Super Bowl Update

In case you were thinking "Owen, how do you occupy your mind for 26.2 miles?" I'll tell you the answer: I focus on my Marathon Playlist. There's some overlap from last year, because if it was a good song to run to last year, it remains a good run song this year. But there are some songs that came out in the past year that have made their way to the mix. There's an influx of songs from Hair, Les Freres' Dance Dance Revolution, Third Eye Blind and Kelly Clarkson. Hopefully I will have finished the race before I reach the last three songs, but if not, hopefully these classics will help carry me through. So here are the 74 songs (plus three bonus tracks) I plan to listen to during the 4 hour run.

You Can't Take No For An Answer, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
Empire State Of Mind, Jay-Z Ft. Alicia Keys
Go For It - Saved by the Bell Soundtrack
Final Fantasy IV - Main Theme
Happy Birthday Darling, Bright Lights, Big City (Studio Cast)
Outer World Theme, Final Fantasy VII
Vertigo (Single Version), U2
Is It Any Wonder?, Keane
Breakthrough, Hope 7
I Do Not Hook Up, Kelly Clarkson
Let Me Be A Kid, Runaways Soundtrack
Zip A Dee Do Dah, Les Freres Corbusier Dance Dance Revolution
Fake Your Way to the Top, Dreamgirls
Roam, The B-52's
Some People, Patti LuPone
Hair, The New Broadway Cast Recording
Chim Chim Cher-ee, Les Freres Corbusier Dance Dance Revolution
One Minute, Kelly Clarkson
Going Down, Will Swenson & Tribe
Hot 'N Cold, Katy Perry
So What (Main Version), P!nk
That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed), Panic At the Disco
Donna, Will Swenson & Tribe
Don't Waste Your Time, Kelly Clarkson
Hounds of Love (New Mix), The Futureheads
The Goonies R Good Enough, Cyndi Lauper
The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In), Hair Original Broadway Cast
Sharp Knife, Third Eye Blind
Spaceman, The Killers
The Water Song, Julia Meinwald
Suddenly I See, KT Turnsall
BTW - Write Back, Andrea Burns
Mickey Mouse March, Les Freres Corbusier Dance Dance Revolution
Superboy and the Invisible Girl, Next to Normal
Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
Barrel of a Gun, Guster
I'm Black / Ain't Got No, Tribe Hair
Music Is The Victim, Scissor Sisters
The Shape Of Things To Come, Battlestar Galactica
Where Do People Go?, Runaways Soundtrack
She's A Rebel, Green Day
Oh My, Mellowdrone
Since U Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson
Blinded (When I See You), Third Eye Blind
It's A Small World (Bows), Les Freres Corbusier Dance Dance Revolution
Can You Picture That?, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
Motorcycle Drive-By, Third Eye Blind
Mr Brightside, The Killers
Alone (American Idol Performance), Allison Iraheta )
Buffy Theme, Nerf Herder
Run This Tour, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Karen Olivo & Kyle Beltran
bleeding love, leona lewis
Sexx Laws, Beck
You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand
U & Ur Hand, P!nk
Take My Temperature Kaiser Chiefs

Bones, The Killers
March of the Witch Hunters, Wicked
Gone, Kelly Clarkson
Funplex, The B-52's
End Credits, Star Trek Soundtrack
Where Are Those People Who Did Hair, Runaways Soundtrack
If I Can't Have You, Kelly Clarkson
Pounding, Doves
Bastian's Happy Flight, The Never Ending Story Soundtrack
Who Knew, P!nk
Saved by the Bell Theme
I Got Life, Gavin Creel & Tribe Recording)
Sex On Fire, Kings Of Leon
Carnaval Del Barrio, In The Heights Soundtrack
Don't Stop Believing, Glee Cast
Macho Duck, Les Freres Corbusier Dance Dance Revolution
The Simpsons Theme (From "The Simpsons Movie"), Green Day
My Life Would Suck Without You, Kelly Clarkson
Don't Stop Me Now, Queen
Eagle Fly Free, Helloween

Tomorrow morning is the Marathon. I hope I am ready! I'm putting the finishing touches on what I'm taking with me in my bag. Thankfully I do not have an insanely early bus time like last year, plus we get an extra hour to sleep with Day Light Savings Time. Here's the info one more time on how you can follow me online or come out and support.

New York Road Runners club, which hosts the marathon, now offers two distinct ways to track athletes like me!

First, you can sign up to receive an e-mail or text alert on the official marathon site to track up to four runners. After registering, you can search by runner’s name, bib number (mine is 45641), team or other criteria, and then simply add them to your list. http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/athlete_alert.htm On race day, you’ll receive alerts that include my time and split when I cross the Start and Finish lines, as well as the 5K, 10K, and 15K markers. After the 15K split, you’ll need to track me online if you want to see my stats for miles 14 through 26. The other day the website said registration was full, but try it again on Race Day. it might work.

The second application is the Web-based Athlete Tracker. Fans can track up to 10 racers, and it doesn’t require advance registration like the e-mail alert. The app will be live on race day at athletetracker.ingnyc.org (the link will not work until Nov. 1). In addition to showing the 5K splits, you can also track miles 14 through 26. Its map feature will show their race pace and other stats. While there isn’t an smartphone app yet, you will be able to access the tracker from a mobile device on its browser.And you can also come out and watch in person. Sunday should be fairly warm weather for the 1st of November! Thanks for your continued support and encouragement.

POST RACE PARTY FOR OWEN HOSTED BY THE LOVELY S.LEVITHAN!
When? After we’ve finished cheering Owen on… Approximately 2:30 or 3PM (after he gets his bag and finds his family, he'll make his way over.)
Where? Sarah’s Home
What? Please BYO Beverage and a few bucks for pizza.
Why? Because Owen will have just run 26.2 freaking miles!
RSVP!

First of all, happy Halloween. Where I live now, our yards are pretty well tricked out with cobwebs and spooks. Anticipation runs high.

It's also high season for scary movies, new and classic.

Last weekend, Charlie and I happily stumbled upon The Blob on Turner Classic Movies. It was the original Blob, the one in which a 28-year-old Steve McQueen plays Steve Andrews, and Aneta Corsaut plays his main squeeze, Jane Martin. Charlie, who's an expert at identifying obscure actors, immediately announced that she was Andy Griffith's girlfriend on "The Andy Griffith Show." One Google search later, he was proved right. Again.

The Blob did not strike me as scary. These days, it comes across more as a study in Fifties stereotyping. The girls are all buttoned up to the neck in pastel frocks. No matter what the occasion, they wear layers of petticoats under their ballerina-length skirts. They're never wrinkled, never imperfect in the hair department--even when scurrying around town evading the slow moving mound of Jell-O that's mysteriously eating their fellow citizens. They shriek and faint and cannot seem to move or think for themselves. 

The boys, who are also never wrinkled or mussed, are all about hi-jinks. Their fathers appear at the sheriff's office at 3 a.m in coats and ties and Brylcreemed hair.

As for Steve McQueen, he's not yet attained his full Steve McQueen-ness. He appears slight and hesitant and oh, so earnest.  Frank Bullitt, he's not.

As for the Blob, itself.  Well, what can I say?  It was pretty cute, as blobs go.

Yet The Blob was fun to watch. Those were the days of innocence, after all, when we believed adhering to rigid social conventions and sex roles would insulate us from ourselves, from our own urges and ambivalence and fear. And when all it took to scare us was a willingness to be scared.

A creeping, person-eating mound of Jell-O? Bring it on!

One other scary movie reminiscence. The best man at my first wedding, Ron Bozman, went on to co-produce (among many other movies) The Silence of the Lambs.

One night when he was over at our garage apartment,  we watched Hitchcock's The Birds . (That's the movie in which song-birds turn viscous and begin attacking people). Now that, we all agreed, was one scary movie. It left a real Hitchcockian hangover on all our psyches.

Such a hangover in fact, that, right after he'd left, Ron Bozman, future producer of  The Silence of the Lambs, came hurtling back up the stairs to our apartment, scared out of his mind. It turned out that what had scared him was our very small dog.

If you missed Thursday's Talk of the Nation and so a great discussion of scary movies, here's a link. 

Yesterday I had the pleasure (and it really was a pleasure) of sitting in on Sarah O'Connor's class on written argumentation at James Madison University. I was there to talk generally as an essayist and the editor of WMRA's Civic Soapbox. I had met Sarah when she, herself, had hopped up on the Soapbox, and I think it's safe to say we share a love of the reach and power of words.

The class and I had 45 minutes together. The students, refreshingly, did not take notes, but simply listened and talked. In effect, the 20 or so of us in the room had a focused conversation about civil discourse, writing essays and working in journalism. It was just the kind of get-together that really floats my journalistic boat.

Interestingly, a half-dozen or so students were seriously interested in writing careers--everything from screen-writing through I-don't-know-what-yet  to sports journalism. Since I have (and this, of course, is just my opinion) one of the best gigs in journalism, naturally they asked me to give them some advice on how to get their careers started.

I've always been happy to give students advice whenever I can--and by this I mean I'm happy to pass on what's worked for me in the past and what's working for me now. But yesterday I realized that my past has little relevance to their futures; that I, myself, am in the process of re-inventing the shape of my own journalistic output; indeed, that all us journalists are making up our careers as we go along.

Why? Because any kind of journalist these days and, mostly likely very soon, any kind of writer must consider the internet as a way to reach her/his audience.

As to what advice I gave . . .

First of all, work hard at getting to be a good writer, but then just to do what I do now, which is network with other journalists and writers to figure out how to crawl out of the box of the printed page (or, indeed, in WMRA's case, of just the airwaves). Future working journalists will be those of us who can communicate across platforms, and who are willing to take the risk of figuring out how to do this in ways that generate income.

Other than that, the future of journalism and so journalist's careers--mine as well as those students'--is even murkier than my own backyard was this July morn.

I, for one, find this a wonderfully creative time to be working in words.

Ok, we live right near this place and we have never managed to get to it. And I have never, NEVER, heard anyone say one word about it. But they advertise that they are one of the only non-chains in the Castleton area, and one day for lunch hubby wanted a burger and I wanted to go somewhere new, so we landed at the Castleton Grill. (Although after looking at their website, they certainly run several restaurants, and while they mainly seem to be in Indiana, I am still not exactly sure what they mean by being a non-chain—they are not a large national corporate chain, but a locally owned group of restaurants I guess.)

It’s a strange place. There are a lot of people eating here that have obviously been eating here for a long time. You could tell by their familiarity with the staff (my favorite was one guy who refused to sit in a certain server’s section and they knew it from the moment he walked in). The menu is pretty big, and covers most of the basic Midwestern menu requirements.

The first disappointment was the onion rings we ordered to start. I asked our server if they were battered or breaded and she said, oh, “they’re battered and they’re really good!” Well she was wrong on both accounts. They were actually breaded (I don’t like them that way) and straight out of a foodservice bag and probably the worst onion rings I have ever had. I didn’t even finish one of them. Complete waste of calories. And we only ate 2 of them and they sat there for the rest of the meal. Even though she asked if we liked them and we told her we didn’t, she didn’t offer to take them off the bill or anything. Annoying.

So I ordered a Cobb salad for my lunch, which is often my go to salad in places like this. It is easy to compare a salad like this and see how quality the ingredients are. It had all the usuals, tomatoes, avocado, bacon, blue cheese, and hard boiled eggs and a less common thing, slivered almonds. The chicken was a grilled chicken breast. The dressing was their own blue cheese dressing. I was a little disappointed with a couple of things in this salad. They touted their “Applewood smoked bacon” all over the menu, including on this salad, but as you can see from the picture, the crumbles of bacon were more like bacon dust. And the tiny sliver of avocado, while ripe, was miniscule. The blue cheese was also in very small crumbles, and not the most flavorful cheese I have had for sure.

I liked the almonds, as I like the crunch that almonds add to a salad, but there were more of these than just about anything with the exception of the chicken and tomatoes. The chicken wasn’t bad. Not too tough, and I liked that at least it wasn’t just lunch meat cubed on top. However, all in all, I wouldn’t order this again. Probably the best thing about the salad was the dressing—it was very thick and blue-cheesy, although sometimes when the dressing is so thick, it makes it hard to eat with the salad. But I just dipped my forkfuls in, made a mess, and went on about my business. They sell this to go, so my guess is they consider it a specialty.

Hubby had the burger with cheddar and some of that bacon I mentioned earlier and was quite happy. He liked the bun and thought they had the proper proportion of bread to meat. He wanted to be sure that I said his burger got the thumbs up. (He didn’t care for the fries though—very standard. And in this day and age, with so many great fries out there, it shouldn’t be that hard to come up with some good ones). So there you go. If you end up at this place, maybe you should order the burger. And if you are one of the regulars, and think something is really good here, will you let me know?

Castleton Grill
6010 East 82nd Street
Indy 46250
317-577-2340
http://donhalls.com/

Some days are longer than others. Yesterday was a loooooong day.

Technical difficulties (mostly created by operator error) in the morning meant lunch on the fly, no gym time (!!!!), then hitting the road to Charlottesville to pick up an interview with Virginia Film Festival Director Jody Kielbasa and then meet this week's essayist Bob Boucheron at the Downtown Public Library for a recording session.

My husband, Charlie, rode along to C'ville. Our favorite restaurants are "joints," by which we mean those with little time or money wasted on atmosphere and a real cook in the kitchen, and we were planning to stop at our favorite Charlottesville Greek joint on our way out of town. There's no day so draining that a good gyro won't turn things around, right?

Well, our favorite Greek joint was closed.

Hungry, tired, bordering on grumpy, we finally fetched up at a non-chain restaurant parked beside 81. The food was fine, but this blog isn't about food, it's about Bootsie Daniels.

While we were eating I watched an oldish guy in an Hawaiian shirt setting up a keyboard that would also, if the proper keys were pressed, supply percussion, bass, etc.  It is, in other words, a musical whatever.

Another oldish guy in a snappy looking cap stood talking to him. Once in a while the keyboard guy would play a few bars, just fooling around, competing briefly with the canned music.

We'd seen a small trailer sitting being a pick-up truck in the parking lot on the way in that read "Bootsie Daniels Band" on its side. These two oldish guys and the all-purpose keyboard, evidently, were a band. According to the truck, they played Oldies from the 60's, 70's, 80's, specializing in Motown.

My dancing music, desecrated, in other words.

We were all set to leave when we bumped into Mr. Hawaiian Shirt. I'm so not shy, I chat with everyone, so I chatted with him, saying we were sorry they hadn't started their first set before we had to leave. Oh, come one! Stay for just a set, said Mr. Hawaiian Shirt. No, no, I said, it's been a long day. Just a few songs, he said, it'll get you going again.

Well, Charlie wanted to stay; so I stayed. Graciously, I hope, but also grudgingly. I'm so not a fan of keyboard bands doing covers of songs I love dancing to.

We heard four songs, which included--and I kid you not--the best version of "On Broadway" either Charlie or I have ever heard. Bootsie didn't "cover" the song, he inhabited it.  And Mr. Hawaiian Shirt did licks on the keyboard that reminded Charlie of Josef Zawinul. I sat there dancing on my seat, grinning, feeling younger by the minute.

Gifts come in unlikely packages, don't they? The moral of this story - one should never let a looong day stop one from staying for just a few songs.

Plus, there was a reporterly gift given by the experience as well. I think Bootsie just might make a fabulously interesting "One Person's Voice" interview, don't you?

So You Think You Can Dance finally got to revealing its Top 20 Finalists after three long weeks going over the Vegas callbacks. We made it to the next round, but were not quite ready for voting (thanks, horrifying 1st game of the World Series! A 6-1 Yankee loss? really?) and then again this week with the Top 18 we find ourselves in the same situation (but with the Yanks leading the series 3-2! Bring it home, Yanks!). Last Monday we got to see the Top 20 perform in their preferred styles on Monday and then they partnered up for real on Tuesday. I really liked the Monday show because there are always a few people who make it to Top 20 that the show has shortchanged in terms of screen time. This way America gets to see what makes them so good. I'm not a huge fan of the new set though. The camera work feels weird. It's like the dancers are too far away in the wide shots, but in the close ups they can't get both of them in the same frame. I dunno, maybe I just need to get used to it.

It has to be noted that the show has suffered some strange losses between the Vegas callbacks and now. Mia is no longer choreographing, one dancer is out due to illness and another has an aggrivated knee injury. At least Cat Deely looks healthy, beautiful and unharmed. Here are my thoughts on the Top 20, even though several of them have already been cut.

Name: Billy (Elliot/Jamie) Bell

Deets: 19, New York, NY

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: WITHDRAWN

Analysis: So Billy got mono or swine flu or something this week and had to bow out under Doctor's Orders. Having had mono, I can tell you there's no way he could've competed, especially if he was just coming under the effects. Swine Flu is also no joke, though lasts nowhere as long. It's sad that he's gone because he was a very strong dancer, but I'm especially sad because I loved the nickname Billy (Elliot/Jamie) Bell. I was looking forward to getting a lot of mileage out of it. No such luck. Hopefully he rests up, goes back to Julliard and shows up here again next year.

Name: Ariana Debose

Deets: 18-year-old from Wake Forest, NC

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: ELIMINATED

Analysis: When the Top 20 were announced, she was the one where my reaction was "Who?" I had no idea who she was. There's one in every season. Usually, there's more than one. But she's one of four contempo girls and nobody knows her, so her odds of making it far were already really low. When it came to the judge's making the first cut, I had a strong feeling it'd be here and I was right. She seems like a real sweetheart though!





Name: Brandon Dumlao

Deets: 21-year old from Concord, CA

Dance Style: Hip Hop

Status: ELIMINATED

Analysis: I don't think Brandon ever had a shot in hell, especially since the judges were picking who went home the first week and they ALREADY decided to kick him off the show before the Top 20. This substitution for sickly Billy (Elliot/Jamie) Bell gave him a few more minutes of screen-time and I hope they let him audition again next year, because he clearly got shafted in this deal.

Name: Russell Ferguson

Deets: 20-year-old from Boston, MA

Dance Style: Krump

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: Russell was in the Bottom 2 last week, but it was a total set up by the judges to have Russell do an amazing krump solo, because they would never in a million years eliminate the 1st Krumper ever to make it on the show in the first week. Plus he danced well this week and he's a total fan favorite and has a great personality. He'd be my pick to win except for the fact that front runners almost never walk away with the title. But if anyone can pull it off, Russell can.

Name: Mollie Gray

Deets: 18-year-old from Upland, CA

Dance Style: Jazz

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: She's got potential. The judges usually knock the female dancers when they look too mature, but Molly is in the opposite case where they think she dances too young. It's a fair criticism for her work in the audition rounds, but her work last week seemed more mature. She appeared in all three of the High School Musical films. so I guess it takes time to get the electric youth vibe out of your system.

Name: Noelle Marsh

Deets: 18-year-old from Sanford, NC

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: INJURED, ACTIVE

Analysis: BFF with Mollee although they've known each other all of 6 seconds. She hurt herself dancing with Russell which is too bad because even though I think she's strong, I don't think she's a sand out, I think Russell will prove to be immensely popular and she might still ride his popularity into the top 10. It would've made life easier on the judge's if she couldn't recover this week, since the decision on who stays and goes isn't supposed to be completely in their hands at this point in the season. But she danced like crazy for her life and they spared her the axe over Bianca! Inconceivable!

Name: Ashleigh Di Lello

Deets: 26-year-old from Orem, UT

Dance Style: Latin Ballroom

Status: ACTIVE, MARRIED

Analysis: She's never really wow'ed me. She had a couple of advantages in getting into the Top 20, with one female dancer who made it in before her declining for a movie deal, and the fact that her inclusion marked the show's first married couple in the Top 20 along with husband Ryan who has probably a better chance than Ashleigh to making the top 10. It makes for a good storyline. Hey, what happens if only one of them makes the tour? Dun! Dun! DUNN!!! She's an underdog, but this show LOVES underdogs and the Judges sing her praises more and more each week, so don't count her out.

Name: Bianca Revels

Deets: 20-year-old from Los Angeles, CA

Dance Style: Tappa Tappa Tappa

Status: WTF ELIMINATED!

Analysis: Talk about underdogs, we're just about getting to the tappers this season! For Bianca, the third time was the charm (come back and audition again, Natalie! Please!!) as she finally made the Top 20. The show still doesn't really know how to showcase tap solos and she was never gonna pull "tap" out of the hat, so she'd never get to be seen partnering in her own style. Still, Bianca has personality for days and I saw her making the top 10 as other contempo girls fell by the way side, but then after an uninspired Broadway number and a solid solo, the judges dumped her. Uncool, Judges. Uncool.

Name: Channing Cooke

Deets: 18-year-old from Haverhill, MA

Dance Style: Contemporary

STATUS: ACTIVE

Analysis: Blonde and Athletic is a winning combo to me, but the Judges seem all too ready to label her as having not enough chemistry with her partners nor enough personality on her own in solos. It's hard to tell how popular she might be though since we haven't been able to vote for anyone yet. If it came down between her and one of the other contempo girls in the Bottom 2, the judges will send her packing first.

Name: Ellenore Scott

Deets: 19-year-old from Brooklyn, NY

Dance Style: Contemporary/Jazz

Status: ACTIVE, AWESOME

Analysis: I totally dig Ellenore. She has a shot to challenge Russell for the title and I really think she should make top 4 based on talent... but then I remember Janette and I know that the votes don't always go the way you hope they will. Still I won't be surprised if a large number of my favorite routines this year wind up featuring Ellenore. Represent for New York, baby!!

Name: Jakob Karr

Deets: 19-year-old from New York, NY

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: The Laertes to Billy (Elliiot/Jamie) Bell's Hamlet. things got easier for him when Billy bounced due to illness. They were very similar but the show was already positioning Billy to be the top Contempo boy to whom all others would be compared. Now Jakob has a shot to be his own man and could find his way to the top 10. New York Pride!

Name: Karen Hauer

Deets: 27-year-old from Queens, NY

Dance Style: Latin Ballroom

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: Queens in the house! If one ballroom female makes it to the Top 10, I hope it's Karen. She's sexy and she's got the skills, but in a season stacked with big personalities, I worry that she may get lost in the shuffle. Hopefully she gets hooked up with a choreographer who will highlight her in a great routine to help put her on the map, sooner rather than later.

Name: Kathryn McCormick

Deets: 19-year-old from Burbank, CA

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: I don't know about this one. Maybe I just think all of the contempo ladies are on thin ice this year. Kathryn's voice gets higher and higher as she gets more nervous and emotional which could make for some amusing pre-dance interview segments. The jury is still out for me on her chances. But so far she's doing a good job partnering with Legacy.

Name: Kevin Hunte

Deets: 23-year-old from Brooklyn, NY

Dance Style: Hip Hop

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: I like Kevin Hunte. Another strong contender from the BK. He's got a great energy to him and I think some great break-dancing solos will save him if he has troubles in the early rounds. I think the hip hoppers have a better shot at going further than the male tappers and I hope Kevin takes it pretty far.

Name: Legacy Perez

Deetsts: 28-year-old from Los Angeles, CA

Dance Style: Hip Hop/B-Boy

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: I'm cool with Legacy. I think he brings a unique dance perspective to the show. I don't think anyone else in the crowd has the b-boy flair. It's hard to tell how popular it will be or if he'll get overshadowed by Russell's krumping or if his personality will come off as attitude in performance. He definitely wants to compete though. It's good to have him around.

Name: Nathan Trasoras

Deets: 18-year-old from Downey, CA

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: This kid could be going places. He's kinda goofy but has mad skills and energy to back it up. He's barely at the age requirement for the show but his dancing doesn't come off as immature. He's strong. All the guys are strong this year.

Name: Pauline Mata

Deets: 19-year-old from West Covina, CA

Dance Style: Jazz

Status: ACTIVE (POST INJURY)

Analysis: She's got spunk. I dont hate spunk. She got injured before the Top 20 but still made it. Then her partner got sick and left and she got the replacement on two day's notice. She's still fighting though! It's like SYTYCD is a mechanical bull and she's the rider, and she's getting bucked around but won't be thrown off so easily.

Name: Peter Sabasino

Deets: 22-year-old from Philadelphia, PA

Dance Style: Tappa Tappa Tappa

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: Peter has some good solo tap skills, but I'm unconvinced he'll be able to bring it in the ballroom numbers. With three tappers originally in the mix, he's the last one standing. Not what I would've expected, and I'll be surprised if he makes it to the top 10. He's got a lot of character, but he seems pretty tight. I dunno. We'll see. The tappers have it rough.

Name: Phillip Attmore

Deets: 25-year-old from Los Angeles, CA

Dance Style: Tappa Tappa Tappa

Status: ELIMINATED

Analysis: I really liked him in the audition rounds but I wasn't so sold on him in the first week of Top 20 competition. My thoughts on Peter also apply to Phillip. If he gave the judges an opportunity to send him home, I believed they'd seize on it. And they did this week. Hearing post elimination that his father passed away during the competition, you can see where the lack of focus in his dancing was coming from these past two weeks, and my heart really goes out to him. Everyone was so upset to see him go, but based on performance it was probably the right choice.

Name: Ryan Di Lello

Deets: 28-year-old from Orem, UT

Dance Style: Ballroom

Status: ACTIVE/MARRIED

Analysis: Ashleigh's better half... literally? I think he'll probably make it further than his wife. The judges really seem to like him and I think his ballroom background will really help him communicate in partnering.

Name: Victor Smalley

Deets: 21-year-old from Miami, FL

Dance Style: Contemporary

Status: ACTIVE

Analysis: I think after Billy (Elliot/Jamie) Bell. Victor is probably the strongest of the Contempo guys. I'm not sure what will happen with him though. As I've mentioned before, i think the talent level of the guys is really high. And with two weeks where America doesn't vote it's really hard to see who is most popular.

And that's everyone! I'm not making a full predicition for the Top 10 because America's Vote doesn't always make sense and can be very furstrating and disappointing (here's lookin' at you, MAINE!) and the judges decision on someone like Bianca also seems out of left field. But they're good dancers and fun personalities. I hope the choreographers bring them some top level routines. I'm still waiting for something to jump out at me. Hopefully next week!

Dear God, or Jeebus or Mother Nature, or Storm or Whoever is Currently overseeing weather patterns up there in the cosmos:

Please copy this past Sunday's or Monday's weather, and paste it into the forecast for this upcoming Marathon Sunday. These two straight days of rain we're currently having won't do for the weekend. I know the weathermen aren't saying rain for Sunday right now, but that's still several days away and we all know none of them passed their Divination O.W.L.'s back in their Hogwarts Days. Last Sunday and Monday were beautiful. In the words of Tina Fey: I want to go to there.

Thanks for your time and consideration of this matter.

Best Regards,
Owen

Confession time: When my Newsweek comes on Tuesdays, I tend to give it an initial flip-through back-to-front. So, it only took turning a couple of pages to come upon "Atlas Hugged," an article about Ayn Rand's new biography, Ayn Rand and the World She Made, by Ayn Heller.

How cool is that, I thought, yesterday being the release date for the book.

Child of an academic that I am, I looked for the author's name and credentials and found: "Mark Sanford is the governor of South Carolina."

I actually sat and stared at the tag, right there at the bottom of page 55. Was this a weird exploitation of misbegotten celebrity or what? Of course, maybe the man writes and publishes regularly . . .

I found one other article by Mark Sanford. "Obama's Symbolism Here" was an op-ed piece he published in The State, a Columbia newspaper, on January 11, 2008, shortly before the S.C. presidential primary. And he's published one book, The Trust Committed to Me, which appears to be out of print. Sanford has a B.A. in Business from Furman and an M.B.A. from The Darden School at U.Va. Such an academic business background would certainly explain his personal interest in Ayn Rand, the patron saint of free market individualism, but it doesn't immediately make him the most qualified person to write an article attached to a new, scholarly biography of her for a national news magazine.

Of course, I read the article, and I was amused--not so much at the article, as at myself.  It was impossible for me to read what Mark Sanford had written about Ayn Rand, particularly taking Rand gently to task for her theory that man is perfectible, without both gentle amazement and amusement, a feeling that one foot had stepped through the Looking Glass, that reality had tipped gently toward the absurd. It was impossible not to think that this particular man's words were published in this particular magazine, not because of his education or his experience, but because he'd had an extramarital affair with a Brazilian woman, partly paid for by the taxpayers of South Carolina.

Notoriety, it seems, may have become our only essential credential.

But then, I guess if you need to sell magazines, a disgraced governor who is most likely facing impeachment, does make for a natural go-to guy.

FYI: Interesting op-ed piece on Afghanistan's second round of elections in today's New York Times by an extremely qualified contributor.

Warning: This post is about football.

Anyone else try watching the Redskins last night?

I have never not watched the 'Skins. They were the only team in the South back in the Fifties, so they were the team my father and I watched Sunday afternoons in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I grew up. Pop had five sisters and two daughters, and in those more rigid times, this meant he had no go-to sports-viewing partner. I, the younger of those two daughters, was born rebelling against the confinement of "femininity." So I happily filled this hole in Pop's life.

My father taught me two things during those fall Sunday afternoons together. The first was the nuances of the game of football; the second, loyalty to the Redskins. For decades, no matter how personal, professional, national or global life might be going, I've always, always looked forward to NFL kick-off weekend full of hope for my beloved 'Skins.

The team was bought a decade ago by Daniel Snyder, Chairman of the Board of Six Flags, Inc. and owner of the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain. Snyder is a man who knows how to make money through marketing, not how to run a football team.

A decade later the team is in structural shambles;  its legendary fan base is disintegrating. It is also the richest franchise in the league.

Last night, I almost didn't watch. This was not because I knew the team was bad--we long-term Redskins fans have dealt with bad teams many times--it was that my Redskins have somehow been sullied by a decade of decisions driven by money. The team for me was no longer the guys on the field and the coaches on the sidelines, but those problematic (at least football-wise) suits, who sit up in their glassed-in luxury suite and think because they're rich, they can run a football team. The Redskins are a team whose soul has been crushed by the weight of cold, hard cash.

I turned the game off at half-time. I was simply out of hope. And to exercise our ability to hope is, after all, the main reason we watch football.

Okay, so right now I'm grieving the loss of "my" Redskins. So, what's the big deal?

Well, the big deal is that it scared me to experience the loss of hope even in such a limited arena.

It made  me feel as though I'd somehow gone over to the dark side. Hope in hard times is, after all, our main defense against hostile takeover by the evil forces of cynicism, negativism, and general skulduggery. The forces that can be bought.

Thank goodness the Redskins have a bye-week. I've got a week to rest up. A week to hope that hope returns.

Today is the Birthday of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pat Sajak and me. Thus it is known as the Birthday Of Champions. It is also on this date in history in 1985 when Marty McFly met Doctor Emmet Brown in the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall at 1:15am, at which point Marty drove a DeLorean DMC-12, that Doc converted into a time machine, 88 miles per hour generating the 1.21 gigawatts of power required to travel back in time to November 5, 1955. Doc was subsequently gunned down by Libyan terrorists.

If you happen to see me on the subway today, I will most likely be rocking out to one of the following 30 songs playing in a loop on my ipod. And yes, I will be bopping my head and semi-singing out loud like a crazy person, because it's my 30th birthday and that's what I want to do.

30 on 30 playlist (on random shuffle):

1. I Got Life - Hair
2. The Goonies R Good Enough - Cyndi lauper
3. Die Vampire, Die! - title of show
4. Revolution - The Beatles
5. Run This Tour - Lin-Manuel Miranda
6. I Want It Now - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
7. Don't Stop Believing - Glee Cast
8. Sex On Fire - Kings Of Leon
9. Macho Duck - Dance Dance Revolution
10. Fidelity - Regina Spektor
11. Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
12. Happy Birthday, Darling - Bright Lights Big City
13. Pounding - Doves
14. Your Fault/Last Midnight - Into The Woods
15. So What - Pink
16. I'm Not Afraid of Anything - Songs For A New World
17. Cheer Up, Boys - Foo Fighters
18. That Green Gentleman - Panic at the Disco
19. Bastian's Happy Flight - Never Ending Story
20. Bigger Than My Body - John Mayer
21. Where Are Those People Who Did Hair? - Runaways
22. Guavaberry - Juan Luis Guerra
23. Hey Ya! - Outkast
24. Only The Good Die Young - Billy Joel
25. Al Otro Lado del Rio - Motorcycle Diaries
26. Waters of March - Jane Monheit
27. Last of An Ancient Breed - Desmond Child
28. Rock Lobster - B-52's
29. The Magic Store - The Muppet Movie
30. Would You Like To Buy An O? - Sesame Street

NPR News sent out new social media guidelines about 10 days ago. The gist of them is that if you report for NPR (which this reporter occasionally does) or if you report for an NPR station (which this reporter does regularly), you should keep your reporterly objectivity in place while you blog, twitter, or post on your own Facebook page or anyone else's.

In other words you are to consider social media as public spaces. So going public on them with your personal opinions taints the objectivity of your on-air reporting. You become just another Lou Dobbs, someone who voices personal opinions from behind the bully pulpit of a news desk.


These new social media guidelines mean no rants, raves, or ramblings by NPR reporters (or NPR station reporters) that could jeopardize NPR News' reputation for impartial reporting. 

As a reporter who blogs for her beloved NPR station, I'd already figured out that once you're a reporter, you're never not a reporter. In dealing with opinion, my job is to elicit and report other people's in a compelling way, rather than voice my own.

Maintaining objectivity is something I regularly worry about when posting on this blog. I need to be present here -- what fun would it to e-converse with someone whose personality remains completely opaque -- without expressing my own personal point of view. This blog's purpose is to jump-start informed conversation, not fuel argument or outrage.

Confession time: I do have personal opinions, quite passionate opinions, about politics, religion, the environment, education -- in fact, about almost everything!  But if they ever show up blatantly in this blog, I hope you will, as our president said of those who oppose programs with untruths, call me out on it!

I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to write about my trip to Rome, but it was definitely worthy of several blog entries. I took a lot of notes of what happened during my visit, so I decided I’d just go back through the notes I wrote down and then expand upon those details. We will start with my trip to the airport, since airports are always worth a story all their own. Has their really not been an airport show since Wings? Wait, I have a faint memory of a short-lived LAX. Well, TV developers, I bid you make a couple less hospital and procedural shows next year, and give me a good airport show.

Anyway first note: Fabby and Luis suggest bus. So I had come up with a somewhat complicated but inexpensive way to get to JFK. Instead of taking a cab in rush hour traffic to the airport, I was going to take the R train right outside of work and then switch to the E at Queensboro and then take the E all the way to Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue, and then catch the Airtain to JFK. Estimated travel time about an hour and 15 minutes. Estimated cost. 5 bucks. At the end of the work day I mentioned to Fabiola and Boss Luis that this was my chosen method of transportation. They were not impressed. “Take the express bus from Grand Central.” I was told/ordered. I was doubtful. The bus will get stuck in traffic! They claimed it wouldn’t be that bad and considering I still had three and a half hours before my flight, I’d be fine. I have a thing against buses though. It’s my least favorite way to travel. I’d rather be on a cramped subway than a packed bus any day. This distaste mostly comes from a hatred of school buses, but I don’t like coach buses that much better. Even though the bus is a little more expensive, they are adamant I take that instead of the subway. So I abandon my own plan and go with the bus. I figure from here on in there will be no one around to suggest or demand I choose a different plan other than my own.


I get to the bus outside Grand Central about 7:02 and get on the 6:51 bus which has not left yet. When putting my bag in the luggage compartment the bus guy asks “what airline?” “Alitalia” I tell him. His face goes blank and then he says “Terminal… 4.” “No.” I say. “Terminal ONE.” “Okay, Terminal 1!” he replies and chucks my bag in the bottom of the bus.” I am pleased with myself as I board the bus that I remembered to check the terminal. We head out about 7:08, so already this plan seems super speedy. We get caught in a little traffic on the way. The coach bus isn’t crowded, but I’m never really comfortable in my seat. I check my travel pouch repeatedly to make sure I have my passport and my Euros with me. I do, I do, but I can’t be SURE they haven’t gotten away somehow. Nerves.

So as we pull into the terminal, I notice these signs about how tipping the drivers is appreciated/required, so I go for my wallet. This older person across from me (man? Woman? I cannot tell.) starts fishing through his/her change purse. Really, guy/lady? You’re gonna give this guy a dollar and nickels and pennies? That’s something else. I’m sure they love that. Anyway, I hop out at terminal 1 (not, 4) tip the guy and head in to get my ticket. I have a little less than 2 hours to my flight (note this time for when I get to my return trip.) I check in and get my ticket and I’m on my way!!! To sitting at the gate for an hour. I am nervous and excited. I buy myself a water and take some decongestant so that my ears don’t explode during the flight. I have very sensitive ears when it comes to ascending and descending during flight. If I don’t take something the pressure builds and becomes so intense I can feel the pain from my inner ears all the way down my throat. It’s excruciating and there’s no real relief until we’re back on the ground. But I take a Claritin and my ears are fine. So that’s what I do. I also sent a few last minutes texts and emails on my phone since I will not have service during my trip. 4 days without my phone. How will this work?? I did download an Italian-English dictionary app that I could use offline over the weekend, so I’d still carry the phone around with me even if I wasn’t calling anybody. Then, before I know it, they announce boarding for rows 33-40. I am in row 20 so I sit back for a minute. But everyone else gets up. Line jumpers! Apparently, the airline decides to drop all pretenses and announces boarding for all rows. No more countdowns. No more priority for first class. Just everyone pile onto the plane. Oh, Italy. I think you and I are gonna get along just fine.

I get to my row and I’m the first there! But there’s still not enough space in the overhead compartment in my row. So I jack the space in the mid-section bin across from my room. First come,First serve! And then I cozy into my window seat. As I sit, I peer over the headrest of the seat in front of me and see a child no older than 3 or 4. Oh no. I think. This could get loud. For a very very long ride. What’s next? A gigantor fatty to come sit next to/on top of me? Luckily, this was not to be the case. I was blessed by the travel gods and perhaps a Guardian Angel Mommy and got seated next to a very delightful mother and daughter travel team, Carolyn and Mary. I did something I never do while traveling next to strangers and introduced myself. We said hello and then they immediately offered me mint-chocolate chip candies! HELLO? Do you see what I’m saying about divine intervention? We discuss our reasons for going to Rome, they are visiting family and I am being a weekend adventurer. They think it sounds very exciting and I giggle because I’m doing something cool (and in the process of giggling I once again make myself uncool). We spend our time taxiing on the runway looking through our entertainment guide and trying to figure out these remote controls that look like wii controllers attached to our arm rests. We’ve got seats with individual screens in the backs of the seats in front of us and about 1001 different entertainment options to choose from (games! movies! TV shows! Music!) if only we can figure out how to work the controller. But that has to wait until we’re up in the air. We take off on time and zoom into the air without my ears going crazy (thank you, Claritin). Once we’re at the right altitude, it’s back to fumbling with the wii-ish controllers. I figure out how to work mine first and without a moment’s hesitation start watching Star Trek. HOORAY! Best. In–Flight Movie. Ever. Carolyn and Mary are more than a little amused by my… enthusiasm for the movie. But it’s SO GOOD and they just don’t know cuz they haven’t seen it. For some reason, Carolyn and Mary can’t get their controllers to go “interactive” so I help them up by bottom mashing in the classic Contra-style formation and before you can say “B-A, start!” I’ve somehow guided them to the Flight Entertainment Promised Land.

As my movie starts, the captain comes on to tell us we’ll be getting two meals and snacks and drinks during our flight. I had been wondering about this. I haven’t flown internationally in several years and all of the domestic flights I’ve been have included nothing – maybe a cup of soda. Any sort of trail mix snack they had to offer was sold to you at unreasonable prices. To learn that I would be given several food options over the next several hours which were already included in the fare made me very happy. So far, Alitalia was treating us right. I watched my awesome movie had a glass of soda with my snack, then about an hour later they brought dinner and I had the beef instead of the fish, because if Airplane! Taught us anything (and let’s face it. That movie taught us many things.) it was that we don’t order the fish, if we want to stay healthy. The food was really really good and I had a nice glass of red wine with it as well. Am I certain I’m sitting in economy? If not for the lack of leg room I’d be really unsure. After dinner, I got a bit sleepy and missed most of the section of Star Trek when Kirk and Spock are trying to rescue Pike from the Narada, but I woke up for the end and the great Credit Sequence. Since it was now about 1am, I figured time for bed, so I put on a Bug’s Life for some restful background noise and dozed off. I slept well, only waking up to watch the grasshopper get ripped apart by the hungry baby birds. Good times.

I wake up later and it’s breakfast time. Hooray! More food. Breakfast is not really as good as dinner was. But that’s mostly because my sandwich had melted cheese and I’m not a fan of melted cheese as a breakfast ingredient. I mostly eat it anyway. I continue talking with Carolyn and Mary and it turns out that they are taking the train from the airport into the subway system in Rome as well, so we decide to all go into the city together before we go our separate ways. I’m thrilled by this because getting from the airport to the subway was the part of my trip of which I was most unsure. These ladies rock. They also tell me to eat lots of pastries and pizza and gelato throughout the day because it's an inexpensive way to snack and then have a big dinner when everyone else leats ate between 8-10pm. I make notes of all this in my book. I also make a note to see the "Mouth Of Truth" which they tell me is fun and is also featured in Roman Holiday.

It’s time for another movie, and I have just enough time to watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I’m not sure about this movie, because I did not hear good things from X-Men fans. I figure this is my best shot at not needing to pay to see it while still being a captive audience. Suffice to say, I did not like this movie. I mean, as an action movie, I guess it’s fine. But in terms of character, it has nothing to do with The X-Men comics and also really nothing to do with the other X-Men movies. So it’s weird. I couldn’t get into it. First I watched it full out, and then I turned the sound off and just watched the images, and then I turned it off altogether about halfway through. Better luck next time, X-Franchise.

We start our descent and I fear my ears will go through the typical super-pain, but it’s not so bad and I’m able to hold my nose and blow them out and it’s all good. We actually arrive in Rome an hour ahead of schedule! Hooray. We taxi for a good 15 minutes and then finally disembark. Halfway off the plane, I realize I’ve dropped my blackberry in my seat and I have to fight against the current to get back there and reclaim it. I rejoin Carolyn and Mary when we get off the plane. We turn the corner to head toward customs and WHAM! – We walk into a wall of people. The entire customs area is filled to capacity. Carolyn is amazed. She’s never seen it like this. It was too early for the customs officials to take lunch. What could be going on? Apparently 3 planes got in at the same time (thanks to ours being early), so several hundred people all crammed into the customs area at once and the customs staff didn’t have enough stations open to handle the influx. As more and more people crammed into the room I got separated from Carolyn and Mary, who got swept up towards the front while I was pushed to the side. I felt like Christian Bale at the beginning of Empire of the Sun. It was bad news. I was lost! What if I never got out of here and had to spend the whole weekend looking for land mines? Anything’s possible.

The room was gross. Everyone was wearing clothes that were too heavy for the Rome weather, plus we’d been on the plane for the last 8 hours so everyone needed a shower. It took about a half hour for me to make my way to the front of the line. Once there I walked up to the official, who said nothing to me, didn’t look at my passport, stamped a random page and passed it back to me without making eye contact. It was anti-climactic to say the least. I wanted him to at least inquire about the reason for my visit or my length of stay. But I was super excited just to get it over with. I zoomed down to baggage claim to look for my friends.

When I find them, I see they have encountered a problem. Though the probably got through customs 15 minutes before I did, the luggage carousel for our flight is busted. This is not an issue for me, who only has carry on luggage, but they can’t get their extra bags. The conveyor belt unloading the luggage is still working but someone’s bag landed in a way that it won’t drop into the carousel and all the rest of the luggage is stuck behind it. People are being driven to distraction. Who knows when an airport technician will come and fix the bags? No one around here seems to be rushing to do anything. A couple guys decide to chance climbing on to the carousel but just as their bravery comes to ahead the technicians arrive and release the luggage. We grab the bags and head out for the train.

The train station at the airport is kinda cool. I thought to take a picture of it, but I felt like it wouldn’t have looked like anything in a snapshot. There was really just a long tunnel that led out into the sunlight. It was cool though. The trains were old school passenger cars, some covered in graffiti. It was like something you might think you saw in Empire of the Sun if you hadn’t seen that movie in the past 20 years. We get our tickets and there’s a train to Termini just about to leave. Mary reminds me that i have to stamp my ticket at this little stand before I get on the train, otherwise I can get a big fine if the conductor asks to see my ticket on the train. I remember having read this in my travel book, but with all the excitement of getting through the airport, I wouldn't have remembered that detail at all. So we stamp our cards and we race toward the train. Everyone is shoving into the closest rail car before the train leaves. There is no way we are gonna try to cram ourselves in there and we let it go. Carolyn and Mary explain to me that there is no AC on the train and attempting to ride all the way to Termini in what we are now realizing is really unseasonably warm weather in Rome in an over packed car would be uncomfortable… and smelly. So we walk down the platform so we’re away from the crowds for the next train. The next one comes in about 15 minutes and we’re on our way. We sit in our only little booth by the door and our train turns out to be an express instead of a local. Hooray! After several stages in the airport that took longer than necessary it was exciting to make up some time. While we’re sitting and relaxing, Carolyn warns me about gypsies. I am very curious about gypsies, since I’ve heard many stories about them and the crazy things they may try to do to rob tourists. Carolyn says that the gypsies will come through the train asking for money, and I’m like “please, this is NYC you’re talking to. I can handle the rails." But no gypsies come by during our train ride, and no conductor for that matter either, so I didn’t have to worry about the timestamp after all. Go figure.

When we get to Termini we make our way from the train station section to the subway section which takes longer than you think it might. Mary introduces me to the Rome version of the Metrocard Machine and tells me not to get the daily or weekend passes because there’s no way I’ll be using the subway enough for to financially make sense. This is sound advice. The subway for me was pay as I went and I think I spent only 4 Euros on it my whole trip. Once we were in the subway though, it was a sad moment because I was going in the opposite direction from Carolyn and Mary and we had to say our good-byes. We wished each other well and they said I was brave for going on a trip all by myself and to have fun. It made me feel good to be called brave, but also a little nervous because I didn’t feel brave and was hoping bravery was not really the trait I would most need to rely on for the rest of my weekend. As I headed off on my own to metro line B, I thought about how thankful I was to have been next to them on the flight and how nice it was for them to help me get through the initial confusion of being in a different country. I wondered if I’d ever hear from them again. (I did! Upon returning home I found them on Facebook! Hooray!)


I climb on the blue line and make note that I like the subway cars in Rome. They have these poles that have half ovular handles in the middle so there are more places to hold on to and also denying folks the ability to wrap themselves completely around the pole while reading a book… not that I ever do that on the NYC subway or anything. I go two stops to Colosseo and head out. I climb to ground level and – oh look, there’s a gelato stand! It’s in front of the Colosseo! I have made it. Let the adventures truly begin!

TO BE CONTINUED… in PART II – Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day but I Saw It In An Afternoon

Wow. We had an impressive food weekend in Chicago recently for our anniversary. Since it was sort of a big one (10!) we decided to go whole hog and finally get to Alinea. It has been on our list since we moved back to Indy, but with its minimum of 12 courses and hefty price tag (not to mention a more challenging reservation to get then some others), we saved it for a special occasion.

Before I start, can I just vent about something? How come none of the cabbies in Chicago know where any of the restaurants are in the City? I mean Alinea is one of the top ranked restaurants there and the cab driver had no clue. And every time we go there, it’s the same. Once we actually had to get out and walk the rest of the way because the cabbie was so clueless. My advice: if you aren’t totally sure where you are going, and you’re taking a cab, make sure you have the address, phone number and ideally written directions. Makes me long for the cab drivers in London who would be seriously offended if you even told them the address—they had to take a detailed test in order to even get their license.

Anyhow, once we got there, you walk in, into a hallway that is sort of like a little rabbit hole which is sort of cool, and then the metal doors slide open into the restaurant. You can look to your right and see a somewhat open kitchen (which I attempted a picture of). I have to say, the staff is all very friendly and not at all snooty. This is one of my favorite things about Chicago restaurants, the lack of pretension. We were seated and started on the adventure. This is a set menu, no options (well, unless you tell them you don’t eat certain things or have allergies, etc). With 12 courses, we figured we should just go with the wine pairings too, because it just seemed overwhelming to come up with your own stuff. And if you aren’t familiar with the style of this restaurant, this is a chef who likes to play with his food, so to speak, and you will find familiar flavors disguised in things you might not expect. Like cucumber infused lettuce. That was part of the Thai-inspired pork belly. He also incorporates scents and textures more so into the food than most—for instance one of the first things that happened after we were seated was a large piece of rosemary was placed at each of our seats, allowing for a beautiful scent before we had eaten anything. The rosemary was later incorporated into the lamb course. But if you are like a friend of mine who said she avoids restaurants with things that are “foamy” or “smoking,” this is probably not the place for you.

My overall impression of Alinea was that it was really good. The thing about a set menu is you are likely to get a few things that might not be up your alley and a few things that are awesome. And that was the case here. I’m not going to go through them all, because it would take all day, but probably my favorite 2 courses were the trout course and the “hot potato” course. The trout course was the chef’s interpretation of a traditional recipe. It was amazing. The trout was so tender, rolled up and had been cooked in a rich, very Fall-ish sauce. There were 3 little “boats” (all edible of course) filled with other yummies, 2 with trout roe and one, my favorite, lined with truffles and then with a plump quail egg yolk that had been poached in red wine. Mmmmmm…. He also used antique plates and etched wine glasses to carry the classic nature of the recipe. Very cool. (Here's a link to one of the Chef's twitter pictures showing the fish being rolled up: http://img132.yfrog.com/i/805p.jpg/.)

The other favorite (although now I am thinking about the caviar course too that came first—a fun one with foam flavored like bread and gelatin with the vegetable flavors infused. It was whimsical, but still really good) was the potato/truffle course which was a small piece of potato and a truffle skewered on a little pin that you pulled out and dumped into a little wax bowl full of a rich creamy sauce that you then drank in one gulp. Really tasty (can you tell I have a thing for truffles?).

An example of one of the other courses, just to give you an idea of the playfulness, but one that I didn’t think really actually tasted that impressive was the Pheasant course. It was a little tempura battered ball of apple, pheasant and shallot and skewered on a little oak branch that had the leaves slightly burning. A nice aroma of Fall to be sure, but the food itself on this course wasn’t that great. A little too chewy and not a lot of flavor in itself.

Also pictured here is the pork belly course which was served with Thai seasonings. his was also where the cucumber infused lettuce came in that I mentioned above. There was also a shot of “Thai distillation” which was a shot glass of a liquid that looked like water but was infused with various Thai seasonings which you were instructed to drink before you ate the food. This was very pretty, but for me, the flavors just weren’t that impressive. Hubby liked it better than me, but would’ve chosen a different flavor combination too.

This place is an experience for sure, and if you are really into food, a totally worthwhile one. And the wine pairing was spot on. The wines were all great (there were 8 small pours throughout the night) and many were unusual from smaller producers in the world. The meal and wine is almost shockingly expensive (the only other equivalently expensive meal I have had was the French Laundry in Napa), but there is certainly an inordinate amount of thought and passion going into the food. I actually would love to go back in the Spring and experience those flavors, as they are probably my favorite. But I’d better start a savings account for it now!

Alinea
1723 North Halstead
Chicago, IL 60614
312/867-0110
http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/

I picked up the phrase "be being" from Magic Johnson, during his short-lived career as a TV color analyst for the National Basketball Association. "Karl Malone, he be being down at the other end of the court," Magic would say. It always brought to my mind visions of a kind of uncomplicated occupation of space by someone, a complete dismissal of any and all worry about what else needs to be done, a blessed remission from the curse of ambivalence.

My husband, Charlie, took this picture. He found this caterpillar munching away on some strawberry plants in one of our side gardens, busily eating its way toward becoming a Black Swallowtail Butterfly.

It's a challenge for my over-busy brain to look at this photograph and simply enjoy the sight of this snazzy black, white, and yellow tube of a creature chomping away on those bright green leaves. I begin immediately  to work out what it all could be made to mean in a larger sense. I  feel  driven to turn the caterpillar into a metaphor; to think about the cosmic implications of its eating those leaves!  I feel obligated to reinvent some tired caterpillar/strawberry plant metaphor that other over-busy brains have previously invented many, many times.

Then common sense rears its blessed, cheerful head and tells me to take a break, to give it a rest, to take a day off from taking everything so seriously. To forget about trying to turn that caterpillar into a metaphor and turn it into a role model, instead! To just, today, be being.

Hmmmm. What's for lunch?

Move over Dan Brown, Sarah Palin's soon-to-be published book, Going Rogue: An American Life, has vaulted over The Lost Symbol on the Amazon bestsellers list. To be fair, it's also a lot cheaper, for it's among the pre-release books Amazon is selling for $9.00. (See Wednesday's post, if you haven't heard of this). Going Rogue stands at #2, behind only Stephen King's Under the Dome, also offered at a pre-release 9 bucks.

Ms. Palin is a famously uninhibited opinion-ista. There's debate about whether or not she knows what she's talking about, but what the pre-publication popularity of her books says to me is that an astonishing number of people in this country do like listening to her talk. I'm unclear about whether this means an astonishing number of people also like what she has to say or whether they hate it. (I have very liberal friends who listen to Rush Limbaugh, evidently for the pleasure of becoming outraged). What I am clear about is that having lots of opinions about lots of things sells books. We really do seem to like argument in this country.

Personally, I find people who argue pretty boring. I'm drawn to folks who voice considered opinions formed  from information (not just from books, either, but from reflective living), thoughtfulness, and tolerance.

Ah tolerance! The willingness to, as Atticus Finch phrased it, walk around in another person's shoes. To try on another's point of view.


Years ago I did a story for NPR on rock-climbing, which involved going to Seneca Rocks in West Virginia and climbing those rocks myself. The story ended up being a story of cultural accommodation, of life-long holler residents suffering invasion by spandex clad city-folks. Most of the locals seemed to like the money the spandex-ers spent locally, but to also think they were crazy.

I met an old farmer, though, who'd been scratching a living for eighty-some years on a few acres at the base of the rocks. He'd never been anywhere or done anything of note. His plan was just to go on living until he died. He viewed the rocks with adversarial respect that bordered on possessiveness.

The first afternoon we met, I stood with him on his front porch and watched a man in leopard-skin tights free-climbing a vertical face. I asked him what he thought about such antics.

Everyone, he replied, needs their delight. If that's his delight, then I'll just leave him be.

I certainly believe Ms. Palin is welcome to her say. However, I do hope we don't lose the ability to search out, listen to, and learn from the less strident voices in our cultural conversation.

I am confused. Last night during the SYTYCD Top 20 reveal, I was pretty sure they referred to Tyce Diorio as an Emmy-winner and I didn't know when he could've won an Emmy on the show. It couldn't have been this past year, because when the Creative Arts Emmys were announced in September SYTYCD didn't win Outstanding Choreography despite dominating the nominations in the category. In an upset win, it appeared (this award wasn't televised, so i didn't see it myself) that the "Musicals Are Back" Segment from this year's Oscars won, and it seemed SYTYCD suffered from some split-the-vote scenario between it's four nominated routines. The press releases from that time and the official Emmy website both agree that SYTYCD did not win.

HOWEVER, when I went to the SYTYCD website to get some background info on the Top 20 for a future "Season 6 Predictions" post, I found a featured story posted there celebrating not just one, but TWO Emmy wins. One for Tyce and one for Costumes For A Variety/Music Program Or Special . This doesn't make sense. Who is wrong? I mean, obviously Tyce would know if he won or not, but why would the Emmy people have it listed incorrectly? Furthermore, The Emmy Website doesn't even list the Costume Category - but they make some distinction that the Costume Category is a Juried Prize, so maybe that's different? What's going on Emmys? Did something happy to "Musicals Are Back" that it couldn't fulfill its duties as an Emmy Winner and therefore runner-up "Adam & Eve/Silence" stepped in to take its place? Did Musicals Are Back say something bad about gay marriage and opposite marriage? Someone please explain this to me.