Dave Eggers, Giraffes and You
By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 14, 2004 7:24PM
It’s a well-established fact that Chicagoist is a big nerd. And it’s also well established that nerds like books. So by the transitive property, Chicagoist likes books. Especially when said books are written by (or associated with) the fine folks at McSweeney’s. Having enjoyed Dave Eggers’s work as well as the various collections released under the McSweeney’s banner, we’re pretty stoked about his upcoming book tour with his younger brother Toph (immortalized in Eggers’s quasi-memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) which starts right here in Chicago Friday night at 7 PM. (Yeah, stoked. We mentioned the nerd thing, right?)
Originally from the 'burbs of our fair city, Messrs. Eggers will be 
discussing and signing copies of the books that (they swear) they had nothing to do with (nudge nudge wink wink): Your Disgusting Head: The Darkest, Most Moist and Sickening Secrets of Your Ears, Mouth and Nose and Giraffes? Giraffes! (which was going to be the title of the musical that Chicagoist was writing but oh well) The books were written (ahem) by the learned Dr. and Mr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey who address such helpful topics as “Do Giraffes Still Control Everything We See In Mirrors?” and other burning questions. In other words, the kind of ridiculousness that can be found all over McSweeney’s Internet Tendency website as filtered through children’s instructional literature. So they’ll probably sound a lot like your company handbook.
The event is free so if you missed Eggers when he was in town for the Printer’s Row Book Fair now you’ve finally got the chance to ask him any unresolved questions you have about the time he tried out for The Real World: San Francisco. But note the change in location! The event was going to be held at the Chicago Cultural Center but has since moved to the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millenium Park. The helpful lady who answers the phone at the CCC says if you get to the Center early then they will happily escort you over since the Pavillion is "hard to find for some people." Now that's a city that works.