Leslie's Omnibus

Bus Fumes

I'm putting this here, rather than on Facebook, because I have theater friends I don't want to offend.

It seems Governor Giveaway just couldn't contain himself during his Lame Duck period and decided to give Chicago Children's Theatre $5 million in state funds to renovate a former police station into a new, permanent theater space.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love and support the arts.  But what I do not and cannot support is the Governor throwing $5 million dollars of state money at a not-for-profit that does a pretty damned great job of fundraising on their own when the state can't fund our freaking state pensions and can't pay our bills.

Pat Quinn is probably a very nice person on a personal basis, but he makes terrible financial decisions and is a horrible governor.  I can't wait for him to go.
Leslie
Monday, November 24, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 8:56 AM 0 comments

Bus (Per)Fumes

The Blommer Chocolate Company was roasting cocoa beans this morning.

My trip over the bridge smelled like this...

... and this...


... and this...


Yum.
Leslie
Monday, October 20, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 4:40 PM 0 comments

En Route








I just love the colors of Autumn!
Leslie
Friday, October 17, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 3:30 PM 0 comments

Zoom, Zoom III





Leslie
Tuesday, October 14, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 4:07 PM 0 comments

Zoom, Zoom II





Leslie
Friday, October 10, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 1:00 PM 0 comments

Zoom, Zoom





Leslie
Wednesday, October 08, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 5:08 PM 0 comments

Tooting the Horn


Hard to believe it, but this thing's been up and (mostly) running for 10 years.  Yay!
Leslie
Tuesday, July 08, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 2:34 PM 6 comments

Book Your Ticket

May 2014 reading list:

  • The Flyer, Stuart Harrison (fiction, WWI, aviation, UK, France)
  • A Danger to Himself and Others, J.E. Fishman (thriller)
  • Sweet Dead Life, Joy Preble (YA, fantasy, family)
  • The Hidden Legacy of World War II: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery, Carol Schultz Vento (WWII, PTSD, psychology)
  • Battery Brothers, Steven Carman (YA, fiction, family, baseball)
  • Shoveling Snow, Brett Sills (YA, fiction, family)
  • The Bone Church, Victoria Doughterty (fiction, WWII, Czechoslovakia)
  • The Spring, Clifford Irving (legal thriller, fantasy)
  • Bloody Lessons, M. Louisa Locke (historical mystery, Victorian era)
  • In Search of a Love Story, Rachel Schurig (chick lit, romance)
  • The Convict, The Rookie Card and the Redemption of Gertie Thump, Becky Lyn Rickman (cozy, mystery, humor)
  • Fifty Dates with Captain Cavedweller, Shanna Hatfield (autobiography, self-help, humor)
  • Dear Mr. Knightly, Katherine Reay (fiction)
  • Barefoot in the Dark, Lynne-Barrett-Lee (chick lit, romance, humor)
  • Suncatchers, Jamie Langston Turner (fiction, faith, religion, sociology)
  • City of Thieves, David Benioff (fiction, WWII, suspense, Russia)
  • The Gaugin Connection, Estelle Ryan (fiction, thriller, art forgery, autism)
  • Simple Riches, Mary Campisi (chick lit, romance)
  • The Paris Architect, Charles Belfoure (fiction, WWII, thriller, France)
  • A Dead Red Oleander, R.P. Dahlke (mystery, cozy, humor, goats)
  • Famous in a Small Town, Diana Anderson (Southern fiction, thriller)
  • Redesigning Rose, Lydia Laceby (chick lit, divorce, humor)
  • The Long Way Home, Karen McQuestion (chick lit, friendship, cozy)
  • Red Clover, Florence Osmund (fiction, family, autism)
  • Welcome to Fred, Brad Whittington (fiction, family, faith, adolescence, humor, Texas)
  • To Love a Cat, Billi Tiner (chick lit, romance, humor)
  • Kicking the Habit, Kari Lee Townsend (murder mystery, religion, humor)
  • The Clear Light of Day, Penelope Wilcock (fiction, religion, faith, romance)
  • The Heartbreak Cafe, Melissa Hill (chick lit, cozy)
  • Orphan Train, Christian Baker Kline (fiction, history, immigration, Minnesota)
  • The Poisoned Pilgrim: A Hangman's Daughter Tale, Oliver Potzsch (murder mystery, historical fiction, Germany)
  • Cocktail Hour, Tara McTiernan (chick lit, friendship)
If it weren't for Pixel of Ink and Digital Book Spot, I'd have been bankrupt long ago!
Leslie
Monday, June 02, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 4:48 PM 0 comments

Book Your Ticket

April reads?  It's been an interesting month!
There's some pretty awesome stuff in there, actually.  Especially the ones with the "*".
Leslie
Thursday, May 01, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 3:58 PM 0 comments
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Book Your Ticket

March reads...
  • Inn Keeping With Murder, Lynn Bohart (Cozy, Mystery)
  • Mis-Fortune Cookies, Willie Stewart Sr. (Mystery, Short Story)
  • To Dance with the White Dog: A Novel of Life, Loss, Mystery and Hope, Terry Kay (Fiction, Aging, Mystery)
  • Last Call, Rob Cornell (Mystery)
  • Miss Dairy Queen, Kathy Pratt (Romance, Cozy)
  • Head Hunters, Charlie Cole (Espionage)
  • Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again (Gender, Culture, Relationships)
  • Color Tour: A North Michigan Murder Mystery, Aaron Stander (Mystery)
  • 3500: An Autistic Boy's Ten-Year Romance with  Snow White, Ron Miles (Biography, Autism, Family)
  • Stuck in the Middle, Virginia Smith (Cozy, Romance)
  • Five Days in Skye, Carla Lauriano (Cozy, Romance)
  • Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day, Ian Gardner and Roger Day (Biography, History, WWII)*
  • The Korean Word for Butterfly, James Zerndt (Fiction, Culture, S. Korea)
  • Just Like a Musical, Milena Veen (Cozy, Mystery)
  • If Only I Could Talk: A Canine Adventure, Tony Lewis (Animals, Fiction)
  • Must Love Otters, Eliza Gordon (Cozy, Romance)
  • Houdini: A Life Worth Reading, Higher Read (Biography, Magic)
  • Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her (Biography, Culture, Women's History)
  • Breaking News, J.D. Rader and Michael Gudgell (Mystery, Thriller)
  • Enchanted, Inc., Shawna Swendon (Fantasy, Humor, Cozy)
  • The God Patent, Ransom Stephens (Intellectual Property, Thriller)
  • Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, Robert W. Creamer (Biography, Baseball)
  • Sweet Revenge, Diane Mott Davidson (Cozy, Mystery)
  • Fatally Flaky, Diane Mott Davidson (Cozy, Mystery)
  • Crunch Time, Diane Mott Davidson (Cozy, Mystery)
  • The Whole Enchilada, Diane Mott Davidson (Cozy, Mystery)
  • The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation, Harold Schecter (Biography, True Crime)
*"God almighty!  In a few short hours we will be in battle with the enemy.  We do not join battle afraid.  We do not ask favors or indulgence but as that, if you will, use us as your instrument for the right and an aid in returning peace to the world.  We do not know or seek what our fate will be.  We only ask this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believe was right.  Oh Lord!  Protect our love ones and be near us in the fire ahead, and with us now as we each pray to you."
Leslie
Tuesday, April 01, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 2:10 AM 0 comments

Book Your Ticket

I left my laptop at work for an entire week at the beginning of this month. As a result, my reading list for February is off the charts:
  • On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetary, Robert M. Poole (history, military)
  • The Bride Wore Chocolate, Shirley Jump (chick lit, romantic comedy, recipes)
  • The Secrets of Mary Bowser, Lois Leveen (black history, espionage)
  • Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage, Kay Bratt (biography, China, culture)
  • Baking Bree, Sara West (chick lit, romantic comedy)
  • The King's Hounds, Martin Jensen (history, mystery, England)
  • The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, Denise Kiernan (history, culture)
  • A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg (biography, food, recipes)
  • The Rose of Winslow Street, Elizabeth Camden (historical fiction)
  • The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time, Bob Harris (biography, finance)*
  • A Wilder Rose, Susan Wittig Albert (biography)*
  • 47 Ronin, John Allyn (historical fiction, Japan, culture)
  • The Discovery, A Novel, Dan Walsh (fiction)
  • The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, Simon Winchester (biography, history)
  • Dead Wood, Dani Amore (detective fiction)
  • Frankie in Paris, Shauna McGuiness (chick lit, culture)
  • Mommy Had a Little Flask (The Tales of Imperfection Series), A.K. Turner (chick lit, humor)
  • Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickesn, and Sheep & Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity after Another, Ellen Stimson (biography, humor, culture)
  • For the Love of Livvy, J.M. Griffin (chick lit, humor)
  • Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm, Mardi Jo Link (biography, humor)
  • Uneasy Lies the Crown: A Novel of Owain Glyndwr, N. Gemini Sasson (history, Wales)
  • Shot on Location, Laurence Shames (screwball comedy, mystery)
  • James and Dolley Madison: America's First Power Couple, Bruce Chadwick (history, biography)
  • Murder in the Library, Steve Demaree (cozy, mystery, humor)
*The most inspirational thing I've read in quite a long time.  

**Without Rose Wilder's tenacity in dealing with her mother, the Little House series never would have seen the light of day.

Started, but discarded:
  • Stop the Wedding!, Stephanie Bond (I love her mysteries, but this romance novel sucked.)
I'm even scaring myself a bit with that list!
Leslie
Friday, February 28, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 9:06 AM 0 comments
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On the Radio

Thanks to Beth Donovan and this funny pic posted on FB... ... I now have this stupid song wedged firmly between my ears!
Leslie
Tuesday, February 18, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 1:05 PM 0 comments
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Woot!

Beautifully said, sir!
Leslie
Thursday, February 13, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 4:53 PM 0 comments
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Book Your Ticket

I haven't posted much for a while, and needed a bit of inspiration. Fortunately, Big Stupid Tommy provided just that.

So here's my own reading list for January 2014:

There.  I posted something.
Leslie
Friday, January 31, 2014 | Posted by Omnibabe at 1:29 PM 0 comments
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