ChicagoDopers: The Tinfoil Hat Brigade and the Giant Bean!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Those of us who work and/or live in the Chicago Loop are familar with the boondoggle known as Millennium Park, which, as far as I can tell, is a means to enrich the local concrete suppliers and dispose of excess corporate money.

Anyhow, the large, white, tent-like structure that was occupying the plaza/roof next to the winter ice skating rink has come down, revealing a…

…it’s a …

…um…

:confused: what the hell IS that thing? :confused:

I looks like (variously) a GIGANTIC BLOB OF MERCURY!!! :cool: Or maybe it’s an egg laid by the alien mother ship fornicating with the ruins of Soldier Field :eek: I’ve heard it described as Dick Daley’s Bike Helmet. :rolleyes: But most often, it’s

THE GIANT BEAN!!!

Anyhow, there have been rumors afoot about the “official opening day” for a week or two now, but here’s what I found on the web recently - check out the July 7 entry:

http://www.neanderpundit.com/

Also - click on “keep reading” -

http://regionbroad.wiredhub.org/archives/000232.php

Yeah - it DOES sort of look like a toilet! Or an overturned bedpan. Judge for yourself:

It’s a bean! It’s a blob! It’s a bedpan! It’s a… what IS that thing…?

Yes! I’m going to do it! :cool: I’m going to go down to the Giant Chrome Whatsit on Friday at 5 pm with my tinfoil beannie in place! Yes! (A group of us at work are bouncing off the “bike helmet” thing and thinking of covering our bike helmets with tinfoil)

ChicagoDopers - who is with me?

2

I know people are looking at this - the “view” count keeps going up.

NOT ONE of you has a comment? No “Wow, isn’t that typical?” or “Gee, maybe she’s gone off the deep end?” or even “That’s stupid”?

What, did I say something off kilter? (no, wait… that was in the Pit…)

There’s this giant chrome… THING… sitting in downtown Chicago and you’re all … er… umm… mmrmphf >shrug<?

OK…

3

Saw a picture of it in the Plain Dealer the other day and thought it looked cool! Of course the caption said something about how even the overcast skies looked blue in the reflection…making it out to be some sort of act of civil brainwashing {{{gaze deeply into the bean…you love your city…see the blue sky}}}.

Of course, we have a giant rubber stamp sculpture, so who am I to complain?

4

Um, I think it’s a totally awesome sculpture, though I’m a little iffy on the name. I can’t wait to go down there. That’s my comment.

5

Uh. High profile city job, political jockeying, “art” at stake, pet project of the mayor…The only thing that’s surprising is how the hell the guy’s going to get on top to clean the bird shit/graffiti off of that damn thing.

Oh, and those “image towers?” What the fuck? Is this some sort of '80s fantasy movie?

You are quite right about the suppliers getting rich and not the contractors. Damn pay-when-paid clause.

6

Lovely, we’ll now be known as the city with both the Toilet on the Lake[SUP]TM[/SUP] (Soldier Field) and the Bedpan in the Park[SUP]TM[/SUP] .

7

Well, I’d meet you down there (if only for my first IRL Doper meeting), but I have to work 'til 5 on Friday and I wouldn’t be able to make it into the city until 6–and I have a doctor appointment at 6:30. So… sorry. Have fun!

8

Slight hijack : have you seen the name of one of the posters on the Neaderpundit board ?

:eek:

bolding mine.