Are You Kidding? Out for New Year's Eve?

I can't remember the last time we went out for New Year's Eve. We did this year. Admittedly, to the wonderful Yoshi's restaurant, which is...uh...literally across the street. And we took the last of the early seating, 6:45 pm. Four courses was fine, thank you. We had a debate about whether Fiddle really made Baked Alaska in flower pots for bridge club. We watched a bit of aging Dick Clark, kissed at EST midnight, and were off to bed. Happy New Year!

Girls and Boys

Our Christmas movie theme was "Girls and Boys." We saw Brokeback Mountain and Pride and Prejudice. More dialogue in the first three minutes of P&P that in all of Brokeback...

Christmas 2005

The theme for our household was Global/Warming. The Stowall family theme was spices.

We made chicken enchiladas for Christmas Eve, Stacey's Granny's Grits for Christmas Day, and Lamb and Potatoes for Christmas Dinner.

Solstice at Japonais

Ms. S. thought that the reds and oranges of sushi were in order for this year's Solstice. I'd seen a mention of the Floating Orchid cocktail at Japonais.

Perfect.

Dinner with Mr. S

Had dinner with my nephew, Mr. S. He'd been to Peru and was waiting to hear what medical residency would hold for him in the next year.

DollHouse

Ok, we never, never, walk out of productions...mostly.... But we were both dog tired and I was getting over being sick, so we did leave at halftime.

So, here's what the Tribune said: "Lee Breuer's audacious -- and that's putting it mildly -- Mabou Mines DollHouse grabs that social climber Henrik Ibsen by the scrawny skin of his Norwegian neck and shoves him right back into the scalding, populist stewpot of melodrama, sex, power and exploitation that was Victorian entertainment and lives on to this day. This is the precise opposite of pretty much every Doll's House you ever saw in your life."

A Bad Drive. A Very Bad Drive

"A snow accumulation as heavy as Thursday's 9.3" at Midway Airport has occurred in December only once every 9 years. The snow, which fell at 1-2" an hour--as much as 3" in the hour between 5 and 6 p.m.- -dropped visibilities under a quarter mile at times and created a nightmarish evening rush hour. Commute times from the Loop to northwest suburban Woodfield--normally about an hour--slowed to 5 hours. Road crews were forced to battle rush hour traffic as they plowed snow and dispensed road chemicals."

My commute, normally about 30 minutes, took two hours. Scary driving. And to make matters much, much worse, I was stuck behind this license plate...

Ms. S's workmates over

A goodbye to Ms. M from her therapist team.

Thanksgiving in North Carolina

A great time with our friends B & J and family P & L in North Carolina. Duke basketball, a traditional Turkey Day, walks in the woods, defacing of Tar Heels mascots...what more could you want?

Lucky Plush at the Dance Center

Bless Bonnie Brooks for continuing to bring great dance, of all levels of fame or notoriety, to Chicago.

We didn't know this company (but my workmate, Mr. D, raved about the artistic director) and it was a very engaging evening.

City Front Lecture with Dean Mark Hansen

Don't you wish these things began like rock concerts? Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome for

The.
Dean.
John.
Mark.
Hansen.

I've heard this talk four times, and it's still interesting.

John Hope Franklin

JHF was in town on the book tour for his new autobiography. We'd planned to have Mae Ngai interview him, but Jesse Jackson showed up and took stage. It worked out. We put together a nice breakfast the next morning.

Buy the book, or do as Nina did--get it in audio version with Dr. Franklin reading!



By the way, this photo is by Dawoud Bey, now located in Chicago. I've worked with Dawoud in three locations: here, Wexner, and Walker.

Last of the Boys

Ok, who wants to see anther play about dealing with Vietnam? Well, you do, if it's at Steppenwolf. If anyone is going to get it mostly right, they will.

Yikes, another Boss!

OK, dinner with my other boss! A lovely fennel and mandarin orange salad to start, a vaguely asian chicken soup/stew, and the "never again for guest" Thomas Keller's Molten Chocolate Cake. I'm really lucky to have such great people that I work for.

Wexner and Columbus

A trip to Columbus. Saw the Wex Plex, wide open again, and did some work visits.

MMMMMM...Merce and Merchant

A real, real treat. Two nights of Merce.

Friday
Split Sides with music by Radiohead and Sigur Ros
Sounddance

Saturday
Views on Stage
BIPED






And, sandwiched in, Merchant of Venice at Chicago Shakes.

Celebrate Chicago, Levitt Rocks

OK, so I realized I haven't said much about the rock star of Chicago Economics, Steve Levitt. Check out the Freakonomics blog. Steve was the featured speaker at an event to recognize U of Chi donors. It's been a real treat to be able to work with this amazing thinker.

Man of La Mancha

A great (no really, really great) production of Man of La Mancha at the Court. Very dark, intimate. Really, you've never seen this show? Not even at some dinner theatre?

California from North to South

I was in California for a longish trip, starting in SF, a jaunt up to to see P & R in Napa, a Harper lecture by the Dean, and then to LA for a Harper lecture with Steve Levitt of Freakonomics fame, finishing with a quick jaunt to SD.

Ms. N visits

Ms. S's Mom in Chicago for a visit--first time to Millennium Park.

Wizard/House

Our new favorite, The House Theatre, and their production of The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

Celebrate Chicago at Museum of American Indian

Work trip for donor recognition event at the Museum of the American Indian in NYC.

September Garden

Ms. R in Chicago

Our niece Ms. R came for a visit.

The Dean for Dinner

Had the Dean and his wife and other friends over from U of Chicago for dinner. Yikes, dinner for the boss! Started with variation of seafood stew with tomatoes and coconut milk, grilled tenderloin with three sauces, and a flan for dessert. The theme was vaguely a salute to the Chicago Boys in Latin America!

Mark Morris at the Harris

"L'Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato"

Absolutely terrific!

Ms. S's Birthday