animal House Pet Supply where the #1 dog in my life, Dr. Bitchachi, picks up organic puppy treats, ergonomic leashes and assorted fashionable duds.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Pesto Potatoes
I think its silly to eat potato salad in October, but Mark Bitman has a "fall" inspired Potato Salad in his Biten column today. Call me old fashioned but once the summer dies down and the temperature starts to cool off, I prefer warmer dishes, like Roasted Pesto Potatoes, featured below.Ingredients:
1 lb russet potatoes, chopped in to 2" chunks
1 large bunch of basil leaves, fresh
Parmeasean Cheese
Olive Oil
Pine Nuts (1/4-1 c. as needed)
Salt/Pepper
1. Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until they're cooked 80% of the way (tender but still uncooked in the center). Remove potatoes from water and place in oven proof dish to cool.
2. In a mortar crush untoasted pine nuts--or in a spice grinder, pulverize pine nuts until they're gritty but still in big pieces (I like to crush them in a mortar because the results are more easily controlled.)
3. In a processor process Basil with Olive Oil. Add in Parmeasean cheese a handful at a time until a paste forms. Stream in Olive Oil as needed to keep the paste from becoming too thick. It should have the consistancy of oatmeal.
4. Spread the paste over the potatoes and toss to coat. Top with the pine nuts. Bake in the oven at 350 for 10-15min or until the tops of the potatoes are browned and the center is tender.
Labels: recipe
