Chicago Line Cruises

Chicago Line Cruises is a great little find if you're looking to do a boat tour of Chicago. Yesterday was a spectacular day in Chicago and Bill and I took the architectural tour with my friend Kathleen Skolnik as our guide. She's fabulous! Very knowledgeable, very accessible, and an excellent speaker.

Chicago Line Cruises is a little out of the way and tends to be overshadowed by the boats at Navy Pier and the Michigan Avenue Bridge, but I highly recommend it. Especially if you get Kathleen.
Check them out. Go to 465 N. McClurg Court and walk east on the River East Art Center promenade (that used to be the North Pier Terminal), to the ticket office. That's behind Fox and Obel on Illinois St.

Is Quentin Tarantino a Genius or Is He Just Nuts?

My answer? Yes and yes. Have you ever seen him interviewed? He's out there. He was on Conan O'Brien last week wearing a Spanky-and-Our-Gang kind of cap in an argyle plaid. And if that's not goofy enough he had it on backwards. Okay, it's a look...kind of a mental hospital thing. But, oh well, so he dresses weird. That doesn't make him crazy. But have you seen his movies? Did you see Inglourious Basterds?
Actually I loved it, I give it five stars, but you have to be a little nuts to make a movie like that. I happen to think it's genius; I love the way it's filmed, I love the music, the characters and the title cards used throughout. I love the type bubbles that point out who certain characters are. All very creative. I don't love the violence but that's Tarantino. You always know you're in for something gruesome when you see one of his movies. But you also know you're going to see a film that's unlike anyone else's, and is, in short, genius.

This Guy Cracks Me Up

Check out this guy on Twitter (click here). He cracks me up. His name is Justin and he's 28 years old. Here's his Twitter bio: I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says.
You'll have to sign up on Twitter to read his stuff so if you don't have a Twitter account and don't want one keep reading. It's just ordinary, everyday stuff but it is so funny.
Here are a couple of samples:
"Don't touch the bacon, it's not done yet. You let me handle the bacon, and I'll let you handle..what ever it is you do. I guess nothing."
"Your brother brought his baby over this morning. He told me it could stand. It couldn't stand for shit. Just sat there. Big let down."
"My flight lands at 9:30 on Sunday...You want to watch what? What the fuck is mad men? I'm a mad man if you don't pick me the hell up."
"It's watering plants, Justin. You just take a God damned hose and you put it over the plant. You don't even pay rent, just do it. Shit."

Update on Dupuytren's

If you'd like to read about the clinical trials for the enzyme injections click here.

The Terrace at Trump Tower - One of the Best Views in Chicago

One of the best views in downtown Chicago is from The Terrace at Trump Tower, and it's only 16 floors up. In every direction there are amazing architectural treasures; The Wrigley Building clock tower and the Tribune Tower's flying buttresses to name two, and a fabulous view of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. It's really dramatic and impressive. Drinks are a little pricey but worth it for the ambiance, I think. We didn't have food, or even look at the menu so I can't comment although other people seemed to be enjoying what they were eating.
It's a fabulous place to have a summer cocktail and take in the Chicago landscape. And on Wednesdays and Saturdays you'd also be able to enjoy the fireworks at Navy Pier.

Lunch at Topolobampo, a Rick Bayless Restaurant

My Bill has been with his company for 25 years and was honored today at a lunch at Rick Bayless's Topolobampo Restaurant. If you're watching Top Chef Masters on Bravo you know that Rick is one of the finalists. His cuisine at Topolobampo is upscale Mexican, and it's beautiful, creative and delicious.
Oops, didn't mean to get carried away...it WAS all about my Bill. I was pleased to be asked to join him and his co-workers for the celebration and a good time was had by all. He didn't get a gold watch but he did get, among other things, a gift certificate for a weekend stay at a lovely B&B in South Haven, Michigan, one of our favorite spots.
Many margueritas and several hours later I came home and took a nap while they all went back to work. Not sure how productive they were this afternoon!

Breakfast Conversation

This morning I had a meeting with Alicia Dale from Full Circle Management who I originally met at a networking event. Alicia's an amazing networker because she's very real and just likes to connect people. And she had some fabulous ideas for promoting my new business Blogging Made Simple.
Anyway, I got there a little early and was having coffee. Two older men (probably my age!) were seated in the booth behind me and they were talking about heart surgery.
One man said he hadn't scheduled his surgery yet because he was afraid that afterwards he wouldn't be able to do his two favorite things: golf and sex. The other man described the benefits of Cialis and while he said there was no ejaculate (I'm not making this up) the sensation of orgasm was still there. Good to know with your morning coffee.
One of them ordered oatmeal, the other ordered corned beef hash and two poached eggs. I think he was the one who hadn't scheduled his surgery yet.
They were just getting into a new topic, blood in the stool, when Alicia arrived and diverted my attention. Thank god.

Best Wedding Entrance

I bet you've never seen a wedding like this one. If you haven't seen it you have to watch. Very fun!

Book Review - Testimony (5 of 5 stars)

I'm not a big fan of books where each chapter is told from a different character's POV but Anita Shreve makes it work in this gripping story. The way the technique is used here gives you a 360 view of the situation, the hows and whys, and how events that are seemingly unrelated can have devastating effects. Testimony is the story of students at a private school and how one decision can change everything. Shreve captures each person's voice, and they are all unique. Exquisite writing. I couldn't put it down. This is a must-read.