And now, the news

Well, violence is up in Chicago, and where do we go from here? The many shootings across the city will, of course, be an impediment to the Olympics coming to Chicago, but maybe that's a good thing. We can't get out shit straight now, with a draconian ban on firearms, and a pretty large police force. It's embarrassing actually. Between Daley and Stroger, and the rest, it seems like their ruining Chicago. Oh, how much longer will people be happy with the tulips every April when there are shootings in the Loop and 10.25% sales tax? Oh, no worries though, I suppose you only have to worry about approval ratings if elections were to actually matter.

Yep, I'm a little frustrated with the situation. And the sooner everyone else in Chicago is, the better. I know it's hard to believe with the "Chicago way" and all, but you can vote these folks out of office. The problem is that there are just so many apathetic people out there when it comes to politics who believe they are powerless. And individually, maybe they are. But you get public sentiment going, and who knows. Certainly, Chicago is an incredibly diverse city, rarely voting in an consistent way, which plays right into the hands Lord Daley, He Who Shall Not Be Named and Stroger (he's more a Peter Pettigrew). Oh, Lord help me. I just compared Chicago politicicans to evil Harry Potter characters.

But, let's move on from the shootings, the CTA failures, the high taxes, and the misappropriations of funding. It's all good. I'm 90% certain we're not getting the Olympics. That's just my opinion, but if you read the papers, I don't know how we could.

I've finished my little trilogy of The First Law. Book three, The Last Argument of Kings was good. I thoroughly enjoyed the books. I liked the characters, I liked the stories. It may have gotten just a little long in the tooth, and it's obvious who Abercrombie's favorite character is by the end of the book (mine too, but I was partial to others at the beginning). Some of the other characters could have had their tales wrapped up a little neater too. But, it leaves the way open for more books. Which I would whole-heartedly pursue.

The books are fantasy. But they're light on the magic and the monsters. It's a world where magic is rare, and dying; the stuff of ancient times and legend. So, it's not your typical, annoying, romp through elf-invested magical hippy forests in search of the blood-emerald of the seven-titted gorgon. Which is good.

And now on to bigger and better things. Yes, The Yiddish Policeman's Society is still there. And I have to read it. But first: Apocalypse How: Turn the End Times into the Best Times! My kind of book. And on that note, I'm a little mystified. While looking for that book, in the humor section, I almost picked up Zombie Haiku, which, as you can imagine, is a book of zombie haikus. I did not. It was $10, and you know what, I can write zombie haikus. Watch:

keep gas in your tank
tomorrow they come for you
the mall will be safe

it was just a scratch
i woke up starving today
eating brains is fun

leftovers everywhere
we waste too much food today
fingers still have meat

So, why would I pay $10 for that!? But wait. It's well presented and some of the haikus are well done. I had to convince myself not to buy it. It was made easier by the fact that next to it is a series of books that consists solely of people taking pictures of their cats with things on their heads, or wearing things. Oh, that's money well spent right there.

Yes yes. All this complaining about reading things I could write has spurred me on. I've started writing, again, but a different thing. I have a decent start. We'll see where it goes. I'm a little worried about being too successful and making bushels of money.

Oh! One more current events irony. So, there is (or was) a new wax sculpture of Adolf Hitler that was put on display in a German museum. It's creepy. Well, within hours of opening a man ripped its head off. Where was this guy in 1938?