Surreal Saturday

I, little old me, who doesn’t even use her real name but willingly tells it to people she meets in person because dude the blogging/twitterverse is a small world sometimes, had not one but TWO brushes with famous people via twitter today.  Not just little brushes either.  Like bring on the lightening rod send me some hate mail brushes nearly.

First: The lovely twats at Minnesota Public Radio have decided to drop Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) from The Current’s morning show.  Now, I love The Current, always have, always will (well, there is one DJ I can’t stand).  My love for Dara goes back farther.  I’ve been reading her since I moved back to the TC when she was the main reviewer at City Pages.  She has got some similar tastes to mine or something, because if she liked a restaurant, I knew I would too.  So she changed magazines, don’t drop the poor woman.

Andrew Zimmern, I don’t love so much.  (well I didn’t, I sort of do now, see end of this) He’s local, sort of, but not so much, and a long time ago he, who has access to wonderful foods and locations, said his favorite family vacation spot was… Disney World.  Lame!  So when he tweeted something I thought meant he was taking over for Dara, I got a little uppity, and may have said something to the effect of…

If @mpr replaces @DearDara with that douche @andrewzimmern I will cancel my sustaining membership.

I mean.. well.  So he retweeted it to his followers.  Then agreed with me.

Yeah.  I KNOW it was harsh, but well, Disney World!  So I had a nice little discussion via Twitter with a celebrity food dude, and it ended with him saying he liked the discussion and he wasn’t offended. I’m going to keep believing he meant it and he wasn’t image saving. I mean, I wasn’t when I said I revised my earlier opinion but then I don’t have an image to save or anything.

Second: Yeah, I know, second!  I’m political.  But I try very hard to not be a pawn of my “side” of the matter.  I try not to open my mouth unless I know what I’m talking about.  I also have some things I am passionate about.  Breastfeeding, teaching kids to be independent and responsible, and the politics of food.  I can’t help that last one.  I grew up on an organic veggie farm.  Before it was cool.  So, Corey Booker, the cool social media enabled mayor of Newark, NJ was talking on Twitter today about getting healthy food to poor hoods.  Something I understand.  We live in the hood and we lost our good neighborhood grocery store because of the issues he was talking about.  He tweeted something about access to food, and I commented back about how access means nothing without affordability.  And then he retweeted that to all of his (holy cow, just looked at this) 1.1 Million Followers!

That got me a whole BUNCH of interesting replies, and had me calling bullshit to a bunch of semi famous idiots when they dared argue with me about something I KNOW very well (and they clearly know jack shit about).  I won’t rehash it, now, but I suggest you go read this.  Read it? Good.  Now keep in mind that while not usually talked about, it is an issue in the rural Midwest.  Or rural South.  Shipping costs go up, affordable transportation is hard to find, and if you’re talking upper Midwest, there is no “grow your own” when the ground is frozen. Yeah, I know hunger and poverty living in the middle of nowhere Minnesota.  I also know that with my family eating healthier, and focusing on fresh fruits and veggies, our grocery bill has gone up.  I have access and means, and if I noticed it, you had better believe that people who are poorer notice it and struggle with it.

And then Corey Booker sent me a direct message telling me my points were right on.

Would the White House like to tweet me? Or maybe Anthony Bourdain? I think that might be the only thing that makes this day any weirder.

Oh, tomorrow morning, me, running, C25K, week 1, day 1.  Say a little atheist prayer over morning coffee for me.  Its been almost two years since I did this last.