May 2, 2002

Tinkering, I have been, yes.

Yup, it's a new design. I had the HTML fever (worse than most weeks) and decided to repaint the site. I also found these groovy JavaScript menus on the O'Reilly Network and simply had to have them. So the damage is done, except for a new logo graphic, which I'll cobble together this weekend, given the time.

End of Frontier House

Besides web-tinkering, I've been watching Frontier House for the last three nights on PBS. It was mostly excellent. The show excelled at giving you a sense for life in the 1880's with everything except the diseases. The three homesteaders worked hard – gruelingly hard. The basics of food, water and shelter were only obtained by lots of physical labor. You also saw how seemingly small things – like a cattle drive near your land or your neighbor's calf nursing at your milk cow – could be matters of life and death, or at least feast or famine. The qualifier of "mostly" comes from the focus of the producers on two of the families and their antics rather than just plain frontier life. One family proved that an affluent family from 21^st century Malibu, California couldn't make it in Montana in the 19^th century. The other family would have survived in terms of food and shelter – provided the husband and wife didn't end up chasing each other with axes a la the Shining. The most functional household was Nate Brooks, who started the series out with his father and was joined by his new wife (they got married on the show). Nate wasn't as much of a greenhorn as his neighbors – when you go to the PBS site, you see that he grew up on a farm, was an Outward Bound instructor and did volunteer work in Namibia.

April 28, 2002

There Are No Belgian Waffles

After a thoroughly drunken night out for a bachelor party last night, I went out with some friends, including the bachelor, for brunch. Or at least we tried to go out for brunch. We all wanted one more chance to hang with our soon-to-be married friend, as well as get our story straight, before we handed him back to his fiancee. We all met at Bandito's a little after 11 am, only to find out that they had stopped serving brunch a year ago. I was puzzled, since they always seemed to have a good brunch crowd. Nonetheless, we walked up a block to the 821 Bakery Cafe and it was packed. There are only two tables at 821 that would seat all five of us, both of which were occupied. Another party was already waiting ahead of us, so we decided to try Shockoe Bottom.

Now, Havana 59 has been a sure thing in the past for brunch - no more. The only place around 17^th street that served brunch was the River City Diner and it also had a line of people waiting outside the door. We finally drove all the way up to the Hill Cafe on 28^th street. Of course, that's across the street from the bachelor's house, so he just went home – he had in-laws visiting and it was nearly noon by now. I suppose we could have gone to the Border Chophouse. However, the groom and the best man still mourn the days that is was the Texas-Wisconsin Border. Godfrey's Drag Brunch would have been a little too frenetic; we were all worn out from the night before. Lastly, the bachelor and best man ended the night at the 3^rd St. Diner and didn't want a repeat visit. So the four of us toddled over to "the Hill" and grabbed one last bite. While a third of the tables were empty when we arrived, the restaurant was nearly full by the time we left.

So, I had to scrounge for a plate of Huevos Rancheros on a gray Sunday morning, so what? Well, I've always considered brunch to be the post-party meal; everyone showers the smell of cigarette smoke out of their hair, gulps down an aspirin, and gathers someplace relaxed before the work week starts. A good brunch draws in a collection of doey-eyed new couples, out-of-town visitors, recovering revelers, young urban families and the more open-minded members of the post-church crowd. The drying up of a good brunch downtown Richmond is a sign of a drought of entertainment, culture and vitality. By Sunday morn, the Shockoe Bottom crowd has already returned to their apartments in Western Henrico, while the "renter-by-choice" are cocooned in their lofts overlooking the Kanawha canal, gnawing on a Nutri-Grain bar after a session on the treadmill. The paucity of good brunch could also be a sign of leaner economic times – out of all of the meals of the day, brunch can be made both cheaply and luxuriously. If there is any cause for hope, it's that every place that did serve up a midday breakfast was full. Richmonders hunger for waffles, omelets, Bloody Mary's and a last chance to relax during the weekend. If they're lucky, they may even find a place that still serves grits.

If You Must Watch Television

You can pick up the remote now – National Turnoff TV Week has ended. You may have even started reading a book or keeping house more regularly during the past week. However, if you must suckle at the glass teat, there is at least one quality option. PBS is featuring Frontier House this week– three families living in the same conditions that pioneers did in the 1880's. No one saunters around in a bikini or gets voted off. However, you do get to see a dozen Americans start to both cherish and question many of the luxuries we have today. It starts Monday and runs for two hours each night through to Wednesday.