One way to quickly read a room is to work the phrase "Democrat Party" into a conversation and see how/if people react.

Will write jokes for no money. But you'll get what you pay for.

Of course, the correct name for them is "suburb geese," not "suburban."

I heard geese honking earlier, and I live on the flight path for suburban geese going to Cubs games.

I heard geese honking a few hours ago (overhead). They must have been heading to Wrigley.

He was 43 years old when he was appointed, so I guess the liberals were making his life miserable all the way back to the cradle.

Here's a great foto of the Harry Caray statue, highlighting what I've always thought of as the damned souls of Cubs fans from over the ages.

"The Long Goodbye" is a pretty frivolous movie, though. Featuring former MLB pitcher and author of the great "Ball Four," Jim Bouton, in what I think was his only film role. (He starred in the short-loved sitcom based on his book.)

Jack Davis TV Guide cover illustration featuring the cast of Barney Miller

Jack Davis! He created a lot of great movie posters (and MAD parodies). And loads of TV Guide covers.

And we'll get economists telling us everything is great even though we're standing in soup lines wearing barrels, because look how "affordable" goods and services are!

Maybe not many 38-year-olds get that reference, but I do.

My mom declared her age to be 39 for what turned out to be the entire latter half of her life. In honor of Jack Benny.

Like ... five or ten years ago the Federal Circuit mandamus-spanked E.D. Tex. over patent venue a few times, and now everyone is asking for Documents of We Command Its. The court is nipping that in the bud.

All those terms should be translated to plain English. "Petitioner seeks a Document of We Command It..."

Not too long ago I could pass for 38, but the last half-decade or so (in particular) has been damaging.

"Let me mandamus you / Let me obtain a writ..."

I was skeptical that Trump would go around using the word "mandamus" (even verbing it!) but I guess he has spent a lot of time in court.

"Greed is good" seems like a big factor. I had a lot of friends who bought into that. As for lead, it's a thing, although I played with lead miniatures as a D&D nerd and ended up as left-wing as all get-out, so mileage varies, I suppose. (Lots of racism among Gen Xers, too, for sure.)

Likewise, although practically everyone I grew up with was very conservative. I was part of a very unpopular (smallish) group of leftists in college, too.

I always felt people my age were undergoing a cultural backlash against the '60s. The whole "hip to be square" zeitgeist of the '80s. They sort of mirrored what certain boomers did, like Jerry Rubin, who became a proud "yuppie." And I grew up in a part of Lake County IL that was very conservative.

I'm on the oldish end of Gen X. I remember most of my peers in high school being big fans of Reagan (I was against the grain there, and that only got more evident as time passed.) I also recall people admiring the Michael J. Fox character on Family Ties, the conservative son of hippie parents.

I heart Jonathan.

Would the frog character have offended French-speaking consumers?

Just came up with a phrase for when I need to force myself to write something for work that I don't feel like writing.

Hit the hack.

"I really gotta hit the hack tomorrow morning."

Bearded person with glasses on a residential sidewalk, wearing a white t-shirt with the words "CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY."

Support your local libraries.

MRI did not exist yet. Although that was my first thought.

I think ABS is OK so far. It doesn't seem to take a lot of time. Strategic considerations are kind of minimized by the limited number of challenges. Ideally it becomes barely noticeable after we get used to it.

You could throw a pitch that literally burrowed underground, and Pete Crow-Armstrong would swing at it.

#Cubs #futility

When in doubt, find someplace else to park, unless you're game for visiting the Lincoln Park Pirates' impound lot.

Artemus Gordon from the TV spy oater, Best of the West.

Welcome back, Artemus!