dispatched from the chicago bureau desk, le 9 février 2025 – a week of memories and new beginnings !

dispatched from the chicago bureau desk, le 9 février 2025

feature photo (writing after the fold):

« when they ask “just who do you think you are?” i tell them – “if you knew what it was a job to be me, you’d know i don’t have the time to be anyone else !” »

weekly observations department:

this past week is replete with memories – 5 years ago, my wonderful nana passed away, and 1 year ago, I underwent my partial nephrectomy to remove the tumor on my kidney. all in all, i feel blessed to be here, and thankful to still be ned at my last scan. i now only need to report in once per year, and although they want to do some additional poking next time around (unrelated to the cancer – they’ve identified several interesting genetic markers which warrant further analysis, although they do not spell illness out of the gate), i am in better health than i have been in many years. i would also like to take this post to thank all of those who have been there with me this year – without you, i could not do it, and i would not have a reason to !

the unrelated thoughts department – wagons in america

it’s a proper shame that i cannot find a decent stationwagon in america. vw doesn’t make the jetta wagon anymore, no real options from the domestic carmakers, subarus are getting taller and suv-like, and the audi options are all quite a bit more expensive than i’d be comfortable spending. i have a few more years before it matters, i just hit 91k on my jetta, and i’d like to get 200k out of her, if i’m lucky.

coups de cœur de la semaine derniére :

performance : Gemme, Nolwenn Leroy, live on The Voice France 2017
une performance comme un arc-en-ciel (éternelle, immortelle…)

chanson : I’m Breakable, Lara Fabian
from this height, I’m petrified … but i’m alive !

article : Trêve à gaza : l’état de santé des otages libérés (CNews)
bring them home !

éditorial : South Shore girl who died playing with a gun didn’t have to lose her life (Chicago Sun-Times)
« but any adult who took the deadly weapon out of its secure storage space, allowing Priscilla access, must be held accountable »

meme :

à demain, chéries !

dispatched from the chicago bureau desk, le 2 février 2025 – a quiet weekend, nothing of note to report.

dispatched from the chicago bureau desk, le 2 février 2025

feature photo (writing after the fold):

weekly observations department:

a quiet weekend, nothing of note to report. of course, quiet is often welcomed – particularly at the end of a very busy holiday season. i approach the first anniversary of my kidney operation at the end of this week – everything remains clear, and i do not need to report for another scan until the fall. the drumbeat of “will it come back” has abated, by and large, since the scans came clear before thanksgiving – and for this i am thankful !

the unrelated thoughts department – mosiah 4, 16-19

and also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
perhaps thou shalt say: the man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore i will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just— but i say unto you, o man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of god.
for behold, are we not all beggars? do we not all depend upon the same being, even god, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

coups de cœur de la semaine derniére :

performance : Disturbed, Sound of Silence, Live on Conan
the original is a theory, this version is a warning

chanson : I Will Love Again, Lara Fabian
she’s a favorite, what can I say

article : Moins de viande, plus de plaisir ? (Le Monde)
i know i should eat less meat, but damn, is it hard

éditorial : Courts should reject Sackler family bid (Chicago Tribune)
the Sacklers should hang for what they have wrought on the world

meme :

à demain, chéries !

feature photo (writing after the fold):

weekly observations department:

Busy few weeks at chez Al. The SOS office sent me away – their renewal letter said I needed one document to get my license address corrected, and when I arrived, they informed me that the letter was incorrect, and I needed two! Oy. Perhaps Trump’s new DOGE will take care of this mess? I’ll believe it when I see it.

In other news, I celebrated my 29th birthday last Saturday. Nothing too big, just went out and had a nice dinner – something I try to do once a month, at least. It’s been a busy new year at work, and I haven’t had the time to decompress as I normally like to, but it’s better than the alternative, I suppose.

the unrelated thoughts department – on driving in chicago:

you’re driving up to a light and it turns yellow. you’re in that spot where it would be hard to stop but risky to keep going. you think you’ll be alright so you forge on. you get halfway through and the light clicks red. you let out a small sigh, check your rearview mirror and three more people have gone through the light behind you.

you breathe a sigh of relief, because the cops’ll get them and not you. you survive to fight another day.

coups de cœur de la semaine derniére :

performance : Munkh-Erdene.I, Sixteen Tons, on the Voice Mongolia
love me a low voice, and his take on the classic is captivating

chanson : On N’oublie Jamais Rien, On Vit Avec – Hélène Ségara
i heard this live at the salle pleyel last month, what a show

article : Enfermé 4 mois sous l’eau dans une capsule (Le Parisien)
4 months in an underwater capsule ? better him than me !

éditorial : Bronzeville Bears? (Chicago Sun-Times)
only winners should get a new stadium !

meme :

feature photo (writing after the fold):

It was a very busy week – in addition to having to learn how to use Cloudflare Pages and Workers (which I am now using to host this site), I had to deal with the backlog of projects that tend to accumulate when one leaves the country for a few weeks in December, combined with the pain of recovery from a particularly difficult sinus infection. Thankfully, with copious amounts of caffeine and antibiotics, I have largely recovered.

Tomorrow, I get to welcome the new week with the delightful company of the Secretary of State’s office, where I must submit myself to varied tests in order to renew my driver’s license. Let’s see if I still feel “recovered” after they get through with me.

coups de cœur de la semaine derniére :

performance : Sting, Shape of My Heart, Live in Toscana, 2001
a beautiful rendition of one of my favorite songs

chanson : Lara Fabian, Hypersensible, from Je Suis Là
as a hypersensitive person, it speaks to my heart

article : Early Ticket Alert, WBEZ
never too early to get started on the new year

éditorial : Will the Silvertown Tunnel be Bad for London (Evening Std.)
perhaps khan should’ve asked this question before they started

meme :

feature photo (writing after the fold):

Until I find something more worth writing, this will have to suffice – a proof of life, in its own way.

coups de cœur de la semaine derniére :

performance : Lara Fabian, Je T’ai Cherché sur 20h30 le Dimanche
for showcasing Lara’s spectacular voice in a new way

chanson : All I Want for Christmas is You, Natasha St. Pier
c’est la saison

article : Translating the Qur’an for the Deaf, Aramco World (page 26)
for making me consider something I’ve never considered before

éditorial : La voie étroite d’Emmanuel Macron (Le Monde)
for detailing Macron’s untenable position

meme :