American Beauty: My Amazon Review

Outstanding look at suburban existence,new millenium style. Benning is glorious as the Martha Stewart-like, neglectful working mother who is more concerned about her prize roses than her misfiring family life. Spacey exemplifies a belated return to youth, relishing even his boyhood burger stand job as a counter-balance to the baloney-filled, useless telemarketing position from which he bribed his way out. The kids find dashing rebuke for the alientation of parents and society in their dreams of boiking men, running away, and filming dead people. Stellar performance by all involved, but particularly Thora Birch as a wayward, misunderstood teen who eventually falls for the "geek boy" next door, the only miscreant that can understand her. Deducted: one star. Reason: Mendes screenplay, just a tad too far left of true suburban life; the charasters are flawed beyond reality, making not one of them the redeemed soul that would have sparked a sense of believability to the film. Four Stars

Yeah, I Remember The First Time I Got An iPod

Come & Relax On My Human Dog Bed

Shale At Batavia, IL Duck Park By The Dam

Summer Is Ideal For Swimming And Rope Swings

Blackstone's in Yorkville, IL

Blackstone Bar and Grill is the best place to dine in Yorkville, Illinois.  I live in St. Charles, IL and travel to Yorkville for Blackstone’s every couple weeks.  It has a formal appearing décor, but is very casual in style—wear anything and the host/owner will serve you fine food at very reasonable prices.  Everything from fish to hamburgers is on the menu in this non-smoking establishment located on Veteran’s in Yorkville (about ½ mile from the well-traveled Route 47).  The parking is plentiful, but do take a leisurely approach to eating here at busy hours and holidays (e.g. Mother’s Day) because everyone locally knows this is the best restaurant within thirty miles in any direction for chef-prepared upscale food at very reasonable prices.  A favorite of my wife and I is the pot roast dinner, which has succulent pot roast, well-cooked (not underdone) in wine sauce that is out of this world; it’s served with garlic mashed potatoes and thin crispy and warm onion strips.  Enough to fill the hungriest of diners, it’s currently about $15…well worth it.  They have custom burgers with fries for $9, and soda with free refills for $2.  Bread is included with each meal, and a small side salad for $3 is with a vinegar-based house dressing that is tangy and wonderful.

The care that goes into the food preparation is evident, as this restaurant is the best outside of Chicagoland proper.  The owner is always present when we’ve been there—at least a dozen times—which makes a giant difference in the effort of the staff, the atmosphere in general.  The lighting is dim but not dark, the music is always just ideal (Frank Sinatra at the perfect volume to allow diner conversation), and the temperature is comfortable; many restaurants fail in atmosphere, which is as important as the meal.  The owner and family being “on-site”, often coming up to the tables to assure that all is well, is a giant step toward consistency of service.

The full bar is located on one side of the Blackstone, and has LCD TVs and boths as well as the huge bar, and it has an upscale atmosphere, open and high ceilings, that is not overwhelmed by TV noise; it is a place where one could conduct a business meeting, a celebration, or even dine alone in comfort.  When the restaurant is full, the overflow is seated at the bar, and we enjoy that area just as much.  There is literally not a bad table in the house.  The drink menu is extensive, everything from beers of the world to Cosmopolitans and martinis (even mini-martinis for $3! When you’re hitting the road). The restaurant’s official website linked below shows photos of the Blackstone, plus I snapped a couple on my point-and-shoot camera so you’d get an idea.

I’d like to point out that there is a restaurant, Stonefire, on Route 47 that has a similar name to Blackstone and is at a more central location on the “main drag”.  It’s far inferior to Blackstone in ambiance, service, and quality of food.  Stonefire reminds me of a fried fish fry with beer in a Wisconsin vacation spot, whereas Blackstone Grill and Pub is more like a modern, niche restaurant that one would find in a Chicagoland suburb (think Gevena, St. Charles, Glen Ellyn, etc.) or in downtown Chicago itself.  There is one thing about Blackstone in Yorkville, though, that is improved from Chicago: the prices.  A diner can have a wonderful and healthy meal of chicken, steak or fish, two sides, a garden salad and soda with tip for $26.  That’s pretty hard to come by in most restaurants of this caliber.  I do not personally know the owner, but will one day introduce myself.  As everyone in north central Illinois is aware, this is the place to eat for fine dining.  Enjoy!

http://www.blackstonebarandgrill.com/

ENO Nest, SlapStraps, Kelty-9 Tarp = Nap Time

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, est. 1909

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_Motor_Speedway

Conklin Barn Theater, Goodfield, Illinois

Our Founder
Chaunce Conklin (June 9, 1926 - December 24, 1999)

Charles "Chaunce" Conklin, born in 1926 in Arrowsmith, began his professional career in 1950. He had been associated with the Barn Dinner Theater at Goodfield since 1975. Before that, he taught dance at Illinois Wesleyan University for 13 years and produced, directed and choreographed shows at the Illinois House, Lake Bloomington, Williams Towne Hall and Lexington. He had many years experience as a professional dancer. One of the benchmarks of his professional stage experience was as Will Parker with John Raitt in the touring company production of "Oklahoma!" He did summer stock in Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Florida and Illinois, appearing with stars Dorothy Collins, Gordon and Sheila McCrea, JoAnne Worley and Shelley Berman. Chaunce Conklin was much more than the founder of the Barn…he was director, manager, instructor, mentor, friend and inspiration. We are proud to continue the dream he had of a professional, resident theatre in central Illinois.

Check it out there: http://www.barn2.com/

Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire

A stunning photo by R. W. Thatcher

I'm Busy Today Doing Chores. Anyone Wanna Help?

Golf

Anyone up for some frisbee golf?

Alligator Show, Ft. Lauderdale FL

This man wrestled this alligator for audience applause and tips in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2004.  He did not get eaten alive during the show we saw.

Gazing Up The Fox River In Geneva Toward The Herrington Hotel

Stones Rock And Roll

From the LP Made In The Shade. Grab a lemon tonic and dance.

Us And Them

The Clock Tower Visible Over Old Town Pub

Photoshop Corrected Windmill

Here's the windmill from my post two days ago that has been Adobe Photoshop edited by my father.  About 15 modifictions, included light balance enhanced, cropping, removing tree shadow, enhancing windmill darkness, removing wire and pole, adding more flowers, etc.  Very talented Photoshopping!

Opportunity

Mayhem 2010 Is History

The best show was Rob Zombie.  We had seats about like this video, which must have been posted by someone sitting near us.  The sound of the video is horrendous.  The sound live at the show is, well, horrendous.  Earplugs make it listenable. And of course, the Metal Mulisha motorcyclists were spot on!  A fun and very long (2PM to 1030PM, and we bagged on Korn after two songs) day.