After discussions over Easter with J and D about things that we'd need on our desert islands it was decided that there should be some organized receptacle for all of these data points. And thus, it has begun: desertislandblog.blogspot.com
Well, not Today today, but today as in March 20th, when I started this post. And the day that there were 2 interesting news bits out of the Keystone state. The first was from the Fair unfair city of Philadelphia, specifically from Geno's Steaks. Geno's, along with Pat's King of Steaks directly across the street, forms the nexus of the cheesesteak universe at 9th and Passyunk. To be clear, it's not that either Pat's or Geno's actually makes the best cheesesteak in the city, but they do serve the most cheesesteaks in the city. By far. Also, their almost identical steaks, on identical Amoroso rolls, with identical topping options (provolone, american, or whiz, fried or raw onions), engender surprisingly strong loyalties. Personally, I'm a Pat's guy. They chop their steak a little bit more, which I like, and don't have all the glitz and glamor of the Geno's storefront, which comes off a little too Wildwood, NJ for my taste. Also, their name is "Pat's King of Steaks", so they must be the best.
Anyway, a couple of years ago Geno's posted in their window a sign that read: 'This is America when ordering "Speak English"'.
Right above their long time pledge of customer satisfaction: "Management Reserves The Right To Refuse Service". When charges of racism and discrimination inevitably arose, Mr. Geno claimed he had never actually refused service to anyone because of the language they were speaking. That's probably true, I suspect any non-English speakers just got a stronger dose of the general assholery always being thrown about by the staffs of both Pat's and Geno's to all of their customers. Regardless, the sign quickly became the center of a debate over free speech/signage vs. immigrant rights, and resulted in a formal complaint to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. On March 20th, after 21 months, they finally decided that no, the sign is not discriminatory. Just sort of douchy. To the best of my knowledge, as of yet there has not been a lawsuit demanding that the unnecessary quotation marks around "Speak English" be removed. But there probably should be.
Story #2 was a NY Times dispatch from Johnstown, PA, deep in the heart of the 'tucky portion of Pennsyltucky. As part of their continuing series proving how in touch they are with the common folk, the Times reported on the general apathy among the small town Pennsylvanian electorate towards the upcoming primary vote. In a proud moment for all Pennsylvanians, they conclude with a quote from a local business leader:
Peter Contacos, 42, the fourth generation of his family to own and operate Coney Island Lunch, [...] will not vote for Senator Barack Obama, “because his name is Barack Hussein Obama — case closed.” Mr. Contacos, an avid hunter who proudly displays pictures of himself with a magnificently maned lion he killed in Botswana, said he considered Mr. Obama “a terrorist.”
Oh, hello .blogworld, I didn't see you there. I've been busy eating eggs all week. On Monday, Joanna and I ate these two eggs over pizza at Pizza Brutta. The green Chevy coup would be released from the mechanic in a matter of hours, until then we enjoyed our unexpected day together over gray yolks and homemade soda mixes.
On Tuesday I brought this little green beauty with me for lunch, which, per usual, I ate at my desk while doing the crossword. Immediately preceding eating this egg I spent 95 minutes in a meeting talking about the phonological inventories of baby Hmongs. The egg was much more eggciting, and its yolk was much less grey than Monday's eggs.
Wednesday lunch found me back at my desk at lab with another green egg. This one loudly proclaimed "BANG!", in homage to Status Quo from America's Best Dance Crew. If you haven't watched this show you've missed some seriouzly hard dance, the always prescient commentary of Lil Mama, and some outrageously inappropriate video effects.
I briefly contemplated the vast agro-industrial complex that had yielded to me this non-free range egg, before enjoying the little baby chicken embryo inside.
Thursday's egg [not pictured] was eaten during my office hours in the linguistics department. I was interrupted mid-egg by a student confused by α-notation. I'm still unsure of the proper etiquette for this situation. Should I finish my egg before talking to you, or leave my partially eaten speckled egg sitting on the desk while we talk linguistics? I chose the later.
Friday's egg was my Lady Rapper Egg, subtley emblazoned with my moniker "Morning Glory Wood". I ate this egg while contemplating the ellusive El Dorado of Lady Rapper-hood: the Lady Flip. Joanna, Darcy, have you been practicing?
This week's Sweater Thursday was truly a jumentous momentous event. I wish I had been able to write this post yesterday, and document it better. Neither of those things happened, but this is what did: (The following story is true. None of the names have been changed to protect anyone's privacy.)
In preparation for Girls Gone Wild Madison 2008 Joanna and I were talking on the Phone Wednesday night. She brought up the fact that if we were going to be in Iowa City this weekend again we would have to go see Leslie and The Lys, (a.k.a. the Gem Sweater Girl). Leslie, of Leslie and the Lys, is a Lady Rapper out of Ames, Iowa. She is dedicated to documenting, caring for, and promoting that which is The Gem Sweater. We weren't going to be in Iowa City though, we were going to be in Madison, WI (see above event name RE: GGWM 2008). After doing a little research (of the youTube, myspace, and google variety) I was fascinated. It was then that I came upon her tour schedule. I immediately realized that her scheduled performance at The High Noon Saloon, in Madison, on Sweater Thursday was a sign. From the Sweater Gods. I quickly informed Joanna of this, and there was much celebration.
Thursday night there was much preparation for our date with The Gem Sweater. Darcy and Joanna donned sparkly things and brightly colored tights, I put on a colorful tie (from my collection of Ties I Have Known, That Are Ugly), and blog posts were put off so that they could include the Day's Featured Event. At this point we made our one and only mistake of the evening; despite talking about who was bringing a camera, both Joanna and I managed to leave my apartment without one. 
Unfortunately for you, there are no words that adequately describe Leslie and the Lys' live show. It was everything we were hoping for and much more. It is disappointing that there are no pictures of us from that night. This is a recreation of my outfit taken the following morning:
[Rizzo is always up for a good time; Kermit is usually passed out somewhere]
And this was our late night snack upon arriving home. I have recently received both my Mustard of the Month Club and my Cheese of the Month Club shipments. As you can see, they compliment each other very nicely. The morbier in particular had a delicious rind; earthy and buttery, with a hint of clovery freshness.
1. Dickeysville, WI has a grotto dedicated to Jesus, Mary, and America.
2. The academic elite of Dubuque, IA attend Loras College, not Dubuque University or Emmaus Bible.
3. A cheese sandwich at George's really is just a cheese sandwich. But on a bun. With stuff. It is not a euphemism for a burger though.
4. The Amana Colonies are neither Amish, Mennonite, nor really colonies any more. They do have a brewery, a wool factory that specializes in Senior Fashion, a Schnitzelbank, and lots of swings.
5. Veronica Mars is a compilation of unresolved plot lines, whispered meaniful statments, short glimpses of important documents, unexplained sexual innuendo, and witty comebacks that demands your full attention.
[UPDATE:]
6. Iowa City was once the capital of Iowa. For like 3 days.
7. Walk-o Tacos are only served on weekdays.
Iowa City in photos
Another in my series of stripes. Speaking of stripes, I was once laughed at for wearing horizontal stripes at a party. It's true that the two girls who were laughing probably shouldn't make a habit of wearing horizontals; I'm not fat though, so I look good in them. I said something along those lines to them, after which they got upset and left the Flip Cup table. Then I drank their beer, made them admit they were false prophets, that God was a lie, and smashed their heads in with a bowling pin.
Saturday.
1a. Socks: Jobonga in particular may recognize this pair as her camera is currently sheathed in the top 4 inches of one of them. That has not stopped me from incorporating them into my regular rotation.
1b. Sock: I'm in the mood to sock the person who brought up TubGirl in conversation yesterday. I do not recommend clicking that link.
2. My love for everything Lil' Mama has continued to grow.
3. I have recently joined a new Facebook group.
--> 3 kidneys*
--> 2 hearts
--> 1 love.
4. This afternoon we were in attendance for the New Berlin - Eisenhower victory in the WIAA boys basketball division 2 championship game. Go Lions. The Adams-Friendship Green Devils couldn't handle the multitude of 3 pointers from #13. This had two significant effects. It made #44 cry, which was broadcast on the Jumbo-Tron for the whole Kohl center to witness up close, and very personally. Second, with 6 minutes left to play and A-F down by only 8 points, their coach had visibly given up all hope. I was depressed for the Green Devils, and I was rooting against them. This doesn't seem like good coaching strategy. I'm planning on a starting a petition to get him fired.
5. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2356412&page=1&id=8609115
I wish I owned more sweater vests. This is one of two in my possession, and I need to remedy that situation. I usually pair this vest with a bold shirt underneath. Today I paired it with a bold quilt. It has been claimed this is the ugliest quilt in Madison. I agree, but I like it anyway. And I think it makes me look good in comparison.
[photo credit: Mary Clare Jensen]
I put these socks on around 6:00 PM Friday night, roughly 20 minutes after deciding to go to The Kee for The Leap Day celebration. I wore them until I got up from my nap on Saturday, sometime around 5:00 PM. Now I'm writing about them on Sunday. That averages out to a Saturday Socks post.
In addition to the fotos, two videos resulted from Friday night:
1. I try to get Tommy to do a flip into the snow. I'm not sure if I came up with the idea or he did. It doesn't matter.
2. Tommy falls down. Katie falls down. Then Tommy falls down. Then Katie falls down again. Then she wants to talk about it.
Yesterday I had a great urge to sock the makers of Feedburner. I can't get it to work on my blog and it has been pissing me off of late.
