Night of the Searchlights

Taken from my backyard to avoid the glare of the streetlights. Never did find out what was going on, as this thing circled several times. Sometimes you'll see news helicopters thanks to the crime (my camera is pointed towards Chicago, maybe a quarter-mile away). Now if they were looking for me, they gave up much too soon.

The Infamous Crawlspace & The I-Beam of Blood

I've finally gotten around to uploading the photos, in no particular order, of the interior of my crawlspace, which runs the length of the living room. Last summer I had an incident where I had to keep checking on the secondary sump pump, and there was an I-beam separating us. I get spasms after being contorted into weird shapes, so I probably slammed my head into the I-beam (like hitting the accelerator instead of the brakes) about 5 times before I thought to wrap a towel around where the bloody flecks marked the spot.

I promised to get photos of this hellish hole the next time I had to deal with things, this time it was adding yet more distilled water to the little tube-things in the battery. I have a Canon something or other, like a PowerShoot dealie, and I think all of the photos came out good. So for all those who care or are just glad to see the money shot of my forehead with the I-dent in it from last summer, have at it.

Lithuanian Plaza, Summer 2012

This street runs between California Avenue and Western and is 69th Street on the west side of Marquette Park and east of Western. It is now an area of blight. Lithuanian Plaza starts with the park on one side and the back end of Holy Cross Hospital on the east side. All of these photos were taken between Talman and Mozart, with a few near Washtenaw.

As far as I can tell, the Plaza is still open, but several other taverns are closed, as is the deli. This area is not a good neighborhood to be in after dark. Richard Chwedyk once told me that one reason older white men and women haven't moved from their three-flats is because, after enduring the horrors of World War II, random shots fired in the middle of the night is something they might find easy to ignore. The logic is so simple, I had never considered it.

The photos are not in consecutive order, but I hope to show the amount of closed businesses and boarded up two- and three-flats along a three block stretch of Lithuanian Plaza. As it was in August of 2012.

HORSES & BAYONETS VS. WOMEN IN BINDERS

Keep yourself  posted as Walt Grogan and I begin work on HORSES & BAYONETS VS. WOMEN IN BINDERS. I'll have the logo up tomorrow. Note: the above photo does not contain stock images of Mr. Ed or women in binders you find on Tumblr.

No One Shall Speak Of This Again

Poe Street and others

three frames: nineteen