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2005-02-10 - 9:12 a.m.

Amazing Race critique � Chicago portion:

I�m definitely somewhat bitter because I�m a Kris/Jon fan and thought Freddie/Kendra needed to get stuck in Africa until she lost her racist, classist, neo-colonialist attitude. That being said, I got such a kick out the last section of the race.

First of all, the editing made it look like you can get from O�Hare to the Water Tower on the el with no transferring. I understand that the show needs to move along at a quick pace, but instead of showing contestants receiving the wrong information twice, they could have shown one group getting the right information and skipped the people asking directions again. I realize that few people will try to do get their information exclusively from a reality show, but it just seems silly to edit it so it�s wrong when it could easily be shown correctly.*

Second, where the heck did Kris and Jon end up when they decided to look for a cab? It looked like the West Loop! That�s really far away from the Water Tower if you�re on foot.

Third, the pizza they ate was stuffed not deep dish. Stuffed = sauce on top, cheese and toppings in the middle. Deep dish = cheese and toppings on top, sauce in the middle. They�re both an inch or two thick, but they taste completely different. Kendra retching and calling it disgusting made me hate her more than I did. And I lost even more respect for Adam and Rebecca with their little �I don�t eat tomatoes!� �Well, I don�t eat cheese!� Eat the @$%ing pizza.

Finally, I pass Ping Tom Memorial Park in the el every single day. I�ve been there. It�s only about a mile from my house. And even I didn�t know its name! I just thought of it as �the park in Chinatown.� That being said, I�m not a cab driver (who should really know where it is � it�s only about 10 minutes from the Loop) or a cab dispatcher (who should definitely at least have the resources to find out where it is! ( Internet, anyone?).

*With the rules set forth in the show (no busses or taxis), directions from O�Hare to the Water Tower would be as follows:
-Blue Line to either Forest Park or 54/Cermak (it doesn�t matter which, they don�t split off until after the Loop) � take to the Washington stop
-Follow signs through the tunnel to the Red Line
-Get on the Red Line to Howard � take to the Chicago stop
-Walk east (don�t know which way is east? Ask someone!) until you see the Water Tower at Chicago St. and Michigan Ave.
See? Not that difficult or lengthy.

Wow, I think I feel a little better now. Maybe I can go back to having a life? Nah...

Another Chicago/reality TV link:

Donald Trump is butting heads with Mayor Daley. (registration required, but free � it�s worth it for this article!) I don�t watch �The Apprentice,� but I do pay enough attention to the news to know that he doesn�t lose very often. So his new tower that is going up on the site of the old Sun-Times building should be just how he wants it? Nope. Mayor Daley likes spires.

Actually, I�m not convinced that he actually likes spires as much as he likes knocking any other city off of the tallest buildings list. At this point, I�m pretty sure it�s turning into a snarky way to prove his point about how the Petronas Towers shouldn�t have eclipsed the Sears Tower the tallest-buildings-list since it still has the highest occupied floor. It may not be that Mayor Daley likes spires then, so much as Mayor Daley doesn�t like to lose. Here, though, I can�t blame him. Spires count, antennae don�t count, so he�s just playing by the rules.

STOP with the reality TV already!

A few book recommendations:

-Grocery shopping makes me crazy. This book helps quite a bit and makes me less unhappy when I have to go.

- Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life is a beautiful book. It�s kind and lovely and small and perfect. Especially for commuting (small chunks that allow me to continue to pay attention to what I�m doing), but it�s mainly just a book that makes me want to read it again and again.

-Baseball fans are the main audience for Bill Veeck�s autobiography, but anyone who even has a passing interest in the game should be entertained by this book. He�s a wonderful innovator, has a background in both the Sox and the Cubs (no disloyalty by reading it...), and is so down-to-earth yet fascinating.

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