Listics

Eleven years ago today a shy American teenager climbed aboard an international flight from California to St. Petersburg, Russia.  This is her diary.

Since noon, women had arrived in waves, parking their sedans and SUVs
at intervals along the nondescript cul-de-sac. First were the
stay-at-home moms, then the working-class wives, then the single girls.
At the front door, they were met by a fortyish blonde with
machine-tanned skin, dyed hair and suspiciously perky breasts pressing
against a tight blue sweater. We’ll call her Debbie. She ushered the
women inside.

Ben writes about designer goods and the gray market in knock-offs in this week’s Pitch.

The Buckingham Fountain.  Brunch at the Hilton across from Grant Park.  The Museum of Science and Industry.  Cruising Hyde Park and checking out my old kindergarten stomping grounds from 53rd and Cornell to Bret Harte School.  The 57th Street Art Fair and purchase of a Saggar fired piece by an artist I can’t credit because the provenance is in the back of the car and my memory’s shot.  Borders for coffee and some down time just the other side of the IC tracks from our old place at 53rd and Cornell.  Found the work of Eric Jerome Dickey and decided to read it all when I’ve finished my John Dunning mystery novels.

Endgame at the Court Theater.

Serious case of tired museum feet.  High humidity, high temperature, sweaty balls and no baby powder.  Chafed thighs at the end of the day and  the keys to the room demagnetized so there was an extra trip to the front desk to get them fixed.

Checked my traffic counter and noticed some hits from Flackster where more of the dirty story has been revealed. It gets worse.

Went down to the Garden
Suitcase in my hand…

Click for pix.

Thanks to Michael and Leslie for this morning linkage.  I’m off to the Chicago Botanic Garden.  "Botanic" feels like a syllable is missing.

I’ll just charge up a few batteries, throw a suitcase together and head out the door.  Well, maybe I’ll wait until after breakfast.  I’m having difficulty convincing certain people that a trip to the Shedd Aquarium will be its own reward.

This from Doctor David Suzuki…

Hunting for primate "bushmeat" in Africa is on the rise, and unless
work is done to reduce the demand for primate meat, many species could
disappear within a few short years. The latest animal to be added to
the threatened list is the "kipunji," a type of mangabey recently found
in the forests of Tanzania. It is the first new monkey species to be
discovered in 20 years and it immediately went on the threatened list.
Researchers estimate there are no more than 1,000 of the animals across
its entire range, which encompasses just 120 square kilometres.