It is I. I am listening to Krautrock.
I have nothing worthwhile to say, apparently. Say, what did you think of my Portage Theater article? Thanks to Whet Moser of Chicago Magazine and Kate Dries of WBEZ for pointing it out on their blogs.
Category: writing
Save the Portage Theater!
My Gapers Block article about the Portage Theater is now up. Read it, and please attend the zoning board meeting today at 9 a.m.!
Dread
Publication is always a thrilling yet stomach-churning experience for me. I love releasing my work into the wild, but I dread what will happen next. Mostly, I’m waiting to hear from “that guy.” I don’t have a specific “that guy” in mind. He’s more of an archetype; a self-taught scholar who becomes filled with righteous rage whenever a writer doesn’t meet his criteria for good work. See, if the writer doesn’t get a piece exactly right, it’s a slap in the face for “that guy.” Seething in his attic apartment, he hammers out a persnickety e-mail or letter explaining how I failed him.
Then, when I finally sneak up on him and spin his chair around… IT’S ME!
Or Hitler. It varies.
4,000
Four thousand words about the Portage Theater, packed off and sent to Gapers Block. IT IS ACCOMPLISHED.
Tired
Up till 2:30; woke up at 6. I was trying to finish my as-yet unmanageable Gapers Block article about the Portage Theater. Circumstances prevailed to prevent me from finishing last night, and I am so very tired. I have Jasper TX’s song “braille” on repeat. I am steeped in the gravy of exhaustion.
“Nobody gets to hear me sing.” Frank Stadic
A New Aphorism
Research is easy; writing is hard.
New Steppes of Chicago Post
Alas Parker
Princeton Dry Goods store facade (now “Super Wok”) redesigned by Parker N. Berry. Shamefully truncated and neglected.
Visiting Parker
Today we made the journey to Manlius, and Princeton, IL, to see a few of the remaining works of former Louis Sullivan draftsman Parker N. Berry. The folks in both towns couldn’t have treated us better. My faith in humanity was reinforced by the graciousness and industry of the members of the Manlius Historical Society and the Bureau County Historical Society. More later.
Finding Parker
I’m heading to Manlius and Princeton, IL, this weekend to see some of the few remaining works of architect Parker Noble Berry, Louis Sullivan’s final draftsman and a promising architect in his own right. Sadly, Berry died at age 30, a victim of the 1918 Spanish Flu. I don’t think his hospital is still standing, but we’ll see.