Uptown woman arrested after punching men (c****!) on Lake View L platform

FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS

An Uptown neighborhood woman was arrested for allegedly punching two men on a North Side L platform Sunday night in the Lake View neighborhood.

Nicole Patrick, 39, of the 1000 block of West Lawrence Avenue, was charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor, according to police.

The incident occurred at 6:50 p.m. at the CTA’s Belmont Red Line L station when Patrick allegedly called two men who were standing together on the platform “c----,’’ according to police.

Police said one of the men “took exception” to the statement and she punched him in the chest and scratched his neck. The other man came to his aid and she allegedly punched him in the nose, giving him a bloody nose, police said.

Both men declined medical treatment. Other citizens intervened and she was held there until police got her into custody.

Officers said she was intoxicated, combative and very aggressive.

It was her first arrest, according to police.

Sometimes I think this is the story of my life.

Paralysis through analysis

Today I was listening to Duran Duran on the way to work and was thinking how good the self-titled album they put out in the '90s was. I think it was John Taylor who said in an interview that the reason the album was so good was that they approached it as if it were their last. Marianne Faithfull has said the same thing about her masterpiece, Broken English. That got me thinking, why doesn't every recording artist approach each album as if it is their last? Obviously, going about things in that way presents a huge emotional commitment. But why put out music, or art of any kind, in which you don't have a major emotional investment? Of course, not everyone is going to make some heavy statement, but even for a pop act the logic works: Shouldn't the B-52's put out the best party album they can? And Michael Jackson consciously strived to put out the genre-crossing pop album with Thriller.

The danger in putting so much pressure on yourself, of course, is that you can end up with what Quincy Jones called "paralysis through analysis" -- his phrase for Michael Jackson's problem post-Thriller, when he fretted so much about doing something significant that he ended up not doing much of anything. I have this problem when I write. I dabble with fiction, then I figure it's not going to be Grapes of Wrath so why bother -- pretty self-defeatist, right? I also find it very difficult to write without editing myself as I go along, and those are supposed to be two separate processes. I've started writing a few poems again and trying not to worry too much about whether they're good. I'm trying to start another blog, too (which might replace rather than supplement this one; I don't know yet), but my biggest issue is finding the time. My life seems to be very busy lately, and mostly with things that aren't fulfilling. It might be time to discover the power of saying no.

Exuberant dancing

From the Chicago Tribune:

Two people were kicked out of a concert at Ravinia in Highland Park for dancing too exuberantly, police said.

The man and woman were dancing and "intoxicated and bumping into people" during the G. Love & Special Sauce/Michael Franti & Spearhead twin bill Thursday night, police said.

"They were just enjoying the concert a little too much, and they got to the point where they were interfering with others," said Highland Park Police Cmdr. George Pfutzenreuter.

Someone called security on the couple, and they were asked to leave, Pfutzenreuter said. The man complied, but Alexandra Thomas, 32, refused, according to police, who were brought in for reinforcement.

When they tried to escort her out, she "made physical contact" with the officer, who placed her under arrest for trespass and disorderly conduct, police said.

Thomas, of the 900 block of Wade Street in Highland Park, has a Sept. 23 court hearing.