42. The Unofficial St. Patrick's day in Champaign Urbana

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If you have been anywhere near the campustown on certain Fridays in March, and come up with a huge throng of greenish looking leprechauns, don't start pinching yourself to see if you are dreaming or not. You have just stumbled into the "Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day" in Chambana.

Here is what UofI wiki has to say about it:

Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day, or commonly known as Unofficial, is a local event on the Urbana-Champaign campus, which aims to replace the celebration of the official Saint Patrick's Day holiday with excessive drinking of alcohol.

Champaign bar owner Scott Cochrane created the event to increase business because the week of spring break on the academic calendar usually includes Saint Patrick's Day, which leads students to celebrate away from the campus.

The event is celebrated usually the weekend before the official Saint Patrick's Day holiday. Bars might open as early as 7 a.m., and students wear T-shirts with slogans such as "Drink 'til you're Irish" or "Irish I were drunk." One T-shirt slogan read: "Tap the keg, forget the class... it's Unofficial, so fill my glass!"

Things are not really as rosey as the above note suggests. On this day, you'll find a lot of underage drinkers, passed out here and there, or coming to class drunk. The police (Champaign, Urbana, County, and of course UofI ones) have a field day ... and nab a lot of underage drinkers.

However, things can often get deadly ... a few years ago, a UofI alumnus died when the motor bike she was riding crashed into a pole on Wright street between Green and Springfield. So, be careful when you are driving through campustown , better avoid going through the area altogether.

There is of course, the "official" Saint Patrick's day, but the drinking frenzy is much less on that one.

JJJr's 2nd District

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Check out the 2010 and the 2012 maps for Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s Second Congressional District. Want a nice "job"? The primary will be February 26 and the general election for municipal offices and to fill Jackson's empty chair will be April 9, if Cook County Clerk David Orr gets his way.

Think anyone is doing an analysis of the timing of Jackson's resignation? Does anyone not think there was plenty of maneuvering going on before the November 6 General Election to keep Jackson from announcing his intention to resign? Gotta give the pols some time to get creative, and now you can see it starting. Just read the full AP article here.

But first look at the size of the district. See this map and compare the 2010 boundaries with the 2012 boundaries. Could Republicans get in there, work hard and pull a real upset?

Bobby Rush (D-1) is quoted as saying to anyone who is thinking of running for Jackson's seat, "Cool your jets."

In other words, they have got it under control. Who is "they"? The ones in control. Big Brother. The ones who know what is best for you. Yeah, sure.

Why are they worried? "Spread the field of candidates too thin, they say, and it becomes easier for a more conservative candidate - or anyone else party leaders don't want - to pull off a win."

What influence could a Congressman have on Chicago crime? Could a leader, rolling up his sleeves and getting on the ground in his District, begin to make a difference? Yes, I know ... Congressman is a Federal office. So make "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" a reality.

The first thing he'd have to do is build a high wall around his office. Put two doors in it. One for residents and registered in-District voters. Leave that door unlocked.

The second door? Make that one about a foot high. Mark it "Lobbyists, Influence Peddlers, Crooks". Put a big padlock on that one.

Run background checks and drug screens on anyone to be hired for a District job. Publish the results of your own random drug screens on the front window of the District offices.

If the person winning the office doesn't live in the District, move into the District. Right into the heart of it. Right into the War Zone. And no bodyguards, either. Your constituents don't have bodyguards. Why should you?

A day for thanks

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Thanksgiving Day 2012. A day for thanks.

For what are you thankful?

A country in which we live freely?
Family?
Friends?
Feeling safe?
Having what you need?

For me, it is certainly not about Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday.

The first thing for which I was thankful today was that I don't pay for my daily newspaper by the pound. And that I'm not the newspaper delivery man. I'm thankful for my Northwest Herald carrier, because he delivers my paper to the door.

The desperation of retailers screamed by the pile of advertising as I headed for the recycling bag with it. Every last piece of it. Black Friday seems to start now on Thanksgiving Eve, continue through Thanksgiving Day and into the evening and resume earlier and earlier on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Will the American public ever come to its senses?

License illegal drivers? You're kidding, right?

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Look out for the steamroller coming your way.

See the paper today? Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-6 (Chicago! Where else?)) said yesterday that he believes he can ram this bill down the throats of law-abiding citizens of Illinois next week (well, he didn't say it quite that way).

Cullerton believes he can jam the bill to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants (no, John, they are NOT illegal "immigrants"; they are illegal aliens!) through the Illinois Senate this next week (Nov. 26-30). And Democratic Governor Pat Quinn says he'll sign it, if it passes the House.

Better get on the phone, folks. First thing Monday morning, since Illinois Representatives and Senators and their staffs have already taken off for the long Thanksgiving week-end. (Hmmmm, why is it that the Friday after Thanksgiving is a paid holiday for so many (government!) workers?)

Let's see; legal, law-abiding citizens of Illinois cannot get the right to carry concealed weapons, but lawmakers seem poised to give illegal people residing in Illinois the right to drive a car.

What part of "illegal" do the legislators not understand? The best way to make the roads safe is to allow only legal drivers to operate motor vehicles and to enforce the laws against driving without a license or registration or insurance! Hello? Just enforce the laws... the existing laws...

Land of idiocy!

Slow week at the sheriff's dept.

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The past seven days must have been a slow week at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department. There has not been even one new media release since November 8. when Ryan O'Keefe was arrested near Richmond.

Have there really been no crimes of note in the whole of McHenry County, or is it just the case of "Don't tell the public"?

Sheriff Nygren was spotted arriving at the McHenry County Government Center late Wednesday afternoon, so mark up (part of) another day at work for him in 2012. He avails himself of special parking in the sally port, rather than parking behind the building in the space reserved for "501".

If I were Sheriff? I'd park in the back parking lot, just like everybody else, and I wouldn't have the #1 spot closest to the building reserved for me. And I'd tell my command staff to park "out" a little way and allow the line employees to have first choice of parking spots. I'd also get rid of the special reserved parking for Corrections command staff in front of the jail and loosen up that parking for visitors of inmates.

Bobby's Burger Palace - College Park, MD

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What a storm! I hope everyone is safe because Sandy was quite destructive, but thankfully our part of Rockville wasn't affected much. Just a few hours without power.

So we haven't started our 'wedding' diet yet, so I'll just continue to write about fattie places like Bobby's Burger Palace. The Fi (I guess that's his new name? Let's test it out.) visited the University of Maryland location. We met at UMCP, and things have changed. We never had nice buildings and restaurants like this when we were there! I'm not that bitter though...

The name is self-explanatory - they serve burgers. Gourmet ones created by Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay to be exact. The interior is bright with warm lighting. It's filled with bar seating/communal tables and very comfortable chairs that spin! It's a casual place where you order/pay at a register, they give you a number, and they bring food out to wherever you are sitting. 

Many of the burgers are named after cities and characterized by a food that represents them. For example: The Fi ordered The Philadelphia Burger is topped with Provolone Cheese, Griddled Onions and Hot Peppers ($7.75). He thought it was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

If you're not in the mood for a burger, they offer sandwiches, salads, sides, milkshakes and other beverages. Also, if you don't eat beef, you can substitute the beef patty with turkey or chicken breast.

I wanted a flavor explosion so I ordered the Bobby Blue Burger with Blue Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato $7.75), and it wasn't as pungent as I was hoping. Again, it was an ok burger, but nothing particularly special. Ray's Hell Burger's equivalent is much better.

I love Sweet Potato Fries ($3) and these came with a Honey Mustard Horseradish Sauce which was awesome.


If you like dipping sauces, they have a variety including Jalapeño Hot Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup, Burger Sauce, and Barbecue. Sadly none of them really stuck out for me.Overall, we weren't wowed. So if we were visiting our Alma Matar again, we'd probably stop by Cluck U. However, I will say their service was impressive. We weren't there for long, but 3 different times someone would check on us. Pretty nice!

8150 Baltimore Avenue
College Park, MD 20740
240-542-4702
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com

Mark's Duck House - Falls Church, VA

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Ah dim sum. I don't get to have it often because the bf doesn't like small dishes...pshhh! Well that's what friends are for! One of my friends took me to Mark's Duck House - her favorite spot for Sunday dim sum. The restaurant has been around for over 20 years serving Hong Kong-style cuisine. As their name suggests, they are known for their Peking Duck. However, we didn't get a chance to try it.
Located in a shopping center, there is plenty of free parking, but it can get crowded.

This place is smaller than other restaurants that offer dim sum, so it was PACKED! We took a number when we got through the crowd waiting by the door.

They offered many of the same dishes I'm used to seeing as well as some different items. Sorry guys, but I don't have prices for any of these items because they were in Chinese. All dishes are between $2.50 - $7.50 though.

1. Pan-Fried Chives Dumpling - Out of all the dumplings, this was my favorite.
2. Shrimp and Pork Dumpling (Shiu Mai)
3. Shrimp and Pork Dumpling
4. Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao)

5. Fried Taro Dumpling - One of my favorite dishes when I have dim sum.
6. Shrimp Noodle Crepe - Best noodle crepe I've tried.
7. Lemongrass and Ginger Oyster - Oyster by itself was the size of my palm.
8. Stuffed Crab Claw - I broke my chopstick trying to cut this. It was massive!
Service was very fast with the carts, they constantly filled our water glasses, replaced my broken chopstick and reminded me that I forgot my leftovers. I thought they were great! Food was on point. Now I just need more dim sum buddies!

6184 Arlington Blvd
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 532-2125
marksduckhouse.com