So Long to This Cold, Cold, Part of the World

Can you guess where Pip and Domo are? I know...it looks a lot like they're on Mars, but I assure you, they're still on the planet Earth.

The blue sky is reassuring.

But it does look rather desolate and cold.

If you look carefully, you can find some tasty morsels, but there's not much here. Here's another hint: they're in North America.

Nope, not Utah...

Pipkin and Domo are visiting a land formation known as badlands - dry terrain of soft rock and soil that has been exposed by erosion. This is the Cheltenham Badlands, located along the Niagara Escarpment and the Bruce Trail, in southern Ontario, Canada.

The Cheltenham Badlands is an example of what poor farming habits can do to otherwise arable land. In the background of the photo above, you can see where the top of the hill of this former farmland is experiencing some secondary growth, but it's unlikely that the badlands will experience any regrowth.

Today, it is an other-worldly playground for the imaginative! Domo is channeling his inner Mark Watney. HELLO EARTH! I'M GONNA SCIENCE THE $#!T OUTTA THIS PLACE!

Ten Thousand Ripples in the Back of the Yards

Pipkin's favorite activity in Chicago, paws down, was the afternoon he spent hopping around the Back of the Yards, a neighborhood near the Union Stock Yards, which employed European immigrants in the 1900s. Pipkin was interested in looking for artist Indira Freitas Johnson's installation Ten Thousand Ripples. The project involved the installation of 100 fibreglass Buddha sculptures around the city of Chicago, with the purpose of impacting public spaces in a positive way. Of the hundred sculptures, only a few are scattered throughout the Back of the Yards, so Pipkin wandered around looking for them. Here are some of his photos of the neighborhood.

Bold, colorful murals and flags anticipated the energy of spring. (These photos were taken in early May.)

Pipkin spotted his first two Buddha sculptures in the gardens of the Hedges Fine and Performing Arts School.

This Buddha co-existed peacefully across from St. Joseph's Church.

This one resided in a small green space in a residential section.

In his search for Buddhas, Pipkin also came across several neighborhood cats. They told him there was one more to be found along a busy street. Pipkin found it, outside of a bank on West 47th St.

Sadly, this one had been vandalized.

But it didn't tarnish his day in the Back of the Yards. This was a neighborhood with a vibrant community feel. Pipkin felt a sense of peace and contemplation while visiting the Buddha statues. He carried that feeling with him as he rode the L back into downtown Chicago.

QOTSA at Aragon Ballroom

And now, some old, fuzzy photos of Pipkin at the Queens of the Stone Age concert at the Aragon Ballroom, back in May, 2014.

Aragon Ballroom is a beautiful venue with a large stage and main floor, and a large balcony to provide shorties like Pipkin with a great view and less of a chance of being trampled at a lively show such as QOTSA.

This photo captures the feel of a QOTSA show: awesome, powerful, explosive, fiery, and such a f'n BLAST.

Pizza Poll: Chicago vs. New York Pizza

Domo's always telling Pipkin, "Go big, or go home". After all the supersized chocolate at Chicago's Hershey's Chocolate World, Domo was on a roll. How do you top half pound Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? Apparently, with pounds and pounds of cheese, baked into a classic Chicago deep dish style pizza from Giordano's.

If you're going to have deep dish pizza, you will need patience. It takes about an hour for these pies to come out of the oven, and they smell soooooo good. But deep dish is...a bit much, even for appetites and mouths as big as Domo's. It's basically like eating a brick of melted cheese. Which is fine, if that's your thing. Domo thought it was his thing. But there was no way he was going to get through this pizza. It's just too much. But when in Chicago...om nom nom nom nom. You kind of have to do it, once.

When it comes to the great Chicago vs. New York pizza debate, Pipkin definitely prefers New York pizza! The thin crust and tangy sauce...oh yes. There's just nothing like a simple slice of cheese pizza, and it doesn't take an hour to come out of the oven! Pip enjoyed this slice at Joe's Pizza in Greenwich Village, a month after his trip to Chicago. More posts from NYC to come, but first, we'll wrap up his visit to Chicago.

Which city's pizza do you prefer? Chicago or New York? As for Domo's, "Go big, or go home" statement...Domo ended up going home with a bit of a brick-of-cheese belly ache.

Oversize Overload! Hershey's Chocolate World - Chicago

You can't miss the aroma of pure sugar next door to the Loyola University Museum of Art. After Pipkin and Domo checked out the Edward Gorey exhibit, they followed the sweet scent of diabetic coma at Chicago's Hershey's Chocolate World.

Everything is oversized at Herhey's Chocolate World. 1 lb packages of peanut butter cups! That's a half pound of peanutty chocolate each! Domo's tempted to pick up a 3 lb jug of chocolate syrup just to bathe in.

These extra long, 12" Twizzlers would be a great workout for Domo's lockjaw.

You'll also find the world's largest Hershey's milk chocolate bar (5 lbs!) and the world's largest Hershey's kiss. This place is insanity! Definitely fun to go into the store to take a look around, but it takes serious dedication - or a lot of friends - to commit to finishing one of these treats.

Shedd Life - the Belugas

Pip and Domo spent a rainy morning at The Shedd Aquarium. The place was full of screaming children and babies, but they found a quiet area where they could watch the belugas swimming. It seemed peaceful, and Pipkin felt a small pang of envy, but watching the belugas for some time, it was clear they were bored with living in a tank. Domo too, knew the look on the belugas' faces. It was the same look Pipkin had when he was living a Shelf Life in Port Townsend, WA. Thank goodness Domo freed him from Shelf Life and showed him the world. <3

There's whole oceans out there. If only they could break free from Shedd Life.

Thith Fountain'th The Besssth!

Pipkin's hope for a grassy spot to nap was a bust, but continuing his hop south in Millennium Park he came across Crown Fountain, which, in his opinion, is the best fountain ever!

Two 50 foot (15 m) tall glass brick towers oppose one another across a shallow granite pool. Images of Chicago residents are displayed on LED screens while water pours over the structure. After a few moments, the faces begin spitting out a stream of water!

Pipkin loves art that is accessible, that fits in with its surroundings and is interactive and fun, and he enjoyed seeing diversity in the faces of Chicago. This place isn't just great on a hot summer day for splashing around, but it's a lot of fun for people watching! Tourists will walk by and stand in front of the towers to take photos, unaware that they are about to get a soaking.  It's fun to people watch and watch the people watching other people.

Most fountains you can't even splash around in. The fountain is surrounded by benches for tired parents to sit on while their kids run around burning off some energy. Juame Plensa did a fantastic job designing this fountain, and the city park provided a wonderful place for people to enjoy Chicago. Well done!

Crown Fountain is located in Millennium Park between Cloud Gate and the Art Institute of Chicago. The fountain runs, weather permitting, from May to October.

The Great Lawn at Millennium Park

immaculate green

pristine blades, a sharp warning -

please keep off the grass

After braving the crowds visiting Cloud Gate, Pipkin wanted a chance to nap (and maybe snack) on the grass at the Great Lawn in front of the Frank Gehry designed Pritzker Pavilion. There were no musical events scheduled at the bandshell, so Pip assumed he'd have no trouble finding a spot on the lawn. He was right, unfortunately. The disappointment inspired the above haiku by Domo.

Agora: The Gathering Place - Grant Park, Chicago

Wandering around the south end of Chicago's Grant Park, Domo came upon a large group of armless, headless sculptures, seemingly caught suspended in a moment of walking meditation. There was something about these sculptures that made Domo feel incredibly warm, welcome, and included.

Agora is the name of this collection of sculptures by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, and it is Greek for "gathering place" or "assembly". All 106 sculptures are 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and were made from a seamless piece of iron.

Pipkin isn't very fond of crowds (and neither is the artist, whose fear of crowds is thematic in her work) and he has a fear of being trampled underfoot, but he braved walking amongst these stoic figures. He loved their rusted, bark like texture.

Domo, who has often felt a little like an outsider (people don't "get" what he is. Brown, boxy, lock-jawed. He's been teased about being an ice cream sandwich - like that's a bad thing to be?) but walking amongst these sculptures he really felt like he belonged in this gathering place. That's the interesting thing about art. Everyone interprets it in different ways, depending on who they are and what they see.

Domo may have enjoyed being in the thick of the crowd but Pipkin appreciated seeing the mass from a little ways away.

However you may enjoy viewing these sculptures, you'll find them at the south end of Grant Park, at Michigan Ave and East Roosevelt Rd.

Labbits Like Beans: Cloud Gate at Millennium Park

Partly cloudy days are perfect for visiting and photographing Anish Kapoor's stainless steel sculpture Cloud Gate at Millennium Park. Its legume like shape has resulted in the nickname The Bean.

To Domo, the Bean looks a lot like the T-1000 from Terminator 2, or that NTI (non-terrestrial intelligence) probe/water creature from The Abyss. The Bean seems harmless enough now, just sitting there. Watching. Waiting.

Pipkin doesn't see anything ominous about the Bean. Its omphalos (Greek for "navel") on the underside is rather cute, in his opinion. The concave design warps and duplicates reflections around it, but at its center you can find yourself again.

With a self-timer, you can get all sorts of fun pictures. Since Pip and Domo are small in the human world, they picked a quiet spot under the Bean for a photo where they wouldn't get trampled on.

This would be a great spot for photos at dusk, when it's dark enough that the city lights come on, but light enough in the sky still to take great pictures of the city mirrored in Cloud Gate.

Moon and Bean