This afternoon I went to Decaturish and saw this on the front page. It was a sock in the gut to realize that the Kevin Davis referred to worked behind the counter at Sawicki's.
The killing happened while I was out of town for the holidays. In his obituary I learned that Kevin was a fellow Wisconsinite.
I am not just a customer of Kevin Davis's employer. I am an enthusiastic fan of Sawicki's, and Lynn's employees are among the reasons. Kevin knew his stuff, was unfailingly friendly and helpful, and seemed to be an all-around good guy. I can't say he was a friend, but whenever I stepped in to Sawicki's to pick up a sandwich and he was behind the counter, I knew I would be taken care of.
I think I'll have more to say on this wrong. For now, let me say that of the dozens of places in the metro that Margaret and I have eaten in together, Sawicki's is in a very small group which are special not just because of the quality of what we eat there but also because of the love you see in everything the people there do: love for people, love for good food, love for the mission of bringing good food to people. On that list: Sawicki's, Sobban, Duck's. We are eating at Duck's tonight. I will pour out a libation for Kevin.
http://www.decaturish.com/2015/02/dekalb-sheriffs-office-clarifies-its-response-in-kevin-davis-case/
Friday, February 13, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Jeff's High School days
Jeff didn't have it easy in high school, and classmates didn't always make it any easier for them to learn anything. Carl found this video the other day while looking at You Tube videos on/about/from DHHS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ImHwtzO48g
Jeff can be glimpsed occasionally behind the girl on the left in the green jacket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ImHwtzO48g
Jeff can be glimpsed occasionally behind the girl on the left in the green jacket.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Russell Brand on the Death of Thatcher
I just read Russell Brand's essay on the death of Thatcher: http://bit.ly/ZOXybC
I have no idea who this man is, other than a celebrity and comedian. I've never seen his work. I wasn't impressed with much of his essay, either: its similes and metaphors are a bit tangled and needed some more combing before publication, but then again this is a piece of journalism that needed to be published now. I'd rather have it too snarled than so straight as to be meaningless. Goodness knows we see and hear enough of THAT twaddle every single day.
I want to share a few snippets, though, that resonate with me, as I think of the death of this person, and the unseemly ways her fans and foes have responded to the news.
" . . . if you opposed Thatcher's ideas it was likely because of their lack of compassion, which is really just a word for love. If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one's enemies."
I had never heard, before this week, that she publicly stated that there is "no such thing as society."
"Norman Tebbit, one of Thatcher's acolytes . . . said when the National Union of Mineworkers eventually succumbed to the military onslaught and starvation over which she presided: "We didn't just break the strike, we broke the spell." The spell he was referring to is the unseen bond that connects us all and prevents us from being subjugated by tyranny. The spell of community."
"Barack Obama, interestingly, said in his statement that she had "broken the glass ceiling for other women". Only in the sense that all the women beneath her were blinded by falling shards. She is an icon of individualism, not of feminism."
And here's a good paragraph, sparked by her being shown on the news walking arm in arm with Pinochet, and standing up for him:
"It always irks when rightwing folk demonstrate in a familial or exclusive setting the values that they deny in a broader social context. They're happy to share big windfall bonuses with their cronies, they'll stick up for deposed dictator chums when they're down on their luck, they'll find opportunities in business for people they care about. I hope I'm not being reductive but it seems Thatcher's time in power was solely spent diminishing the resources of those who had least for the advancement of those who had most. I know from my own indulgence in selfish behaviour that it's much easier to get what you want if you remove from consideration the effect your actions will have on others." (italics added)
That is all.
I have no idea who this man is, other than a celebrity and comedian. I've never seen his work. I wasn't impressed with much of his essay, either: its similes and metaphors are a bit tangled and needed some more combing before publication, but then again this is a piece of journalism that needed to be published now. I'd rather have it too snarled than so straight as to be meaningless. Goodness knows we see and hear enough of THAT twaddle every single day.
I want to share a few snippets, though, that resonate with me, as I think of the death of this person, and the unseemly ways her fans and foes have responded to the news.
" . . . if you opposed Thatcher's ideas it was likely because of their lack of compassion, which is really just a word for love. If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one's enemies."
I had never heard, before this week, that she publicly stated that there is "no such thing as society."
"Norman Tebbit, one of Thatcher's acolytes . . . said when the National Union of Mineworkers eventually succumbed to the military onslaught and starvation over which she presided: "We didn't just break the strike, we broke the spell." The spell he was referring to is the unseen bond that connects us all and prevents us from being subjugated by tyranny. The spell of community."
"Barack Obama, interestingly, said in his statement that she had "broken the glass ceiling for other women". Only in the sense that all the women beneath her were blinded by falling shards. She is an icon of individualism, not of feminism."
And here's a good paragraph, sparked by her being shown on the news walking arm in arm with Pinochet, and standing up for him:
"It always irks when rightwing folk demonstrate in a familial or exclusive setting the values that they deny in a broader social context. They're happy to share big windfall bonuses with their cronies, they'll stick up for deposed dictator chums when they're down on their luck, they'll find opportunities in business for people they care about. I hope I'm not being reductive but it seems Thatcher's time in power was solely spent diminishing the resources of those who had least for the advancement of those who had most. I know from my own indulgence in selfish behaviour that it's much easier to get what you want if you remove from consideration the effect your actions will have on others." (italics added)
That is all.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Waiting to See the Black Van in the Parking Lot
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/522/848/1600/LIH-Stress.jpg
This just about sums it up, folks:
This just about sums it up, folks:
Monday, October 18, 2010
with benefits
Hi,
One of the cool things about being a woodworker is that you get to see wood in ways most people never do get to see it. Perhaps the classic example is eastern red cedar, which when freshly planed is a gorgeous pink shade of purple. Within a few days, it fades to the reddish brown most people are familiar with.The other day I was prepping some stock for my dovetails by hand class at Highland Woodworking. I like to use yellow poplar in these classes, because it's not expensive or fancy, so nobody's nervous about "wasting" "expensive" wood just for learning. It's also, usually, a vaguely greenish shade of yellow when freshly milled, and turns caramelly brown over time.
This batch of wood, though, had been put into the kiln without any initial air drying, and so things stayed pretty wet in the kiln for the first part of the cycle. The fungus had some fun with this stuff. I planed through some black gunk on the outside of the planks, and lo, the interior of the wood had some gorgeous red and purple staining, here and there, like cranberry clouds in a chartreuse sky on the cover of a science fiction paperback from the 1960's. Like this:
Unfortunately, this is just fugitive color in a few random pieces of lumber. Not enough to design a project around, and probably nothing that would remain visible for any length of time. Just another unquantifiable benefit you get as a woodworker.
One of the cool things about being a woodworker is that you get to see wood in ways most people never do get to see it. Perhaps the classic example is eastern red cedar, which when freshly planed is a gorgeous pink shade of purple. Within a few days, it fades to the reddish brown most people are familiar with.The other day I was prepping some stock for my dovetails by hand class at Highland Woodworking. I like to use yellow poplar in these classes, because it's not expensive or fancy, so nobody's nervous about "wasting" "expensive" wood just for learning. It's also, usually, a vaguely greenish shade of yellow when freshly milled, and turns caramelly brown over time.
This batch of wood, though, had been put into the kiln without any initial air drying, and so things stayed pretty wet in the kiln for the first part of the cycle. The fungus had some fun with this stuff. I planed through some black gunk on the outside of the planks, and lo, the interior of the wood had some gorgeous red and purple staining, here and there, like cranberry clouds in a chartreuse sky on the cover of a science fiction paperback from the 1960's. Like this:
Unfortunately, this is just fugitive color in a few random pieces of lumber. Not enough to design a project around, and probably nothing that would remain visible for any length of time. Just another unquantifiable benefit you get as a woodworker.
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