The Fountain at Daley Plaza

Facing City Hall

Facing the Picasso Sculpture

Rainy Day Flowers

It's amazing what can get your attention sometimes. Last week it was this the water in these flowers following some morning rain.

Zooming out....

Bean Bombed by Birds

Look closely at the picture below. At first glance it's just another picture of "The Bean" at Millennium Park. But a closer look shows that it has taken bird droppings in at least five places. It's just something I noticed today....

For Your Sitting Pleasure

There is a building in downtown Chicago which has been under construction for quite some time. While it still is under construction, several stores have opened making for an interesting contrast between shiny, new stores and unfinished ones. It also has the coolest looking bench:

Christkindlmarket (sp?) in Daley Plaza

A lot of German-American food, tiny shops selling holiday and Germanic themed trinkets, and a lot of people milling about. And also a puppet show!

Took a Walk in the Park...

It was about 34 degrees Fahrenheit today when I took a walk through the park, just barely above freezing. Usually the water fountains of Piotrowski Park are broken even in the summer. But on the way home, I chanced upon this one:



There's just something so interesting to me about the water in the fountain wears away the ice from previous, colder days.

Textured Clouds

I like the mix of bright, thick, and fluffy clouds layered on top of dark, thin, and wispy clouds. The scene in both pictures was originally much brighter than what my phone's camera could capture but I think I like the pictures just the same even if I'm pretty sure that it's the edge of my finger at the bottom of that second picture....

Art Near the El

I usually start my day by taking the train and there is some pretty interesting—is mural the right word?—near the station I usually use.

There is some pretty artsy Batman graffiti adorning a local parking lot:

And a more aspirational installation on the side of a church:

Are Pink Clouds Effeminate?

I took this picture last month during the afternoon before Thanksgiving. My phone doesn't do it justice but I really liked the subtle interplay of the wispy pink cloud against the blue sky and bright, nearly full moon.

A Cell Carrier Goes Underground

One of the most frustrating things about a long commute can be going into a subway and losing your phone signal. So an ad like this one can be rather hearkening:



I have T-Mobile and my G1 has been getting better coverage on the Blue Line subway in recent weeks. Unfortunately, this improved coverage doesn't help as much for data usage. T-Mobile's 3G coverage is already relatively slow to begin with and my G1 tends to drop to EDGE speeds in a subway so checking email and web browsing can be slow. On the other hand my Palm Pre tends to lose both voice and data in the subway so T-Mobile is ahead of the game here.

Wherein My Obsession With a Lone Flowerpot Continues...

I guess it's another sign that winter is coming when the Chicago Cultural Center switches from weird flowers to nothing to pine:

Halloween in Daley Plaza

This Halloween I went to Daley Plaza for "Chicagoween." The place looked great.



And there was a showing of Young Frankenstein.


Funny movie but I was a little disappointed. Last year they had live entertainment.

Then Pyrotechniq came on to the stage....

Those Clouds Are So Red...

So I was out for a walk at sunset and the sky was an incredible color....

Urban Moon

Yeah, they're crappy phone-cam shots and they don't do their subject justice but nobody said that the expectations are high when you blog. My point with these pictures is something that can't easily be expressed without them. Typically, in a large city like Chicago, the glare from street lights obscures the night sky. But here the low-hanging, full moon in these shots holds its own quite nicely with the glare of the lights of downtown Chicago. A mere phone-cam can't do justice to the beauty of a full moon but it is a lovely sight that has to be seen for itself to be appreciated. And it can be seen every month. Just look up.

Wherein My Unhealthy Obsession With Clouds Continues...

I Have Nothing Interesting To Say

So here are some pictures of an eagle statue in the Logan Square neighborhood.