Saucyman: Atlas Hugged

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Atlas Hugged

Cheese monger, writing teacher, former Michener Fella, tireless promoter of poetry and Friend of Saucyman, Matthew Dickman took home the Oregon Book Award this week. No doubt Matthew is getting the award mounted on gold chains so he can wear it around town.

Big congratulations to Matthew, who in the last 12 months or so has been featured in the New Yorker, had his first book published, was nominated for and won the Oregon Book Award and best of all was interviewed here on the Saucyblog, which undoubtedly started the poemomentum that he rode through 2009. You can link back to the interview here and catch up on your Matthew facts and opinions.

The success of Matthew is a big deal. The emotion I feel, it is like shadenfradue, except for I am happy for him – the Germans don’t really have a word for sharing pleasure in other’s fortune. Well, that not a lot of other food news to report on: Okay, McDonald’s is withdrawing from the apparently not so lucrative Icelandic fast food market. The Big Mac is no longer available in the land of Björk Guðmundsdóttir – yes, she does have a last name, albeit not really a pronounceable one. For bonus points, name another Icelander who will not be able to go to the golden arches.

And the flu is still keeping me a bit underpowered, but tomorrow there will be a brand new post, answering your questions about the world of food.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Basketball

Since the lockout ended, I have been largely silent about the great sport of basketball. Despite Brandon Roy retiring, despite my beloved Blazer’s sprint out of the blocks to a really good start, despite my home team playing a style of basketball than can no longer be described as Van Gundying (Jeff) up the sport’s fluidity.

I don’t know, some interesting developments transpired: During the lockout, analysts and beat writers, the very people who possibly think about professional basketball more than I do, had a light bulb go on over their collective heads and across the league they discovered what everyone else pretty much already knew, NBA Commissioner David Stern is a dick. Over the last decade Stern forced bankrupt municipalities to build new stadiums for billionaires’ new play thing, this heavy handed behavior garnered nothing but praise. The writers sighed and thought eh, “we live in the suburbs, we write for suburban middle managers, our values are if anything anti-urban” - with all the weight that word carries. But needlessly locking out players jeopardizing their tenuous employment in publishing, well that is something that we might complain about except they hate the players more - Oh the conflict.

But mostly I can’t get excited about any team helmed by Nate McMillan. We’ll make the playoffs with a pretty good but not best record, maybe get home court advantage in the first round and then fail to advance. This is true until McMillan proves otherwise, 11 years a coach out of the first round once - this record while coaching some pretty good but not great teams. Along the way Nate will overplay star forwards LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace so there is nothing in the tank come playoff time and risk their health. And yo-yo Nicholas Batum’s minutes so the young player becomes a head case instead of developing into a consistent contributor.

So a predictable finish is part of the my own jejune response to the return of the sport of kings (not really, that's horse racing) maybe it's the sweet science (damnit google says that's boxing). My attitude goes deeper than a finish more predictable than one of McMillan's earth toned, triple pleated suits, if the lockout exposed a fault line in NBA coverage it's that broadcasters and writers are now PR agents for the teams - so who is left to advocate for the fan - thank goodness for blogs and the posting cyborg that is named Henry Abbott.

2nd round or bust