Events

With Apollo Chorus auditions set for September 10th and 13th, it's great that Slate just ran an essay explaining the benefits of singing: Music is awash with neurochemical rewards for working up the courage to sing. That rush, or “singer's high,” comes in part through a surge of endorphins, which at the same time alleviate pain. When the voices of the singers surrounding me hit my ear, I'm bathed in dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is associated with feelings of pleasure and alertness....

The point of the Illinois State Fair is food. Despite most people in the state living in urban or suburban areas, most of the state's area is agricultural. So when one goes to the fair, one eats. A lot. That said, a remarkable proportion of food choices at the fair are fried meats. Even in the "ethnic village" section, where ostensibly they have about 20 different cuisines represented, things aren't quite...ethnic: At least this year the Romanian kiosk wasn't covered in vampires. But still...not sure...

Every year, Beloit College in northern Illinois prepares its "Mindset List," trying to prepare the faculty for the way the new first-years think. This year's class: ...are mostly 18 and were born in 1997. Since they have been on the planet: 3. They have never licked a postage stamp. 6. Hong Kong has always been under Chinese rule. 17. If you say “around the turn of the century,” they may well ask you, “which one?” 32. The Lion King has always been on Broadway. 47. They had no idea how fortunate they...

Another consequence to a four-hour drive and lots of household chores yesterday was my first Fitbit goal miss since June 6th. I only got 8,000 steps yesterday, after exceeding 10,000 steps for the last 71 days straight. It was also the fewest steps I've gotten since May 29th. I traveled on all three days, which explains the correlation: lots of sitting in vehicles and not a lot of opportunity to move. It didn't help that the temperature has hovered around 32°C for the past few days, forecast to cool off...

Saturday I promised Illinois State Fair photos "tomorrow." Yesterday I drove home, and for a variety of reasons (including having to do everything I ordinarily do on weekends Sunday evening), didn't look at any of them. They're not that great, unfortunately. I'm not happy with the light nor with the visual interest. So all I have for you is this one: Also, here's Peter Scott, lead vocalist for Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters, an impressive local Springfield cover band: I may post some of the...

I'm at the—no kidding—state fair. It's warm. And way outside my normal life. But I did see the butter cow, so it's worth the trip. Full report tomorrow.

Via IFLS, the Independent reported yesterday that the Prime Meridian is not at 0°W: Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world descend on the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to pose for a photograph astride the Prime Meridian, the famous line which divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the earth. There is just one problem: according to modern GPS systems, the line actually lies more than 100 metres to the east, cutting across a nondescript footpath in Greenwich Park...

It's so depressing sometimes, living in the Greatest City in North America and realizing that we have the worst pension system in the country: The city of Chicago is the local government most burdened by unfunded retirement plans in the nation, with a pension debt that's more than eight times annual revenues, according to a new study by Moody's Investors Service. The city's unfunded pension obligations total $29.80 billion, based on a three-year average calculated by Moody's. That is 15.9 percent of its...

I go through Heathrow often enough that this pisses me off: To the anger of many travellers, some airport concessions have been reclaiming taxes on purchases for consumption outside the European Union (EU) rather than passing the saving onto the shopper. The wheeze is simple. When you line up with your sandwich, suncream and bottled water, checkout operators ask to scan your boarding pass. If it is for travel within the EU then the VAT, or sales tax, goes to the government. If it is for travel outside...

No matter what it's called, or how it's ranked, it's still the tallest building around: