Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Hell's Frappucino
Good morning yet again from the road. I am in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, and a place with a great deal of personal significance: The Mrs. is from here. I am hooked up to the wireless connection at the Panera Bread (which has become my office-away-from-home and deserves a shout-out) at the very mall that was the center of her adolescent universe. This is not the mall it was back in her day, however. In fact, it's not the mall it was when I was last here six months ago. A gigantic Crate and Barrel has gone up in the parking lot across from the mall's main entrance, which has the effect of obscuring the main entrance from the street, and more buildings are going up in the same area. I am not sure what kind of design effect they're going for here, but if I'd paid a premium to have my business visible from the parking lot, like the Applebees and Coldstone Creamery down the way, I'm not sure I'd be happy with bigger, newer buildings going up in front of it.
Later today, I'm going to have lunch with an old friend who's raising his family in the very neighborhood The Mrs. once lived in. Since her parents moved away 25 years ago, the neighborhood has turned over quite a bit, and there are lots of young families there once again. And what a neighborhood it is, full of fabulous, one-of-a-kind houses, built on land that once grew hops for the Pabst Brewing Company. When The Mrs. was growing up, Mrs. Davidson, of Harley-Davidson fame, lived in the neighborhood. (When we were dating and first married, I kept telling The Mrs. her parents were loaded, but she never believed me. But, dear, they were.)
Recommended Reading: At Salon this morning, be sure to read David Talbot's review of Christopher Kennedy Lawford's memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal. America's appetite for inside Kennedy stuff never goes away, so this book is likely to be a hit. But Lawford's view is unique and his eye seems pretty keen, even as it makes you glad his family is not your family.
And take note also of LeftyBlogs.com, a site that collects local blogs in all 50 states. If you want to find out what's happening close to home, it's great.
Quote of the Day: One of the most e-mailed stories at Yahoo News the last couple of days has been Bob Cesca's piece from the Huffington Post called "Bigotry in the Name of Jesus H. Christ," about the 14-year-old who got kicked out of a Christian school because her parents are lesbians. At Cesca's blog, Reality-Based Nation, he published an e-mail he received in response: "change your ways like i need to change mine or well both be talking about this over a frappucino in a fiery hell next to a mob of homos." I don't know, but there's something about the phrase "a frappucino in a fiery hell next to a mob of homos" that's just funny.
Good morning yet again from the road. I am in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, and a place with a great deal of personal significance: The Mrs. is from here. I am hooked up to the wireless connection at the Panera Bread (which has become my office-away-from-home and deserves a shout-out) at the very mall that was the center of her adolescent universe. This is not the mall it was back in her day, however. In fact, it's not the mall it was when I was last here six months ago. A gigantic Crate and Barrel has gone up in the parking lot across from the mall's main entrance, which has the effect of obscuring the main entrance from the street, and more buildings are going up in the same area. I am not sure what kind of design effect they're going for here, but if I'd paid a premium to have my business visible from the parking lot, like the Applebees and Coldstone Creamery down the way, I'm not sure I'd be happy with bigger, newer buildings going up in front of it.
Later today, I'm going to have lunch with an old friend who's raising his family in the very neighborhood The Mrs. once lived in. Since her parents moved away 25 years ago, the neighborhood has turned over quite a bit, and there are lots of young families there once again. And what a neighborhood it is, full of fabulous, one-of-a-kind houses, built on land that once grew hops for the Pabst Brewing Company. When The Mrs. was growing up, Mrs. Davidson, of Harley-Davidson fame, lived in the neighborhood. (When we were dating and first married, I kept telling The Mrs. her parents were loaded, but she never believed me. But, dear, they were.)
Recommended Reading: At Salon this morning, be sure to read David Talbot's review of Christopher Kennedy Lawford's memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal. America's appetite for inside Kennedy stuff never goes away, so this book is likely to be a hit. But Lawford's view is unique and his eye seems pretty keen, even as it makes you glad his family is not your family.
And take note also of LeftyBlogs.com, a site that collects local blogs in all 50 states. If you want to find out what's happening close to home, it's great.
Quote of the Day: One of the most e-mailed stories at Yahoo News the last couple of days has been Bob Cesca's piece from the Huffington Post called "Bigotry in the Name of Jesus H. Christ," about the 14-year-old who got kicked out of a Christian school because her parents are lesbians. At Cesca's blog, Reality-Based Nation, he published an e-mail he received in response: "change your ways like i need to change mine or well both be talking about this over a frappucino in a fiery hell next to a mob of homos." I don't know, but there's something about the phrase "a frappucino in a fiery hell next to a mob of homos" that's just funny.
