Bullet Sunday 45

Posted on August 26, 2007

It's Bullet Sunday back at home, as I return from a week of fun and excitement in the Mid-West. Well, at least ONE day was fun and exciting... most of the rest was nothing but hard work and sleepless nights. Right now I'm exhausted and feeling thoroughly worn out, which is why I'll be off to bed directly after finishing up this entry.

• Davecago2... Nothing makes me happier than adding people to my "Bloggers I've Met" list that's growing ever-longer in my sidebar. So, in addition to Ariana, Diane & Evan, Gary, Jenny, Kevin, RW, Mrs. RW, this year's Chicago Meet-Up happily allowed me to add three new bloggers to the list...

• Ajooja: Formerly the author of two blogs I've really enjoyed, it was great to finally meet Ajooja at long last. On top of being a nice guy who is fun to hang out with, he's a fantastic writer who expresses himself with a sense of humor and humanity that makes reading his blog an intimate experience. So intimate that, much like Delmer and Tonya, I find myself rarely being able to comment on his entries... not because I don't have the time (my usual excuse)... but because I feel that adding a comment is almost like an intrusion into something that's already complete as it's been written. I've been a fan of Ajooja since the very beginning, but anybody who's new to his blog should do themselves a favor and dig into the archives, as there's absolute gold to be found there.
• Ilax Studio: Probably one of the most hardcore bloggers I know of... mainly because she codes each entry in HTML by hand... I've been reading Kimberly's blog for over a year now. Even when she was living in Italy and my jealousy was near-maniacal. What impresses me most about Kim is not the fact that she's witty, charming, and can endure the pain of walking on shredded feet like a real trooper, but the fact that she would take time to meet with fellow bloggers when she's getting married in a week. Not only that, but she brought along her future-husband, which is kind of a risky proposition when you think about it... we bloggers are a strange lot, to be sure, and can be a scary experience for the uninitiated. But Steven handled it all like a champ, so many congratulations to you both!
• A Little Bird Told Me...: Robin's writings are probably one of the smartest uses of a blog I've been lucky enough to find. She's blogging a collection of letters from the 1940's that spans ten years in the lives of ten brothers and sisters (including her grandmother). It's an utterly fascinating glimpse into the lives of a family scattered across the US, and has "...compiled an interesting family history that starts in the thick of World War II and continues on through post-war years and the new found prosperity following times of war rations. Through their eyes, we get to experience the advance of airline travel, something we absolutely take for granted these days." The fact that Robin is willing to share this amazing find with her readers makes "A Little Bird Told Me..." worth a visit (and it's best to start at the beginning now, while you're only a month behind!).

Excellent blogs, all of them.

And lastly, truly... from the bottom of my heart... thanks again to everybody who took time out of their weekend to come eat pizza and visit. Saturday meant a lot to me, and it's always an amazing feeling to connect with my fellow bloggers up-close and in-person. Hopefully we can do it all over again next year!

• Bob 'Maters... RW and Mrs. RW arrived at the festivities bearing gifts... in the form of two perfect garden-fresh tomatoes. I was then charged with the rather daunting task of getting them home in one piece and squished-free. The box I had for them was too small, so I ended up protecting them the best I could with T-shirts and books. Fortunately, airport security decided that they were not a liquid or gel, and they survived the trip in perfect shape. It was Mrs. RW who suggested a BLT sandwich so, after micro-waving some veggie bacon, lunch was served...

Needless to say, my sandwich was totally delicious. Few culinary delights can compare to a garden-fresh tomato! Except chocolate pudding. Or maybe chocolate cake. Or perhaps even ice cream. But yeah, a garden-fresh tomato is hard to beat.

• Pizano's... Choosing a pizza restaurant in Chicago is a tough thing to do, because there are so many good ones to pick from. For the most part, any pizzeria worth its salt will be able to get a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza right, as it's one of the city's signature dishes (I'm partial to Giordano's for deep-dish, but have had many great pies from many terrific Chi-Town restaurants). What's more difficult is finding a pizzeria that serves a good deep-dish AND a terrific thin-crust pizza. And for thin-crust, it's tough to beat the cracker-crispy "butter crust" from Pizano's. So many thin-crusts are boring and flavorless, but all that butter does wonders here...

If you're looking for good pizza in Chicago, you might want to give Pizano's a try.

And it's midnight. Time for sleep...

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Chicago, Davecago, Tomatoes

Comments

I was just telling people at work that I've been to Chicago 6 times and have yet to get pizza. I've had beautiful steaks there, like Sullivan's, but it's time for pizza darn it!

Other than weather, spiders, and a none requested wake up call it was a good trip!

Posted by mikeo on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

When is the Dave show coming to L.A.?

Posted by whit on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Did RW get naked and dance on the table? You know how he likes to do that after a few glasses.

Posted by Avitable on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Wait. Veggie Bacon? What does that even taste like?

Posted by bluepaintred on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Thanks for the kind words about my blog. It was so nice to meet you and everyone else.

It was well worth the drive, although I'll do the $25 Amtrak next time. I have slept a couple of times now, but it just hasn't made a dent yet. I'm still too tired. My workday should be fun. :)

I'm glad the tomatoes survived the trip. We'll have to do it again sometime.

Posted by ajooja on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

I attempted to add http://www.ilaxstudio.com/ to my Google Reader, so I could keep up on her posts, but no RSS feeds were found. Any idea if she has an RSS url of some kind?

Thanks for the blog suggestions!

Posted by Gina on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

sounds like everyone had a great time. yay!

Posted by sizzle on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Thanks for your kind words Dave. I am going to take some time after the wedding to move away from being "hardcore"... then I can start using typepad, or wordpress or whatever, and see if it is as orgasmic as you all say!

I had a great time Saturday! Hope there will be a DaveCago3 ;)

Posted by kilax on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Man, those are some seriously complimentary words for the blogs you read out of Chicago...looks like the rest of us have some big shoes to fill. Happy times, it sounds like. Glad you're home....and a BLT is one of my favorites.....minus mayo....Ick. Ick. And more ick.

Posted by Lewis on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Argh, no rss feed for ajooja either - I don't think I could go back to reading blogs the manual way! That's like horse-n-buggy. Nice and romantic once in a while, but can't function every day like that.

Posted by Wayne on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Yesterday I pulled six more tomatoes out of the garden. I'd send you more but I'm thinking of making a big tub of salsa.

Nice to see you again. Remember - Russian Tea Time. Send that schedule.

Posted by RW on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

They do have good pizza, but I maintain that you should have gone to my uncle's bar/restaurant. :-)

Posted by sandra on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Have I ever told you of my undying love for the BLT? Seriously, I get it any time I go to one of those 50's diners ala Johnny Rocket's or Ruby's. Fresh tomatoes would make it better....mmmm, RW and his tomatoes!

Posted by Hilly on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

I practically live on veggie BLTs this time of year. From the time my garden tomatoes start to ripen until they are all done in the fall, I have at least one veggie BLT a day. This is the only time of year I can enjoy them. The tomatoes from the supermarket are way too expensive and pretty much tasteless. No tomato is tastier than the ones that come fresh from the garden! I love tomato season :D

... I didn't see any lettuce on your BLT. Does that mean you had a BT?

Posted by Jill on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Davecago2 sounds like so much fun. Hopefully I can make it to Davecago3 if there will be one.

What´s veggie bacon made of?

Posted by Göran on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

There better be a Davecago three!! I'm already planning for it! ;)
If anybody is reading this comment and wonders why there are no links to my blog anywhere, it's because someone showed up at my house once and some other creepy things happened and I had to go hide underground for awhile. Only a select few know its top secret whereabouts! So I felt like a blogger poser, but I still had fun. :-)

Posted by diane on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Thanks for the very nice review of my blog. I think the letters are fascinating--but then, it's my family, so I'm a little biased.

Thanks for organizing Davecago. It was a lot of fun and pizza was great!

Posted by Robin on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

Welcome back Dave and enjoyed the report with your fellow bloggers in Chicagoland!
If only the tomatoes would rippen here in western WA. It has been way too gray and wet... The bacon is fine, though.

Posted by bogup on August 27, 2007 | Reply

   

As a newly minted vegetarian, I must ask - what kind of veggie bacon do you use? I've been having tons of fun trying all sorts of new veggie foods and meat replacers, but it gets a tad bit expensive when half the stuff ends up getting thrown out 'cause it tastes like ass. For instance, I have yet to find a palatable veggie hot dog...

Posted by Alexis on August 29, 2007 | Reply

   

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