You guys know that I basically live in a hotel, right? Well, if you are not aware, I live in condo complex that spans an entire block. There are three low-rise buildings and a tower that are interconnected by common grounds, including a pool area, that are four stories from street level. There's plenty of opportunities for interaction, but the cultural qualities of the place are severely lacking. There's 200+ units and on a warm summer night you can count the amount of people out on balconies and terraces on one hand. By the blue-flickers that are visible through night time windows, occupancy is not an issue. Maybe it's a sign of the times. So it goes.

With that, I'd like to call attention to two occasions where I have had to deal with bullshit, which if you know me, is not a strong suit of mine.

Here's the first: We have a couple that are neighbors. They live above a few floors and across a courtyard. Their balcony faces our terrace. They are renters that appear to be boy friend girl friend. They are our domestic disturbance. We call it the Friday Night Fights. On warm summer evenings you can hear the screaming across the courtyard. Shit flies around, doors slam, all hours of the night. On one such evening I was at home by myself. It was raining and I had a sliding door cracked for ventilation. My desk is right next to the door. I heard something hit the terrace floor. After a second thing hit the out door umbrella, I opened the door and stood with the screen open trying to discern what was happening. It was dark and windy, so I had little sense of what was going on.

Then something hit me in the head. Of course I looked up and then heard the Fights across the courtyard, couple with the other CDs that were on the terrace floor, I put the two together. I waited for a lull and, at the top of my lungs, addressed the male tenant above as asshole and asked him if he forgot that there are people living below him. It appeared that he was using his CD collection to augment his discussion with his girlfriend. I got his attention with a repeat of my first address. He made no acknowledgment of any wrong doing, nor did he offer an apology. He did however offer an invitation to continue the discussion upstairs. I took him up on it.

I calmly locked the place up, put on pair of shoes grabbed a set of keys and headed out. The invitation was repeated a few times loud enough for me to hear it in the halls and walkways. "C'mon up hear..."

I got out of the elevator and was walking to the end of the hallway and the asshole came out of his condo. We've only seen each other from a distance and at a difference of height. He ended up being a bit smaller than I had expected, and my 6-2, 180lb. frame probably grew more than he anticipated as I approached, with a purpose, from down the hall. Whatever. From about ten feet I whipped the broken CDs I had picked up from the incident at his face and asked him if he lost them. He didn't even blink as they, unfortunately, forked to both sides. Add that to his slight slurring and I figured he was drunk-ish. He said he had no intention of throwing them at me. After I told him that I had every intention of confronting him if it happened again, and reminded him that his actions affect his neighbors. He backed down a bit and said the CDs were his girlfriend's and that is wasn't such a big deal. I had made my case, so I left.

Here's Number Two: The common elements in our building feature a dog area that is a place where the dogs can eliminate. It's basically a concrete bowling alley that is accessible to all. With the cold months, it's real nice not to have to take your dog six blocks away to the nearest path of grass. It's a gated area that you can let your dog take a leak in peace.

Needless to say this area can become congested in the morning hours, as people are taking their dogs out before work. Not getting into the etiquette involved. It's customary to have it be a single-user area. Most of the time that's not a problem. Except, with the fuck-sticks that live in my building. They'll come out of the building and walk directly to the dog area without first checking if it is in use. Then they'll stand and wait while starring at you. Or, they'll just walk right in and interrupt. Seriously, some of the people that live in my building are complete assholes - student and adults alike.

There's this one guy that has a bulldog that is constantly off-leash. He and the dog walk around the grounds not paying any attention to other people or dogs. They bulldog is good, but as a general rule, dogs need to meet on neutral terms. If one if leashed and the other isn't the outcome may not be so good. This guy is by far not the worst offender of dog etiquette, but just know that I have to deal with many others. And I am not a patient man.

This morning I was in the dog area, which had its gate removed due to snow blower damage earlier this month. I'm in the area with no gate and an unleashed hound. Well, the fuck-stick I was just briefing you on comes out of the building and walks right up to where the gate was. My wife has had numerous instances similar to this with the same guy. If you know my dog, you'll know that he doesn't handle distractions well. Another dog in his general vicinity completely absorbs his attention. So, he's not going to take a shit. That means I might as well leave and come back when fuck-stick isn't around.

Of course, when I pass him by there's an opportunity to give him some suggestions regarding his behavior. Hoping he would pick up on the sarcasm, I mentioned that I would just come back when he was finished and I hope I didn't inconvenience him at all. He looked at me with a inquisitive expression. I called him an ignorant fuck as I was passing him by. I got another huh as I was walking away. I repeated myself at a higher volume. He came back with why don't you come back and say that.

I did, of course. I approached him and mentioned that most people wait their turn inside the building where it is warm, which is in clear view of the dog area. And, if they cannot determine if it is occupied they at least approach and then yield their ground. He said that he didn't see me and was not aware that I was there. I told him that not seeing me at the range makes him an ignorant fuck which is exactly what I called him. His retort was so you just walk around calling people ignorant, you're an asshole. I told him that I only call ignorant people ignorant and that he could avoid this in the future by being more aware. I had said what I wanted to so I left. None of this comes out quite that measured. In instances like to two described I have a rush of adrenaline that looks like nervousness, but is really just a result of the internal conflict between responsible behavior and the drive to destroy what is in my way.

I guess I have just lost the ability to deal with assholes. And yes, I am comfortable with this.

This winter season in Chi-town has brought with it the most snowfall we've seen in ten years. We're scheduled to get another couple inches, mixed with rain and wind, tonight. It's been real shitty to say the least. I have found comfort in many things, but for our purposes here, braised meats. The latest, has been a round of chilli that was too good not share. Some will call this Texas-style chilli. That's fine by me. I will not be offended. The focus is braised beef in a red wine reduction. If that interests you, read on.

We're going to start with a nice beef shank. Riders can make their own substitutions. I prefer the shank for it's flavor. And, I usually have some lying around for consomme. You can request it from you butcher cut from the bone, or if you're like me, on the bone. I like to butcher things in my spare time, so a ten pound section of beef leg doesn't scare me. If you do opt to take up the knife, be sure to remove all the silvery tendons. This will keep you out of trouble for a good portion of the morning. Make sure to order enough to have about five pounds of meat.

Apparelle:

• Beef shank: 5 lbs. (substitute at will, if you prefer ground beef please leave now)
• Serrano chili peppers: 12-ish
• Jalepeno pepper: 12-ish
• Banana peppers: 3-ish
• Yellow onion: one large, or two medium
• Chili sauce: Does four jars sound about right?
• Red kidney beans: half pound
• Cabernet: 1 bottle, average price point
• Seasonings: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, marsala, cayenne, salt (all of there items are to-taste)

As a disclaimer, the quantities listed there are general approximations. I tend to not measure things that don't matter. If I have a pile of meat this big (spread out your hands) I want a pile of aromatics that is this big. And besides, we are making chili here, not avocado foam. As for the heat, that's entirely up to you. If you want to swap out the peppers that is fine by me. We are focused on the meat.

Procedure:
Start by soaking the beans overnight. Then you'll want to cook them separately in boiling water until they're soft, or about 90 minutes. Remember to salt the water like soup. Again, decide whether you want you beans mushy or dente, with a slight pop, and adjust your cooking time. Keep in mind, they will not cook in the chili sauce mixture as it doesn't have a high water content.

Now for the meat. At this point you should have prepped beef shank, free of tendon. How you got to this point matters little. Keep it in fairly large chunks. Season it with your chili rub and sear it in clarified butter. [Butter aside: clarified butter is preferred for searing due to it's higher flash point. It allows a higher pan temperature due the fact that it has the milk bodies removed by cooking. It's simple to make: take a pound of butter and toss it into a sauce pan; put a high flame under it and cook it until the butter turns translucent; use a ladle to test clarity; remove from the heat and cool. End aside.] Get a nice carmelization to it. Remove it from the pan and de-glaze with red wine. Make sure you get all the fond from the bottom of the pan. Toss the meat and the de-glazing into a crock pot. Fill it with red wine, covering about half the meat. Bring the heat up to real slow simmer. Keep it going for about two hours, turning the meat from side to side every so often. You're done with this when you can pull the meat apart into individual shreds - like pulled pork, only it's pulled shank. If you're not there yet, grab a beer and let it simmer another hour or so.

While that pot is going you will need something to keep you busy, and you've got those aromatics sitting around waiting to be sliced. Get to it. I like a nice thin julienne on all of them. Keep them the same thickness for even cooking times. Saute them until nicely carmelized. The carmelization will add some smoke to the chili. Again, use the clarified butter - make sure you don't drown them, or choke the pan. A word of caution regarding the sauteing of highly acidic peppers: you are going to be putting acidic extracts into the air through the steam that is released. You may find this caustic. Deal with it - this is man's chili. And, be sure to clean you hands, and fingers, completely after handling the peppers. Your wife will be most thankful during your afternoon romp, when she isn't burning with a literal fire-down-below. When you are done, de-glaze the pan with red wine and toss this mixture into the crock pot. For me, I like a certain amount of control in the kitchen. So, I would keep this out of the braised meat until after the meat is finished. This way I have better control over the ingredients.

Once the meat is done, pull it apart into teeny shreds. Put it back into the crock pot, add the aromatics, the beans and the chili sauce. Season at your own risk. I prefer to adjust things after the cook is just about done. Keep in mind that though the water content will reduce over time, the salt content will not. You may get something you did not expect if you salt to early. Get this back up to a slow simmer and let it go for another couple of hours. You're done when everything has reached this homogenous texture where meat and vegetable have become a unified element, with some lumpy beans interspersed - error on the side of too long.

It used to be that you could pop a Springsteen album in and look forward to deep, reflective content, albeit sometimes with a hint of animosity or negativity, that was either wrapped around chewy pop organizations, or more methodical folk-type offerings. Even with some of the lighter albums, such as Human Touch or Lucky Town, you could wrap your head around parts of it and soak in Bruce's power of empathy. I had the chance to spin Magic several times over the last week or so since posting it to the Jams.* Honestly, I enjoyed parts of it, but taken as a whole and placed into his discography, it hits me as a non sequitur.

For starters, the album features a production quality that is so unique to Bruce's sound it has to be intentional. The audio channels are completely compressed making all the separate tracks have this homogenous texture to it that is very distressed. Basically, Bruce's voice is right smack in the middle of everything. It's loud and lifeless. Given the tone of the content, I am thinking that this production quality is intentional. It goes along with the distressed mood. But, it strikes a lot of people as odd for a Springsteen album.

There is also a redundant aspect to a number of tracks. You'll hear Tenth Avenue Freeze-out and Jungleland and some other favorites refitted for Magic. I know, given a career spanning thirty years you are bound to repeat yourself once or twice. But I would argue, as critiques go, there's three categories: old material done in done in an old way; old material done in a new way, and; new material done in a new way. I put this album in category two, citing the production quality as new but not complementary to Bruce or the E Street Band.

Don't get me entirely wrong here. I did enjoy some of the tracks, and found myself bouncing around to a few of them. It's just that it sounds like someone took the E-Street Band and put the Greenday filter on it. It seems odd that after a hiatus from familiar faces, Bruce chose this album as reunion material. Sure, songs about Girls in Summer Clothes hit me in a certain soft spot. Tracks like that seem oddly juxtaposed between politically heavy numbers and it leaves me scratching my head.

And then there's the political content. It's hard to read other reviews for Magic and not get the usual diatribes about Iraq and Lies and so on. Yes, it's there and at times heavy-handed. For me, I choose not to get my political views from thoughts that are neatly fit into verse and meter. Sorry. If you are into that sorta thing you will probably nod along with the album and think Bruce makes things so obvious. I won't waste my time with such twaddle. I will suggest that explanations for and against a war take a bit longer than your average three minute track to explain. Bruce obviously feels that he's been lied to about this and that, and I frankly don't give a shit. The current administration has a responsibility to present itself and make it's case. I'll leave it at that.

So, where does that leave me in regards to Magic? Well, there's some quality tracks on there. However, it's placed among some pretty average material (given the high expectations that Bruce brings) and it's all glazed over with a sound that strikes me as intentional, but off. It's worth a few spins and maybe a few tracks will make it into a playlist here and there. As a whole it's mediocre.

* The Mint Jams are listen only. You may purchase this album here.