We built this

The average Illinoisan's reaction upon learning of the Capitol Renovation project (a month before it ended)

So I work in government, doing government things. It's what I've always wanted to do, government/politics, and now I'm doing it. I promise, it's not usually the shit show you're seeing unfold right now in DC. Nor is it the slimey, greasy betrayal-murder-fest portrayed in House of Cards (an excellent show, despite that). While discussing said show a friend on Facebook, said something like 'dirty politics are the only kind ;)' (yet it was capped off with an actual winky face). I suppose it's something of a misnomer to call this person a friend, but this bothered me all the same. People who have a surface level knowledge of/interest in politics, particularly those who may or may not participate in government simulations here in our fine state, tend to relish 'dirty' politics in a way that is somewhat sickening. Sure, backhanded methods get things done some times, but government works best when people work together and actually play by the rules. The celebration in pop culture of political trickery and betrayal only makes it more alluring to the ambitious, and leaves less room for those doing good work. That, however, is not what I'm here to talk about. This post is regarding something more specific, and more timely

In my new job, I work here, the Illinois State Capitol:

It's a big, beautiful building of the Renaissance Revival style. It's not the prettiest building I've ever seen, but it is the prettiest in Illinois.

I've always, since I was young, had an affinity for public buildings. County courthouses, capitols, old post offices, and finally the massive, timeless, beautifully crafted federal buildings in DC have always captivated me. They have a grandness to them: a sovereign pride that I find riveting. So one of my state's most recent controversies was particularly troubling for me.

A couple years ago the western wing of the Capitol went under reconstruction, mainly to bring it up to fire code, but also to refurbish and replace many of the old materials throughout the wing. The Capitol is well over a century old and, as is the case with many public buildings, doesn't see the sort of regular maintenance you may see in the private sector. Not to say it was ever a hole, but it was due for some improvements. For well over 90% of the renovation things were quiet, with the only people unhappy about the whole project being legislative and executive staffers cast into a nearby state building with an asbestos issue for the duration of the rebuild.

However because of whatever combination of reasons: pension reform, an upcoming election, Bill Daley still pretending to be relevant; it came to WE THE PEOPLE's attention in late August. What specifically came to their attention were these:

The three sets of copper doors installed in the Capitol's west entrance rang up a bill of about $669,000. Outrage ensued. Angry letters, screaming editorials, and unlimited pontificating ensued, whipping the Illinois electorate into a froth. An angry, shouty froth. 'How can we spend so much money on doors and chandeliers when we're cutting our pensions to death' they asked; 'how can you close down an unemployment office and still pay for these doors?' they yelled; 'the economy is in ruin (not really, see Spain), how can we afford these' others complained; or even the classic 'you raised my taxes to build those?! (because you should only pay taxes for services you receive directly, of course).

So what's my problem with all this citizen outrage?

It's not that the funds for the renovation come from a special fund specifically for the Capitol, that has existed for years, and that can't be drawn away from for other ventures (nor can it draw from other funds), or that while $669,000 is a lot to a family of four it's next to nothing for a state of 14 million, or that it doesn't even begin to compare to the amount of money the pension issue entails (mega billions, yo. Warren Buffett couldn't pay down our pension debt), or most importantly that the plan had been approved by both sides, gone completely under the radar, and been in the works prior to the budgetary shit show that now engulfs the state. It's something a little more abstract.

Since the 80's or so Americans have come to the conclusion that government must have a strong 'return on investment' for them, and that if something they pay into doesn't financially profit them, then they shouldn't pay for it. It's the logical conclusion of the 'let's run government like a business' manure proffered by Post-Reagan Republicans.

Sure, government should be fiscally responsible, sure it should manage money responsibly, sure it should be efficient. That said, there's more to governing than turning a profit. The Capitol likely costs each Illinoisan less than $5 annually, and the return we get for that is astounding.

The Illinois Capitol is a cathedral of craftsmanship, awe inspiring, intricate, and beautiful, and when I was young it inspired me. Government should not be housed in cold, gray, featureless mausoleums, but instead in buildings that show what our collective action, as a county, as a state, as a country can build. Public buildings are the physical evidence, plain for all to see, of how much we can make when we all contribute, of what we as a society can build. 

But it's more than that, it's the idea that you, as an Illinoisan, can walk into this building for no reason other than to be there, and that you, in some small way, had a hand in building this, that you have partial ownership to this monument to our republic. When people enter a public building they shouldn't say 'We built this' in anger, their faces contorted in disgust. People should be able to say 'We built this' with pride, with the understanding that it is theirs as much as it is the legislators who reside in it. I recently saw a post on a news blog sum it up a bit more succinctly then I have:

"...attempting to aggrandize self-government is not an entirely contemptible gesture, and in this case it left the people with a museum of vanished craftmanship that dazzles by its sheer exuberance if not its taste. It is unique, priceless, irreplaceable. Almost everyone who sees it with unjaundiced eyes realizes that we could never do that today. Sadder still, we would never dare to try."

Our public works are what they are for a reason. They remind us of our capability when we work together, of the fundamental understanding that we as a society are more than the sum of our individual parts, and that we all do better individually when we do not function only as individuals.They are there to inspire others to the call of service, and to memorialize in history our great gamble to govern ourselves and one another. Are the doors, the chandeliers, and the stained glass that prompted so much ire here at a bad time? Sure. But a century from now they will inspire our children and our grand-children the same as other works inspired us, there's no way to put a price tag on that.

BEWARE I LIIIIIVE

Run, run!
(Points of absolutely no value if you can identify where this comes from. USE GOOGLE AND I WILL SLAY YOU!)

Okay, real talk: this blog has not gotten the attention from me it deserves as of late. To be fair I've been really busy. Well, okay, maybe only kind of busy, so my bad. That said new lifey things are settling down a bit now so I feel like I can start producing again. The good news is I have a massive backlog of movies, shows, beers, and foods I've made to work through now. The bad news: the likelihood of my finding the motivation to power through all of them in a particularly timely way is roughly correspondent to my winning the lottery I didn't buy a ticket to.

That said there will be several posts in the near future for you to look forward to. There will be some food things, a pseudo-political post, a showing of my new abode, and an update on Shortstack, at the very least. Speaking of:

Still rude dudein'

The Government may be shut down, but this blog is not, and until it receives federal funding of some sort (who knows, these guys do) I will be trying to put together new things with which to entertain your brain-parts. Now, MUSIC:

I Hate Myself for Loving You

It becomes relevant, eventually

I'm a political person, a very political person. So much so that I've chosen to do it for money for the rest of ever. So as you might expect, my politics drive a lot of my actions. After all, why the hell else would someone put themselves through the act of canvassing? You have to love the fight to do shit like that.

That said, my politics doesn't really drive my acts as a consumer. Last year when everybody was getting all pissed off (in either direction, really) about Chick-Fil-A, I kept on eating it. When Deepwater Horizon became the world's largest money geyser I kept going to BP stations, if that's what was close. Was it because I supported these companies in all their actions and positions? Nope. Why? Because Chick-Fil-A is goddamn good. No, I mean that's definitely part of it, but there's more to it. First of all, I mean, this. If a company's owner believes something fine, as long as they aren't legislating it I don't see why I should care. Second, and more importantly, I don't think most boycotts are effective today, given the way companies do business and the way executives get paid. Consider that CEOs today now make two hundred seventy-three times the average workers salary, obviously taking care of the company every man is not at the top of the priority list. If a CEO, like say Chick-Fil-A's owner, has a deeply held, dyed-in-the-wool ignorant old codge sort of conviction, he's not giving it up. EVER. If his profits drop by 10% because of that conviction (which pretty much never happens anyway), he still isn't going to change his mind, and if they did he'd gladly just lay off some people instead of actually changing his position. So when you boycott most places, especially places that are franchised and individually owned (like gas stations) you aren't punishing this guy, you're more likely punishing him:

Look in his eyes, the pain is all in the eyes.

This position of mine has made a lot of people, typically on my side of the aisle, very angry.

Whateva.

That said, recently, I've run into one that I do feel pretty shitty about, and can't stop myself from indulging in. Oberweis Dairy. Oberweis is, predictably, owned by Jim Oberweis, who in addition to being a business owner is a professional asshole and a State Senator in my very own Great State of Illinois. First of all, Jim Oberweis has made it quite clear, he wants to be everything but a dairy owner. He's run for office SIX times! Five of those runs ended in terrible failure, as he slowly lowered his sights from United State Senator, to Governor, to House Rep, to finally a lowly State Senate seat (yet somehow people still bought that this time he really really had always wanted to be state senator). The man wants a constitutional amendment defining marriage in a blue state, he's almost comically anti-immigrant (for God's sake he's flying in his helicopter while bitching about impoverished minorities [perfectly good time to mention that he uses immigrant labor in his business]), supports right to work laws, and school vouchers that defund already cripplingly underfunded public schools. He's probably the most white-hot conservative individual in the Illinois Senate. But it's more personal than that. My brother ran his general election opponent's campaign. It was a race that couldn't be won, and to be fair, despite all the circumstances, the campaign outperformed the district's conservative lean. Still, he had to deal with Oberweis personally, fighting tooth and nail to get the district as far from him as possible.

I was warned about his products. About the ice cream, about the milkshakes, about the blessed chocolate milk. I was warned that if I had them, there'd be no going back. Again, I'm not one for boycotts, but I can get all of those things elsewhere, and I really didn't want to line his pockets. But I tried them anyway, and, well.

It's good, wayyyyyyy too good. I wasn't even entirely sure milk could taste that good. It's also actually available here in town, which means I have a quandary. Except to say it's a quandary is not quite correct, given that I've pretty much resigned myself to buying their shit now. I'm a passionate individual, and I most certainly have a side, but goddamn do I love good food. Do my dollars from the occasional gallon of milk (or the slightly more occasional half-gallon of chocolate milk [praise be its name]) make a big difference to Jim Oberweis or his future ambitions? No. Do I still feel like a bit of a tool for it? Yeah, totally. But it wasn't even remotely enough to stop me from ending up like this.

It's actually taunting me. Smug bastard.

And now a song from an artist, for which the post was named, that there is absolutely no shame in enjoying. Joan Jett:

The Pseudo-Suck

Okay, so let's make it clear. I've got a great job that I start a week from Monday. I have a new apartment that I love and a new bunny I love a little more.That said, life is uh, tricky right at the moment. I've come to realize that in between the oft-mentioned Suck and the Post-Suck there is the 'Pseudo-Suck' which is largely defined by the process of uprooting one's entire life in order to move into the next phase of life. This means renting an apartment, setting up utilities, getting furniture, and driving all over kingdom-come to do these things. Some of these things I've never done on my own before and am having to learn very, very quickly, which hopefully will not end in disaster.

Basically everyday

It's an expensive process that comes right after a period characterized by unemployment. See the problem? The Pseudo-Suck is a mix of hope, frustration, and knowledge that the worst is over; essentially Post-War Europe. It's like 'Oh you need to buy these sofas and this table and a futon and set up the internet and I'm like:

Example. Here's what my last few days looked like.
Friday: Drive to Champaign to retrieve three bookcases ($40) and 1 futon ($25) for the new apartment. 3 hours.
Saturday: Drive to Algonquin to get a new bun (failed) get cage ($10) and retrieve table, tv and lamps from ladyfriend's house. Gas ($30). 13 hours.
Sunday: Drive to Champaign to get entertainment center ($35). Four hours.
Monday: Drive to Lonedell, MO to get bun ($25) and bun equipment ($30). Gas ($30). 7 hours.
Tuesday: Go to Springfield to do ALL THE UNPACKING. Start internet service ($100). 5 hours.

I mean obviously in the end it will be worth it, a new place that's mine-all-mine, a little fuzz ball to share it with, and all the used furniture a guy could ever want. It's just the getting there that's extraordinarily difficult. Also, there has been a rabbit on my back for about 75% of this post's writing. Because it's where about 3/4s of my current furniture and shit comes from, this song will top off the post. (sorry, I know it's been done to death a bit)

Shortstack

Finally, after much hunting, stress, and difficulty, I found him. The perfect, loveliest rabbit I could have hoped for. As decided by both those of you who voted (thanks and stuff) and me (I would have probably picked it anyway) my new bun is named Shortstack. This is his face:

Shortstack

Getting to this lovely, perfect bun was a saga, and a hard one. First we went to Champaign, where the Champaign County Humane Society is. Nice people, great facility, sweet animals. I met another looker there by the name of Mackenzie/aka the bun that got away. This is her:

Not Shorstack

She is (was?) a Netherland Dwarf, as is Shortstack. She, however, got away. Some little girl (the staff said so) adopted her out from under us at the last minute. If I ever meet this 'little girl' character I'm not gonna lie, I'll probably beat her up. It can't be hard.
Next we went far up north to Algonquin, IL, A whopping four hours and change away, to No Splitting Hairs. NSH is a great shelter with some really good people helping out there, but all of their rabbits were HUGE, like 2-4 Houdinis in size. Houdini came along for the trip, and was not happy to meet rabbits several times her size. We left Algonquin empty handed, which was disappointing, given the travel and expense. We tried to make a last minute craigslist rush while we were still up north, but unsurprisingly a lot of the people selling rabbits on their were super shady (although one of them was really nice).
Finally, we found a post from a town called Lonedell in Missouri, about an hour south of St. Louis. That was how Shortstack came about, and after a three hour trip there and an identically long one back, we had our second rabbit. Houdini was very excited

Courtney's work

Shortstack, however, is very different from Houdini, and demonstrates just how varied rabbits can be. Where Houdini is oblivious to threats (aggressive cats, shoe clad feet, etc), gregarious, and adventurous Shortstack is cautious to a fault and protective of his territory. On his first night home he barely moved at all, but instead hunkered down against the floor, looking like an eared eggplant. He even went and tucked himself in behind my Dad's neck as a hiding place (cuteshit). Houdini was excited as ever, and scared the living shit out of the newcomer, who eventually started chasing her out of his little 'safe zones' that he'd become comfortable enough to move around.
Over the last few days, however, he's warmed up significantly, recovering from the trauma of being uprooted. He's currently hopping and running around the bed that I'm in. He and Houdini are still not best friends by any means, but we're starting to see them warm up to each other. It's clear they want to be friends, they're both quite curious about each other, but also both afraid of having their territory invaded.

Work in progress

He's now comfortable enough to roam around, sniff Courtney and I, and do little happy hops around his play spaces. Sometimes he even lets us pet him, something that's become increasingly common over the last couple days.

Hiding: Shortstack's 2nd favorite activity behind exploring.

We've got a ways to go, he's still just a little 8-week old baby and has much to learn, but in a month or two he'll be every bit the loving, playful bunny we've come to know in Houdini.

I Made a Food Pt. 1

Too cute to eat right? Clearly why I used beef.

As promised in the first post, this blog will partially be about cooking and eating (and drinking). So, as a result, when I make a new thing and am pleased with the result I will make a post so you can make it too, if you choose. I will also, at the end of each week (hopefully), make a quick post profiling and rating the things I've tried that week be it shows, liquor, beer, or restaurants (maybe music too, unsure just yet). So that being said the first thing I'll put up is Shepherd's Pie, which I took a swing at a couple nights ago, and was tremendously pleased with.

Shepherd's Pie

It's worth pointing out that I do things a bit differently with this dish than most. Namely I use a red wine base (similar to beef bourguignon) as opposed to Worcestershire and I also use chunked stew meet instead of any ground concoction, be it beef or lamb. It's also worth noting that I tend to cook very informally, I don't use recipes too often (beyond as a basis for inspiration) and I don't tend to measure ingredients to carefully unless I'm baking (which is all chemistry). I taste what I'm making frequently until it's the way I want it, according to the people who eat my food, this seems to be working. For your sake I will try to approximate the measures I used. The recipe serves 3-5 people and takes about 2 hours to make. To start you will want two teams of ingredients: A.) the stew team; B.) The potato team.

 The Stew Team (pretend that red potato isn't here)

1 lb package beef stew meat

1 med-large onion

1 12-16 oz package mushroom

4-5 carrots

2 cloves garlic

1 bottle Pinot Noir (Cabernet Sauvignon would work well too)

1/2 tbs butter

1/4 cup green onions

2-3 beef bouillon cubes

Salt

Pepper

Thyme

Fresh sage

Bay leaves

Rosemary

1 tsp ketchup

The Potato Team (this is where the potato goes)

1 1/2 lb red potatoes (or whatever variety you like most)

4-6 oz sharp cheddar (don't half-ass with mild)
Heavy whipping cream
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp butter

For this you'll require one pot with a not non-stick surface (you'll need it for deglazing), one slightly larger pot, and one casserole dish. Start by peeling the carrots and onions and then chopping them. I gave the carrots a simple cut and cut the onion in half before slicing it into long strips. Usually I cut onions smaller but in this dish they'll cook down so much that it's better to have them a bit bigger. Mince up the garlic and then throw the three of them in the pot with the pad of butter on med-high heat. Cook long enough that the onions and garlic sweat out a bit and provide a little liquid (they should look fairly translucent around that point). If any of the ingredients stick a little bit that's okay, you'll want some crispy bits on the bottom of the pan when you deglaze it.
While that's going on peel your potatoes, and cut them into rough cubes, then toss them in some water and set that to boil. This will take a while, so don't pay it too much mind while the more important things are happening in the stew pot.

Next throw in the stew meat and let it get a good sear on it (your pan will need to be plenty hot for that), pretty quickly you'll find you've got a lot of liquid from the meat built up. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Take the accumulated ingredients out and put them somewhere temporarily, I used my casserole dish for the job. You should have an empty pan now with plenty of crispy bits and flavorful residue from what you've cooked so far. Get that pan good and hot and then pour in about 1/3-1/2 of the bottle of red wine. It will his and sear and make mean noises but don't worry, that's what it's supposed to do, just stir and try to scrape all the stuff off the pans bottom. Once that's done toss your other ingredients back into your deglazed pan. Put your bouillon cubes in now alongside a generous amount of thyme, some salt and pepper, a pinch of rosemary, 2-3 bay leaves, and some fresh sage (I used about 4 or 5 small sprigs).  Bear in mind that the sage, bay leaves, and thyme should be the herbs primarily flavoring the stew. Now is also the time to toss in the mushrooms, they need to go in late so they don't cook down into nothing. If you feel your stew doesn't have enough tanginess after about twenty minutes at a quiet simmer, add the ketchup.

 Still in development

Your potats should be nearing done by now. Pluck a chunk out and press it with a fork, if it crumbles nicely it's probably done, I always taste mine to be sure. Drain the potats into a colander and clean the pot of the accumulated starchy gunk. Put the potatoes back in the pot and mash the bejesus out of them. Add the butter and a healthy splash of cream to help give them a smooth consistency. Last, while they're still hot, add 1 egg yolk (a tip I got from an Alton Brown version) and stir it in very quickly (so it doesn't form up). It'll give your potats a nice silky quality and help them form together well once they bake. Salt and pepper the mashed potatoes generously.

Last throw in the green onions for some character and a bit of bright flavor in what will be a very heavy, rich dish. Give that another ten minutes or so until it's reduced and has a nice thickness two it, something of a brown gravy like consistency. If you feel you need to add more red wine do so, I did, and just give it some more time to reduce (or if you're feeling impatient, throw in a little corn flour blended with water, that thickens things right up).

Finished stew

Spray down your casserole dish with some non-stick spray (so your stew doesn't burn and taste like ass) and pour the stew in, spreading it evenly across the pan. You may want to take out the bay leaves, as biting into one is not entirely pleasant. I left mine in because they're A.) hard to miss and B.) benefit the dish by being left to contribute more during the baking.

Next, with a rubber spatula, scrape out your potatoes and spread them across the top of the stew (this part can be a little trying, but just keep at it).

Once that's done pop the pie into the oven at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, long enough for the crust to turn a light gold. Don't cheese the pie yet, seriously, at that temperature with that much time the cheese will just get nasty. A lot of people like to top casseroles with toasted cheese masses, I do not. Instead take the pie out once you have about five minutes left and sprinkle the cheese on then. Return it to the over, wait it out, then retrieve it again. Garnish the entree with a couple sprigs of parsley and a little green onion, if you so please.

Let it cool for a bit so you don't injure your guests (unless that's a priority for you in which case by all means), then dig in! In the end remember, food is freedom, and unless you're making pastries you can bend, play with, and distort any part of a recipe as much and as often as you please. This is how I made this, and I loved how it turned out, but do whatever you want with it, it's your kitchen. Now, a song:

So I worked in a Liquor Store...

Does this count as an animal picture?

For the last couple months of The Suck I found pseudo-gainful employment in a local liquor store. My last day was yesterday. I haven't mentioned it much through any of my social media because, well, people don't really write home about that sort of thing. It has however paid the bills in the interim time leading up to my grown-up job, and is overall a pretty sweet gig as part-time work goes (and hopefully the last part time work I ever do). I work with about four other people, some of whom were pretty cool people. My boss, who may be some strange alien in people skin is actually a really cool guy, and great to work for (usually), he's just, uh, strange. Working there, however, did also have some drawbacks. The list goes about as follows:

Pros:
Employee discount on some of my favorite products to put in mah body
Having a store all to myself most of the time
No wretched, 'folksy' uniform to wear (like another part-time job I worked in the past)
Chairs
If I got too hot, I could always spend a minute or two in a walk in cooler.
A water cooler!
How many other part-time jobs let you have food delivered to work whenever the hell you want?
Due to the short-term nature of my employment, pay in cash.
The extreme joy I get from shutting people down for expired/missing/clearly-not-yours-you're-not-even-asian IDs.
This is a lengthy one, but one I think everyone can relate to. When I sell people something I almost always say "Enjoy!" as they leave. They almost always in turn say "You too!" even though I am almost certainly not going to be sharing their booze with them. We've all been in that situation, whether at a restaurant or movie theater or liquor store, we've been there, and it sucks. Once I realized I could create this situation for others, well.
This:

Why are you so perfect?

Cons:
The Customers (click both of the words)
Having a store all to myself most of the time
Too many six-legged companions in the store come late evening
The music; unless you're really fond of the entire discography of Lynyrd Skynyrd and AC/DC
Our broken A/C
The propensity of some customers, usually a certain sort of individual, to share with me their entire life stories/personal tragedies/life greatest hits stories.

Wanting to give people advice on awesome things to drink, but realizing 98.8% of people buy NaturalKeyWeiserMiller Lite.

So as the list may show, it's got its ups and downs, but overall I thought it was a pretty good way to pass the time. Honestly, in retrospect, I wish I had worked there, or a place like it, for the duration of my time in college instead of where I did. Oh well, it was a good way to spend a couple months and an even better way to earn money for my rapidly accumulating expenses (more on that later). This song seems to fit well with the store, and is one of my favorites from the time period:

Two Shows Enter, One Show Leaves

This primate has a gun, so do many of the primates in the shows in question.

Disclaimer: This is a post evaluating two TV series: The Sopranos and The Wire. There will be some spoilers, so bear this in mind going forward.

I'm a person who likes television. A lot. However with that comes some pretty high standards for what I view regularly. You won't find Mike & Molly or Two and a Half Men on my watch list literally ever. I view TV as an incredible story-telling mechanism, with a lot of advantages to offer over film, which has much less time (typically two hours or so) to grow and cultivate characters and explore narratives. Like novels shows have plenty of elbow room to build their universe, perfect their formula, and tell the best story possible.

I find good TV to be immensely enjoyable and a great topic for discussion. Fortunately, so do my friends. So it's commonly asked and talked about as to what exactly is the greatest show ever made, a question to which I have devoted some thought. In my view it comes down between two of the shows I've watched (I have some great shows I still haven't watched though, like Homeland or Deadwood): The Sopranos and The Wire. These two shows, as it turns out, are also the most oft cited shows by critics, though it's hard to say which holds the lead among them. I've watched both in their entirety in the last couple months, and can compare the two with some fresh perspective.

"I'm in the waste management business. Everybody immediately assumes you're mobbed up. It's a stereotype, and it's offensive."

"The fuck did I do?"

It's good to start by saying that the shows have a lot in common, both thematically and in approach. A lot of this probably has to do with HBO (always a safe bet) making both shows, and with the shows being made within a few years of each other. Neither show is prone to hyperbole, and both portray their topic matter quite realistically (The Wire slightly more so), something that mob fiction and police dramas both tend to be quite poor at. Both shows focus on long unwinding story-lines that start quite slow (which can limit their appeal to some) and pick up heat mid-season. They also tend to see their most dramatic events unfold in a season's second to last episode, leaving time for resolution and rejecting the cliff-hangars embraced by many network shows.

Stringer Bell (The Wire): what I would call the most impressive villain in television history.

Carmella Soprano (duh): the strongest, most complex, and most lovingly handled woman I've seen on film.

They are, however, also quite different. The Soprano's is a show very much about characters, featuring a main cast of decent size that is, sparing some deaths over the course of the series, fairly consistent. Because of this laser focus on a handful of individuals The Sopranos is home to what are probably the most richly developed, wonderfully layered characters in the history of television. A character so impressive and complex as Tony Soprano is an extremely rare phenomena, and the show's ability to take young characters like say Meadow and Bobby (who start off the show as young children) and develop them realistically into multi-dimensional adults is quite impressive, especially given the tendency of other shows to waste child characters (Walking Dead, anyone?). Character arcs as long and winding as Christopher Molisanti's are also uncommon, and the unceremonious way in which it is cut off makes it all the more impressive, helping drive home the sense that characters are not larger than life, but simply mortals like the rest of us. The Sopranos also has the unusual quality (not shared by The Wire) of following a protagonist who is consistently sympathetic yet very much a villain. The show occasionally reminds the viewer of this in sudden (Pie-Oh-My; Cold Cuts) and disturbing ways, yet all the while manages to keep you attempting to deny the ugly truth about Tony's sociopathy. It took me til season six to accept that truth about Tony, despite its being stated outright several times throughout the show, a fairly impressive feat.

Bodie Broadus (above, The Wire) and Christopher Moltisanti (below, The Sopranos): the characters from each show displaying the most impressive character arcs and most matured development.

The Wire is, as is commonly noted, a show primarily about institutions. Specifically the way institutions; be they schools, police forces, gangs, or unions; shape the individuals that pass through them. Honest men with good intentions like Frank Sabotka (praise his name) are bent into corrupt serial lawbreakers by forces larger than them while scheming, violent criminals like Stringer Bell come to try and escape 'the game' altogether due to some of the very same factors. While the show has a much more sprawling cast than The Sopranos, it still manages to develop impressive characters that are, unlike The Sopranos, much more diverse in their backgrounds. Bubbles, Jimmy McNulty, Ziggy Sobotka, and Avon Barksdale have next to nothing in common in their backgrounds, roles, or ambitions; a seemingly scatterbrained set up. However this diversity in cast is one of the show's greatest strengths, bringing extremely varied perspectives to the narrative, making the story that much more immersive. The Sopranos' major characters almost universally hail from the mob or their members' immediate families (though Dr. Melfi is a notable exception), a place where it loses some ground to The Wire. Characters like Omar Little make things even more interesting, making it impossible for the viewer to not root for them (how could you not in his court appearance in All Prologue), yet as Bunk Moreland points out in Homecoming Omar is as much a part of the problem as lawyer Maurice Levy or the also lovable Proposition Joe.

Frank Sabotka (The Wire): Never have I seen a more tragic story unfold on television, not just for Frank, but for what he represents as well.

Vito Spatafore (The Sopranos): A fine runner-up to the above and the toughest story to live down in The Sopranos.

At the end of the day though, it's The Wire, and it's not too close either. I spent the last paragraph on The Wire's characters and its continual analysis of the institutions that shape them, but that's only scratching the surface. A similar amount of space could be devoted to its hybrid open love letter/stinging rebuke of the city of Baltimore. Or the shows literary approach to story telling, reflecting David Simon's background as a writer. There are two defining aspects, however, that put the show over for me. The first is the decision in Season 4 to take four virtually untainted young men and follow them through the coming of age period as the forces around them: Stanfield's drug empire, the underfunded-stat obsessed school system, and the similarly diseased police department guide them along to extremely different outcomes. Taking four 'blank slate' characters and showing how differently they turn out helps illustrate the vicious cycle Simon seeks to explore and the forces at play in the show. The second is the shows' 'generational' view of the people in the institutions featured, giving the show a beautiful symmetry. Michael Lee takes on Omar Little's role, Ellis Carver for Cedric Daniels, or Rhonda Pearlman for Judge Daniel Phelan. These are just a few, by the end of Season 5 literally a dozen can be found.  It advocates the idea that since the institutions profiled are largely unchanged over the show, too large to be altered by any one character, they create similar outcomes for the people in them over time. Thus some characters come to resemble others, sort of picking up the baton as the older generation leaves the scene. It also gives a sort of eternal sense to the show: even though Jimmy McNulty may have seen his last days as real po-lice, Kima Greggs and Leander Sydnor are quickly taking his place. It helps take the sting out of some of the shows rougher events.

Omar Little (The Wire): Fan favorite, and of the more absurd (though believable) and complex characters in the show.

Adriana La Cerva (The Sopranos): A staple of the show who is central to perhaps the series' most memorable episode.

The Sopranos also trips up in a couple ways that put it behind for me. Much like one of HBO's previous shows, Oz, The Sopranos has a tendency to feign character development, though by no means to the extent that Oz does. Christopher's repeated relapses into drugs and alcohol, Tony's slow decent back into infidelity post Whitecaps (perhaps the most disappointing for me), or Janice's failed attempts to reign in her anger issues (a story-line completely left by the wayside after one shortcoming) all exemplify this tendency, to varying extents (Matthew Weiner, a major force in the show, seems to have similar issues in Mad Men). The changes seen in characters like Bodie Broadus or Malik 'Poot' Carr over the course of The Wire have much more permanence to them, an aspect I appreciate. Additionally where The Wire is constantly subtle, paced, and understated (yet poignant), The Sopranos does have the occasional tendency to be heavy handed in its story-telling. What comes to my mind are the frequent dream sequences (which aren't all fully explored) that occur throughout the series, or Tony's occasional hallucinations. While some are quite good they seem a bit of a clumsy way to tell the story, and sometimes disrupt the flow all together. Finally the complete and total incompetence with which the FBI operates in the show, and the impunity that dozens of murders are committed with, drag the show down slightly. While the show is about the mob and should focus on that rather than the police it still seems odd that the federal government, which rather than other mobs is the primary threat to organized crime today, is barely ever seen as more than a passing threat. Over six seasons the agency barely ever gets more than a foothold in Soprano's organization despite somehow (the how of which is scantly detailed) bringing RICO charges against Johnny Sac and Junior Soprano.

Ellis Carver (above, The Wire) and Silvio 'Sil' Dante (below, The Sopranos): My personal favorites from each show.

Make no mistake, The Sopranos is an incredible show that while not making the #1 spot easily captures #2. Similarly, The Wire is not perfect itself: its jargon littered episodes and crawling narratives make it a hard sell to most and takes a couple complete viewings to fully come together. However to me it's the superior show, primarily on account of its macro-focus on society and institutions as opposed to individuals. That could just be my background in large-scope issues, as a political science major, coming into play; but it's certainly a big part of what puts it over the edge for me.

To celebrate my favorite show I picked 'Way Down in the Hole' to top off the post, the Tom Waits version specifically, which is probably my favorite of the five. It fits the show more than most of the others and paired in an unforgettable way with the oft-neglected Season 2 (which was one of my favorites).

The Rabbit Habit

Pictured: Not rabbits

Before I get started, you may have noticed there is a new button to the right, type in your email address and press the button, great and terrible things await. (Also that last post got 70 views, only six of which were from robuts, thanks guyz!)

As I mentioned a couple times in my previous post, I am a rabbit owner. Well sort of, at least. Last Christmas I bought my ladyfriend a pet rabbit by the name of Houdini, she's the best (we thought it was a boy at first though, hence the name :/ ). This is her face:

Initially my plan for the whole bunny affair was that it would be the girlfriend's pet and I would just enjoy her occasional company. This plan failed.

Now I'm nearly as enthusiastic a rabbit-owner as she is and am currently on the hunt for the perfect rabbit of my own for the new duplex I shall soon inhabit. A lot of people, through knowing me, through reading the last post, or though some other means have asked me about rabbits as pets. A lot of people would like to have one because they're goddamned adorable, but are unsure about a lot of things that come with that commitment. So this post will be part guide-part my general thoughts on these small companions and the facets of having one.

I'll start by saying that for prey animals, an aspect that shapes much of the way bunnies are, they are surprisingly friendly. Sure it takes them a while to warm up to people, but once they figure out who you are and that you are the bringer of treats they're pretty much your best friend. They'll run up to the side of the cage when you walk by, lay at your feet, or nudge your arm when your on facebook or some such for attention. They're pretty nice; all the curiosity of a dog without the aloofness of a cat, all the softness of a kitty without the in-your-shit-all-the-time-ness of a dawg. They're also super cheap, running about $30-$50 a month, much less than larger animals. They are a bit fragile, so beware. Don't feed them dumb shit like bread or Cheetos, don't drop them from significant heights, and watch your feet as you walk because they love to circle them (again, best friend). They don't need to bathed, they got that shit down; they aren't smelly unless you suck at your job as a rabbit owner, and they'll pee in the cage if you train them to (which isn't hard, just put they're favorite treats on a device that hangs over or next to their litter bowl, eventually they'll get it). They aren't really for small children, which is one of the major demographics they're bought for. As prey animals they have a certain fresh-hold for excessive holding and squeezing (though they do like some) and kids just don't tend to understand that. When one doesn't want love or even nips an overly aggressive child they are commonly sent away to a pound or released into the wild, both of which can lead to dead rabbits. Rabbits are grown up pets, bear this in mind.

A lot of people worry about how they do with other pets and there's some fairness to that concern. Rabbits and dogs can be friends, but it takes some supervision, and can be helped with some select circumstances. If you have an adult rabbit and say a puppy, that rabbit will quickly teach that little shit who's boss, a lesson that will stick with the dog even when it's the size of 10 rabbits. Like dogs rabbits are grouped, social animals, so establishing dominance is an important part of their social interactions. If they're put in a situation with another animal they'll try to establish themselves, which works well with small dogs and terrifies the shit out of most cats who are, themselves, solitary animals. Let's make it clear though, while it freaks cats out at first it does establish the grounds for a good relationship. Case in point:

Best friends? Best friends.

Our bun, Houdini, is about 8 months old now (indoor rabbits live about 8-12 years) and is a mix of a Holland Lop and something else, as she doesn't have the full-time droopy ears that a true Lop would have. Lops are pretty awesome; they're pint-sized and super friendly, one of the more social and pro-cuddling breeds. We bought her in a pet store in Mattoon, however, if you ever decide to get a rabbit, do not do it this way. There are a multitude of reasons why and I will summarize them as briefly as I can. It's more expensive, first off: pet stores mark up buns quite a bit and buying all the supplies to go with them can be fairly pricey. Shelters, however, especially bunny specific shelters, tend to be much cheaper. I would imagine this is primarily due to the fact that shelters are mostly either non-profit or publicly owned (cheaper shit), are primarily focused on getting pets happy homes (as opposed to turning a profit), and tend to offer package deals with other businesses, resulting in discounted goods. It's also a better thing to do, as a person. You're rescuing your little friend from what in many cases is approaching doom. A lot of times if rabbits aren't rescued by shelters they're taken in and bred/killed for meat, neglected and die in a bad home, or are released into the wild where they, being domestic breeds, quickly die off. In short: adopt, don't shop. For my upcoming bun I will most likely be going to No Splitting Hares in Algonquin, IL; a no-kill, bunny focused shelter.

The Netherland Dwarf is pretty cool too, and is a lead contender for my bun-to-be. They are, as a breed, all bred to exhibit dwarfism, so it's basically a breed of Tyrion Lannister bunnies (which this bunny is named, jealous). It's why they have SUPER big eyes and heads in proportion to their bodies, they also have comparatively tiny ears. They look like this:

Bros for life.

Bunnies are great companions, loving, affectionate pets; and thoroughly underrated and frequently misunderstood animals. Get one, love one, and let your life (and it's) be better for it. If you want more pictures of buns (always an admirable pursuit) try the Daily Bunny, which has a new bun picture er'ryday. There will be more rabbit posts in the future as Houdini and my bun-to-be try new things and have new experiences, but for now I hope this post has sated what questions you may have and perked your interest in these charmers. Here is another picture of Houdini and a song that has nothing to do with rabbits but is really awesome and has been stuck in my head space as of late.

The Post-Suck (and a healthy amount of hyperbole)

(Pictured here: The Suck)

A while ago, when I was unemployed after finishing school, I told myself that if I ever actually quit being unemployed (a questionable prospect then) that I'd make a blog about things I like. I figured I'd wait til then, and spare whoever looked at it from reading the chronicles of a very depressed person, because it would have mostly been like this:

Now that things are less sucky, I think it's time to try this out. Full disclaimer though, this blog will be primarily about things I think are interesting/nifty/what I'm feeling at the time. Generally this will mean food, good TV (not Seinfeld), rabbits (because I have one and they're the best and go get one right now, after reading this anyway), and politics (it's what I do for dollarz). I also write, so there will be some stuff about that too, less the actual contents of my writing and more about the process in general. As time goes by, if many people read this (unlikely), I may write about things readers ask about or stuff like that. Each post will begin with a picture of an animal befitting the post, and end with a song (not by me, your welcome). So, before I go any farther, a bit about me.

I'm from Central Illinois, which to most people not from this state should just be thought of as 'South of Chicago but not Kentucky'. It's an okay place to come from, and a great place to come from if your interest include latent racism, country music, a roughly equivalent number of bars and churches, and cornfields. No really, it's not that bad, but it's not that great either. It is the most perfectly mediocre place to live in these United States. I went to school for Political Science (which does not actually need to be capitalized) because a lot of people's lives are way worse than mine and I'd like to do something about that. That's the short version, anyway. I'm a Democrat, a pretty moderate one, but still very much a Democrat, so if you're super conservative that could become a problem for us down the road. You are warned. This post, however, will be apolitical, primarily because it won't even remotely have to do with things like this. Other than that I write because I like to, I cook because I love to (and have been told I'm good at it), and own a pet rabbit because it's fucking awesome. The rest will come up along the way.

This post, you may have noticed, is called The Post-Suck (so is the blog writ large). It's an odd name, and it may attract some much odder traffic to my bouncing baby blog, but oh well, that's where my life is right now. Post-Suck. About two weeks ago I was still up to my eyeballs in The Suck, and if you've graduated college and spent some time unemployed you already know what I mean. It's this:

The good news is 'It Gets Better' like those anti-bullying videos, but for unemployed people (something they should absolutely make)

Now having a job to look forward to I'm transitioning into this Post-Suck phase, and it's quite a shift to make. For example it's no longer okay to: stay up til six in the morning watching Oz, wake up at 2PM and decide that the sheets and pillows still really need my company, or literally go an entire day not having stepped outside (in spring no less). But it's not a bad thing, I get up earlier, feel less like I have no function in the world, and actually taste the things that go in my mouth. It's also exceedingly expensive. Find a new apartment. Find new furniture. Get new rabbit shit. Pay down payments. Move all aforementioned shit across state. Etc, etc, etc.

Still, The Post-Suck is clearly superior to its predecessor. I have things to look forward to, a career that's just starting, and new people to meet (a sensation I'd all but forgotten during The Suck). I'll also have a pretty disgusting amount of free time to myself once I move to my new home. Sure I know plenty of people in town, but I still live alone (thank-fucking-god), and won't be out all the time. This means reinvesting in neglected hobbies and what not, which is pretty exciting for me.

Things are pretty good now, if this posts cynicism suggest otherwise it's primarily because I'm still transitioning and because, well, that's a big chunk of my sense of humor.

In the upcoming days posts will probably revolve around one of the major categories I mentioned earlier, though there could be more general life posts as well, given that I'm in a very eventful time right now. I hope the post was a good read for you, I certainly had fun writing it, and I would like to leave you with this song. I picked it because I'm quite fond of it and because for this move I am actually going West (though not nearly so far as original writer Tom Waits had meant, I imagine)

P.S. Don't mind the shitty template, I'll find something more palatable later on.