Congratulations, Studs!

This isn't exactly *new* news, but I've been meaning to blog it, so here goes... From the Chicago Tribune: Chicago-based writer and oral historian Studs Terkel has been awarded the first Dayton Literary Peace Prize, an outgrowth of the Dayton Peace Prize that commemorates the 1995 agreement that ended the war in Bosnia. Congratulations to one of Chicago's brightest literary lights!

VOTE FOR JEFF (O-TYPE STAR)!!

One of our friends has an opportunity to play at Lollapalooza. He's a very talented hip-hop artist who has already made it through several rounds of competition. This next round of voting is happening on-line and, so far, he's not doing so well. He really needs votes.

Consider taking a minute to cast a vote his way. If you want to hear what you're voting for, there are samples of his music at his webpage.

Then, please go to Q101's site and cast a vote for Jeff Baraka (O-Type Star). The link to the voting is at http://www.q101.com/lastbandstanding/vote.aspx.

You'll have to register with Q101 (sponsoring the contest). It's like registering for a message board (but at least they have prizes & giveaways, etc.). The purpose is to discourage cheating & of course promote the station. If you don't wanna continue w/Q101, you can always unsubscribe after voting.

Voting ends at 12 noon on Monday (7/31).

PLEASE vote! How cool would it be to have a young Chicago artist playing one of the biggest concerts of the year?

Thanks!

UPDATE: Sadly, Jeff did not win the on-line voting. :-( I think that, in general, a rock band (which his three competitors were) probably had a slightly better chance with Q101's target audience than a hip-hop act, no matter how brilliant. Thanks for voting and, seriously, consider checking out some of Jeff's music at his website.

Bad Blogger!

Okay, first of all, I just spent a while typing in a long explanation about why I have neglected this blog and when I tried to publish, it was *lost*! UGH.

ANYway, the short short story is that I broke my right pinkie finger the Friday before Memorial Day. I finally took a vacation day and Science Boy took me to Hyde Park to see where he grew up. We went to breakfast at Valois and then walked around for a bit. As we were returning to the car, we noticed a police car parked in front of Santiago. I was worried that maybe our meter was expired and we'd get a ticket, so I ran to check.

And tripped over my own sandals.

And fell.

Sigh.

When I raised my head, i noticed that my right knee was all ripped up and that my right pinkie finger was at a very bad angle. Without thinking, I yanked it straight. Science Boy helped me up and suggested we go to the hospital. i did NOT want to, but he never listens to me, so instead of spending the afternoon at MSI, we spent it at the hospital.

I got a cast and, later, a brace. Typing (and many other things) were a serious pain in the ass with my hand wrapped up, which is the my official excuse for not keeping up here. Now it is 8 weeks later and it still isn't quite right, but I can type easier again, so I will try to be better about keeping up.

(Actually, my day off was still lovely. Despite the afternoon in the hospital, we had fun. I have a friend who works there and came to hang out with us. And after we left the hospital, Science Boy took me to the gorgeous Japanese gardens, and then for a walk around the Point.)

Thanks to my friends and readers who have written to ask if I was okay and ask about the blog. I will try not to leave for so long again. At least not without explanation.

Be well, all.