Friday, May 5, 2006

Eat, Sleep and Be Wary

This is kind of a "Note to Self," just to remind myself of something. About two months ago, my friend Sergio and I stopped at a little barbecue stand for lunch. The place had been recommended to me as proving the old maxim that I recently made up: The crummier the decor, the better the barbecue. If that was true, this place had to have the best food on the planet. You've never seen a more dilapidated, rundown place to dine. The aroma of burning wood, detectable from blocks away, also promised good eats.

Turned out, the cuisine was excellent. I had a beef sandwich and a side of potato salad. Sergio had either the same thing or a pork sandwich, plus we split a side of beans. Wonderful food. I was delighted to have found such a great "dive," though dismayed that the ambiance being what it was, I probably couldn't bring certain people there.

We then went back to my house and an odd thing happened: We both fell asleep. About forty minutes after we'd finished our lunches, Sergio and I were both getting so drowsy that naps seemed mandatory. He stretched out on the floor of my office and I staggered into the bedroom and went directly to dreamland for about an hour. Sergio's siesta lasted a little longer than that even.

It was very odd. I rarely sleep during the day. I sometimes don't even sleep at night, as some have deduced from the posting times on this weblog. And for Sergio and I to both feel the same way at the same time made us wonder: What was in that food? It made me a little reticent to go back to the little barbecue place...and no, I didn't have a beer or wine. Never touch the stuff.

This afternoon, I was in that area around 3:30 when my stomach suddenly reminded me I hadn't eaten since the night before. I decided maybe the little unexpected slumber was a fluke and that one shouldn't abandon a great barbecue restaurant without more proof. I stopped at the barbecue stand and ate the same thing I had the first time — beef sandwich and potato salad, plus I got a whole chicken "to go." The same thing happened. I was sitting here writing around 4:10 when I suddenly had a desperate need to be asleep. I went into the bedroom and dozed 'til around 5:30. When I awoke, I went downstairs and threw out the chicken.

I don't get it. I've enjoyed barbecue for years from dozens of different eateries. Never had this happen with any kind of food anywhere. I know some people claim that the tryptophane in turkey makes them sluggish but I eat turkey twice a week and it has never had that effect on me. (I've also read that that's a myth; that tryptophane doesn't really cause sleepiness. Whether it does in others, it doesn't affect me.) I don't know if it's the barbecue sauce or the wood-smoking that did it to me here. It could even, I suppose, be the potato salad, though I doubt it.

There's no real end to this story except that it's the end of my visits to that barbecue stand. One more and I could wind up an honorary Kennedy.

• Posted at 11:00 PM · LINK

A Quick Comment

I don't know what happened with that traffic accident involving Congressman Patrick Kennedy and neither do you. But I do know that "I was taking a medication that made me drowsy" isn't any better than "I was drinking." If you get behind the wheel of a car in any condition that impairs your ability to drive, you're being dangerously irresponsible and oughta be prosecuted.

• Posted at 10:38 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

What's the deal with the economy? If it's so good, how come so many people think it's so bad? Ezra Klein tries to explain and basically, his answer is that it's only good if you were already rich.

• Posted at 10:22 AM · LINK

Things I'm Not Buying - #3 in a series

The cordless phone they use on Deal or No Deal. It's a nice-looking phone but you'd have to go on that show and win big to be able to afford it.

• Posted at 8:02 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

I just found this over on YouTube. Someone took the opening and closing from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series and dubbed them over with the theme song from the TV series, Falcon Crest. I think it works rather nicely. And if you look real fast, you'll see my name in there somewhere.

No word yet on when these are coming out on DVD but a fair amount of cash has been spent producing "extras" for the set so I assume it won't be long.

• Posted at 12:16 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Michael Kinsley sorta/kinda defends George W. Bush on the whole matter of "signing statements" — you know, where he signs a law and then quietly issues a memo that says he can violate any part of it he doesn't like. Generally speaking, those who have defended this practice have said, in effect, "He's president...he can do what he likes." This is a position I don't buy and I suspect they won't either, the next time we have a Democratic president. I don't know that I buy Kinsley's argument either, but at least it's based on principle rather than partisan loyalty.

• Posted at 12:15 AM · LINK