Chi-Trek Day 1: The Klingon Emissaries

     Today, the city of Rosemont saw a marked increase in its population of Star Trek fans as the Official Star Trek Convention came to town. As the first day of a three-day affair, the masses were eagerly anticipating the affairs, and they did not disappoint. First up was Anthony Montgomery, from the show Enterprise. After some discussions over what he is doing lately, he took some questions from fans. Then after a Star Trek Yes/No trivia game, two Klingons took to the stage! In reality, they were the actors Robert O'Reily and J.G. Hertzler, who played Gowron and Martok, two Klingons on the show.  They proceed to put on a marvelous show together, even launching into a medley of all the anthems of the armed forces(an appropriate action given that today is the 70th Anniversary of D-Day).  Then they wind up doing something that I'm sure you've never thought about Klingons doing-they began to rap.  I kid you not.  It was quite fascinating and something that clearly must be seen to be believed.

 

     After another period of theatrics from the Klingons, the stage cleared for a remembrance of Star Trek stars since deceased, including DeForest Kelley and James Doohan.  After the retelling of several personal anecdotes, makeup artist John Paladin took to the stage for a demonstration of how he applies Klingon facial makeup.  To get the full effect of this, he even selected a member of the audience to get made up in his chair while he talked through the process.  After that demonstration, time was up for that day of the convention, and the MC bade everyone a good night and told us all to come back for more fun on Saturday, which is exactly what I am planning to do so.

 

Taco Time!

     This past weekend, the Little Village kicked off a new festival on the Chicago summer calendar, Festival Del Taco.  As you may have guessed, this was a celebration of(what else) tacos.  And not just any tacos, but "authentic South Side traditional tacos", according to Fred Newton, one of the organizers of the festival.  Of course, tacos aren't the only thing luring folks to this new festival, as there was no admittance charge(unlike a lot of the other festivals I've encountered, which can charge anything up to $10).  Of course, a festival like this isn't necessarily the only one of its kind out there.  Lakeview has its own taco festival, which kicked off last fall and features taco creations with much more imaginative ingredients.  According to Newton, "[Festival Del Taco] is gonna be a fraction of the cost of [the Lakeview festival].  It's gonna be the real deal".  Attendee Jazmine Salcedo approved of the affair, saying that "this reminds me of when I go to Mexico and the celebrations they do, so this is a little piece of Mexico".  All told, the Festival was a hit in its first year, with bright hopes for the future.

Dancing Like it Matters

     This past weekend, the Matter Dance Company performed their eighth full-length concert.  Matter Dance Company is a company located in Chicago that was founded 10 years ago and is still going strong.  Their most recent show is entitled candid, and it is a "series of vignettes captur[ing] moments in time through movement, and...tell[ing] stories meant to engage and inspire".  As for the most recent performance, the show ran the gamut from pieces by Queen to pieces featuring voiceovers by Martin Luther King Jr. and Steve Jobs, all accompanied by dancing(obviously).  The show continued with a hip-hop feature, as well as a piece called Shakespearean Rhapsody that served as a Queen-style takeoff on Romeo and Juliet.  After several pieces that showed off the ballet prowess of several of its members, the show ended with an "exuberant crowd party graced with latter-day swing".  Overall, Matter Dance Company's 8th Annual show proved to be a success.

Summer's First Fest

     With the first weekend of summer, come the first slew of street festivals all about.  One of those was the Do-Division Street Fest up in Wicker Park.  For the 8th year in a row, the West Town Chamber of Commerce put together a festival that exhibits all that is to be seen and done in that neighborhood.  Appropriately enough, it is called Do-Division.  It features everything that a good street fest should.  Food, drinks, music, and a genial atmosphere to show off just what the neighborhood has to offer.  Right off the bat when you enter the fest proper, there are a series of booths, all with the same goal of appealing to the Fest's main clientele:  Millennials.  There are booths for the Uber taxi service(the one that's been in the news as of late over a potentially unfair advantage over traditional taxicabs), the Illinois Lottery, a singles sports league, and several other activities that folks of that age would pursue.  As a further sign of the target crowd, attendees were congregating around the beer tent like ants on a very small log, which led to some congestion problems on the sidewalks.  Additionally there were two music stages set up, which displayed banners for more of the sponsors, including Red Eye(once again, not a huge surprise).  All in all, the Do-Division Street Fest was a good kick-off to the busy Chicago summer season and a good representation of all that the West Town neighborhoods have to offer. 

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: The wrap-up

     Okay folks, the Hawks lost last night.  And it sucks.  Alas, this means we won't get treated to a parade this year(cause really, baseball?  Hah, you're funny).  In the long run, we're still locked and loaded for a few more Cups, but that doesn't matter right now.  Right now, we've got a couple of months before the season starts anew.  And then, our quest for the Cup can continue.

Chicago 365 Playoff Central: No more talking, no more waiting, just win.

   Here we go.

     We've played 6 games.  The Blackhawks have battled back from a 3-1 deficit(again) and now sit poised to play Game 7 on home ice, where they have only lost 1 game all postseason(of course, that one loss came at the hands of the Kings last Wednesday).  The Blackhawks are 13-0 in Games 5/6/7 since the start of the 2013 Playoffs.  The Kings are 6-0 in elimination games this postseason.  The Blackhawks are 20-3 in elimination games going back to 2009.  But I can spout off stats all night.  It won't make a difference.  The only thing that will make a difference is the play on the ice.  The Blackhawks MUST come out ready to fight.  The Blackhawks MUST come out ready to win.  And you know what?  We can do this.  I'll be back in a few hours to tell you all how it goes.  See you then.

As always,

 

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 



Chicago 365 Playoff Central: To Live to Fight another Day

     First up, the theme music:

     The Chicago Blackhawks opened up tonight's tilt on very unstable ground.  The Kings were up 3 games to 2, and we were in LA.  The slightest mis-step would have doomed the Hawks to elimination.  Luckily, the team brought their A game.  Throughout the first period, the Hawks were silent on the puck, but LA wasn't and they struck first 17 minutes into the game.  The Hawks came back in the second, scoring 2 unanswered goals to make the score 2-1 Hawks at the end of 2 periods.  Then in the 3rd, both teams came out in a mad scramble.  The Kings scored 2 goals within 2 minutes of each other(yeah, big deal.  Get back to me when you get 2 in 17 seconds) to retake the lead, 3-2.  Luckily, the Hawks woke back up and scored 2 more goals to pull ahead 4-3, which became the final score.  The Blackhawks rose to the challenge and won Game 6, staving off elimination till at least Sunday.  Game 7 is back home at the United Center.  Whoever wins that game wins a date with a trophy that they won't touch, and an opponent(the New York Rangers) that won't let up.  Sounds like fun.

Till Sunday,

 

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!