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I think R senses I am having a rough month; he texted me yesterday with a Plot To Infiltrate Bucktown.

Bucktown/Wicker Park are two melded neighborhoods that are the central hub of all hipsterism in Chicago. I have never felt so out of place in my life as I did standing on a streetcorner in Wicker Park while wearing business casual. I was surrounded by people in skinny jeans, unflattering shirts, ironic trucker caps, and terrible beards.

But Mucca Pazza was playing at the Wicker Park Fest, and R really wanted to go see them, and I have to admit I do like street fairs.

R: But we have to go incognito.
Me: Incognito?
R: Don't wear a suit. Or board shorts.
Me: Uh.
R: Wear your best hipster camo.
Me: I have some...chucks...? I can't get a full-sleeve tattoo on short notice.
R: Do you own a trilby?

So we got dressed up in hipster camo (he wins hipster camo; he has a beard, and while it's not terrible it is considerably more hipster than my face) and went to the Fest. We toured some of the stalls -- Judge Mathis had a stall, we're still not sure why, and after watching R's dog take apart a heavy-duty Kong toy we disdained the dog toy stall as "not durable enough" -- then went to Nori for dinner, where R ate more sushi than I've ever seen anyone eat in a single sitting. They have this pork-wasabi shumai thing that's amazing, and their godzilla roll is pretty good, and they do tempura avocado, so A+ recommended if you find yourself on Milwaukee Avenue for whatever reason.

We managed to waste time in Nori until Mucca Pazza was up, then went outside to watch the show. I thought Mucca Pazza was going to be some kind of latin band, which was weird because while R's musical intake is massive, I never really pegged him for like...salsa dancing. As it turns out, Mucca Pazza is an awesome jazz-rock band masquerading as a marching band. They had a sousaphone AND a beatbox. It was pretty entertaining.

But I did get home late, and now I am exhausted, so good adult decision-making, me. :P

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Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Before we start, justice_turtle sends a massive thanks to everyone who helped him out last week. He raised nearly $400 - well over twice the amount of his bill! He'll use the rest to stay on his meds and go back to community college.

Ways To Give:

swordage linked to Thyrza on tumblr, who is in need of financial help to keep their home and pets due to some unfortunate issues which affect their bankruptcy payments. They have a gofundme up and are taking paypal donations, but they also have a super-cool Etsy shop selling Avengers, SHIELD, and Hawkeye/Captain Marvel/Captain America jewelry. You can find all their information at this tumblr post.

stinaleigh linked to Ashbet, who is selling a number of collector's edition ball-jointed dolls to raise money for medical bills, as well as accepting donations; you can find links to the dolls and the donation information here.

izzy's friend Shayla in Madison, WI is asking for funds to keep her from being evicted. She is also looking for someone willing to foster her two cats if she is evicted. She has a Fundrazr here. Her cats are 13 years and 12 pounds, and 11 years and 18 pounds. Both friendly and affectionate. If you can help with either funds or cat fostering, please contact Sarah Jean at bipagan at gmail dot com.

erika is facing unexpected expenses due to moving and medical bills, and is raising $500 in donations to cover the expenses. You can read all their info as well as donation information here.

elizabethconall was recently diagnosed with asthma, and is struggling to purchase her medications. She is writing stories on commission, as well as selling jewelry and original fiction (here at Amazon). She's also urging people to check out her Dreamwidth and subscribe to the journal if you like what you see, as a way of raising the profile of her art.

xturtle linked to a Kickstarter for a radio play production company, starting with "Marley was Dead," an awesome-looking noir adaption of A Christmas Carol. Their time is up August 1, and they're just a little over halfway to their goal.

Help For Free:

justice let me know that Florida registered voters can petition for a pro-gay-marriage amendment by printing and signing this PDF and mailing it to 15820 Palmetto Club Dr., Miami, FL 33157. Others can signal-boost EqualMarriageFL.com or their Facebook page.

Just For Fun:

brainwane linked me to Growstuff, a new site for home gardeners: "We're building an open source platform to track, share, and discuss edible gardens and sustainable lifestyles. We offer growing information tailored to your location, and help you connect with your local food-growing community." DW users can follow the project's progress, and the site just had a public launch and you can get an account for free.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!).

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I have been reading a lot lately but falling behind on my reviewing of same...

I finished Terry Pratchett's "Dodger" about two weeks ago and just haven't gotten round to reviewing it. SO HERE IT IS.

Pratchett has written a lot of books, most of them set in the Discworld universe, though he does occasionally step outside of it. He's got a talent that transfers well to other genres, as long as those genres don't take themselves too seriously. Dodger is Pratchett's vision of Victorian London -- a lot like Ankh-Morpork, but with recognizable characters from history, like Charles Dickens, and from fiction, like Sweeney Todd. The story is told from the point of view of a young man named Dodger, a tosher (sewer-scavenger) who rescues a woman from thugs and then finds out she's German royalty, running from her husband. What follows are a series of unlikely but awesome events that catapult Dodger from obscurity and poverty into the halls of nobility and justice.

It's hard for me to dislike a Pratchett book. There are a few early in his career, but those I generally attribute to a lack of polish and don't think much about. So when I say I really enjoyed the book, it's kind of expected. But I did; I thought Dodger was a very compelling character, and I loved his mentor Solomon. I thought Simplicity (Dodger's lady in distress) was a little bit flat, but the supporting cast were very well written. And Pratchett's startlingly compassionate treatment of Sweeney Todd compelled me to Wikipedia to double-check that he was indeed fictional.

I had bookmarked some quotes in the epub file, but apparently they were lost in some kind of minor literary catastrophe, so all I have to offer you is that it's a really funny book that I bookmarked in A LOT. :D