Got Bored, So. . . .

I changed up the fonts and the color scheme a bit. Better? Worse? Meh? Lemme know.

The Dim Sum Room

Sometimes nostalgia is overrated. It's been a long time since I spent a lot of time out clubbing on a Friday night and, to be honest, I don't miss it very much. It's very much a young person's game.

For the most part, I remember avoiding dance clubs. Things were especially dismal at my alma mater, Beloit College. There you typically had a choice between the campus pub, an iniquitous dive misleadingly named the Coughy Haus, where the air was chokingly thick with smoke and the music veered wildly between extended Grateful Dead jams and stuff like Flipper, depending on which bartender was on duty. You could theoretically dance there, but those that tried typically had their feet stick to the floor. And it's awfully hard to dance to Flipper.

There was another reason it was easy to avoid dance clubs. Frankly, there weren't any. The other bar that Beloit students typically went to was Goody's, a classic Wisconsin tavern that had a great jukebox filled with solid gold hits from the 1960s, cheap beer and slightly oddball versions of bar activities, including a vintage shuffleboard table and a bumper pool table. We liked Hemingway in those days and we considered it a clean, well-lighted place. But it wasn't exactly a festival of 80s zeitgeist. So the young coeds who wanted to dance were mostly stymied. Except for one semester, when we had the Dim Sum Room.

You couldn't make this place up. The local Elks lodge had a large upstairs space that for some reason they had decided to turn into a Chinese dim sum place, complete with rolling tea carts and the whole shebang. It was a short-lived experiment, since no one in Beloit had any idea what dim sum was. To make a go of it, these entrepreneurial Elks also decided to flex their liquor license and open up the place on the weekends. They hired a Beloit student to spin records. And so, for the winter of 1983, the coeds had a place to dance.

It was a strange place indeed, festooned with strings of hanging beads but otherwise with the ambience of an airplane hangar. But when the music would play and the coeds would dance, it had a certain twisted magic. And on Friday nights, I can still recall the mix of anticipation and dread upon entering this spare but kitschy kingdom. Some of the coeds were girls we wanted to know a little better, so we ended up hanging out, dimly, in the Dim Sum room.

As dance music goes, it wasn't bad. The student deejay was a New Yorker and had a pretty good record collection. He could keep it going most of the evening and a typical night might have sounded like this:

Baby Stay With Me Tonight

Too Shy

You Dropped a Bomb on Me

Nasty Girl

The Other Woman

Der Kommissar

Genius of Love

Save It For Later

Situation

Let it Whip

Dancing With Myself

I'm Coming Out

Rapture

Don't You Want Me

The Look of Love

Billie Jean

That's the way I remember it. It was better with beer, though.

Teaching Maria to Play Cribbage

My son is off camping up at Stearns (fortunately in a shelter) so today seemed like a good night to start teaching my daughter Maria how to play cribbage. I learned to play cribbage when I was a youngster and I've always loved playing it. Besides being a fun game to play, it's an excellent game for teaching math skills and at 8 1/2 years of age, Maria is at the perfect age to learn.

So we sprawled out on the living room floor and I started teaching her the rules. Eventually Mrs. D came over and started helping Maria a little bit. As the hands continued and the pegs moved around the board, you could see the light come on, little by little. And by the end of the game, Maria had won, finishing off with a nice 16-point hand. She was delighted. And so was I. Besides, I'm used to losing to my kids in cribbage.

Let's See a Movie

They really don't make movie trailers the way they used to. Here are a few movie trailers that really make you want to see the movie.

North by Northwest

Goldfinger

The Day of the Jackal

The Manchurian Candidate

Chinatown

The NTSB Speaks

As expected, the NTSB will issue its final report tomorrow. And as has been expected, it turns out the bridge was doomed from the beginning. So here's my suggestion to all those people who tried to make political hay over this tragedy. Let the report come out, read it carefully and make sure you understand the recommendations. And put your knives away.

Fearless Dilettante Football Predictions - What a Bear Does in the Woods Edition

The game schedule is diminishing further. But we'll pick what we've got:

Kimberly Papermakers 41, Marshfield Tigers 14. It's the state semifinals in Wisconsin, so in theory the opponent should be pretty good. I even imagine that the Marshfield Tigers are pretty good. But Kimberly is applying a terrifying smackdown on everyone its path. That doesn't stop this week.

ACTUAL RESULT: KIMBERLY 40, MARSHFIELD 7. I don't think the Papermakers are worried about either Verona or Sussex Hamilton, next week's opponent. Pretty amazing, really.

Wisconsin Badgers 31, Minnesota Golden Gophers 17. All of a sudden this ancient rivalry is getting hot. It's pretty clear that Brett Bielema and Tim Brewster don't like each other very much and there's already been a lot of smack talk this week. The game will get settled on the field and I think the calculus comes down to this: without Eric Decker to stretch the field, the Gophers have offensive issues, even though Adam Weber might be the best quarterback in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Badgers now have two excellent running backs in P. J. Hill and John Clay. The Gophers defense has improved, but not enough to win in Madison.

ACTUAL RESULT: WISCONSIN 35, MINNESOTA 32. The axe stays in Madison. Barely.

Green Bay Packers 21, Chicago Bears 16. I'm not really confident about this pick at all, but I get the sense that the Packers are due for a better week. The Bears really dominated the lines of scrimmage the last time these two teams played and there's a chance that could happen again. But I think the Packers will learn from what happened last week. And even if it were the 1985 Bears against the 1976 Packers, I still wouldn't pick the Bears. Just can't do it. Just won't do it.

ACTUAL RESULT: PACKERS 37, DA BEARZ 3. I know this result won't make Bear fan Gino feel any better. But it warms my evil little heart rather a lot. Lotsa Lambeau Leaps in this one, too, which is always a welcome sight. And meanwhile, there's a real logjam at the top of the NFC Norris, because. . . .

Tampa Bay Bucs 24, Purple Helmeted Love Warriors 13. Adrian Peterson is a wonderful back. But the guess here is that the Bucs get up early and the Vikings are forced to rely on Gus Frerotte to win the game. That never seems to go well.

ACTUAL RESULT: TAMPA BAY 19, VIKINGS 13. As I said, when you have to depend on Gus Frerotte to win the game, it doesn't go well.

Gino's On the Mend

And now a word about my friend Gino. As you may know, Gino had surgery about two weeks ago to remove a carotid tumor, a pretty serious deal. The surgery was a tough one and he's had a tough row to hoe in recent weeks, although he's slowly getting his strength back.

Gino is a hell of a guy and his blog, Such is Life, is definitely worth your time, despite the fact that he let me befoul it recently. Even when I disagree with Gino on an issue, he always makes me think twice, especially when I'm indulging in the bad habit of being too clever by half. One of the best parts about blogging is that if you come to it with an open mind, you'll get to know people who help you to understand the world better. Gino has done that for me. He does that for a lot of people, actually, which is why he has a very loyal following.

Rest up, good sir -- better days are ahead!

Give The Dork a Little Love

As a reminder, if you need a break from politics, there's a very worthy destination on my sidebar. Dorky Dad has been issuing forth consistent hilarity for a long time now. Just hit the link and keep scrolling -- I'm certain you'll find several things that will make you laugh out loud. And the most impressive part is this: he never works blue (unless you count occasional references to early childhood bodily functions) and if he has a political view, he consistently keeps it to himself. That's a good trick. And the most amazing part of all -- like me, he is a New Brighton resident. And as we all know, New Brighton is hardly a font of mirth. Click that link.

Stinger and Amanda Discuss Prop 8

I'm really going to try to avoid politics on the blog for a few days, but that doesn't mean that political discussions don't take place elsewhere. My brother the Stinger has a post up at his place concerning Proposition 8, which also references a post from Amanda at Memeopolis. Go read both -- even if you don't agree with them, they both have a take worth considering.

How's the Whither?

It usually seems to follow the same trajectory for the side that loses the election. First you have the posts with sadness. Then for about a week or so the long knives come out. Now, one week on, it's time for the whither check.

What Do We Do Now? The posts are all over the place. The invaluable Ed Morrissey warns against ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome) and gets over 700 comments, with over half of them demonstrating a certain level of derangement. Jeff Kouba over at TvM offers a sampling of possible responses from others, including an especially interesting and mordant one from P. J. O'Rourke. Jim Treacher offers some context. Iowahawk takes the long view, reminding us all of the progress we've made:

In his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial 45 years ago, Dr. King said "I have a dream that one day my children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Let us now take pride that Tuesday we Americans proved that neither thing matters anymore.

Ya know what? I think the best thing to do is this -- don't worry too much about what Obama is going to do, or not do. You can't do much about it right now anyway. The next thing that will matter on the political calendar is the official start of the recount in the Coleman/Franken Texas Cage Death Match. That starts on November 19. Until then, I'd recommend not thinking about politics at all. That's what I'm going to try to do for the next week.

Instead, let's remember that there are better things to think about in life. Like this. And this. And this. And this. And this. And this. And this. Find some of your own this and enjoy.

Hoist on His Own Petard, Volume XXXIV

So Barack Obama blows off campaign finance limits, raises a bajillion dollars in ways that at a minimum skirted the law and the FEC plans to do. . . nothing.

Meanwhile, John McCain dutifully complies with the rules that he did so much to promulgate and his campaign faces a statutory audit that will likely cost millions.

Mr. McCain-Feingold, he dead.

Just Say No to. . .

Jamie Gorelick. While I think we conservatives owe Barack Obama the courtesy of letting him pick his own team (a courtesy that our portside friends didn't always extend to George W. Bush), it's really a good idea to keep this particular person out of any position of power. Why? Well, let the New York Times explain her "baggage."

Carries as baggage: Her work at Fannie Mae, which had to be bailed out by the government in September as part of a $200 billion deal. Ms. Gorelick left the company just as it was coming under attack for huge accounting failures. She has also drawn criticism for her role at the Justice Department, in which she allegedly created an intelligence “wall” that hindered counterterrorism agents in the years before the Sept. 11 attacks. Conservatives called for her removal from the Sept. 11 commission, but her fellow members rallied around her and said critics were distorting her record. The criticism grew so heated that the F.B.I. investigated a death threat against her family, and President Bush had to intervene personally to stop the Justice Department from releasing sealed reports involving her. Some conservative bloggers have already begun trying to derail Ms. Gorelick’s possible nomination as attorney general, pointing to her experiences at both Fannie Mae and the Sept. 11 commission.

Emphasis mine. Count me as one of those bloggers. The "distored" evidence in re Sept. 11 is pretty clear -- she did write the directives that hindered intelligence agencies and the FBI from working together. Where the rubber met the road, that caused a big problem. The FBI had nailed Zacarias Moussaoui prior to 9/11, but that information never made it anywhere. The "wall" was the reason. I understand what Gorelick's concerns were about giving the spooks too much power; indeed, those are concerns that I share. Still, it was absurd that Gorelick was on the 9-11 commission when she should have been testifying in front of it instead. And moreover, her role in the Fannie Mae alone should disqualify her.

Bottom line: there is a veritable constellation of Democratic operatives that Barack Obama can choose from. It would be far better if he steered clear of this one.

Guilty Pleasures Part Thirty-Three -- Recount Edition

I've already vented my spleen about the recount and all the shenanigans that are taking place, so I'll spare you that today. One way to make yourself feel better is to channel your bad feelings into something creative. So let's spin some more records on the theme of the recount.

I've found some real chestnuts in the vast YouTube forest this evening. First up, let's consider the one big hit for the unfortunate Archie Bell and his Drells. Bell's big hit single started to climb the charts while he was stationed in Vietnam. By the time he was able to get back to the States, the moment had passed. But it was a wonderful moment indeed. He could, as he claimed, sing and dance as good as he wants. So let's do the

Tighten Up

Round about the same time, Booker T. and the MG's had one of their biggest instrumental hits. The video here is a little dicey but you can see Booker, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and original drummer Al Jackson in action, with a few reaction shots from Credence Clearwater Revival, who happened to be on hand. So enjoy it, because

Time is Tight

We'll dedicate this next one to various election officials along the Iron Range and here in the metro. A very amusing video featuring gratuitous shoplifting and supermarket pole dancing from the always entertaining Jane's Addiction:

Been Caught Stealing

Next, we go back to 1982, for what was I believe Paul McCartney's 6th supposed comeback. Sir Paul has always been at a minimum competent as a solo artist and here we have one of his better efforts, with Ringo on the droom kit.

Take It Away

And finally, a great tune from the Bobby Fuller 4 with some really kick-butt go-go dancing. We love our go-go dancing 'round here, of course.

I Fought the Law

Pick your favorite or add to the meme!

Memo to T-Paw, Kate Knuth, The One, Etc.

Before you start crafting your Brave New World carbon emissions cap-and-trade scheme, think hard about what you are doing. And read this piece from Canada's National Post. If author Norman Solomon is right, carbon could become a de facto currency. And a very volatile one. If you think the mortgage-backed securities and other Byzantine financial instruments that Wall Street conjured were complicated, just imagine what happens when you try to securitize carbon.

(h/t: Instapundit)

Housekeeping

Catching up on a few loose ends. . . .

• Sidebar changes: I decided to move some blogs that are moribund to a new section called "Gone But Not Forgotten." The good news is that two of the bloggers in question, Leo Pusateri and esteemed MOB Mayor JRoosh, are still in the game, but now blogging at Freedom Dogs and Shot in the Dark, respectively. I still recommend all these blogs as a resource, because they were really good. But we need to look forward. I've also added six new blogs to my recommended blog list. Two of these bloggers, Cuffy Meigs and Jim Treacher, have well-deserved national followings. I've also added Currency Lad, an Australian blogger that I came across recently who is really a wonderful essayist. And I've added three MOB blogs that I like: Bike Bubba's Bits, Joe Repya's Eagle's Nest and The Far Wright.


• The election is over, so I've deleted the links to the campaign websites. I sincerely hope that I get to add some of those websites back to my sidebar when the next election cycle begins. That will probably be in about 10-15 days, I'm afraid.
• I'm considering a few changes to my comments section. I've always allowed anonymous commenters, but I'm not sure that I want to continue that practice. As it happens, my most prominent anonymous commenter isn't anonymous at all because he signs every comment he makes. Still, as this feature continues to mature, I'm feeling a little less comfortable with having anonymous commentary. I haven't decided on anything yet, but that may change. Let me know your thoughts on this.

More soon - thanks to all for your continuing support of this feature.

Basketball Jones -- Irondale Team 3 Action

It kinda snuck up on us with the election and all, but basketball season is again underway for Irondale Youth Basketball. This year Ben is on Team 3, a/k/a Big Blue. And their opening foray was highly successful, as his squad cruised to a 43-22 victory over Irondale 7 (wearing red). Ben scored one basket, had a few rebounds and played lockdown defense against the Irondale 7 point guard. A very satisfying beginning and Ben's team looks like it could be pretty good this time.

Next week Big Blue will take the mysterious Roseville 6 squad at Brimhall Elementary in Roseville. As always, Mr. Dilettante is your source for exciting Irondale Youth Basketball action.

You Don't Say

Already we have disgruntled interest groups worrying about whether or not President-elect Obama will keep his campaign promises:

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, self-styled head of the al-Qaida front group the Islamic State of Iraq, said in a speech posted on an extremist Web site that it would be better "for you and us" to "withdraw your forces," according to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors militant Web sites.

Emhpasis mine. Meanwhile, al-Baghdadi released this video concerning the results of a recent battle.

Who They Are, What They Do

I had really, really hoped that it wouldn't be this way. Should have known better. Al Franken and his bobos are working feverishly to steal the election. The miraculous reports keep coming in -- oops, we missed 100 votes in Pine Island, and another 100 in Mountain Iron, and a few more here and there. Pretty soon Al Franken will be leading by a vote or two. And then it will be time to stop counting. This is what happened in Florida in 2000. It didn't work. This is also what happened in Washington state in 2004. It did work then.

Pretty simple, GOP. Pretty simple, Tim Pawlenty. You have to stop this now. Are there mistakes made on election day? Sure. But it would stand to reason that some of the mistakes would redound to the benefit of Coleman, or maybe Dean Barkley. That they all seem to be working to benefit Franken leaves an unmistakable smell. You know exactly who the Secretary of State is and his history. You can't let this stand, folks.

You know what's happening, kids. It's not the people who vote who decide a close election. It's the people who count the votes. If you wonder who I'm paraphrasing, here's a hint. And if you think I'm overreacting, think again.

Raise your voices. Don't let this happen.

Guilty Pleasures Part Thirty-Two: Music Is Life Edition

If you've spent any time around here, you know that music is one of my great passions. I can't imagine how someone can go through life without music. No matter how dire the circumstances, a song, if it hits you just right, can instantly change your mood and make things seem better. So after what's been a very disheartening week on the political scene, let's go back to something better. Let's go back to music.

I let my media player pick five songs for tonight. As it happens, it picked well. There's outright joy, great songwriting and some remarkable talent on display. And I was able to find something representative on YouTube for all five songs.

First up, we have a very young Frank Sinatra, from 1943, as always reaching into the Great American Songbook for one of the greatest of all American songs. This is a song he returned to with different, more swinging arrangements later on; as usual, I prefer the 1950s version that he recorded during his great period at Capitol Records. But this more formal, old-fashioned version has plenty to recommend it. Whether near to me or far, it's no matter, darling, where you are. I think of you. . . .

Night and Day

Next, we head to the end of the 1960s. This group had already nearly 20 years in the business when they hit it big with a song that clings very closely to the zeitgeist of that era. Still one of the best horn charts in the history of rock, too. I can't tell you who to sock it to, because it's the Isley Brothers singing

It's Your Thing

Next we go further another six years, to 1975. We're in that odd time, at the dawn of the disco era, when the music world had essentially bifurcated and the music lovers were starting to form opposing camps. Still, there were some records that got played everywhere, mostly because they were really good. I'm especially fond of this big hit from one of the best singles acts of the decade, the Spinners. It's one of their sweetest songs, but listen carefully because there's more than a little undercurrent going on, too. Why, mostly because

They Just Can't Stop It (Games People Play)

Then we move forward four more years, to 1979. Disco is at its zenith but about to head for a precipitous fall. A child star who had consistently charted throughout the decade with his brothers now was ready to take the stage by himself and dominate. This was a huge hit back in 1979 and while disco itself hasn't necessarily aged that well, the vocal performance and the dazzling Quincy Jones arrangement still sound fresh and vital nearly 30 years later. My goodness -- has it really been 30 years? It's pre-weird, pre-facelift Michael Jackson with

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Finally, we head back about 30-40 years. It's perhaps the greatest all-around American musician of the 20th century, leading his orchestra through its paces with another durable from the Great American Songbook. As Stevie Wonder so memorably described him, it's the king of all, Sir Duke, with:

Satin Doll

Now tell me -- how can you listen to such great music and not feel better about life? There's plenty of stupidity and hatred in the world, plenty of people cutting you off in traffic or selling you a line of crap. We have entire industries that spend their days chronicling our worst moments. But we have music. God has blessed us, indeed.

Pick your favorite or, if you'd like, suggest a song that makes you feel better about life, and tell us why.

Fearless Dilettante Football Predictions - We're Running Out of Games Edition

It's the time of year when seasons start to end, so this week's list is shorter than before. But as long as there are games to pick, we're picking 'em. Here goes:

Mounds View Mustangs 21, Rosemount Irish 17. We're down to the final 8 in Minnesota and this game pits our beloved Mustangs against the confusing Irish of Rosemount, a Lake Conference power with the nickname of Notre Dame and the uniforms of Michigan (maize and blue with the winged helmet). Mounds View's colors are the same as Michigan State, which beat Michigan. So we'll go with our heroes.

ACTUAL RESULT: ROSEMOUNT 12, MOUNDS VIEW 0. Good season for the Mustangs, but they lose tonight to a superior opponent.

Kimberly Papermakers 45, Kaukauna Ghosts 14. It's a rivalry game for the right to go to State in Wisconsin. Kimberly has crushed everyone in its path thus far, including Kaukauna earlier in the year. Not gonna change this week.

ACTUAL RESULT: KIMBERLY 55, KAUKAUNA 7. This was the state quarterfinals, mind you. Kaukauna is a very good team, you see. I have to wonder if Kimberly isn't the best team in Wisconsin, period. Marshfield is the next pebble in the path of the Papermaker juggernaut.

Beloit Bucs 31, Grinnell Pioneers 24. Beloit closes out its season against the perennial footwipe of the Midwest Conference. You may not know this, but back in the 1920s Grinnell used to play in the same conference as Nebraska, Missouri and the other schools that eventually formed the Big XII. But they haven't been good in at least 70 years. And my beloved Bucs are improving.

ACTUAL RESULT: BELOIT 34, GRINNELL 12. A nice way to end the season. Last year my beloved Bucs were 1-9 on merit, including a loss to (ahem) Macalester. This year? 5-5. That's real progress.

Wisconsin Badgers 41, Indiana Hoosiers 17. Bucky has had a tough year, but Indiana loses to teams like Central Michigan. Bucky is a lot better than Central Michigan.

ACTUAL RESULT: WISCONSIN 55, INDIANA 20. 441 yards rushing? Now that's a Badger result that I can recognize. Meanwhile, the Gophers await.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 31, Meeshegan Wooolverines 24. Beat 'em while you can, Coach Brewster. Go Blue is down, but they'll be back.

ACTUAL RESULT: MEESHEGAN 29, GAFFERS 6. No little brown jug. I don't suspect the Ax coming back here, either, and probably not the pig. But the Gophers should really enjoy the Motor City Bowl.

Green Bay Packers 27, Purple Helmeted Love Warriors 19. I see the Packers scoring touchdowns and the Vikings kicking field goals. Not the result the locals will want unless they have Ryan Longwell on their fantasy team. My beloved Packers are playing well and getting healthier. That's not what's happening in Minnesota.

ACTUAL RESULT: VIKINGS 28, PACKERS 27. One of the stranger football games I've seen. Not too often do you see two safeties, an interception return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown. Give the Vikings the nod; despite Gus Frerotte's repeated attempts to give the Packers a win, the Purple was the better team today. My guess is that the inevitable four-game losing streak starts whenever the Williamses finally have their appeals run out.