Welcoming new admit Gin Gin. He is fully vetted and 3 years old. To meet him, write to us at [email protected] !

Hyde Park Cats is a local, all-volunteer group dedicated to helping stray and homeless cats in and around Chicago’s Hyde Park. We received our 501(c)(3) status in 2014 and have had over 1,200 adoptions since our founding in 2008. See all our adoptable kitties on our webpage: http://hydeparkcats.org/adopt/

All of our cats are in loving foster homes, which means the cat you adopt will be familiar with the sounds, smells, and movements of life in a home and accustomed to living with humans. He or she has been interacting on a daily basis with people who know this particular cat intimately, and the foster mom or dad can tell you all about the cat’s individual personality, habits, preferences. You can’t judge a cat by its cover! And while we can’t predict the future or know everything about a cat, we can help you choose the cat who is right for you. We have an adoption application and an adoption fee, $125 for the adoption of one cat, or $250 for a pair. This fee goes towards covering their vet costs. All cats adopted out by us are neutered/spayed, micro-chipped, tested for FIV/FeLV, and treated with Revolution.

Turn to the comedians! That’s how I get through good times and bad. Let’s say it’s pouring torrential rain in the midst of a global pandemic. Several weeks ago your hair went Cruella de Vil and your spouse is stomping around the house because of … well, whatever the latest quaranscream irritation is. And you’re exhausted from sanitizing an entire bag of navel oranges. (Was it even necessary? Who knows!) Then the big things. The economy. Health.  All the concerns. But All is not Lost!

I asked some of my favorite people – comedians from Chicago! – the following question:

“When these times are getting you down, how do you pick up your spirit?”

JAN SLAVIN:

When these times get me down, I reach for the Skinny Pop.  I’ve gone through bags and bags and bags of it since the lockdown. Skinny Pop is very light and airy, and sparsely salted, and you never truly get the crunch and the salt factor you’re after, which makes you eat more, like an addict looking for the perfect high. It really puts you into a great zone, especially while binge watching Ozark. It falls into your bra and underpants, and onto the couch and floor. Vacuuming it up keeps me pretty busy. I often find it on  the bathroom floor when I pull down my pajama pants to go the bathroom.  It’s a great little hobby, though it can be expensive which is why I always get several at a time as it is cheaper that way.

I recommend mixing the Cheddar and Original, but that’s just how I roll. You can use a spoon to eat the small pieces on the bottom of the bag if you want to be neater and not have it fly out of your hands and drop out of your mouth all over the place.  I’ve never done it that way, but it has crossed my mind.

For clean-up, a hand vac works as well as a Hoover. I have both but I always forget to charge the hand vac so I gotta bring out the big guns most of the time. I actually can measure time by how much I eat in a day. A half a bag is about 22 minutes. I can get through a whole bag in about an hour and a half. You have to allow some extra time for the bloating factor, which tends to slow you down. Once I’ve finished a bag in one sitting, I hate myself a lot so I move on to chocolate. Anyway, one thing I can state with certainty: Skinny Pop does not make you skinny.

More about Jan here. Jan was also kind enough to speak with me here.

RAY CHAO:

One of the mottos that I try to live my life by is, “take the good with the bad.” Yes, it’s trite, and no, I did not read it in a fortune cookie. Looking back on my childhood, I realize that I was raised this way because my father was eternally optimistic, while my mom was more pessimistic. It was never more apparent than growing up in Chicago and watching the Bulls during the ‘90s with my mom saying they were bound to lose, and my dad saying they would win at the buzzer.

To me, taking the good with the bad means that when life is not so great, don’t run from it, rather lean in to it. Embrace it and respect it.

When I was a kid, I cried very easily. I was always self-conscious about crying because boys weren’t supposed to cry. As an adult, I realized that sadness is just another emotion. It is no stronger or worse than happiness.

We are currently facing many challenges as individuals and collectively. Certainly, there is much to be sad about. But there is also much to be happy about. As an actor in LA, the changes have been swift and drastic. However, I continue to be creative. Work on staying connected to others and my craft. And yes. I cry a lot.

More about Ray here. Ray was also kind enough to speak with me here.

DENISE MEDINA

 How do I pick up my spirit?

I limit my time watching or reading the news. I get updates every couple of days and try to scroll past all the “social media experts” otherwise it could be overwhelming.

I have a few picture boxes filled with loose photos so I sorted them (I want to put them on DVDs) and turned on music from those days and had fun going down memory lane. It was on my “to do” list and now I have the time so….and it feels good when you knock something off your list.

I walk my dogs (they love it) and we get some exercise, fresh air and a change of scenery. Sometimes I’m feeling too lazy to get started but it feels good once I’m doing it so I have to stop thinking and just put my shoes on. The dogs take the cue and help nudge me out the door. They’re relentless!

I’ve cleaned out just about every closet and storage area in the house! More on the “to do” list done. It’s also my form of meditation. Not only do I clear out my house, I clear out my mind.

I checked in on and had chats with a few friends on the phone and through FaceTime

I also took an online stand-up workshop with Dave Schwensen, wrote some jokes, read some books, watched all 6 seasons of Grace and Frankie which I LOVE and can’t wait for season 7, learned how to use Zoom and am co-producing A Taste of Comedy airing this Monday, May 18th at 7pm (Central Time) airing on Facebook live at www.facebook.com/ThatDeniseMedina.

More about Denise here. Denise was also kind enough to speak with me here.

NOTE FROM TEME: Denise’s show will be fab! Extraordinary lineup – not to be missed!

More Council Counsel to come! Comedians will get us through this!

Stay up to date with Comedians Defying Gravity by typing your email address in the box and clicking the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam, spam, spam, spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

A few weeks ago Chicago’s new top cop David Brown stated to the press that he was trying to keep Chicago’s homicides under 300 in 2020. Yikes, I said to myself, surely he was misquoted. Chicago hasn’t seen 300 homicides or less since probably before Archimedes and  Euclid began tampering with numbers centuries ago. For the record, Chicago has averaged 526 homicides the past 9 years and has had over 24,000 people shot.  So far in 2020 the city is well on its way to match that average and then some.

Chicago so far in 2020, (lockdown notwithstanding,) is sitting at over 190 homicides as I write this, a 26% increase over the same period last year when the city was dealing with a Polar Vortex, which surely kept the killings down from the prior year. The number of people shot so far in 2020 is approaching 1,000. The level of violence always shows itself in the number of people shot. When the bangers take aim it is to kill not wound. Sometimes the paramedics, first responders, and emergency room personnel do remarkable jobs saving lives, and other times victims just bleed out or die from their wounds.

So it was quite a surprise to me that just a few days ago Superintendent Brown in an interview with Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner doubled down on his keeping Chicago’s homicides under 300, so I can only assume he’s aware of what I’m aware of. I’m trying to tell myself that my 33 years working Chicago’s streets give me an advantage over the top cop. Maybe he doesn’t see or know what I do, PLEASE that’s not hubris it’s just fact. So I’m reminding myself that when the light bulb was first invented that nobody complained that it was too dim. I admit I was thinking maybe he was delusional, maybe the mayor is going to have buyers remorse but as the interview went on, he stated he had a plan. I’m glad for that, nothing wrong with optimism (at least to a point).

He said that he was THINKING about starting a new citywide unit devoted to FLARE UPS ( a bureaucratic word for spiraling violent crime ) its either that or SPIKE it sounds so much better than spiraling violent crime. He states he knows that it’s a controversial idea that has come and gone over the years ( he got that right, so many times  I cannot count them) in order to combat the gang killings and shootings. Brown floated the idea, describing it as a significant community policing oriented unit that would be community-friendly. My first thought was does he know Chicago has a Community Policing unit already, that is led by a Deputy Chief and who knows how many Chicago cops? Now is where his idea got the attention of just about everyone who read Jeremy Gorner’s interview.

His new specialized unit of cops who no doubt will consist of (hopefully) experienced street officers and detectives who are familiar with the gangs and their affiliates. Aside from going against some of the most notoriously violent killers and shooters, he would have the officers maybe one day a week working with Habitat for Humanity to help build houses, deliver meals to senior citizens in need, and visit schools and interact with children. One can see why most of us veteran retired cops lost our breath when we heard this. Sometimes the reality of just what goes on in those gang-infested areas never leaves the thought process. My take on this is there will be no gang members waiting on a house to be delivered by Habitat for Humanity, there will be no gang members receiving food from cops who deliver, there will be no gang members in those schools to hear the feel-good exchange between cops and kids.

Will this be or is this going to be yet another Dog and Pony Show for the press? Does anyone in their right mind think this will have an effect on hardened gang thugs who are determined to carry on with business as usual? Even if it accomplishes the goal the Superintendent is intending, cops who are sensitive to the community, rather than every day, all day, everyday enforcement duties what will this accomplish as far as the gang violence is concerned? Make no mistake those folks in those neighborhoods would not cooperate with Jesus, or Mohammad and inform on those gangs no matter the sensitivity of the officers working those streets. Intimidation and fear for their loved ones and their own well-being comes first. The Treja Kelly murder was front and center for those who cooperate. The gangs put a $5,000 bounty on her life for cooperating in a murder case. Within weeks she and her unborn baby were murdered.

The gangs make no mistake are a powerful force and POWER CONCEDES NOTHING WITHOUT A DEMAND, IT NEVER DID AND NEVER WILL. Chicago’s cops and Federal authorities need to make that demand. The gangs are not sensitive and could care less about sensitive cops building houses and delivering food and interacting with children. They have an army of destruction in a civilized society and are like hardy weeds when you whack off one stalk another pops in its place, especially in Cook County’s system of caring more for vicious thugs that the victims they preyed upon. Remember during prohibition and the mafia underworld in the 20s 30s 40s and into the 50s and 60s all those gangland murders?  We never called them White on White violence, so in my opinion, we have to drop this Black on Black violence we hear about so much and realize skin color has little to do with violence, and if a mayor or governor can shut down parks and an entire city and force people to stay at home and challenge people who are out and about, why can’t cops and federal agents employ the same tactics to save the precious lives of people who are just trying to survive the monsters among them. I mean it when I say I hope the new top cop achieves his goal, and doesn’t hear that familiar mayoral whisper that so many of his predecessors heard from a mayor ” I’m NOT SAYING IT’S YOUR FAULT, I’M JUST BLAMING IT ON YOU.” God speed David Brown.

Five Hollywood Presidents…and one real one.

Five serious men who were never really President, and one who is. Which ones inspire you?

1. President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) Air Force One: Real peace is not just the absence of conflict, it’s the presence of justice. And tonight I come to you with a pledge to change America’s policy. Never again will I allow our political self-interest to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons and to those who would use them: your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate, and we will no longer be afraid. It’s your turn to be afraid.
2. “President” Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) Dave: I think there are certain things you should expect from your president. I had to care more about you than I do about me. I had to care more about what’s right than I do about what’s popular.
3. President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) Independence Day: Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. “Mankind.” That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.
4. President Richard Dreyfuss) Fail Safe: Men are responsible for what they do. Men are responsible for what they make. We built those machines, your country and mine. We put them in place. Two *great* cities will be destroyed. Millions of innocent people will die because of us. What do we say to them? “Accidents will happen?” I can’t accept that. What do we do, Mr. Chairman? What do we say to the dead?
5. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) The American President: Being president of this country is *entirely* about character…That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. And wave an old photo of the President’s girlfriend and you scream about patriotism and you tell them, she’s to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore…We’ve got serious problems, and we need serious people, and if you want to talk about character, Bob, you’d better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I’ll show up. This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I *am* the President.

President Donald Trump (Donald Trump) The American Nightmare: We are building, right now, incredible military equipment at a level that nobody has ever seen before. We have no choice. We have to do it — with the adversaries we have out there. We have a — I call it the ‘super-duper missile.’ And I heard the other night, 17 times faster than what they have right now

Movie Quotes courtesy of IMDB

Trump Quote courtest of Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and 62,979,879 American voters. 

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

———————————–

The Democrats released a 1,700 page 3 Trillion-dollar stimulus plan that contains a lot of leftist crap that most of the country does not want, and with all that money only gives to the people a one-time payment of $1,200. With 2.8 Trillion dollars every adult in the country could get $1,000 a month for a year. Let’s do that. Republicans should counter Democrats with Andrew Yang’s UBI. We all know the economy will take a long time to recover from the pandemic. Imagine what $1,000 a month for each adult would do for the poor and population dense areas that need the influx of wealth the most.