Surprisingly Chicago is an excellent place for fabulous local grandiose theatres as well as Broadway hits.
Chicago current broadway shows
- Jersey Boys
- Xanadu
- A Bronx Tale
- Mary Poppins
- Rent
- A Chorus Line
- Legally Blonde
- Fiddler on the Roof
- Spring Awakening
- The Addams Family
- RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles
- CHICAGO The Musical
- Dirty Dancing
- Monty Python’s Spamalot
- Grease
We were all sad to see to the fabulously entertaining Wicked show leave Chicago after 3 1/2 years.
On that sad note here is a lovely snippet of Monty Python’s Spamalot London show that is currently running at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Yesterday March 17th, 2009 was a record tying weather day in Chicago. The Chicago metro area recorded a temperature of 74 F degrees high which is a most unusual temperature for this time of year.
Yesterday was a infact the warmest day by far in 5 months and Chicago enjoyed the warmest official St Patricks Day in 115 years. In fact not since October 13, 2008 when the temperature hit a high of 77 F degrees has the city enjoyed warmer weather.
The question we Chicago based Zoners ask ourselves:
- Is this a pivotal day in the change of our weather or is this a teaser before we get another few months of lovely winter filled weather in Chicago. That is the $100 question for now.
I have finally worked out that thru some odd living and relocating selections that the Summer Olympics seems to follow me. I believe I would be a perfect candidate for a world city using me as a marketing tool for bringing the Olympics to their city…. well these cities may have to potentially rethink this strategy as they would be stuck with a little nuggetty Aussie bloke as their spoke person, I personally think a fantastic strategy anyway.
We all here in the TimeZoneOne Chicago office have our fingers crossed that Chicago will win the 2016 Summer Olympics and then maybe I will actually get to see the games. Keep all your fingers and toes crossed for Chicago winning the bid then the world will see how fantastic this city really is.
This weekend I went to the Wairewa Marae to stay for a few days. That’s probably a uniquely kiwi thing to do, so I’ll blog about it for a bit. I arrived late because I had to wait for a video to render before I left town. As it is anywhere, arriving late for a pōwhiri is considered rude. But when you arrive late to a marae, you can’t simply sneak in the back door, as with any home, you don’t just wander on uninvited. So, you have to wait at the gate and hope that someone notices you. And then everyone gathers around to welcome you, which is nice, but then your tardiness is very much exposed. Then on top of being late, I had to leave in the middle of the night and drive down to Dunedin for a family emergency. Obviously leaving the marae while everyone’s asleep in another show of poor form. Heoi anō, ko te whānau te mea nui.
In the Wharenui , you have to formally introduce yourself, part of this introduction includes stating the name of the mountain where your ancestors are from. Being of Scottish ancestry, my mountain has a Gaelic name, which means I have to stand in front of a large group of people and get my tongue around Māori and Gaelic in the one sentence. I’m not the most confident public speaker in my first language, so that makes me nervous.
There’s a Chicago/America tie-in coming up….
Another Wharenui that I’ve visited fairly recently is Ruatepupuke, it once stood at Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast, but now stands at the field museum in Chicago. According to Māori legend Ruatepupuke discovered the art of Whakairo (Carving), and this Wharenui is an amazing example of traditional whakairo, with nearly every piece of wood in this 100+ year old Whare meticulously carved.
Here’s a photo of Ruatepupuke in the Chicago Field Museum.
And to change things up a bit, while sort of keeping with the theme, here’s some Hip-Hop…
The artist is from Christchurch, you can find out more about him here .
This month Christchurch is promoting it’s Bike Wise Battle encouraging commuters to ditch their four wheels and hop on two in the name of health, fun (some would say) and the environment. Today in particular is their Go by Bike day and some of those Zoners who don’t walk to work have rocked up on their metal steeds.
Christchurch’s position on the Canterbury Plains makes it is a cycling cummuter’s dream due to the lack of hills and the abundance of cycle lanes, although we still have a way to go if measured by Chicago’s efforts to get folks sweaty before work. The McDonald’s Cycle Center (located in Millennium Park) provides secure bike parking, lockers, showers, towel service and bike repair amongst others. In fact the city’s Mayor, Richard M. Daley , has his own Bicycling Ambassadors to promote bike safety and his goal of making Chicago the most bicycle friendly city in the US.
If you’re still reading, here’s a few facts for you…
• The first two wheeled rider propelled machine was invented by Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun, in France in 1818. It was entirely made of wood.
• On a bicycle you can have your cake and eat it. A moderate half-hour each-way commute will burn 8 calories a minute, or the equivalent of 11kg of fat in a year.
• On a bicycle you can travel up to 1037 kilometres on the energy equivalent of a single litre of petrol.
• On a bicycle you protect yourself against the ‘Western diseases’ of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and stress (although car doors can cause the occasional freak-out).
I know there’s been a lot of commentary on the weather over the last few blog entries, but I’m afraid the current weather conditions in Chicago cannot go without comment.
While Christchurch New Zealand has been experiencing a heat wave, Chicago has been hit by a series of blizzards and snow storms that has brought with it continuous snow, and arctic conditions.
Tomorrow the expected HIGH for the day is 1 Fahrenheit, which in Celsius speak is a HIGH of -17 degrees!!
You’ll be pleased to know however that this hearty kiwi stock still braved the cold on the weekend to test out our new outdoor fireplace…..check out the winter images below and our forecast for the week….uuuurrrrgh
I went for a walk around Chicago the other day, it was a pleasantly non frigid day and the sun basked Chicago in its glory. As such I have included some photos so our Christchurch Zoners can get a 5.0 Mega Pixel glimpse of Millennium Park and the lake front.
Time for a letter:
Dear Madam
My name is Brett King.
Will my computer stop working at midnight New Years Eve?
Regards
Brett King
Thanks for your letter Brett. You are obviously confusing 31 Dec 2008 with 31 December 1999, the later being the fabled doomsdaydate for the Millennium Bug, or Y2K as we called it around the office.
These were the dark days of technology, disks were floppy not shiny, cookies were biscuits and fax paper was impossible to flatten out.
The concern was caused by computers only using 2 digits for the year, eg 98 instead of 1998. There was widespread panic and spending of money with geeks. You even had to send letters to your suppliers and clients letting them know if you were Y2K ready.
The end result was rather tame although there were unconfirmed reports that 150 slot machines at race tracks in Delaware stopped working.
A few weeks ago Richie M wrote a blog entry, quite an lovely and eloquent one for a self styled ‘man of few written words’, about the weather in the US of A.
This fine work inspired me to create a videographonic companion piece; as such I have produced a short film called ‘Snow, Shovel and Sniff, a Chicago Winter Memoir’. This was filmed last week after a night of snow. Enjoy.
Indeed the weather has been very odd recently. Last week the temperatures got down as low as -30C / -22F. This was astonishingly cold. And then over the last couple of days it was been 15C / 60F with heavy rain. This is puzzlingly warm for this time of year.
This brings me neatly to a letter from Brett King, one of our readers in Christchurch. Brett is a 20-something ad man with King Cobra fixations and a penchant for salted herring. He writes,
Dear Sir
My name is Brett King.
Did you have a white Christmas?
Yours truly,
Brett King
Well yes we did Brett. It snowed several more times which resulted in festively-fabulous snowy Christmas. The bar humbug rain has since it all melted away. Thanks for your letter.
PS. Speaking of humbugs and in the well established tradition of Entercation did you know that Charles Dickens ‘invented’ the modern Christmas?
When the Christmas Carol was written the Industrial Revolution was leaving little time for people to celebrate Christmas. Dickens loved Christmas; he had been raised on the fun and jolliness of a rural Christmas and its subsequent slaughtering of animals for stuffing and feasting, something the new urban life had no time for.
The Christmas Carol was so popular that it rekindled the spirit of Christmas in England and the USA. He is also said to invented the term ‘Merry Christmas’.
The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, multi-use building, recognized around the world for its distinctive architecture, prestigious location and presence on Chicago’s skyline. When completed in 1969, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City. It is the third-tallest skyscraper in Chicago and the fifth-tallest in the United States, after the Sears Tower, the Empire State Building, the Bank of America Tower and the Aon Center. When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,500 feet (457 m). The building is home to offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums and contains the highest residences in the world. The Observatory is situated on the 94th floor and offers breath-taking views of both the city of Chicago and Lake Michigan. It is one of Chicago’s most popular attractions.
Some interesting facts
At the peak of construction, more than 2,000 people worked on the project; some five million man-hours were required to complete the development.
Enough steel to make 33,000 cars was used to make the frame, which took three years to complete and weighs 46,000 tons.
Its four corner columns weigh up to 100 tons each.
The building’s 1,250 miles of wiring carries enough power to supply a city of 30,000 people.
There’s enough aluminum in the building to cover 12 football fields.
Its 11,459 extra-thick, bronze windows contain enough glass to produce a single, 5ft sheet 13 miles long.
Because of John Hancock Center’s lakeside location, caissons had to be sunk into 10ft holes drilled 190ft into bedrock.
The unusual design required innovative construction methods, including the use of “creeper cranes,” previously used only in bridge construction, to hoist steel beams into place.
Prefabrication of the immense corner joints meant construction proceeded at a rapid pace - up to three floors a week.
In June of this year, TZO partnered with the John Hancock Observatory to rebrand and create new signage surrounding the building. The existing signage had been in place for 15 years and was looking much the worse for wear. Also, people would often circle the building unsure about how access the Observatory Lobby. TZO was tasked to create new signage employing the updated Observatory brand. This has been quite a process and has been quite a logistical challenge. The job is now complete and the John Hancock Observatory has directional signage worthy of a building of its stature.
As 35 approached in the far distance, I viewed it with apprehension and, let’s face it, horror.
I looked back at 30 and remembered actually being excited about turning 30. For me, that was a statement: ‘I’m a REAL grown-up now. You can take me seriously. I am a force to be reckoned with.’
But something happened between 30 and 35. It was mostly gravity.
I’m turning 35 next week, and suddenly I seem to be surrounded by ominous articles about how the minute you turn 35 everything starts slowing down: metabolism, energy, etc. Against my will, my eyes are drawn to the page where my fate seems to be spelled out: likely weight gain, decreased flexibility, you name it. As though my peak health already happened, somewhere in that span of time when I was too sleep deprived with a new baby to notice its passing.
I’ll admit, my upcoming birthday has me feeling a little anxious. I can already feel a difference in the way I inhabit my body now, compared to how I was at 20. My hamstrings are tighter. My hands look older. The furrows between my eyebrows have turned into real lines, there even when I’m not squinting because I forgot my sunglasses.
But also, I’m looking forward to it. At 34 I finally have a haircut that actually works for me and I’m way more cool in social situations than I was then. I feel like I’m finally at a point where I can stop trying so hard. I am smarter, more experienced, and more grounded. Albeit with mushier abs.
So bring on 35! At least I am not catching up to those other old buggers Richie and Tatts!
