Author Archives: John Idstrom

Something is happening and you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones? –Robert Zimmerman Hibbing, Minnesota I was feeling in need of some adventure the other day, so I grabbed my passport and shuffled my wing tips on … Continue reading →

My literary empire is expanding.  The last few weeks I have been contributing short pieces to The Spleen (www.the-spleen.com) called Mad Menus, that are essentially sidebars to Claire Moshenberg’s and E.C. Fish’s erudite recaps of recent Mad Men episodes.  I’ll … Continue reading →

There I was, sitting beneath 26 Edison lights glowing softly over the bar at the Pacific Grill — my friend Gordon Naccarato’s swanky Tacoma restaurant — slurping my second glass of wine, the delicious Townshend T3 blend that Gordon pours there by … Continue reading →

“Red means run, son, numbers don’t add up to nothin’…                                                             –Neil Young, from “Powderfinger” As it happens, I was running the numbers the other day, as I am prone to doing. Maybe you’re not like me, but I am, … Continue reading →

Author’s Note:  While I am working up a new essay, I thought I would share an old one from September 2011 that I recently reworked and expanded with the help of Amy Milligan, editor extraordinaire of The Spleen (www.the-spleen.com).  If … Continue reading →

A new Meez en Place is in the final stages of editing prior to posting, but just thought I would provide a little teaser for my loyal readers.  Several weeks ago I got multiple requests for the recipe of a … Continue reading →

“Strike,” they say, “whilst the iron is hot.” Or, in this case, pick when the fruit is ripe. All over this fair country, not to mention most of the Northern Hemisphere, those all-too-few brief weeks we all wait for have … Continue reading →

When it comes to keeping their lips sealed and general obfuscation, barbeque pit masters and anglers leap to the front of the line. Prying pertinent information from expert practitioners in these fields is an exercise in futility. I recently encountered … Continue reading →