Chicago Base Podcasts

Despite my sad devotion to that ancient religion of silver-based analog photography, I've found a nifty little digital camera that I've been carrying with me everywhere of late. My new friend is the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. It takes still images up to 12.1 megapixels in resolution and also records high-quality video that isn't too shabby. I hadn't even intended to record a podcast that day. My goal was only to test the SD950 in macro mode on some flowers in Jefferson Park. (See the example at right.) While playing with the menu, however, I discovered a feature that will come in handy for real run-and-gun podcasting: The SD950 can record reasonably good audio. So, I decided to use the camera's digital voice recorder to create this podcast. I recorded the sound as I stood next to the flowering tree whose pink flowers I'd just photographed. (The background noise is from traffic on Lawrence Avenue.) We're not talking high-quality sound, but it's acceptable enough to get the job done. That job involved a totally on-the-fly reminiscence about my grandfather's observation that "the vegetable kingdom does not waste time." And, indeed, it does not. ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

Long before this week's primaries I knew Barack Obama would likely win the Democratic nomination. I don't base this supposition on polls or prognosticators. Rather, I've concluded that Obama will get the nod because he's wearing Starfleet sideburns. This isn't the first time I've allowed popular culture to shape my opinion of the Illinois senator. I've already remarked that he looks a lot like Clutch Cargo. As for the other candidates... If I were being mean, I'd suggest that Hillary Clinton fills the same ecological niche as Dr. Janice Lester, a former lover of Capt. Kirk's who resents his success in a male-dominated universe and uses a machine to perform a brain switcheroo. But I'm not mean, so instead I'll note the similarities between Hillary and Nurse Christine Chapel, who is secretly in love with Mr. Spock but knows that nothing will come of it -- at least in the short run. Just about now, I think Hillary is beginning to realize that barring an Obama catastrophe, she's not going to be the Democratic Party's nominee. John McCain's "Star Trek" counterpart is an easy one: He's Capt. Christopher Pike, the original commander of the USS Enterprise who was captured, imprisoned and tortured by the Talosians in the series' unsold pilot episode. And although Pike is a warrior, he is increasingly reluctant to choose violence as a way to solve problems and is especially fretful over sending those he commands into deadly situations. So, does all this mean that Obama is the "logical" choice? What do you think? PHOTO CREDIT Barack Obama photo by Jerry Richardson reproduced by permission under Creative Commons. Click on the photo to see the original, or go to Flickr. ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

Here at ChicagoScope, we often talk about portion sizes -- and how suburban restaurants seem to serve much larger amounts of food. Far too often, quantity tries to make up for quality. Thankfully, that's not the case at Topa Tavern and Grill. The Elk Grove Village establishment features "American eclectic" cuisine that's uniformly excellent -- and uniformly big. Read Leah's published review. OTHER ASSESSMENTS Joe and Lisa's Cheap Date Yelp Metromix RESTAURANT CONTACT INFO Topa Tavern and Grill 944 Elk Grove Town Center Elk Grove Village, IL (847) 640-0440 ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.

Back when I attended Community College of Denver, I always enjoyed presentations from a photography instructor who tried to impress upon us the fact that whenever we took a picture, we froze a moment in time. I've forgotten this instructor's name, but I remember her words whenever I pick up a camera. She emphasized that we should occasionally take pictures of the ordinary images of our lives, since these glimpses would tell future generations the most about the present day. And she's right about that. Anybody who's ever glanced through family photos can see this instantly. I recently watched some Super 8mm movies I'd shot back in college and was immediately struck by how alien the hairstyles, gas prices and automobiles appeared. And just the other day, I was sorting through some photos I shot of Jefferson Park commercial buildings -- and was glad that I'd photographed the outside of the barber shop where I had my hair cut for so many years because it's now closed. It's true, you see: Press the button and you've recorded history. Thanks to the World Wide Web, it's easy to see historical photos -- most of which probably were not considered to be anything special at the time. Yet time itself has given these images power and meaning. One of my favorite repositories of images is The Library of Congress. I spend most of my time there searching through the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. I especially enjoy the color photographs in the Farm Security Administration section, which provide a much different visual record of the Depression than the usual Dorothea Lange "Migrant Mother" stuff does. A cynical observer might even suggest that the FSA knew that stark black-and-white images would have greater propaganda value than the warm slides a minority of its photographers shot. There's no denying that a color tells a very different story -- or at least compels the viewer to infer a very different one. Maybe that's why so few color photos were taken; or maybe color work was so expensive they didn't have the budget for it. Whatever the reason, the differences are striking. At the top of this posting are black-and-white and color versions of one of my favorite photos from the FSA color archives titled "Negro boy near Cincinnati, Ohio." The record states the photo was shot in 1942 or 1943 by John Vachon, but there's no other information. Looking at the monochrome version of the photo (which I created in Photoshop), it's not difficult to imagine this kid's tough life and the gritty, hardscrabble existence his family might have endured. This little boy's world is gray, his clothes are gray, and there's little optimism here. By contrast, the original slide (probably shot in the still-relatively new Kodachrome process) allows us to see that although he's probably poor, this kid has on clean clothes and has even completed the ensemble with a derby. His life no doubt has its challenges, but maybe this was a good day for the little guy. Maybe he's on his way to the store on the right, whose bright red Coca-Cola sign is all but lost in the black-and-white version. Maybe he's getting a Coke -- or perhaps a Nehi! It's also insightful to view FSA photos of places in your own town. I liked the photo at right, taken of the Wrigley Building and Chicago Tribune Tower from a vantage point in the Illinois Central train yards -- now occupied by the Illinois Center office, hotel and retail development. This photo by Jack Delano from April 1943 suggests that the Tribune Tower is long overdue for a steam-cleaning. The original image is a 4-by-5-inch Kodachrome transparency -- and the Library of Congress site allows visitors to download a high-resolution TIFF version, which provides for a lot of close-up inspection of building windows and human activity. Lots of photos on the Library of Congress site are like this. Another great photo resource is the Denver Public Library's Western History and Genealogy Section. I often enjoy searching through the DPL's visual record of how the Denver I knew as a child grew up and grew old. However, I've never found a photo of one of my most-vivid childhood memories of visiting the library's main facility at the Civic Center: a little circle of desks in the children's section made to resemble a merry-go-round. Or perhaps I only imagined it. ChicagoScope feedback line: 312-683-5272. Send e-mail to ChicagoScope@gmail.com.