Red’s Dairy Freeze, South Portland, Maine

Illustrated is the “Chocolate Boston”, which is a chocolate milkshake with chocolate soft serve ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. The “Boston” can be had with other flavours but it is always milkshake plus soft serve plus sauce. Eaten with a spoon and a straw, it is apparently known only to Red’s of South Portland and their customers but we stand to be corrected.

I do not love chocolate but this actually inched me a little towards that affliction. I ate it so fast I got an ice cream chest ache.

“Syrian” Sandwich

I was in New London, NH yesterday on the way down the
interstate 30 miles north of Concord and was at a place called Pizza Chef – or something like that – and had a “Syrian” which was basically a pita cut in half (destroying the pocket effect) with stuff between inside and baked. This was incredibly good. What happened was the cheese glommed into the veggie contents and the pita halves got a crisp consistency – all fed into my gaping maw for about 5 bucks and toasty warm. No messy tomato sauce or anything.

I have no idea if the Syrian was just this one shop’s specialty or whether it is a broader New Hampshire thing.

Time To Cut Equalization?

Is it time to cut equalization and other aspects of the massive Federal funding to the anti-constitutionalist PEI government?

It may be the law, but same-sex couples can’t get married on P.E.I. None of the provincial bills that cover marriage have been changed, and P.E.I.’s attorney general, Mildred Dover, said it will take an undetermined amount of time for the Island to follow Canadian law.

This was hardly unexpected in light of the general Charter fighting track record of the current suits…but isn’t it time to penalize those who would obstruct the enjoyment by Canadians of the full rights of being Canadian?

Wow

“…they pushed him to the floor and basically unloaded five shots into him…”

Amazing. Hot pursuit of a human bomb.

Update: More…

The Muslim Council of Britain said Muslims were concerned about a possible “shoot to kill” policy. Spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said: “There may well be reasons why the police felt it necessary to unload five shots into the man and shoot him dead, but they need to make those reasons clear. “It’s vital the police give a statement about what occurred and explain why the man was shot dead.”

Another passenger on the train, Anthony Larkin, told BBC News the man had been wearing a “bomb belt with wires coming out”. “I’ve seen these police officers shouting, ‘Get down, get down!’, and I’ve seen this guy who appears to have a bomb belt and wires coming out.

Garrity Of The Times

Ok – I know…we all know…I made The New York Times first (and the Business section is so much cooler than the Arts one) but… it is still very mucho neato that little Stevie Garrity, one of my once teen clients who I met back in 1998, got himself referenced in the global paper of record, too – just this morning on his non-iPod approach to “podcasting”…or what in reality is called web radio:

Producing downloadable audio shows – getting around copyright obstacles with music, creating syndicated content that suits a subscription model of delivery, possibly introducing video – poses fascinating questions that obsess podcasters. But none of this need concern anyone who just wants to listen to new music or independent talk radio in a car or in the gym, where podcasts are most enjoyable. (Many people use portable music players, especially iPods, to listen to podcasts, but others – like Steven Garrity, a Web developer in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, who has offered audio programming since 2003 – just hook a Pioneer stereo from the 1970’s up to a laptop.)

Other than the fact is that it is his living room lifestyle that is referenced as globe-worthy news, the neato-est thing is he is also getting married today and…and…ok, its the beginning of my vacation, too, and I am going to Portland, Maine to the beaches which is also where Steve had the best bowl of beef stew he has ever had at a lovely place called Katadyn. It was dubbed The Stew That The Lord MadeTM…and so it was.

I bought him a really neato wedding present that I have yet to send which will make him more of a rock star…if that is possible. Until then, this is my song is my gift for Steve on his big day which I really recommend as a first dance at the reception: [3.5 MB .wma file]. I really think his decision to go with the flesh tone body suit for that first dance is a brave move.

Panhandling Policy

My policy on panhandling is clear:

  • I buy a lot of crap that costs way too much. What a panhandler gives me materially is more honest. I get a bit of “no thing” in return for a small amount of expenditure. A bargain I understand.
  • I pick favourites. I try to support a few who are there all the time. I favour women and the elderly.
  • I do not quibble about giving something that will provide comfort like a good coffee or a bottle of cheap wine. If I ever find myself in that position I expect each of you to give me that – and don’t give me that look when you do.
  • Look in the eye and say “no, thank you” or “have a good day.” Like Mormans, these folk are too easy a target for too many folk.
  • I am no hero as it would be lucky if I gave 1/1000th in this way but it is good to be good and nice to be nice.

I Un-♥ Day By Day

Below is the lastest strip in a web based cartoon called Day By Day which a bunch of bloggers post and which drives me nuts. Today’s is one of the worst examples but is illustrative of a number of points:

  • It derives its imagery in part from Doonesbury, the long running counter-culturish strip which started in the 60’s by Gary Trudeau, especially the quotes floating about the White House (not displayed in this strip but often a part of the daily dose.) It is indicative, however, that it is asserting itself as a response to Doonesbury with a rightist twist. For me if you are going to say something different, new and interesting, don’t coat tail – you are only reinforcing the fact that your idea is only a reaction.
  • It requires dumbing down to read it. The one below, like much neo-con a la Frum, requires a very conscious supression of known fact. This is based on the assertion one supposes that whatever the left is also supresses fact. But you have chosen to mimic that which you hate if you accept this. That is just sad.
  • In this particular installment, it requires you to reject specific awareness of the very well known facts of Watergate and Oliver Nort/Iran/Contra as conspiracies of the right, needing you to accept the concept that “the conspiracy” against Clinton is laughable. This requires the abdication of personal responsbility for determining relevance through inviting you down the path of collective unawareness to get the joke – rather than considering all of recent history. Again, the argument may be that the left does the same thing but that is the “we are no better than X so like us better than X” argument: aka nonsense.
  • The characters are interchangible, reflect one point of view and are unconnected to any personal existence other than the expression of the point of view. Without storylines, it is a shallow cartoon regardless of the quality of its political content.
  • It flows these points through a non-existant group: hip diverse young right-wing folk who are attractive, witty and all sexificated. Everyone know that all young political types of any point of view are not like this, although they perceive themselves to be through their self-association with power. My own experiment with policial humour here is teaching me the lameness of the medium because, as we all know, they who like political humour are, in fact, more like the characters in Dilbert. I would actually be happy if someone would mirror Day By Day with the comments interposed over the characters from Dilbert. That would be entertaining.

So to like Day By Day, in order for you to “get it,” you have to be unaware of historical fact, willing to supress known fact, jealous of the success of the strip being mirrored, somewhat unfunny to begin with, and needy in relation to self-image. Who wants to fit themselves into that definition? Like Canadian conservatives and Stephen Harper, I am sure they can do better.