Thanksgiving without Gourmet - a really beautiful tribute by a former Gourmet staffer.

How does one mourn the loss of a cultural institution? It is a death, to be sure, but the grief is more amorphous, less straightforward, than what you feel for a person. It’s like passing by your childhood home, now in a strange family’s hands; like finding out that the library where you whiled away your adolescence has been torn down. Something you loved dearly is gone forever, and it is beyond your power to get it back. Yesterday, you were part of 69 years of collective wisdom; today, you are meeting with HR; tomorrow, you are once again just another unemployed thirtysomething with a passion for food. Ensign, where’s your ship?

The only possible answer to that question lies in action. You’ve lost Gourmet. What do you do? You cook, of course.

He was a fun nemesis on Burn Notice, which he played with his main Leverage henchman.

IMDB also lists Burn Notice, Bionic Woman, NCIS, Warehouse 13... [link]

Yeah, he's pretty much got the "every show I love" bingo card filled out too. Now they just need to make him a guest judge on Top Chef.

Sox, thank you for the package! It's being cooed over by Olivia right now.

He was fantastic in Medium as well.

I am, but I'm weird like that.

Well, I've been trying to see if a Puerto Rican would look at it differently then I do - although Puerto Ricans are obviously as individual as anyone else. I guess I see it like this - the people on the island pay no federal taxes, except those who work for the federal government. However, they receive all the entitlements/services, including social security, that everyone else receives. I don't mind that, because I think the island really needs it, but I wish the federal tax code applied.

I think because it's so far away, an island, and culturally distinct, the federal government isn't at the front of most people's thoughts. Even the political parties are different. The lack of representation does hurt the island some, but most people seem the think the lack of taxes is an even trade. Plus, there are at least one or two nuyorican (no idea how to spell that) congressman who sort of look out for PR and it's representative often works with them to get stuff done.

In my own personal opinion, the island would more appropriately be an independent nation. But there are many veterans - the most pro-statehood group - who have served and continue to serve who very much want to be part of the US. I suspect the status quo will remain for a long time.

"why does the bad guy always have a british accent?"

"My name is Pierre. I have come to have sex with your family." t /Izzard

In re DC - one thing to remember is that not only does the federal government occupy a lot of prime real estate, there are also a whole bunch of embassies here ... and I think they're tax-exempt as well. DC relies on federal funding for a hefty chunk of the budget, but we're also largely controlled by Congress. AND we pay federal taxes (taxation without representation ... which is on the DC license plates).

Arguments against representation have historically been "well, but it's NOT a state" (and only states have voting rights) to the fact that DC traditionally votes Democratic. A recent one is that all the federal government employees would vote for increasing the size of the government ... which ignores the fact that a lot of those people live in Maryland and Virginia.

And it's amazing how many people outside the area don't realize that DC (for address purposes) is like a state.

smonster, sending much ~ma for your gran and the rest of your family.