We had a very fun time in Chicago with the brilliant Rick Perlstein (formerly a guest at the FDL Book Salon with his book Before the Storm) and Siun (who came to Connecticut and lived with us while she volunteered on the Lamont campaign).
Curiously it turns out Siun and Rick live four blocks away from each other. Yesterday we went to the Third World Cafe in Hyde Park and ate wonderful salads with blue cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries. Rick waved down a friend of his from the street who was very curious to hear about the Lamont campaign, and wanted to know why bloggers weren’t making more of Holy Joe’s combover (which he considered to be the ultimate act of dishonesty).
Rick’s book on Nixon should be done soon. The night before we watched videos at his house of Buckley and Gore Vidal debating each other during the ‘68 Chicago convention. We were all struck with the sharp contrast it presented to all the fulminating dim bulbs of the wronosphere who infest tv punditry today.
Then we drank tea and discussed the secret identity of Digby, who is no doubt in the high Swiss alps bartering international high-tech secrets and Alpine skiing.
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Hello, guys!
Grrr. Almost hit the twofer. :)
Guess what! i have posted my photo diary from the Lamont campaign. Click on my name. Oh, what a shameless hussy i am!
I thought combovers were mandatory for slimy politicians. Hey, Siun!
Nice pix!
Hey, Rick,
In late 1971, I got a chance to introduce Buckley at a radio interview (KRAB-FM) in Seattle the evening before he debated Giovanni Costigan on whether or not the USA extend recognition to the PRC. I introduced him as “America’s master debator.” He scowled a little bit more than usual.
I love Chicago. If I had been able to find more session work, the missus and I would still be there.
I tried to get the gig playing drums behind the Blue Man Group, but I was so damn nervous that I kind of blew the audition.
*sigh*
Hi, Windy City Firepups!
I used to love to run next to the lake.
Siun, you look beautiful. A striking image of you.
BTW, how’s your mom doing? Please tell her I said hello.
Jane,
Thanks again for Rick’s book. I haven’t made it all the way through yet, but am far enough to know he’s already in the top handful of political writers and is going to be there for a long time to come. And am definitely far enough to know I should be really jealous of getting to spend an evening enjoying such high intellectual wattage. I would love to see him take on the roots of the neo-con movement as a subject after Nixon comes out–it’s the next logical step. What are the prospects of that, do you think?
BTW-
I have been meaning to mention this for days:
Tommy Yum- our paths have crossed in the past. We used to have the same booking agent. I was the drummer in Five-Eight!
-patrick
Real ‘Mericuns don’t eat walnuts and bleu cheese and dried anything….
Pach – blush
And Mom is doing great – volunteering with the CT congressional races and talking up Lamont at every opportunity!
It was so much fun to have Jane here … we lived on the porch with our laptops … relaxing and productive at the same time! And meeting my great neighbor Rick and his lovely wife was such a treat!
bubba @ 11
Sure they do-
walnuts in brownies, bleu cheese dip with chicken wings and country ham is pretty darn dry unless you cook it with a little coffee in the skillet.
I am thinking you might be pulling our leg, “bubba.”
(of course, this is the no makeup, Hyde Park look … I love the no fuss way of life in my neighborhood!)
and our Starbucks had Pumpkin cake for Kobe!
Where are you headed from Chicago, Jane?
I notice when I buy bleu cheese dressing at the grocery store, some of the brands spell it “blue cheese.” I wonder if that happened about the same time as Freedom Fries.
siun! Gore Vidal! Bookz!
God I love Chicago.
EPU’d
Peterr and some others in recent threads,
Deep thanks for your helpful comments to newbies and fired-up potential-FDLers, and for your tactful reminders to all of us, whether we be experienced somewhere in between.
I think it’s especially helpful if these types of hints aren’t just left for the busy moderators to handle alone. Heaven knows, the nuts & bolts of moderating keeps them hopping as it is. I for one do not expect anything other than an increase in that pressure in the future.
There will be trolls. There will be the well-meaning folk who pull-up-a-chair and stay, and self-educate pretty well given the abundant user-friendly perks at the site. There will be all kinds of concerned hyperventilaters, preaching pontificators, the “if you guys would just “yah-dah yah-dah yah-dah-ers]” …. all dropping by. Some will lurk awhile & leave, others lurk too long & suddenly VENT onto the comment thread.
Some won’t like the language – too coarse, too inhibited or tidy. Some will arrive screaming about the lack of in-depth coverage of [their own pet topic], & we can gently lead them to the abundant links and lists that hover around the core topics of the day.
For Jane, Christy, Pach, zennurse, egregious, Mary, TRex, so many . . . the strain of keeping up with everyday job and family demands must be enormous for these dear folk. Poor Christy and Fiona were a good example this week.
We can help. Eh?
{{{{{{FDLers}}}}}} *aw shucks, sniffle, night allzzzzzzzz
it’s been a long day
Hey Sharkbabe! yeah, Chicago is pretty amazing … I so glad I stumbled onto it after all those country years. And thanks to Jane, I now have great neighbors.
It was fascinating to chat with Rick – he is so amazing. It was nonstop good talk!
This afternoon I took part in a bloggers’ conference call with Ohio gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland. I’ve transcribed the first two sections (about two-thirds of the half-hour call) here.
Jane- sorry you didn’t get to weigh in on your previous thread. Type talkin’. Are you INFJ?
A trip to Chicago isn’t complete unless you go to Shedd and The Field Museum. Please tell me you stopped by, if not, Siun and Rick did a disservice.
Kathryn in MA @
3
Thanks for the link! Nice to put faces to names here.
Adie- left comment for you on previous Jane thread.
Suin- ENFJ?
grs … it was a Hyde Park only time … the other side of Chicago. And Rick told us great tales of Chicago history … like R Kelly was the music teacher at a school I pass every day to work. (Perlstein is a font of knowledge!)
I used to have a “Clinton/Gore” campaign button … featuring George Clinton and Gore Vidal.
I second that, Kathryn in MA! Great to see all you fdl beauties (that includes the guys)!
To Kathryn in MA @ 3 – What wonderful pics those are. Thanks for driving me home that night. I really needed that beer.
Just back from voting in the Alaska primary.
Big controversy over a sticker on the front page of this morning’s Anchorage Daily News on behalf of Sarah Palin’s governor campaign. The bottom part reads “If you are undeclared or non-partisan, you must ask for the Republican ballot.” This is 100% untrue, but the Lt. Gov’s office – the division of elections is there – has issued a statement that they see no violation in the text of the sticker.
Numerous reports statewide at polling places of Sarah’s minions taking advantage of confusion among elderly or otherwise confused voters to steer them toward Sarah on their ballot.
Kathryn in MA @
3
Kathryn, THANKS! Those are wonderful!
Siun @ 25
Fair enough… there’s always next time. Chicago just has so much to offer.
Siun- maybe some time we can collaborate- you are the media person- but, given the critiques of Courage’s lack of vocal conviction/ lack of variation in vocal tone, my acting training could be a big help in getting these candidates to speak with a more genuine and convincing voice. p.s., so sorry we didn’t get to meet in CT!
Rick Perlstein wrote an unforgettable piece I read in the Village Voice about the fundies and their impact on the 2004 race. It was brilliant and horrifying. Well, that was my real intro to Perlstein and I pretty much worship at the altar of the guy.
(I may be off on the timing since it’s been a while, but not on the impact…)
*atou @
23
Those are such GREAT photos. It looks like everyone was having SO much fun…
It looks like everyone was having SO much fun…
Winning is always more fun. DC Dems should give it a try sometime.
Valley Girl – got it. Thanks.
Sounds as if you’ve got just the right touch.
Agreed. It’s tantalizing to hear some of the stories of exiting voters.
Just be careful out there, if you get into door-to-door mode. So many cranky people, so many armed (OH has concealed carry now, groan)…
My family is from Chicago, and I was born in Aurora. We moved west to Denver when I was six, because of my father’s health. He had respiratory problems caused by TB, and he couldn’t take the winters.
I used to have Midwestern mating instincts, like a salmon migrating to it’s spawning headwaters.
ET – keep us posted on the Alaska results! I used to see a lot of manipulation of senior voters in CT – it’s so despicable.
and Jenny – Perlstein is astonishing … and working hard on his next book … yay!
Kathryn in MA, and Jane:
I’m still looking for the moonbats. Why aren’t there any moonbats?
All I see are solid, respectable citizens. The Malkins are gonna be so disappointed!
Thanks for sharing Kathryn in Ma!
OT Jon Stewart is ROTFLMAO funny tonite!
Valley Girl – nodding. There’s so much work to be done.
I’m frustrated that I’ve been stuck in work stuff during the ad discussions – all I can say is someday I want the cushy no-results job those consultants have! corporate folks actually demand results from their communications … what an idea!
siun,
my side (the NW) is actually the ‘other side’ of Chicago
no walnut and dried fruit salads here
we have paczki and pierogi
(and some pretty darn good pizza too)
jane,
sorry we missed you up north here
hyde park rocks, and i am glad you had a good time
as to R Kelly teaching schoolchildren, that is just wrong on so many levels
grs @ 22
The Shedd is spectacular. What has become of the land that used to be the lovely Meigs Field right next door?
the Siun shines!
Kathryn – great pics! the guy standing between my bro and me is the wonderful James Rogan, filmaker extraordinaire of the BBC and Sundance fame.
The “Lamont staffer” is Dave – a wonderful guy and responsible for the great Lamont tech stuff behind Friends & Families, etc.
punaise … just wait til Jane gets a camera on you!
there used to be a ‘moonbat’ group which stood outside the Shedd and tossed plastic dolphins in the air during performances
i found it rather hilarious (and pointedly spot on)
Miegs Field is now a park
don’t know if this has made the rounds: Ned Lamont interview with truthdig.com (Robert Sheer’s blog):
Kathryn in MA -
Those pics were quite a treat! :)
Siun @ 41
The Republicans are smart – when they give their cronies sweetheart deals to make maximum money for minimum result, it’s on the *taxpayer’s* dime, not their campaign contributors.
On the other hand, since the Democratic establishment’s strategy doesn’t seem to involve actually winning elections, I guess they have to work with what they’ve got…
Hi VG – I caught up on the type-talking thread -
re Sen. Lieberman – his strong emotions seem inwardly focused (how HE feels, not others), while the thinking seems directed outward (what other people are doing). Same with the P/J – perceiving himself as “in the right” without analysis while easily coming to conclusions about others. The E/I thing is hard to call for me- he seems to be a fairly isolated person, and I would come down on the side of I, because his thriving in the political situation could just be an aspect of his inward directed emotions – feeling powerful, feeling admired, feeling important – rather than thriving on the emotional contact with other people. (it seems so important to him to have ROLE that he is filling). So, having had to write all this out to get to a conclusion, I would venture a fairly un-evolved INTJ, manifesting what seem to be the less helpful aspects of those traits outwardly toward others.
Siun @ 38
I’ll concentrate on putting them in during late night here. The polls close in less than an hour and results show trends by 2130 our time – just over two hours from now. Right now finishing a dinner for a VERY chilly late August evening and helping my wife and daughter put up two more batches of raspberry jam.
I’ve done both sides of Chicago – Northwestern University for a bachelors, and then the Lutheran seminary in Hyde Park!
Many’s the afternoon spent “studying” at Jimmy’s . . . and just walking down 55th Street was like a mini United Nations of restaraunts. Personal fave, back in the day: Thai 55. Yum!
I can just smell the cooking . . . makes my mouth water, even after just finishing dinner out here on the left coast!
Mack – I think Jane (and I know I) was recovering from the Lamont adventure. It was sleep late, play with poodles, soothe poor Omar pitty who did not like poodles, drink coffee, laptop … then reboot and do it all again. I know I really needed the break after coming back from CT straight into a heavy work load and Jane’s visit felt like the vacation I skipped to go to CT.
Next time we get her here, we’ll have a proper bash!
FWIW, John Courage gets a rating of 82 from the BeerAdvocate
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/342/7225/
which I know has nothing to do with the guy running for Congress but I thought I’d mention it anyway.
Patrick @
10
Sorry, just got home.
Hope you fired his ass too, patrick!
to borrow a baseball analogy
of late, the Republican approach has resembled the Chicago White Sox’ “Win or Die Trying”
while the Democrats have resembled the Chicago Cubs “Losing is OK if every seat is sold”
Accountability is KEY
(btw – as a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan , I am hoping that the Republicans and CWS die trying this year
^_^
Peterr … Thai 55 is where we went with the Perlsteins! 55th is such a treat since you can just pick any door and get great food. We also hit Calypso one night … caribbean wonder.
siun
it’s all good,
i just returned from a week in Ontario
(where i spent all the summers of my youth)
Canada is a nice reminder of how mild socialism can actually work
I had a number of interesting discussions with old friends and family about our political situations, energy policy and (of course) beer.
tommy yum @
56
As a matter of fact….
Siun @ 58
Double Yum!
I love to cook, and have been trying to duplicate Thai 55’s spring rolls (or my memory thereof) for years with no success. Maybe one of these days I’ll get back and can try to pry it out of the cook!
Ba-dum-bum!
OT: Valerie Plame might name Richard Armitage in her civil suit…
http://apnews.myway.com/articl…..OJ402.html
Mack at 8:18 pm –
My family were lifelong White Sox fans, and it was sooo exciting to see them play in Denver last year. When they won the Series — WOO HOO!!!
So the Sox have had their moment in the sun — Go Tigers!!!
tommy yum @ 61
Hey, I’m the drummer… I’ll provide the rimshots….
Are you still making music? I am staying pretty busy. My new band plays the 40 Watt Club tomorrow night.
Should I put you on the guest list? ;-)
‘night all. got to get some sleep for the morning shift.
give trex hell about not being prepared, no matter how quality his late-nite work…
;)
The Sox celebration parade went right by my office just as Fitz was holding his Libby presser … I could not explain to my coworkers why I was sitting at my computer instead of perched in the windows!
fuck dude, the 40 watt. good times. and, no. me sleepy in beddy.
i’m not dead either.
tommy yum @ 65
Hey, I was prepared. Jane just had another post in line ahead of me.
Late Nite should be up momentarily.
Mack @ 42
You have paczki? all the time, not just Lent? Mmm, that’s so good. One store carries it here on Fridays during Lent and I love it.
Kathryn in MA, those are wonderful pictures!
Sox?
“Wait til next year” says this Cub fan.
I wore a black armband to work on the day of the first scheduled night game at Wrigley Field. I was living in Wyoming and my boss had me over for a BBQ that evening to watch it. The food was great, and much to my delight the first night game at Wrigley was rained out. Now *that’s* divine judgment.
Go Cubs!
Adie @ 18 expressed my thoughts better than I could. The main authors and the established commentariat here at FDL are truly an amazing bunch with remarkably cogent insights and opinions IMHO. I wish I had time to read all the comments because there is lots of good stuff to be learned there.
Speaking as one who reads daily but comments rather infrequently, I want to say that I have nonetheless come to feel welcomed by this community and I feel that I have a stake in it’s well being. So I hope Jane, Christy, Pach, et al don’t expend too much energy responding to silly complaints. Instead of FAQs, I think maybe we need a list of Frequently Expressed Complaints like “Why aren’t you talking about ?” and then Jane, Christy, et al can just say “Pleae read this “. I’d rather you good folks expend your energy on the next article than trying to respond to such silliness.
The rebel in me always looking for an angle. For Thanksgiving dinner after 9-11, I managed to talk family up the Hancock building, eye level with planes. Fantastic! Oh, and the carriage ride afterward was wonderful with the holiday lights and not very many people in the streets.
Rev Deb – Wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.
tommy yum @ 67
Oh, this sounds pretty damn good. Love the hot jazz guitar solo. A little Stphane Grappelli fiddle solo would have been the icing in the tastycake…
Da’ Cubs? I was bummed when Denver was awarded a National League expansion franchise, ’cause we’d hafta see the da’ Cubs play every year.
Actually, if I lived in Chicago, the Near North Side is where it’s at — and when the Cubbies play the Rockies, it’s always nice to see all the Chi-town expats in their Cubbie regalia. Missed it this year, though . . .
Hey, kids!
It’s time for Late Nite!
Kathryn 3 what a fabulous photo album! We’ll have to do a post about it.
*atou @ 23
Whoa! I’ve heard tell of how goodlooking TBogg is (still haven’t seen any pix yet). Or is that Mrs TBogg who’s famously goodlooking? But I had no idea Matt Stoller was such a cutie. Gonna have to visit his place more often. If he’s straight, don’t tell me. I’m at midlife and need my illusions.
margot @ 70
paczki year round indeed
but more varieties on Fat Tuesday
off to FDL Late Nite
(or sleep (more likely))
When I donated to Sherrod Brown through Act Blue, I elected to get campaign updates. The news in this last one was very encouraging. There’s a link to a YouTube on his site of a Fox News report. If you consider the source, it’s pretty even-handed…kinda…sorta.
Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side? Wow! The memories come flashing back. I lived there for more years than I want to admit while going to the U. of Chicago. Wonderful place to be then, have no idea how it is now. Third World Cafe does not ring a bell, sorry.
Siun, you are right about the no makeup look in Hyde Park. All those sexy-brainy women on campus!
Jane,
I think that your stay in Chicago sounds idyllic. Political winds changing, long conversations on languid late summer afternoons, blue cheese and cranberries.
No wonder they call them salad days.
Kathryn in MA,
Wonderful pictures and so glad to put the faces to the names. Would have loved to have been there and met everyone. Hopefully another day and I will! BTW…I am also in MA.