I sent Coozledad an Electric Six T-shirt and all I got was this beautiful watercolor of his pet crow, which Alan just brought back from the framer today:
A terrible photo, I know. Alan wanted to wait until daylight, but I insisted. Here’s a decent detail shot, from Cooz’s own blog. It’s just spectacular, and I’m amazed he’s this generous. I think I’ll send him an old ratty hoodie next, in the hope he’ll reply with some diamond earrings or something. We’ll walk it around the house for a week or two, until the crow tells us where he wants to hang (as long as it’s out of direct sunlight, or close to a bathroom).
This almost counters the news that we lost yet ANOTHER commenter, albeit one of the less-chatty ones — JayZ(the original), who, we learned from Bill, “passed away suddenly in France on Easter Sunday.” May I just say? That’s a line I’d like to see in my obituary someday, if that’s even possible.
I really don’t know what to say about that, other than I’m sorry.
And now it’s week’s end, “30 Rock” night, and I’m having a brownie and a second glass of wine, because why not? Tomorrow I’m going to hit the gym and it will surely hit me back, but I don’t care.
Bloggage?
Professionalism ain’t what it used to be.
The flight path of the pilot whose plane augured in to the Gulf of Mexico today. Lost pressure, blacked out, adios — it’s the same thing that happened to Payne Stewart’s plane a few years back. Arresting to see the final tracings.
Keep talkin’, liberal man. I’m sure it’ll do a lot of good.
Me, I’m going to bed. Have a great weekend, all.
Dexter said on April 20, 2012 at 1:55 am
This Allen West should just be summarily booted the hell out of Congress. This maroon thinks it’s 1953 and he’s the ghost of Senator You-Know-who from Wisconsin.
The flight plan was aborted, ya think? I asked the guy I know who is the NetJets pilot about this blacking-out thing…it’s just sleepy time, he said. You won’t feel a thing when the plane runs out of fuel.
Ah geez, those sleazy Secret Service guys…and the repuggs back in DC are saying this is all Obama’s fault…not worth posting a link.
I need help here. I played a Jackson Browne tune on Facebook and it is auto-playing in my head, and it’s been ten days. What do I do to make it stop, mommy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY0Pg2Gu5uM
Our favorite actor Wendell Pierce is helping in his hometown, New Orleans.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7405914n&tag=mncol;lst;1
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Jolene said on April 20, 2012 at 2:40 am
Pierce is also getting involved in producing live theater. Scroll down to Quintet Productions to see his name. The production got a great review in the NYT.
One of my sisters is visiting NY this week with her daughter, primarily to see The Book of Mormon, and I’m feeling envious. Am thinking I might need to make a trip there myself.
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 3:33 am
Cooze, that’s beautiful , but aren’t there supposed to be twa corbies? I heard if you see Mormons you go on the Sons of Dan list. I’ve been pointing out the insanity of Alan West for a while. When this ahole was running for his seat in Congress, he said he possessed a higher security clearance than the President. You’d think that might have alerted officials. But assholes that are allowed to vote in FLA elected the biggest Medicare thief in history governor. That is a worthless state full of Batista Cubanos and Bluehairs that really should secede.
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Brandon said on April 20, 2012 at 3:51 am
“Keep talkin’, liberal man. I’m sure it’ll do a lot of good.”
In other words, it won’t.
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Jolene said on April 20, 2012 at 4:26 am
Still another Levon Helm link: A beautiful essay by Mark Salter. Not only a tribute to Helm, but to the music of youth and to the diverse wellsprings of American music. Just a very fine piece of writing.
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ROGirl said on April 20, 2012 at 6:52 am
Cooz, the crow is lovely. Nancy, you’re lucky to be its new owner.
30 Rock was pretty funny last night, especially the Clint Eastwood Superbowl commercial parody.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 20, 2012 at 6:56 am
Cooze, you’ve got a touch. That’s beautifully done. And you didn’t even have to put “some happy little treeze” in the background.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 7:38 am
Lovely crow. I couldn’t finish the WP piece about the secret service, I got to the last page and the annoying pop-up appeared asking for my e-mail and password. I have registered before, I swear, but it says my normal password is invalid. Irritating. But anyway my husband predicted that the secret service would need a tourniquet before this is all over. How can the right wing spin this as Obama’s fault? I read that some are saying this is because of the repeal of DADT. That it has confused those poor young men about immoral acts.
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Pam said on April 20, 2012 at 7:57 am
What a beautiful watercolor Crow! Crows are noisy but I like ’em. A huge flock moved into our neighborhood several years ago. I firmly believe them to be refugees of the east coast West Nile virus outbreak. Bill is skeptical but I believe they are that smart.
Many years ago, during the 1970s to be exact, I headed up the phone company’s team that provided service for presidential visits. Whenever the President was coming to our fair city of Columbus, the SS sent an advance team with their demands and we complied. After the visit concluded, the SS hosted a “wheels up” party for everyone involved and we phone company people were always invited. One was held at an in-town hotel, can’t remember the name. When “Candi” and “Brandi” showed up, I left. Candi and Brandi had on those high heeled clogs that were popular then – Candi’s – so I assumed they were fake names. And I was surprised that they even got into the hotel since I had recently seen them being shooed out of the lobby by the management. So, this behavior has been going on for years and wasn’t invented during President Obama’s administration. I’m just surprised it took this long to come to light. It’s totally foolish not to be on your best behavior in a foreign country (your own country, it’s easier to hide it). And now, in a conspiracy theory sort of way, I’m wondering who “outed” these guys during President Obama’s administration since it’s been going on for decades.
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jcburns said on April 20, 2012 at 8:18 am
As they say on MST3K: Crooooooow! Nice job.
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beb said on April 20, 2012 at 8:34 am
The really ironic thing about this hookgate scandal is that none of this would have come to light if the men had simply paid the bitch. It’s like the first rule of cheating, you’ve got to pay the the bitch.
Then it turns out that one of the men being fired had been posting pictures and comments about his job as a secret service agent on Facebook. He should have lost his job just for that. After all the first word in “secret service” is secret
This was on Yahoo a couple days ago but I found it interesting.
http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/mrs-doutfire-child-star-acting-not-fun-193156055.html
Mara Wilson who played Matilda in “Matilda” has announced to what appears to be her legion of fans that she will not seek out any more Hollywood roles. Film making is boring work and there are a long more girls in Hollywood prettier than her. The picture accompanying the article shows an average looking young woman, clearly someone fated to play the best friend, not the star. I think it’s a sign of good sense to know your limits. Of course this news release goes on to say that she will continue to work in New York as a playwright and actress in live theater. And that’s cool.
Mara’s Wilson’s announcement compliments the hysteria surrounding a DUI ticket for former child actress Amanda Bynes. I’d be mortified if I ever got a DUI (also baffled because I don’t drink). But one DUI ticket … in Holllywood. Who hasn’t been arrested for drinking and driving there? It’s the second and third DUI tickets that point to trouble. he thing is, she’s in her early 20’s. She hasn’t gotten a lot of roles in a while. Instead of getting drunk in bars she might ought to be considering a new career because the boat has sailed on her old one.
It was nice to see Eugene Robinson refer to Ted Nugent as a “washed-up” rocker. It’s a polite way of saying that Nugent is a brand-name that hasn’t done anything — anything — in 30 years. But Robinson makes a very good point, which is going to have to be repeated frequently, that conservatives extremists are different from liberal extremists, in that they don’t think you have a right to your opinions.
As a Detroit Zoo supporter I’m happy to see this:
http://www.freep.com/article/20120420/ENT01/120420009/With-video-Detroit-Zoo-has-supporting-role-Giant-Mechanical-Man-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
It’s a small part in a small movie but it’s a nice zoo.
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Peter said on April 20, 2012 at 8:54 am
Here we go:
1. Cooz, that’s one beautiful piece of art there. You can do the artwork and the write up for my obituary!
2. I am very sorry about the original JayZ. And, while I have relatives in France who would be all too happy to take care of my end of life needs, I’m not so sure I’d take advantage of the service – they’re very c’est la vie about it – circle of life, had a good run, we can’t miss you if you’re still here, don’t let the casket lid hit you on the way out.
3. UND Aviation has a chamber they picked up from the Air Force in a scrap sale; they use it to test their future pilots about oxygen deprivation. Basically, a group goes in, they play video games, and the oxygen level slowly drops and they see what happens. What I found interesting is that there are several warning signs that you are not getting enough oxygen, but they’re almost all minor and ignorable, and the sequence is unique to each individual (or so they say). The idea of being in the tank is that after a few reps you figure out what your warning signs are, then when it happens in a cockpit you’ll know to put on the mask.
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Peter said on April 20, 2012 at 9:00 am
Prospero – Florida is God’s Waiting Room. And you know how people can get if they’ve been in the waiting room too long.
The scariest part about Allen “I see Commies” West is that people buy that crap hook, line, and sinker.
Can you imagine the children Allen West and Sarah Palin could produce? Now that’s some ubermenschen.
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Sue said on April 20, 2012 at 9:48 am
Bill, if you could give us a little eulogy for JayZ, I would like to read it. Tell us about her, will you?
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 10:34 am
How in God’s name does the crap about the Secret Service reflect badly on the President? Only in the No Black Kenyan world. I figure these same guys were workink security and pulling the same bullshit back when W was the pretzeldent.
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coozledad said on April 20, 2012 at 10:34 am
Peter: I might be able to work up some kind of morbid parade float for a funeral, but nobody’s ever asked me for an obit, and there are sound reasons for that. I remember listening to a eulogy for one of my high school friends and thinking “Right about now, I’d be starting in on the story about how he bogarted about half a cooler of purple Jesus one night and took off running in the general direction of the cliff of a rock quarry and me and a couple of other people (who were at the funeral) were forced to give chase to keep him from breaking his fucking neck.” The subtext would be that
a.)He had a knack for bringing people together.
b.)We’d given him a few more years to figure out some other spectacularly dumb way to die.
It wouldn’t have gone over well, I think.
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Judybusy said on April 20, 2012 at 10:35 am
I second Sue’s request.
When I heard the SS scandal break, I had a feathery thought that somehow Obama would get blamed for this….and dismissed it as too far-fetched. Seriously, Deborah, someone’s arguing that DADT’s repeal led to paying women for sex? I can’t follow that “logic.” Beb, I dunno know if you were trying to be all cool or what,but I would have found your comment far less offensive if you’d used the word woman instead of bitch.
And Cooze, that is beautiful! Very happy for Nancy. On a recent trip to The Wild Rumpus bookstore (which I’ve nattered on about) I came across this book about crows. It was added to my very long to read list on my library’s website.
If this site is still around when I pass away (if all goes according to plan, Nancy, this means you’ll have to live to about 115), I would like to be remembered as “that woman had a book to recommend about EVERYTHING!”
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 10:36 am
Peter, And those are idiots the GOPers want to vote. And that offspring would scurry.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 10:38 am
I wasn’t going to mention this until it’s all over, but you never know, things like this fall through and never happen. I’ve been “discovered” and will be photographed for an ad as part of a global advertising campaign for a company I probably shouldn’t mention. They didn’t tell me it was confidential but it seems like it would be. The art director for this company lives in my building. I’ve never met him but he has seen me in the building and on the street and likes my look. Anyway, so far I have been contacted by a producer, a casting director, and a stylist. The photographer who will be shooting is quite famous http://www.geofkern.com. The stylist has asked my bra size and how old I am, so this could all change. A casting director is coming by today at 2 to take my picture for their thumbnails. The photoshoot is supposed to be Thursday or Friday depending on the weather (it will be shot outside) and there will be an RV for hair, make-up and wardrobe changing. If it really happens I’ll let you know when it’s out in magazines or whatever it’s going to be in. I keep expecting to get a call saying “never mind”. I hope I at least get to be photographed by this guy, even if they never use the shot I will have a neat photo of myself.
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 10:43 am
Judybusy, Once you’ve nattered, there is no use for “on”, but pardon me for being an asshole. I’m thinking GOPers should put David Vitter on the Cartagena Case.
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Judybusy said on April 20, 2012 at 10:56 am
Prospero, you are my favorite asshole!(I truly mean that with affection–sometimes teasing can come across mean-spirited online.) According to Merriam Webster, I’m all good. Anyone can feel free to correct my usage; I’ve loved the discussions of language that go on around these parts. The love of language and how much people care about it is one of the reasons I hang out here so much.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 20, 2012 at 11:18 am
Deborah, good luck; you’re making me think of Crash Davis talking about what it’s like even to just have a few days in “The Show.” Keep the mildew off your shower shoes!
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Chris in Iowa said on April 20, 2012 at 11:41 am
Cooze at 16, I’d say that would be a funeral for the ages. Of course, I have offended friends and family by telling similar stories at wakes and luncheons after the funerals.
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Scout said on April 20, 2012 at 11:53 am
Cooz, that is a beautiful piece of art. Lucky Nancy! Speaking of birds, yesterday I rescued two baby finches who were on the ground in my yard. I made a makeshift nest for them and watched as the parents tended to them in it. This morning they both flew out, but one of them only made it to an oleander in my yard and is still sitting under it. Haven’t seen the parents for a while. I may need to return that baby to the makeshift nest until it can sustain flight.
Liberal man makes many great points, as in: “Tut-tutting that both sides should tone it down is meaningless. For all intents and purposes, one side is the problem.” But yeah, he’s pissing in the wind. The crazy talkers are too far gone.
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Peter said on April 20, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Huzzah for Deborah! Just remember us little people when you’re on Vogue with Michael Kors.
Cooz, a funeral float sounds like a good idea.
And hey, those stories make the best kind of funerals. My wife had an uncle who passed away, and at the funeral the eulogist read a statement from the family, which included the line that the decedent was so helpful he would give someone the shirt off his back, even “the last spool of rope in the house”. That brought the place down, and the priest couldn’t figure out why everyone was laughing.
As it turns out, many years ago a neighbor asked the uncle for some rope – which the neighbor used to hang himself. The uncle went to the police station to get the rope back – and after a lot of yelling, he did get it back! His wife was screaming “how could you do it – it’s evidence! You can’t use it” and he was like “But it’s a good rope – we need it for the tug of war at the picnic!”. And, by the way, they still use that rope at the annual picnic!
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Jeff Borden said on April 20, 2012 at 12:12 pm
The ongoing political careers of genuinely stupid men and women like West, Steve King of Iowa, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, Louie Gohmert in Texas, etc. is testimony to how stupid so many of our fellow citizens are when they enter a voting booth. I’ve said this before: It won’t be too long before “Idiocracy” looks more like a documentary than a comedy.
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Bob (not Greene) said on April 20, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Way to go, Deb! You didn’t even have to go to Hollywood and wait tables before you were discovered by a producer. Your second career has begun. And I can now say I know (well, I know a cartoon avatar of) a supermodel.
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Connie said on April 20, 2012 at 12:41 pm
I love our discussion of words and stupid word mistakes, often homonym errors due to spellcheck. My latest is the book in which a bridal path led to the house.
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JWfromNJ said on April 20, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Peter – stay away from the tug of war. your uncle wins the frugal old bastard award.
Making a little progress on my quest for a literary agent, I think.
Deborah – Fingers crossed. Once it’s ok to talk we want details. Why am I guessing Dove?
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Jolene said on April 20, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Whenever Nancy tells us what she is eating, I always wish I could join her. That two-egg-plus-yolk omelet mentioned earlier this week sounded delicious, and, upon retreading today’s entry, I find myself yearning for a brownie and a glass of wine. Unfortunately, I have nothing so appealing in the house. Some grapes and a fortune cookie? Doesn’t cut it.
Very cool about being discovered, Deborah. If they’d asked your shoe size, we’d have an idea of the product, but bra size presents many possibilities.
Wonderful drawing, Cooz. I’m jealous–both of your talent and of Nancy’s possession of the bird.
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Jakash said on April 20, 2012 at 1:25 pm
That is surely a lovely watercolor, Coozledad. May I presume to ask, is the significant proportion of blue a bit of artistic license? All the crows I see around here seem to be completely black. Or are there other varieties which I’ve not had the opportunity to see?
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Jeff Borden said on April 20, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Francis Cardinal George of Chicago and other members of the “clan of the red beanie,” a term coined by Charley Pierce, make me proud to call myself a former Catholic. So, of course, does Pope Benny, who is taking time out of his busy days living as a Medici prince to blast American nuns for caring too much about poverty and justice and not enough about hating homos and birth control.
These celibate old dudes certainly have their priorities straight, eh?
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Linda said on April 20, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Writing funny, animal husbandry, doing art–there’s no end to the talents of Coozledad.
Re: Liberal Man’s rant. Of course we have false equivalence going on, and nobody will say jack about it. The press reflexively flinches before right-wing bullies. When you’ve been handing over your lunch money for nearly thirty years, it gets to be a habit.
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coozledad said on April 20, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Jackash:They start off with slightly more brown in their feathers, and their legs, beaks and gapes are orange. As they mature they go completely black, but their feathers have a diffraction grating, so you get either a blue, violet or bottle green sheen depending on the angle of the light. I have some black Australorp hens that are similarly colored.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Oh my goodness, I hope you all don’t think I’d model in a bra or underwear. No, they asked my bra size as well as my clothing and shoe size because they are going to outfit me for the shoot. I just mentioned the bra size to you guys because it’s so unimpressive, I figured they’d have second thoughts about using me. This is not an apparel company,it has nothing to do with personal type products at all. That’s about all I can say, I think.
When I told my right wing sister about this she immediately thought it was a scam because of some Everybody Loves Raymond episode and told me ad agencies don’t pick people off the street. Like she knows anything about ad agencies and I’m certainly not paying for any of this in fact they wanted to pay me. She just wants to rain on my parade. I did a lot of research before I agreed to do it. Once I knew who the photographer was, I was in, the guy is a legend in my world. Just the experience of it with the photographer is enough for me.
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nancy said on April 20, 2012 at 2:00 pm
I’ll play Carnack and say, “Eileen Fisher.” Deborah strikes me as an EF girl — slender, silver-haired, artsy and elegant. (IN MY MIND.)
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DellaDash said on April 20, 2012 at 2:23 pm
That’s one rapacious eye on that eye-candy of a pet crow!
Deborah, I’ve taken a magnifying glass to your striking thumbnail icon before, but no cigar. Any chance of you linking us to a full-sized version?
Respect to JZ(the Original). Thought she was a he, and remember some of her posts. Like Sue, I wouldn’t mind hearing more about who she was.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 20, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Peter, that story is a beautiful work of art. Even if it’s true, and you frighten me with the likelihood that it is!
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Little Bird said on April 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Nancy, those are perfect descriptive terms for her! We couldn’t bee more different from each other.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Nope, not apparel. If you look at the photographer’s link, there are other photos that he has done for this company. Not what you would think at all. The photographer’s work is very surreal, Magritte like.
I’ll send you a link to the photo when it’s done, if it happens, of course.
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Little Bird said on April 20, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I think they want a larger pic of your profile for now, Deborah.
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Nancy, augured as a verb describing a plane going into the drink is awe-inspiring. I have a different view of crows. They clear the bikepaths of dead reptiles. Turkey vultures can’t be bothered if it’s not gator-sized.
That looks more like charcoal than watercolor. And cooze, What in the world is Purple Jesus? Golden Grain and Kool-Aid? Or Ripple and Golden Grain?
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 3:02 pm
So Deborah, you’ll be floating in the air multiply, with umbrellas? (Oops, brollies.)
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 3:23 pm
New stupidity from $Palin. On the eating dog front: Claiming a six year old kid being fed cooked dog meat by an adult is equivalent to a grown man strapping a dog to the top of a car, and then hosing Seamus down when he shat himself in fear, is a sign of mental deficiency, or another attempt to put a bone through the President’s nose. Parbly the latter. This is Plush Limbo shit. They eat dogs. We eat cattle ranched by Incurious George WWW Shrub. Except, he’s all hat.
It may be meretricious to claim that GOPers are racists, but fact is many of them are, and they have ppublic faces that make it obvious. Like Willard Windsock.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Prospero, not exactly that wild, but a little surreal. The casting director’s assistant just now came and took a bunch of snapshots of me here in the office. So I’ll probably be hearing from them soon telling me it’s all off. I tried to be natural but man it was hard.
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Deborah, I hate being photographed, but I can understand, I’m somewhat photogenic. I’m waiting for those pictures, like a Secret Service Agent waiting for his $Palin prints.
How Leonard Cohen breaks up with somebody. Somebody breaks up with Leonard Cohen.
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Bill said on April 20, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Sue and Judybusy: Sorry I couldn’t get to this sooner.
Most of my memories of JZ(the original) go back to our college days at the University of Illinois. We were both in the advertising curriculum in the College of Journalism and Communications and we both worked meal jobs in the girls’ dorm where she (and my future wife) lived.
Jay was fun-loving and usually the life of the party. Fridays were always fun because most of the waiters and waitresses were smart enough to figure out how to schedule no classes for Friday afternoon., thus allowing time for a few beers at Prehn’s before working the dinner shift. Friday dinners were served cafeteria style, so waiters didn’t have a lot to do but clear tables. In our slightly tipsy condition dish room waterfights seemed to self start, but as I recall Jay played a major role in their instigation.
Jay, her real name was Judith Zavodney then, grew up in Chicago on Kedvale Avenue. Both her mom and dad were Czech and Jay spoke both Czech and English. After graduation she worked for Popular Science magazine in both Chicago and New York. She later moved to the LA area and has been living in Oxnard. She has an adult son and two step-daughters.
About 5 years ago we learned she would be visiting in the Chicago area, so we planned a get-together with Jay and another friend from the U of I days. She stayed at her sister’s house with her mother while her sister and husband spent a month in Hawaii. Her mom is 93 years old and only spoke Czech. We took some Czech food and spent an entire afternoon together. When she could, she’d come to our house for dinner or lunch and we were able to become reacquainted.
Jay was a voracious reader. Her one complaint was that her sister’s house didn’t have any books. So each time she came, we were ordered to set aside some books for her, which we did with great joy, since we’d end up talking about books we’d all read.
She loved to travel and usually went with small groups. She was looking forward to her trip to France with her son and daughter-in-law. And she wanted to come to see her mom this summer in Illinois. Unfortunately that is not to be.
I introduced her to nnc and she enjoyed it a lot. She said she even one-upped Prospero, but I can’t recall the topic. She was liberal all the way. In France she saw a doctor after not feeling well for a couple of days. She did not respond to medication and died. Age 73.
Even as I wrote it, I thought “passed away in France on Easter Sunday” would have made her smile.
Nance, you have a real treasure. And Deborah I can’t wait to see your picture and learn if that was really you on Michigan Avenue last week.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Bill, Thanks for the lovely description of Jay Z/Judith. She sounds like a wonderful person, wish I had known her personally.
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Sue said on April 20, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Thank you, Bill.
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Prospero said on April 20, 2012 at 4:33 pm
Bill,
Wonderful purveyor of sad news. Great story. The filthy rich JayZ don’t hold a candle. “Passed Away in France” reminds me of my mom’s favorite unwritten novel title: “No Clarinette Lessons Today”.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 20, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Deborah, now I fear we’ll see a large Granny Smith in front of your no doubt lovely face.
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 4:42 pm
I have been told my face will be somewhat obscured, thank goodness.
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Judybusy said on April 20, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Thanks, Bill; she sounds perfectly lovely, smart and charming.
Prospero, what a sad chapter in Cohen’s life. And he’s 77. Sometimes people get stuck at the age I first heard of them. In my head, he’s in his mid-fifties. When I was married to my first spouse, I listened to Cohen quite a bit. I tried again a few years ago, but found him so sad.
Deborah, I forgot to say before: bon chance! I hope it does work out, but if it doesn’t, don’t feel embarrassed you shared all this process here. I found it really interesting.
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Dexter said on April 20, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Thanks, Bill…these blogs where we all shroud our identity with code-names also keep us from knowing our friends here very well. That’s OK, though. At least we get to know them in death.
Today , much hoopla in Boston as the city celebrates 100 years of games at Fenway Park. Here’s a Fort Wayne old-timer story that the J-G ran a couple weeks ago…I love stories like this:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120401/LOCAL/304019947
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Jolene said on April 20, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Thanks from me, too, for the story, Bill. It must have been quite a shock to the 93-year-old mother. No one expects to outlive their children, but doing so at that stage of life is an event of Guinness-like odds.
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LAMary said on April 20, 2012 at 5:33 pm
I thought of Eileen Fisher too, or maybe Chico’s.
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Dexter said on April 20, 2012 at 5:38 pm
…and, of course, HAPPY 4-20 DAY, STONERS! 🙂
I extinguished my last roach many, many years ago, way before I quit the booze, and I think my last bowl-full may have been in 1990 or thereabouts. Fond memories of paranoia and paraquat scares, fear of getting busted for possession, fear, scared…but then there were times when it was pretty damn cool, like at Pine Knob Outdoor Music Theater watching CSN . So, good as well as bad. At least I didn’t get cuffed and hog-tied like the kid I saw at the Springsteen show at Pontiac Silverdome in 1985.
Yep, dope passed me by a long time ago, and I suppose that’s a good thing.
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Bill said on April 20, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Jolene: I understand her mother is terribly distraught. She paces around the house muttering, “Not my Judith…not my Judith.”
There can surely be no worse situation.
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Brandon said on April 20, 2012 at 8:40 pm
My condolences to Judith’s friends and family.
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Dorothy said on April 20, 2012 at 8:44 pm
I am so excited for Deborah even though I haven’t a clue what this ad might be. It is the dreamy kind of story that is able to distract me a little from an unpleasant day in Pittsburgh. After cleaning the floors @ Aunt’s apartment, we found out our pick up got side swiped sometime today, or possibly overnight @ the hotel. I guess it could have been worse but we are awfully cranky this evening.
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basset said on April 20, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Being just terribly obsessive, and maybe somebody has caught this already and I missed it, but it’s augered in, with an E.
and how do I make “augered” bold?
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Julie Robinson said on April 20, 2012 at 9:38 pm
Oh my. So much sadness here in the last few days. We arrived in Seattle yesterday and I was thinking about Moe all day. Sarah lives a couple of hours north and we are going to a reunion tomorrow night, but I’ll be remembering Moe’s family tomorrow as they lay her to rest.
As I read comments from yesterday and today I could relate to so much, especially about aging family. Mom’s turning 80 this summer, lives in a two-story hoarder’s paradise, admits that she is a poor driver, and refuses to move. Sister is 58 with multiple major health problems and no other family. It’s gotten to where I dread hearing their voices on the phone because it probably means another crisis.
But in the meantime we are enjoying our daughter, some rare sunny weather, and acres and acres of tulips, which are grown commercially around here. And that’s enough for one day.
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Rana said on April 20, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Now I want to commission a Coozledad crow!
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Deborah said on April 20, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Let me be clear about something with this photo. It’s not that I’m great looking or anything like that. Far from it. I just have the look that this particular creative director finds appropriate for this particular photo. That’s what I find interesting about this whole thing. And that’s why I’m willing to participate. I’m into this photographer’s style and the vision of the art director. That’s what turns me on and why I’m so excited about this. I have another story about my image being used by another famous art photographer that got blown up to an outrageous scale for an exhibit that couldn’t have been more unflattering to me but is an an amazing piece of art that I may or may not share here.
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Rana said on April 20, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Bill, thank you for sharing your memories. It sounds like she was a special person.
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Kim said on April 20, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Wow – the comments are currency here, always, but the last week has been just great. Thanks, all. I have been slam-busy and unable to share condolences, gratitude, congratulations and my sincere appreciation for the commentary.
Peter, what a fantastic story @25. Your wife’s uncle sounds like he belongs in my family.
Bill, wonderful to know a fellow U of I person/native Chicagoan and condolences to her family.
Deborah, I think this is where you are supposed to werq it, in the parlance of Tom and Lorenzo. To have a “look” is a thing of beauty, so there. And thanks for filling in “Magritte.” I was searching for that name after checking out the shooter’s site, but my kids have sucked out that memory capacity, apparently.
Prospero, I was so goddamned cranky when I checked in earlier today and saw your niggling remark I started to type a bitchy comment but was cut off at the pass by a needy employee. Which saved me from that (til I admitted it here) and allowed Judybusy to be typically gracious and lovely in the very next comment.
Cooz, your talents would lead me to believe you are a character in a Tom Robbins novel. If you are, don’t say.
Nancy, thanks for giving this some time every weekday – especially during a crazy week like the one you just had. It is appreciated and makes me thank God every now and then for Bob Greene’s indiscretion, which brought me here.
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Crazycatlady said on April 20, 2012 at 10:21 pm
I must confess. I had said to beb about the Hookergate article “This wouldn’t have happened if they would have just paid the bitch!!” That’s my fault, so give beb some slack. I’m the one who occasionally reverts to street vernacular. You can take the girl out of Detroit, but you can’t take Detroit out of the girl…lol
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JWfromNJ said on April 20, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Spirit Airlines is offering a “More Bang for Your Buck” $19.80 fare to Cartagena to honor the Secret Service. Disclaimer: Upfront Payment is Required.
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/19/11288952-spirit-airlines-puts-cartagena-fares-on-secret-service-sale?lite
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 12:43 am
Ricky Frothy aborting his campaign. And I am a fan of the good looking member of that family. And the Preident was supposed to get the tab for the hos.
And my niggling remark was only about art. I’d gladly look at photos of Deborah clothed or not, brollies or not. And bitchy is fine.
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 12:46 am
If Obama is responsible for the Cartagena hos, is Reagan responsible for Fawn Hall and her underpants?
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 12:48 am
Sorry, Raygun wasn’t responsible for anything. He had Oldtimers.
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MarkH said on April 21, 2012 at 12:50 am
Deborah’s sharing the story of her sister’s wet blanket admonishment reminds me of when Lord & Taylor came out to Jackson Hole in the summer of 1990 to do a Christmas catalog shoot. Much of the catalog was to be children’s clothing, so the call went out for local kids to model. Our son, then age one and a knock-out kid, made the cut, was in one photo and was to get a $50 fee. Great, we thought, what a neat way to start a college savings fund. Ninety days later, no check, so the letters and phone calls start. Six months later, Christmastime, a check finally arrives…and promptly bounces! From then on, zero response, it was like L&T didn’t exist. Two other families had the same thing happen. We still have the check.
Sounds like fun, Deborah, hope it all goes well!
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 1:00 am
MarkH Me and my dog Sandy, one gorgeous collie, and me, got actually cashable checks from J. Walter Thompson back in the 60s. I loved that dog. Cheney eats hearts rather than having them implanted, How he stays sorta healthy. Same for the rest of the rest of the PNAC gang.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 21, 2012 at 5:50 am
Basset, just type <*b*> before the word/text and <*/b*> after, but without the asterisks, as in word.
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 10:30 am
That’s how really rich people get really rich, Mark. Stiff the poor suckers.
I think Gene Robinson is a very thoughtful and talented writer, but I think he’s got the motivations switched up on Alan West and my boy Ted. Ted’s career has reached sump level about equal to Sammy Hagar (who he resembles greatly, anyone ever see ’em in a room together? Nah The Van Halen boys parbly wouldn’t hang out with such an ahole.) West, on the other hand, is certifiable.
Kim, maybe he is Tom Robbins. Or Pan from Jitterbug Perfume.
Whack that gym in the nose, Nancy. Theme for the day.
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Nancy’s note about passing away in France reminded me of this. No matter who I’ve been with, I guess I’ve been in love with this woman since I was about 17. Not a prolific songwriter, but this one is spectacular. Sweet Judy Blue Eyes.
Lot of talk about old age and dying around here lately. Me, I say you all will live forever.
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Alan West theme song. Godamighty what a symbol of the decline of western civilization. The guy is an idiot, or he is insane, taken for a leader by a large segment of American society. The broomstick up his ass is practically visible.
Wordsmith, and the way I wish I could play piano. My neighbor on the Island, Mose Allison.
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Dexter said on April 21, 2012 at 1:35 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSkWGo7DiQY&feature=related
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 2:07 pm
The Boss at his best. Heartbreaking guitar solo.
And “My Very Own Crow” reminded me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6yONxj0Ln8
There’s no doubt about it, it’s my own true stone. Also How I’d like to be able to play both the piano and the guitar. People that act like Procul was some Art/Prog dino just don’t understand the blues. I saw them back up John Lee at Meadowbrook many years ago.
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brian stouder said on April 21, 2012 at 5:33 pm
A terrible photo, I know.
Au contraire! The Cooze Crow is comely, of course, but also we have the better-than-Mona Lisa smile of our proprietress (and on the same angle as Mona, too)
An altogether wonderful photo – both in what it reveals, and what it reserves.
(and speaking of wonderful photos, here’s wishing all the best to Deborah)
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Jolene said on April 21, 2012 at 7:49 pm
Risks worth taking: A tour of Detroit’s sliders. Actually, only a few of these sound worth the cardiac insult, but the good ones do sound good.
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 8:54 pm
That is a great baseball story Dexter.
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Prospero said on April 21, 2012 at 9:45 pm
An interesting discussion of A Wrinkle in Time.
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Suzanne said on April 21, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Dexter @54. The son of the man in the article lives in our area. Great guy, great family. The son is a cross country coach and I hear nothing but good about him. I knew that they were huge Red Sox fans, but this article explained why.
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Dexter said on April 21, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Suzanne, perhaps my ex- father-in-law, born in Maples and schooled in Hoagland, may have known him or “of him”. I lost touch with that family 38 years ago, however.
Today , a baseball fan’s wildest dream..witnessing via the miracle of live TV a perfect game. White Sox pitcher Philip Humber pitched the perfecto versus Seattle today, and Fox TV cut into the Yankees / Red Sox game to let us see the ninth inning..pure gut-wrenching hell until the last pitch…and then joy for all baseball nuts like me!! A perfect game means 27 hitters came to bat and every one of them failed to get to first base.
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Kirk said on April 21, 2012 at 10:33 pm
At first, Fox didn’t want to hand over the whole screen to a perfect game lest the nation miss some of the Red Sox-Yankees, which all TV networks seem to think all Americans salivate over.
And I agree, Dexter, the story about the old pitcher is great stuff that I will share with my best bud, a huge fan (and a Yankees fan, but I love him anyway).
I love the comment about why Jimmy Piersall went off the deep end.
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Dexter said on April 22, 2012 at 1:12 am
Kirk, In the past days I have sent that story to all points in the country, and everyone loves it. Nall bloggers love it also.
My only complaint is that is wasn’t much longer; more words.
I could have read it like a The New Yorker-length story. The writer hints he is a little frustrated he had to truncate the story to meet space requirements. Maybe his editor could have told him to stretch it until all this good stuff was included in his final submission. Mr. Hisner pronounces his name “HIGHS-ner”, fwiw….
Piersall…I got to love him when he partnered with Harry Caray and other announcers in the 1970s on the old WMAQ 670 AM Chicago. Lorn Brown was one of the announcers, Bob Lemon another. Harry Caray left for the Cubs in 1981 as I recall.
Piersall was still with the White Sox in 1983 when the Sox won the AL West by twenty games. Jimmy had problems in Boston as a player as we all know from “Fear Strikes Out”, but his health declined rapidly when he worked for Charlie Finley out in Oakland…Jimmy directly blamed Charlie for a series of heart events Jimmy suffered. Jimmy just could do no right for Finley. After heart surgery, Jimmy ended up with the White Sox. He’s old now and probably retired. Anyway, I never hear him calling in to WSCR-AM lke he did for years as a paid consultant/reporter. Jimmy said that when he was working for the Sox in any radio capacity, he’d go the entire season and never miss seeing a pitch. Amazing man.
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Bill said on April 22, 2012 at 1:12 am
Dexter: great baseball story.
I watched the White Sox no-no from the second inning on today. Great game. I emailed a good friend in Miami who had to “watch” on the computer until Fox finally cut into the Red Sox-Yankees game.
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Brandon said on April 22, 2012 at 1:37 am
@Coozledad: About your ingredients for akara: What do unhulled black-eyed peas look like? All I see available at my grocery are the dried ones.
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Deborah said on April 22, 2012 at 4:08 am
A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorites when it first came out in the early sixties.
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David C. said on April 22, 2012 at 7:17 am
I’ve seen two almost perfect Detroit Tigers games. Milt Wilcox in 1983 lost his bid on the last out in the 9th, and Armando Galarraga’s stolen perfect game in 2010. Sad thing about Galarraga is that he never pitched well since that game and is now out of baseball. I think even though he handled the situation at the time with tremendous grace, he was never able to get over it.
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ROGirl said on April 22, 2012 at 7:24 am
Jolene, if I’m going to risk my cardiac health for a burger, I’m going to the Redcoat Tavern on Woodward in Royal Oak. They use fresh Piedmontese beef in their burgers and their onion rings are superb — fresh, big, sweet and crisp. No matter what time of day you go, there’s usually a wait of half an hour or longer. It’s worth it.
Coincidentally, I had a crappy job at a Chrysler complaint call center for a couple of months (btw, I have a much better job now). One of the other employees, a former engineer, is also a meat wholesaler on the side, and he supplies the ground beef to the Redcoat Tavern. Talk about a small world. He told me I can order directly from him if I so desire.
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coozledad said on April 22, 2012 at 8:06 am
Brandon: Sorry for the confusion. I should have said skinned instead of hulled. The first time I made Akara, I worked from a recipe that called for skinning the individual peas after they were soaked-I don’t know why. There doesn’t seem to be any difference in the flavor or texture of the finished fritters.
The only reason I can see for skinning every bean is a pathological aversion to fiber.
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Prospero said on April 22, 2012 at 11:50 am
Why GOPers pushing austerity are full of crap and don’t deserve to be elected anything. This is all Fear of a Black President. Well, and Loathing.
Hitchhiking. And check the comments for the piece’s author bitching about the proofreading. Don’t think I’ve seen that before.
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Dexter said on April 22, 2012 at 2:25 pm
David C….Milt Wilcox lost that on a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3ITi9ZJTQk
pinch single by Jerry Hairston with only one out to go. I remember listening on the radio…so disappointed.
I watched the Galarraga game live on TV and it still bugs the hell out of me that MLB commish Bud Selig didn’t get on the goddam horn and order that call reversed. It is ironic that umpire Jim Joyce and Tigers manager Jim Leyland grew up just a couple miles from each other, Joyce in Toledo and Leyland across the Maumee River in Perrysburg.
Milt Pappas of the Cubs …man did he get screwed out of his place in history! With just one measly strike to get for a perfect game, umpire Bruce Froemming, an egocentric pathetic umpire, instead claimed fame for himself my calling a perfect pitch a “ball”, and the perfecto was gone forever. Pappas still hates that creepy idiot Froemming to this day…by the end of Froemming’s career, he was so bad it was an embarrassment. You would have had to see it to believe how rotten his work became at the end.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=11681195
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Prospero said on April 22, 2012 at 6:56 pm
Froemming was the Mendy Rudolph of MLB. A legend in his own mind, bigger than the game.
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Dexter said on April 22, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Mendy Rudolph was a good referee. Joey Crawford is sort of Mendy incarnate. Mendy was standing on a sidewalk when, at age 53, he collapsed and died. His gambling creditors had hounded him to death.
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Brandon said on April 23, 2012 at 3:24 am
@Coozledad: Thank you. I plan to make some akara soon.
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