A Sad Day for Chef
 

I think you should give him access to both of your puppies (for free, of course).

What is his relationship to Anderson Cooper (the CNN guy who is Gloria's son)?

A Sad Day for Chef
 

Going solely by your unnaturally smooth avatar, I feel obliged to remind you I am not a gay male.

Edited to add that this is a good example of how to sock. Kinda like "Bundle of Sticks" and "Tater Tots and Laundry."

Poll: On the Road
 

No, no, no, not the Reagan library. That is boring.

The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home.

Much more interesting.

Please help
 

EV-ERY-WHERE YOU GO . . . DUANE READE.

Good, now it's stuck in your head too.

str8.

A Sad Day for Chef
 

I say "that's mostly correct" all the time, and I've said it in court a lot, since I'm perpetually arguing half truths. Absolute or not, you can say that.

FYI - I was a 3.4 English major in creative writing. I shit you not.

Poll: On the Road
 

Awww yeah. Peoria strip clubs are legendary. Not sure I'd stick around that strange town after dark though.

Also, what is that town on the Mississippi where Grant was from? Lots o Chicagoans swear its the prettiest place in Illinois. For the life of me though, I can't remember its name. Never been out that way myself.

Hello

Poll: On the Road
 

Make a point of stopping either in Taos or Santa Fe. Wander around the city centers. Head into a local-looking bar close to (but not on) the Plaza. Have a few and ask the bartender where they would suggest eating good northern mexican/new mexican food. Eat dinner there, particularly if it is a $2 burrito stand in the wrong part of town. It will ruin you for mexican food in DC forever, but it will be worth it.

If you've a taste for religious weirdness, between the two cities is the Santuario de Chamayo. There is a shrine in an old convent where the Virgin has appeared and worked miracles. It has been "discovered" and so the whole place is sort of a zoo now, but it is still worth seeing if you've an interest. The town also is famous for its fabulous weaving.

If you wind up in Santa Fe, be sure to have breakfast in the restaurant in the lobby of La Fonda (if you stay overnight in Santa Fe, stay there - it's not the fanciest hotel in town, but it is where one stays and has been since 1607). If you go to Taos, go to the pueblo, which has been continuously occupied for more than a thousand years. The spanish mission at Taos was established in 1589, and Santa Fe was was established by 1608 and made the capital of New Mexico in 1610, making them older than any east-coast european settlements other than St. Augustine in FL and, in the case of Santa Fe, Roanoke and Jamestown. Enjoy experiencing a bit of the invisible history of your country.

BR(and listen for the hum in Taos)C

A Sad Day for Chef
 

I'm beginning to think you might need a spanking as well. Don't know why... you just strike me as the sort who'd appreciate it.

Call me when you're in Philly... I have wooden stirring spoon that make a magnificent cracking sound.

S(or we can just argue about federal tax lien issues and let the sexual tension build to a frothier boil than it already is...)D

A Sad Day for Chef
 

While Kirsten's breasts are phenomenal, I see 15 girls on the street everyday who are better looking than her. Not that she's ugly. Just above-average and plain.

A Sad Day for Chef
 

Which street?

Poll: On the Road
 

The town is Galena. Never been there either. Hear it's nice, but it's not near anything...

Peoria = Big, as in Big John's BBQ and Big Al's, which draws every red-blooded American male from hundreds of miles around... BBQ, breasts and a Boat (of the gambling variety) all within a few blocks...

A Sad Day for Chef
 

Isn't this a variation of the "heart" invention discussion? I thought the "mainly correct" gem came from the genius known as Tripplehorne from his break-up email.

But, then again, maybe I'm not mainly correct. Wouldn't be the first time.

A Sad Day for Chef
 

Surprise, surprise, you don't get my point.

I'm not saying no one should take off their clothes. I'm not saying that the naked body isn't to be appreciated. It's like you can only hear your broken record (and yes, it's you with the broken record and the same cued-up response to any post with certain SD triggers in it) that keeps playing in your head.

What I'm saying is if you DO have certain principles, you don't have to sell them to the highest bidder. If your child was kidnapped and brainwashed and you live a comfortable life (financially speaking), it actually might not be a good idea to cash in on her story. She may be too young to make that decision for herself. You should be protecting her, not exploiting her. If she has a negative reaction to all of this (and her interview with Katie Couric is not the best example of what's going on in her head) down the road, you're a piece of shit, greedy motherfucker who took advantage of a horrible time in your family for some cash. That's an example of not necessarily having to take the money, take the money, take the money! Can you see it?

And Britney Spears may not be the best example because I think she's a whore for attention and money. (I also think that she's been made that way when she was very young and didn't have the sense to make her own decisions and let everyone make them for her -- now that she's older and is in a position to make some decisions, she thinks, like you, that the ones that bring her the most cash are the right ones.) But I also think she didn't have to take her clothes off. And the extra cash it gets her doesn't make a fucking difference. In fact, she expressed some regret after doing it. So, maybe it wasn't such a great idea, especially since she didn't have to to be one of the wealthiest people in the world.

And I'm glad you brought up Halle Berry -- perfect example. She sold out. She didn't want to take her clothes off. She hasn't her whole career. Why did she do it in Swordfish? $500,000. Did she need that extra $500,000? No. It was stupid. She should have waited for Monster's Ball where there was a reason for it. In Swordfish, she looked uncomfortable the whole time she was topless and it added nothing to the plot. And while I love looking at her naked breasts, I would not think she was any less attractive if she didn't show them to the world.

So, the point is, you don't have to sell out just because it will get you a bunch of cash. Cash doesn't necessarily equal happiness. Especially when you're already flush with it. Your principles don't always have to be for sale.

TM

Poll: On the Road
 

Agree re Nebraska generally, but not if you are talking about I-80, which follows the North Platte River. All around you is the prairie, but you wouldn't know it for the longest time because you are stuck in a little corridor of irrigated farmland. And the truck traffic is a drag. Better to pick a parallel state highway.

Mark Leyner describing I-80 in Iowa (as I recall):

corn
corn
corn
Stuckey's
corn
corn

A Sad Day for Chef
 

Michigan Ave. Interspersed among the fucking suburbanite shoppers...