The high horses on keyboards

I'm old enough to remember when a lot of people lost them minds when a dude solicited donations through gofundme for a potato salad recipe.

Now it's shifted to people policing where people give their charity to. Most recently the renovation of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris after it sustained heavy damage in a fire this week.

"But the Catholic Church is bad."

"The church no longer owns the cathedral"

"But the Catholic Church is bad"

"It's a living, breathing work of art and museum."

"But the Catholic Church is bad."

"It's a touchstone of Paris, a cultural and cartographic icon of France."

"But the Catholic Church is bad."

While we're still able, people have the right to donate their money where they wish, whether it be to victims of rape, church renovation or saving a barrier reef. It's the judgement, the sanctimony, that is grosser than the transgressions which lead to the solicitation of funds.

Fine dining is not dead

“Are you a musician?” The server asked me. “You look like someone I’ve seen before but I can’t place you.” After quizzing each other with various people and places we may have met, it turned out in the nineties we both worked at local wine shops and may have crossed paths at industry tastings. Maybe I’d recognize him clearer if he shaved his beard, but probably not.

It was the first time I’d been in The Refectory, one of the finest restaurants in the city, in my entire time here, and the moment I entered the main dining room I regretted missing out on those lost decades. It’s a beautiful space in an old church. The decor was fresh, there was nothing tired about the place.

And we were there now. Finally met the sommelier after following him on social media for a few years. He poured us a couple of amuse bouche samples of obscure Italian wines to start the show.

We had very good wine. She had antelope, I had the four course chef’s menu. The sous vide beef shoulder was outstanding. Nothing was rushed. The staff on the floor were all working together with a learned precision that was not pretentious, but natural. Our dinner a few years back at the Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow was outstanding in quality and service, but last night went past that. The Refectory is a skilled team from front of house to back.

There was no way I could afford to go in there until now. Even when I was in the wine business in the nineties it could not be done.

As we ate I was thought about a quote a local chef recently said in an article about her. She said that fine dining was dead. This is the same chef who passively/aggressively insulted my wife in front of a dining room full of people. The same chef who partnered with a local brewery owner who is now accused of sexual assault by multiple women. Fine dining is not dead, it’s the lazy, uncreative and harmful attitudes of those who control the narrative that should be. On our way out we walked past one of the former food critics from the Dispatch, who had just finished his dinner. I was never fond of his writing style, it turned into a template the last few years of his reign. Yet when a place gets outstanding reviews for over thirty years, innovates with the times to provide a superior dining experience, you keep going back. As will we, sooner than later. It’s worth it.

Like Father, Like Son, Think About It

My Son will not eat solid food, but he will bite his nails. I guess this is a genetic trait. He may like high school more than I did, but he is not saying.

News may be breaking about tax returns and who controls wikileaks, but the wrong people are doing the shouting and getting heard. Who gave roger stone and his bowler valuable air time?

What news has diminished to. Sadly, the entertainment draws numbers, which draws corporate ads, which fuels the pump.

Liar. Scream. Repeat.

After many months I did get my official Equity Punk Card from Brewdog, making me an official something. And I renewed my AAA membership so maybe there is hope in me that we have another year left. Possibly until the end of April, 2018, when my membership expires. After then, all bets off the table?

We're having a wild year for all the wrong reasons, although there is a trip to Vegas actually booked and paid up.

What are we going to be flying into?

Ban banning

The road to immigrating to the United States is a process, a world I am familiar with. There is paperwork, money that has to be paid, photocopying of documents, waiting, vetting, more paperwork, more money and waiting. If you do not check the right box, your process is delayed. You wait more, and this happened with a country we have a special relationship with. It is more difficult from a country that we are not on friendly relations with. So when legal immigrants, any legal immigrants are detained at the border - it's wrong. Full stop. The executive order is wrong. The walls this administration are building inside and out are wrong.

I want to fly away

Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry I'll piss on 'em. That's what the statue of bigotry says

The events that are occurring.

We have a Vichy congress who are content with watching Kristallnaact happen by pen.

Cue Roy Orbison

It's been an absolutely horrible 18 months, not just for me personally, but for the country (and the world, really) to have to endure this disgrace of an election cycle.

About twenty seven and a half hours from now, the polls will close in Ohio. This election may decrease Ohio's influence over the electorate. This means we may be less of a swing state, which means we get fewer ads.

Thank God if that happens.

With Clinton once again, and rightfully, not being under further investigation by the feds concerning the nonsense email scandal the markets shot up today. They were looking for a reason to. After tomorrow, it's all speculation and over-valued.

Good luck to all of us.

Perot's giant sucking sound has gone in another direction

Back in the late 90's at my horrible job at Long's Bookstore my coworker in the supply department and I would listen to the Jim Rome radio show while pricing merchandise.

Say what you want about Rome, it does not really matter now. One of his 'rules' for getting on the phone in part of the show was, "Have a take, and don't suck."

And get of my lawn I would like social media commenters to follow that Rome Rule, but it does not happen.

Plenty of takes from people who like to see their profile pictures in the comments section, who may seem to thrive on the attention their posts get, negative or not - and plenty of sucking out there.

I do not have much energy to engage with people I know, let alone strangers on the internet. Better for me to keep quiet.

So much happening all over

Fuckery is world-wide.

A week of cranky

It was great to have a guest last weekend. We hung out, ate, drank, caught up. My guest had never seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so that was checked off a bucket list. Then there was a knock on our bedroom door at 5AM the day of departure. Our guest's car had been broken into and a bunch of stuff was stolen. Sure, it's stuff and it can be replaced, but some of the clothes, the annotated textbooks and nostalgic items cannot be replaced. They got into my car, which I always keep unlocked, and took an iPod charger (stuff) and my registration (what the Hell?)

I did tell my guest to bring anything important into the house, which was kinda sorta done. I really think that car was a target even if it was empty. I've been looking in pawn shops and craigslist to try and find the stolen stuff, but have had no luck.

I rarely write about work, but there are changes. Not much I can do but get through them as best as possible. There is also the matter of the second one of my coworkers being taken out of the building in a stretcher on Thursday. This one will have a more positive outcome though.

There was time to get a nice haircut but when I got to the car it would not start. AAA was called, gave me a jump I thought the problem was solved. Went to get takeout, the car died again. A Good Samaritan gave me a jump. Got home, tried to restart it would not. Was grouchy all night and got little sleep thinking of what had to be done today to get the car fixed. Did not want to take the day off but had to. Called AAA again who advised me to get a new battery. Why the Hell not? I thought as he told me the battery was the wrong size for the car and also needed a bracket because it was sliding around, which causes damage.

Battery replaced, car starting what I hope is normal. Went to auto parts store to get the bracket. Staff there had a bastard of a time finding the proper bolt but did. Nice people at Advance Auto on Harrisburg Pike. Figured I'd get a new air filter while I was there. Errands got ran. Air filter in car and furnace got replaced.

Trying hard to come down from the crankiness caused by hemorrhaging cash. Maybe it's seasonal malaise, I keep forgetting I crash when autumn is around. For all that though, things could be worse.

Not the Dark Knight, but Gotham

With the Mets coming closer and closer to clinching a playoff berth for the first time in years, it will be good to finally relax and get the distraction of imminent collapse out of the way and focus on the other stupid distraction that is taking away from genuine accomplishments on the field this season. I can only mean Matt Harvey’s arm and the agent and/or physician indicated inning count.

On Sunday, Harvey was on the mound against the yankees and pitched five excellent innings. After that he was pulled from the lineup because someone above Mets management believes that Harvey pitching too many innings will hurt his arm. After Harvey left the game, with a 1-0 lead, the Mets fell apart and lost 11-2. This was not necessarily Harvey’s fault, but you could tell it messed with the flow of the team.

It’s understandable that no one wants Harvey to get hurt again. It’s also understandable that his agent, Scott Boras, is looking out for his client and a good payday of his own. But what about the rest of the team. How does it look when one of their own is not allowed to compete at his fullest?

Athletes, are supposed to leave everything out there on the field of play, especially during a playoff run and post season. You do not pitch when you want to, you go to the mound and stay there when it’s your turn in the rotation.

Could you imagine a NFL quarterback pulling himself out of a game after three quarters or a NHL goaltender taking himself off the ice after two periods - they’d be laughed out of the league.

But because the arm of a pitcher is babied like an orchid or sensitive banker we are subjected to this behavior. Harvey’s role as a postseason starter is still murky. Do you really want to see another on field collapse in a seven game series after Harvey gets pulled after four or five innings? This would not be indicative of a big time player, but a selfish mind who only wants what he wants now. And if this is how he is now, what happens in 2018 when some team that may not be the Mets signs him to a massive payday? Heaven forbid he gets hurt ever again.