Let's Talk

So We Can Stop Worrying About Minnesota

Posted July 2, 2009

Al Franken is finally going to Washington. We’ll admit we’re happy about that (but you knew that, didn’t you?). But we’re the first to admit that we’re heading into unchartered terrain here.

What do you think about a 60-vote bloc in the Senate — or, with all those Blue Dogs and other mini-cabals floating around, do you view this as a coalition that isn’t going to happen anyhow? 

And, by the way, we’re wondering: What do you think about this 8-month delay? Is this a vindication of our electoral system or a sign of just how screwed up things are?

The Whiner wants to know: Will this be good or bad? What would you like to see happen now? What are you worried about?

Shoestring Spending

The Bottom-Line Benefits of an Older Car

Posted July 1, 2009

Many of us are driving older cars. We’re keeping the old, cheap, and reliable vehicles (aka clunkers) that, not so long ago, some of us might have traded in for the new and shiny. What if the manufacturer becomes extinct? Well, that’s another matter entirely. But we won’t dwell on it right now.

Instead, let’s talk about the downside of the new car market.

Continue reading…

Main Street

Meet Tony Adams

Posted June 29, 2009

At a time when college costs are rising into the stratosphere, scholarship programs are more important than ever. Not long ago, we turned the spotlight on a truly unusual program set up by the McKelvey Foundation to support teen entrepreneurs.

Then we asked Sarah Arnold, an extremely talented young journalist who last wrote for us about the way that the EconoMess was affecting her hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., to talk to one of the recent winners. Please don’t miss this story.

By Sarah Arnold

Some people are just special. Take Tony Adams.

Two weeks after the 18-year-old Harlem resident, a high school student and small-business owner, found out that he had been accepted by Penn State University, he also got the news that he had been awarded the McKelvey Foundation Entrepreneurial Scholarship.

The Foundation was created by Andrew McKelvey, founder of Monster.com. Its scholarship awards teen entrepreneurs $10,000 per year to help cover the costs of a degree at a four-year university. During the toughest of economic climates, this year’s 73 scholarship winners have created and run businesses with a combined monthly revenue of approximately $600,000. Yes, that’s right: $600,000.

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Well-Being

Time to Get Moving

Posted June 28, 2009

After endless days of rain over the past month and endless days of being tied to the desk, we were bleary, exhausted, and probably a bit stir crazy. But even worse, we were downright creaky after days at the computer, and we knew that we needed to move.

So when the work deadline passed, and the sun finally broke through, we were thrilled. The only thing missing was a swelling, exuberant soundtrack. At the first possible moment, we put on our walking shoes and took to the streets. A brisk walk around the neighborhood, and an hour of weeding and deadheading in the warm sunshine, made things right again. Our muscles thawed and stretched, and we got loose and happy.

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Food & Drink

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Condiments

Posted June 25, 2009

We love to grill. Meat, fish, chicken, vegetables, even fruit. There’s something about fire meeting food that results in crusty and juicy deliciousness that can’t be had elsewhere. And pairing that tastiness with an array of condiments and table sauces takes us to another level of Nirvana entirely.

Chutneys, savory jellies, salsas, relishes, table or dipping sauces, ketchups, flavored butters, you name it: These guys bring sparks to a meal, especially in the summer. We’re so wild for condiments that a chef we used to work with labeled this fetish as “condimentia.”

Our refrigerator always holds three or four homemade offerings: recently we’ve had pickled cranberries, mojo sauce, an apple and walnut chutney, and a green Thai dipping sauce to choose from. In the freezer we have a blue cheese and thyme butter and Indonesian peanut sauce. Pretty much anything we’d throw on the grill could easily find a dance partner among those choices. Often we put three or four of these sauces on the table and everyone can mix and match, trying all of them or none of them, as they wish. Continue reading…

Let's Talk

Buying Anything These Days?

Posted June 22, 2009

It’s a new season, but has anything significantly changed in the EconoMess? We ourselves can’t tell — but we’re always open to some positive signs elsewhere, if anyone happens to see them.

That’s why we’re bringing up shopping. We’re still limiting ourselves to shopping mostly for necessities. With life on an austerity budget, we didn’t exactly go hog-wild over Father’s Day.

The Whiner wants to know: What have you been spending money on (or, not spending money on) these days? Do you see any recent changes in your spending patterns? Where are you finding the best bargains? Any money-saving tips to share?

Well-Being

Happy Father’s Day

Posted June 21, 2009

It’s Father’s Day. So this means that, despite the best of intentions, W-i-C is so busy taking care of the various dads in her life that she can’t sit down and write a whole long piece about them. (Probably that’s the way it should be.)

Instead, we’ll share some random memories. For Whiner-in-Chief, some of the best include waking up at 4 a.m. when she was a little girl to have breakfast with her father just before he left for work. She didn’t do that very often, of course. But when she did, she got the most delicious of meals: tiny slivers of sauteed steak, served with rye toast drowning in butter. Or donuts sprinkled with powdered sugar at a nearby diner when it was still pitch black outside.

Learning how to drive in the school parking lot across the street. Or to play boxball in the playground. How to climb up a ladder and patch the roof. To polish shoes just right. To play casino on Sunday afternoons and read the comics together. As we’ve mentioned before, there are lots of great memories.

And a few others. All the driving lessons in the world didn’t prevent W-i-C from getting the car stuck — yes, stuck — on the side of the garage door. There were those moments of facing up to the music (which usually involved facing up to dad). We can still remember staring at that car and the garage door and the car and the garage and the car … you get the idea. 

It’s been a rough year for the dads in W-i-C’s life. Sometimes it’s felt like one giant episode of “ER,” minus the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. We’ve had some rough moments. 

But this is Father’s Day and we’re thankful for all the good times. Fellow Whiners, we wish you the happiest of Father’s Days too.

The Whiner wants to know: Do you have any thoughts or memories you’d like to share? 

Let's Talk

The Joys of Potluck

Posted June 19, 2009

Although we have been known to complain about the challenges of cooking dinner every single night, regardless of how much energy we (don’t) have, few things make us happier than setting off for a potluck dinner, with a favorite dish in hand.

This time of year, that’s likely to be a huge salad. Salad nicoise is always a favorite, built around one of our favorite canned tunas, often with some steamed rice and chick peas added as well. (Yes, we know — we’re a revolutionary at heart.) But we can’t argue with something that will basically boil down to some grilled chicken, sliced thin, mixed with salad greens, orange slices, one or more type of nuts, and maybe, if we’re feeling fancy, some hearts of palm (only if we came across them on a really good sale, of course).

Or, a grain-based salad: Start with cooked couscous or farro, add whatever fresh vegetables look most irresistible (so long as the mixture includes radishes, red onions and, this time of year, some lightly steamed asparagus), plus some other type of beans and, usually, some dried fruit; then dress it with whatever feels right — as we look at this paragraph, we’re thinking a Dijon mustard-based vinaigrette would really hit the spot.

Then again, we’re the ultimate pasta fiend and could eat it every day without raising an objection. When the weather’s cold, you can count on us to bring a huge potful of oddly shaped noodles, bathed in a tomato sauce that’s full of vegetables and maybe some chopped veal, again, if the sale prices were right. When we bring too much, we’re shameless (being our own #1 fan, we’re always open to taking home our own leftovers). Warm weather, cold pasta salad, maybe with some prosciutto slivered in along with lots of vegetables and maybe even some toasted pecans.

And then again and again, there’s always dessert and, as longtime Whiners know by now, we love to bake. (That said, we’re not flawless. We once brought along a chocolate cake whose ingredients included a cup’s worth of Kosher salt instead of sugar. Ah yes. There are risks. It’s rare to find a potluck dinner without a problem or two. Or three.)

Despite the potential downside of all those cooks you can’t really trust, here’s the thing we love best about potlucks: They’re so fabulously unpredictable. We love not knowing what’s going to show up at the table. And, which recipes we’ll manage to walk away with.

The Whiner wants to know: With all the end-of-the-school-year celebrations, graduation and wedding galas, or picnics in the park, what’s your favorite potluck dish to bring? Will you share a recipe or a shopping tip? What about a recommendation for those of us who prefer to bring some wine or beer to the meal?

In the News

Can Newspapers Make a Go of It Online?

Posted June 17, 2009

We’ve been thinking about newspapers again. Right now we are sadly bearing witness to what may be the death rattle of  our own local paper, The Boston Globe. The Boston Newspaper Guild is locked in a life-or-death struggle with the paper’s owner, The Times Co.

The two have not been able to reach an agreement on $10 million in concessions that management is demanding from the union in order to keep the Globe running. When the union — the last holdout of three unions at the newspaper – rejected the initial demand for an 8.4% pay cut, along with unpaid furloughs and cuts in health and retirement benefits, the Times instituted an immediate 23% pay cut.

Talk about leverage. It’s a dastardly move worthy of Snidely Whiplash, although there’s nothing remotely funny about it and we suspect that there will be no Dudley Do-Right coming along to fix things. (Yes, the union is looking to the National Labor Relations board to weigh in on that one.)

The second round of talks went into the wee hours of this morning.

Continue reading…

Let's Talk

A Few (More) Words About Books

Posted June 15, 2009

When Whiner-in-Chief’s mother was a little girl, her family was poor. Very poor. Her father once had a job that was alright, but he didn’t get to keep it for long, because the boss’s son-in-law lost his job. So the boss fired W-i-C’s grandfather to put that guy to work.

It was a struggle for many years. W-i-C’s grandmother kept the family going by working as a seamstress. Every year, they would move to a new apartment because landlords in Brooklyn, where they lived back then, used to give away a month or two of free rent to new tenants. 

Strangely enough, or maybe not so strangely, most of the stories W-i-C’s mother likes to tell from the old days have to do with reading. The family didn’t have any spare money to spend on books. But every Saturday, she and her older brother used to walk a mile or so to the nearest library.

The borrowing limit was one book per child. She’d read her’s the first day or so. Then she’d read her brother’s book, whatever it was. Then she’d count the days until the next Saturday, when they could make the walk again. 

Can reading save you, when times are hard? Some people might view that question as a little bit extreme. But we feel sorry for them, because they don’t understand.

It’s been a rough stretch for us here at EconoWhiner Central. Since we’re writing this at 2:24 a.m., we’ll leave it at that.

But we’ve just finished reading a book we loved: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz. What a simple joy to be reminded, yet again, of the way that books can help us — sometimes when nothing else can.

The Whiner wants to know: What are you reading these days? How have books mattered to you, either now or during some other difficult period in your life? And, by the way, have you visited our forum page, to tell us about your favorite book ever — and why you love it?

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