The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
It Seems to Have Worked
That “Book Club Bundle” idea seems to have worked. Once anyway.
A group of four used copies of Cold Mountain for $2.50 (and we included information on some websites for discussion questions) took about a week to sell. Unfortunately, while we have two copies of several suitable books, we have four copies (minimum for a book club, I should think) of only one – Death of a Salesman. I am certain the reason we have four copies of it is that my high school teaches it to English classes in the junior year. I hated that book.
So – not an obvious pick, like Cold Mountain, but worth a shot. And I am going to be on the lookout for more.
Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago, by Mike Royko
Since Mike Royko’s death, I have been seeing his books everywhere. I picked up Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago at the Library Used Book Store. When my mother saw me reading it, she asked if it was my father’s copy. He had to read it in college. They went to college in Ohio.
This particular edition had a new introduction written by the author after Daley’s death. The introduction was downright poetic, in my opinion:
“If a man ever reflected his city, it was Richard J. Daley and Chicago.
In some ways, he was this town at its best – strong, hard-driving, working feverishly, pushing, building, driven by ambitions so big they seemed Texas-boastful.
In other ways, he was this city at its worst – arrogant, crude, conniving, ruthless, suspicious, intolerant.
He wasn’t graceful, suave, witty or smooth. But then, this is not Paris or San Francisco.
He was raucous, sentimental, hot-tempered, practical, simple, devious, big and powerful. This is, after all, Chicago.”
Meatheads
The Moe’s Southwest Grill didn’t last very long in Northbrook, which was sad. But last month, a new burger place called Meatheads moved into its place. I wasn’t sure why the heck we needed one more burger place, but for one reason or another my mother was driving by there and picked up some carry out for dinner.
We each had a kiddie sized burger, which they call the ‘Lil Meathead, and cajun fries.
The burgers are the really pressed-flat kind and pretty crispy around the edges. Tasted just fine, but the cajun fries were the main event for me:
Fresh. Cut. French fries. With cheese sauce.
I love this place.
Overall, Meatheads is rather pricey for quick service burgers. But the restaurant looks great, the location is good and omg the fries. They have been open for six weeks and we have been there three times.
It looks like the other locations are college-towns.. Naperville and downstate. I wouldn’t drive halfway across the state for it (Cook County has plenty of hot dog joints with fresh cut fries, thank you), but if Meatheads is in your path, I recommend it.
Dominick Dunne
Dunne is the reason I started subscribing to Vanity Fair (although I still haven’t caught up from all of my back issues from last semester). His writing was just far enough above Joe Gossipcolumnist that I didn’t feel bad reading it. The novels are brain-candy, but the celebrity trial stuff was good.
For example:
Most of America came to know him from the O.J. trial. He was. Obsessed. With the O.J. trial. In the aftermath, when people were trying to figure out how O.J. might actually be innocent of the crimes, a theory went around that O.J. didn’t do it, but his son Jason did. The theory explained a lot of stuff like why O.J. was acting guilty if he wasn’t guilty (because he knew something and/or covered up something) and why there was blood somewhere and maybe even some DNA stuff. O.J. didn’t tell the truth about what he knew in order to protect his kid. When Dunne was asked to comment, he said something like:
It isn’t a bad theory; it might explain a lot of things. But personally, I don’t buy it. I watched O.J. Simpson’s every move for months and it is my opinion that he is far too selfish to risk going to prison for the rest of his life to protect one of his children. I think he would have done anything to save his own skin.
What made Dunne good is that he paid attention, he talked to people and he made no bones about the fact that he was on a side. His daughter’s murder made him a victim’s advocate. He wrote a column and gave his opinion. Sometimes, like in the case of Gary Condit, it got him into trouble. Sometimes the “dishing” got to be a bit much. But he wrote with a lot of heart – affection for the people he met and liked and venom for those he truly considered to be the bad guys.
And now with are left with TMZ. Sad day.
The President’s Reading List
Slate.com wrote about the books the President took on vacation with him this week. The purpose was to over-analyze the selections and debate on what he would or would not finish. And what does it mean that all of these books are written by white men? (My answer? Not a bloody thing. Leave the man alone.) The list:
“The Way Home by George Pelecanos, a crime thriller based in Washington, D.C.;
Lush Life by Richard Price, a story of race and class set in New York’s Lower East Side;
Tom Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded, on the benefits to America of an environmental revolution;
John Adams by David McCullough;
Plainsong by Kent Haruf, a drama about the life of eight different characters living in a Colorado prairie community.”
Incidentally, I have read none of the above – although there is a copy of the Adams biography in my library.
I am such a sucker for this stuff.
The Difference
Now this is interesting. MSN Money has an article (well, it is really a blog post) trying to determine why some people earn $30,000 and some earn $100,000:
“Many commenters noted that, from their experience, high-income earners generally exhibit several of the following traits:
They maintain a strong work ethic.
They don’t watch the clock.
They seek to improve their skills.
They do quality work.
They’re flexible and adaptable.
They maintain a good social network.
They possess self-confidence.”
No surprise, but the comments were at least as interesting as the original post. “Luck” was absolutely named as a factor. In my experience, being at the right place at the right time is a big deal. Knowing someone that knows someone. But while I can’t cite it, I could swear there was statistical evidence that established tall people earn more than short people, and thin people earn more than heavy people. And that is before we even get to race, gender and ethnicity. And education. And choosing the “right” field.
I love reading this stuff – for the sake of argument. But the real question is: what is that salary worth to you? Are you spending your time the way that you want to spend it? Do you have a lifestyle that you can afford?
Assuming that your basic needs are met..What makes you happy?
Lost Dog
Edit: Margarita has been found. She is safe at home now. So now I am just leaving cute dog picture on my blog.
Speaking of "Forgotten Bookmarks"
I don’t even know what book this was marking, because it fell from a pile that I was sorting, but I found an old postcard:
The back says:
CAPE CRAFT PINE
Hwy. 17 North
Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29577
Phone (803) 449-5423
EARLY AMERICAN DECORATOR ITEMS
DIRECT FROM FACTORY AT WHOLESALE PRICES
I Googled it and found that the postcard is from the ’70s and it seems to be going for $3.99 on ebay. Another site, titled “Myrtle Beach – Other Landmarks” tells me that:
“Today, its a golf supply store, like many others along the highway. “
So. That was depressing.
Trying Something New
At the last meeting of the Used Book Store committee, we came around to the topic of having multiple copies of books. Should we keep every copy on the shelves? Perhaps take extra copies to sell to Half Price Books? Someone threw out the idea of bundling them together for book clubs. The “Book Club in a Bag” seems to be a really popular thing for checking out at the library, so we thought we would give it a try:
We had four copies of Cold Mountain, certainly a Book Club favorite (I’ve never read it myself, but I saw most of the movie back when we still had HBO). Three hardcover and one trade paperback for $2.50. The little sign in the front has suggested web sites for discussion questions. I don’t know whether this is going to fly, but I have a list of other titles that I am watching for similar bundling. Four copies seems to be a good target, although I’m not sure Death of a Salesman is likely to be a crowd-pleaser.
Conversations with Alex
I was having dinner last night with my nephew, Alex, aged 4 1/2. My brother, Scott, was waiting for his wife so they could leave for dinner:
Scott: Alex, tell Aunt Anne what we did today.
Alex: We went to see the Barrington Broncos practice (football).
Scott: What did we do before that?
Alex: Played football (on the field).
Scott: How many touchdowns did you score?
Alex: A hundred.
Me: Alex, do you know the word “exaggerate”?
Alex: How do you spell it?
Me: E,x….
Scott: (snorts)
Me: E,x,a,g,g,e,r,a,t,e.
Alex: What the heck is that?
Me: It’s when you say that you scored 100 touchdowns, but it was really less than that.
Scott: Alex, it wasn’t really 100, was it?
Alex: No.
Scott: But it was probably 20.
The Next Dark Age 