Having said that, I can't imagine looting homes and stores. I see people stealing food - when they can find it, and drinks of any type. I see people stealing diapers and formula.

But what about the friggin' IDIOTS stealing ANYTHING they can get their hands on - TV''s, jewelry, piles of Nike shoes... WTF????

A Crime of Opportunity. Anarchy. Get the National Guard in there and get these people the hell away from the buildings that they're raiding. What the hell are they thinking? What gives them the right to do that?

I almost feel that anyone stealing food or drink (I'll extend that to diapers as well) should just be left alone - they are trying to survive through a horrendous event. You steal something else - like a friggin TV for a house that you don't have anymore, should just be friggin' shot on sight. Period. Then you hear (whether true or not) about "roving armed gangs" just going house to house and taking whatever is there of value. Hell, I think I heard a report of a rape.

A rape? In the middle of all this?

Shoot them all.

A bit severe? Yes. Where's my compassion? Where is theirs?

And like I said, I can't get my head around what must be going on down there - but survival vs pillaging is just ridiculous. Great citizens of the United States. Yeah, I'm real proud to call them citizens of my country...

... when they shouldn't even be considered part of the species called human.

Is this what mankind has bcome?

The event? A baby shower.

I have never been to one of these things. I always thought that only women go to them. I was invited under the auspices of being the "official photographer" and somehow, that soothed my building anxiety.

The party was actually at a very small McMansion in a very nice McMansion development. It was very small as McMansions go, but - what a nice house.

So, I grabbed the camera (a nice Canon EOS Digital Rebel - it was nice handling an SLR again) and attempted to blend into the walls as much as I could, but, as the day progressed, I was meeting people that I haven't seen in quite a few years.

Somewhere along the way, I had fully expected to see the guests exchanging secret handshakes and greetings, only meant to bee seen and experienced by that secret inner sanctum of womanhood.

I tried grabbing as many candids as possible. I didn't want to intrude at all and put together any posed groups of people. There was food - that I grabbed after everyone grabbed theirs - and found Carol and Buffy in a room by themselves, so I holed-up with them for some discussions for a while, before I went back to taking shots of people gathered in the different rooms in the house.

It was time for the gifts and that's when I witnessed one of those rituals you only hear about being on the outside if these events: The Ribbon Game. There were small spools of ribbon around the house that everyone was grabbing and using (in some cases, very odd) techniques to cut the ribbon to a certain length. Everyone seemed to know what to do and some were in groups comparing lengths.

Then they all gathered in the living room and the gifts were opened. It's hard to try to get shots of things like this because I don't like running in front of people, blocking views, and being in the way. I'd rather be behind everyone, so I can just be an outside observer looking in on the event. Use of staircases and chairs are musts.

So, tied to the gift opening, was... the ritual. After the gift(s) were opened, the gift-giver would bring their ribbon to the guest of honor and stretch the ribbon around the honoree's largest part of her belly, to see how close they come to her circumference.

Apparently, this can be cut-throat. Some gift bearers were off by feet in length. Some were close to within an inch.

It required a measure-off between 3 people. It was down to making absolutely sure that the measurements were taken in exactly the same spot, for moving and inch up or down the body could make the ribbon the winner. The winner? The mother of the honoree!

What an odd ritual. I am told there are other "games" that could have been played, but they weren't played today.

After the gifts was cake, and everyone eventually started to leave. I think I grabbed about 120 shots or so. Hopefully I was able to record the event.

I can't tell you how odd I felt being there - an outsider and yet not. Did I enjoy it? You mean, other than shooting it?

Yes. I guess I did.

Still an odd ritual...

She looked exactly like last week - dizzy. Vertigo. We didn't panic, since the vet told us that that she could have been having these problems all along (and could be because of her age). She was having a little bit of trouble moving around the cage, and her head was gently moving side-to-side like her world was spinning.

But she acted fine. She wasn't really concerned, she just didn't move around a lot. After a few minutes she actually walked out of the cage and was grooming herself. The she would do her loooooong stretch and shake her head - only this time, she stopped shaking her head quickly and you could almost see he stagger to the side.

And she was fine. A few more minutes would pass and she would be running around the room and eating hay. Other than the whole vertigo thing, she seems pretty unaffected by whatever is causing this. Maybe this has been happening for a while - she's adapting to her spells pretty quickly.

Scares the hell out of us, though. Hope that this isn't an indication of something worse on the horizon.

There are a few things in my life that I could talk about, but I've chosen not to. It's either the time isn't right, or it's getting into areas of my life that I don't feel right talking about right now.

I feel that everyone out here that blogs has their own personal blog "governor" (ooo... lets call that a PBG™) that throttles how much you want to say, or are willing to say. Some people have that PBG™ set a little more open than I do. They'll talk about intimate things about their family, friends, work. Sometimes that PBG™ is wide open, and those are the people that suffer some personal ramifications of being that open to the world. Sometimes that'll get slammed via comments and email about their choices in life - whether it's just a certain political stand, their favorite team, or maybe it's about writing how they feel while trapped in their daily commute. Something innocuous like that, that readers - mostly people that just skim by their site every once in a while - that compel the visitor to comment. And sometimes those visitors have NO FRIGGIN' CLUE who the blogger really is and perhaps misinterprets what the writer says, and just goes off on them in the comments. It usually spins into an argument with anger and venom.

Ah, the life of living publicly on the web.

Or maybe the writer talks candidly about work and coworkers, and *poof* - they get "dooced" and lose their jobs. (Dooced? Yep - look it up in the Urban Dictionary)

I wish my PBG™ was a bit more open than it is. I feel I have responsibility to my family, friends, coworkers and whoever that I come across to determine how much - if anything - should be divulged to the public. I'd never do it without their permission. It's a trust that I hold with them. Unspoken.

Maybe someday I can open up a little bit, but I just can't do it right now.

Which leads to God-awful boring rhetoric about "what I did today" and what thing I'm interested in today. Hell, if you noticed - I don't even really swear or use obscene language here. I don't know who's reading my drivel - why offend them? It's not like I get a lot of visitors here - so why turn anybody away?

Now, those of you that know me also know that, in actuality, I'm not writing for you - the visitor/reader. I'm writing for ME. If you like what I say and stick around - THANK YOU - if you don't, well, "no skin off my nose" as they say. I wasn't writing for you to begin with.

Does that meandering make any sense?

Anyway, no post doesn't mean nothing's happening. It just means I didn't write, for whatever reason. I just didn't write.

A WHITE SOX WINNER!!!

The streak is over!!! (for now, anyway)

What a gorgeous day for baseball - perhaps the best yet. No clouds in the sky, the humidity has dropped from yesterday. Gametime temperature 78 degrees.

No Goodyear Blimp today... so we had a B-1B High speed pass over the park after the National Anthem! (No Thunderbirds today - they actually had a mid-air incident during yesterday's show where two planes touched, dislodging the missile rail on one jet's wing, sending it fluttering (carbon composite?) into Lake Michigan).

We had a pre-game concert by somebody named Michael Tolcher. Odd.

The big deal in this game is the 4th inning against Randy Johnson.

Everything happened so quickly - at least it felt like it. Would you believe 4 home runs in the inning? THREE in a row?
And a few singles, too.

The crowd really let loose. I guess it was just that streak that got to all of us (not to mention the players). It was such a relief. I've included details of the inning below from MLB.com:

Pitch 1 - Foul Bunt Pitch 2 - Foul Pitch 3 - Ball Pitch 4 - Foul Pitch 5 - Foul Pitch 6 - In play, out(s) recorded

Pablo Ozuna grounds out, shortstop Derek Jeter to first baseman Tino Martinez.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - Ball
Pitch 2 - Ball
Pitch 3 - In play, run-scoring play

Tadahito Iguchi homers (12) on a fly ball to right field.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - Swinging Strike
Pitch 2 - Ball
Pitch 3 - Ball
Pitch 4 - Called Strike
Pitch 5 - Foul
Pitch 6 - In play, run-scoring play

Aaron Rowand homers (11) on a fly ball to right center field.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - Called Strike
Pitch 2 - Swinging Strike
Pitch 3 - In play, run-scoring play

Paul Konerko homers (32) on a fly ball to left field.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - In play, no out recorded

Jermaine Dye singles on a line drive to left fielder Hideki Matsui.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - In play, no out recorded

Juan Uribe singles on a line drive to right fielder Tony Womack. Jermaine Dye to 3rd.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - Pickoff Attempt 1B
Pitch 2 - Pickoff Attempt 1B
Pitch 3 - Ball
Pitch 4 - Swinging Strike
Pitch 5 - Foul
Pitch 6 - In play, run-scoring play

Chris Widger homers (4) on a fly ball to left field. Jermaine Dye scores. Juan Uribe scores.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - In play, out(s) recorded

Brian Anderson pops out to third baseman Alex Rodriguez in foul territory.
------------------------------

Pitch 1 - Ball
Pitch 2 - Ball
Pitch 3 - Ball
Pitch 4 - Called Strike
Pitch 5 - In play, out(s) recorded

Geoff Blum lines out sharply to shortstop Derek Jeter.
------------------------------

"The ball that Widger hit was literally shoulder-high," added Johnson, who had allowed 12 home runs in 116 1/3 previous career innings against the White Sox. "It wasn't meant to be a strike, it wasn't a strike, and had he not hit it, it would have probably gone to the backstop. In the fourth inning, all [heck] broke loose. I don't have an explanation for it."

During all of this, there was a kid is a Kerry Woods Cubs jersey and Yankees hat walking up and down the aisle giving the thumbs down on all of this, trying to shut-up the Sox fans. (like that was going to happen.) As a note: Worst fans at a Sox game: 1) Cub fans 2) Yankees fans. Somehow, the Boston fans seen so much nicer than either of these two groups. At least we can co-exist and have a good time. Not so with Cubs and Yankees fans.

Anyway, here's to hoping that the upcoming 10-game road trip is successful now that the streak is off their backs. We need to turn this around.

(Boxscore)

SEVEN STRAIGHT LOSSES

SEVEN

The white Sox haven't lost 7 straight all season. They haven't lost 6 straight all season. They haven't lost 5 straight all season.

SEVEN

No one is hitting. No one is running. Pitching is suspect. Defense is falling apart - no one is paying attention, getting in the moment.

They're frustrated.

Even worse - it looks like they're burned out. Best record in Major League Baseball. GONE. 15 game lead? Down to 8½ games. You don't want to get to the end of the season on a slump - you want to "find yourselves" and get the team turned around and start winning again and start on the upward climb as you approach post-season.

Weather was crappy today - 79 degrees but the most humidity we've ever had - almost the most uncomfortable game of the year. I sat down after my usual walks around the park and placed my arms in my lap. A couple of outs later I picked them up and my pants were soaked through where my arms were. Never happened to me before. Weird.

Today was Beatle Tribute Day - the Beatles played at old Comiskey Park 40 years ago today. Good music and tribute bands around the park. After the game, a concert - at Gate 5 - the location of Old Comiskey Park (quite fitting). (Pete Best actually threw out the first pitch.)

Today was also the Chicago Air and Water show. We usually see some planes flying over, but not today - we had the Goodyear Blimp today (Fox 12:15 game) (as well as at last night's game - no idea why) and planes can't fly near here if the blimp is here. Very disappointing.

Just a very disappointing day.

(Boxscore)

Indy's doctor can't find a thing wrong with her.

She's fine and exhibiting no symptoms. Of anything. So, she's coming home.

It could have been a mini-stroke, a seizure, or something else. At her age, it's up to us how aggressive we want to be. She could have had these episodes before and this was the first one we've seen.

She's alert, eating and just being a bunny.

So, Carol's pretty tired, so she's hitting the road. I'll check on Indy at lunch.

The story starts when Carol can't get to sleep, so she goes downstairs at about 12:30. Indy is laying on the bottom floor of her condo, not really moving. Carol had to pull her out of the cage to get her to move, which is not like her. After observing her, Carol came back upstairs and woke me up to tell me what she saw.

We went back downstairs and there's Indy, lying on the floor, looking normal. I pet her, she licked me. Carol gets upset because now she looks normal. Indy gets up and walks away and looks fine.

Then she starts to move again, and she isn't moving right - her head starts to bob side-to-side, almost as if she has vertigo and is dizzy and can't focus. She walks haltingly to the side, as if she was dizzy and she was trying to catch herself from falling over. Eventually, she just lays down, knowing that the world around her stops spinning if she's not standing up. When I pet her, she vibrates - her signal that she is in distress.

So, it's time to make another trip to Animal 911 in Skokie. The place was busy - and you know that anyone that's taking their pet to the vet at 1 in the morning can't be having a good time. I saw many people in despair over their pets. Indy was whisked-away as soon as we got there - the problem was there were many other patients in much more critical need than her. After 2 hours, we finally talked to the doctor. It is one of two things - inner ear infection or stroke. (In my mind, the ear infection matches pretty well - she's alert, she's eating (which - if something really was wrong, she wouldn't do) she's aware of her surroundings and what's going on around her, and that doesn't sound like stroke), though she is up in age (she's almost 8 and that's petty old for a rabbit).

Indy is staying overnight for observation while they give her antibiotics. Carol will pick her up and get her to our "primary care vet" who specializes in exotic animals (and a bunny, it turns out, falls into the exotic category).

All this in just a few hours.

When we got home, Chip looked lonely, sad, and confused.

He was young when Indy had her problems before, and it was before they were socialized, so he's never really known life without his partner.

And just looking at his posture and his face - he doesn't like being without her.

Ditto for her "parents".

Since we're partial season ticket holders, we're not entitled to all of the games - we get all 3 Divisional Series ($55 each), we get 1 ALCS game ($100 each) and 1 World Series game ($185 each), as well as parking for all of the games. Major League Baseball also does not allow the team to honor the season ticket holder seats, so we're in a near or adjacent section. Cost - $995.

I'm happy and giddy and scared all at the same time - I giddy about the possibility of post-season games... but we're playing pretty poorly out there right now. Like we're burned out.

And burned out isn't a good place to be with only 45 games left in the season

CBS UNVEILS THE IDENTITIES OF THE 10 FAMILIES COMPETING IN "THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION"

Eighth Installment of the Emmy Award-Winning Series Begins With A Special Two-Hour Premiere on Tuesday, September 27, 9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT

The Amazing Race: Family Edition Moves To Its Regular Tuesday, 9:00-10:00 PM Time Period Beginning October 4

CBS today announced the identities of the 10 families set to compete in THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION. For the first time ever, the Emmy Award-winning reality adventure series will feature teams of four instead of two, comprised of family members. The 10 teams of families will compete against one another in a race around the world for a $1 million prize. THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION will begin with a special two-hour premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 27 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION will be broadcast regularly on Tuesdays (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) beginning Oct. 4.

THE AMAZING RACE has won two consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Reality Program is currently nominated for a third time.

Following are the 10 families, listed in no particular order:

TEAM: GODLEWSKI SISTERS

Michelle (42)
Sharon (39)
Christine (37)
Tricia (26)

Hometown: Des Plaines, Ill.

TEAM: WEAVER FAMILY (WIDOW AND KIDS)

Linda (46)
Rebecca (19)
Rachel (16)
Rolly (14) - Male

Hometown: Ormond Beach, Fla.

TEAM: GAGHAN FAMILY

Bill (40)
Tammy (42)
Billy (12)
Carissa (9)

Hometown: Glastonbury, Conn.

TEAM: BLACK FAMILY

Reggie (42)
Kim (40)
Kenneth (11)
Austin (8)

Hometown: Woodbridge, Va.

TEAM: LINZ FAMILY (SIBLINGS)

Nick (24) – Currently resides in Buffalo, N.Y.
Alex (22)
Megan (21)
Tommy (19)

Hometown: Cincinnati

TEAM: ROGERS FAMILY

Denny (46)
Renee (42)
Brittney (22)
Brock (19)

Hometown: Shreveport, La.

TEAM: SCHROEDER FAMILY (DAD, STEPMOM AND KIDS)

Mark (40)
Char (39)
Stassi (16)
Hunter (14)

Hometown: New Orleans

TEAM: BRANSEN FAMILY (DAD AND DAUGHTERS)

Walter (51)
Elizabeth (25)
Lauren (22)
Lindsay (20)

Hometown: Park Ridge, Ill.

TEAM: AIELLO FAMILY (FATHER AND SONS-IN-LAW)

Tony (57)
Kevin (31)
Matt ( 31)
David (26) – Currently resides in North Providence, R.I.

Hometown: Mansfield, Mass.

TEAM: PAOLO FAMILY

Tony (52)
Marion (52)
DJ (24) - Male
Brian (16)

Hometown: Carmel, N.Y.

THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION features 10 teams -- each comprised of four family members -- on a trek around the world for approximately 30 days. At every destination, each team will have to compete in a series of challenges -- some mental and some physical -- and only when the tasks have been completed will they learn their next destination. Teams who are farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning $1 million.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman and Hayma Screech Washington are the executive producers for Bruckheimer Television and Earthview Inc. in association with Touchstone Television and Amazing Race Productions. Amy Chacon and Evan Weinstein are co-executive producers. THE AMAZING RACE was created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri.

For more information on THE AMAZING RACE: FAMILY EDITION and the new 10 teams of families log on to www.cbs.com.

CBS ANNOUNCES 16 NEW CASTAWAYS FOR "SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire"

Former NFL Quarterback Gary Hogeboom Among The New Castaways Set To Compete When The Eleventh Installment Of The Hit Television Series Premieres on Thursday, September 15

CBS today announced 16 new castaways to compete in SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire. The castaways will begin their adventure with a grueling 11 mile hike through the jungle when the eleventh installment of the Emmy Award-winning hit series premieres Thursday, Sept. 15 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.

SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire takes place amid the ancient Mayan ruins and ceremonial sites (some as many as 2,000 years old) located in the northern area of Guatemala. Amid the excruciating triple-digit heat, crocodile infested waters, relentless mosquitoes and terrifying sounds of the howler monkeys, these new castaways will attempt to "Outwit, Outplay and Outlast" in hopes of winning the $1 million prize and title of "Ultimate Survivor." In addition to the grueling overnight hike, the castaways will be faced with two additional surprises in the first episode that will dramatically impact how they play the game.

Castaways that will be competing in SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire (in alphabetical order) are:

BRANDON BELLINGER
22
Manhattan, Kan.
Farmer/Rancher

DANNI BOATWRIGHT
30
Tonganoxie, Kan.
Sports Radio Talk Show Host

MARGARET BOBONICH
43
Chardon, Ohio
Family Nurse Practitioner

BRIAN CORRIDAN
22
New York City (originally from New Milford, Conn.)
Ivy League Student

CINDY HALL
31
Naples, Fla.
Zoo Keeper

GARY HOGEBOOM
46 (turns 47 on August 21)
Grand Haven, Mich.
Ex-NFL Quarterback/Real Estate Developer

RAFE JUDKINS
22
Providence, R.I. (originally from Pittsburgh)
Ivy League Student

JIM LYNCH
63
Northglenn, Colo.
Retired Fire Captain

MORGAN McDEVITT
21
Decatur, Ill.
Magician's Assistant/Waitress

LYDIA MORALES
42
Lakewood, Wash. (originally from Okinawa)
Fishmonger

JAMIE NEWTON
24
N. Hollywood, Calif. (originally from Douglas, Ga.)
Water Ski Instructor

AMY O'HARA
39
Revere, Mass.
Police Sergeant

JUDD SERGEANT
34 (turns 35 on September 13)
Ridgefield, N.J.
Hotel Doorman

BROOKE STRUCK
26
Santa Monica, Calif. (originally from Hood River, Ore.)
Law Student

BLAKE TOWSLEY
24
Dallas, Texas
Commercial Real Estate Broker/Model

BRIANNA VARELA
21 (turns 22 on Oct. 29)
Edmonds, Wash.
Retail Sales/Make-Up Artist

SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire is produced by SEG, Inc. Mark Burnett and Tom Shelly are the executive producers.

For more detailed information on SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire and the castaways, log on to www.cbs.com/survivor.

Today, Chip is still the smaller of the two bunnies, but he's what we've been calling a "bruiser". When you pet Indy, she's soft and silky, but you also notice that she's got more skin than bones and her skin kind of moves around (she was heavier and has lost weight over the past year or two - she's at a much healthier weight now). When you pet Chip, you notice that his fur is a little courser (not as silky as Indy) but he's all muscle - just built like a tank. And no wonder - the kid is constantly running around, sometimes just running in circles, tossing his head. He's happy and he shows it a lot. He's also sort of a rebelling teenager. He's always doing things we don't want him to do, and always grunting to show he doesn't like it when we yell at him to stop doing something. His latest "thing" is that he loves to "shovel" - he stopped digging (using his front paws to rapidly dig at something) and now he's shoveling, where he'll reach forward with both paws and scoop up whatever bedding or whatever is available and throw the whole lot through his back legs.

Something that Chip loves to do which fits his "bruiser" moniker is that he loves picking up things. He'll go after a section of the newspaper that we may have just read (or sometimes, may not have read if he jumps up onto the couch), and grab the corner and pull it up in the air. He'll start doing that with heavier objects like slippers or one of my Rockport shoes, which must weigh almost as much as he does. Lately, he's not content with just raising it in the air - he's using his back legs for power and now when he pulls things up, he stands straight up in the air as tall as he can reach (that's when you know he's having a good time). Unfortunately, especially if he's really over-exuberant, when he stands straight up he doesn't take into account the direction he's pulling or the weight he's lifting. He often falls over backwards, landing either on his butt (which he did last night for the first time and sent screams of laughter from me and Carol) or landing flat on his back. Once he landed flat on his back on the marble hearth in front of the fireplace and I think he hit his head because he looked like he got stunned and had to rest and get his bearings before he traipsed off somewhere else.

It took a while to get Indy & Chip to be together, but now they are absolutely inseparable. They are constantly together, laying next to each other, snoozing, or awake and constantly grooming each other.

Unfortunately, this has become a downside - as the rabbits bonded, they didn't interact with their human "parents" the same way. Indy, when she was alone, always looked for me and begged for "lovin's" (which is just petting, but she just loved it). Now, she gets constant attention from Chip, so Indy doesn't look up to us as much. Chip started to bond with us when he was little and before he "matured" and got interested in Indy. Now, we're constantly trying to make sure Chip understands who we are and even though we try to show our affection to him, he's not all that interested.
We do this by picking him up - something that he allowed us to do since we first saw him at the State Fair. (Indy flat out refuses to be held - that's not her thing and she'll scratch and even bite to get away). Chip allows me to hold him in my arms with him on his back and I can stroke his head and tummy and he seems to really enjoy it. He just doesn't like to be picked-up and grunts and growls sometimes when you try. He quiets down in your arms, though.

He's been great. Having two rabbits has been great - I really think having a younger bunny in the house has been good for Indy, keeping her active. We've had some great times.

I need to get a Chip webpage up and running on this website... maybe someday I'll get some time... and sorry for a lack of pictures lately - I'm having some very odd performance problems with my computer dealing with large files and Windows Explorer that I need to solve quickly...

I got to the park with less than an hour and a half before gametime - and I was still later than I wanted to be there.

Today was a special day - today is Carton Fisk Tribute Day. The White Sox were unveiling a bronze statue to Carlton Fisk on the outfield concourse (they're building a whole monument area out there over the coming years of all of the players that impacted the franchise - probably specifically the players that have their numbers retired by the team.) I couldn't get a good spot - obviously there are more fans of Pudge than there were of Minnie Minoso's on his day. I wound up standing behind the area. Everything "in front" was taken, even the staircase going up to the Fan Deck was full. So, I walked up to the fence and stood next to... Moose Skowron. The security guys kept coming over, inviting Moose to come "inside" the ceremonial area, and he kept refusing - he forgot his wearable credentials today, he didn't play with him, etc. Eventually, the 6-time All-Star, 5-time World Series winner accepted the invite. Roland Hemond was there - the GM that brought-in Pudge. Jerry Reinsdorf and Kenny Williams (with left arm in a sling after blowing a bicep muscle) were there. Ron Kittle was there (I saw him Friday night at Elvis night, making the rounds around the main concourse. Tom Shaer was the MC of the event - and as the event started, with Carlton and his entire family present (wife, son, two daughters, four grandchildren and parents), teammates Ozzie Guillen, Harold Baines and Greg walker - in uniform for the game - came up to join in the festivities. Then, sneaking in later, Jack McDowell showed-up.

The statue is really good - it's Fisk to a "T". It's really something to see. It's by Chicago artist Lou Cella, who also did the Harry Caray statue outside Wrigley Field, as well as statues for the Detroit Tigers (which is what this area is starting to turn into).

Carlton had a bunch of things to say, things that just seemed very poignant. He referred to joining the team as "back then when I changed my Sox".

Here's a guy who's in the Hall Of Fame, that says:

"This is the most spectacular and significant recognition that I've probably ever had in my whole life"

and

"I wanted to play forever. Now I'm going to stand here forever."

After the ceremony, Pudge threw out the first pitch - to Jack McDowell.

In a totally karmic moment, the Sox won today - it is win 72 of the season - the same as Carton Fisk's uniform number with the White Sox - 72.

In the game - (other than putting-up with the Mascots from the Chicago teams throwing out t-shirts into the crowd between innings) was a SCARY but wonderful catch by Aaron Rowand who hit the centerfield wall at full speed and held on to the ball when he collapsed face forward to the ground.

(Boxscore)

I picked-up Barry at about 4:30, worked our way around the blocked-streets taken-up by the Northalsted Market Days, and high-tailed it down LSD (Lake Shore Drive for you non-Chicagoans) to the South Side. I was lucky enough to have Barry as my guest to the game tonight (substituting for Carol). I think I enjoy a game with somebody that likes baseball than going alone. And, I swear to God, I didn't know it was Japanese American Night...

We had our traditional "Sausages Around the World" dinner of a Polish (with grilled onions) and a Brat (with sauerkraut) - Barry seemed disappointed that - with the new permanent vending stands - the "top secret sauerkraut drawer" was gone. (A few years ago, when they were using portable carts, when you would ask for a brat with kraut, it was almost as if you were whispering to the vendor "with kraut" because it wasn't anywhere to be seen. The vendor then would open a drawer underneath the grill to access the private stash to put the kraut in the bun.)

Maybe it was that we were paying attention to the game, but we seemed to play better tonight (a homering by Konerko and more stolen bases - 2 by Podsednik and 1 by Iguchi). It was a game of manufactured runs - 4 runs on 4 hits with only 3 walks and only 2 left on base.

We took a quick walk around the park, since Barry hadn't been there in a few years. We stopped on stood in the doorway of Nancy Faust's booth to watch her play the 7th inning stretch (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you go to a game at the park - Nancy always has her door open and there's something timeless yet tinged with potential fear of knowing that someday you may never again experience Take Me Out To The Ball Game played by a stadium organist). I had to show Barry the outfield concourse which has tuned into Party Central on weekends. Here is where the action is - people meet, drink, smoke, and socialize out on the concourse. I've got a feeling that if I was 20-25 years younger and didn't care too much for the game, that's where I would be. Barry commented on how much it smelled like a saloon out there - beer and smoke everywhere.

The fire works were great, as usual and the drive back to Barry's house was a hell of a lot better than this afternoon's drive up the drive to his house.

(Boxscore)

They took over Parking Lot B. All of the teams that bought into the event had hospitality tents along Shields Avenue. The pit area was pretty big and the track was the parking lot, with the track outlined in chalk (or lime or something like that) and stacked tires. There were other vendors there, like Route 66 Raceway, Volo Auto Museum, and other companies like that.

I was hoping to that it was going to be cool. It was, but it was totally disappointing. I think it was very poorly attended. It looked like everybody that was there were either participants, sponsors, or family members of either. The weren't any real announcements to keep everybody informed about what was going on. I saw two races - basically one and hour. I never saw a celebrity race that was supposed to happen at 1pm (when I think the final race actually took off).

The last race was pretty good. As the laps ticked off, the drivers were getting a better feel for the karts and the track and they started driving more aggressively. I camped out on Turn One and after the initial laps, there were a lot of guys taking the turn wide, some taking out a series of orange cones, some spinning out, hitting tires, clipping each other. The races ran about 15 minutes - I have no idea how many laps there were. I guess that's part of my disappointment - I had no idea what the hell was going on.

Disappointing.

Well, at about 1:30, I realized that I probably couldn't drive home and then drive all the way back into the city to pickup Barry and go to tonight's game. I decided to drive to the planetarium. I wasn't going to go in, it was just this absolutely gorgeous day and I felt like enjoying it, maybe taking pictures of the skyline.

(NOTE TO ANYONE COMING TO CHICAGO - If you want the ABSOLUTE BEST photograph of the Chicago skyline along the lake front YOU MUST go to the Adler Planetarium and take the shots from there DAY OR NIGHT. THAT is the place to be.)

I was floored at how many bridal parties were showing up with their photographers down by the planetarium, just to get that perfect shot of the bridal party and the skyline. It was a constant stream of limousines and rental shuttle buses dropping off and picking up brides, grooms, bridesmaids, groomsmen... and others, too, that were dressed-up in other ethnic garbs so I couldn't tell what they were celebrating because they didn't necessarily looked like wedding dress.

I actually did go inside the planetarium - into the café to have a snack and drink and watch all of the sailboats on the lake. When I came out, in front of the planetarium was a group of people with bicycle helmets on... and a whole bunch of Segways! It was the City Segways Tours group getting training on how to ride/drive a Segway by the tour leader. I heard about this last year and it's great seeing that they actually are still doing tours! I stood around watching for quite a while. Though - in concept - they are easy to maneuver, it does take time to get used to balancing on the platform and trusting the unit not to throw you off when you lean to make it go.

Eventually, about 3:30, I headed back to the parking lot to get heading north on Lake Shore Drive to go pick up Barry for the game tonight. It took an hour just to get to the Belmont exit. The Fullerton and Belmont exits were backed-up and stopped on the drive, not to mention that the car 2 cars ahead of me in line waiting to get off at Belmont erupts in white smoke and steam as he blows a hose. The other oddity on the trip north was the area on the lake that's just north of the treatment plant and south of the break walls south of Oak Street beach. It looked like it was wall-to-wall boats, that looked like they were parked or even lashed together, and all you can see is flesh - people in bathing suits everywhere,. It looked like one big community party. Really odd.

At any rate, it took a long time to get to Barry's. But - I've got to tell you - it was the best day to be out in that gorgeous weather and just enjoying the sights of this wonderful town.

The annual Elvis Night at U. S. Cellular Field. Starting outside the park, everything is just about the same as every year - impersonators on stages performing to the crowd. The crowd every year is what changes. I'm convinced that this year, everything is just tweaked-up a notch. There just seems like more people are "dressing" the part, whether they went the full jumpsuit approach, with hair and glasses, or just partially participating by wearing the aviator sunglasses with fake sideburns hanging from the frames. There are more kids dressing up, too. You know, 6-9 year olds. Odd. Then there's always the people that - you can just tell - are the real Elvis fans, still basking in the glow of the King, even when the King is fake. Poor Shawn Klush had equipment problems outside and the CD player with his background music kept cutting out.

Inside, the park was a sell-out. It's the 11th Sell-Out of the year - and is a franchise record. I fell embarrassed knowing that 11 sellouts in a year is a franchise record.

The E-Team flew in the flag during the National Anthem (sung by Shawn Klush) and had did their lighted-jump after the game in the dark. The Steppin' Out Dads did their little routines after the game and Shawn Klush headlined the post-game concert and then we had the best Elvis-night fireworks that I've seen.

Didn't win the Sox Split Charity Raffle this year (It was over $6,300) - the dry spell continues to three years.

Somehow, by going to the game alone, I didn't pay attention to the game play itself, and only knew that we lost the game, and it was Freddie Garcia pitching against his old team. Our only 2 runs were solo homeruns by Rowand and Pierzynski.

(Boxscore)

The designers of some elevators include a hidden feature that is very handy if you're in a hurry or it's a busy time in the building (like check-out time in a hotel). While some elevators require a key, others can be put into "Express" mode by pressing the "Door Close" and "Floor" buttons at the same time. This sweeps the car to the floor of your choice and avoids stops at any other floor. This seems to work on Most elevators that I have tried! Most elevators have the option for this to work, but on some of them the option is turned off by whoever runs them.

By the time we left the house, the rain had stopped. We got a beach towel for being one of the first 2,000 guests to the park tonight. It came in quote handy during the evening. The annual outing always starts in the picnic area beyond left field, where large dining tents are setup, and tables of hot dogs, hamburgers and pulled-pork await. (the dog was OK, the burger was dry, and the pulled pork was great - if you ate it without a bun, otherwise it was a bit dry... maybe the buns were just sucking the life out of the meats...).

The skies opened-up again while we were dining, complete with wind, so everyone huddled in the center tables in the tents to keep away from the rain.

The rain stopped right before game time, so we went to our seats. The stadium is small, but clean and very well kept.

The game was a blur. I hadn't heard of anybody on these teams and the level of play was pretty poor. I was pretty damn uncomfortable in the seats (there slightly smaller than what I'm used to at Comiskey) and I just needed to get up and walk around - frequently. My legs were twitching - and now something new is manifesting itself - one of my legs starts to go a little numb if I can't get in a comfortable position.

Well, that's it. I couldn't take it any more. We left in the 6th - I couldn't tell you how the game ended. Sort of don't care either. Nice park, great seat location, bad seat construction and just an uncomfortable evening. carol didn't want to go in the first place, so there was no need to talk her into leaving - she almost lept out of her seat to leave.