Saturday, February 28, 2009

It's not all bad, in a bad economy

The economy is tanking and things are bad all over. But not everything is failing. And some things are actually pretty cool. The Chicago Sun-Times provides this breakdown.

These things are DOWN:
Boob jobs.


Shopping.


The market.



But these things are UP.

Spam - Hormel has had to increase production at their plant in Minnesota.


Seeds. People are breaking out their green thumbs.


Library borrowing.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Friday night Dance Party - Elastica



Elastica with 'Connection'

Friday night Dance Party - The Pixies



No, Pixie is not my cousin - it's the Pixies with 'Here Comes Your Man.' Dig that crowd singing along!

Special shout-out to BMan (he knows who he is...) for tipping me to the alternative source for video fun. YAY BMAN!!

Friday night Dance Party - The Breeders



Kim Deal and Tanya Donnelly with 'Cannonball.'

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Makes me appreciate my quiet building

Being a long-time apartment dweller I've had a few problems here and there but nothing like this. The Chicago Sun-Times reports a man with a history of troubles with Johnny Law got himself into more trouble this weekend when he wouldn't leave his neighbors alone. Naperville police were called to a northwest side apartment complex in the wee hours Saturday morning to a third-floor apartment occupied by two men. A very loaded Gregory Springman was terrorizing the men, kicking their apartment door and demanding to be let in. The Naperville po-po charged Springman with disorderly conduct and he made bail later that morning.

By 10 pm the same day the police were summoned back to the same complex; a 16-year-old had called the police when a very drunk Springman let himself into the boys' family's apartment and refused to leave. The uninvited guest let himself in via an unlocked patio door and was kicking it old school watching TV when police arrived.

It is not known if any relationship exists between Springman and his neighbors.

Springman is scheduled to appear Wednesday in court on the trespassing charge and March 18 to answer the new disorderly conduct complaint.

I suppose it would be too much to assume Springman tidied up or did the dishes when he let himself in...

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Introducing new feature on Naperville City Desk



Everyone knows Trixie Loves Dogs! NCD is pleased to announce the addition of a new widget, The Daily Puppy, which has been added to the main page of this blog.

PUPPIES!!!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A quick round-up

Trixie is heading into the Naperville City Desk Test Kitchen (underground bomb shelter, location undisclosed) to work on a top-secret concoction so she won't be posting until later, but has a quick note first:

On tonight's commute:

Dear silver Honda Civic driver,
It's customary after dark to turn on your lights. And when another driver is flashing her lights at you, it may be for a very good reason. Take heed.

Monday, February 23, 2009

10 Days? Seriously?



A Carol Stream man who beat a Jack Russell Terrier puppy so badly it lost an eye has been sentenced to 10 days in jail and to pay $1400 in veterinarian bills, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Randall Madison has also been placed on probation for a 2-year period and must undergo psychiatric evaluation and perform 150 hours of community service work.

Madison was convicted of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Prosecutors contended Madison intentionally beat the dog and choked Sophie, his then-girlfriends 9-month-old puppy, with a leash.

Noting that Sophie suffered permanent injuries, prosecutors sought a 60-day jail sentence and two years of probation.

TEN DAYS? SERIOUSLY? FOR A 20-SOMETHING YEAR OLD MAN WHO BEATS A 15-POUND DOG SO BADLY IT LOSES AN EYE?

I say he should have done the full 60-day rip, at the very least. There is a special place in hell for heartless idiots who hurt animals.

Let's all hope Sophie has a loving home FAR AWAY from this sadistic scumbag.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Friday night Dance Party - Kim Richey unplugged



Kim Richey is an amazing singer-songwriter and I have been a huge fan for 14 years. This is from her 1997 album 'Bittersweet' and it's called 'Every River.'

Friday night Dance Party - Chris Isaak unplugged



I would listen to him sing a summons. I would.

Friday night Dance Party - Johnny Nash!



Trixie's got this song on her iPod and it always makes me happy when I hear it. I know some people dig the Jimmy Cliff version but Johnny Nash is who I remember hearing on the radio on the way to grandma's.

True story: Johnny Nash borrowed that leather suit for his appearance on The Midnight Special from blogger extraordinaire Johnny Action Space Punk. No, really.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Bravo Wisconsin! Same-sex partnerships may be recognized under new state budget plan



Naperville City Desk is happy to report that Wisconsin may move among the ranks of the enlightened and formally recognize gay couples by letting them form domestic partnerships. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle received a standing ovation from fellow Democrats who control the Legislature when he unveiled the plan in his budget address Tuesday evening. He says the plan is a “basic step toward fairness and decency.”

The plan may be questioned due to a 2006 amendment to the state constitution (read: WEDGE ISSUE) that banned gay marriage and other 'substantially similar' relationships.

Bravo Wisconsin! Even considering extending rights to gay couples gets a big plus in Trixie's book. Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage should be declared unconstitutional for creating a second-class of citizens. Besides, in these troubled economic times I'd like to see MORE gay couples planning weddings and or commitment ceremonies. Lord knows a gay man can throw a damn fine party and will be willing to spend some coin on it. (Someone please invite me - I'm happy to sit at the straight but not narrow table!)

If this measure goes into effect I will be taking that trip to Milwaukee and Madison I've been planning for the past year.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Break out the corndogs, the entertainment is free!



Well, not free, but it's included in the price of the entry ticket...

The Naperville Sun reports organizers of the DuPage County Fair have announced they are dropping the fees from evening events to encourage attendance. The troubled economy is making it popular to 'stay-cation' and area fair organizers are trying to capitalize on this trend by making it cheaper for families to visit the fair. The organizers are hoping the savings on the evening entertainment offerings, which previously ranged from $10 to $40 over and above the price of the entry ticket, will increase attendance, making up for the loss in revenue from the evening events.

Naperville City Desk encourages everyone to take in the local fair. What's not to love? Animals, rides, fried foods, lemonade, games of chance, pie and blue ribbons...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Cell phone antenna on school nixed



WBEZ reports that Verizon Wireless has withdrawn its proposal to build a cell phone antenna atop Franklin Fine Arts Center, a Chicago Public School. The plan drew controversy when several parents at the school objected to it due to worries about the health of the students. The cell phone company and many scientists have said there is no evidence cell phone towers pose any danger. But other scientists have said it's too early to tell because the technology is still so new.

Verizon had planned to pay the school $24,000 a year for the placement. More than 100 Chicago Public Schools have cell antennas or towers on their buildings.

Given the state of the perennially cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools one has to wonder why these parents would so vociferously oppose the plan. One can also wonder how many of these parents, so concerned with students health and safety, routinely yak on cell phones while driving their SUVs with the kids in the back.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Why do some women hate comic book stores?



Some say that women hate comic book stores (for the most part) because we're not exactly the right demographic. But a few women do like comic books and apparently there is a bunch of women who like them a lot, so much so that they decided to help themselves to a rare comic book and several action figures (lord knows we can't call them what they are: toys). The Naperville Sun reports that four heavyset white women entered the Graham Crackers Comics store on Rickert Drive on Feb. 8 and were later seen on surveillance tape moving around the store as a set. One women opened a case and began removing the comic book and the action figures and the other women stashed the objects in their coats. Employees in the store were waiting on other customers and were unaware of the theft until two days later when they realized several items were missing and reported the theft to police. The haul was valued at over $1200. This was the second time the shop had been robbed; the first time was in December of 2007.

Apparently the Green Lantern was too busy to fight crime on this day.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

They're together, they're not, now it might be on TV?

UGH. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the icky news that Drew Peterson and Christina "Sharpie Eye-brows" Raines may be shopping a reality show about their life together.

Peterson has been married 4 times; the first two got out with their lives, wife number 3 died under suspicious circumstances during their bitter divorce proceedings and wife number 4, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, vanished in October of 2007 and Peterson is strongly suspected in her disappearance.

Peterson and Raines, a 24-year-old single mother, announced their engagement and moved in together for a couple weeks before she moved out claiming the engagement was nothing more than a publicity-stunt cooked up by Peterson's lawyer. But what a difference a week makes - the pair are back together appearing on TV talk shows and professing their undying (pun intended) love for each other.

If such a show gets to air, please everyone, do not reward them by watching it. No good can come of it except possibly that Sharpie will get a new haircut and better makeup.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Grammar Bitch is rubbing off; this is good



Grammar Bitch is tickled pink to see that her crusade is gaining ground and spreading throughout the Midwest. According to the Wichita Eagle, a student in Kansas was taking a state writing test and following the advice of his teachers: read each line, review every question, make sure you understand what's being asked. This eagle-eyed student was doing just that when he noticed a glaring error. The word "emission" -- as in "the emission of greenhouse gases" -- was spelled "omission."

Grammar Bitch says BRAVO to student Geoffrey Stanford - he caught an error that had slipped by who knows how many mucky-mucks with the Kansas State Board of Education.

Damn spell-check!

Why do Skokians hate ruminating animals?


Second dead goat found in Skokie
Comments
February 13, 2009
FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS
For the second time within the last month, the body of a dead goat has been found inside a bag in Skokie.

Police said Skokie’s health department received a call the morning of Feb. 10 from a resident who found the dead animal in a bag.

The village’s animal control officer came to the scene and discovered a white bag with the full body of a goat wrapped in plastic inside. The bag was located in an alley next to a Dumpster, police said.

Police said there was one difference between this incident and a similar incident that occurred last month when the body of a dead goat was discovered in Skokie.

In this case, police said, the body of the goat was found to be intact.

On Jan. 19, the mutilated body of a goat was found inside a garbage bag in a snow bank outside the Emily Oaks Nature Center on the 4600 block of Brummel Street. That goat’s body was mutilated, missing its head and limbs.

The resident who found the most recent dead goat said the animal was definitely not there the day before. The body was removed, police said.

I wonder if these are those fainting goats?

Friday night Dance Party - Wilco



And completing the trifecta - Boxful of Letters by Wilco.

And you'll come back again
will you still be my friend

Friday night Dance Party - Uncle Tupelo



This is the song 'No Depression' performed by Uncle Tupelo, founding fathers of the alt-country movement in the US. A great old song, it named a movement and a magazine about music that just isn't quite a radio programmer's dream but lord knows, that just gives it more cred in my book.

I'm goin where there's no depression
To a better land that's free from care
I'll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home's in heaven, I'm going there.

Uncle Tupelo featured both Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy before they split up; Farrar went on to form Son Volt, Tweedy formed Wilco.

Friday night Dance Party - Son Volt



Trixie's really been digging this Son Volt song written and sung by Jay Farrar.

St. Genevieve can hold back the water
but saints don't bother with a tear-stained eye

Kinda shaky audio but it's still a great song.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Don't even know if I need to comment...



Just... WOW. Neil Ackerman of Joliet was sitting in jail after being arrested on a domestic battery charge on January 22. Not content with simply punching his girlfriend (and mother of his child) in the head, whipping her with a belt, then forcing her to have sex, Mr. Ackerman continued obsessing about causing her bodily harm, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Because jail is a natural place to find someone to confide in, Ackerman asked his cellmate (and new BFF) to kill his girlfriend when he got out. The BFF wisely told investigators of Ackerman's request and they worked with the state's attorneys office to obtain a court order allowing them to eavesdrop on Ackerman's violent rantings. Police heard Ackerman ask jailbird-BFF to kill the girlfriend and had enough to charge him with a class X felony carrying a $1 million bond.

I think his mugshot says it all.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Monday, February 9, 2009

SNAP, the lady's got PLUCK

Nancy Kelly was meeting a friend at a Panera in Oak Lawn for a quick bite. What she didn't anticipate was having her wallet stolen. And what the thieves didn't anticipate was stealing the wallet of a Cook County Sheriff's sergeant.

Kelly, had claimed a table at the restaurant by putting down her purse with her coat on top of it, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She was at the fountain getting her drink and waiting for her sandwich when she noticed a woman in the booth where she had left her coat. Kelly quickly checked her purse, saw that her wallet was gone and immediately flew into action chasing the woman through the restaurant and out the door. She confronted the woman who gave back the wallet but a quick check of the contents revealed several credit cards were missing along with about $100 in cash. So Kelly decided to fight fire with fire and she grabbed the thief's purse. A tug-of-war ensued and Kelly was aided by some passersby which is a good thing because a 17-year-old girl and a 41-year-old man came to the aid of the thief. Kelly refused to let go, even after she heard someone yell 'she's gonna bite you' - she yanked the woman up by the hair and punched her in the face.

Oak Lawn police arrived at the scene a few minutes later after Kelly directed her friend Carolyn Nissen to call 911 and get her own purse from the restaurant. At this point the two female suspects fled the scene with a third female but Nissen and a passerby jotted down the license plate number of the vehicle and Oak Lawn police were able to apprehend the women several minutes later. The thieves had been busy that day: police nabbed all four suspects and discovered credit cards belonging to several other people in the haul.

Did I mention that Nancy Kelly is 61-years-old? Yes, she is.

Naperville City Desk is not recommending everyone risk life and limb on a confrontation like this but has to give Nancy Kelly props. She did so many things right (except for the glaring mistake of not keeping her purse on her at the drink fountain):
- she was aware of her surroundings
- observant of the woman at her booth
- nervy enough to chase her down and confront her
- smart enough to have her friend call the police
- strong enough to detain the suspect in the purse tug-of-war
- had a quick-thinking friend with her who thought to write down the license plate of the getaway car and give it to police for fast action
- raised a verbal ruckus calling out to passersby who came to her assistance

So Naperville City Desk is happy to present Nancy Kelly with it's first-ever 'Plucky Chick of the Week Award.' Nice going, Nancy!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

When your buddy has a fight with his girlfriend, stay out of it...


A man called the Naperville Police Department this week to report a fight he'd had with this girlfriend. The gf had come over, they fought about their relationship [in one of those endless loop fights where she yells at him that he goes out with his buddies and doesn't care about her enough and he tries to blend into the wall and refuses to tell her how he really feels which is that he just wants to go to sleep] and she decided to end it by leaving with his laptop and his new boxer puppy. The man decided to grow a pair and summoned the po-po in the morning, told them the story and asked for their assistance getting his stuff back. A buddy who had been staying with him very helpfully verified his story to police. The police quickly located the girlfriend, made her return to the residence and relinquish dog and laptop. Situation resolved, no harm no foul, right?

Well, not quite. The buddy who selflessly jumped in to help his girlfriend-whipped friend identified himself to the police who ran his name through their database and discovered an outstanding warrant for an unsatisfied judgment stemming from a shoplifting charge from early 2008.

Next time let your buddy get his own stuff back.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Friday night Dance Party - Freedy Johnston



I was looking for 'Bad Reputation' by Freedy but I stumbled on this one instead. It's called 'The Lucky One' and I need this album!

Friday night Dance Party - The Faders



Trixie likes to put this one on loud and dance around the house! This is on her Giddy-up playlist on her iPod!

Friday night Dance Party - Sultans of Swing

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Sugar Monkey Cupcakes


No, it's not a recipe - it's a shop. Sugar Monkey Cupcakes (LOVE the name!) opened for business in December and is located at 28 W. Chicago Ave. in downtown Naperville. Among the specialties: red velvet, cookies and cream and s'mores cupcakes.

It's all cupcakes, all the time.

And that's NEVER a bad thing...

Sugar Monkey Cupcakes

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Big Brother is watching so watch yourself...



Naperville City Desk has just learned that cameras have been installed at North Aurora and Rt. 59 to catch scofflaws making left turns after the light has turned red. Curiously the cameras are only set up to monitor northbound 59 and eastbound North Aurora traffic. The Naperville Sun reports that as of Feb. 1 drivers who enter the intersection after the light turns red will be ticketed.

Trixie lives in this vicinity and has to make this turn somewhat regularly and let me tell you, it's a bitch. The light lasts about 15 seconds - drivers need to be ready to make the green left-turn arrow because only about 4 cars will safely make that turn. While I think it's good in one respect that a red light is not a suggestion, I would argue that the left-turn light should be longer during peak hours. And I know it's just a matter of time before I treat the yellow light as a STOP and I will have to listen to impatient jackasses behind me honking their horns. I will just have to remember that I am in front and they can't go through me unless they want to buy me a new car.

Trixie must also point out that the Naperville Sun editor who wrote the piece needs to check his own spelling:

That's why I'm a big fan of the new red light cameras at that intersection. I know many people say it's just a money-making venture for the city, or that it will cause more accidents because people will slam on their breaks to avoid getting a ticket. But I am at heart a law-and-order type and I really hate the kind of crazy driving I would see in that area.


It's BRAKES, dumbass. I know it was an opinion piece but shouldn't an editor EDIT? Kee-ripes, send it to me at Naperville City Desk and I'll edit it for you.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Regardless, Grammar Bitch is IN



Grammar Bitch tries to be nice, but in truth she struggles to restrain herself when she hears someone say 'Irregardless, I think we should consider...' (Finish that sentence however you like.) IRREGARDLESS is not a word. Just say 'regardless.' Grammar Bitch would appreciate it.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

What a shock - she only worked there for 10 days

A former Naperville hairstylist apparently helped herself to $300 on her last day of work at Sports Clips on 75th Street.

A woman purchased two haircuts for $28 last summer and authorized a $6 tip. But the stylist apparently added $300 instead. The customer was going through her statements in January and discovered the theft and alerted police.

The stylist only worked at Sports Clips from Aug 1 to Aug 10 according to the manager. She was fired for incompetence.

Not so good with the scissors but handy with the credit card machine.

Gotta wonder - who gets their hair done for $14??? And who doesn't look at their statements for five months?

Think DUIs only happen at 2 am? Think again

An Aurora man has been charged with DUI after losing control of his vehicle and hitting three teenagers on a sidewalk. The incident happened Saturday afternoon. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Uriel Soto-Castro struck two girls ages 13 and 16 and a 15-year-old boy. The three teenagers were taken to area hospitals where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Soto-Castro was driving his vehicle on Galena Boulevard at a high rate of speed and then ran a stop sign at Hill Avenue. His vehicle then drifted off the road and he struck the teens. He continued west on Galena and struck a pickup with a snowplow attached that was in the driveway of a Galena Boulevard business. The force of the crash caused the car to stop at which time Castro-Soto attempted to flee on foot but he was stopped by the owner of the pickup and a passenger who detained him until police arrived.

Soto-Castro faces the following charges:

- aggravated DUI
- not having a driver's license
- disobeying a stop sign
-failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident