On Friday, Amy & I were joined by my parents as we attended a showing of Mary Poppins downtown. The traveling Broadway musical returned to Chicago for a short time, and thanks to some fortuitous circumstances, we got a chance to see it.

Mary Poppins? Yup!

I'm not much of a theater goer, but we really liked this production. The combination of familiar elements from the Disney film (including the Sherman Brothers songs) along with non-familiar pieces from the original books and new music worked really well.

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As some of you may remember, last year I started a project to compile a list of the U.S. Olympic Broadcaster Logos used over the years.  These are not the logos of the Olympic locations themselves, but rather what CBS, ABC, and NBC used to brand their coverage.

I found it odd at the end of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics that NBC didn't tease the look of their 2012 London logo as they usually do.  However, I think I may have come across it today.

NBC's London 2012 Olympics Logo

As part of all the coverage about the Olympic TV bids, I watched a video on NBCOlympics.com.  At the end of the video, the above logo appears. Did a little searching online and found a cleaner version on an NBCUniversal human resources website.

When I get a better quality version, I'll be adding it to the archive.

Toots was a small ice cream/hamburger stand that used to sit on the corner of Central and Montrose here in Chicago, having operated for 55 years. I spent a lot of time there during high school, as it was located nearby. The place closed in 2006 so the land could be converted into a mini-mall, however this sign near the corner of Central and Addison still exists.

Toots sign painted on apartment building

Now on the spot where Toots used to sit is another small restaurant called Scoops, along with a Dunkin Donuts, currency exchange, mobile phone place, and nail salon.

More options, less character. (Literally. I miss that creepy bald Toots guy!)

One of my favorite TV shows is The Amazing Race, the round-the-world reality show on CBS.  I've watched since Season 1, Episode 1, which aired 10 years ago in 2001, right before 9/11.  Since that time, there have been 18 seasons of the Race here in the U.S., as well as internationally-licensed editions, including 4 versions from Asia, 3 from Latin America, and 1 each from Brazil, Israel, China, and Australia.

The Amazing Race 2 on DVD

Reality shows traditionally don't lend themselves well to reruns since you know the outcome.  However, I would argue the travelogue aspect of The Amazing Race actually helps in this sense, while knowing the outcome removes stress from the watching experience.

Over the past few years I've been working my way through rewatching every season of TAR, including the foreign editions.  This is usually accomplished by watching downloaded versions of the show found on the 'net or pulling out VHS recordings, as to date there have only been two seasons officially released on DVD (Season 1 and Season 7, both issued in 2005).

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Amy & I recently finished up rewatching all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H, a task we've actually done many times (that's 251 episodes for those who are counting).  We enjoy watching the show and the many ways it reinvented itself over the years with the cast transitions.  The nice thing about the DVD releases is that you can watch episodes with the laugh track turned off, which is how the show was aired in the UK.  The strong writing is evident without the fake laughing, making it far more enjoyable.

Potterisms on the Bathroom Wall

As we neared the end of the series, Amy took it upon herself to chronicle the various quirky quotes by Colonel Sherman Potter, which she termed as "Potterisms."  As has previously befitted our Ticket to Ride scores, these quotes made their way to our bathroom wall, which is coated in chalkboard paint.

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In September 2008, we went Mac. Since then, I've been very happy with my experience, except for one thing.

Apple couldn't build a good mouse if their life depended on it.

Tiki Gods Say: Begone Apple Mighty Mouse, Aloha Logitech!

My iMac came with the Apple Mighty Mouse, this stupid looking thing with a tiny trackball. On the plus side, it was Bluetooth-compatible, thus I didn't need any extra wireless USB receivers to make it work. On the downside, it really sucked up battery power. I constantly found myself recharging the batteries.

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Earlier this month, our blog here at SteveandAmySly.com has garnered the attention of some high-traffic, Chicago-based websites.

First off was a story on TheExpiredMeter.com about my successful parking ticket battle with the city.

Blogger Makes Beating Parking Tickets Look Easy

We also got an "Odd Obsessions" shoutout from GapersBlock.com regarding our ongoing coverage of the CNA building's lighted window messages:

Odd Obsessions: CNA Window Art

Thanks for the mentions!

We got together with some friends last night to play Monopoly.  Amy & I are not huge fans of the game, but they are.  Plus, you can only play Ticket to Ride so many times, right?

Steve is a hotel maniac!

We used a standard board, but for a nice twist added in the "Speed Die" and "Bus Tickets" from 2006's Monopoly: The Mega Edition.  This accelerates the game a bit by allowing the player to advance to the next unowned property during the beginning game rolls, thus enabling you to quickly buy these locations.  As the game progresses and the properties are all owned, this same die forces to you advance to the next property you owe rent on… so that's painful.

In the end, I had hotels on half the board and ended up victorious!  Just call me Rich Uncle Pennybags (or Mr. Monopoly if you prefer a retconned name)!

We recently got to see our friend Nick Rosario perform in a local community college production of the musical, Hairspray.

After the Show: Steve, Amy, Stacey, Nick, & John

He played the iconic man-as-woman role of Edna Turnblad (John Travolta played this part in the 2007 film adaptation).

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I was looking for something to read the other day, and to save some bucks, Amy suggested I see if there were any books I wanted to read from the library.  Of course, the library!  That great place where you can check out books for free.

Steve's Old Chicago Public Library Card

I wondered why I never thought about that, given that my Mom was a librarian for a very long time… and I got a lot of free books that way over the years.

So I went to the Chicago Public Library website to see if I could put a hold on some books and have them sent to my local branch.  But apparently my library card, which I got when I was 10 years old or so, didn't even register as valid.  As you can see from the image above, it's been "modified" quite a bit over the years, with new bar codes and labels attached to it as the library systems changed.  You'll also note that it granted me the ability to check out "records and videocassettes," as well as gain access to a "typewriter."

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