Subbing for Cooper: ROSEDOG

Oh, you lucky dogs! Your grumpy Der Webmeister has decided to blow out of town for a week. I figure in this current heat wave, why not cool off in, say, Rome?

That's where I and my wunderfamily will be until August 8th. And the really, really good news is that in my absence our guest-blogger will be none other than faithful commenter Rosedog.

Rosedog, of course, has a number of accomplishments other than being our most patient and compassionate commenter. She even has a real name:

Celeste Fremon is an award winning free-lance journalist and author of  "G-Dog and the Homeboys." She writes about gangs, law enforcement and other criminal justice issues for the LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Times Magazine and various national publications. She's both a Border Justice and a Criminal Justice fellow at USC Annenberg's Institute for Justice and Journalism, and serves on the executive board of PEN USA.

So I leave for a week knowing this slice of cyberspace is in great hands. Thanks in advance Rosedog. And you readers, be nice. As GW Bush said: You can attack me all you want, but not my friends! Arrivederci.

Comments

[jim hitchcock]

Aw, the heck with it, Marc...go for two! :)

[reg]

Oh, gee...thanks a lot, Marc ! You go off to Rome and leave me here with nobody to yell at.

Well, there IS always Rockford...

[Marc Cooper]

Damn, Reg, Im gonna feel guilty during the whole plane trip. Ill have an extra slice of pizza for you. Hugs

[jim hitchcock]

I was twelve when I went to Rome. Wanderin' around in a euphoric daze, pizzarias on every corner! Finally got my shot...what's this, a pizza drenched in olive oil? Yuck.

It didn't get any better in England. By the time we got there, I was absolutely STARVING for a hamburger. I got a patty between two slices of white bread...

[too many steves]

Have a wonderful trip Marc. Italy is my favorite place (at least the parts I've been to, including Rome) outside the US, of course. The sights, the sounds, the weather, the people, the food, the wine... lordy, I'll be envious until Mrs. TMS and I travel to Tuscany in September. I love listening to Italians speak Italian, it sounds like a song, especially when compared to our rather staccato language.

Uh, Jim, you don't go to Italy for pizza. But you've found that out already, right? :)

[jim hitchcock]

Right. But I was only a kid... :)

[reg]

Thanks Marc, but if it's really for me I'd prefer that you have an extra bottle of Amarone...

[reg]

And I know what you're thinking...no matter how hard I try, nothing is ever good enough for the sonovabitch.

[jim htichcock]

Reg, thanks for regularly making me laugh, as well as think.

[too many steves]

What Jim said.

[richard lo cicero]

No one goes to Rome in August. That's when Rome goes to the country to cool off. Even the Pope! Still. I'll crack open a bottle of Soave in your honor!

[Randy Paul]

Yes, the foothills of the Adirondacks will be very comfortable even in August.

Oh THAT Rome! Buon viaggio e mangi bene!

[Michael J. Totten]

I went to Rome last summer to cool off after bumming around the Sahara for two weeks. It was still really damn hot.

Have a great time, Marc.

[GM]

Good and Safe Trip Marc. The mark of a great blog is picking good substitutes while you are out. You have done that and more.