Author: Chad
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The Crown
As a patriotic American, I am against the British monarchy on principle. That hasn’t stopped me from loving Netflix’s The Crown. I’m here to echo all the good things you’ve heard about it, specifically the performances of Claire Foy as the Queen and Matt Smith as Phillip. That said, I think swapping in a new…
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The Post
Ready Player One took my esteem for Spielberg down a notch, but The Post—made after Ready Player One but released before it—has elements of his best work, even if it doesn’t rise above the sum of its parts. Generally it’s standard Spielberg, with old-school liberal and institutionalist views on the press, akin to Lincoln in…
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Scenes from an Evanston type-in
The Evanston Literary Festival graciously facilitated me hosting a type-in at the Bookends & Beginnings bookstore yesterday. I was there with my typewriters for about two and a half hours and had about 20-30 people sit down to type during that time. It was a good mix of people old enough to be familiar with…
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Be the change; Just kidding!
Magazine mashups from Psychology Today, June 2016 (more here):
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Songs over notes: in praise of The Okee Dokee Brothers
Had the pleasure of seeing The Okee Dokee Brothers in concert at Lincoln Hall. My little niece is a superfan of the folk duo, which is how I got turned onto them. And since they are a kid-centric act, I got to experience the glories of an 11 a.m. concert start time. I’d go to…
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Do librarians read all day? Should we?
Librarians and library staff have been fighting the incorrect stereotype (among many others) that their jobs consist of reading all day long. And while I still have programs to plan, books to weed, research questions to respond to, and other things to worry about, I wonder if maybe, just maybe, we took a little time…
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What a Chad
I get the Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster, the OED, and Urban Dictionary in my RSS feed every day, which usually make for a lively bunch. Well, today, May 8, 2018, Urban Dictionary’s Word of the Day is What A Chad: A phrase describing a stereotypical young urban white male, typically single and in his…
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Ain’t no road just like Lake Shore Drive
And there ain’t no road just like it Anywhere I found Running south on Lake Shore Drive heading into town Just slippin’ on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound — “Lake Shore Drive” by Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah I’ve had occasion to drive into or through downtown Chicago several times recently, which is unusual. A…
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There’s always money in the Death Star
I don’t know who made this mashup of Arrested Development and Star Wars, but it captures the show’s tone so perfectly, and not only because Ron Howard himself provided the narration: This might even make me want to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. [*Ron Howard Arrested Development voice*] It won’t.
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Don’t let affordable technology ruin your day
Mashups from the March/April 2016 issue of Popular Science. (See more magazine mashups.)
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Music we leave behind
There are two works of art I associate with an ex. One is the music of Mayer Hawthorne, specifically A Strange Arrangement, which had come out a few months before our brief relationship and was a primary jam for me that winter. The other is the Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog, which…
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Pattern-spotting in a Chicagoland alley
Though the cold, wintry weather has extended into April this year, the other day the sun beamed and the temperature jumped into the 60s. I decided to take a break from work and go for a short walk, and I soon ambled down one of the countless back alleys that cut through Chicagoland. (Here’s the…
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What’s your favorite library memory?
In honor of National Library Week, I’d like to know your favorite library memories or experiences, distant or recent. And if you don’t have any, why not? See my libraries tag for more goodness.
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Magazine Mashups: North America’s best is Rodney Dangerfield
Mashups from the January 28, 2018 issue of New York Times Magazine. (See more magazine mashups.)
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The People v. O.J. Simpson
I was seven years old when the O.J. Simpson trial happened. I don’t have any personal memories of it, but through over 20 years of cultural osmosis I’ve grown familiar with its broad strokes and iconic images: the Bronco chase, Kato Kaelin, O.J. trying on the glove, Judge Ito, the verdict. Watching FX’s The People v.…