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.

Buckingham Fountain

In the last post, Pipkin and Domo were at the observation deck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower. From there, they could see Chicago in all directions. Looking west, they saw this:

It's Lake Michigan and the waterfront parks. Just beyond the red CNA building is a partial view of Buckingham Fountain. The photo at the top of this post is a view in reverse! Pip's at the fountain, with the red CNA building, and the tall, black, bundled tower structure in the back is the Willis Tower.

Buckingham Fountain is one of the world's largest fountains, built in the late Baroque "Rococo Wedding Cake" style. It reminds Pipkin of the fountain at the Palace of Versailles.

Located in Grant Park, the fountain operates from mid-April to mid-October, from 08:00 to 23:00. On the hour, the fountain's peak will shoot water to a height of 150 feet (46 metres). In the evenings, the water show is choreographed to music and lights.

Domo and Pipkin didn't have time to visit the park again at night, but if you can manage it, visit at dusk to see it during the day and at night when the lights come on in the city. It is incredibly pretty!

Nice try, Pip!

Pedicab Tour of Beijing's Shichahai Lake Hutong

Domo waves to a row of pedicab drivers

Ahhhh, shade!

Domo and Pipkin had done a lot of walking around Beijing and decided to give their feet a rest, so they took a pedicab tour of one of Beijing's remaining hutongs. Hutong is the name given to narrow streets or alleys that are made up of traditional courtyard homes. These old neighborhoods were commonly found in northern Chinese cities, but are rapidly disappearing today. This hutong, in the Shichahai Lake district of Beijing, is a mixture of old traditional courtyard homes, and new two and three storey apartment buildings.

Much like the French Quarter in New Orleans, what you'll see from the street is actually the back of people's houses. The more interesting side is kept private. In the photo above, you see where old has been renewed, and the new new is a sign of the new Beijing taking over the old.

This hutong is a mix of residential and business. You'll find restaurants, temples, sports schools, tea shops, and even a bike shop. Pipkin thought of Masher McBuns when he snapped the pic of the colourful bikes above.

There are also beautiful willow trees along the water, and space for people to sit in the shade.

While the pedicab tour was a nice way to relax and travel through all the streets in the hutong, Pipkin and Domo recommend spending time in the hutong walking by foot. Pedicabs won't take you into some of the courtyards, and they whizz by too fast for you to take in all the different architecture styles. Plus - there's lots of food to be eaten!

Temple St Night Market

There's a lot to do in Hong Kong during the day but there is just as much life at night. With cooler temperatures and no space to cook in a small Hong Kong dwelling, most people head out in the evenings to socialize, grab a bite to eat, and get away from their smothers. I mean, mothers. Seriously, Hong Kong living quarters are tight. Labbits in warrens have more space.

So people tend to go out. One of the things people do at night is get their shopping done. Temple St. Night Market is one of the busiest flea markets in Hong Kong. It's found on the Kowloon side, in the Jordan neighborhood. Often referred to as the "Men's Market" you will find all sorts of clothing, belts, shoes, DVDs, powerful laser pointers (banned in the USA!), lighters and food. Expect knock offs and bargains, and don't forget to haggle.

Pipkin wasn't in the market for a fake Gucci bag, off color Rolex or a misspelled Ferrari phone case, but he did enjoy people watching. Hidden in the back of these stalls are shops with antiques, Chinese herbs and other miscellany. Pipkin saw something out of the corner of his eye in this shoe shop. See it?

Keep a sharp eye on those bargains and hidden gems!

How To Ship Cake Pops

 The labbits have been asked how their labbit cake pops were shipped, so here are a few photos of how they wrapped up their delicious rabbit shaped treats.

The labbit pops were first wrapped in 3"x4" treat bags and secured with a twist tie, then chilled for at least 12 hours in a refrigerator. This hardened all the icing details so they wouldn't be damaged in shipping.

Next, the labbits got themselves a sturdy box for mailing. They just repurposed a box that would hold about 8 labbit pops. They lined the box first with tissue paper and then with bubble wrap.

Next, the cake pops were placed in the box with some space separating them. They shouldn't be touching...you don't want icing to get smooshed or smeared. The light background showed the spacing and placement of the labbit pops for this photo, but you should put some shredded paper at the bottom of the box before adding your labbit pops.

The most important thing about shipping cake pops is that they don't move, so make sure you take lots of shredded paper and stuff it around the cake pops so they don't shift. You can close up your box and shake it a little to make sure things aren't moving.

Fold down the bubble wrap and tissue paper, close the lid, and secure the box with tape. The labbits then wrapped the entire box with freezer paper (find it in the grocery store with the ziploc bags and parchment/wax papers) to keep the box dry, and labelled it for mailing. They were mailed away in southern Vermont and arrived two days later in San Francisco, safe and sound, but note this was in February! If you're mailing cake pops to a warmer climate or during hotter months, you may want to stick the package in the fridge, and slip a reusable ice pack in a ziploc bag into the box to keep things cool. Good luck with making and shipping your own labbit cake pops!