Mark's blog
Sporadic posts about a wide variety of topics.
The Great Recession of 2008
I cannot process the economic depression is unfolding here in the U.S.A. over the last few days. A crushing, amorphous weight has me plastered to the sofa in front of the TV. My breathing is labored, and my heart stops beating every now and then for ten or fifteen...
David Byrne and Brian Eno: ‘Everything That Happens Will Happen Today’
It actually started happening a couple of weeks ago when I read the Will Hermes review in Rolling Stone. More familiar with David Byrne than with Brian Eno, I have always gotten an oddly warm feeling from certain Talking Heads...
Social media smorgasbord: Four weeks wandering Web 2.0
Nothing in particular has inspired any new blog posts here in recent weeks. Instead, I've spent much of my free time playing around with a few of the endless new gizmos that are hatching every minute in the now four-year-old world of "Web 2.0," the cross-fed,...
Andrew Bacevich on ‘Bill Moyers Journal’: Warning in America
We modern Americans are marvels of indolence. We'll slap magnetic "Support our troops" ribbons on our minivans and surrender our freedoms to telephone companies if that's what it takes to keep from having to protect our freedoms, but let anyone even suggest keeping...
Rick Warren’s Saddleback Civil Forum
There were a number of interesting moments in Saturday night's "Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency," but one that I have not seen mentioned came as part of John McCain's response to a question about taxes. Part 5 of Pastor...
Election 2008: It’s God time
Reading Andrew Sullivan's acclaimed piece pn Election 2008 in last December's Atlantic magazine, I noted the emphasis on Barack Obama's religious conviction and how one Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright introduced Obama to Jesus Christ. Sullivan was wowed: To deploy the...
Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Mustard and Rosemary
For more dinner ideas, see our list of Easy dinner recipes, chicken recipes, side dishes. As the weather here already begins to turn cooler, our oven is getting some use again. Last night we roasted a chicken, accompanied by a simple, rustic roasted potato recipe that...
Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Escovedo, Drive-By Truckers at Summerfest
It's been a long time since I attended Summerfest. There are a lot of people close to my advanced age who whine about the crowds and the excessive drinking or the price of beer, but I generally enjoy festivals and music — humanity and all. I guess I've just had other...
Enablex commercial: Class reunion of urine-filled balloons
So I'm sitting here eating my lunch in front of MSNBC when I hear the familiar voice of Andrea Martin during a pharmaceutical commercial depicting a class reunion. This is slightly troubling in itself, because Andrea Martin is one of the most talented and funny women...
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (Guillermo del Toro movie, 2006)
I had been wanting to watch Pan's Labyrinth for many months, prepared to love it. I already love The Devil's Backbone, the 2001 ghost story by Guillermo del Toro, and Pan's Labyrinth is a kind of companion piece to that picture. Unfortunately, this movie is not as...
Goldfinch in, House Sparrow chaos out
We have stopped the madness, and the backyard is much better now. We have cut way back on House Sparrows, and we're touting the American Goldfinch as the bird to feed for Racine's elite, birdfeeding smart set. Goldfinch houses Many readers arrive here after searching...
‘Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie’
Even on public television's extensive menu of food and cooking shows, Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie is a standout offering. It's a globe-hopping, half-hour magazine of on-location footage and interviews featuring all sorts of fascinating topics from the primitive to the...
Warren Zevon biography: ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ by Crystal Zevon
I have been a Warren Zevon fan since "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Werewolves of London" first hit my radio in 1978, and I even had the honor of being mistaken for him at one of Jackson Browne's Summerfest appearances around...
Rolling Stones movie: ‘Shine a Light’ (2008, Martin Scorsese)
I was bouncing around on the Web yesterday when I saw an ad for yet another Rolling Stones concert movie that's apparently coming out this Friday in IMAX theaters. Now, I have been a Rolling Stones fan since I received Goat's Head Soup as a Christmas present at age 13...
George W. Bush biography: ‘The Bush Tragedy’ by Jacob Weisberg
ou can sense the relief welling up in George W. Bush these days like a long-awaited gusher. He may as well be a sixth-grader in class on a 70-degree afternoon in May with the windows open. You could see it as the president tap-danced, waiting for...
‘Top Chef’ Chicago
I'm not a huge fan of reality TV, but I am feeling my pulse quicken at the thought of a new season of Top Chef premiering Wednesday night on Bravo at 9 p.m. Central. Throw in the fact that this season's competition is set in Chicago, and I almost want to start phoning...
Chef José Andrés: ‘Made in Spain’
Update, April 17, 2009: With the addition of the new YouTube Shows section, you can now watch all 13 episodes of Made in Spain at YouTube. I seem to be on a little bit of a Spanish kick with my posts here recently, so let's go for trillizos. If you like chefs with...
Penélope Cruz in ‘Volver’ (2006, director: Pedro Almodóvar)
Pedro Almodóvar, Spain's most prominent director, is especially known for his films about sisterhood and female solidarity, films like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and All About My Mother (1999). Volver...
Olde Madrid: Racine, WI restaurant offers tapas, paella
Olde Madrid (OldeMadrid.com) 418 6th St. Racine, WI 53403-1218 (262) 619-0940 Having enjoyed tapas and paella over the years at Don Quijote in Milwaukee, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and especially Emilio's Tapas in Chicagoland, we were excited when Manny Salinas and Natalie Pope...
Political campaign robocalls: Mosquitoes of election season
It happened last night, at seven minutes before seven o'clock. Amy and I were savoring our dinner of Cranberry-Pear Chicken (PDF recipe; we added fresh thyme), steamed asparagus and a cheap Zinfandel, and we were engrossed in Casino Royale, watching James Bond playing...
Back Door Slam: Young British band’s got the blues guitar
My brother-in-law Wayne, out there in Columbus, Ohio, is something of a music connoisseur. Wayne enjoys finding little-known talent. A couple of weeks ago, he gifted me with Mescalito, the major label debut from Ryan Bingham, a...
Tornado in Kenosha, Wisconsin: January 7, 2008
As people all over the world have heard, there was some frightening tornado activity in Kenosha, just a few short miles from here, on the afternoon of January 7. I received a lot of calls and emails from co-workers, friends, and family, but happily I had nothing to...
Young Che Guevara: ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ (2004 movie)
The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 Spanish-language buddy film about two guys from Argentina on a leaky Norton motorcycle taking a road trip through much of South America in 1952. One of the guys is the young Ernesto Guevara (a.k.a...
National Civil Rights Museum at Lorraine Motel in Memphis
Today, on the national holiday celebrating the birth of the Martin Luther King, Jr., there's a news story about how King has been simplified into an icon and a catchphrase, and the details of his life and work have been softened, blurred, and appropriated. Being seven...
Fleece jacket by Patagonia is lightweight, warm in winter
Every once in a while, you buy a product that turns out to be worth every penny you paid and then some. I was out walking for an hour or so today ahead of tonight's ominous wind chill advisory when it occurred to me that I really love my Patagonia R3 fleece jacket....
Vimeo: HD video on the Web
We heard a story on NPR's Weekend Edition yesterday from Dallas Morning News technology reporter Victor Godinez. He was touting Vimeo, a video-sharing Web site which, unlike the others, offers high-definition. According to Wikipedia, Vimeo has been around since...
‘The Story of Stuff’ with Annie Leonard
Update, 3/9/2010: Annie Leonard's project has just been published in book form. It is called: The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change (Free Press, 352 pages). Here's an infectious...
Terry Armour, 1961-2007
I'm sure everyone in the Steve Dahl Show family is stunned and saddened tonight as Amy and I were upon learning that Terry Armour has died from an apparent heart attack at the Chicago Tribune offices. Terry was an endless source of fun and humor at the remote...
Empire Fish Company: Milwaukee fish and seafood market
Empire Fish Company 11200 W Watertown Plank Rd Milwaukee, WI 53226 (414) 259-1330 www.EmpireFish.com There are two kinds of people in the world, and we spent Christmas Eve morning with our own. The other kind wince and whine when...
Pierogi recipes from my mom: Pierogi dough & fillings
s a Chicago-born guy of Polish descent, these pierogi recipes have always been central to my Christmas holiday. The humble pierogi is Poland's take on the ubiquitous filled noodle dumpling, enjoyed elsewhere as ravioli or kreplach or...
