Col. Tribune parties down!

So today the Governor of Illinois gets busted in an influence-peddling scheme.

Not the first time this has happened in our great state, I'll admit.

But when my Google news bot directs me to the main link for the story, I'm directed to a site called Chicago Breaking News, which appears to be a money-saving pooling of resources from across the debt-ridden Tribune Co. empire. Okay, nothing else unusual here...

But right at the corner of the page is a strange figure going by the name of "Colonel Tribune." I can't be too sure, but it looks like the image of the Tribune's curmudgeonly long-time owner, Colonel Robert R. McCormick. Seems the Colonel has found a new role at the paper as "the Chicago Tribune's Web ambassador. He is here to help you stay informed and in touch with the latest news."

Now, history tells us the real-life Colonel was more interested in keeping the country safe for Republicans, and for helping Chester Gould make sure each villain in Dick Tracy died a gruesome, violent death so Tracy would never have to stoop so low as to arrest and Mirandize them. And I'm pretty sure McCormick was never seen wearing a newspaper hat (a "Napoleon" hat at that), especially one with the name of the Tribune's web site instead of the newspaper itself. But I guess with new owner Sam Zell finding new ways to screw the employees by filing Chapter 11, we realize the Colonel is just another asset whose image can be exploited, just like Colonel Sanders.

Almost distracts from the fun of wondering what schmuck Blagojevich thought he sell Obama's Senate seat to.

Economic Goals Re-ducks

Just filled the gas tank on the ol' Tercel again. Less than a month from the previous fill-up this time, because I made a trip to the city to show a friend the Goose Island brewpub, and detoured home by way of Flossmoor Station. So the price of gas today was at 1.99⁹ a gallon, not quite a dollar less than the 2.76⁹ I paid 20 days ago, but very nearly half of what I paid for the previous fill-up in September.

The last time I saw two bucks a gallon was once in January 2007, and before then, not since the spring of 2005.

As long as I still have a job, that's one bright spot in today's economy.

Election part 2

McCain is giving one of the most gracious concession speeches I've heard in some time.

If only he were this eloquent on the campaign trail, instead of running against the names in Obama's rolodex.

And I'm still straining to see any minorities at the McCain rally.

America Wins!

For those delusional enough to think Sarah Palin could run in 2012: just remember the rally in Grant Park tonight for Obama outnumbers the entire population of Alaska.

Meantime, I'm dealing with the fact of the first President who's younger than I am.

One economic goal achieved

This past summer, we moved the family from Park Forest to Downers Grove. Mostly so the kids would have much better schools, but also because we wanted to be closer to where I work (and where my wife might find better part-time opportunities around the baby's schedule). At the height of the gasoline crunch, we figured that what with driving 35 miles each way, plus tolls, I would be paying out over $200 a month just to get to and from work. That's figuring gas at an even $4.00 per gallon. I'd had to pay as mush as $4.25⁹ on the first of July.

Now that we've moved, my commute is a whopping 3.3 miles each way. I figured that if I didn't make any extended side trips to other areas, I just might be able to go a whole months between filling my tank. I had been able to achieve that five years before, when my work was in the Loop and I usually had to just drive to the train station.

In August, I was still getting stuff moved, and the month ended with me driving to my parents 50th Anniversary party in Iowa. September also saw some side trips to the northern burbs. But when I filled up on Sept. 27, paying $3.89⁹ per gallon, I found myself with no business for the following month besides getting to work or running for groceries.

As the month of October wound down, I saw that I not only might reach my personal goal, but with the price of gas tumbling through the month, I might just be able to make my next fill-up at a dollar a gallon less than the last time.

33 days later, on Oct. 30, I finally succumbed to the needle's dance around the letter "E". As the old Toyota had suffered much indignity from being parked under a tree for three months, I decided to splurge on a car wash at Delta Sonic. Imagine my glee at choosing the "car wash" discount and paying only $2.76⁹ per gallon, a whole $1.12 less than last time. Imagine myself discovering that due to the sneaky arrangement of gas grade buttons on the pump, I had actually filled up with the "Mid-grade" gas, instead of my usual "Regular," which would've been $2.66⁹.

Still, I had managed to enjoy a small victory and to justify the great expense of moving out. But I had discovered that by now driving mostly short, in-city trips, the mileage on my '95 Tercel had dwindled from a self-satisfied 38 miles per gallon to barely over 25 mpg.

Still, it looks like my next fill will cost at least 50 cents a gallon less than this one. See you in November!

Ranting & Raving: Kung Fu Panda

Took the boy the the movies for the first time in months, and we went to see Kung Fu Panda.

I can admit to liking it much more than any previous animated product from Dreamworks. The Cartoon Brew blog invited comments from those who saw it (SPOILER ALERTS!), and I posted mine. Here they are, too, because why am I filling up other people's web pages while neglecting my blog for months at a time:

Yeah, I liked it quite a lot, but the odd thing is, my 7-year-old boy was much more excited about it going in than afterward. Maybe the action sequences were way too fast-moving and chaotic for him to enjoy?

I was worried about Po keeping up the fanboy culture references throughout the picture (”authentic battle scarring”?), but that settled down pretty early. Did appreciate the references to OTHER kung fu films, just cause the whole genre keeps building on previous pictures. And for once in a Dreamworks cartoon, the characters had skeletons and for the most part their mouths stayed attached to their faces. I also liked how they led the audience to believe they were going to explain how a panda had a goose for a father, but faked out with a more important plot point.

That the Furious Five had little to do but get defeated seems like an appropriate trope of kung fu movies. It also seemed like a “natural” plot development that they get to like Po when he demonstrates that he’s at least good at making noodles. and yes, there had to be five animals to represent the five popular “animal” styles of kung fu, so they’re not a slapdash collection of animals.

Oh yeah, and only one person gets kicked in the cajones, and no fart gags anywhere. That’s better than most recent Disney features.

Now for my nits: while we may like to think Dreamworks is finally getting it right, before the film we were “treated” to the trailer for “Madagascar 2.” The old Dreamworks cliches are there: acres of butt shots, overworking of a 10-year old dance hit from the first movie, incongruous pop culture refs, homophobia-based humor, character designs all based on molded Jell-o, wacky held poses instead of character movement, the latter from the “Madagascar Penguins,” the most annoying spinoff from a feature cartoon since “Gabby.”

And in the lobby of the theatre, a monitor ran a continuous loop for the trailer from “Beverly Hills Chihuahuas,” featuring the theme that will certainly be torturing adults during its year of heavy Radio Disney airplay:

“Ay Chihuahua, Ai Chihuahua!
Ay Chihuahua, Ai Chihuahua!
Ay Chihuahua, Ai Chihuahua!…” ad infinitum.

But I was glad to have seen KFP without any sign of a “Shrek 4” trailer yet.

Sorry for the delay…

We've been busy bringing one of these into our lives: