I leave for a while and all hell breaks loose?
It’s like when my parents left us alone for a weekend while they were out of town. Everything has the appearance of cleanliness and a lack of improper activity, but the crack in the crystal egg tells me otherwise. Where to begin?
Thayer More Sinister than Bonifant
Breaking reports indicate a body was found in Sligo Creek Park near the intersection of Thayer and Dale. Reports are sketchy, but expect the news crews to converge pronto and report more tonight (assuming this isn’t a farce).
Blogging the Bloggers, Volume 42
Silver Spring, Singular’s post from Monday, July 14 has racked up an unprecedented 87 comments to date – some of which, it appears, were a little to fiery for public review. Nothing like Fensworth Fights and Veridian Nazis – and a reminder that we still, unfortunately, live in a segregated society – to get people fired up.
Long Live Foie Gras
Leave it to the People’s Republic of Takoma Park to impose a ban on foie gras. I know it might not be the most humane thing in the world. And yes, I know they put a funnel in the poor goose’s throat and force feed it to enlarge the liver. Then they hack it open to extract that huge morsel of tasty goodness. Shut up with your animal rights crap. It’s too goddamn tasty to ban. (Begin flaming posts from PETA people… *now*)
Majestic, Part 1
While my trip to The Majestic over the weekend was better than most (you people who take your infants to a 10:50pm show of The Dark Knight are IDIOTS), the worst part about the whole deal? The theater was OUT OF ICE. That’s right. No ice. I thought Regal might inject some much needed sanity into the logistics over there, but we all know that’s way too optimistic.
The movie, on the other hand, was spectacular.
Note to self: Don’t ask schmuck behind the counter how cold the Coke is.
Majestic, Part 2
And back to the baby comment… When my wife was pregnant, a waiter at Red Rock Canyon Grill gave us some advice on mixing child rearing with a vibrant social life. He said that it’s easy enough to take a baby to the movies, no problem. Just drop a little bit of Hennessy in the baby bottle before you go. Not much – just a little bit. They’ll sleep right through a late show. Is that what you people are doing? We sort of laughed at the time – in a scared, I-hope-he’s-not-really-serious kind of way, but I have a feeling that’s *exactly* what’s happening. About an hour and a half into the 2.5 hour movie, children started fussing. We should link a theater cam directly to Child and Family Services.
This Place Matters
I mean, it matters that it was finally ripped out by the roots. Once the Little Tavern stopped being a Little Tavern, it lost all “endangerment” in the historical context (though in 16 or so more years, it could have been designated “historic” at the ripe old age of 50) and became a suck-ass, third-rate Chinese/Subs/Chicken place. One step closer to the new library – which better have Rock Band Contests when it arrives.
Thanks/apologies to Silver Spring Penguin for the photo.
And yes…
The TRUE Best of Silver Spring compilation will be coming this week. Stay tuned.
36 Comments so far
I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle at the Majestic for that movie, so I went to see it at the Uptown, where the crowd is a hell of a lot more respectful of others.
Yeah, I think the wife and I might make the Uptown show our anniversary outing this weekend – she still hasn’t seen it.
I assume you will wear Joker makeup for that.
Of course! It’s what I was wearing when we first fell in love…
The Majestic is much more sinister than the Uptown.
The flame war over on SSS will truly go down in history. By the end, I was officially a Communist hick and Springvale Roader was a Racist commie. Good times. We’ve both obviously been blacklisted at Hop Sing’s.
Funny story that I was going to post on the SS Blog I’m working to get off the ground (that’s right, cheap plug, stay tuned!), but I actually saw Dark Knight at the Majestic on Friday @ 7 to beat some of the crowds. Good experience, people laughing and clapping at the appropriate scenes (I’ll keep it vague to avoid spoilers). Things were getting crazy when I left but overall no complaints.
Now then, Saturday night…dear GOD. I went with the lady to see Mamma Mia! (my penance for dragging her to “that stupid Batman movie” the night before) and it was like the crowd from Wrestlemania 3 had been transported to the lobby. I bought our tickets online and found out that once again the Majestic defied common sense. Instead of having lines for people buying tickets on the terminal, claiming tickets, and using the ATM, they just had one line for all three. This of course led to madness as angry parents mixed with Bat-fanboys mixed with Teeny Boppers to create one hell of a demographic. And of course, some parent let her kid run in front of us to the automated machine and start hitting it and screaming, all the while with me just standing there shaking my head.
Still, no fights, so not too bad all in all.
I fully support the foie gras ban. You can’t justify cruelty to animals because it gives you a little momentary pleasure.
I can only hope that the next dead body found in Sligo Creek belongs to a foie gras supporter!
Springvale! I would have expected as much from a racist commie and your little commie hick friend Easley.
The point is, I know where food comes from, and I’m not turning a blind eye for the sake of culinary satisfaction (like many do). But I also don’t think enjoying some goose liver is grounds for ending up face down in a local stream.
Eric, I was only fighting fire with fire. Your comments about animal rights and foie gras were obnoxious and callous, so I thought I’d return the favor.
Besides, I don’t *really* want to see people who eat goose liver end up face down in a local stream. Face up is so much better!
Fair enough.
Ouch. Face up or face down in Sligo Creek for eating foie gras! But I have to admit I like the ban too. What about just having to drink a large glass of ‘water’ from the creek for indulging in the so-called delicacy? I’m confident we can find “culinary satisfaction” in other foods where the animal is not force fed.
Heck, and I was a member of the KKK who didn’t understand basic constitutional law. Yeah, right.
I saw Hellboy 2 at the Majestic last weekend and it was a decent crowd. I’ve had a mixed bag of experiences there, ranging from almost ideal to hellish (a woman bringing six toddlers into a late showing of SEED OF CHUCKY, and the whole party leaving within 15 minutes of the movie starting), and find the best times to be early evening on weekdays or early afternoon on weekends. But then again, I’ve had to deal with talkers at the AFI (shock! And during an arty foreign film, too!), so I guess it’s the luck of the draw. I wish more theaters would run “SHUT THE HELL UP” announcements before movies. Rude and crass behavior from audiences is one factor often cited in declining box office figures.
As for foie gras…on one hand, the ban strikes me as a bit silly, but on the other hand, as much as I enjoy all things decadent, the whole thing behind foie gras is just too icky for me.
But a body? Now that’s interesting! (OK, so I’ve watched too much CSI….)
Vagrarian, in addition to “Shut the hell up!” announcements, theaters should also run, “Shut yer damn cellphones!” announcements. We went to see “Wall-E” at the Mazza Galerie last weekend, and during a really beautiful sequence with the two robots flying around space, a portly young woman in front of us pulls out her lighted cellphone and starts text messaging.
First off, for those of you who may not have seen “Wall-E,” the film is a gentle yet firm indictment of a human race that has become so consumerist and portly and obsessed with electronic communication that the most human character is a robot. Thus, the irony of the young woman with the cellphone. But irony aside, I had to tell her to shut off her light because like so many others, she seemed oblivious to how distracting it is to other people in the theater.
To all the fois gras opponents:
A) have you even tried eating it before or is this just a transference of your 2nd grade aversion to liver; and
2) shut your yapping about this being any more cruelty than the factory farming that puts any other piece of an animal on our table (or milk or eggs for you ovolactos.) For a closer look at this check out Anthony Bordain’s visit to a fois gras farm on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABeWlY0KFv8
(Thayer – you should embed this as your next post)
Was there ever anyplace in Takoma Park where you could actually buy foie gras? I can’t think of one. This is kind of like if I said I was giving up turnips for Lent. Not much of a sacrifice…
Bonifant, Anthony Bourdain openly despises vegetarianism, so his views aren’t exactly unbiased. I would trust his videos as far as I could toss him.
You’re correct (in your juvenile way) that all factory farming is cruel, but foie gras, like “milk fed” veal, is particularly cruel and thus particularly difficult to justify.
Mmm… milk-fed veal. Scallopini anyone?
Anthony Bourdain is/was in town for his show.
Springvale – did you even watch the video?!? Or did your protein deficiency make you too weak to click on the link?
Next you’ll say that Bordain fabricated a sound stage with union fowl to trick us all into believing that’s what really happens at a foie gras farm.
You know, watching that video made me remember that I do have a problem with foie gras. Everytime I fry it up in my kitchen, it smokes like the dickens and sets off the alarm. Note to self: Gotta get a better vent fan.
On the plus side, I found out last night that my 14-month-old daughter actually has a taste for goose liver. I must be doing something right…
Did she eat it with a side of fava beans and a nice Chianti?
Don’t be silly. I spread it on a piece of milk-fed veal.
ooohhhh… what about starting a line of foie gras-fed veal?? We could even force-feed veal to the ducks!!!
Personally, I don’t like foie gras. However, the whole don’t be “cruel” to the animal you are going to chew up argument is very weak. Instead of bitching about foie and veal, why don’t we spend our time thinking about uninsured Americans or genocide in Sudan…
rd, you’ll find that the same people “bitching” about cruelty to animals on factory farms are often the same ones speaking out for the uninsured or for victims of genocide. It’s not a zero-sum game.
Also, it’s one thing to eat animals, and another to abuse them and make them suffer for most of their lives before doing so.
Why not bring the Mounted Police Back to Downtown Silver Spring AT NIGHT to patrol Fensworth?
http://www.thesilverbee.com/2007/01/08/fond-farewell-to-the-silver-spring-md-horses/
I think that would constitute cruelty to horses.
Springvale, do you have a vocation or is it actually your job to hop from Silver Spring blog to Silver Spring blog espousing ridiculously caustic, stereotypical, liberal knee-jerk positions on everything from handguns and gentrification to goose liver and chain dining establishments? Or perhaps this is some type of meta-humor and you’re posts are a subversive, dry-witted attempt to draw attention to one of the more vocal, and sometimes endearing, segments of our fair community — the aged hippy. Because THAT would actually be something worth reading.
Kudos to Deb for the bring-back-the-horses vote!
Easley Rider: I like seeing Springvale Roader on here (though I notice IHY is sadly and noticeably absent). I can appreciate where he’s coming from, even though I might not agree – not to mention the fact that he’s going to drag my dead body to Sligo Creek. But can’t we all just get along?
And anyway, I’m looking forward to drinking him under the table in his own kitchen.
Eric – I’m with you on this– keep on postin’ Springvale dude!
Eric and Bonifant:
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t want Springvale to go away. If there was only one viewpoint in the world it would be a pretty boring place. Though sifting through Springvale’s predictable vitriol can get a little tedious at times as well. Perhaps Springvale would be well advised to, paraphrasing a certain theatric psychopath, introduce a little chaos into his/her posts. I was just wondering what afforded Springvale (and, since we’re at it, some others on the SS blogs/message boards) the time to post so frequently.
Speaking of mounted police, are we sure they’re not back? I just looked out my window and two people were riding by on horses in the direction of downtown. I’m waiting for a phone call so I couldn’t run out to check if they were police, but what else could they be?
wombat,
Please, Please tell me it’s really true that you saw horses in DTSS again. I used to see them every Thursday Afternoon around Grove Street, Thayer Sligo and Silver Spring Avenue. Is this where you saw them ??? I would also see them on the other side of Georgia by Discovery and on Cameron Street.
Yes, really. I saw them walking on Cedar towards downtown. The guy in front was wearing some kind of khaki uniform, the second person was in navy blue. I just got a quick glimpse when I ran to the window when I heard the hoofbeats, but I can’t imagine who else would be riding horses here other than the mounted police? They always used to park their trailer in the park on Cedar and walk up the street, so they used to pass this way all the time.
Back to the food discussion. Found some great recipe suggestions in this New Yorker column:
“Vegetarian friends? Try veggie rumaki: wrap a strip of imitation bacon around a water chestnut, spear with a toothpick, and broil—but instead of imitation bacon use real bacon, and instead of a water chestnut use veal.”
“Another one for the vegetarians. If they think they like tofu, wait until they sample your delicious mock tofu—all you need is chicken fat, puréed pork loin, and five cups of piping-hot tallow. Cheryl will never know the difference.”
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/07/21/080721sh_shouts_brenner