Daily Archives: June 22, 2013

Exit Paula Deen

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In Savannah, Many Defend Paula Deen From Critics (New York Times)

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The line of Paula Deen fans waiting for her restaurant here to open grew throughout the hot, muggy morning Saturday.

They discussed what they might select from the buffet inside The Lady and Sons, her wildly popular restaurant in the heart of Savannah.

But they also talked of boycotting the Food Network, which dropped their beloved TV chef on Friday after she awkwardly apologized for having used racial slurs and for considering a plantation-themed wedding for her brother, with well-dressed black male servants.

Interesting piece. The last quote is “She’s a cook. She’s not a Harvard graduate.”

But you don’t have to be a Harvard graduate to know that the world has changed, and behaviors that may have been the norm 50 years ago are not the norm now.

Paula Deen’s behavior was unacceptable, and it made her a liability. I think the Food Network did the right thing.

Been there, but not THERE

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Welcome, baseball fan. Go directly to jail. (Washington Post)

This poor guy from out of town had tickets to a game that got rained out. He couldn’t go to the scheduled replacement game, so he tried to sell the tickets — at face value or less — outside the ballpark.

For his efforts, he was given a free ride to the pokey. OK . . . it wasn’t free; it wound up costing him $50.

I understand laws against scalping, but . . .

Several years ago, I found myself about to head into Shea Stadium with an extra ticket. I don’t remember who punked out on the game, but I had pretty good seats and I figured someone would just as soon buy the ticket from me than get one at the ticket window. I would have loved to get the price I paid.

Then a cop came up behind me and told me I had to move something like 150 yards away from the stadium. Pretty much had to go to the other side of the Willets Points subway station, which I was not about to do. Ridiculous.

I guess I should be glad I didn’t get hauled off to jail.

Walkin’ blues

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A few people asked me this week, after James Gandolfini died, if the name for this blog came from the opening line of the theme song from the Sopranos.

It didn’t.

It’s the opening line to the classic blues song, Walkin’ Blues.

The first time I heard it was when my summer camp counselor, Jon Ross, put the Paul Butterfield Blues Band on the turntable and said I could play this stuff. Three minutes that changed my life. Here’s what I heard:


I later learned that it was a Robert Johnson song:


And today, I woke up this mornin’ and listened to this version by Taj Mahal:


I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow mornin’.

For real

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For real

USA Today posted this on Facebook (Photo by Buggie Vegas, AP):

A waterspout spun by Grand Isle, La., last week. Although it looks intimidating, the spout did little damage.

And I can’t stop looking at it. Just amazing.

We don’t have stuff like this in New York. And much as I’d love to see one of these things live and in person, I also have to admit that some things are best seen in photos.