Mark McDermott

What I learned Today #3" Cielito Lindo

2009-02-13T14:22:00.004-06:00

Despite having plenty of access to Latino culture as a resident of a major metropolis, I still have not for the life of me been able to learn much Mexican folk music. You know, the songs that define the culture for an entire nation, yet here in America they're rudely appropriated from their original context to sell stuff or in an attempt to be funny. You know: "I dance! I dance! I dance! Upon a

Further Adventures in Publication!

2009-02-10T10:13:00.001-06:00

Once again, I can look forward to the ego-stroke of seeing my name as a byline. This time it's for a collection of academic essays called "Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero," edited by Robert G. Weiner.I was able to dust off an article I written a few years ago on Roy Thomas' "Retro-World War II" series The Invaders, and All-Star Squadron and repurpose it by putting more emphasis

Authors! Has This Happened to YOU?

2009-02-09T08:45:00.003-06:00

Since I started selling my old books through Amazon, and my old 45s through GEMM.com, I had always wondered if this might happen, and now it has: I've sold a book back to its author.I don't need to embarrass anyone by revealing the author's name. Just know that this was a vanity-published "think-and-grow-rich" book that I got as a review copy, back when I was editing a pennysaver and a quarterly

Post-Inauguration Quarterbacking

2009-01-21T08:04:00.003-06:00

I was happily able to watch President Obama's (Let's say that again! President! Obama!) whole inauguration speech at work (thanks, Mr. Prez, for keeping it around 20 minutes). Working in an office full of proofreaders (and thus professional nitpickers), we all picked up on Obama's referring to himself as the "44th man" to take the oath of office (consternation! Grover Cleveland!) but it was

Col. Tribune responds

2009-01-12T09:15:00.005-06:00

Surprised I am to find comments from "Col. Tribune" regarding my last post. But maybe I shouldn't be. Surely the Trib's web folks have search bots running all the time to find references specific to its web pages, or, more likely, when someone is linking directly to something on their page that might result in a waste of bandwidth. I actually copied the picture in the previous post and saved to

Col. Tribune parties down!

2008-12-09T14:02:00.002-06:00

So today the Governor of Illinois gets busted in an influence-peddling scheme.Not the first time this has happened in our great state, I'll admit.But when my Google news bot directs me to the main link for the story, I'm directed to a site called Chicago Breaking News, which appears to be a money-saving pooling of resources from across the debt-ridden Tribune Co. empire. Okay, nothing else

Economic Goals Re-ducks

2008-11-19T07:47:00.004-06:00

Just filled the gas tank on the ol' Tercel again. Less than a month from the previous fill-up this time, because I made a trip to the city to show a friend the Goose Island brewpub, and detoured home by way of Flossmoor Station. So the price of gas today was at 1.999 a gallon, not quite a dollar less than the 2.769 I paid 20 days ago, but very nearly half of what I paid for the previous fill-up

Election part 2

2008-11-04T22:22:00.003-06:00

McCain is giving one of the most gracious concession speeches I've heard in some time. If only he were this eloquent on the campaign trail, instead of running against the names in Obama's rolodex.And I'm still straining to see any minorities at the McCain rally.

America Wins!

2008-11-04T22:17:00.002-06:00

For those delusional enough to think Sarah Palin could run in 2012: just remember the rally in Grant Park tonight for Obama outnumbers the entire population of Alaska.Meantime, I'm dealing with the fact of the first President who's younger than I am.

One economic goal achieved

2008-10-30T15:14:00.003-05:00

This past summer, we moved the family from Park Forest to Downers Grove. Mostly so the kids would have much better schools, but also because we wanted to be closer to where I work (and where my wife might find better part-time opportunities around the baby's schedule). At the height of the gasoline crunch, we figured that what with driving 35 miles each way, plus tolls, I would be paying out over

Ranting & Raving: Kung Fu Panda

2008-06-09T08:42:00.004-05:00

Took the boy the the movies for the first time in months, and we went to see Kung Fu Panda.I can admit to liking it much more than any previous animated product from Dreamworks. The Cartoon Brew blog invited comments from those who saw it (SPOILER ALERTS!), and I posted mine. Here they are, too, because why am I filling up other people's web pages while neglecting my blog for months at a time:

Sorry for the delay…

2008-03-31T11:20:00.002-05:00

We've been busy bringing one of these into our lives:

A few of my favorite Holiday sounds

2007-12-20T15:02:00.000-06:00

Rather than another rant about the general awfulness of selection on radio stations that go "all Christmas songs" before Halloween, let's check out some links to favorite aural treats:"Sound Opinions," NPR's rock'n'roll talk show, is scheduled for a visit from DJ Andy Cizran, who each year presents a collection of found vinyl Christmas oddities. The show airs Friday, Dec. 21, and a podcast should

Quick Photos: The Volo Auto Museum

2007-10-26T14:29:00.001-05:00

We visited here to help relatives with the antique fair on Sept. 29. Of course, there's only one thing I really wanted to see:Volo Auto Museum

Crossed Out!

2007-10-16T14:22:00.000-05:00

Surprise and disappointment this past weekend, as Barb and I got someone to watch the boy Saturday while we headed into Downtown to audition for "Merv Griffin's Crosswords." Yep, another game show, the last one developed by the Mervster.I had spotted an ad in the Tribune's TV page inviting aspiring contestants to call or go online to get one's name in the hopper. Well, I'm a big aspirer. I

Another Class Reunion

2007-08-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

I started this blog with a post from my 25th high school reunion back in 2002. So I went back last month for my 30th.Schaller, Iowa is in a typical rural area where female 4-H members still aspire to be named Pork Queen at the county fair each summer. Yet each year it becomes more of a promotional thing as family farms are swallowed up by giant hog raising factories. The various county pork

Cicadas R Gone

2007-08-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

(A quick catch-up)What was more amazing about the cicadas than their appearance was how fast they disappeared. A few news stories about the mess their dead bodies were leaving behind, and then—gone. Guess those birds and other bug-eating critters did a very efficient job, not to mention the fact that dead insects dry out pretty quickly. Many of 'em probably just disintegrated.Interestingly, the

Cicada Time!

2007-06-11T15:24:00.003-05:00

As of this week, the li'l bugs are swarming. This is some video (actually audio) taken during lunchtime from work.At home, we don't have as many, but we have lots more fat, happy birds. In nearby Homewood, where Dixie Highway has several trees planted along its downtown stretch, the constant traffic apparently keeps the birds, so the bugs are swarming like sparks at a campfire. In our area,

Not Stampworthy

2007-04-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

Ranting about Star Wars stamps as I did below made me think about the topic of who has and who hasn't been honored on a U.S. Postage Stamp. What group of people is guaranteed to be placed on a stamp?Only deceased U.S. Presidents. Gerald Ford gets one in July. Clinton, Carter and the Bushes each get one after their time on Earth is done. It's tradition, so no kvelling about the appropriateness of

What I Learned Today #2: Herbie Flowers

2007-04-02T11:03:00.001-05:00

This comes from the fine radio show "Mint," which, regrettably, is being pulled from the BBC 6 schedule:Herbie Flowers is someone you've heard, if you've heard classic rock at all. He's a session bass player who started out playing tuba on cruise ship bands in the early 60's, and began to pick up the jazz bass. During a stopover in New York he discovers the new trend of electric jazz, and starts

I vote for "Old" Vader

2007-03-30T12:05:00.001-05:00

Before I was a comics, Star Trek and beer geek, I was a stamp collector. So I still keep up with new issues and buy cool ones to address my mail. And I know some of the rules about who can be honored on a stamp.The primary rule has been that no living person is honored on a US stamp. Traditionally, they waited until someone had been dead for ten years before putting out a stamp, except for U.S.

Creepiest Johnny Cash soundtrack

2007-03-22T12:19:00.002-05:00

Click here, while the link is active, for the raw footage of the overserved Chicago cop beating up a bartender:http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=83968(c) 2007, WMAQ. All rights reserved.Without the voiceover of a news reader narrating the story, we find out that the beating ends just as the jukebox finishes playing Johnny Cash' "Sunday Morning Coming Down."Somehow eerily appropriate.

Strange Dreams

2007-03-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

If I have dreams all the time, like some say, I don't remember 99% of them. But last night was the exception.I dreamed I was surfing the Web and I stumbled upon a new web site. It started installing software that kept asking me for personal information. My address, my Soc., my phone number, passwords, names of my family, all that. Somehow I realized this was the Devil's personal web address, and

What I Learned Today #1: Loulie Jean Norman

2007-02-22T13:13:00.000-06:00

I want to try and start a little feature that I may be able to update more often than I am now (my Super Bowl rant is still coming, trust me). In the course of wandering the internet, I pick up lots of halfway interesting facts. Some are answers to questions that have been in the back of my mind for years. I call thisWhat I Learned TodayBack in 1959, the inestimable Spike Jones produced an album

My First Cancer Scare

2006-09-08T13:43:00.000-05:00

or; Up Mine!Okay, this is the kind of information may save your life, etc., but when it first happens to you, it's a bit unsettling.I have suspected my doctor just likes to order tests and push pills on me for every least little thing. Yes, I am carrying about 100 lbs. more than I should, and I'm flirting with diabetes and a heart condition, but it seems that every time I see him, I have to add

Our New Family [Webshots]

2004-12-21T07:34:23-08:00

Our New Family

by m_b_mcdermott
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St. Petersburg [Webshots]

2004-07-22T09:53:43-07:00

Views of St. Peterburg as we met our little Vanya

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Schaller Pop Corn Days and Class of 77 Reunion [Webshots]

2003-02-13T07:02:25-08:00

Our 25 year reunion of the Schaller High School Class of 77 at Pop Corn Days, July 5, 2002

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Schell's Brewery & Sod House, Minnesota [Webshots]

2002-07-26T18:22:45-07:00

A vist to the Schell's Brewing Company, July 2, 2002

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The 2001 Rt. 66 Trip Arizona & California [Webshots]

2001-10-02T13:00:34-07:00

The Arizona leg of Mark & Barb McDermott's trek along old Rt. 66

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