Taylor Street

nuts and bolts about insurance and contraception (fair and balanced, until the end)

2012-02-16T16:33:00.004-06:00

This entire contraception controversy stems from the initial need for what health wonks like to call "guaranteed issue."

Guaranteed issue means that everyone has the ability to buy a health insurance policy, regardless of a pre-existing condition. This is a problem for many people who lose jobs/lose insurance/etc. If they have have a chronic illness and try to get a policy, they are rejected.

So: Obamacare says that everyone can buy an insurance policy, regardless of their health.

Ah, but this will cause everyone's costs to skyrocket, because people will wait until they get sick, and then purchase their insurance. This will cause the dreaded "death spiral" of insurance costs, and health care insurance will be unaffordable.

So Obamacare has the "mandate." Everyone must carry a health insurance policy. If you cannot afford one, the government will either enroll you in Medicaid, or provide sliding-scale subsidies so that you can buy private insurance. This will make sure that everyone has insurance, and there is no "death spiral" caused by free riders.

But insurance policies suck! If we are going to have everyone carry insurance, and provide millions of new customers to private companies, let's have a baseline of minimum standards so that people can be sure that their insurance doesn't suck. Obamacare says that the Secretary of HHS will determine what the baseline is.

What's cheap and healthy? Preventative care. It's better for everyone.
Well, then we'd better make sure that part of our bare-minimum standard for insurance policies is that they cover preventative care.

What's the most common and effective preventative medication for women? Oral contraceptives. What's the best way to eliminate unwanted pregnancies, and thus stop abortions? Oral contraceptives.

Well, we'd better make sure that we don't leave out the most effective and most-used preventative medicine for women. HHS says "insurance plans must cover contraception."

But wait. What if an employer doesn't want to pay for a policy from a second party (the insurance company) that will pay for a third party (the doctor) to send a prescription to a fourth party (the pharmacist), and then give it to a fifth party (the patient) who will then take the pill herself? (and yes, I stole that sequence from someone).

Okay, fine, man, then to assuage your fifth-degree-removed conscience, we'll just have the insurer pay for it directly. You, Mr. Employer, don't have to pay for any contraceptive you don't like. President Obama will bend over backwards to assuage your demands, even though legally (through both Smith AND the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) he was on completely solid ground.

But, since the bishops are mendacious fools, they won't take yes for an answer.

That's where we are now.

Garry Wills brings the pain, hard, in this recent post. And it's Garry Wills. He's smarter than you, me, and all of the bishops combined.

2012-01-30T14:09:00.002-06:00

This weekend we were pretty low-key, which was not too bad, even though I tend to get a bit stir-crazy when I’m bored at home on a weekend. The days of calling up the boys for last-minute Saturday-afternoon beers are mostly past ---- Brian and Nate have children, Marty moved and has kids, Jay’s bartending in Colorado (wtf!), and Ben was out of town.

So Kristin and I ended up watching a LOT of movies this weekend.
And because you are so incredibly interested, this is my take on them.

The Help:
This was much better than I expected. I tend to have the standard liberal dislike of Hollywood civil rights movies, because they always require a white hero to help the black folks. This was no different.
But the acting was excellent, the story entertaining, and it wasn’t offensively naïve, just normally naïve. Viola Davis was great, as was Octavia Spencer, and I especially enjoyed seeing Jessica Chastain as a much different character than her Tree of Life mother.
Honestly, though it wasn’t civil-rights related, the most well-acted scene was when Jessica Chastain shows up to play bridge at Bryce Howard’s house and the women all hide from her. That was raw.

The Hangover Part II
Have you seen the original Hangover? Then you’ve seen the sequel, too. Nothing to write home about ( or blog home about), except for Zack Galifinakis throwing the anchor off the boat at the end. After he drove it ashore. Hilarious.

Ides of March
Is it possible to be too cynically naïve? This movie pulls that off. Somehow we have super-manipulative campaign directors doing triple-backflips because Ryan Gosling sat down at a bar with an opponent’s campaign director. They do that all the time. Who cares.
Also, Clooney, as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, gives speeches that Aaron Sorkin in his clumsiest moments wouldn’t have first-drafted. They end up reflecting poorly on Clooney himself, since he’s clearly saying things that he himself wishes Democrats would say.
Overall though, good solid movie. Paul Giamatti up against Phillip Seymour Hoffman, both up against Ryan Gosling? Can’t-miss.

No Strings Attached/Friends With Benefits
These are the same script, the same movie, and everything you expect to happen will happen in precisely that way. It was streaming, anyway
I'd say that Justin Timberlake is better than Ashton Kutcher, but Kutcher's character was better than Timberlake. And Mila Kunis is almost always better than Natalie Portman.

On another note, our basement and garage are looking much nicer these days. This is almost all due to Kristin, of course. She has set up shop in the basement with her sewing machine, and with things hanging and rugs on the floor, it is starting to look less scary. Someone might even want to sleep on the bed there someday!

We also are now drivers of a very nice 2010 Corolla, which we bought from my folks. I found myself actively wanting to "take a drive", so last week on a slow afternoon I just cruised Lakeshore drive south to Hyde Park, then drove around there a bit past Jackson and Washington Park, then back up north on Lakeshore until I hit the end of the city, and then headed back. It was great! That car drives like a dream.

Since we have a car that I want to take good care of, I cleared out the garage a bit, hung up an old license plate on the wall, stuff like that. A car needs a clean home.

Might have to take another drive soon. . .. it's supposed to be 52 degrees tomorrow.

We Take Care of Our Own

2012-01-18T21:06:00.004-06:00

The new single from Bruce's new record, "We Take Care of Our Own."

Well, this is some incredibly serious dramatic irony from the most important artist in my life.
I'm guessing that folks will hear this as "We look out for each other," but I'm pretty sure it's intended as "Americans abandon their needy and only look out for their own."
The line "from the shotgun shacks to the Superdome" is pretty biting.

Glad to see Bruce back in fighting shape. It gets me back into fighting shape too.

gotta keep the fire burning

2012-01-08T11:03:00.002-06:00

“There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it.”

---- Annie Proulx in Brokeback Mountain

2011 Streeties

2012-01-01T19:41:00.004-06:00

Movie:

This. Was. Hilarious.

Album: Eric Church, Chief
This is probably the first and only Nashville-country album I've been able to really enjoy, wire to wire. Church uses a lot of the genre's cliches but he doesn't rely on them ---- there's a decent amount of "ice cold beer/old girlfriend/Night Moves-ripoff nostaligia" throughout the record, but not enough to drown it.

The production is pretty decent (and I'm grading on a heavy, heavy curve here. Nashville production is pretty much based on a template of 80s hair rock combined with mandolins).

The absolute killer for me on this record is the wordplay. Co-writing all of his songs (again, for Nashville that's a big deal), Church fits in little contradictions left and right without emphasizing them too heavily, so that you catch them on a third listen and chuckle a bit. "You looked at me and I was done, but we were just getting started." "I'm tired of this seesaw merry-go-round, so Mary you can go to hell." "Here's to all us haters of old lover' new last names."
Even the little touches are enjoyable ---- the sung guitar chords to kick off the album, or the "back when I was gasoline" line in 'Springsteen.'

Oddly enough, I've listened to this album far more than anything else this year.

Song: Wilco, "One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)

Glad to see Wilco return to form.

Television: Parks and Recreation

Pretty much what my work environment is like, on a good day.

Book: The Hunger Games. Yeah, I know they've been out for a while, but I read them just this summer, and the first book is the best of the three. Frankly, I enjoyed it better than any of the other books I read this year, fiction or non-fiction, though Too Big To Fail was an interesting case study on the world of assholes.

Thomas Friedman is worse than a stopped clock.

2011-12-11T11:13:00.003-06:00

I think I'm going to introduce a new feature here on T-Street, devoted to 'fisking' Thomas Friedman's columns. He's unique amongst columnists in that he does some excellent field research, talks to a lot of knowledgeable people, travels well, and then comes up with conclusions that ignore all of it.

So let's have fun with today's, shall we?

The Next First (and Only) 100 Days.

I’VE been saying this for a while, but now it feels even more acute: America’s democracy has shrunken to “the only 100 days.” Since F.D.R., we’ve measured presidents by their “first 100 days.” But now it’s really “the only 100 days.” Presidents lately seem to have just those 100 days to lay down a transformational agenda and get it passed in their first year — before they have to tailor their politics to the midterm elections — and then, if, as often happens, their party loses the midterms they have to focus on the next presidential election. China has five-year plans. We have 100 days every four. So all I’m thinking about now is how we get the most out of the first 100 days of 2013 — our next quadrennial chance to make serious policy (barring a crisis that forces our hand).

Except for the most transformational piece of legislation of the past few decades, known colloquially as "Obamacare," which was passed in early 2010, after more than a year of slogging through a legislative morass. Oh, also Dodd-Frank, which was passed in mid-2010. But if you ignore the most important thing that happened in the last four years, then the 100-day theory works just fine.

[Thomas then goes on for five hundred words calling for the president, or a third-party challenger, to run on. . .wait for it. . . a stimulus package to help the economy].

If we had a stimulus focused on 21st-century jobs, and a credible long-term fiscal reform plan, it would unlock the scale of investment we need to revive the employment market today and address the future. If Obama ran on that big plan, he would win and have an electoral mandate to implement it in his only 100 days. Sadly, he seems intent on playing small ball. He is capable of, and the country needs, much bolder leadership.

Oh, well. There’s always the first 100 days of 2017.

Yep. Thomas Friedman's big plan for bold leadership is for the president to. . .continue doing what he's been trying to do for the past three years. But since he'll have a 'mandate', the GOP will be forced by magical pixie dust to pass his new stimulus plan. Barack Obama is playing 'small ball.' Because he's not running on a new stimulus plan. A stimulus plan!

The New York Times op-ed section is the best piece of real estate in American journalism. I can't believe it's being filled by this clown.

Five years in Logan

2011-12-07T08:52:00.002-06:00

"Logan Square continues to impress us, as Brian loves the various parks he can jog and excercise at, Jay is hardly ever home, and I am getting acquainted more and more with our library and Cuban grocery." ----- blog post, Dec. 7, 2006

I moved into Logan Square five years ago, last week. Brian and Jay and I packed up a crappy U-Haul, with help from Cass, Cal, and Kevin, and moved into what was then, to us, the biggest, greatest apartment we'd ever seen. For what it's worth, it's still my favorite apartment I've ever lived in. Someday if I have some money I've going to buy that building and live on the second floor. I love that apartment so much. Even when we moved into the first floor with the front porch deck, I still missed the second floor. Not sure why. Just love it.

That first December was funny, because we had no idea where anything was in this neighborhood. We knew about the gas station and the Cuban grocery, and that was it. I think that we drove to a 7-11 the first couple of weeks, even though it turned out it was only three blocks away. It was wicked, wicked cold, too, so that venturing outside seemed foolish.

Someone told Jay about a bar called Streetside, so we ended up trying that out eventually, and that became a cozy base of operations for four years until they stopped making buffalo wings and hurt our feelings. Then Liz told us she had heard that Dunlays had good breakfast, so we ended up spending thousands of dollars and hours there.
It's still my favorite place to go in Logan. To hell with mixology and gastropubs.

That first week, my co-teacher at Calumet Park, great guy named Tupper, and I edited a video for 8 hours at the new place. It was pure fun, weirdly. It was snowy outside, and the radiators were slowly heating up the place, and we were cutting together maybe ten hours of footage into a 15 minute video.
Today I've got another end of semester 'presentation' for a class of mine, same as that time. Less pressure this time, since this will be my sixth year of doing these. I did NOT expect to have been doing this for so long. But I like it. The kids are good to me. It's not as fun as when I taught with Tupper, but it's a great job nonetheless.

Our internet was out at the house yesterday, so I went over the library to use their wireless. That's what got me remembering the first move to Logan; I had taken Brian's computer to the library back in '06 because we hadn't set up our internet service yet. I was lucky to have found the library so soon, and I've been going there every week for five years now. If I ever become a rich man, I'll put money into libraries.

So, five years and I've lived in. . . four places. That seems like a lot, though it also doesn't seem like I've moved much since being here. Palmer 2, Palmer 1, Logan, and now the house. I guess the move from Palmer 2 to Palmer 1 was pretty easy, since it consisted of Jay and I walking things down the stairs for a day. Much easier than trucking around.

Another new day in Logan Square awaits. Have a great one, friends.

Supercommittee 'failure'= WIN!

2011-11-22T13:49:00.002-06:00

I shouldn't have to write this shit, but the reporting on this topic is horrid.

If the 'supercommittee' does nothing ("fails"!), then there are automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion, split between defense and non-defense discretionary. Their job was to find different cuts to replace the auto-cuts of $1.2 trillion. The deficit gets reduced either way.

BUT. . .. if they had passed something, it likely would have included some extension of the Bush tax cuts, set to expire in 2013. As you can guess, if you're older than eight, tax cuts cause revenue to go down, thus causing deficits to go up.

The best, most awesome, supremely good thing to happen is NOTHING. If nothing happens, we get ALL tax rates restored to Clinton-era rates, singlehandedly solving our medium-term debt issues (roughly $4.5 trillion over ten years).

Of course, we run the risk of returning to the economic hellhole of the 1990s. Shudder.

On Penn State

2011-11-08T16:01:00.003-06:00

My horse is a not a high one, but it is rather often a self-righteous one. But hell, it's my blog.

I've been following the Penn State rape stories with mounting sadness. I don't carry a torch for Joe Paterno necessarily, but I've always had a fondness for what little I know about him.

I won't rehash the whole reported story that is surrounding Jerry Sanduskey, the longtime offensive coordinator and assistant to Joe Pa. He is charged with 40 various counts of raping children, basically.

The most-discussed charge would, alone, be enough for disgust and anger. Sanduskey was raping a ten year old kid in a shower at the Penn State locker room. A 28 year old graduate assistant walked in and saw them.
He ran out, called his Dad, who told him to tell Paterno. He told Paterno, who reported it to the Athletic Director, and also the Penn State official who supervised the campus police.

And then nothing really happened.

There's much to be said about what one would do in the shoes of the grad assistant, at least according to much of the discussion online today. Some call him a coward for running out ---- why didn't he save the boy? Some say that it's easy to criticize him ---- he was shocked.
Some say Paterno should have done more. Some say that Sanduskey was so well-loved and well-trusted that his friends and colleagues just couldn't believe he was capable of something so horrible.

Well. Fuck that.

Allow me to hypothetically "boast" (as online excuse-makers will call it) about what my actions would have been: I would have yelled at Sanduskey to get him to stop. I would have attacked Sanduskey if he resisted. I would have taken the boy elsewhere, taken care of him, and called 911 on the way.
And if Sanduskey wasn't arrested pretty soon, I would have discreetly waited, and then beat him with a baseball bat, repeatedly.
I'm not saying that to be macho, or blustery. I'm thinking rationally: What would I do to a guy who got away with raping a kid, that I had witnessed? I think crippling him would be fair. Honestly.

"No one can say what they would do in such a situation," many will say. "We can't judge the grad assistant, or Paterno."

Fuck. That. Bullshit.

This isn't looking the other way when a co-worker is skimming money from the cash register. Or selling coke. Or an adult beating up another adult.

This is a child. There is absolutely no fucking wiggle room here, folks. Man the fuck up, and act.

If, in your entire life, you can't act when you see a little kid being raped, then tell me: what the fuck are you worth? Nothing else you will ever do will outweigh the fact that you ran when a little kid was getting raped in front of you. NOTHING.

Oh, you've got a beautiful family now? You work hard, pay your taxes, go to church and love your kids?
Fuck you. You failed. God gave you a chance to save someone (without any chance of physical harm to yourself!) and you did nothing.

It's true, I guess, that many of us would have failed to act. That's not an excuse, though, it's a call to be better. It's a disgrace that many of us would have failed to act. "Hey, I might've also been a terrible coward who put himself over a small defenseless kid," is a disgrace, not an excuse.

But I still blame Paterno the most (after Sanduskey, of course). He was (is) God at Penn State. He had all of the authority in the world. The idea that he reported it to his "superior" the AD is laughable. At Penn State, Joe Pa doesn't have a superior. He was King. His longtime right-hand man raped a kid, in plain sight of a grad assistant. And Joe Pa did the bare minimum.

"It's not our place to judge."

Yes, it is.

Don't sleep on Perry

2011-10-31T14:08:00.002-05:00

If we've learned anything about the rhythms of a presidential campaign, it's that timing is paramount. People get bored with a front-runner if they've had the pole position for too long. Barack lagged behind just long enough until he made his move in mid-October back in 2007. If he would've led beforehand, the momentum would have shifted to Hillary, and he'd probably be Illinois's governor now.

Which is all to say that Rick Perry's fall from the front is good for him. Herman Cain isn't going to win a damn thing. The only real alternative to Romney is Rick Perry for the GOP nod. If it's not Mitt (though I kind of hope it is, since he's got enough videotape to bury him as the GOP version of John Dukakerry), it'll be Perry.

He's got a good style when he's loose. Or when he's a little drunk. Which he sure as hell seems to be in this video. He's clearly comfortable in his own skin, which voters tend to gravitate towards.

Keep an eye out for Perry.

Wicked Awesome, summer 2011

2011-10-28T17:24:00.002-05:00

(l-to-r): Eric, Paul, Missy, Rob, Kristin, Erin, Elena, Rachel, Nate, Eric D., Linda, me, Paradise.

Missy posted this a few days ago, and I think it's the only team shot from our most recent season. We had a blast, and a lot of new players which was nice. The team has changed a LOT since our inaugural season in 2006.
I think the only remaining players from 2006 are Nate and myself. Wowza.

I really, really love Ryan Adams.

2011-10-19T17:51:00.002-05:00

Since 2000, this fella's records (all 16 of em) have been my companions, and continue to be. These are the first three tracks I liked on youtube when i wanted to put some up, they could've been almost any of his songs. Love him.

Hall Pass/Sex and the City 2

2011-10-15T09:34:00.002-05:00

Last night we had dinner over at Brand BBQ, which Kristin hadn't been to before. She liked it! This is good ---- they have a tofu sandwich, a portabello sandwich, and a couple other vegetarian options in a comfy, warmly designed, affordable restaurant that serves up the best pulled-pork sandwiches around. It's a win-win.

Afterwards we headed to the Redbox for a movie. We got both SATC2 and Hall Pass.

A quick word on the tv show Sex and the City: I've seen all of the episodes, most of them multiple times. Rachel has the entire series on dvd, so over the years I'd borrowed that and watched many of them many times. The show is ridiculous but easy. It's a hangout show. No shame in the game.

The first movie, however, was horrible. It somehow included the most objectionable elements (smug attitudes, lame puns, lazy repetitive plotting) of the show without any of the enjoyable parts (the show had a good sense of atmosphere ---- autumn in new york-vibe, shot naturally).
My take on the first movie was that it was so bad it made the show look smart.

Well, the sequel, SATC2, makes the first movie look smart. It's that bad. Super bad. And I know you're thinking "What did you expect???"
There's bad, and there's bad-bad, and there's just completely shitty. This movie was just completely shitty. It wasn't even fun to make fun of.

Hall Pass, on the other hand, was a complete swing-and-miss by the Farrelly brothers. Having created gems like Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Something About Mary, etc, these dudes take a great premise (married middle-aged guys think they could be hot bachelors if they were single, their wives give them a weeklong 'hall pass'), and turn it into a treacly morality play.

Instead of a fun bacchannalia (sp?), they give us worried, guilt-ridden characters having no fun at all. It was a nicer movie, to be sure, and definitely realistic, but it wasn't any good.

But heck, watching bad movies with my great wife after eating delicious barbecue is still a pretty awesome time.

Surprise party

2011-10-11T18:51:00.002-05:00

Kristin surprised me at my birthday dinner ---- and it was very effective, as I had no clue that this was going on. A very great surprise. Well done hon!

In order, clockwise from top:
Ryan, Allison, Nate, Kate, me, Libby, Jos, Kristin (behind the camera, unseen), Cal, Cass, Martha, Ben, Kendle, Heschel, MaryBeth.

Good times!

2011-10-06T11:14:00.001-05:00

Since I started the first post with a shot of Marcus Liberty from his college days, I figured it was appropriate to finish with a pictures of him from an Illini reunion game, when he is clearly much older. My favorite #30 of all time, Marcus Liberty.

30 for 30, day 30

2011-10-06T07:30:00.001-05:00

It's day 30, so I'm 30, so my 30 year old thing for today is being 30.
Kristin made me some peanut butter cookies and I'm going to try not to eat them all today. Will be tough.

30 for 30 day 29

2011-10-06T07:28:00.001-05:00

This one is a total cop-out, but for the sake of completion I'll allow it.

Yesterday I got so busy and caught up in work stuff that I neglected to intentionally do something 30-ish.

Which is, itself, something 30-ish.

Wow. Mind blown.

30 for 30 day 28

2011-10-04T18:55:00.005-05:00

I don't comment on articles online, typically. Maybe. . .five times, or so, I have. If it's some sort of debate or whatnot, it won't go anywhere, so what's the point? If there's some area where I can offer something novel, then I've joined the 'conversation' but only then.

Also, typically, online comment-writers tend to be a horrid, noxious bunch.

But, today's Stanley Fish essay online at the New York Times struck a chord, so I offered a little story from my college days. Not to brag (which is how one brags, in fact), but it was flagged as a "highlighted" comment, probably because it was recommended by 45 readers. Comment 29, it seems, was appreciated by the readership.

Commenting online: super-oldster move!

30 for 30 day 27

2011-10-04T09:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we got our re-assessed property tax bill. Wheeeeeee!!!

We've pretty much been able to not pay property taxes for the first few months because we were still on the previous lady's insanely low exemption-filled bill.

Time to pay the county piper.

Grownup shit=paying out cash money.

30 for 30 day 26

2011-10-03T12:25:00.001-05:00

I recently checked out a few books from our local public library, as is my wont.
I finished Roger Ebert’s memoir, Life Itself, in about a week. It was a good read, thoughtful, with many diversions along the way. It didn’t follow a pure narrative arc, which was actually rather enjoyable. He would mention his friend McHugh about twenty times before getting to the chapter called “McHugh,” where he explained how he met McHugh. It kept me very entertained, and was thought-provoking.

Next up was Sarah Vowell’s Unfamiliar Fishes. This book is about the colonization of Hawaii. Some of her past books, such as The Partly Cloudy Patriot, and Assassination Vacation, were hilarious, thoughtful, and quick reads. Her last book, The Wordy Shipmates, was a bit slow, and less entertaining. But decent enough.

Unfortunately she is continuing down this road with the new book. It’s just. . . boring. I know there’s a good story to tell, but she’s not telling it. Assassination Vacation was hilarious, true history. This book feels dry.

So I decided to just stop reading it. I don’t really ever do that. But when I’m sitting out back, reading as much as I can before the sun sets in the early evening, I don’t want to be slogging through something. I want to enjoy reading.

I have given up on that Sarah Vowell book. I picked up my next selection, Scorpions, about Felix Frankfurter, Hugo Black, Robert Jackson, and William O. Douglas, and their fights on the Supreme Court. It’s pretty darn good.

30 for 30 day 25

2011-10-01T18:47:00.004-05:00

Libs and Josef, wife and husband!

Theo, Simon, and Nate enjoy some horseplay (ba-dum!)

To be fair, Penny had the hat on for a while and then had Marty wear it for the picture. He didn't walk around wearing it all day.

Simon chases some bubble along the pond shoreline.

Kate really loves it when flowers obstruct shots. And potato chips.

Lil' Sebastian lives on, in Pekin.

Simon rocking his thousand-yard stare, Laura as proud Mama.

Claire, Libby, and Nate.

Porter was a big fan of the frozen banana desserts.

The suave groom.

Just now realizing that Libs has her eyes shut in this one. Will try to replace it with a better one.

Brian, Porter, Liz.

Alex and Rachel.

Penny found two small flat rocks in the ground, about the size of a toddler's butt. "You sit" she instructed me. I tried. It was a good sitting spot.

Today I loaded up these pictures from last week's Libby and Josef wedding weekend. Enjoy.

30 for 30 day 24

2011-10-01T10:45:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I investigated the case of the animal stuck in the oven hood vent.
I have come to the conclusion that it was not an animal causing these noises, but was instead the effect of the heaviest winds in the area in many years.

I went outside to where the vent shoots air outdoors. Using a broomstick, I attempted to open up the vent. Well, it doesn't open up from the outside, in all likelihood to prevent animals from climbing inside of it. It only opens up inside-out.

This leads me to believe that it is near-impossible for an animal to get in from the outside.

Also, we haven't heard it since Friday morning. When we run the fan at high speed, there is no screeching or sounds of little feet quickly moving around.

So I think it was just the wind. Sure as heck sounded like a rodent though. . ..

30 for 30 day 23

2011-09-30T09:26:00.002-05:00

Last night, as she was making a really, really good tomato soup in the kitchen, Kristin kept telling me that there was a noise coming from the oven. I figured she was imagining things, perhaps fearing a ghost or some sort of oven spirit.

But she summoned me to listen, and holy shit yes there is a noise. It's clear that some sort of creature has gotten into our oven vent hood, and it is kind of heavy. It sounds like it is rolling itself over, or slowly, slowly moving. There are periods with nothing, but then the sound like a a small bag of sand settling into place on hollow metal.

So I'm thinking it's a baby squirrel or a bird.

Options: let is stay there and die, then remove it when it stinks. Or, two, undo the oven vent hood, hope that it is small and doesn't move much, let it fall into a box or something, take it outside.

I don't like either of these choices. If I KNEW it was a baby squirrel, I'd be fine. But what if it's a possum? Or something equally nasty?

Guess we'll wait and see. Home ownership can have some challenges.

30 for 30 day 22

2011-09-28T21:25:00.001-05:00

Tonight we are watching The Business of Being Born, a documentary about American childbirth (no, not for any exciting reason, people!).

I'd say watching a boring-ass, hippie-filled documentary is some pretty grownup stuff.

*snore*

30 for 30 day 21

2011-09-28T11:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday for dinner we had leftovers from Monday night. Kristin had made a black-bean soup, and we ate it again. It is pretty tasty. It has a bunch of stuff in it, but I'm not sure what, besides black beans and carrots.

Last week when Allison was taking our pictures in our wedding garb that my wedding suit (that awesome Ludlow-cut grey flannel) actually fit even better than it had at our wedding.
I am certainly not exercising more often than pre-wedding, so the only real reason that I'm slightly slimmer is that we've been eating at home a lot more often, and that Kristin makes dinners that are kind to my waistline.

30 for 30 day 20

2011-09-27T13:46:00.003-05:00

After a staff meeting at work yesterday, I hustled home to drive the MegaMarts to the airport. After I got home from that, I realized I was really really hungry, and hadn't eaten lunch yet.

To honor my father, who is 28 years older than me, I ate a huge, huge piece of Kristin's homemade chocolate cake instead of eating actual lunch food. When you've got a finite amount of appetite, and some dessert staring you in the face, you've got to sometimes err on the side of dessert.

This isn't typically considered 30-for-30 territory, but I take many of my maturation cues from my Dad. So in this case, eating chocolate cake for lunch was definitely a grown-up move.

30 for 30 day 19

2011-09-26T16:38:00.002-05:00

(for yesterday, Sunday)

After our nice long brunch at the Mark Twain hotel, in Peoria, we headed back to Chicago. Brian, Liz, and Porter headed home for some well-earned naptime, and the rest of us headed to the Lumans house for some Chicago Bears football.

We only half-watched the game, because it was so fun to be spending time with Penny that attention was only kinda paid to the game. It was kid/football time. I have a feeling that this will be a running theme over the next couple of decades, since Sunday football is a great excuse to get together with friends, and little kids can be sculpted into at least casual watchers of football.

Pictures from the weekend to follow soon. It was a really great wedding weekend.

30 for 30 day 18

2011-09-25T19:37:00.002-05:00

Libby and Josefs wedding was super-fun, and the farm was beautiful. We had a really grand time.

Grownup activity for this day was the after-party. I'm pretty sure we were in bed by half past midnight, followed by a full night's sleep, followed by a long breakfast with everyone at the hotel.
Last year every wedding was followed by a late-night after party, into the early morning hours.
This year, we've gone to sleep around midnight at both weddings so far.

30 for 30 day 17

2011-09-25T19:27:00.002-05:00

On Friday we drove to Morton, IL, to celebrate Laura's 30th birthday with a surprise party at Schooner's restaurant.

Afterward we headed to Nate's parents house --- they have a huge, huge property in Morton, with an awesome fire pit. We had a big nice fire and sat around and chatted for a long time.

I didn't really do anything super grownup for this day. But there were four little kids who went to bed first, and then the adults sat around the fire outside. That reminded me of when I was very little at Shakamak, and we'd have to go to sleep and know that the parents were up around the fire late at night. Now we (well, our friends at least) are the ones putting the kids to sleep before heading out to the fire for the night.

30 for 30 day 16 (plus "Drive" review)

2011-09-22T09:44:00.003-05:00

You know what's some serious grown-up stuff? Purchasing the new Lindsey Buckingham solo record. And liking it. It's some solid step-into-autumn music. Listening to Buckingham is a lot like getting a new McCartney record ---- there's some really surprising avant-garde pop stuff, some indulgent Old Master noodling, and some straightforward melodic soft pop, too.
Anyways, Fleetwood Mac is firmly entrenched in "safe for hipster" land (and I'm happy about that), but Lindsey Buckingham solo projects is still in oldster-ville, which is why I'm counting this as a 30-for-30.

Drive is a film starring Mr. Ryan Gosling, who for my money is the best actor of my generation. It's fair to say that he's on par, cool-wise, with George Clooney. He chooses interesting movies, he comes off as funny and humble in interviews, and his paparazzi shots tend to be him eating at an outdoor cafe with just his dog and a newspaper for company. So I'm predisposed to like the things that Ryan Gosling does. That, and I've not yet seen a Gosling vehicle that I disliked.

Half Nelson. Lars and the Real Girl. The Notebook. The Believer. Blue Valentine. Now, Drive.

I'm not sure if the previews give the proper idea of what Drive is like. Drive is. . .. slow, and deliberate. It is very similar to Clooney's The American, which I also liked very much.
It is slow burns, quiet dialogue, and loud Euro-pop (which doesn't fit the scenery well, at all, which of course makes it the perfect soundtrack for this movie), punctuated by short bursts of incredibly graphic violence. I would say that the movie earns the right to be so graphic because it holds back for so long.

There are great actors here. Albert Brooks as a mob boss is very, very solid, and Bryan Cranston eases into his role just like he does every role (the man is a chameleon).
It's an odd movie in that I liked it very much, but I can't recommend it to many people. I think that maybe my male contemporaries would like it. I don't think the ladies will enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Ides of March, which will combine political intrigue, Clooney, and Gosling into one big ball of awesome.

30 for 30 day 15

2011-09-22T09:27:00.002-05:00

We never really had any proper wedding "portraits" done on our wedding day, or engagement photos. Kristin has wanted to remedy this for a while, and our friend Allison is the best photog in the city.

So yesterday after work she got her wedding dress on, and I suited up (the suit fit better than I remembered, felt great).

So we took some shots (according to Allison, 450 total) in our backyard. She even brought her fancy flash/lighting thingamabob.

Post-wedding engagement photos. Grownup stuff.

30 for 30 day 14

2011-09-20T22:13:00.002-05:00

Tonight Ben and I went to see the movie "Drive," starring Ryan Gosling, the greatest actor of my generation.
Why does this have anything to do with turning 30? Because we went on a Tuesday. Tuesday at our local big theatre is discount movie night --- instead of $11, it's only $6 to see a brand-new film.
Budgeting!

30 for 30 day 13

2011-09-19T20:58:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning at the Logan Square farmer's market we met a guy who is running for state rep, challenging out incumbent in the Democratic primary.

As someone who hates hates hates third-party challenges, and especially hates Green party challengers, I was glad to see a liberal dissident running for office the right way: manning up and trying to primary a lazy machine incumbent.

So they called me today, and I will be canvassing on Thursday.

Yes, I know I've done this many many times before. But now I'm not just an idealistic college kid or son-of-candidate cutely passing out fliers. So I think that this counts as a grownup move since I'll be canvassing as a concerned citizen/homeowner. Democracy!

30 for 30 day 12

2011-09-18T16:43:00.001-05:00

Paying large amounts of money to replace struts on the car. Fucking annoying.

30 for 30 day 11

2011-09-17T15:08:00.002-05:00

Today's grownup growth is the opposite of yesterday. Today I purchased three Brooks Brothers dress shirts, for a total of $15.

When it rains, it pours, and this place Kristin and I went to today had like 15 solid BB dress shirts amongst about 3,000 shirts. Luckily, you can spot a good shirt amongst the garbage pretty easily. I copped a fine-checkered navy and white for $7 that is in mint condition, along with a pair of french blue shirts that are pretty solid too (one was for Hartrich, since I'm not about to pass by a BB dress shirt in his size when it's $4).

Anyhow, if I've learned one thing from the internet over the past week it's that you should never pay retail for Brooks Brothers dress shirts if you live in a major city, because a little bit of shoe leather will lead you to some good finds. $8 is a lot better than $80.

30 for 30 day 10

2011-09-17T15:04:00.002-05:00

From yesterday, Friday.

Today's oldster move was going to a thrift store (with Ben), and not buying anything because what they had sucked.

In the past when thrifting I've always gotten something ill-fitting or just slightly not good, because it's only three bucks and maybe I'll wear it right?

In the book version of The Blind Side (book is mind-blowingly good, the movie is not really like the book at all), the mother is taking Michael shopping, and explains to him that you shouldn't ever buy clothes unless you absolutely love them. The reasoning behind this is that you will never look better in something than you do at the store, so your opinion of a shirt or slacks will only go downhill after you leave the store. If you really dig something, then you've got a lot of room. If you're so-so, you will hate that shirt within a week and never wear it.

So yesterday I didn't buy anything. And we had a really tasty lunch of Monte Cristo's and Cokes at the Cozy Corner (alliteration!)

30 for 30 day 9

2011-09-15T11:46:00.004-05:00

As I try to be a responsible budget-keeper, I've found that my taste in what we'll call "home beer" has been rather pricey over the past couple of years. Oftentimes, I find myself walking to our the Provenance down the street. Provenance is a small wine shop, along with lots of fancy artisan snacks and liquors. They also have a small selection of a la carte beers, so that you can mix/match a six pack of your choice.
Because these beers are high quality, most times I will pay $12+.
This is not a sustainable option if I intend to be fiscally responsible.

So over the past month I've been pondering a cheaper choice for my go-to "house beer."

I started with a case of Budweiser bottles. I am a big fan of the Budweiser can design. It is classic Americana, somehow very busy with loads of text, yet simple.

However, with the exception of hot summer outdoors beer drinking, I do not enjoy Budweiser too much. It is a bit watery and a bit rice-y.

So I switched to the old broke-hipster standby, Pabst Blue Ribbon. It is actually much tastier than its cost would indicate.

But the aesthetics and cultural nods that come with drinking PBR are not acceptable to me. There is a tribal element, a signaling, that I cannot sign onto with PBR. It is the beer of the person who either is in college, having a party, or going to a fancy bar but not drinking fancily. It is not the home beer aesthetic that I desire. It does not say comfortable elegance to me. It says "party."

So the other day on a whim I picked up a case of Miller High Life before the Bears game, having not purchased it since my college days. And I remembered what was grand about Miller High Life.

It has a bottle design that is very enjoyable. The slope of the neck is triangular. It has embossed lettering on the glass. It is old-fashioned, but not intentionally so. It has a calming design.

It is also the beer that I first drank regularly, as a 21-to-25 year old, at my favorite bar of all time, the Illinois Bar and Grill, or "I-Bar," on Taylor Street.

It is the beer of my coming-of-age. But it is also a solid grown-up beer. Myke and Stasz are both patrons of the "champagne of beers," and while I will never take their advice when the topic is politics, I will certainly pay attention when the topic is affordable, middle-class, mature beer.

I've decided that Miller High Life will be my home beer of choice. It is affordable, tasty, and signals culturally in a way that I appreciate.

30 for 30 day 8

2011-09-14T20:54:00.003-05:00

Today's feat of grownup-ship was work-related.
We had a small event for our donors and supporters at a small, secluded park in Chinatown.
I got there by taking the blue line and transferring to the red line ---- something I haven't really done in about five years.
I have not been to the Chinatown stop since I was a senior in college. That evening, 8 years ago, involved someone relieving themselves in the red-to-blue transfer tunnel at 3am.

But today I wore chinos, a nice button down, a casual brown blazer, and took that train ride. There was a lot of wine at this reception, and I had one half glass. I chatted, chatted, and chatted with the various donors, board members, and colleagues at the event.
I had a very nice talk with a board member about his sweet Mephisto shoes.

I have learned how to network. And I don't necessarily hate it. It is a lot easier do when not wearing sneakers and a sweatshirt.

30 for 30 day 7

2011-09-13T21:32:00.004-05:00

Today was a day of mature IN-activity. I want to order these boots. They are rad. They have leather soles. They are Cole Haan.

But I've got a car repair, a Libby-Jos wedding, and a McCormick's creek cabin to pay for. These things are more important than footwear.

So, in the name of maturity, I didn't buy these today.

Semi-grumble.
On the plus side, got to have Friendship Chinese with Bendle for dinner tonight over their place. Good times!

30 for 30 day 6

2011-09-13T08:02:00.002-05:00

Posting a little late, but still valid.

Yesterday I ordered some new clothing, courtesy of Land's End Canvas, which is their "heritage" line. They had a sweet clearance sale (grownups like value).

I got some jeans for $15 (they fit like 501s, because grownups like things that fit properly). I got some chinos that are sturdy (grownups need some non-denim casual pants). I got a sweet heavy cotton pea coat for $40, down from $100 (grownups need something in between sweatshirts and winter coats).
And I got a plain grey crewneck sweatshirt, because according to Put This On, if you have blue eyes you should have one of these (and grownups are still prone to flattery).

Anyhow, I got four staple items for $120. From Land's End. That seems like some serious 30 year old stuff.

30 for 30 day 5

2011-09-11T11:41:00.002-05:00

Today there was a theatre troupe at the farmer's market doing a little Shakespeare for children. So I spent the next ten minutes speaking the king's English. Kristin thought it was incredibly cool.

I consider this to be the kind of thing that dorky dads do, thus I am counting this as a new step towards adulthood.

Bear down, Chicago Bears! Kickoff in fifteen minutes.

30 for 30 day 4

2011-09-10T14:48:00.003-05:00

Today's act of growth: I am in charge of making bread, using the no-knead method popularized by Mark Bittman.

Hopefully it is edible.

Nate Hartrich has gotten me hooked on reading up on style blogs, and now I want to buy a pair of $150 chinos from Bill's Khakis, along with a lot of other things I don't necessarily need, but want.

30 for 30 day 3

2011-09-09T13:14:00.002-05:00

Today in growing up, I am going to get a second shower-curtain liner from Target. Our shower requires two of them, and the back half is too short for our tub, which is going to be bad news.

In other news, I've read about. . . ten different analyses/articles from liberal blogs that are actually pondering the economic effect of the President's new jobs bill.

This, friends, is the difference between Democrats and Republicans. When we make a purely political move like the "American Jobs Act," we still go over it with a fine-toothed comb to make sure it is economically sound.
The GOP says "Eh, fuck it, tax cuts spur growth, whatever" and releases their "plan" knowing full well that the conservative blogosphere doesn't give a shit about facts, or details.

Anyhow, great speech, great messaging, excellent "pass this bill" refrain. Hopefully he kicks this into high gear and just talks "American Jobs Act" every day until next November.

30 for 30 day 2

2011-09-08T23:14:00.001-05:00

(rather cliched) Grownup Thing for the Day: Had a poorly-communicated conversation with my wife about my going out for ribs and beers with only "the guys" tonight to watch the Packers-Saints game.

Thirty for Thirty

2011-09-07T14:12:00.002-05:00

Marty tried this out last year, but failed miserably. I'm going to take a shot at it.

As of today it's 30 days until I am 30 years old. In this spirit, I'm going to try and make an "adult" improvement/adjustment/change every day for the next 30 days.

Today: I am tucking in my collared, button-down shirt, into my jeans.
Big deal, right? But I never tuck a shirt in. Unless I am wearing a necktie, I have my shirttails out.

However, I've been inspired by Nate Hartrich to step up my style game a little bit, as a grown man should. My wardrobe has plenty of staples already, they just need some ironing and proper wearing.

So, today's first step in the 30-for-30 journey will start with a small first step.
My shirt is tucked in.
It looks pretty good, I think.

Ordnance Tactics

2011-08-29T20:14:00.003-05:00

Some of you may have heard various snippets of the odd adventure that we stumbled into last Friday night. It seems only proper to document the events to the best of my recollection.

Let me say, at the outset, that my memory of things is imperfect ---- as we talked about it later that night, at the bowling alley, it was shocking how many details I had misplaced in the back of my brain.

So: "How We Interrupted a Date Rape Last Friday"

Kristin, Ryan, Mary Beth, and I had a lovely dinner at our house on Friday night. At ten o'clock, we decided to go bowl at the Fireside, on Fullerton Avenue (the site, you may recall, of Jay's attack last year).

As we neared the Fireside, Kristin noticed a couple across the street, in the back of a parking lot near an alley, scuffling. Was it horseplay? Was it dangerous? Hard to tell.
I figured horseplay. Kristin, wisely, wasn't sure.

Should we check it out? Just to make sure?
"They just went into an alley. We need to check," Kristin argued. She was right.
We walked across the street.

As we get closer, we hear a yell. Shit.
We pick up the pace, walk a bit faster.

Thirty yards away, we hear, clear as a bell, "Somebody help me! Please! Help me!"

Fuck. It's on. We run.

Now, we're turning a corner on an alley here, so we've got a good angle in case there is a gun or something. We're not intentionally thinking about this, but there's an unspoken caution thing kicking in here. Say what you will about action movies, but our generation has learned how to approach a situation and protect ourselves, just in case. Thank you, Jason Bourne.

We round the corner, and here my memory is fuzzy. Were they on the ground? Were they getting up? Were they already standing up? I truly don't remember.
What I remember is the sound of struggling. And that the girl has a white tank top on, but it's pulled down, exposing her red bra. So. . . this isn't ok.

"HEY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING MOTHERFUCKER? "

Whose rage-filled growl is this? Oh. Apparently this is me. According to my voice, I am very angry.
I do remember this part very, very well. I have never sounded this angry, ever, in my life. I literally didn't recognize my voice for a split second.

I scream variations of "blah blah blah MOTHERFUCKER!" for a bit.

He answers a few times "Nothing is going on!" "This ain't your business man!" Spoken like a true woman-beater.

The guy, the kid, probably 17 years old, walks away, hand clenched on his girl's arm. She is walking with him. Hmm.

Fuck this. We're calling the cops.

"We've got an attempted sexual assault, south alley 2600 block of Fullerton, guy's wearing a red shirt and grey shorts, probably five-six, he's not even running."

"What? How close is he to you?" asks 911.
"Like, uh, five feet?" I say.
They send cops.

I keep talking to/yelling at the guy. "Do you understand why we're stepping in here? Do you know what you're doing?"
"You say this is your girlfriend ---- don't you want people to help her when she's crying for help?"

He keeps her in hand, and keeps walking.
So this is weird. He was clearly hurting her. She was crying for help. Now they're walking off together? Fuck that. He's not leaving.

A neighbor comes out of the building. He tells us that a car parked there is the kid's and that they were scuffling in the car just a minute ago. That the girl ran out of of the car, and the guy went after her, right before we first saw them.

So then the guy, girl firmly in hand, walks across the street to the park. For a second I think we'll just stay here, by his car, until the cops come. He's not leaving his car behind for good. He has to come back.

The neighbor gives me a look, though. Half "we've got a responsibility", half "let's have some fun."
"Want to go after him?" he asks. He's got a bit of a smile.
"He just took her into a dark park!" Kristin says. She's right.

Let's fuckin go. I've got a bit of a smile, too.
Neighbor, Ryan, and I run across the street into the park. He's standing there with the girl, clearly doing the "sorry for the whole 'alley rape violence' thing, baby, you know i love you" routine.
She's been crying the whole time, mind you. Since you we found them. No eye contact with any of us.
I really want to hurt this guy. I am half-hoping he takes a swing at me. The guy comes walking back towards us, going to get his car I guess.

Then the cops come, but they're headed to the alley where we called it in. I yell to Kristin to send them over to the park, and the guy sees that it's cop time, and starts running. Asshole.
So we run after him, but after about fifty yards he stops by his girlfriend and hugs her and stays there.
Classic. Using his girl as his shield against the cops. What a man.

The first cop comes running, pointing his (incredibly scary yet awesome) M4 carbine at the guy. He gets the guy on the ground, knee on his neck. Within 30 seconds we've got twenty cops.

As they all run towards us, guns drawn, I decide that it's wise to back up, slowly, with my hands very high in the air. Just in case.

I'm fuzzy on this next part. I tell the cops what was up, what we heard, how she screamed for help.

It's clear that the girl won't be making any statements or signing any complaints. It's not surprising, but I'm still pissed. Not at her, but at the whole thing.
The guy is not going to jail. He's not even in trouble anymore.

I want to make sure that there's something good that comes out of this, for the girl. Anything.
I take her aside a bit.

"Hey. . .do you understand why we called the cops? Why we're chasing him?"
"Yeah, I know" she tells me.
"We just want to make sure you're okay, that you're safe, you know? I'm not trying to make your life harder, or mess things up for you. I just want to make sure you're safe. That's all."
"Yeah, I know. Thank you."
"What's your name?"
She tells me. We shake hands.
"I'm Colin. See you around."

That was it, really. There's a bunch of cops all around us, and I don't really have my wits about me. I wish I would've said something more helpful, something better, but really that's all I could think of.
Hopefully she understands that we were trying to protect her. I think she does. I hope it makes her feel a little better, that strangers care about her safety.

I hope she's got a Dad, or a big brother, who she can tell about her shitbag boyfriend. And I hope that if he pulls this shit again, that they beat him, viciously, cruelly.

I wish I could say we "stopped a rapist." We didn't. At best, we delayed a date rape. Delayed one. Maybe scared the guy a bit.

But, hell, we were just trying to go bowling.

Funny how a melody sounds like a memory

2011-08-17T10:03:00.002-05:00

I am absolutely in love with this song. I read about it because, duh, it's called 'Springsteen,' but sounds nothing like the Boss. Just one more notch in my strange new affection for mainstream country music.

You may not love it, but give it a listen at least once ---- I think it's a really strong song that somehow pays tribute to Bruce without really sounding anything like him. I like the 'funny how a melody sounds like a memory' line very much; I was listening to some records from the early-aughts on Monday and it rang true to me just like it does this song's narrator ---- for a lot of us, our iTunes shuffles operate like a mish-mash of old photographs, reminding us of moments that we'd forgotten about.
It's important to stay in the present, but it's also important to remember how you got there, too.

Michigan vacation pictures, courtesy of Jay

2011-08-14T15:19:00.002-05:00

Jay's pictures (click here) from our super-fun Michigan vacation in scenic South Haven. We went through like thirty books collectively, drank a lot of coffee, ate a lot of food, squatted on a few private beaches, and had a fun fun fun time. Ken and Gale joined us for the last couple of days, but Jay had to take off early, so hopefully Kristin has shots of her folks for us to add to the blogosphere.

Render Unto Caesar

2011-08-04T08:03:00.003-05:00

There are a few important things to keep in perspective with regards to the debt deal.

-The first 'tranche' cuts $1.5 trillion dollars over ten years. That's $150 billion a year, which, assuming a $3.6 trillion annual budget, is about 4% annually.

-The second 'tranche' requires the SuperCommittee to find a way to cut the deficit by another $1.6 trillion, through cuts or taxes or whatever. If they don't, the cuts will automatically come from Medicare provider payments, and defense appropriations.

-The Bush tax cuts will expire on New Years Eve, 2012. If allowed to fully expire, these would provide another $3.8 trillion dollars. If only the 'high-dollar' cuts expire, it would provide $700 billion.

These facts provide me with some calm and comfort. The most important factor in the American political system isn't money, or popular support, or even the economy. It's status quo bias.

Everything is biased towards stasis, favoring inaction. In a system with something like 20 veto points, you're better off fighting a rearguard defense action than you are building something new.

This will give our side (should give our side) a huge tactical advantage. Democrats on the SuperCommittee should push for eliminating tax 'loopholes' and deductions to raise revenue. When the GOP balks and stonewalls, we should simply allow the triggers to occur. Cutting $1.6 trillion from defense and Medicare providers are both probably necessary in the longterm, but not particularly popular moves. We will have the cover of GOP intransigence, and get a policy win to boot.

The biggest challenge will be the President himself. He needs to realize that ALL of the tax cuts need to expire, not just the cuts for the wealthy. If the middle class wants to continue with a strong Medicare system, we will need to pay for it. That means Clinton-era tax rates.
I don't recall people gnashing their teeth in agony during the 1990s because marginal rates were 3% higher. Clinton-era tax rates, for all of us, are necessary.
President Obama will hopefully agree, and find a way to finesse it politically, hopefully by the GOP not giving him a clean wealthy-only expiration, thus 'forcing' him to allow raises on everyone, in 2012, post-reelection.

If this works out, we cut the debt by $7 trillion dollars, start to rein in Medicare provider payments, and get our tax base back in shape.

Dork out.

time for the dog days i think

2011-08-01T16:48:00.002-05:00

Well, we are all pretty well settled now. We moved in a few weeks ago and just recently got the last big project taken care of. We had the plaster taken down and replaced it with drywall, and then painted it mint meltaway green because why not.

I think that we've been to Home Depot at least a dozen times in the past month. Which is fine, except that they have the world's worst self-checkout machines ever made.

I've read about a dozen mystery novels by Harlan Coben this past month. As an accidental detective/mystery afficionado, I'd rank Coben as falling in bottom rung of mystery hacks. BUT. . .he's still one hell of an entertaining read.
1. Richard Price
2. George Pelecanos
3. Marcus Sakey
4. Dennis Lehane
5. Michael Conelly
6. Harlan Coben

Why a list? Not sure, just happens. But if you want some good detective novels, this might be a handy guide.

I'm not sure if it's to everyone's liking, but the movie Thunderheart, from 1992, is pretty impressive. Val Kilmer, Sam Shephard, and Graham Greene pretty much guarantees believable intensity. It takes its inspiration from the Wounded Knee incident in the seventies, with a mystery element too. Pretty good stuff.

My favorite activity lately is to sit out in the backyard and read my detective novels. It's a pretty good backyard for reading in the summer.

New old house!

2011-07-02T19:11:00.004-05:00

Kristin blogged about it, but in case you don't stop by here place much, we finally got our house on Thursday!

We immediately (super immediately) got to work tearing up the old carpet, and then discovered four layers of laminate/linoleum, all complete with their own delightful ways of binding to the wide-plank wood floor underneath. Some are short tacks, some are long nails, some are staples, and of course there was the nice carpet tack strips that seem designed to be lethal. Yikes.

Lots of dust and debris. Yuck.

BUT. . .now that it's all torn up, I've started on the rather tedious-yet-kinda fun task of taking up every last tack, nail, and staple from the floor. Except hopefully not the ones that keep the floor in place. So far I've got a couple hundred up. Another couple hundred to go. I can see why it's easier for most people to just put another layer of something on top of the old layers. I swear we've improved the air quality of the place by removing 70 years of old floor. I've got dust everywhere.

It's actually really fun!

Anyhow, a guy is coming on Wednesday to sand and re-finish. It's a weird and rustic floor, but with some professional sheen I think it will look pretty cool.

Other new things I've done: Removed old door locks and replaced them with new ones. I know that this is a rather foolproof task, but I'm a bigtime fool, so this is a big deal for me.

4th of July "grill and chill" in the new backyard. Yippeee!

Boof and Ali

2011-06-29T08:56:00.007-05:00

Last evening Ben came over, and we (Kristin too) watched "Date Night" starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. The script was so-so, but since it's Tina Fey and Steve Carrell it did the job.

Afterwards, for reasons I can't really figure out, I decided that we needed to watch Teen Wolf.

This is for two probably reasons: (1) I love teen comedies, and Teen Wolf is, regardless of the supernatural angle, a very sincere teen comedy. And (2) Bill Simmons argues quite persuasively in his 700-page tome The Book of Basketball (a book which is insanely comprehensive, funny, and accurate) that Teen Wolf is, at its core, a film about the importance of team play in basketball. It's the movie that Kobe and Lebron should watch again.

There's always a risk in re-watching treasured films from your childhood (and for the purposes of this argument let's say that childhood is ages 4-12). There are MANY films that you remember super-fondly, and that were the most impressive pieces of celluloid every put on a screen. Until you see that Short Circuit is streaming on Netflix, you watch it for 15 minutes, and realize that's it's stuck in the no-man's-land between cheesy/bad and so bad it's funny/bad, and that it just happens to suck.

Revisiting childhood favorites is a minefield. If you don't believe me, ask Brian about Tombstone.

So the lure of Teen Wolf was a little scary. I had confidence, however, since Bill Simmons has probably watched it a dozen times this month, loved it, and he's 40. Also because Karate Kid was re-watched a few times over the past year, and it holds up (it actually gets better).

So, Teen Wolf: It holds up. Big time.
There are things that became more obvious to me as an adult than as a kid.
For instance, Scott (Michael J. Fox) is pathetic in his pursuit of the 'hot girl' Pamela Wells. Embarrassing-to-watch pathetic. His big move is to offer her a ride to a party. Yikes.
Mostly the now-obvious parallels between puberty and werewolf-ness, which aren't subtle, but which you don't really see when you are 8.

Anyhow, it's a solid movie. And Bill Simmons is spot-on in his assessment of the basketball/team play lessons: when Scott first becomes the wolf, he's dishing some nice assists to his teammates. As the season progresses, he's become Kobe circa 2005. In the final game, he plays as Scott, and the team suddenly becomes the '85 Lakers. And credit to the filmmakers here, because they put together some legitimately great passing scenes. In the annals of basketball movies, "great passing" is a rarely used phrase. The moves here are cribbed directly from Magic-to-Worthy transition plays, and done well (especially Scott's behind-the-back assist under the rim, which I think they looped and showed twice in the montage).

Speaking of montages, I think that the "Win In the End" montage compares favorably to the "You're the Best Around" Karate Kid montage. Teen Wolf has the edge in the song category, but Karate Kid takes the Montage Trophy by a hair because they manage to squeeze most of the karate activity into the montage (since Daniel only needs two points to win each match, you can pretty much show every single point). And there's no looped footage.

Another comparison: Scott vs. Daniel. The winner here is not difficult. It's Scott. For the sole reason that he's far less of a whiner than Daniel, and he doesn't possess the unseen quality that makes everyone want to kick Daniel's ass constantly. Scott wins by realizing that he's just fine as he is. Daniel wins by learning mystical violence from Miyagi. Scott is simply cooler.

Now, the real competition: Ali vs. Boof.

Both have irrational faith in their weeny-boyfriend/crushes. Both are forgiving of their weeny-boyfriend/crushes being morons. Both are super-cute

I'd personally give the edge to Boof for the fact that she likes to hang out with Scott's dad, while Ali comes from a family of rich jerks. Ali used to date Johnny, while Boof has eyes only for Scott.

I'd love to hear your opinions on this. It's not really a Betty/Veronica debate, they're both Betty personalities. Which frankly makes it a harder call.

And that, friends, has been one epic amount of time spent discussing a mildly good '80s movie. Was it too much? Perhaps. Should I be mouthing off on something like gay marriage, the debt ceiling, or our new house that we close on tomorrow? Probably.

But you know what? It's my blog. I make the rules here.

As any family member of mine who was around in the '80s knows, "I do my own tackles."

This song will not get out of my head. Sorry.

2011-06-23T14:05:00.001-05:00

I'm losing many cool points here. But I can't help it. This song is my summer jam.

The stars at night are big and bright!

2011-06-22T08:16:00.002-05:00

Bethany got on the plane yesterday to head out to Dallas. She had 116 pounds of luggage, but spread out over three bags so it wasn't expensive. Midway airport is luckily very tiny, so it was easy for us to navigate it.
I won't write much about her heading out, since I'm hoping she'll post plenty of pictures of Dallas, Jay, and their apartment on her own blog very soon. Blog it, Bethy!

We will miss having her here in Chicago but we're very happy that she'll get to be with Jay as they start their lives together. Living in sin, in Dallas :) I bet Jay is happy to have her there with him, so he can finally see how his furniture is supposed to be arranged :)

Have fun guys! Post pictures and updates for us soon Bethany!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's get this one out of the way: there's no way that our present operations in Libya are not "hostilities." It's absurd on its face to say so.
I love our president, very much. But it's clear that on this issue he's doing what every other president does, which is to ignore the War Powers Act, and ignore the idea that Congress has any say in what our wars look like.

I don't like it, but as a hardcore Obama apologist, I see some strategy at play here.

The Republican party has two main operating principles. (1): Favor maximum military destruction, everywhere, always. (2) Oppose everything that President Obama does.

These two principles are now in direct contradiction.

I believe that the President's decision to not seek congressional approval of the Libya operation is based on a desire to see which principle wins out.

It would be exceedingly easy for this Congress, or any Congress, to put a stop to a military operation ----- the "power of the purse" is a blunt and simple instrument for stopping a war on a dime. I found myself disgusted as I agreed with a recent John Yoo op-ed arguing this point explicitly (he also considers the War Powers Act to be unconstitutional, which I don't agree with). But Congress always has the power to stop a war that it dislikes. It just never does it nowadays.

And let's be real, here: John Boehner, et al, don't really oppose the Libya operation. They want to pick a fight, but they don't want to skin any knees on it.
So I think the president is more than happy to make them put up or shut up. It's a win-win for him.

If they do nothing, he gets to keep up the Libya operation on his own timetable, and the GOP looks weak for not challenging him. If they actually voted to cut off funding, it would set a precedent for our time that Congress has a say in military matters, which I think the president wouldn't really mind either.

Congress has the power to stop the Libyan operation right now. They won't use it, because they don't want to stop the Libyan operation. End of story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jon Huntsman is the kind of GOP presidential candidate that journalists like to think matters. He's handsome, civil, accomplished, doesn't hate gay people, and crossed party lines to work for President Obama.
This is why you will see many fawning profiles like this one in the upcoming months. Journalists, especially those based in DC and NYC, like the idea of a new-wave, hip, moderate Republican. It makes them feel balanced, unbiased, and fair. Jon Huntsman is, to your typical just-left-of-center journo, what Evan Bayh is to the GOP. You get to like him for free.

This will all be great for a month or two, until it becomes clear that no actual GOP voters care about Jon Huntsman. Mostly because he's civil, doesn't hate gay people, and worked for President Obama.
Everything that the East Coast journalists like about Huntsman is exactly why he won't win any primaries.
But because he's the only GOPer that any journalist could ever conceive of voting for, he'll get some great press for a while. Then Rick Perry will come along and knock the hell out of him.

Also, he talks like a real weenie. Seriously. Listen to him talk. Squaresville.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our mortgage lender called yesterday, and we are "clear to close" on our house next Thursday! We are very excited. VERY!
We were at Home Depot for some plants the other day, and I was tallying up all of the things we need to/want to get soon. A lot of things you never think about needing until you need 'em. Like a hose. Or new door locks. Or an L-shaped shower curtain rod, which is really hard to find and strangely expensive.

Anyhow: I'm excited. We're excited. Get ready to hang out with us in our odd little house.

A new parade of faith and sparks, the electric version harks

2011-06-07T08:01:00.003-05:00

Bethany started a "Couch to 5k" training program over the past few months, and I was lucky enough to join her as she achieved her goal this past weekend. We ran the Lincoln Park Zoo's 5k bright and early Sunday morning (woke up at 6am!). Bethany did an awesome job, running the entire distance, no walking breaks, and finishing in good time.
It was a pretty nice run, too ---- we ran past the alpacas, past the zebras, the kangaroos, etc. In a nod to my undeniable nerdness, I saluted the statue of General Grant as we ran past him.

I'm VERY proud of my little sister for having the willpower to stick to a training program as a brand-new runner, because honestly running is most often a huge pain in the ass, and there are always a dozen reasons why you can skip a run, and that snowballs into never exercising at all. Beth has stuck to her program like a champ and she was rewarded with a solid 5k on her first try.
I look forward to running more races with her in the years ahead. She is a great sister and a great running partner.

Way to go, Bethy!!!

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Memorial Day weekend we headed to southern Indiana, as always. It was extremely gnatty, and they flew around my head like dirt on Pigpen from Peanuts. But it was another lovely long weekend with lifelong friends.

All pictures courtesy of Al!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are at T-minus 23 days until getting our house. Every day that it gets closer I get much more excited.
On Saturday morning we took a first-time homebuyer class up in Rogers Park that was a requirement to receive a "mortgage credit certificate." This enables us to take advantage of some sort of tax credit that refunds 20% of our mortgage interest, which I am more than happy to accept.
I can't say we learned anything new but it was nice to be in a room with a bunch of other young-ish newbies talking about mortgages. Kind of.

It's going to be in the high 90s today and tomorrow. I intend to enjoy as much conditioned air as I possibly can.

Summer!

You're doing it wrong

2011-05-31T11:57:00.005-05:00

As I (happily) see the GOP walk towards a slow bit of electoral suicide with their Paul Ryan-penned plan to privatize Medicare, I compare this situation to what existed in early 2010, when Democrats passed "Obamacare."

Many House Democrats voted for the plan, with full knowledge that it would cost them their seats, because it was a good bill, and it was going to become law. Worth the short-term political hit for the long-term policy gain.

So what in the hell are the GOPers doing? Their bill will not become law. Full stop. The Senate will never pass it and the President will never sign it. It's only worth anything as a set-piece. This can sometime have big value, but usually only when your set-piece is hitting on something that is popular.

What are they getting for their troubles? They will take an electoral hit without any policy benefit at all. It's like being the baseball batter who takes a pitch in the face, except without being awarded first base. Instead, you are called out. And then the other batters come up, and get beaned in the face, too.

I am baffled. The point of a sacrifice is giving up something for a greater good. This is just walking off a cliff to prove. . . something. Not sure what.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

McCormick's Creek was relaxing and lovely as always. Mostly hanging around sitting and talking while snacking on tasty treats, with some trivia games and walks in the woods. My favorite activities. We missed Bethany but apparently she was hosting a debauched bachelorette weekend.

We have a new McCormick's-goer, Simon, who is very cool. He entered this contest, so please go to the link and vote for him. You can vote every 24 hours!! Just go to the bottom and click on "Simon Anderson." DO IT PLEASE! He'll get to take his wife to Disneyworld.

Champaign-Urbana people will recognize the "This Is It Furniture" store he is doing the ad for.

chicken fried, pair of jeans that fit just right, cold beer on a friday night

2011-05-26T17:26:00.002-05:00

and the radio uuuuuupppppp.

Yes, I have just quoted the Zac Brown Band, a popular country group. That song plays very often on US 99.5 FM, which is my station of choice these days.

I first started to listen to country radio only when driving to rural places ---- Tiskilwa, or Spencer, Indiana for McCormick's Creek.
Then I started to turn it on sometimes when I was driving around Chicago, but only when alone.

Then I started to turn it on when Kristin was in the car.

And now that's my go-to radio station.

I don't really own any of the music that I listen to, but it's fair to say that I listen to a fair amount of pop-country radio. I can sing along to whatever the current Kenny Chesney or Sugarland song is, in all likelihood.

I mention this because I am pretty sure that I am the only person living in Logan Square who listens to this kind of music. Don't get me wrong, I can still pass the hipster test. But I definitely turn the music down a little bit when I'm cruising my own 'hood, blasting out Lady Antebellum.

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We head out to McCormick's tomorrow for 3+ days of cabin living, woods-walking, grilling meats, and playing Trivial Pursuit. I am looking forward to seeing the Shakamak crew, and some pure relaxation.

In the past, in order to squeeze the most out of our time there, we've left at 5pm. This ends up taking us 7 hours to get there since we're sitting in traffic before we get into northern Indiana, and then driving slowly down the state highways to Spencer. So this year we're leaving at a normal morning hour on Friday morning and getting there when we get there.

Shakamak!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In house news. . . well, not much to report, except that we continue to be excited and anxiously awaiting the end of June when we can close on our home. Visions of hardwood floors and new toilets are dancing in my head. Mostly visions of hanging in the backyard with the grill fired up, some US 99. 5 FM radio playing on the boombox, and a cold Budweiser can in my John Deere beer cozy. I fully aim to bring out my country roots once I have a backyard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Logan Square, there is a rather hilarious business dispute happening. It raises issues of fair contracts, and dickheadedness.
Let me explain:
A couple years back, New Wave Coffee opened on the building in the southeast corner of the actual 'square' (circle) of Logan Square. It formerly housed a currency exchange, and some other non-consequential defunct businesses.
New Wave was the pioneer in this location. There was Dunlays and Lula across the street, but New Wave was taking a chance that young hipsters would patronize a coffee shop that served some baked goods too. They've done well.

Two years later, some dude wanted to open a french bakery. In the same building as New Wave, three doors down.
The owner of New Wave was like "Wait, what?" So they negotiated like crazy, and agreed on details of a noncomplete clause. La Boulangerie (the bakery) could not sell single-serving croissants (since New Wave did), and they couldn't sell coffee (which New Wave does, obviously).

La Boulangerie's owner signed this deal. This binding deal.

Immediately afterward, they tried a "buy a dozen, get a card, and receive croissants one at a time." This was clearly a violation of the "no single serving croissants" so that was scotched.

Recently, La Boulangerie opened a patio. Since this is not inside the bakery, the owner is now asserting that he can sell single croissants on the patio.

To my mind, this is bullshit. If you don't like the terms of a non-compete, don't sign it.
Is his cash register on the patio? His business address is "patio"? Sophistry, all of it. Real men fight for what they want, and lose with grace. This owner strikes me a child.

Props to New Wave for being tough enough to stand their ground.

It is this kind of asinine "fight" that I take pleasure out of watching. It is a VERY "Logan Square" kind of conflict.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, on that note, I'm out. Big props to Lynn at Peopling Places for her excellent Logan Square giveaway contest that she held recently ---- I was the winner of a t-shirt from El Cid, and three whiskey tokens to Longman and Eagle. Thanks Lynn!

Don't drop things into the catch basin

2011-05-16T11:54:00.002-05:00

We had our house inspection on Friday afternoon, and it went better than we had any reason to expect. The house is 119 years old (Kristin was right, I thought it was from 1940), so it’s shocking how well the foundation and joists are holding up. The current owner has done a lot of improvements over the past year, which is a very lucky development for us ----- new furnace, new roof, new electrical box. Whew.

Our inspector took about an hour and a half to cover the place, and explain various things to us. Given that I am a complete novice when it comes to anything ‘handy’ this was helpful. For example, I now know where the power shutoff is. Good to know.

Other things I didn’t know about include:

*The catch-basin ---what it is, where it is, what to do with it. Also, it’s 8 feet deep.

*The fact that the laundry tub is concrete, weighs hundreds of pounds, and has to be demolished when replaced because it’s too heavy to move.

* You can just put new siding on top of the existing asphalt shingles

There were only a few minor things the inspector found, and they’re all pretty simple fixes ---- some new outlets, a leaky pvc pipe, and a little foundation crack that he was very nonchalant about.

Things we want to fix immediately:

*Take up about 400 sq. feet of carpet and see if there’s hardwood underneath. If not, install hardwood/engineered wood ASAP.

*Get a new toilet. It’s just kind of old and gross.

*Find a way to hang the hand-shower head overhead, so it becomes a shower. Currently there is glass-block above it, so we’d need to glue it instead of drill it.

*Replace the super-fugly fluorescent light panel in the main floor bedroom. Yuck.

*Paint a few rooms.

Other than that, it seems like the rest can be taken care of over time. We’d like to eventually put a small bathroom in the basement, which is hopefully not too expensive in an unfinished basement.

So we’re pretty excited. We’re in the “attorney review” period now, which seems to be pretty by-the-book, or at least I hope that’s the case. Then we hope for the lending paperwork to work out, and keep our fingers crossed ‘til June 30, our closing date.

So that’s what we’ve been doing, in addition to a belated Mother’s Day brunch, a surprise birthday dinner for Brian’s 30^th, a visit from the Hartrichs for Brian’s party, and staying dry in the cold rain.

Springtime, huzzah!

these grey hairs are hopefully more Anderson Cooper than Steve Martin

2011-05-09T21:19:00.006-05:00

Well, talk about a quick reversal of plans!

We abandoned the condo on the advice of our new lender, who said it was unstable and all of that.
Kristin thought we should check out a little bungalow near our current place, and it turns out that we immediately loved it. So we made an offer at noon on Sunday, and it was accepted three hours later. Fingers are crossed that the inspection and financing all works out!

Be forewarned: this place is old-school Chicago bungalow. It's pretty small, with an unfinished basement and finished attic-bedroom space. It does have a nice backyard, and plenty of room for us to expand/renovate in the future. It's very us, though I suspect to most of our friends and family it will seem a little, uh, "unconventional." It's like a fixer-upper, except that the fixing-up is pretty much cosmetic.

We're pretty excited.

Of course, we're only in the first stage ---- the inspection has to go well, the in-depth mortgage stuff has to work out, and I know there's a ton of things that can happen that aren't great. But we're off to a great start.

In other news, I cut my hair again yesterday, as I often do. And I'll be damned if I don't seem to get more grey hairs around the sides every time I cut my hair.
On the plus side, my hair is still plenty thick, so hopefully this rapid approach of grey hair won't be too bad. In the little bits that it's appearing so far it's not too bad looking.
I wonder if this is a consequence of all of these adult-ish life changes. Marriage, house-hunting. A fair trade, I'll take it, but still, I didn't expect to be getting grey hairs at 29.

Anyhow: wish us luck on our inspection on Friday!

A little revenge, and this too shall pass

2011-05-03T17:16:00.002-05:00

We've all seen the pictures from V-E Day and V-J Day. Ticker tape parades, the sailor kissing the girl, Madison Avenue full of revelry. Years of sacrifice, years of death, and, maybe most of all, years of uncertainty coming to a close. It wasn't so much a sense of "we won the war" as it was "The war is over!"

For my generation, in this era, there's beginnings, but no endings. In a time of IEDs and cell phones, every war can become Vietnam. Perversely, the western world developed the weapons to instantly win wars and then quickly decided that using them was a step too far. Tying down Gulliver's legs is possible, and cheap.

So it was interesting to find myself feeling exuberant, elated, filled with a sense of righteousness, upon hearing the news that our JSOC soldiers had killed Osama bin Laden.
For many of us, I think, this is the closest we'll ever get to a real 'end' of the War On Terror.
We may still be in Afghanistan, but in a very real sense this war was always U.S. vs. Osama. He got in a massive sucker-punch, and we've been trying to even the score since then.

In this sense, I'm not surprised by the large demonstrations that broke out in NYC and DC on Sunday night. This was V-E Day, and V-J Day. This was the great sigh of relief.

We talked much about this on Sunday night. Isn't bin Laden just a symbol? Yes, he is. But acts of terrorism are symbolic too. Symbols matter. Arguing that bin Laden's death doesn't "matter" is like arguing that it wouldn't matter if President Obama were murdered. Of course it matters.

Anyhow, that's my take on the celebrations. It wasn't about a bad man being murdered. It was about taking care of unfinished business that's gone on for almost ten years. It was about promises being kept, and kept by a president who continues to do exactly what he always has said he would do.

I would suggest, if you have the time, reading President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech. I think that, in time, it will become more famous.

between the click of the light and the start of the dream

2011-04-26T15:51:00.001-05:00

Seriously kids ---- don’t neglect your credit score at a young age. It will end up kicking your ass, even years after you stop being apathetic about it. You may be done with the past, and you may have paid your debts off, but the past sure ain’t done with you.

A couple things standing between me and the credit score I need for a non-FHA loan:

*Five years ago I waited three months to pay a gas bill. We then paid it. Since then I’ve had three different accounts with this utility, all pristinely reported to the credit bureaus. But the three months-late bill haunts my credit score like an STD. My credit magician tells me that it is hurting my score ‘A LOT!’

*I don’t have a credit card. I only spend money that I have.

I thought this was the responsible path, but the world of FICO scores disagrees.

I am told that the smart move is to use a credit card and then immediately pay it off. With my debit card.

Some might think that using 2 cards for 1 purchase with no net loss or gain would be nuts.

But it is not nuts. It is sound credit maintenance.

That’s about it. Change those two things, and I’m comfortably in conventional mortgage-land.

So it’s true what they say: Use a credit card every so often and then pay it off immediately. If the utilities are in your name, pay them off immediately.

We’ll see if my credit magician guy can take me up to where we need to be. Otherwise it’s back to FHA-only places. Which isn’t too bad. But I really like the condo that we want, so it may be hard to re-set my brain.

Oddly enough it’s not even getting the actual mortgage that’s a problem, it’s getting the mortgage insurance, which is required for less than 20% down payment. I mean, I get it ---- I’m not entitled to a big loan, by any means. I’m not complaining. Just bummed.

What I’m not bummed by was the concert we went to on Easter Sunday night. Abby, Bethany, Nanny Katie, Kristin, and myself went to the UIC Pavillion (my old stomping grounds and Nate Hartrich’s first on-campus job) to see the National and Arcade Fire.

The Arcade Fire have pulled off the incredibly difficult task of translating their recorded albums into a strong, audience-involving live act. I know that I’m extremely biased, but Win Butler’s Bruce-love is well-documented, so I feel on steady ground here: They’ve picked up a lot of tricks from the classic E Street live show.

Anthemic singalongs are encouraged. The band members move around, banging on various instruments, with high-mix backing vocals.

Much discussion took place in the car coming home about the makeup of the crowd. There were a lot of fratty guys in attendance, singing along, waving arms, and young ladies doing goofy Grateful Dead dancing to the music.

Some considered this a problem, that the heretofore insular and private world of indie rock was now corrupted by the mainstream audience.

I disagree.

The enrichment of our public life, bettering our shared culture, can only be a good thing. Fratty dudes and bad-dancing chicks will always be with us. I would rather the dominant pop culture be a culture of thoughtful rock n roll than one of the lowest common denominator. Why not share the joy of beautiful noise?

If they can eschew the stylings of Lifehouse and The Fray in favor of Arcade Fire and the Decemberists, I can only be happy.

I’m interested in what brings people together who don’t normally come together. There’s enough fragmentation in everyday life --- what restaurants I go to, what neighborhood I live in, all of that. And I know that those things are parts of what defines me. But I’m not interested in exclusivity.

Being unique isn’t about the little parts, it’s about the sum of all of those little parts. If a bunch of fratty dudes and trixy chicks want to feel the emotional apex of “Wake Up!” with me, I can only say “Join us!”

Easter was very good. Turns out a 16 pound ham is enough for 12 people J

I’m looking forward to the rain stopping and the sun shining. I’ll try to blog about the budget, and blog more in general.

A 'Rigorous' Theology

2011-04-23T08:57:00.002-05:00

Some excellent reflection from Andrew Sullivan, contra David Brooks, on Good Friday. Essential reading, even if recommended by an agnostic squish like myself.

Happy Easter.

Wild Goose, ordnance tactics

2011-04-08T10:45:00.004-05:00

We dined at Wild Goose last night, a sports bar on Lincoln, which is next to the much-liked Half Acre brewery.
As is usual for northside dining, we were joined by Karl and Nora. They share my affection for chicken wings and craft beer.
Thursday night is the best night to be at Wild Goose, which I never before had visited. All drafts are $3, and they are mostly fancypants craft brews. Also (even more happily) all appetizers are $3. Which means buffalo wings and cheese fries. (Don't worry, every day this week for lunch I ate carrots, an apple, and a bagel with peanut butter.)

As we dined, the Bulls played the Celtics on television, and won in spectacular fashion, including some truly rad Derrick Rose shots. It's very, very joyful to see the Bulls back in contender shape, ready to take on the big boys. They are a very organic team, full of home-grown talent and scrappy imports like Boozer and Korver. I don't think anyone regrets missing out on Lebron and Carmelo.

Anyhow, the best part of the night came as we were about to leave. We sat by the window, so we saw a kid running through the rain, carrying a 12-pack of Bud cans. As he sprinted across the intersection, the box of beer broke, in spectacular fashion.

This little goofball has his pants hanging down below his butt, in the rain, trying to gather up 12 cans of beer with a soaking wet cardboard box that is broken. Every time he picks up a can, he drops three more. This goes on for about 45 seconds, and then he leaves. With 1 can of beer. Leaving 11 littering the intersection.

We are laughing hysterically.

So, we leave the bar, and pick up the (full, unopened) cans of Budweiser, and line them up on the curb. Out of courtesy, and hoping that some homeless guy comes across this bounty and has the greatest night of his life. (Seriously, how insanely happy would you be to find cold, unopened beers just sitting on the curb as you are suffering through a homeless night in the rain?)

Karl then goes back to take a quick picture of the cans.
Then some other kid (not the original idiot) walks right up to the cans, with a plastic bag, in front of Karl, and takes all of the beer. Like this:

The little jerk doesn't say a single word to Karl! Not even "thanks" or "these are my friend's beers, he dropped them." Nothing! What an ingrate!
He then runs away, in a different direction than he had come. He is trying to be slick.

So as we are about a block away, he sneaks back around, to the original spot where his beer-dropping friend went to.

In homage to Gene Hackman in Royal Tennenbaums, I yell to him. "I see you, asshole!!"

It was a really productive evening :)

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The house-hunt is taking a small break while I tend to some financial matters. This will hopefully take about ten days, allowing us to properly bid on our favored condo in Logan Square. Most everything has gone smoothly until now, so I'm trying to have patience and know that we'll be fine no matter where we end up living.

Note to all the kids out there: Just because your credit score was great two years ago doesn't mean that it's great now. Check it every so often, and dispute anything that isn't kosher!

Luckily our agent is amazing, so I feel in good hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's no way the GOP can cut a deal with President Obama until they shut down the government at least once to prove that they are "serious."
Hopefully it will be a quick and relatively painless shutdown.

It's unfortunate that Democrats forget how important it is to vote in off-year elections, and then just can't believe how bad the GOP is behaving.
They are always this bad. We are always one bad election from poor people getting kicked in the teeth.
Republicans have the luxury of foolishness. Democrats do not.

Happy weekend, everybody!

Existential Angst, Charlie Brown

2011-03-29T14:01:00.003-05:00

There's a great website called 3eanuts, that shows the Peanuts comic strip but omits the final panel. It results in a strip that is equal in genius to the Charles Schultz original, but without the soft landing of the fourth panel.

I am a big, big fan of this. So simple, so elegant, and awesome.

In other news, the house hunt is going very well. We looked at 9 condos on Saturday, and liked 2 of them very much. Back out on Friday to see another 6. Our agent is very helpful, and our prospective lender is patient and very much a "dude." It's like talking to surfer frat guy, in a good way.

News to come. Enjoy 3eanuts!

Twin Pines Mall should have had a no-fly zone, too

2011-03-20T10:18:00.002-05:00

I'm not a fan of the intervention in Libya. I would have said something like "We have neither the money nor time to get involved in a third Arab war. But we support the Arab League and UN missions."

I don't think the current action will end poorly, but I wouldn't have risked it. We are pretty much going to bomb the regimes ground forces, but mission creep can happen quickly.
That said, I have faith the president Obama won't slip on the slippery slope.

I'm not impressed with any of the punditry from either left or right on this issue. People seem to be only to see it purely as a singular issue that's unrelated to the rest of our foreign policy, or, on the flip side, to ask the irrelevant "why not in Bahrain/Yemen??", as if those are analogs.

I don't like this mission in Libya. But I do have some faith in the president, and especially in Samantha Power, who seems to be the guts behind this move. I don't think Sam Power is going off half-cocked.

So, as in all things: we'll see.

"They found me. I don't know how but they found me."

Daily Thunki

2011-03-15T08:22:00.002-05:00

Consider: The conservatives who diss the government for being incompetent fools who can't even run the post office are the same conservatives who are certain nuclear power plants are safe, because the government regulates them.

Hmmmm.

For what it's worth, nuclear power is far, far safer than fossil-fuel power. If even a fraction of our fears of global-warming consequences come to pass, this will seem like a scratch.

(excellent) Daily Thunk

2011-03-08T21:29:00.001-06:00

Ag. Secretary Tom Vilsack calls up Ezra Klein to take issue with a smart Klein article. Vilsack, Democrat, former Governor of Iowa, ends up looking like a dumbass.
Please read, and enjoy.

home hunting

2011-03-07T18:02:00.002-06:00

Kristin and I have decided to seriously look at purchasing somewhere to live. Given our modest means, and our desire to live in the city, we seem to looking at condos. This has its pluses and minuses, but overall it seems like a solid idea. I am a city person now. I just am.

And, as I never tire of mentioning, Fudge and Peter, of the canonical Judy Blume series of books ('Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing', 'Fudge-a-Mania', 'Superfudge'), lived in a Manhattan apartment building.
Surely, if two of my favorite fictional children were happy in a Manhattan high-rise, my little future children (Springsteen Tatonka Taylor and Indiana Jones Taylor) will be plenty happy living in a cool condo near a park.

The entire process is rather intimidating, but we found a very great agent who worked with Nate and Kate, and who is currently working with MegaMart. She is very good at putting us at ease and un-complicating the complex contours of real estate.

I had two nice talks with two nice lenders today. One was very sufer-dudeish, and the other a bit more formal. I think I prefer talking to the surfer dude ---- both offer pretty similar terms, but I am far more at ease with surfer dude. I think we may be leaning his way.

Any advice or tips you have would be super-appreciated. Seriously, anything that comes to mind, comment away!

The Daily Thunk

2011-03-04T09:42:00.002-06:00

Today's Thunk comes from one of my favorite journos, Ezra Klein, of the WaPo/Newsweek family. He blogs daily. "Washington Is Bad At Scheming" is today's feature.

Today, he argues that grand-conspiracy/planning movies and stories are hard for him to enjoy, because he's seen the actual clumsiness and banality that is Washington, DC.

I don't have his first-hand experience, but I tend to agree when it comes to the idea of grand, shadowy plans. In general, there aren't a lot of masterminds in this world. Mostly just folks trying to achieve their ends with varying degrees of effort and care.

Anyhow, he says it much better. Read up!

The Daily Thunk

2011-03-03T13:19:00.002-06:00

Courtesy of Uncle Jeff, a Washington Post piece discussing the recent Supreme Court decision which found, 8-1, that Fred Phelps and his group of funeral-picketeers were engaging in protected speech.

Samuel Alito was the lone dissent, and his argument seems to be "If the speech is really, really cruel then it's not protected."

As someone who is, for all practical purposes, a free-speech absolutist, I applaud the majority, and question Alitos' motives.

It's worth noting that Fred Phelps's Westboro Baptist church made their bones in this kind of spectacle a long time ago, starting in the 1980s, and not with soldiers' funerals.

In the beginning, Phelps and co. picketed the funerals of gay men who had died of AIDS, with their signature "God Hates Fags" posters. They showed up in big numbers to harass mourners at the funeral of journalist Randy Shilts ("And the Band Played On") in 1994. It wasn't until the Iraq war era that they began to picket military funerals.

I would be curious to see if there is any evidence of Justice Alito being so strongly anti-Westboro during the era when they were brutally taunting the families of dead gay men.

My hunch would be that Alito wasn't too concerned about this kind of speech when it was only directed at AIDS victims. Now, as he sees people "like him" on the receiving end, he finds some sense of sympathy.

What do YOU think?

The Daily Thunk (new feature)

2011-03-02T09:16:00.002-06:00

Let's get real here: I'm not as good at blogging as I used to be. For some reason I have less to kvetch about.

However, there is an awful lot of things that I enjoy reading about, and about which I'd like to hear YOUR opinions.

In this spirit, I'm going to try to post something that I find intriguing on a daily basis, perhaps with my own take on it too.

I do this in the hopes that (a) you'll enjoy the article, and (b) you'll share your thoughts in the comment section. I've almost never had a job that allows me to interact with fellow adults on an extensive basis, so I miss out on the thoughtful back-and-forth that I think most office-workers get to have.

So be my digital water-cooler mates. Please.

For today: Matt Yglesias, "An Army Marches On Its Stomach", on the interesting nature of the food our military is required to be served.

Bethany and Jay got engaged! (plus other stuff. This is a long post.)

2011-02-17T08:39:00.010-06:00

Bethany and Jay got engaged!! Kristin and I had been waiting for a couple weeks, knowing that Jay had a plan in the works but was waiting for the pieces to come into place. According to Bethany he proposed at Promontory Point in Chicago, under the ruse of taking her there for some photography session. Well done, brother!

I don't know any other details, but figure that Bethany will fill everybody in on that soon. I'm very happy for my sister and happy to have a new brother also.

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The four of us (Jay, Beth, Kristin, me) went to Tiskilwa to hang out with Grandma Barb a few weeks ago, and had a really fun time. We had a nice meal at the Indian Valley Inn, which has the best fried chicken dinner around (seriously, a half chicken's worth of white meat is only six bucks!). We saw Aunt Jan a few times, and were only twenty minutes late to church on Sunday morning.

Grandma also took us shopping a bit around Princeton's main street, where she got me this nifty item:
It was a really fun visit. Here are a couple pictures from Jay's camera.

I don't have photoshop so I just put these two back to back. Jay took the first one and Kristin took the second one. Obviously.

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For the Super Bowl a couple weekends ago, we went to the Schultz household for a feast and a great game. I was jazzed that the Packers won, I have a real love of Wisconsin, and it's great to have a non-profit, city-owned team beating the big boys, even if that means they beat the Bears to get there.
I was going to post a picture from the Schultz party but did not take any. So I have stolen a picture of Brian, Liz, and Porter from their Christmas cruise vacation:

I wish I was on vacation too, looks fun!

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Kristin finds it hard to shop for me (see this most recent blog of hers), so she made me a calendar for a Valentine's Day gift. It is really cool. My favorite page is the August one.

Because, you see, I like to eat wings with Brian and Jay. Classic Brian photo face in this picture, and she captures Jay's hair-tastic essence well in using this photo of him.

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In the world of politics, it looks like Rahm will win the mayoral election without trying very hard. I didn't vote for him, but I think he'll do better than I fear.
In one of his ads he says "city government is not an employment agency" and some of the union folks freaked out. I consider that a good sign, and hilariously bad tactics by them ---- they should've said "We agree! That's why we insist on the highest performance and efficiency!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for Egpyt, it looks like "Yea! Now let's wait and see."
The cover of Newsweek this week says "Egypt: How Obama Blew It." This is an excellent point, because Barack Obama is indeed the president of Egypt. And everything is always about America, always.

It was fun to watch the jackholes over at the National Review spin themselves silly during the entire Egyptian uprising, trying to blame President Obama for something, anything. When he wasn't giving speeches saying "Mubarak is the devil!" they criticized him for his lack of leadership. When he was supportive of the protesters, they criticized him for being in league with Islamists who will take over in Mubarak's absence.

There was of course no recognition that, behind the scenes, the CIA and the foreign service were working with the Egyptian military to sew things up peacefully.
Anyhow, it's not about us, or President Obama. But in the parts where our actions mattered, I think he did very well.
Of course I do, I'm an Obama apologist, ride or die.

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I didn't have the car yesterday, so after finishing teaching my class at the northside lakefront, I just. . ..started walking. I am Forrest Gump, but slower. Got to Western, then took a bus the rest of the way. It was a pretty beautiful day, it's nice how 40 degrees is completely tropical after the past few weeks.

Speaking of weather, we had a lovely blizzard week. I really enjoyed it, honestly! Ben and Kendle's car was snowed in right in front of our house, so they stayed with us for two nights, and we had a blast.

And in conclusion, I shaved my beard off a month ago. Kristin did not like it, and so I have grown it back. You can see the week's growth in the Tiskilwa pictures. It was nice while it lasted, but I am fated to be a bearded man.

[Editor's note: Colin took none of these pictures. They are by Jay, Kristin, or Liz, and used without permission]

Rahm, Cutler, and Bobby Kennedy

2011-01-27T11:27:00.003-06:00

I've been checking the local papers pretty relentlessly, waiting for word from our state supreme court. Nobody, but nobody seems to have any solid predictions on how they'll decide whether or not Rahm is eligible for candidacy under the Municipal Code.

My take: I've read the decision, and the dissent, twice. The majority opinion is based almost completely on the fact that the wording of the "Service to the United States" exception indicates that a resident loses and regains 'residence' upon leaving and returning for service.

The (implied) differentiation between 'active' residing and 'official' residing in this part of the statute is where the majority gets their reasoning.
It strikes me as a narrow reading, but certainly fair. This is a situation that will hopefully educate folks about how complicated statutory interpretation can be in a situation without any clear precedent. I'm not too smart, and I've read this thing over and over, and it's complicated as hell.

If I were a judge, I'd err on the side of promoting open democracy, with an expansive (permissive?) reading of 'resident." Clearly the dissenting judge does too, though her dissent is overly aggressive and shrill.

However, Rahm is a practitioner himself of political hardball. It is not out of the bounds of fair fighting to attempt to disqualify him. I would not be opposed to his being declared ineligible for candidacy.

This leads me to Jay Cutler, our Bears starting quarterback, and his well-deserved reputation as a sullen jerk. Criticism of his injury were disagreeable, and dishonorable. But it would have been different if he had been playing well, or even playing at a mediocre level.
When your only known quality is your performance, you leave yourself with no built-in shield.

Aaron Rodgers could throw five picks and leave with a hangnail, and still be huzzah'd by the
entire state of Wisconsin, because he's proven that he wants to do well for his fans. Jay Cutler has done nothing to earn any reserve of goodwill, and will continue to be judged solely by his play, because he seems to want it that way.

I've been reading a book by Jules Whitcover called 85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy. It was written in 1969, and it's remarkable how different it is to read contemporary accounts as compared to historically-distanced accounts.
It's pretty much Whitcover traveling with RFK, and seeing a rapid transformation from "ruthless Bobby" into a folk-hero of the poor, blacks, and Mexicans.
It's interesting how close Kennedy's pre-campaign reputation has in common with the reputation of Rahm. Cold, ruthless, effective.

It would be impressive if Rahm decided to be a voice for the poor as RFK chose to become. Little chance of that, but we can hope.

2010 Streetie Awards

2011-01-11T11:20:00.005-06:00

As always, the Streeties honor the best things discovered by the author in the award year----- though these may not be new to the public, they were new to Taylor Street in 2010.

Movie: The Town

Seriously, this was a cool movie.

I liked a lot of movies this year, and the recently-viewed Black Swan and True Grit were both very good in their own ways. But The Town was the movie that hooked me from the start. Inception may well be a better film, but The Town's full embrace of its genre conventions had the intended effect of making me ignore some of the cliches. Even the unsatisfying last shot couldn't kill it.

Album: The Suburbs, by Arcade Fire.

There were a LOT of great albums this year for people like me: the National, Broken Social Scene, Band of Horses, New Pornographers, but this one by Arcade Fire sticks with me the most even though I may actually listen to it less than the others. I think because it's about something, but it's not rigid in its message ---- the suburbs are neither an absolute good or bad, they just are where the narrators are from.
As an aside, I think that while High Violet has a few of the best songs the National have ever written the album suffers from tracks 2-4, which kill the rhythm for me. As a whole it's their weakest since Sad Song for Dirty Lovers. Thank goodness for tracks 5-9.

And of course Bruce's The Promise and Ryan Adams Cardinals III and IV , both double-platters, were important records for me personally, and are what I'll be listening to nonstop for the next few months.

Song: "Need You Know" by Lady Antebellum. This is an odd choice, mostly because it's a "pop-country" song, which is a genre I don't tend to spend a lot of time with. But I think it transcends its category (it hardly qualifies as country), and is an excellent pop song. The singers have strong voices, the lyrics are laudable for the fact that the narrators are clearly not going to be happy ever after. This song does not get old for me.

TV Show: Party Down.

Unfortunately canceled but available through Netflix, this show featured a cast of unstoppable actors who will be making comic gold for a long time, and luckily we got to see them together for two seasons. Adam Scott and Lizzy Caplan together would have been enough, but Jane Lynch, Ken Marino and Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks make it legendary.

Politician:

President Barack Obama once again was one of the few grown-ups minding the store, and wisely spending his first two years in the nitty-gritty of passing landmark legislation: The ACA, the DADT repeal, the food safety act, and repeated extensions of unemployment insurance, keeping millions of families out of poverty during the recovery. Firing Stan McCrystal was yet another sign that the president may well be made of steel.

Legislation: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or, colloquially, "Obamacare." Enough digital ink has been spilled by me on this.

Actor: Joseph Gordon-Leavitt. His work in the very different 500 Days of Summer and Inception may well have teed him up for a role in the third Batman film. He's shown himself to be not only a commanding romantic lead and character actor, but also a humble guardian of the public's affection.

Actress: Hailee Stanfield, the kid from True Grit. Not a creepy woman-child, nor weirdly trading on her little-girlness, she brought the intensity as Mattie Ross.

Book: Bomb Power: Presidents and the Modern Security State by Garry Wills.

A solid exploration of how the United States became what we are today by means of the atomic bomb. Wills hasn't written anything frivolous in his life, and he continues to be a serious and honest broker.

Best Journalist (reportage): Tyler Hicks, photographer, New York Times.
(Copyright Tyler Hicks and the NYTimes)

His work in Afghanistan has continued to stun me this year. The above is from an ambush.

Best Journalist (opinion): Jon Chait of the New Republic.

Congratulations to all of our 2010 Streeties winners. Recipients are eligible for one fully-paid meal at Dunlays On the Square, courtesy of the Taylor Street editorial staff.

Bear down Chicago Bears!

2011-01-03T11:58:00.002-06:00

For Christmas Kristin got us tickets to see the Bears take on the Packers at the world-famous Lambeau Field, on January 2.

As you can guess, January 2 brings cool temperatures in middle Wisconsin. It was around 20 for the game. Not much wind, but incredibly cold when sitting on metal seats. The two beers I had actually made me colder I think, and they started to form beer-cicles on the cup.

Weather is not what makes a time great though, so it was pretty amazing. Lambeau is deserving of its reputation as a glorious place for football. Very cool.

And good golly, Wisconsinites! They dress in full-body snowsuits for these games. Almost all of them. Either camoflauge or hunter orange. It was impossible to tell women from men. Packers games are like college game days. We paid ten bucks to park our car in someone's side yard a few blocks from the stadium. There are little ranch houses across the street from the stadium. Green Bay has a population of 102,000, and somehow manages to sell out every game every year.

As per usual, every single Wisconsinite I came across was friendly and kind. Easily America's nicest state.

Too bad the Bears lost, but a very awesome Christmas gift. Kristin's toes didn't get feeling back until an hour in the car with the heater on; lucky they didn't fall off.

Oh, and fried cheese curds. So tasty.

The dashboard melted, but we still have the radio

2010-12-22T11:25:00.002-06:00

Last night Kristin and I went to Miller's Pub, on Wabash in the loop, for some holiday dinner with Eric and Molly. Miller's is a great old place, especially in the winter. It may be overpriced and overcrowded, but once you settle into a big leather booth those things don't matter so much.

Their holiday classic drink is a Tom & Jerry, which is some sort of egg white/rum/brandy/nutmeg/cinnamon type of drink, less thick than eggnog, and tastier.
Eric, being an old-school type of fellow, had suggested Miller's so we could get Tom & Jerry's. They were quite delicious, and I look forward to trying to make them myself this winter.

We had a nice long dinner, chatted about music and jobs and holiday plans. It was quite lovely.

I'm happy to see that the lame-duck session of Congress was so productive. I wish that the folks on my side of the aisle who battered the president for not being quicker on repealing DADT would spend as much energy praising him for getting it done (and, frankly, give a lot of credit to Joe Lieberman, much as it pains me).

Anyhow, I'm optimistic about the new year. The Bears made the playoffs! That was a fun game.

I am a big believer in the utility of sports to bring together people from all walks of life, especially in a city like Chicago. The Bears motto this year was "One City, One Team," which is hokey and all, but I think there's some truth to it. The Bears are an unifying force in the city. "It's just a game, who cares" yeah yeah, I understand, but the fact that it's "just a stupid game" is why it's effective as a unifier. Everyone understands competition, everyone understands touchdowns. If fucking Seabiscuit could inspire people, surely a football team can too.

We're also lucky to have a team and coach that are known for their humility. Lovie Smith sets the tone for the whole squad, and they follow his lead ----- you'll never see Devin Hester or Brian Urlacher Cadillacing around the field, or taunting opponents needlessly. That kind of class is heartening to see, and I'm glad to have that kind of team representing our city. (Granted, Jay Cutler can be petulant, but he's getting better).

We had a rather hilarious e-mail back and forth with Uncle Jeff's co-worker and twenty other people about "what's wrong with education these days." This is one of the most popular topics for people to debate, and absolutely nobody, myself especially, has any real solutions to the problem.

But (and I'm probably being lazy here) it seems to me that everyone's been constantly freaking out about the "state of our schools" since integration. Yet somehow our country continues to prosper, slowly and steadily, and not devolve into hell. (Please don't respond to this with some diatribe about the debt or something. Relax. We've handled much worse before.)

Anyhow, it was a funny argument, mostly because one of the participants is a raving reactionary dickhead, and they are always funny to watch.

I am very excited with the Christmas presents I got for my family members this year, and looking forward to giving them to them. Hopefully I got the right things.

You know how you can tell that Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for The Ramones? The lyrics are boring and stupid, and the tune is insanely catchy. Just like every Ramones hit.

Hope everyone's hungry heart is well-fed this Christmas. Love to you all.

PS ---- how'd I leave this until the end?? BEN is MOVING to CHICAGO!!!! Very exciting to have my boy up here finally. I'll do my best to make him feel settled and happy and comfortable in the big bad city.

Challenge, please

2010-12-11T15:18:00.002-06:00

I have yet to have someone present me with an alternative scenario regarding the current tax deal that is (a) plausible and (b) ends with the Democrats getting more than we did get.

I would really, really, seriously like it if someone could give a coherent critique of the tax deal that offered a realistic alternative scenario. What should the president have done differently? How would that play out?

Most of the commentary on this is childish, of the "I don't like tax cuts for the wealthy, thus the deal was bad" or "Obama didn't try hard enough" variety. That's great, but it doesn't tell me anything other than your policy preferences.

I would like a different perspective on this from one of you many thoughtful liberals. Please comment.

PS ---- if I hear one more person say something like "Obama didn't fight for it", I'm gonna lose my shit. I swear, liberals have the shortest memories in the world. We only believe in mythical presidents, not real ones ---- we're on a streak now where Obama, Clinton, Carter, Johnson, and JFK were all somehow too conservative and sellouts. At a certain point you think we'd grow up a bit.
We need to measure our Democratic presidents against plausible alternatives, not against our abstract ideal. Barack Obama is an excellent president, and I'm very proud to strongly support him.

THIS is why I have faith in this man.

2010-12-07T17:40:00.001-06:00

This is some REAL talk from the man I'm incredibly proud to call my president.

WINter

2010-11-30T10:15:00.004-06:00

Well, see, it's nearly winter (weather winter, not calendar winter. There's a difference).

I am pro-winter, at least until January 2. Chicago is at its visual peak during the holiday season, and as I am someone who enjoys gazing out the window whistfully, sipping a coffee and furrowing my brow thoughtfully, the winter scene brings me joy.

Our wedding pictures are available on Kristin's Picasa page. They can be downloaded, printed, sent to a photo print place, whatever you choose. It's an open-source wedding.

I especially enjoy this one.

The previous one has a cool shot of us smooching, but is cropped, so I like this one that has everybody who was still in the room. It's really helpful for me, the night was such a blur that I don't recall everything immediately until I go back and see how it looked from a different perspective.

It was insanely fun, I wish I would've danced more but I am glad that I got to talk to a lot of family and friends, people who came from out of town. I think everyone had a pretty grand time. We certainly did.

The downside of returning from the honeymoon is that neither work nor home is filled with people bringing me pina coladas and offering to grill me cheeseburgers whenever I feel the urge for them. This is the main difference between our honeymoon at Now Jade Riviera and Chicago.

Typically when you see a promo picture you expect the real thing to be a pale imitation. But no, this is what it is like. That little hut? That's the swim-up bar, where they made me a delicious Miami Vice (half pina colada, half strawberry daquiri. Manly drink.)

The entire honeymoon really was exactly like Forgetting Sarah Marshall (location-wise). It was extravagant, and enjoyable. Kristin and I read books on the beach, and read books at the pool, and ate at fancy restaurants, and everything seemed free because we had already paid for it.

I highly, highly recommend that everyone take a vacation to a place like this at least once. You can go to Cambodia or Vienna later, those are trips. Vacations are for relaxation. We enjoyed vacating (vacationing seems redundant, like 'orientating', no? But vacating is wrong. Hmmm.)

Thanksgiving in Libertyville was completely wonderful, as always. We missed Grandma Barb, but two Chicago trips in two weeks would be a lot for anyone. I got to talk on the phone with her, so that was good.
Bethany brought some board games which we all got deep into, and Jay (Bethany's boyfriend, not Jay Magic) got to immerse himself into the family even more. Yikes for him. He did well.

Simone hosted what was probably the best Friendsgiving yet, and did a wonderful job. The spread was delicious and I've been saving my slice of bourbon pecan pie for the exact right moment. It's easily the best pie I've ever had. Seriously.

We got to spend some quality time over the weekend with Kevin and Jennie, and see Dave and Mendy for a bit at Friendsgiving too.

I know I say it too often, but I'm always taken aback by how I lucked out in having strong friendships with such quality people, and that our bonds have only been made stronger by time and distance. Every time I see them it's like we just saw each other yesterday.

Onward we go into the Christmas season. I have no doubt that we'll all make some great stories together.

More vacation pictures

2010-11-23T11:51:00.002-06:00

They made that flaming liquer dessert for us at the 'formal' restaurant that we dined at during our last evening.
All-inclusive resorts are magical.

This is what I look like on vacation ---- big hat, furry marshmellow torso, pina colada in a paper cup. Vacation!!

Kristin is much classier than me ---- proper pina colada glass, nice sundress. The beach was amazing.

A bunch of 50 year old guys were playing volleyball and got me to play too. We mostly all exchanged old-school insults ("where's your purse?" "Did you leave your balls in the lock box?") and had a nice time playing.

first round of vacation shots

2010-11-23T09:15:00.002-06:00

We got soaked in Tulum, the one day we left the resort was the one day it rained dogs and cats. We were soaked to the bone.

Kristin has a bunch of beach pictures and whatnot, so hopefully we'll have those soon. Wedding pictures arriving sometime today, so we can share them soon!!

If I should fall behind, wait for me

2010-11-15T07:45:00.002-06:00

Off to Mexico we go. Thanks for every last bit of this Saturday, all of you. That was the best thing I've ever done.

(photo from Allison's facebook).

7 days

2010-11-06T16:27:00.002-05:00

Nate H. was up from Morton last night and today to DJ Kristin's work fundraiser/gala. It was a very fun night, no dancing or anything just talking to Kristin's work crew, who are fun. And I got to wear a suit and the tie from the Luman-Cares wedding, and break in my new dress shoes, so that's always a plus. I like dressing up, someday maybe I'll have a job where that's normal.

Today Nate got into his car to drive back home, and his key just wouldn't turn. It was stuck. Hmmmm.

Apparently Ford Focus's are known to do this, and when Nate called the dealership they just said "you gotta get a new ignition, $400." Plus towing the car and waiting days to get it back. Great.

But we saw online that you can just call a locksmith, and they'll take care of it, and man did they ever! This locksmith rolled up in what was basically a mobile high-tech office, cut new keys, replaced the ignition, and reprogrammed the keys, for like 2/3 of the price. Dude was awesome.

I was always under the impression that locksmiths were rather simple and old-school. Not so, turns out. This dude was like Mission Impossible.

Nate is also DJing at the wedding. Sweet.

We got our marriage license yesterday morning, and it only took 5 minutes. Don't tell me Cook County isn't efficient.

7 days to wedding. Can't hardly wait.

14 days!

2010-10-30T13:42:00.002-05:00

Every two years I get pretty excited for the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. I get beers, some snacks, and watch the election returns roll in.

Now, this year I fully expect (as I've said before) that the Democrats will get the living hell beat out of us. I would guess we'll lose around 50 seats in the House, and 5 in the Senate. Which really isn't so bad.

I am actually a big fan, as a general rule, of having one house of Congress be controlled by the opposition party. It lends itself to the possibility of fiscal restraint, which, long-term, is a good thing.
And since the Senate is more important than the House, it's good that the Democrats will probably keep the Senate, even though historically the House has never flipped without the Senate also flipping.

That said: Losing the House and taking a huge beating is absolutely worth it. Because we passed health-care reform. That's been the entire raison d'etre for the past 60 years of Democratic Party activity ---- universalize health care. The ACA does that, and it's not going away. It's not getting gutted.

We now have the GOP attacking the Democrats for "cutting" Medicare. Both parties are locked at the hip to Medicare, though traditionally it was a Democratic program. In twenty years, the ACA and universal health care will be owned by both Dems and the GOP, and trying to cut it will be considered dangerous.

In short, we won. Who cares if we lose the House?

The Democratic majority is dead. Long live the Democratic majority!

T-Minus 21 days

2010-10-23T13:07:00.002-05:00

The big day is only three weeks away. AAAAAHHH! I feel like there's a million things I still need to do: buy champagne. Order the beers. Buy presents for participants. And, kinda important, get a marriage license.

*Breathes deeply*

It's on the calendar, all of those things. Easy as pie. Will be done.

My building is on sale for $350k. I really wish I had $350k. It would pay for itself. A 30 year mortgage at 5% works out to $1500 a month. It would pay for itself. Of all the times to have not socked away a third of a million bucks, huh?

Man, I love this autumn weather. Always have. Kristin's in NYC until later tonight, so today I have so far eaten a big brunch with Megan, Marty, and Penny. I will also do laundry, do some shopping for toothpaste and creamer, and relax (some more).

Does anyone brush their teeth in the shower? I tried it today and I really like it. I used to think it was weird when Brian did it, but now I really like it. May continue to do this. Is that weird?

I have been listening to a pop-country song by a group called Lady Antebellum a lot lately. That's a terrible band name. Most people probably hate the song too. For some reason I like it. Sue me. I'm not terribly hip, turns out.

It seems like the new releases from the WikiLeaks folks about the Iraq war are similar in scope to the Pentagon Papers, but with the big difference that in the early 70s people didn't expect their government to lie to them. The default assumption is that all of our leaders are scoundrels, and when they aren't it's a pleasant surprise. Thus all of the revelations about Iraq are met with a big "Well, duh." Interesting.

Have a great weekend. Go Bears!

Wedding gifts from 5th graders

2010-10-14T17:31:00.001-05:00

My field-trip class today were 34 5th-graders. They all made me cards expressing sentiments similar to this. They are awesome.
The teacher also gave me (& Kristin) a very nice vase, because as the kids explained, "You need to bring your wife flowers every day and put them in this!"

Good day of class.

The Obama tax cuts

2010-09-30T13:55:00.004-05:00

(chart courtesy of Center for American Progress)

As you are likely aware, Congress passed a series of tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, commonly referred to as "The Bush tax cuts."
Because of rather byzantine congressional rules, these tax cuts were "sunsetted", meaning that they expire at the end of 2010.

Hence our current talk about "extending the Bush tax cuts."

As you are likely aware, also, our current Congress, controlled by the Democratic party, has decided to adjourn without voting on an extension of all, or even some, of these tax cuts.

This is seen in Democratic circles as a political mistake: Why not force a vote on all of the sub-$250k tax cuts? That would result in either a GOP filibuster as they insist on extending the tax cuts for above-$250k incomes, or a victory which resulted in the preferred policy outcome, an extension of the "middle class" cuts.

"The Dems are tone-deaf!" seems to be the opinion from center-left media. "Why not force the vote, and give us a win-win issue heading into these unfriendly mid-terms?"

It's a decent argument. But I think there's a longer game being played here.

I don't think that the Dems would receive any credit for extending the tax cuts for the middle-class, if we passed them now. People don't tend to recognize a lack of increase, they only recognize an actual decrease.

In other words, people don't notice the dogs that don't bark. If your tax bill stays the same, you don't really care, even if you know in your head that Congress could have passively raised your taxes.

So Democrats would not, I don't think, get any credit for extending the existing Bush cuts on the middle class.
In a midterm where we're going to get face-kicked, it's not going to save Tom Periello or any other swing-district newbies.

I believe the long game is this: Allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, completely. Immediately introduce "The Obama Tax Cuts." These are tax cuts for the first $200k of income, for everyone*.

Pretty much identical to extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class. But with the crucial difference that the status quo has shifted 180 degrees: Instead of maintaining current rates, Obama and the Democrats will be promoting a cut from what has become, in 2011, the "new normal" of pre-Bush rates.

The GOP will likely filibuster and kvetch and maybe stop these cuts, true. But that's okay, too: we should, in a perfect world, have tax levels that are along the lines of the Clinton era. It will help balance our budget, and give us more breathing room.

By shifting the playing field from "Keep the Bush cuts" to "Pass the new Obama cuts to get rid of these expired Bush tax hikes", Obama will have a strong hand to play against the new likely GOP House majority and a near-even Senate.

*One point of contention with the reporting on this: EVERYONE gets a tax cut on their first $250k. It's not just for the "middle class". Bill Gates's first $250k also receives the tax cut. It's just that every dollar above that gets taxed another three cents.
Brackets, journalists: learn what they mean.

The American, The Town, and Freedom

2010-09-24T09:17:00.008-05:00

Over the past couple weeks I've had the chance to see a couple movies at the theater, and to read the newest "Great American Novel". Let's have a one-sided discussion about them, shall we?

The American

First off, The American, starring a certain Mr. George Clooney. It's important to realize that this is not an action movie, nor is it even really a thriller, though there are some tense parts. It's more of a minimalist samurai picture. This movie takes its time getting where it wants to go.

The vast majority of the film involves three things: (1) Clooney sitting at a table drinking coffee, (2) Clooney sitting at a table making a gun, and (3) Clooney engaging in awkwardly realistic sexual acts with his prostitute/girlfriend.

[Side note: DO NOT see this movie with a family member. The typical discomfort that accompanies watching a sex scene with family will be raised tenfold by the specific nature of what Mr. Clooney and his lady friend are doing. I watched with Jullian, and that was weird enough.]

As my buddy/moviegoing companion Jullian pointed out correctly, Clooney's assassin character is notably un-slick when it comes to the few moments in the film where he's called to action ----- he aims and fires a gun like it's a tool, not as an extension of his arm as in so many shoot-em-ups. His character is either unskilled at masking his nerves, or doesn't care that his fear is exposed.

The denouement is just, and understandable. The motives of his prostitute/girlfriend are arguable, and rest on a single nickname that she calls Mr. Clooney's character one day that either give her away completely, or are a very understandable coincidence.

I recommend this movie for people who have patience, who like slow-paced films, and who are comfortable with watching two shockingly attractive people copulate onscreen while you, the viewer, attempt to act cool and disinterested.

The Town

Let's get the important part out of the way: Ben Affleck's Gone Baby, Gone, was not beginner's luck. He can direct, and direct very, very well.

The story of this film is not incredibly plausible, but very possible. Affleck's the leader of a gang of bank robbers. After Rebecca Hall is a hostage in a getaway, he surveils her to ensure that she didn't ID any of his crew during the robbery. He starts to date her.

Well, yeah: because she is Rebecca Hall, who is the kind of crooked-teeth actress that makes viewers want to take long hikes with her in the woods, drink pumpkin spice lattes, and watch football games with her. If his character did NOT fall for Rebecca Hall, the movie would be unbelievable. I believe that all criticism of the film's premise are overlooking this very real fact.

So: things progress as you expect them to. Of course his robbery crew doesn't like that he's with a witness (notably his best friend Jem, played by Jeremy Renner, who is the most un-showy actor working who can blow up the screen with his restraint. Oscars await him.) Of course she'll eventually find out that he's a robber. We like this movie because of these things, not in spite of them.

Interestingly, halfway through the movie we start to root for Jon Hamm, as the FBI agent who's looking to take Affleck and co. down. We aren't disliking Affleck, necessarily, but we are really hoping that Hamm puts a bullet into Affleck's head, because there are good guys and bad guys, and we believe in justice.
Also, Jon Hamm continues to be capable of putting Don Draper in his pocket when he needs to.

Other notable performances:
Chris Cooper (well, duh. But still, his one scene is brutal in its pauses and glances)
Blake Lively!? (Yeah, I know ----the fact that Afflecks pulls brilliance out of 'Gossip Girl' should be testament to his skills).

Perhaps my favorite scene involves Hamm and Lively, as Hamm directly manipulates her by playing on her daughter's future: "This could be a really important moment for her" he says, implying both (a) I'll take away your daughter you drugged-up idiot, and (b) it's your chance to turn it all around by following the righteous path, right now.

Rather Important Caveats: The end of the film is completely unacceptable, and Ben Affleck is still not a good actor.
These two factors are big, but they aren't dealbreakers, not by a long shot. I'm okay that Affleck is Phil Jackson, coaching Michael, Scottie, Horace and Dennis, and if he needs to also be on the court as Bill Wennington, that's okay.

Okay, so now let's get down to some brass tacks: Jonathan Franzen's Freedom.

I am now 512 pages into this 563 page book.
Barring a final 51 pages that completely alters the meaning of the previous 512, I pronounce Freedom to be. . . (drumroll). . . . . "Eh, it's okay."

To be sure, this isn't a case of big-hype letdown. Typically I get my guard up for super-praised works (Heath Ledger in Brokeback and Dark Knight, Arcade Fire records, et al) and afterward I have a sensation of "That's so much better than I expected, holy baloney."

This is markedly NOT the case with Freedom. I truly don't know what people see in this book.
I mean, it's by no means bad. It's even good-ish. There's kind of, sort of, a story.

But this is not the Great American Novel. And the thing is: It tries. It tries hard. And painfully fails.

The two males of the Berglund family, Walter (father) and Joey (son) have very early-aughts specific interests and motives. And they simply are either implausible and boring (Walter's) or insanely obvious and hackneyed (Joey's).

I'll just say this: The book actually has a scene where Joey is at (William Kristol/Richard Perle/random neo-con stand-in)'s house, and they literally have a short debate about lying to go to war for a higher purpose. They literally quote Leo Strauss.

Come the fuck on! Why not just have a character say "With us or against us"??? Or have one of the main characters go on American Idol and lose? Perhaps one of them can try to vote for Al Gore and accidentally vote for Buchanan instead, because of a butterfly ballot?

This is just one example, but I feel it's indicative of how lazily Franzen tries to make it a Great American Novel, a Portrait of Our Times. How disillusioned we've become! How alienated from each other!
How lame.

The characters have no passion. There's no love in this book. There's not even real anger. Franzen seems to be narrating with a distinct lack of interest in his characters.

It's worth reading, but Freedom has no heart, and no purpose. And if that itself is the "real" point, then Jonathan Franzen can go jump in a nameless lake.

In the past few years, after reading Jay McInerney's The Good Life, or Richard Price's Lush Life, I've thought to myself how those books give us universal themes in small spaces, and thus well represent America in the aughts: Wounded hearts looking for meaning and purpose, and occasionally making big mistakes with good intentions, and then moving forward.

McInerney's and Price's characters had meaning. Franzen's do not. I wish they did.

Happy weekend, all. If you've read this far, you're a real pal.

If I knew what I was doin', I'd be doin' it right now

2010-09-16T16:53:00.004-05:00

I heard this song on the country station as we were driving towards West Virginia last June, and have continued to hear it on the local country station here in Chicago, which I listen to when I am driving solo.
It is apparently by Keith Urban, who looks like a fashion model, not a country singer. Most contemporary country stars tend to look like models, turns out.

But here's the thing. I legitimately like this song. The tune is banal, the singing is neutered, and the rest of the lyrics are similar to those two. But I really like that lead line in the chorus. A lot.

This leads me to thoughts about (surprise!) politics, and the upcoming midterms.

We are going to get shellacked. Like choking-up-blood, picking-glass-shards-from-our-sides shellacked.

After two huge 'wave' elections, where we made up a huge deficit to take Congress ('06) and then massively expanded our majorities ('08), we were going to lose a load of seats in any case. Modern political parties simply don't win three consecutive elections, especially in the midterm of a president's first term, especially in the middle of 10% unemployment.

Consider, also: If the Dems and the GOP split the House vote nationwide, 50-50, the GOP would take back the House (districting gives them the edge). It's only because we have an insane majority right now that we're going to 'lose' so heavily.

So I'm pretty much cool with it. We passed health care, ARRA, and financial reform. I think that in the modern era that is legitimately the most that can be expected.

The next two years will be a two-pronged battle, as the President will probably pivot off of the GOP House, upping his numbers back into the low or mid 50s. Holding the Senate will allow the Dems to block the batshit crazy bills passed by the GOP House, so the President won't be needing to use his veto pen much.

After reelection, God willing, the President and his allies will spend a lot of time and effort in a rearguard action defending the health care bill (ACA) from de-funding and other guerilla efforts. The first few years are the crucial ones: after folks become accustomed to having insurance, they'll be much less supportive of efforts to take it away (duh).

Anyhow. I'm okay with us taking a beating this November. We passed health insurance reform. That's a half-century's worth of work. What's the point of a majority if you don't use it for something, anyway?

I'm realizing that I didn't connect the threads between Keith Urban and politics. I guess I was thinking of policymakers trying to stabilize the economy, and saying that line. Does that make sense?

Best text ever

2010-09-14T17:38:00.002-05:00

Goddamn Whiteboy why didn't you tell me that Bruce Springsteen was the muthafuckin' Boss?! I'm on Fire? Downbound Train? Goin Down? Promised Land? Them shits is incredible! This should have been a part of my childhood.

---- From Jullian on his freighter ship a couple weeks back. He's staying with us again for a couple weeks. Good to have our sea-faring son back home for a bit.

Fidel defends the Jews and shows some incredible self-awareness

2010-09-09T21:17:00.002-05:00

Not to hassle anyone, but if you haven't yet, do yourself a big favor and read Jeffrey Goldberg's interview with Castro (link at the Twitter stuff on the right, or here.

Seriously: Surreal as it gets. I find it hard to like Castro, but this interview (and it's not like Jeff Goldberg is a fan of tyrants) comes close to making me tap into that hard-to-reach Christian-forgiveness part of my head.

I'm a big believer of redemption and turning it all around. Hopefully this is Castro's first step, in the last years of his life, towards righteousness.

and another one from the weekend

2010-09-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

Weekend pictures (from a phone)

2010-09-07T16:05:00.002-05:00

So turns out my phone doesn't take particularly good pictures. Nephew Chase (son of Kristin's sister Clare) and I spent Saturday at Wrigley Field and Millennium Park, so here's shots of him at the Bean, the Face Fountain, and the Ballpark.

Followed by a shot of Bethany and Jay (her boyfriend) hanging out on the couch in Urbana.
These are just brief snippets of a weekend that consisted of Clare, Chase, and Gale coming to Chicago, the girls shopping all day Saturday while Chase and I hit the town, a big dinner at Wishbone that included Jeff, Matt, and Cousin Eric Taylor, Kristin's bridal shower in Champaign hosted by Katherine, and a fire pit evening with marshmellows that night.

We got a lot of really awesome gifts from the shower, which I have no doubt Kristin will be cooking/baking up a storm with very soon.

Hopefully many more pictures to come. These will hopefully suffice for now.

Nate and Kate done got married

2010-08-30T16:52:00.002-05:00

Man, that was the best kind of exhausting.

(As I write this, I’m accompanied at my office desk by an 8 year old daughter of my coworker. She is watching a dvd of Marley and Me on a laptop. She comes to the office maybe once every year, and every year it happens to be a day when I am in the office. She camps out in my office and watches movies like this each time.)

So my good friends Nathan and Kate got married, and I was honored to be a groomsman, along with Nate’s brother, and Zack. (As you probably know, Zack is getting married in October, and I’m finishing off the trio of weddings in November).

They had their rehearsal dinner at Dunlay’s, which is pretty much our “regular” restaurant. If they tallied up the total cash our crew has spent there over the past three years you could probably go to Yale for a year.

It was very nice to get to chat with Kate and Nate’s family. Kristin and Nate’s dad discovered their shared love of Depression-era photography.

Nate got us customized flasks, and cigars for groomsmen gifts.

Zack and Karen stayed the night at our place, and after the girls had enough and went to sleep, Zack and I stayed up and watched Dawson’s Creek. Insert joke here.

The wedding itself went off without a hitch, and was pitch-perfect. The sun went down behind the trees just in time to stave off wicked heat and glare, nobody tripped on the cobblestone-aisle, and Nate was all grins for the entire ceremony.

Kate was radiant and beautiful ---- looking forward to seeing the pics that Allison took!!

Everyone danced all night, even my parents ---- Mom and Dad had much more energy than I had expected, especially since some of the songs were of the dreaded “rap” variety that they aren’t fond of :)

Overall, a super-awesome perfect wedding weekend. Great friends, great family, and Nate and Kate were superb at everything. Wouldn't change a thing about the whole weekend.

An awesome first episode of the Urbana Boys Wedding Trilogy.

Scenes from a beach house

2010-08-16T16:36:00.005-05:00

We ate a lot of tasty food.

So did he.

Some of us are goofier than others.

Mom looks like an old-timey accountant here, visor on, going over her numbers.

Man was South Haven nice. Soooo nice. It felt like the most rejuvenating sleep ever. I swam every day in the clear Lake Michigan, and ate like a king, and watched late night movies, and read a fantastic civil war history, Battle Cry of Freedom, that I still haven't finished.
All with Kristin and the family. Such a fun, fun time.

It's not too bad being back to work, since I'm now fully recharged and ready to fill the sky with my planes.
Come on autumn, time to get in gear.

This song is and always will be awesome, and frankly is better than "In the Air Tonight." Go Phil Collins.

Fly like winging birds fighting for the keys On a private beach in Michigan

2010-08-05T09:31:00.004-05:00

We booked a honeymoon, to the kind of tropical resort that one probably doesn't think Kristin and I would go for. But it looks pretty great, we got a great deal, and as Zack pointed out to me, it looks like the resort in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which I think psychologically had a lot to do with it, because the resort in that movie always gave me a good vibe.

It's the Now Jade Riviera Cancun. I expect to over-eat, given the all-inclusive nature of the vacation package.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My week-long experiment of having my high school class in the boardroom of my office is almost over. The benefits have been great: we're in a huge, fancy air-conditioned room, instead of in a basement classroom with no AC. The humidity and sweat had been making the teens and me very cranky, and it was hard to get much work done.

They're also enjoying being downtown, I think it gives them a feeling of maturity, enabling them to imagine what having an office job is like. One student told me how nice it is to walk around downtown, where you don't have to worry about anyone messing with you, unlike the hood where they (we!) all live.

The downside is that my foul-mouthed students are still hardcore Bad News Bears, even in the confines of the fancy boardroom. They swear less, but are still very, um, verbally expressive. I find myself holding my breath a lot. They haven't destroyed anything important. Yet.

As the summer program comes closer to ending, I keep reminding myself that Michigan beach vacation is only two days away. Sooo close. Looking forward to hanging on the beach. The private beach, mind you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It looks like Judge Walker did a fine job in crafting his Prop 8 opinion ---- ruling that the law doesn't even pass a rational basis test was a nice move, as was his insanely long and detailed finding of fact. I was initially skeptical of the direct assault on the law, led by David Boies and Ted Olsen, but am thinking now that it could pass muster with Kagan, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kennedy. If the Hardcore 4 were intellectually honest, I could see Roberts and Scalia supporting the ruling, too ---- reading Walker's opinion, there really isn't much legal basis for denying marriage licenses to gay couples. At all.

If SCOTUS ends up upholding Prop 8, it will mark Roberts as the Taney of his time ---- much as Dred Scott has defined Taney's disgraced legacy, upholding Prop 8 would shame Roberts for eternity.

Curious to hear the thoughts of our legal-eagle readers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And let's finish up by noting how excellent the new Arcade Fire record, The Suburbs, truly is. It's better than their first two records as a whole record. There might not be a "Rebellion" or "Keep the Car Running" on it, but it's an epic, thoughtful, story-telling album that shows a lot of maturity and wisdom. Great band, great record.

Senior-itis

2010-07-30T09:32:00.003-05:00

I'm going to cut-and-paste the graph from this Jon Chait entry, because it puts any debate over health-care reform into such stark relief:

Every age group except seniors now supports the health-care bill.

Only the age group that already receives single-payer health care opposes the expansion of health-care subsidies.

If that isn't mind-blowingly greedy, I don't know what is.

I wonder why so many seniors don't want their kids and grand-kids to have the same access to health insurance that they have with Medicare.

(I am not including my own Grandma in this group, because she is generous and wonderful, unlike 60% of her fellow seniors. Love you, Grams!)

Blago should walk

2010-07-27T17:01:00.003-05:00

I have to say, after following the case for the past two months, I kept waiting for the big moment, the instant when the prosecution would play the tape that would nail Blago dead to rights. Surely they had something that would get him cold.

It never happened.

Seriously, after two months, what do they have him on? That he was obsessed with fundraising? That he wanted some non-cash in exchange for the Senate appointment?
That he swears a lot?

The prosecution is making a big deal that he "lied to the FBI." The meat on this charge is that Blago told the FBI he never mixed fund-raising and policy ----- but guess what, Lon Monk says he sometimes did mix the two. That's right folks: a couple years after saying he didn't mix fund-raising and policy (which is already a deep shade of grey even if he admitted it), Blago got really seriously into fund-raising.

What a case.

Seriously though, it seems to me that all of the well-publicized wiretaps mostly don't involve anything illegal, and if they do it's Blago shooting his mouth off and then doing nothing. A lot of the tapes the prosecution played were solely to make him look bad (eg when he complains that Illinois voters are ungrateful).

There's also the wiretap where brother Robert Blagojevich says loudly and clearly to Jackson Jr.'s emissaries "Money will have nothing to do with this choice. Not at all. No deal."

I realize that's just one part of one tape. But if we are going to obsess over "it's fucking golden" and "I can parachute me there" (which he legally could) then it's only fair to obsess over the loud and direct denial of an offered quid pro quo from Jackson Jr.'s people for a half mil in campaign cash.

Please share your thoughts. I'm probably missing something.

Engagement Notice in Bureau County Republican!

2010-07-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

http://www.bcrnews.com/articles/2010/06/28/r_n8qjcmv2ruol7tdtxl7lva/index.xml

Coke float, mothaf***a

2010-07-14T16:06:00.004-05:00

Three days in the great North Woods. In order, we did the following:
-built a fire, grilled hot dogs on a stick, sat around the fire until late at night
-ate a big Zack-prepared breakfast, took the boats out, watched the World Cup final at Mulligans while eating a variety of fried bar food.
-built a huge fire, listened to four consecutive '90s mixtapes, charred $30 worth of steaks at 11pm, sat around the fire until late at night.
-went to the bait shop, purchased fishing gear that was far more expensive than my skill level. "Fished" for a couple hours. Discovered after fishing that we had been casting, luring, locating and timing in completely the opposite manner that we should have been. Built huge fire, grilled pork chops, sat around fire until late at night. Heard insanely loud wild animals fighting each other in murderous-sounding ways.

All of this while in the throes of New Glarus and Leinenklugel's finest, and some excellent bourbon procured by Nate and Zack.

It was truly everything we hoped it would be.