Dan

Trying to think well

[Dan @rdsmth]

Sit tibi terra levis.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@dwaldenwrites @the_point_mag Oh wow this is by Jamie Redfield! Old professor of mine, I am so glad to know he is still with us and writing so well

[Dan @rdsmth]

@dieworkwear A small plug for Ashland Leather of Chicago. These are a bit more workmanlike in style than the producers you recommend, but the craftsmanship is excellent. Over a decade of use on mine and not a stitch loose. The owner works with scraps and leftovers from Horween here in town.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@gabrielwinant Godspeed. I worry about that place lately. Glad you are keeping the old banner flying.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@lionel_trolling I think of it as an essentially gay novel, despite its author's clear intention to write a work of Catholic apologetics https://t.co/LO3RuYI0RY

[Dan @rdsmth]

@blagojevism The most sincere and convincing thing in it is the love story between Charles and Sebastian, which we're supposed to realize was a false first step on the path back to the Church. Trouble is, the later steps (Charles-Julia; the conversions at the end) ring hollow by comparison.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@Eric_Erins FLW's finest work if you ask me

[Dan @rdsmth]

@Eric_Erins I'm very excited for Ariadne auf Naxos. Why aren't they actually staging the Massenet? A concert performance of an opera is fine but it's far from the real deal

[Dan @rdsmth]

@Blarg08125613 Are you aware of Silverstein having written anything to this effect? I also remember hearing him make various remarks like this in passing but I can't remember the details. Now that he's gone I often find myself wishing I had written to him and asked more questions over the years

[Dan @rdsmth]

@blagojevism Whoa where can this even still be found

[Dan @rdsmth]

@sam_d_1995 @PEWilliams_ I second The Armoury — only bummer is they do not offer short or long jacket lengths in ready-to-wear, only in their custom services, which are more expensive. But if you wear a regular length jacket, or are OK with custom, they are a really quality option

[Dan @rdsmth]

@blagojevism For sure, but bars aren't the only option! Neighborhood groceries, cafes, independent convenience stores (the much-envied bodega), flower shops, tailors, neighborhood retail ... we could even go as far as Tokyo and allow limited kinds of small-scale manufacturing/workshops.

[Dan @rdsmth]

Learning to spot these many years ago marked the start of my urbanist awakening here in Chicago. Relegalize them everywhere! They're not much good as residential spaces anyway — either too public or too dark.

[Adrian @blagojevism]

Imagine how fun Chicago would be if the storefronts in all of these late 19th century apartment buildings were still commercial. We can blame, in part, Daley (fils) and his campaign against corner bars and corner stores, which he considered déclassé.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@blagojevism A much, much better Chicago is within reach, in this and so many other areas. Not to downplay the obstacles (in this case NIMBYs and visionless aldermen and mayors) but it's not unfathomable

[Dan @rdsmth]

@blagojevism I do think it would take more than zoning and permitting reform to make these viable again — we had more density and more households in the past, hence more demand for neighborhood businesses — but we should absolutely at least start with making them totally legal everywhere

[Dan @rdsmth]

@gabrielwinant I took a brilliant class on this years back with Lorraine Daston - "The passions, a philosophical history." I keep hoping she'll turn it into a book one day

[Dan @rdsmth]

@MattZeitlin Ha! I grew up there and the Kripke connection is one of my favorite local factoids. Older Omahans all remember Rabbi Kripke, he was a very prominent local figure

[Dan @rdsmth]

@yakabikaj @lionel_trolling They were UChicago colleagues for decades. I don't know if there is any deeper connection but they were surely personally acquainted

[Dan @rdsmth]

@DavidAstinWalsh Trapper or aviator cap! Though I haven't yet found one I really love.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@NickBurns @DavidAstinWalsh I have worn flat caps since I was 19! I probably looked a bit twee at first but now at 38 I feel I pull them off very well. Strictly tweed and only in chilly weather. I must say I find them inadequate to temps below 35F or so, to say nothing of below zero.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@lionel_trolling I am sad about this. I've learned a lot from his political work. Main shortcoming of his politics, specific errors of judgment aside, is its theoretical basis is flawed: positivistic and undialectical. His linguistic thought has the same problem, a rarely noticed connection.

[Dan @rdsmth]

@ChrisMurphyCT It is time to call publicly for Schumer to be replaced as Minority Leader. He could not prevent this surrender, and seems to have encouraged it behind the scenes. He is not adequate to the moment and must go immediately.