Chicago!

[telerib]

That's where I am, but by the virtue of wireless technology and my new laptop, I can post my ever-so-insightful observations on the Windy City to my LJ. (This is the Windy City, right?)

What does a geek in Chicago do, first thing after dropping off bags at the hotel? Take laptop straight to the Newberry Library to check out and read a 1903 Masters thesis on "The Anglo-Saxon Scop." It was a brisk 45 pages and I almost asked for a copy of the whole thing! Very worth the time; I transcribed giant chunks of it into a Word document for my own nefarious purposes. It was all supposition and hypothesis, of course, but it was well-supported with quotes (including some late 1800s scholarship that the author quoted in its original languages - mostly German. There were quotes in German, Latin, French, Old English, and even Greek. Why don't our liberal arts institutions expect this sort of fluency anymore?)

There's a Celtic Festival in town, which I saw a little of yesterday and intend to see a bit more of today. My advisor recommends taking in the planetarium; I am torn as to whether or not to visit the Field Museum as well. (Strictly a pocketbook issue. Laptop, cool as it is, was not cheap). There are like three or four other museums I'd like to see, as well as HMS Bounty which is at the Navy Pier. But... argh, time and money. The conference starts tomorrow and then I have to actually work. (And the Navy Pier is a little bit of a pain to get to via public transportation, anyway).

Two Items of Bizarre Interest:

First, the guy with the "Extraterrestrials Brought Life to Earth! Science Replaces Religion!" sign at the Celtic Festival. People actually stopped to talk to him to see what his deal was and get pamphlets. I really wanted a pamplet for Moe, but didn't want to talk to the guy, and so chickened out. You will all have to live your lives without having heard this man's prophetic wisdom, I'm afraid.

Second, the toilet seat at The Artist's Cafe, which is a few doors down from the hotel. The best words I can think of to describe it are "gaily painted." It was pretty cool, actually - the bathroom was the typical all-white fixtures, and the walls and floor were black and white tile. And then you've got this toilet seat painted with swirls of blue and red and mauve, sunny yellow circles, little white dots and black lines... Eye-catching and not in a bad way. I don't mean to knock modern art at all, but this was really a good use of it. I mean - representational art on a toilet seat? No. Silly. Traditional decorative motifs would look a bit stiff, I think. But a collection of shapes and colors, adding a note of whimsy? Absolutely.