More chronological disorder: Videos from Grant Park

NOTE: Please turn volume down to a comfortable level for the following videos. There is a lot of annoying background Obama cheerleading.

Video the First: a pre-game interview with friend and associate Scott Bedard:



Video the Second: the end of the countdown to West Coast polls closing. And reaction. Notice the shakiness of the camera. People were bashing all around in jubilation.



Video the Third: a post-game interview with Scott.



Please ignore the shoddy cameraman-ship. But please appreciate the effort!

Location: Grant Park

This post is a bit out of chronological whack, but it's the first opportunity I've had to post some pictures. Videos will take a bit longer to upload, as I can't find a solid connection around here. But the videos are pretty hilarious. Anyways.

..

Last night, the mood in Grant Park was at first apprehensive. The crowd was very young and very energetic, but also on edge. It grew excited in spurts, wavered, and then cheered again. Every projected victory was cause to stand, but then the mass would settle again. It became clear that everyone was waiting for the killer blow.

And then CNN declared Obama the winner in Virginia. That made the result inevitable. Five minutes before the west coast polls closed, everybody stood for a final time. And then...

Euphoria.

CNN declared Obama the president-elect. Emotions exploded. Jubilation. Celebration. It's likely impossible to understate the overwhelming relief and raw emotion that lasted and lasted until cameras moved to Phoenix.

McCain delivered his concession speech -- gracious, I thought, maybe more gracious than anybody might have expected in the heat of the moment -- and the Obama faithful awkwardly booed and applauded in spurts. In the end, not an unexpected concession. McCain had spent a few days weeks attacking Obama to the core, but last night he returned to a more humane tone. The crowd in Grant Park settled on polite applause as McCain wrapped things up.

A few minutes later, a miniature eternity to the happiest people in Chicago, Obama took the stage. His speech grabbed the crowd, and they didn't let go, well, probably until they fell asleep.

Critics can probably point holes in the speech. He implied that the United States became a country in 1787, when it ratified its constitution ("I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years"). I always thought they liked to start in 1776 (232 years ago). Perhaps I'm being petty.

The speech was pure rhetoric. But last night, tonight, and years from now, you will probably find more than a few commentators who will call it perfect.

Some post-game pictures. Sorry for the blur. I figure they're still worth posting.

Obama wins, Chicago erupts

I've never before experienced anything like tonight, and I doubt anything will match it for quite a long time. It's too late to say anything articulate. It's been quite a day. Rest assured, though, there will be pictures, videos, and commentary tomorrow.

Good night from Chicago!

Blog cameo, Ottawa style

An Ottawa friend is going to appear right here, in the space below, in just a little bit. If you can guess who (and I haven't already told you) before I post the picture, I owe you a cola.

Thirty Days hits the big time: CityTV comes calling

If you are watch CityTV tonight at 6 p.m., or are near Internet some time soon after and visit citytv.com, you might catch a glimpse of three Canadians here watching the action in sunny Chicago.

Depending on what gets edited out or not, one of my inarticulate ramblings might make it to air!

UPDATE: Here it is!

(In the accompanying story, I'm quoted saying: "There's been so much hype around it is that the energy is just here in a way that it just doesn't exist in Canada." I'm positive I didn't say that and think it was the other guy, though I don't disagree.)

How did it all happen?

• Carl Meyer made me aware of a post by..
• Warren Kinsella, who was looking for Canadians in Chicago, because..
• CityTV's Richard Madan wanted to interview some.

Kinsella wanted people to get in touch with him. So I did. And then Madan called me. What a funny sequence of events. Just another day on the trip.

Oh, and this articulate woman named Danielle Takacs was also part of the interview, along with another guy named Mike.

By the way, there is more security in this city than anything I can remember. The lone exception might be New Orleans in April, when the streets were full of state and federal authorities for blocks and blocks. As was the case there, Chicago police are pretty much all on duty tonight.

Prelude to a victory: Is this the right spot?

Chicago on the eve of The Most Important Election Ever. The mood in the city might be different but, as this video explains, I really don't know anything about Chicago. Lots of sidewalk conversations about the election, though, for what that's worth.

Observe:



Not surprisingly, I was wrong. Sort of. All of Grant Park is presumably being prepared for an expected one million people who will stream downtown, but the speech will be given here:

There's some doin's a'happenin'

It looks like national security is coming to Chicago. Some examples:

This is a Coast Guard boat in Chicago's Harbour. What a gun!

Homeland Security isn't missing this party.

Chicago: First impressions

It's taller in real life. I swear.

Map update: 03 November

Wow. When I woke up this morning, we were lumbering along I-57, making the final charge to Chicago. In the night, I think the bus wound through Arkansas and Missouri. But I don't think that counts on my Official State Count, does it?

Anyways, I'm sitting in a cafe just east of Canal Street and just west of what I assume is the Chicago River. The Sears Tower is nearby, and it's quite tall. I feel like I should resent its height just on principle, having been born near the world's (former) tallest free-standing structure tower building.

I believe I have a place to stay. This time with a friend of a friend of a friend. Because I trust everyone in the world, this should be easy.

Tomorrow: cameo appearance on Thirty Days made by friends from Ottawa.
Also tomorrow: cameo appearance by potential president-elect