More Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, Northern Wisconsin

Could This Be True?

How can we be sure? Is this something that is measurable? I, for one, am skeptical. But that's healthy right? The scientific method relies on skepticism.

Another from the Ewing archive.

Bird Dog?

This picture is by a Ewing (Perhaps James' father) taken sometime in the 50s or maybe the 40s. It was taken somewhere near Mt. Shasta, California.

Cat Hunt.
Here is a quote from the article linked above:

The proposal, which was raised five years ago and voted down by the Conservation Congress, was revived after a 2004 University of Wisconsin study that found non-native feral cats were a threat to native animals such as lovebirds.

There is not a bird called a lovebird native to Wisconsin. Lovebirds are Parrots native to Africa. But cats would kill them if they could.

Birding Chicago

Walking by a semi public garden in the West Loop, I stopped to see what birds were chirping. I was not surprised to see White-throated Sparrows. They seem to be the only sparrows in Chicago other than House Sparrows (which aren’t technically sparrows anyway) this time of year. Maybe Chicago is the fall home for White-throated sparrows. All the birds started to chirp with urgency when a Kestrel (sparrow hawk!) landed on the garden’s flagpole.

Taffy, Annie, Cottonwoods

Philosophers Corner

Derrida on Sienfeld:

"You should stop watching sitcom and do your homework; read."

D&D

Dunkin Donuts coffee with cream and sugar tastes like what coffee candy would taste like if coffee candy were warm and liquid.

Which reminds me of the Producers, which was originally a film about a Broadway show, then a Broadway show about a Broadway show and now a film based on a Broadway show about a Broadway show.

Is Dunkin Donuts coffee a coffee about a candy? The candy, we know, is a candy about coffee. If Dunkin Donuts made a candy based on their delicious coffee then my comparison would be flawless.

Tip of the Week

Our show is a New City Tip of the Week.

Capote, not Coyote

This evening at The Oriental I saw a film called Capote – similar to coyote but with a p sound in place of the y sound. The Capote in the movie did not look hungry like the coyote in Death Valley, but at times he looked equally miserable.

But what interested me early on in this film was something else. It was a scene in which Truman enters a train compartment and there is a woman who I immediately identified as Harper Lee. And it was. I do not know how I knew it; I do not recall knowing that T. Capote and H. Lee were friends or colleagues, but somehow I knew. Furthermore, I do not know what Harper Lee looked like or looks like, so if Catherine Keener looked like her I wouldn’t be the one to tell you. Also, I did not know the Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote were childhood friends, or that her first name was Nelle. I loved To Kill a Mockingbird, both the book and the movie.

Din Din

Cooked: I did.
Recipe: One bratwurst and a tablespoon or more of spicy mustard. Cook Bratwurst until burnt on two sides.
Dishes: I will.


Presentation is a big part of cooking. I chose the yellow saucer for its relationship to the mustard. The mustard is presented in what in the culinary arts is known as a “bulls-eye" presentation. It is considered a bold move and should not be overused.

Karaoke, I Mean Coyote

This mangy coyote was asking as politely as it knew how for a handout. This poor, pathetic canine resides (if indeed it still resides at all) in Death Valley.

Okay Karaoke

I had actually never done karaoke before Friday and not just because it is hard to find the Fat Boys, Pearl Bailey and whatever else I said that I am partial to singing. Most people have to be pretty drunk to sing Karaoke; well, I do not drink. So when people say “I’ll do it but I have to be drunk,” I agree, “I’ll do it too, but you have to be drunk.”

Karaoke

When it comes to Karaoke, I have a few requirements:
I always bring my own microphone; a headset mic like Madonna and Brittney Spears use. That way my hands are free to play air guitar and for some of the more complex dance moves. Also, I am fussy about the songs I will sing. Two songs I am particularly fond of singing are, “A Man is a Necessary Evil,” by Pearl Bailey and “In Jail,” by the Fat Boys. I enjoy the challenge of "being" each Fat Boy: Mark “Prince Markie Dee” Morales, Daren “Buff the Human Beat Box” Robinson, Damon “Kool Rock Ski” Wimbley.

Famous People are Great

Yesterday I saw the "meat guy" from Strangers With Candy. He was Jerri Blank’s stepmother’s lover. Other famous people I have seen include Kristen Johnston or Johnson from Third Rock from the Sun, Harvey Keitel from various movies, John Baldisarri from the art world, Ken Fandell – also from the art world. If you are famous and left out of the list but know that I have seen you, please do not take it personally; perhaps I am just not a fan. It is important to me to see famous people or to know people who know famous people or to know people who know people who know famous people. It makes me feel close to greatness. I can regale my friends for minutes with stories like how a friend of a friend walked her dog with Kevin Bacon and his dog.

This Week's Social Calender, for last week

Social events in Chicago that, if you weren’t there, you probably missed: A party with a real live DJ - times 2!! Where was it? Wouldn’t you like to know? I’ll give you a hint – West Grand Ave, upstairs. Who threw it? Nice try. When was it? S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y - night. And the night before that; an intimate get together of sophisticates, intellectuals and academics in honor of yours truly.

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's Forty

Me.

Like you, I am a loser

I must be one of the 295,734,130 unluckiest people in the country! Why me, I mean us? Once again I lost the lottery (Powerball) - I mean we. This time the stakes were much higher, $340 million. That money was going to go a long way toward my early retirement. If I had never played the lottery and if I had kept the money I would have somewhere around $5.00. And if I did the smart thing and invested that $5.00, at %2 APR - I would have a little more than $5.00 in a few years.