PicoBlog

In 2016, Eric Pitman helped Dan Hagen and Jake Strawser open Billy Club at 228 Allen St., following Hagen from Toutant. Two years ago, Pitman was promoted from server to general manager. Last week, Billy Club announced that Pitman, 31, was made a partner.  No money changed hands. “The attention to detail and care Eric puts into every shift and more importantly every guest interaction already demonstrated his level of ownership, and it was our responsibility to reward that type of behavior or work,” Strawser said.

When I was 15, I started writing a biweekly column for my local newspaper, the Appleton Post-Crescent. Most of the time, I wrote album reviews. I saved many of them in a blue binder I now keep in my office. I am now sharing them with you. Here is my review of Billy Joel’s River Of Dreams, from Sept. 29, 1993, published when I was 16 (with occasional commentary by present-day me.

This newsletter is 100% reader supported, and this is the weekly free edition. If you are enjoying it and want more, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. I appreciate you and your support. An anti-feminist backlash is in full swing, and the latest iteration is the reemergence of the bimbo — this time as a self-styled socialist. #BimboTok is just one of the growing corners of backlash social media disguised as leftism, where female independence, women having any sort of authority or power, and feminism itself is deemed painfully uncool, while assessing women based on their physical attractiveness, deferring to men, and exchanging one’s conventional attractiveness and sex for financial support from men is the height of empowerment and a rejection of capitalist demands.

Ah, baseball… I probably can’t name a baseball player from the last decade (not a lot of baseball coverage here in London), but I LOVE stories about baseball. And this week I’m bringing you a fun one that mixes underdogs, creativity, and mavericks. [Editor’s Note: You do not need to like baseball or sports to enjoy this story. I love the stories I share here, and try not to pick favorites.

I'm sorry this newsletter is a few hours late; there's no excuse, really… unless I want to take the low road and blame the Afghan kids who showed up at my house unexpectedly, looking for someone to play with because “there’s nothing happening at our house.” Normally, my 18-year-old daughter plays with them (they live down the street), but I had just been “prayer-complaining” earlier about how sick I was of being stuck in front of a computer monitor.

Hi 285 South friends, the weekend is just around the corner and if you’re looking for a new place to try, check out Taqueria Don Sige #2 (they have weekend ceviche specials!). It’s in Forest Park, a part of Atlanta that has an increasingly visible immigrant community, which you can learn about through Canopy Atlanta’s past reporting here and here. That’s all from me for now - I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow with a roundup of events in April.

Welcome to my weekly newsletter. I hope you enjoy the picks and pics. Fave Five 6: Birthday Boys. Modern mythology (The Lincoln Highway), the oldest saloon in Washington (Old Ebbitt Grill), Missouri Music Maker (David Garfield), the Doctor is in (Julius Erving), and a Scrapped Santa. November is full of birthdays of close friends and family members: 3rd: Robin Mueller (our music friend in Georgetown, TX) 5th: Don Alles (our music friend in Roseville, MN)

Burger King's NEW “Spider-Verse” Whopper® features a ¼ lb.* flame-grilled beef patty, melty Swiss cheese, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, sliced white onions, crunchy pickles, creamy mayonnaise, and ketchup all on a toasted red and black sesame seed bun. “Spider-Verse” Whopper® red bun. It’s the latest entry in Burger King’s storied tradition of making burger’s with different colored buns. My research suggests that unlike previous burgers the bun is not flavored, the red color is strictly an aesthetic change.

Fish don't know they're wet. And either do a lot of us when it comes to how we think about race. Here are three pieces of advice for living. 1. What doesn't kill you makes you weaker. 2. Always trust your feelings. 3. Life is a battle between good and bad people. Do you see these three tenets as wisdom, or as something a person should be taught out of? I need not even ask.