Why I Oughta...

 Thanksgiving will be great if you do four things and four things only 1 . 1.  Get outside and do something.  We, thanks to Nat do a Turkey Trot.  But, if you do a Turkey Bowl or just a walk.  That's good. 2.  Eat. A lot.  This one is easy.  Everybody does it. 3.  Watch some football.  Same as #2 above.  Easy peasy. 4.  Enjoy (at least part) of The Last Waltz from The Band.   Or Get Back from The Beatles and Peter Jackson - if that's more your thing.   This is the 17th year that I've blogged about The Last Waltz and 14th year-in-a-row.   Here's my post from 2023 outlining the four keys to Thanksgiving - including The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2022 on The Last Waltz and Turkey Bowls/Trots . Here's my post from 2021 on The Last Waltz and The Beatles . Here's my post from 2020 where I skipped The Last Waltz  (Thanks, COVID.). Here's my post from 2019 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2018 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2017 on

Holiday traditions are important in every family.  And they're both the same and different in every family.  Thanksgiving in our house means a few things:  turkey trots, turkey bowls, turkey legs, football and...The Last Waltz.  We used to watch the whole thing.  (This is the Royal "We", as it really means *me*).  Now, I try to find time to turn it on and let it play while I putter around doing whatever else I need to do in between the trot and bowl.   I've done this for a number of years and have covered it here on the blog for those same years, but last year, we did something new:  watched the Peter Jackson program on The Beatles:  Get Back.   This year, I'm going to start with what I've always watched:  The Last Waltz.   Here, below, is Bob singing with his backing band in what feels like (during the show) a very transition-y number: Here, below, are the Thanksgiving Day archives from "Why I Oughta..."  This is the 16th post over the years with th

After taking a one-year COVID-related break from The Last Waltz here on the blog for Thanksgiving (with an appropriate detour of " Whatever Gets You Through The Night" from Elton John and John Lennon ), it feels right to come back home to The Last Waltz this year.  Sort of.  Will I watch The Last Waltz?  That's my plan.  But, what's the hangup?  The Beatles Get Back is released today - Thanksgiving Day - on Disney+.   So, what lives at the intersection of The Last Waltz by The Band and Get Back by the Beatles?  It seems that it is this rendition of Hey Jude by The Beatles as performed on David Frost's Frost on Sunday.  Why this song?  First, it is a really lovely number.  But, thanks to my good friend Neil, I discovered a neat little nugget:  If you scroll ahead (or listen all the way) to around 6:19ish mark (during the nah-nah-nahs), you can hear Macca belt out some lyrics from The Weight.  "Take a load off, baby.  Take a load off, baby.  Put it back on me&q

 Nope, not The Last Waltz.  I suppose that's ok.  With the pandemic and all, right?   Instead, here's a little Elton John and John Lennon singing my COVID mantra:  Whatever gets you through the night.  Elton was on Howard Stern recently and talked about playing with John.  The video below has *real* audio, but there doesn't seem to be video from the night.   Whatever gets you through your life It's all right, it's all right Do it wrong, or do it right It's all right, it's all right  Oh, I'll still watch The Last Waltz today.  But, 2020 being what it is, felt like I could snap the line of annual posts here on the blog .  

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos (and a video) of the Great Horned Owl (or Owls) that have taken up residence in our neighborhood and talked about some of the natural features of Randall Park - including the large Barth Pond at one end and (what I think is known as) St. Joseph's Creek running from north-to-south along the boundary.  Nat and I really love our neighbors and like our neighborhood.  The lots are large(r), the trees are mature and I can walk to two different train stations.  Did we talk about the pond ?  Pretty great , right?  Welp, there are (at least) two other activities that take place in Randall Park that are community/neighbor-driven that make the place a special place to live.  The first is the annual block party Soap Box Derby that I've covered here on the blog.  Here's the Randall Park 2018 Soap Box Derby post and the 2017 Randall Park Soap Box Derby Post .  That's a handful of families who transform their annual block party into a HU

Once again we find ourselves partaking in our annual tradition... No...it isn't a Turkey Trot.  Nope.  That happens sometimes around here, but isn't that what I'm talking about.  I'm speaking of the annual watching The Last Waltz on Thanksgiving day.  Here on the blog, I've been doing this since 2004.  Yeah...15 years ago was the first time I posted a Thanksgiving day video from Levon and the boys. This year's version comes from the studio session during the movie and features Pop Staples and someone that you folks in Chicago have come to know (potentially thanks to Jeff Tweedy!), his daughter Mavis. From the New Yorker : The Band held its last concert on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson performed at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and others. The production, staged and filmed by Martin Scorsese (and released, in 1978, as “The La

Go out yonder, peace in the valley Come downtown, have to rumble in the alley Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in. Doesn't get much better than that song, right?  Go ahead...hit 'play',  then keep reading the rest of the post.   Those of you who have been following along at home over the years know about our Thanksgiving tradition of watching a little bit of The Band play live for their last show.   (Note:  I say "our" tradition, but Nat has made it *very* clear that this is *my* tradition alone...) I've been posting about it since 2004 here on the blog with a few years skipped.  Turns out, this is the 12th postin the series over the years. Here's my post from 2017 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2016 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2015 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2014 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . H

Another Thanksgiving day of turkey and trotting and family....and...of course, Levon and the boys in The Last Waltz.  This marks 14th years of posting on the blog about the film on Thanksgiving.  Here's last year's post .  The first one was all the way back in 2004 but there are a few missing years in there for some reason. Turn it up! Here's my post from 2015 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2014 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2005 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2004 on The Last Waltz .

We might not live in Elmhurst any longer, but that doesn't mean we can't keep *some* of our Halloween traditions alive, right?  We didn't find time to get to Sonny Acres this year, but we DID get to Canyon Trail Cemetery in Carol Stream .  I posted about our visit to this house in 2016 , in 2015 , and in 2014 here on the blog.  If you have time, head there before the place disappears for the season tonight!

Behold, the hard-to-find 2016 Anchor Christmas Ale !  Nat's brothers are *really* into this stuff and they have a big to-do every Christmastime when one of them comes home from LA and the other one migrates to the Suburbs from the city.  And, I have to tell you...when it comes to traditions, this is one of the good ones! Each year, the fine folks at Anchor Steam come up with a new ale and tree on the label.  From their Christmas Ale page: It is sold only from early November to mid–January. The Ale's recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. With a heavily guarded, secret recipe, Christmas Ale is a highly anticipated seasonal delight, complex and full in flavor with a velvety texture and alluring, yet subtle, spiced aroma. I've covered th

The 13th year here on the blog where we mark Thanksgiving day not with the parade or the Turkey Trot (although those are both usually present!), but with the boys from The Band and The Last Waltz. And, this is the 10th post (that I can locate), but the first one was back in 2004.  There are 3 years missing (2006, 2008, 2009). We're marking the occasion in Vic + Equation Boy/Man's house and this *should* be the last Thanksgiving we're here and the final one NOT in our own house. "Happy Thanksgiving."  And a condensed version of 'Don't do it'.  Which they play like it is their own. Here's my post from 2015 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2014 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from

A few nights ago, we packed the kids into the van and headed west.  To Carol Stream to be precise. The reason?  To go make our annual visit to the Canyon Trail Cemetery.   Here's my post from 2014 when I think we went for the first time (and I made Richard Christie reference?!?) and here's my post from last fall . You can get all the details - including the address - about the Canyon Trail Cemetery from their Facebook page here .   The place is pretty awesome.  Tons of pneumatic animatronics and lots of sounds and lights and movement.  Things jump out at you and make all sorts of racket.  The Babe did some screaming.  The King of the Ball Tossers kept his distance.  You can see him in this photo below.  Well past the fence and even standing in the parkway.  He wasn't too sure of the 'scary skellies' as he calls them. Here's the big Pumpkin King that they have 'around the corner'.  Always a big hit with us every year.  He rises out of the g

Same tradition - different house.  Here's a photo of the Elmhurst front yard Christmas tree that we put up at Equation Boy/Man's house where we've been living since August.  (Equation Boy/Man took that photo above, btw.) I've posted about these trees before here on the blog, but this is a really nice Elmhurst holiday tradition.  Each fall, the Elmhurst School District runs a fundraiser where you can buy a tree for $19.  It is organized by a block captain who puts out the order forms and collects all the money.  They then 'host' a little get-together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving where all the trees get dropped off for the neighborhood. Our street does a really good job of participating - maybe the best around town?  Anyone else want to stake the claim as best front-yard-tree-street in Elmhurst? Here's the post from last year's tree out front of our old house (sad face). Here's my post from our 2013 tree . Don't seem to have posted

 I snapped this photo of the six-pack holder for this year's Christmas Ale from Anchor Brewing the folks who make Anchor Steam.  For 41 years, they've been making an annual Christmas Ale and packaging it up with a unique mix and a unique label featuring a different tree. I posted about the 2010 Ale here on the blog , but my brother-in-laws pick up the beer EVERY YEAR in both six packs but also - on occasion - one of those huge magnum bottles.   They keep one or two from each year and don't drink them so they can plan a 'vertical' session where they pass out little tasting portions of like five years of the beer to a group to note the differences from year-to-year.  If you look at that 2010 post, you'll note that the tree was a Ginko.  ( Here's a really well done catalog of all the trees they've used over the 41 years .)  I think one of Nat's brothers has a poster featuring all the labels.  Like I said...they're REALLY into this stuff - and f

After reading about the hub-bub over this Macy's mistake over on Rachelle's blog , I had to go see it for myself.  My photo isn't the best angle of this thing, so if you want to see a straight-on-shot, check out this photo to see the full thing for yourself .   What you're seeing there is some iconic Chicago buildings (Hancock, Sears, Crain) all wedged into what is definitely Manhattan Island with the NYC Thanksgiving Parade running right down the middle.   Rachelle Bowden has some close-up photos of this mess here .   To be fair...the windows this year are just flat.out.awesome.  Really beautiful to look at and a really fun story.  But why did they have to put Chicago on an island?!? This is *some* bullshit, right?   This thread on Reddit does a good job of covering the issues .  Just corporate deafness.  Oh, Marshall Fields...what could have been... Chicagoist got a response from Macy's where they are saying that this isn't a hand-me-down fr

Under three weeks until the Big Guy flies around on his sled and the watchful folks over at NORAD have kicked-off their countdown to the day .  This year marks the 60th year. Back when I was at Google, the company was involved with NORAD and powered the maps and other parts of the program, but it looks like NORAD has gone with (gasp!) Microsoft and Bing!   And Google has gone off and set up their very own Santa Tracker (more on that in a different post).   This is one (of many!) little traditions that makes the holidays great with kids.  Each year, I hand the Babe and the Bird my phone for a bit and have them track Santa with NORAD.  

This post is making it 11 years that we've rung in Thanksgiving with The Band's "The Last Waltz" here on the blog.  There have been years where we've done the Turkey Trot.  Years where we've split time between my folks house in Frankfort and Nat's folks place in Naperville.  Some years where the Bears play on Thanksgiving (like tonight!).  But...one thing has remained persistent:  The Band. Here's the post from last year . And here's the rest of the posts that I can turn up on the topic: Here's my post from 2013 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2012 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2011 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2010 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2007 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2005 on The Last Waltz . Here's my post from 2004 on The Last Waltz . Van the Man is this year's feature on "Why I Oughta".  Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

For the second year in a row, we packed up the kids and took them out to see what is called the "Canyon Trail Cemetery" in a neighborhood in Carol Stream a few days before Halloween. Here's the post from our visit last year . With The Babe and The Bird getting a bit older and more *aware* of things, they started to get a little freaked out by some of the things that jump out!   We picked up a couple of 'kids temp' hot chocolates and watched Hocus Pocus in the van on our way there.  It was a great way to lead up to the big day on Halloween. If you don't know about the Canyon Trail Cemetery, you can check them out here on their Facebook page .  It is a really impressive display put together by a family.  All they ask is for canned food donations for the local food pantry!

There's nothing quite like washing the sap off your hands in the retro 50's-inspired washroom of the Polk-A-Dot Drive Inn (notice...the 2nd 'n') before hoss'ing down on a big platter of cheese fries to kick-off the Christmas season. Here's to family traditions!

In the sprit of the times, I figured I'd deposit this here for posterity's sake.