Nighttime Wandering

With Julia living far away and working a little more in the evenings, I've been left with much more free time (and much more alone time) at night. My internet has been very spotty recently and when I have no plans at night other than to hang out and surf the net, reading Bulls blogs and chatting with my friends on gchat, and then suddenly my internet goes out, it leaves me in a bit of a mental bind. I can only read so much, and although I have my movies that I can watch on my computer (even without the internet), sitting in my room gets kinda old, especially when watching a movie is what Julia and I usually do when we hang out, because we are wild and crazy. (Working my way through Oscar nom's, we've watched Up In The Air, Hurt Locker, Princess and the Frog, Up, and A Serious Man. Still to go; Precious, Inglorious Basterds, Invictus, District 9, An Education, and Fantastic Mr. Fox.) So, I've begun taking walks at night. Grab my ipod and keys, maybe a few bhat, just pick a direction and start walking. It's much cooler than the day, and it kind of lets me see the city in a different light. Or lack thereof. (Puns intended.) And to accompany me on these walks, instead of just music and my thoughts (I get plenty of thinking in here, its not like I need to walk to clear my head), I have started to download podcasts to listen to. It started last summer when I was in Champaign, living alone and without a TV. I would download them to play as I was getting ready for work or folding clothes or something. And the more and more walking I do around here, the more I needed to listen to. So I started exploring itunes in search of new ones to download. Well, I'm up to 23 different podcasts I am currently subscribing to. On the random times when my internet is working, I turn on my computer, start up itunes, hit refresh and all the latest episodes download to my computer. A quick sync with my ipod and I'm ready to go.

They range in scope from movies to comedy, science to puzzles, gameshows to sports, politics to history. The majority are from ESPN, NPR, or Howstuffworks.com, with the rest from random organizations, including a couple that I think are produced in the host's garage. (I'm not joking.) But regardless, they are awesome. Ranging anywhere from 3 minutes to an hour and half (most are like 35-45 min), they are all informative and great company as I'm walking the streets. Tonight for example, I left my place around 8, listening to NPR's It's All Politics discuss the race for the Senate seat in Illinois and bemoan holding the primaries in Feb. for a Nov. election. That took me through dinner (excellent noodle soup), where I switched to The B.S. Report to listen to Bill Simmons interview David Stern about the upcoming NBA All Star Game as I headed west into the city. I hit the west side of the moat, turned south and switched on Filmspotting, where they reviewed Edge of Darkness, interviewed the director of The Station, and listed the top 5 career comebacks in honor of Mel's first starring role since Signs. Hit the southwest corner of the moat, and turned back east as I started Stuff You Missed In History Class and learned all about Alexander the Great's battle with King Porous in India. Halfway home that ended, and I turned on my favorite, Stuff You Should Know, and listened to 43 minutes of How SWAT Teams Work as I headed back to my room. Two and half hours later, I arrived home, having discovered a new part of the city I hadn't seen, having gotten some more exercise, and having learned something new about the Senate, Leo Tolstoy, Mark Cuban, Indian elephants in battle, and where the first SWAT team was started. 'Sounds' like a pretty good night. Pun obviously intended :)

TPWWLT - Lady Gaga - 'Bad Romance' (Music is still better for writing, I cant digest new information audibly AND fill you guys in on the latest 411 in my life at the same time, its just too hard. :) )