DAY 58: With A Name Like Doody He Has To Be, Um, Sort Of Alright

DAY 58: with a name like doody he has to be, um, sort of alright
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

Of all of the various candidates that were running in Chicago, there were some interesting names. However, I don't think any other politician in any other ward in the city can top the 2nd Ward's Larry Doody.

Even though I'm sure that name has been used against him throughout his life, one thing that can be said is that no one can forget that name.

I wonder if he'll win just because he's the one name people recognize. And in municipal elections with absolutely no media or anything (at least in most wards) that's what matters.

NOTE: February 27, 2007 post to Project 365!

DAY FIFTY EIGHT: Good To Know Someone Found A Use For This Building

DAY 58: good to know someone found a use for this building
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

This building in Logan Square sits on a prime piece of real estate. It's actually right across the street from the park itself and the Logan Square blue line stop.

And yet, for some reason, it's been vacant for quite some time. It's not a vacant building, there just hasn't been many people wanting to lease the space.

For the longest time it was a Mexican restaurant but it couldn't compete with the four others in a two block area and shut down. Next it was pretty much gutted and turned into a used clothing boutique.

Now, in theory with the neighborhood, this should have thrived. But it didn't. It pretty much shut down in the blink of a hipster's eye.

Since then, no one's been there. At least until election season. I think this was one of the upstart candidate's office space for the election. Unless he or she won, it's probably going to be deserted again tomorrow.

Most of the signs in the window are for Dorothy Brown - one of the two people on the ballot against Mayor Daley.

NOTE: February 27, 2007 post to Project 365

DAY FIFTY EIGHT: Definitely The Most Colorful Campaign Sign I've Seen

DAY 58: definitely the most colorful campaign sign I've seen
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

The ward by my work is pretty much a ghost town. There are so few people who actually live amongst the skyscrapers that the 2nd Ward stretches on for miles in a couple of directions.

This didn't stop this particular candidate from posting a campaign sign near the entrance to the Clinton Street blue line stop.

It certainly got my attention but I doubt anyone actually living in the ward passed it.

NOTE: February 27, 2007 post to Photo 365

DAY FIFTY FOUR: This Is The 23rd Time I've Walked By This Poster

DAY 54: this is the 23rd time I've walked by this poster
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

I'm just kidding about the title since I know how uppity some people get about numerology. This, in reality, is a billboard advertisement for Jim Carrey's new movie that I saw on opening night.

It's rare that I see a movie on opening night, but if you click back to Day 23, you'll see that I sort of like the number. I'm not obsessed with it like Jim Carrey's character in the movie but I do think all the coincidences surrounding it are fun. And sure you can do it for most numbers but 23 is the one that has cultural resonance.

And so I just had to take this photo on the 23rd even though it was no coincidence. I had been planning to do so since I first saw it.

NOTE: Febuary 23, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY NINE: Danger, It's The Factory Corridor At Dark

DAY 49: danger, it's the factory corridor at dark
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

I think this sign is there just for the benefit of photographers. It's not like regular people (civilains) are about to climb down this embankmenk toward the Chicago River as it winds through the northwest side.

There are things like rowing on the river for pretty much its entire stretch (though I've never seen them on this part) but there's no reason that anyone would attempt to get down to the river her in Bucktown right next to the factory corridor.

Forget the sinkholes, I'd want to avoid the smell.

NOTE: February 18, 2007 post to Project 365 and Project 365!

DAY FOURTY NINE: Bridge Into The World Of Dusk

DAY 49: bridge into the world of dusk
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

To kill time while I was doing my laundry tonight, I went behind the laundromat in Bucktown to take some photos of one of the most secluded spots in the city. There's a back parking lot that borders on the Chicago River.

Up until this point in the year it seemed like every time I was at the laundromat, it was too cold to go outside and take photos of the dusk sky behind the place.

This is a photo of the bridge over the Chicago River at Diversey Avenue. On the left side of the photo is a set of projects that's one of the roughest on the north side from what I've heard.

NOTE: February 18, 2007 post to Photo 365

DAY TWENTY: My England Trip Starts To Come Into Focus

DAY TWENTY: my England trip starts to come into focus
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

I try to make it to the United Kingdom or Ireland every year. Last year I missed my trip to save up on money and try to pay off debt. But this year, I'm going to sort of repeat my trip from a couple of years ago and go to see Fulham and Manchester City (my two favorite Premiership teams) play each other.

The game in London this year is April 9 and I will be at Craven Cottage.

Next year I'll see the fixture in Manchester fate willing.

Anyhow, I wasn't even sure that I'd be able to go this year since airfare is insane (almost $1000 for off-peak April flights). But on Thursday I came across an add in Red Eye (the daily entertainment paper published by the Tribune) for a BMI sale.

They had fares for under $700 in April but if I depart at the end of March, it's only $460. I'm going to buy my tickets in the next couple of days. Only problem is that I don't know who else is going. That's the only thing I don't want to repeat from two years ago. I'd like someone else to go with.

I know England is only part of Britain, by the way. I'm not a stupid American. :)

NOTE: January 20, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY NINETEEN: The Creepy Tree Gets A Bright Outlook

DAY NINETEEN: the creepy tree gets a bright outlook
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

After taking a few pictures of this tree to capture the beautiful blue that the weather in Chicago had created I tried a couple of them with flash.

The effect really grosses me out personally. For some reason I get shivers looking at this tree. Probably because it looks like brain cells or something to me.

I think I would retake this in October but this is something I wanted to post now.

NOTE: January 19, 2007 post to Project 365 and Project 365!

DAY NINETEEN: It All Started With An Empty Inbox

DAY NINETEEN: it all started with an empty inbox
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

I really started out taking a picture of a slinky I had placed in my empty inbox at work. I haven't had one of those in at least three weeks. I had some extra free time (well time that I should have been doing more work but I couldn't handle anymore this week) so I started to play with a slinky that's at my desk.

The first picture was just a picture in the inbox but then I started trying to take pictures through the mult-colored slinky and thought the rainbow effect was kind of nice - even if none of them blew me away.

NOTE: January 19, 2007 post to Photo 365

DAY EIGHTEEN: Too Bad I Never Got To See "Deja Vu" There

DAY EIGHTEEN: too bad I never got to see "Deja Vu" there
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

Last year my new year's resolution was to see a movie a week in a theater for an entire year. And I accomplished it (just think 1 out of every 20 pictures this year is done).

This quest was certainly helped by having Chicago's preeminent second run theater two blocks north of my apartment. I think I saw about 35 of the 52 (possibly 53, I didn't count) movies there.

There is no similar quest this year but tonight I saw my first theater movie of 2007 when I saw "Rocky Balboa." It's a surprisingly good film (though I think everyone has heard that from somebody else by this point).

NOTE: January 18, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY THREE: Caution, I Can't Construct An Idea

DAY 43: caution, I can't construct an idea
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

I'm in a bit of a slump right now as to what to take photos of but I'm trudging along trying to avoid taking pictures of things buried under snow. There's not much else going on here.

There's one thing odd going on though. For some reason, there was a bench in the Clinton Street blue line stop that was completely surrounded by construction tape this morning and this afternoon it was still completely taped off.

But nothing seems to have happened in the interim.

I should have gotten a photo of the bench itself. But the last time I tried to take a photo in the Clinton Street subway, I was stopped by security who didn't know the rules. I didn't want to deal with that today so I just snapped the first shot I could get from my vantage point.

This was it.

NOTE: February 12, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY TWO: So Cold The Cat Doesn't Care

DAY 42: so cold the cat doesn't care
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

For some reason the heaters in my apartment's heaters have stopped working. They worked through the worst of the cold snap which was nice but now that it's getting back toward the freezing mark it doesn't kick on.

The one room where the heater is going is my bedroom so the cat has been spending a lot of time in the room. Usually he's curled up right in front of the heater but occasionally he makes his way to the bed. And since I was there under the covers freezing as well, I decided to make him a subject.

I had been wearing the hat so I decided to stick it on his head. And it was so cold that he didn't bother trying to shake it off for quite some time. And that's saying something.

NOTE: February 11, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY EIGHT: I Certainly Didn't Miss A Beat Today

DAY 48: I certainly didn't miss a beat today
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

The problem with my gambling isn't that I lose a lot of money. For one thing I'm up this year over $50.00 and when I lose it's in dollars and not tens of dollars or hundreds of dollars. The problem is the inappropriate amount of time that I spend doing it.

Considering the fact that the only sports I win on are golf, second division English football (soccer), and NBA basketball, I should only really be betting Thursday through Sunday most weeks. And since the only time I really win anything is on futures, I shouldn't even be gambling daily (if I just let sitting futures lie I'd be up over $100.00 this year).

But I do gamble daily and I sit in front of my computer stressing over bets ranging in size for $1.00 to $3.00 all day long. Today I actually wasted the entire day doing so.

And today was painful. I missed betting on Birmingham City (win) and a parlay of Southampton and Wolverhampton (win) because I slept through the 9:00 a.m. start times. I should have placed both the night before.

I would have been accurate on two more NHL bets than the one I was right on had I pulled the trigger as well.

But the most upsetting loss of the day was missing out on the winner of the three point shootout portion of NBA All-Star Weekend.

Now this should have been a gimme. An NBA Future. I couldn't miss. Jason Kapono just stuck in my mind for the entire weekend but since he was favored I kept waiting for his hype to go down. He went from +225 to +290 by the time I was ready to put down money on him. But when I went to do so the bet was closed because Bodog thought the slam dunk competition would come first and it didn't.

I missed out on $5.80 there. I missed out on about $4.50 elsewhere. The bets I did play were -$5.50. Of course if I had played any of those my cooler self would have kicked in. Oh well, tomorrow's another betting day.

NOTE: February 17, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY ONE: I'm Just Really Happy That The Car Started

DAY 41: I'm just really happy that the car started
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

The problem with it being too cold to do much of anything was that it was too cold to go and start my car for fear of losing my parking spot and having to walk even further to the car.

But today I had to run errands and so I had to go to the car. And just as suspected, this was what I found. The car was completely covered in snow. Thankfully there was no ice underneath so I was able to get in the car relatively quickly though I didn't really drive far enough to melt all of the snow.

NOTE: February 10, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY FIVE: Please Throw Out This Emo Stuffed Animal

DAY 45: please throw out this emo stuffed animal
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

Today was the going away party for the C.E.O. of the organization I work for. We had a huge ice cream party with lots of balloons and plastic ice cream cones and such. I meant to take a picture of that but was so busy at work and so nervous about taking pictures in front of the ice cream guys that I just didn't.

Instead I decided to go with the Valentine theme (the "through the eyes of many" theme this week is love). Thankfully there wasn't much at my work to denote that it was Valentine's day.

However, there was something in my own cube to match the theme. It was some sort of Valentine's present for someone else a few years ago. When this person left, I somehow inherited it.

I actually wouldn't mind if the cleaning crew threw it out with the orange stickers we need to put on every box we want thrown out but I think it's a pretty good anti-Valentine's metaphor.

NOTE: February 14, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY FOURTY: The Aldermanic Campaign Heats Up Yet Again In The Cold

DAY 40: the aldermanic campaign heats up yet again in the cold
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

As if there wasn't already enough animosity in the ward just to the north of mine between two candidates for city council who ran against each other two times ago (with the incumbant losing), now apparently there's someone with a love for eastern European symbology running as a write-in candidate.

I do have to give this third candidate credit as I haven't seen either of the two candidates on the ballot out in this weather. Apparently, according to his campaign flyer, he's the most important write-in candidate since the first Mayor Daley in 1936.

Though looking at the web site on the flier he handed out, www.estebanforalderman.com, he seems to not really have anything going on. Well except for some odd fashion sense among his campaign workers.

Plus, I probably wouldn't vote for him because they didn't like getting their photo taken. They told me, "hope you enjoyed the show," as I walked past to get to the train. For all they knew, I was going to plaster the photo on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. But, hey, to each their own election defeat.

NOTE: February 9, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY THIRTY NINE: I Wish The Arrow Only Went This Way Recently

DAY 39: I wish the arrow only went this way recently
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

Work has been pretty awful since about the turn of the year since there has been a lot of work coming across my desk. The problem is that there are only four of us processing the work that used to be done by six people when I last had this job a few years ago and by four people and two temps right before I started back at it again.

So I'm always really thrilled when I see this sign near the Clinton Street blue line stop since it means I am heading home for the day down Clinton Street.

Though unfortunately I'm also passing it in the morning. Hopefully we'll get more people soon so the traffic in and out of the department doesn't go this way as well.

NOTE: February 8, 2007 post to Photo 365, Project 365!, and Project 365

DAY THIRTY EIGHT: The Snow Is Firmly Planted Now

DAY 38: the snow is firmly planted now
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

I'm not sure if this planter even gets used in the summer for flowers. Technically my apartment building has a front garden but there isn't anyone wgho actually controls it. The people on the first floor have taken to doing some things with it.

For example, they recently put up Christmas decorations and recently have not taken them down. So nature is doing what the residents of the building have not done to the garden and is filling it up with something.

It's just unfortunate that it's snow.

NOTE: February 7, 2007 post to Project 365 and Project 365!

DAY THIRTY EIGHT: Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow, Nor Hail Will Stop The Pizza Ads

DAY 38: rain, nor sleet, nor snow, no snow will stop the pizza ads
Originally uploaded by displaced365.

Even though it was too cold for anyone to spend more tan a few minutes outside, there are certain people who had no choice. For example construction workers and police officers and such. And I guess the people who delivery fliers for various businesses around the city and who can't get inside of buildings.

These greeted me as I exited my apartment building this morning. I'm sort of surprised that I didn't see a hand attached to the gate as well where these came from.

NOTE: February 7, 2007 post to Photo 365