Ocelopotamus

News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

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Entries Tagged as 'Journal'

In Chicago: More on the May 2nd Special Edition of The Partly Dave Show

April 13th, 2007 · 6 Comments · Chicago, Comedy, Culture, Fringe, Journal, Music, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, The Partly Dave Show, Theater

Continuing the brand-new tradition of breaking news about The Partly Dave Show here on Ocelopotamus first, I can now confirm the full lineup for our upcoming show, and fill you in on why we’re doing it and what’s so goll-dang special about it. Here’s the deal: the shadowy white-coated figures at The Partly Dave Show’s […]

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Kurt Vonnegut, Home at Last

April 12th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Books, Culture, Journal, LGBT, Lit, News, Science Fiction

Kurt Vonnegut is dead. Today the world is a little less kind than it was yesterday. American literary idol Kurt Vonnegut, best known for such classic novels as “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “Cat’s Cradle,” died on Tuesday night in Manhattan at age 84, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Longtime family friend, Morgan Entrekin, who reported […]

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Music: “We Can Get Together”

April 11th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Journal, Music, New Wave, Peoria, Video

Here’s Icehouse’s ecstatically edgy crossover single “We Can Get Together” from 1980, which never fails to give me that particular New Wave frisson that results from just the right ratio of synthesizers to spiky guitars complemented by a sublime angst-in-my-pants vocal style. And oh yeah, they were still called Flowers when they made this video, […]

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Comedy and the Art of Dancing Backwards

April 7th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Blogroll, Blogs, Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Film, Journal, Kids in the Hall, Meta, Neo-Futurists, Science Fiction, The Partly Dave Show, TV

My old friend AKMA (from the Billy-Bragg email list back in the 90s) has a short but insightful post up about the etiquette of responding to a straight line when it’s offered. It reminds me of why I used to enjoy talking to him online so much. Go read it. The last time I exchanged […]

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Mandarin Dynamite!

March 29th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Culture, Film, Food, Journal, Science

I was at the Whole Foods yesterday and they had something called a “Meyer’s Lemon” in the produce section, which looked like a lemon only much orangerer, and a helpful sign explained that it is indeed a cross between a lemon and an orange, developed in China. My question: if you create a cross between […]

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The Waterboys: Mike Scott in The Guardian, and new album Book of Lightning

March 26th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Books, Culture, History, Journal, Lit, Music, Mythology, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, Travel

Mike Scott, singer, songwriter, and bandleader of The Waterboys, has a thoughtful and entertaining piece in The Guardian recounting his experiences trying to correct errors in the band’s entry on Wikipedia. Meanwhile, the Waterboys have a new album coming out in April! It’s called Book of Lightning and you can hear samples of a couple […]

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In Chicago: The Return of the Partly Dave Show, Plus Jellybeans, Oobleck, and Jane Goodall

March 23rd, 2007 · 4 Comments · Books, Chicago, Culture, Fringe, Journal, LGBT, Lit, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, Theater

I was at the Landmark shop in Andersonville yesterday, and the nice lady behind the counter asked me to guess how many jellybeans were inside the glass human head and write my answer on a slip of paper. I guessed 425. No wait, 450! 17,034! A zillion! Oh my heavens, the pressure. I seem to […]

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Cats: Kiwi, Mr. Blue, & Menu Foods

March 20th, 2007 · 7 Comments · Advertising, Cats, Food, Health, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food, Pets

I hear the cool kids like to post pictures of their cats on their blogs sometimes. Except I think you’re supposed to do it on Fridays. In 2005. Well, never let it be said that Ocelopotamus colors inside the lines! Anyway, here’s Barabajagal (aka Mr. Blue) and Kiwi, even though they don’t really deserve the […]

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Chicago: Oobleck, Rogue 8, and Too Much Light

March 16th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Chicago, Comics, Culture, Fringe, Journal, Neo-Futurists, Performance, Poetry, Theater

Earlier this week we had one of those days when the temperature suddenly rocketed into the 70s and it felt like spring was a-busting out all over. Of course it’s cooled back down a scooch since then, but it reminded me of this photo I took with my phone early last winter on a similarly […]

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Police in My Back Yard

March 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Police in My Back Yard · Chicago, Journal, Music, New Wave, News

There are very few circumstances in which I can imagine a lifelong sports-hating pansy like myself setting foot in Wrigley Field. But a Police concert is, well, in the ballpark. Via Gaper’s Block, it looks like The Police are coming to Wrigley Field: Sting and the Police will headline a pair of nighttime concerts at […]

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Heaven Help Us All

March 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Heaven Help Us All · Blogs, Journal, Meta

I am officially giving up. Throwing in the towel. Yes, it’s true: I am abandoning my difficult four-year struggle to not blog. I do not do this thing lightly. I know that it’s ridiculous for someone as overextended as I always am to even think about starting a blog. That’s what’s kept me from diving […]

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