Monday, May 30, 2005
back to chicago from indiana- and finally, home in houston.
hi guys- here's some more pictures from my trip to chicago and indiana.
enjoy and send me your thoughts, etc etc. i love getting your emails.
and to the elusive emailer that knows me from guava lamp- thanks for your kind words, whoever you are.
my lovely mother woke me up at 5am and took me to south eastern indiana
to the ohio river to go riverboat gambling. on the way there we drove through greensburg, home of the famous clocktower with a tree growing out of it.
there's some other plants growing up there too.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
drove through amish country. i wonder if there's a website for the amish?
molly the siamese lets me know that she'd rather me not leave...
and about three hours later i arrived in chicago.
the ever impressive sears tower dominates the skyline.
looking for the hotel downtown...
chicago has really great buildings- most of the town is charming with old buildings and waterways everywhere...
and then there's the projects. it's public housing. what's sad is that the city builds homes (and purposely makes them fireproof) for people in need and they quite simply treat them like shit. it's never made sense to me. o goodie! a free place to live! let's torch it in a domstic dispute and smash the windows and just totally treat it like shit!! yeah! i love free stuff!!
chicago is a very catholic and conservative town. the pope died just a few
days before i took this picture- what you can't see are the flowers all around
the front of the church.
just saying a little prayer... and wondering if botox is right for
those forehead lines!!!
lots of water crossings...
this is the underside of the the elevated train system of chicago. but you don't call
it a train in chicago- it's "the l".
the view from my first hotel- looking north.
set up my booth and sold some vintage posters. real ones, antiques. not the fake
ones at target and pottery barn.
yep.
thank god morrissey's new live album "live at earl's court" came out or i'd have
been bored to tears.
that's chicago water tower.
lake michigan really looks like the ocean.
and i said goodbye to chicago once again. (when i still had hair!)
i was so tired of hotels and i wanted so badly to be back in green and warm houston...
...that i found a rest stop around 3am south of memphis somewhere and slept.
when i finally arrived home brandon picked me up to go drink beer
at the alabama icehouse. he suddenly turned his head and started
laughing. scroll down to see why he was laughing.
are you kidding me??
let's ride girlfriend!!
i was so happy to get home and see that my japanese plum tree was covered in fruit.
also called loquats.
tasty, but watch out for the manacing seeds.
remember, objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.
you should be getting another update from me really soon,
love y'all
xo
toddicus
- Monday, May 30, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
more from indiana... the weirdest state in the country.
hi kids- thanks for coming back and visiting. i'm hosting the often filthy-mouthed kareoke show again at the guava lamp here in houston. it's every wednesday and sunday at 10pm. i promise you you'll laugh your ass off for four hours and hear the best and worst singers in houston. and then i get to make fun of them. life is great, isn't it?
back to indiana now...
after i left mounds state park and camp chesterfield, i went to edgewater park to see if i could find the canada geese that always pass through.
these are canada geese- don't call them "canadian geese". there's no such thing.
there were lots of canada geese in the group.
it's not everyday you see a dead beaver!
now tell me you don't see a face here...
this is the church i went to years ago called park place church of god. it's on the way
to maplewood cemetery where i used to write a good amount of my poetry.
this is lilly's grave- believe it or not they're the folks that eventually spawned
what is now the lilly empire of pharmaceuticals. this bench is where i would go and
write poetry, smoke too many cigarettes, and listen to siouxsie and the banshees
for endless hours.
sometimes the local college kids from anderson university come to
lilly to make out and drink- others have a rite of passage to paint
her nails.
there... that sets the mood a little better.
my friend barrett is buried here...
and so is batman.
next i picked my kick-ass mom up and we went to my favourite restaurant in anderson, indiana... the nile!!!
i had me sum beer from greece er sumplace where them a-rabs live. (sorry- it's just that indiana is so suprising with all of these rednecks everywhere and then there's this killer egyptian/mediterranean restaurant smack-dab in the middle of it all.)
flamin' cheese!!
meow.
the owners of the nile.
goodbye nile until next time.
my mom and i ran into my stepdad on the way out! how random.
next i was off to indianapolis to see eddie, christine, and kris.
christine, toddicus, and eddie having a coffee in indianapolis. eddie was the guitarist in
my band dead mr. sunshine for years until we disbanded in 1998 when i left for houston.
toddicus and kris, the new mum!!
then we were off to naked tchopstix for din.
voila!! look at my seaweed salad! yum!!
i orderded vegetarian sushi (naturally) and they brought out an asparagus tempura sushi stuffed with cream cheese and topped with strawberries and chocolate teriyaki sauce- it was so weird and so good! weird!! good!!
the vogue theatre where my band used to play.
had some whiskey at the alley cat lounge in broadripple, indianapolis.
most of the coolest things in life are old. and go figure, this building is a gay bar.
i bet they never saw that comin'.
come back soon for more chicago- another trip to galveston for a knock-out beach party.
go read some poetry and send me an email you stingy voyuers.
xo
toddicus
- Monday, May 23, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
back home again in indiana.
i'm really suprised at the emails y'all sent me asking where the updates are- that's very nice of you to let me know you're with me!! i did however update the poetry so i know who my poetry fans are and who my picture fans are...
i left plymouth and headed south for anderson and passed through some small towns along the way...
a rare, round barn just past peru, indiana.
the courthouse in tipton, indiana...
just outside of anderson is alexandria... always loved this car growing up.
and finally-
my kick-ass mom greets me when i step out of the awful, white van.
so, that night i take my mom to indianapolis to hang with some old friends.
kris and tom's baby kate is a hit!!! what a doll!!
my mom and me in front of the possessed twins.
the next day i went to two of my favourite places in the world.
firstly, i was off to camp chesterfield. if you go to the news/updates archives, there are more pictures of this wonderful place under may 2004.
jesus h. christ welcomes you just outside the wishing well.
i used to sing in the choir at this church.
there was a horrible ice storm months before and the damage was still apparent.
one of my favourite spots to reflect and write poetry is the prayer garden.
sweet jesus!
up the hill are some native american shrines.
angels everywhere...
chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp
spring flowers
more spring flowers
everyone that lives here advertises their spiritual gift.
too bad i couldn't get a shot of every house.
there's a hotel there. and they have a phone it seems!!
rooooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!
next i went to mounds state park. it's wonderful and has a lot of history.
here's just a tidbit of my adventure there.
this is the walkway i take everytime to the great mound.
i used to come here at night and sit for hours watching the lightning bugs and other night critters- lots of magic happened here.
in my element.
please don't smoke the skunkweed.
the great mound of mounds state park.
i didn't feel like typing all of this.
a shorter version.
leaving the great mound...
found a patch of wild chives...
um... yum!! love this stuff!
next i went to the historic bronnenberg house. but it was closed for renovations.
so... read all about it.
this was where the bronnenberg's had an herb garden. they grew wormwood. do you see what it says it's used for?? yeah, right- they made absinthe like everybody else and watched the green faeries. trust me.
a faerie hole.
next i visited the circle mound. it's much smaller than the great mound but just as inspiring. i used to go right to the center and do my homework there.
walking across the circle mound...
...to get to white river.
this clump of leaves indicate how high the late winter waters rose on white river. (no, it's not some blair witch totem).
the spring fishes... (i love these guys being a piscean)
then it was off to my old highschool to visit a very special teacher.
here's the old nightmare i knew for four years.
here's the menacing hallways... you know how weird it is to go back and that smell hits your nose like a ton of memory bricks!!??
i went to my old highschool to thank my teacher, mrs. sweeney, who taught gifted english. she inspired me so much- i think of her nearly every time i lift a pen or when i finish a poem i'm really proud of. it was truly moving to see her again.
next i went to anderson's mall, mounds mall (i'm sure the native americans are proud of that name)
i bought some hot new red luggage and got out as quickly as possible, phoned a friend and said, "get me outta here!!!"
until next time... love to you all,
xo
toddicus
- Tuesday, May 10, 2005