Food
Food for Dinner: I ate alone tonight. Mary had to study for a test and I had a hankering for chicken wings so I walked to the Thurman Cafe for a basket of wings and a couple of Budweisers. I saddled up to the bar with a copy of the city's free paper, ordered my food and didn't say another word except, "Could I get another Budweiser, please?" I'm not a shy guy but I've never been very good at striking up a conversation with strangers out of the blue. For most of my meal there was a guy sitting next to me who nursed a Coke and kept checking his cell phone and looking over his shoulder for someone. Several times I thought about engaging him in conversation but every opening line that I thought of sounded stupid the more I thought about it. "So, what are you doing here all by yourself?" "Uh, you waiting for somebody?" Of course no harm would have come of any of these overtures, but in the end I was content eating my wings and watching the action behind the bar.
Food for Lunch: I had lunch at the Menu of Hope luncheon today. This is the major annual fundraiser for a local nonprofit, The Children's Hunger Alliance. I've known this organization through both of the nonprofits I've worked with since moving to Columbus. I've always been impressed by how efficiently they run their operation. 94% of every dollar goes directly to their mission - providing food to Ohio's hungry children. In the nonprofit sector which is often criticized for not being responsible with the public's charitable contributions, this is an organization that is run as tightly as any corporation.
The luncheon keynote speaker was Meredith Baxter. Most of us know her best as Alex P. Keaton's mother on Family Ties, which interestingly enough was set right here in Columbus, Ohio. Having worked at a "speakers bureau" when I lived in D.C I was more than a little skeptical about what to expect in this speech, which easily cost between $20-30,000. My skepticism turned to outright mockery when I heard the emcee's introduction of Baxter, "This talented actress has appeared in such made-for-TV movies as The Rape of Richard Beck, The Diaries of Adam and Eve, and My Breast." No kidding. However, I am happy to report that I was very impressed with Ms. Baxter. She is an actress that found her success in television and she makes no apologies about it. She didn't try to project an appearance different that who she was. She was funny, sincere and quite honestly one of the more entertaining keyonte speakers that I'ver ever seen. Bravo Mrs. Keaton!
Food for Thought: Full disclosure, if on Judgement Day I was asked to stand in one of two lines - liberal or conservative - I would choose the liberal line without hesitation. Now, for my brief musings on the terms "liberal media" and "elite media" that are bandied about so frequently these days. Liberal minded people are always going to read a "conservative agenda" into news reports they disagree with, and conservatives are always going to suspect a "liberal bias" in news that tarnishes their cause. It's just an expected by-product of the enthusiasm and conviction of peoples' beliefs. However, today I learned a little bit more about a reporter that posed an absolute softball of a question to President Bush at his most recent, and rare, press conference. Here is one of many stories about "Jeff Gannon." You can do a news search on Yahoo! to find out more info than you'd ever want to know about the controversy. What I find most interesting is that the Bush administration, which is incredibly cautious and "on message" when talking with the media, can keep much credibility with the media when they knowingly let someone from Talon News into a press conference with the President. I mean seriously just spend one minute looking at the Talon News website. It's like having someone who sends out one of those "GROW YOUR PENIS NOW!" spam emails ask a question at the American Medical Association conference. Ridiculous.
Food for Lunch: I had lunch at the Menu of Hope luncheon today. This is the major annual fundraiser for a local nonprofit, The Children's Hunger Alliance. I've known this organization through both of the nonprofits I've worked with since moving to Columbus. I've always been impressed by how efficiently they run their operation. 94% of every dollar goes directly to their mission - providing food to Ohio's hungry children. In the nonprofit sector which is often criticized for not being responsible with the public's charitable contributions, this is an organization that is run as tightly as any corporation.
The luncheon keynote speaker was Meredith Baxter. Most of us know her best as Alex P. Keaton's mother on Family Ties, which interestingly enough was set right here in Columbus, Ohio. Having worked at a "speakers bureau" when I lived in D.C I was more than a little skeptical about what to expect in this speech, which easily cost between $20-30,000. My skepticism turned to outright mockery when I heard the emcee's introduction of Baxter, "This talented actress has appeared in such made-for-TV movies as The Rape of Richard Beck, The Diaries of Adam and Eve, and My Breast." No kidding. However, I am happy to report that I was very impressed with Ms. Baxter. She is an actress that found her success in television and she makes no apologies about it. She didn't try to project an appearance different that who she was. She was funny, sincere and quite honestly one of the more entertaining keyonte speakers that I'ver ever seen. Bravo Mrs. Keaton!
Food for Thought: Full disclosure, if on Judgement Day I was asked to stand in one of two lines - liberal or conservative - I would choose the liberal line without hesitation. Now, for my brief musings on the terms "liberal media" and "elite media" that are bandied about so frequently these days. Liberal minded people are always going to read a "conservative agenda" into news reports they disagree with, and conservatives are always going to suspect a "liberal bias" in news that tarnishes their cause. It's just an expected by-product of the enthusiasm and conviction of peoples' beliefs. However, today I learned a little bit more about a reporter that posed an absolute softball of a question to President Bush at his most recent, and rare, press conference. Here is one of many stories about "Jeff Gannon." You can do a news search on Yahoo! to find out more info than you'd ever want to know about the controversy. What I find most interesting is that the Bush administration, which is incredibly cautious and "on message" when talking with the media, can keep much credibility with the media when they knowingly let someone from Talon News into a press conference with the President. I mean seriously just spend one minute looking at the Talon News website. It's like having someone who sends out one of those "GROW YOUR PENIS NOW!" spam emails ask a question at the American Medical Association conference. Ridiculous.
posted by Adam at 8:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home