The Aon

Somebody's working late. View from the 53rd floor, facing west.

Full Lecture

There are a lot of lectures at the University of Chicago. That means some of them don't have as many people in the audience as you might expect, which can be a little embarrassing. But the Ian Hacking lecture yesterday, called "The Suicide Weapon", was a big draw. It filled Social Science 122 to capacity, with people sitting on the floor on both sides of the room, and some students in the windows. After the lecture some students just climbed out of the windows rather than leaving through the doors.

Chicago Spectacle

Melody got some tickets to the Bulls vs. Heat playoff game. I had never been to a professional basketball game.


Inside the United Center, the scene was awesome. It was packed, and the sound of the cheering fans was intense.


The fans seated around us were very enthusiastic. This guy danced and pointed with his foam finger during every time out.

The game itself was exciting and fast-paced, but most memorable was the range of entertainment between every quarter. It included:

-A Russian acrobat who balanced and did flips off of a narrow elastic board held by two strongmen

-The "Lovibulls", the Chicago Bulls dance squad, who did a precision dance to Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'"

-The "Inflatabulls", people dressed in 12 foot tall inflatable bull costumes, who ran a lap around the basketball court. One deflated hilariously halfway through the race.

-The "Breakabulls", a breakdancing team, who did headspins and windmills. One guy danced so enthusiastically that the centrifugal force of a spin forced his shirt off.

-The "Matadors", a precision dance team made up of fat guys wearing sunglasses, who pulled their shirts off to reveal their bellies.

-The Chicago Bulls acrobatic team, who jumped and flipped through an enormous, lime green jumprope. One guy bounced on his back through the jumprope while pulling his shirt over his face.

-A 20 foot long remote-controlled bull-shaped blimp that flew around the stadium and had to be deflated to be carried through one of the entryways at the end of the game.

-Free T-shirts that parachuted into the crowd from the ceiling.


The game was great. Chicago won.
(Photo by Melody)


After the game, there was an impressive display of fancy cars in the parking lot. Pictured above is a 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville.

This Phone is Tapped

Under the 55th street Metra tracks.

Tre Kronor

Tre Kronor Scandinavian restaurant. I've been wanting to eat here for some time. But getting to the northwest side from Hyde Park without a car takes some effort. First, walk 20 minutes to the bus stop.


Wait for the bus. Take the bus downtown.


Take a cab from downtown to Tre Kronor. Eat some Danish pastries, some french toast and some sausage. All very good. Then walk several blocks to the El and take it back downtown.



Then wait around for the Metra back to the south side and walk home.

Wait Wait

After a taping of Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me in the Chase Auditorium in Downtown Chicago.

Flamethrower Rental

This time, last year. Knob Creek, Kentucky.

Intention

Fifth floor, Regenstein Library.

White Board

Chris Kennedy's Events seminar is held in a refurbished language classroom that has floor-to-ceiling whiteboards on two of the four walls. Even though maybe half of the resulting whiteboard is useless, because it is either below your knees, or far above your head, the overall effect is pretty cool--it feels like knowledge is free to spill all over the classroom.

Springtime in Hyde Park

From our apartment, you can hear the aluminum bat making contact with the softball.

The Seminar

I took this picture in Josef's Semantics and Pragmatics seminar last February. I posted it to Flickr and forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago, I got a message from someone who was interested in using the picture. The message read:

"Dear Nat Hansen,

I was searching the Internet for photos, when I found your picture of five people breaking up after what looks like a serious discussion.

I am layouting a book about project collaboration within the Danish construction business. And the intensity of your photo is just what I am looking for regarding the chapter about consulting seminars. I am aware of the differences between philosophy and project collaboration, however you have captured a moment we can all recognize in my office.

I therefore ask for your permission to print a copy of the photo in my book. There is a commercial purpose with the book. But since I am juist part of a small, local based company, I hope for your approval.

My alternative is hiring a professional photographer for the exact same setup.

Best regards..."

I granted him permission, but now I kind of regret doing so. Why? Look at his last sentence: "My alternative is hiring a professional photographer for the exact same setup". That sounds like something Jeff Wall would do. I would have loved to have seen a recreation of the exact same setup.