Posted in TV, tagged Dan Aykroyd, Saturday Night Live, Steve Martin, TV on June 8, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Sometimes, at the end of the work week, you just need to scratch that itch and satisfy that desire to see one of the sketches from the original Saturday Night Live — the greatest live comedy show in the history of TV. And what better way to do so than to check out one of the classic “Two Wild and Crazy Guys” series of skits by Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin?
Great line: “Don’t worry about disease! In Czechoslovakia I was cured many times.”
Posted in Columbus, Food, tagged Ajumama, Columbus, Downtown Columbus, Food, Food Trucks, Franklinton, Freedom a la Cart, Green Meanie, Street Thyme, Urban spaces on June 8, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The Street Thyme truck at Dinin’ Hall
Dr. Science is legendary for picking great new places to try for lunch. Today he didn’t disappoint. The good Doctor, the Bus-Riding Conservative and I decided to check out Dinin’ Hall, and it was an inspired choice.
The interior dining area at Dinin’ Hall
Dinin’ Hall is a terrific idea. It’s located in Franklinton, just over the Scioto River from downtown Columbus, at 400 West Rich Street. From the outside, it looks like old industrial property — a brick building next to a railroad bridge, a loading dock, and a parking lot. Then you notice that there are tables and chairs inside the loading dock room and food trucks in the parking lot. Every day a new combination of food trucks, identified on the Dinin’ Hall website, serves the food. You choose your food truck and place your order, take your bill inside to pay, wait until your food is delivered, and chow down.
What a great concept! Take some unused or underused property where the rents are low and turn it into a place where you can get a variety of that fabulous food truck food — and yes, Ajumama and Green Meanie are two of the food trucks that make a regular appearance — and interact with other people from town. No wonder the Dinin’ Hall motto is “Great Food, Great Space, Great Community.”
My excellent Street Thyme burger and tots
Today, on a beautiful early summer day, the options were Street Thyme and Freedom a la Cart. Street Thyme offers some fabulous burgers; I had the State Street Standard double burger and some BBQ spiced tater tots and Dr. Science had the CBUS Sweet Heat double burger. My burger — served blazing hot off the grill with onions, arugula, thyme aioli, and good old America cheese, substituting some bacon for the standard marinated tomatoes — was juicy and spectacular and the dusted tots were just the right complement with just the right kick. The BRC went for a beef sandwich and cheesy grits from Freedom a la Cart and raved about them. His choice also resulted in him being interviewed by a two-man film crew that was doing a story on Freedom a la Cart.
That’s the Columbus Food Truck World for you — you never know what you’re going to get, but you can be pretty sure it’s going to be good.
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 2012 Presidential Election, America, David Axelrod, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, Political Advisors, Politics, President Obama, Surrogates on June 8, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Who is David Axelrod, and why should Americans care about what he has to say?
Axelrod is the rumpled, balding, mustachioed fellow who looks like a used car salesman. He’s been lurking on the edges of the front page since he was involved in President Obama’s winning campaign in 2008. You see him on shows like Meet the Press or find him quoted in response to Republican criticisms of the Obama Administration. Recently he made the news when his speech on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse, about Mitt Romney’s record as governor, was interrupted by hecklers.
It’s odd that Axelrod was making that speech. He’s not an elected official and doesn’t live or work in Massachusetts. The news story linked above describes him as the President’s “top political strategist,” which means it’s his job to do and say whatever he can to get the President re-elected.
Axelrod’s public speechifying is just another step in a long process. Presidents have long had “advisors,” but those individuals used to stand in the shadows, consulting with the President behind closed doors and helping to shape messaging and tactics. Now those shadow figures increasingly have stepped into the limelight in their own right. Their newfound prominence probably is due to the insatiable appetite of cable news show for talking heads. If Mitt Romney gets elected, his administration may well have a similar figure — the Machiavellian strategist and surrogate who regurgitates the agreed-upon talking points.
All of which, I think, begs the question about Axelrod and the other “surrogates” scurrying around the country during this ceaseless campaign. Why should anyone assign any credibility to the critiques of a paid flack whose carefully scripted comments are just another facet of a coordinated PR effort?
