Thursday, September 20, 2007

Lost Palaces


Last week, while I am not sure what brought it to my mind, I was thinking of the old Brighton Theater on Archer. I had only visited the theater a couple times (most notably to see ESB with my mom). What a great theater it was - balcony, murals...a classic. And I say was, cuz it was closed and torn down a while back.

Anyway, thinking of the Brighton made me want to see the old gal again, so I did a little googling. And what should I come across, but this website. Holy Cow! For someone that just adores going to the the movies, seeing some of the past greats was fantastic, but at the same time, disheartening. What have we lost by putting up yet another strip mall with a dry cleaner, Blockbuster and pizza joint? As a society that needs everything right now, we have lost the pure joy and beauty of going to another world for a couple hours in a beautiful room, ornate and pristine. In our hurry-up lifestyle, we have replaced the pleasure of a night at the movies by going to a mega-googa-überplex where we can see one of 700 movies, all starting in the next 5 min, sit down in a sterile, cold, unfriendly room on top of the person next to you, shovel in stale popcorn and gigantor drinks that we needed a small loan to afford....all to see a movie that quite frankly sucks.

I ask you to browse that site and see all we have lost and will never get back. Thank God that many have seen just what these are worth to us, and many have been spared the wrecking ball. They may not be in their original state and purpose (The Oriental comes to mind), but the beauty of the architecture remains, and that is a bonus to us all.

For those that wish to really enjoy a great night out with a loved one, your family, or even a little trip to the past with friends, may I recommend a trip to to Downers Grove and a visit to the Tivoli for a experience that should take you back, or your first real movie theater experience if you have never seen an ancient jewel. The Tivoli is the 2nd movie theater ever built in the United States exclusively to show "talkies". From an over 1000 seat auditorium to beautiful reliefs, you can be like my children and spend the first 20 minutes just staring at the walls. I highly suggest a Friday or Saturday night show to get the joy of the organ before the show.

I want to thank the owner of the Lost Palaces website for allowing me to post a picture and link to his page. I lost your email, but thank you so much for sharing your love of old movie theaters with the rest of us!


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Now playing: "(Keep Feeling) Facination" by The Human League
via FoxyTunes

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Where were you 2191 days ago?



Visit Exhibit 13.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Pet Peeves

So I noticed I have a few pet peeves. Well, I know it makes me human. Who doesn't get frustrated over silly things? Fact is - mine are way more important than your's. :) Ok - seriously. I have always wanted to write a book about my pet peeves. I'm no starving, closet-wannabe author at all. I just thought it could make for a funny book. I also have an idea for a pregnancy book for men. So many books about pregnancy are for the women. Let's face it - when your wife starts carrying that baby, EVERYTHING changes. But that's for my book (or another blog entry). Anyway, I thought I would just throw a few of my current pet peeves up, cuz I got nothing better to say right now, except that I wonder how much longer we have to deal with the "Rex Grossman experiment".

  • Don't give me butter straight from the fridge to spread on my toast. It's just not going to work. You're only option is to cut wafer thin slices and lay them strategically on your bread. At a restaurant, forget about it. In those little plastic cups??? You're screwed.
  • If you drive an SUV or a truck that has the spare tire on the back, and over that same spare tire you have a cover of some sort with a word or more, could you please straighten it? Come on - can't you tell that "HONDA" tilted at a 49º angle make you look lazy? It takes about 5 minutes to fix - find the time, Marty McFly.
  • Toothpaste works much better when it's pliable. In that regard, put the cap back on. Thanks.
  • When you leave the house, not only should you have a destination, you should also have a decent idea how to reach that destination. Don't make it up as you go along. And if you really have to, don't make it up as you drive on a major avenue in front of me.
  • The first personal computers came out in the 70's. That's over 30 years ago - one generation and then some. How many people have still not come in contact with a computer? And why are they calling me for help every day? I'm going to take a wild stab and say you still have some digital clock in your house that is not programmed to the correct time.
I have just scratched the surface. I better stop here.
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Now playing: "Your Attention Please" by Blue Man Group
via FoxyTunes

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Kevin Bacon score of 2...

Robyn Lively was in The Karate Kid, Part III with Gabriel Jarret
Gabriel Jarret was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon



On a side note:
Elic Bramlett has a Bacon number of 3.
Elic Bramlett was in The Best Movie Ever Made with Steve Michaels
Steve Michaels was in Nowhere to Hide with Maury Chaykin
Maury Chaykin was in Where the Truth Lies with Kevin Bacon