Random

• Purely hypothetical: Is there anything more embarrassing than when you go to use a public toilet in a place like, say, the Starbucks at North Ave. and Wells (the busiest Starbucks in Chicago) and you think you lock the door behind you but you really don't and then someone opens the door while you're in there, and not only does the person that opened the door see you doing your business, but so does the crowd of about 9 people standing there because the bathroom door is right next to the drink waiting area? Yeah, I don't think I'll be showing my face there ever again. I mean, I wouldn't show my face if that actually happened to me, that is. Because it didn't. Because things like that never happen to me.
• I joined my friend Debbie's campaign to support the Dixie Chicks, so I bought their new album. And damn if it isn't really great. I'm not a fan of the "high class hooker" look they're sporting for the cover, but I dare anyone to tell me their song "The Long Way Around" isn't one of the catchiest songs you'll hear this year. (Yes, that means you, Ryan, you Wolfmother poseur freak.) It is a perfect summer album, especially for those weekends at the 'rents lake house in Plymouth, Indiana (where the below photo was taken, which, in my opinion, pretty much sums up life in Plymouth, Indiana -- only 90 minutes from Chicago yet so very far away in every other way).

Indeed, you never forget your 21st Cooter.