This blog is stuck and can no longer continue in its current mode (even as it remains inactive). Originally conceived to pioneer what my friend calls "decadent conservatism," I tried to show that the young fogey can have the most fun. Also, I was filling the hours of the day at an internship. The blog introduced me to a wide circle of people, the new Dandies, the fashinistas, and many other incredible bloggers - some have become good friends. I had a persona and soon after that, a profession.

And that last bit is the problem with the blog. I now spend most of my political observations in my articles and (blog posts!) at the magazine. And "Decadent conservatism"  became irrelevant once its only two spokesmen (my friend and I) got engaged (Not to each other!). The diversity of subjects I was interested in has also made the blog difficult. I tried to write as if everyone just sort of knew what I was talking about - whether it was "paleoconservatism," baseball, liturgy, or dandyism. It didn't work. In trying to build and then serve an audience, I made the blog unpleasant to write. I had readers but nothing to write to them.

Also, my interests as a writer have evolved. Instead of little polemical notes about bookbags or free-traders, I've been writing short fiction, more "mainstream" projects, and pieces of writing that explore ideas through the events in my own life.

And so the blog is going to be revamped, and (possibly) redesigned. It's no longer going to be a blog for conservatives (of any prefix), or dandies, or traditionalists or sportsfans - though it may interest any of those people from time to time. It's just going to be my blog. I'll link to the things I write elsewhere - other than that, it should be as weird and idiosyncratic as I am.

I caught the Jazz-Spurs game last night. Deron Williams is a very special player. He is very different from John Stockton (with whom Williams trained last summer). Stockton had court vision and the ability to read defenses very well,  making him seem both fundamentally sound and creative in the pick and roll offense. Williams has an amazing knack for getting his defenders off-balance by penetrating and alternating between a layup and a pull-up jumper. The thing they have most in common is a killer instinct and the will to take over a game when their teammates are fading.

Too bad the Jazz couldn't overcome Manu Ginobili's performance of 22 points, 18 flops, 6 rebounds 4 dives and 1 bald spot. A bravura performance. Is it prejudiced of me to assume that the refs must have been pretty bad not just by the huge disparity between free throws attempted but also because a mostly Mormon crowd began throwing things onto the court in protest? That's always been a lively crowd but I've never seen anything like that from them before.

You may have noticed there are going to be some changes around here. I've added social bookmarking links to each post. I use Ma.gnolia myself. I've also been updating and adding links. Be sure to check out great blogs by conservative Shawn Macomber, New York libertarian Todd Seavey, the transatlantic Alex Massie, and two young liberal bloggers that I really enjoy: Michael Corcoran who is working at The Nation right now and the irrepressible and prodigious Matt Zeitlin.

In the future we will be seeing less in the way of pictures here and more in the way of content. I've let concerns about visual uniformity between posts prevent me from writing this blog. That ends today.

Many friends have encouraged me to return to blogging on a regular basis. As you may have noticed, I've been modifying the blogroll and I've added a social-bookmark java script so you can read the stuff I've enjoyed reading but haven't necessarily blogged about.  One friend has handed over (without excepting payment) the machine on which most of my blogging will now be done. It's beautiful. I know. I know you have strong feelings about the Mac. People are downright tribal about their loyalties in this area. They plead: You can date a Latina girl, you can marry a Buddhist, but please don't bring a Mac into this home.

But what is truly amazing is that I have a copy of Windows Vista running on this machine right now. If only there was an alt/option key on women and you could pick their operating system as it suited you.

A few thoughts sparked by Reihan: Speaking of women. You may have noticed that Reihan loves Ariel Levy. Who doesn't? Due to a few pictures in one of those men's magazines, I'm falling for Isla Fisher (pictured above.) Will this spark jealousy in her former co-star? Keep checking in for updates. Click below for one more Isla Fisher.

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Since my last post, I've received notes from readers. Some were happy that I had written something rather lyrical. Others were glad that I didn't seem to be assimilating into the lifestyle of Washington D.C. But not a few of you expressed concern for my mental state. The actual number of hits to this blog seems to be going up. This despite - like what?- a month of inactivity. My readers are anxious for some word -- some sign of what is happening behind the curtain. Like de Gaulle (one of my predecessors) I say to the gathering throng: Je vous ai compris.

For those concerned about my mental state, I can report to you that things have gotten much, much worse since I last checked in. I've spent weekends just driving up and down Route 95 listening to that extremely maudlin Beck album, Sea Change. I was usually on my way somewhere, but it sometimes felt like I was engaged in mid-20's angst.

What can you expect from the return of Surfeited with Dainties? More personal stories. Important reflections on basketball shorts, and iced tea. Also my adventures along the way to becoming a dandy. In them, the protagonist can be found in a boxing ring, and sitting at a poker table in a casino whilst being called, "suit." Occasionally I may share with you my incredible political insights. Just so you know, secretly I've been giving them all away to Daniel Larison, Matt Yglesias, Ross and Reihan and Ezra Klein.   For serious.

Now, if you'll indulge me (this is Surfeited with Dainties, after all.) For purposes of an inside joke (and also to justify the beautiful picture above) I now include four lines from tonight's episode of 30 Rock - exchanged between Alec Baldwin and the lovely, Tina Fey.

Liz Lemon: (shocked) What made you think I was gay?

Jack Donaghy: (coldly) “Your shoes,”

Liz Lemon: Well, I’m straight,

Jack Donaghy: Those shoes are definitely bi-curious.

Surfeited with Dainties is going to temporarily shut-down until the new year - no new posts and no new comments.  Sometimes, in order to have something worthwhile to say, you need to be shut-up for a bit.  I hope that a little time of quiet will go along way to making this a better site in year to come. As a parting note, I'd like to thank everyone who helped me through my transition from New York to D.C. and into my career, which began in earnest last month. Have  a Merry Christmas (or a Happy Holiday if you prefer) and I'll see you in the New Year.

The Biggest LoserI prefer to keep this blog about the high life you wish I was living rather than the real life, I normally conceal. But in case you haven't pieced it together the elliptical hints or read through all the linked material, I have taken a job as an assistant editor at The American Conservative.

Also, I've recently appeared in my normal guise in the Washington Monthly. One excellent thing has come out of this piece. Tim Carney, recently dubbed my (unremarkable) observation about post-election recriminations, "The Dougherty Doctrine."

If it were more like me, the Republican Party would be better off. It’s failing because it’s like you.

Tim has even gone so far as to preach the Dougherty Doctrine to a former presidential speech-writer currently working on a book.  My readers here at Surfeited can say "I know him when he was an unemployed nobody." (That is to say, a mere blogger). Let's hope my new friends won't be soon saying "I knew him before he was just an unemployed blogger."

After the recent electoral repudiation of the Bush administration, several candidates have made clear their intentions. Some we knew: Romney, McCain, Guiliani -- and some we didn't: Tommy Thompson and Duncan Hunter.    If all these men survive until the primaries I'll be very much reminded the Democrats in 2004 -- a parade of mediocrities --men of high political status with no good ideas matched against men of low political status and poorly formed ideas that are vaguely interesting. Excepting Buchanan, the same could be said of the Republican primary in 1996. I recently noticed Mike Huckabee is releasing a book of feel-good psychobabble. I worry that there is an irreversible trend away from Southern politicians who shared folksy wisdom through entertaining metaphors towards Clintonian self-help-helplessness. I don't want a President whose primary qualification seems to be the self-mastery of weight loss, spurred by diabetes.  I fear also that this is exactly what the American people do want.

Not the worst driveI'm stacking up my mix CD's. Tonight after work I will pack up my clothes and grab my new book on the cultural history of jeans and throw that into the back seat. I'll curve up 495 towards Baltimore which, from the road looks like the most beautiful ugly city I've ever seen. Then through that weird-cool tunnel and the rest of Maryland and over the gigantic bridge in Delaware. The Jersey turnpike usually has a 65 speed limit and I can just set the car to coast a little above that. I'll approach New York City around 11 or so and jump right onto the Saw Mill Parkway, winding my way through the high class places like Chappaqua. Hitting Route 684, I'll let my good mother, the great chocolate chip cookie baker that I'll arrive safely. I will call up Tommy give the ETA - I'll pick him up and we'll go to the Poitin Still for a few drinks. We'll chat about the Mets games, about freelance writing and Ginene our bar tender will smile and ask if we want another. Tom will say yes, and she'll dutifully try to make a shamrock shape into the foam of his Guiness. It will be a nice weekend.

Also - I've been seeing links to Surfeited.net at design websites. Someone is noticing the hard work that went into it. It would be wrong of me to register at these sites and vote on my own site. But if you have nothing to do at work today, take a look at CSS Drive gallery and Design Snack

The Opera HouseSo, I'm back from my totally unlikely and nearly cost free trip to Sydney, Australia. I'd like to report that the women of New South Wales were more easily subdued by me in the 21st century than the women of the old south Wales were by the English in the 11th and 12th centuries. My advances were not met with boiling oil and dead livestock - but usually greeted instead. I ate kangaroo. I listened to an ex-Egyptian military turned Sydney cabbie complain about the Asian cabbies.

We arrived in Sydney the day after the Australian team qualified for the next round in the World Cup. The "Socceroos" were all the rage and we were delighted to be stuffed into a bar in Darling Harbor with about 2,000 people (capacity 800). We were delighted by the fact that Aussies actually like and sing along to Men At Works seminal "Down Under" - they sing children's songs at bars and chant. It was devastating to watch Australia lose on an extremely "dodgy" penalty kick goal in the closing seconds - to hear a thousand hearts break at once. The bars emptied immediately and wordlessly as if we were brushed away by some supernatural gesture. No one spoke until they got outside- and then in mumbles or outbursts of obscenity.  No more big nights at the bar. But the Aussies are resilient and so unlike Americans in that they seemed satisfied by having been there.

Early in the morning on July 5th I woke up and realized that my ladyfriend would be staying in Sydney until October and I was leaving in a few hours. At that moment, in America people were watching the fireworks and guzzling their last Bud Lights. In Australia it was July 5th - a brisk morning. She was going to work. I to the airport. I would have to wait a few hours and watch a rerun of Italy vs. Germany. Then in an airport cafe I heard the worst cover version of "Walkin' in Memphis" ever recorded. A fourteen hour flight awaited me. I would travel from winter, and short days, to summer and long ones. I would travel from 4 p.m. on July 5th back to 12 noon on July 5th when I arrived in San Francisco.  By the time she got out of working her second day since I left, I'd be hovering over JFK airport - still July 5th for a few moments. I had spent 38 hours in one calendar day. I was starting to smell a little rotten. Who knew there was poetry in the international date line. The day I left her in Sydney for three months was the longest day of my life.

It will be returning just after the 4th of July. Best wishes to all my readers.

Not the Best Picture of the Resort in Which I StayedAs mentioned sometime earlier I went away over the holiday weekend to witness the wedding of my friend. WE did have to mention the "irradiated geese" bit - though I would not consent to put that on our card. In the receiving line the Bride apologized for "going through with it" with a knowing wink that made my week.

 Just a note on where we were staying: the Wolf Laurel resort in North Carolina. The resort is located between Ashville N.C. and Knoxville TN - about 40 miles north of "Cold Mountain." There are still a  few beautiful places in America. Of course, as New Yorkers we were disturbed by the lack of hard rolls and bagels. We also found the locals woefully ignorant of what constituted a proper bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. We have traveled enough that we wouldn't dare order a pizza. If you are beyond a certain radius of NYC you should give up on finding decent pizza at a locally owned place -some decent joints may exist  "down the shore" in New Jersey - but we are currently unaware of them. We did however taste great barbecue ribs, greasy fried chicken and pulled pork - all delightful in their own way. I did notice a television commercial for a Chevy Dealership where the owner was pictured in overalls and corncob pipe and nothing else really. I also forced one of my friends to watch some of Gods and Generals while we were there. Welcome to America, you New York magazine readin', perfumed Yankees.

Oh- and thanks to Jim Antle of 4Pundits and the American Conservative for mentioning my typo-ridden post on Al Gore. My excuse is that I was packing for the trip.  

James Burnham in His Trotskyite DaysSorry to have been gone for two days. Lately I've been blogging in fits and starts. That will end soon. I promised a new design and I got it - eventually. I promised regularity in blogging - that will come soon too. I've been spending my time looking for a remunerative day job and working on some other writing projects. One of the tiniest fruits of that labor - on James Burnham - will come along soon. I've also been immersed in the life and work of Sam Francis ( a chief interpreter of Burnham), and working on some book reviews.

At night, between St. Anthony-like bouts with demons, I watch the NBA playoffs. These have been by far the best playoffs in a long time.  Lots of games are coming down to the final two minutes of play and the uneven officiating makes for a better playoff experience for one who has given up on rooting for one team or another.

I'm also preparing for the wedding of my friend which takes place this Memorial Day weekend in North Carolina. This may be the weekend to break out the white/tan seersucker jacket - perhaps as travel wear. Although my lovely girlfriend will be by my side watching the wedding - there is something in every American man that is sad when an incredibly beautiful woman he has known since high school weds. A young man watches this woman exchange her vows and inevitably thinks: I hope when the irradiated Canadian geese emerge from our post-nuclear war future, they snap this man in half, preventing his lovely wife from holding out hope for his survival in the goose prisons of new-Quebec. This will make our discussions about repopulating the earth much less awkward.

Site within a siteThe long awaited overhaul and return of Surfeited with Dainties is upon you. You don't know what to do with yourself. Get your mother's good pearls and perfume out for one thing.  Put on your brother's "going out coat" and up your budget of gin.

Then you can thank the team behind it - the wonderful illustrator Molly Crabapple - a veteran of the New York Press. Once we got the illustrations, I couldn't just tack them on my own computer screen and hope you would see them- there was some sort of coding work, along with things I can barely make out "CSS", and aligning to be done. It all seems like a lot of fuss and for that you can thank the team over at Blind Renaissance, with special props going to Tyler. After all that thanking you can start demanding more content from me- and showing me that you mean it by clicking on that donate button to the side - seriously - I took the next step in dandyism/freelance writing by getting "let go" at remunerative day job.

Our illustratorI hope to thank dear Molly tonight at a bar named Lolita, where Manhattan Transfer will be debating the immigration issue. I don't' know how he managed to prepare himself for it with the May Day strike on Monday, but one hopes he got through it okay. So now it starts all over again. What can you expect in the near future? Posts that are sure to incite my libertarian friends (immigration, tariffs, and you know- conservatism). Posts on films, and baseball and of course my Jack Purcells. Perhaps now that we have a look- there will be t-shirts and other swag coming your way.

Happy Birthday to My Blog

Unfortunately the "new look" isn't quite ready for debut. But it's time to celebrate anyway.  

I've been at this for one year now and it has been a great success so far. It took a while to find a rhythm.  Was this a blog about lots of links with a few extended essays? Or was I about incredibly detailed and comprehensive posts like this heavily footnoted one on the Gaza pullout ? I'm still mad that Gaza post got no reaction.

I started the blog during my internship at Penguin books. I had two free hours one afternoon and there it was. From day one I described myself as a "freelance writer." That is one of the great things about writing. You don't have to pass a test or get a licence. I thought a blog might help me and it has. But a blog makes demands. You have to write alot and your craft can suffer. You have to give your opinion quickly.  Would hastily composed reactionary riffs  help me become a writer that people take seriously? Or would it just catalog good reasons NOT to hire me?

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Have a Drink and Relax PleaseI've been bothered by the tone of some comments in the recent past and so have instituted a comments policy - a link to which can be found in the Navigation area to the right of your screen.

I copy it here to allow you to comment on it:

Comments are welcome, sort of.  This blog is an ongoing cocktail party - or at least with some help it will be.  I host this party. I bought these drinks. And soon you'll see the decorations I bought. John Murphy is a VIP guest.

1) Comments must not dispirit other readers.

Would anyone attend a party at which the guests were humorlessly competing with each other over who could make the most bleak comment possible about the state of civilization? No. You were not invited here to be a drag. You can be angry but you must shape that anger with wit. You can be depressed but not depressing.

2) Comments ought to be interesting, funny or the product of drunkeness.

If they are none of the above and furthermore do not at least constitute "making a scene" they will be deleted.

3) Comments are to conform to standards defined as "Not Crazy"

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Surfeited with Dainties is going through some big changes in the next two months. The first is taking place very shortly - a change of domain names. We're moving from www.michaelbrendan.com over to www.surfeited.net - Why? Well there are more changes coming soon - including more contributors to the site - and even a redesign. It's time to expand and to brand, I guess. The old domain will work until the middle of march but will redirect you to the new site. Please update your bookmarks, feeds - etc..

Please add these feeds to your newsreaders - ones attached to the old address will no longer work soon.

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