Maps, Charts, and Shit

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

You guys have simply never had Jersey tomatoes.  The best in the USA.

[Clint]

I am of the firm belief that people who eat tomatoes like apples have some sort of mental problem.

It's just WRONG.

[yesno]

Tomatoes are the only food I've encountered that trigger a gag reflex in me. Tomatoes make me physically wretch. It's so strong a sensation that I can detect a single tomato seed in a sandwich that has been de-tomatoed.

Sometimes people find it strange that I have no problem with pasta sauces, ketchup, or even tomato soup (it goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches). I say that they taste nothing like an actual tomato.

Does that make sense? Am I insane?

My fiancee is the same way.  Not to the level of gag, though.

I grew up eating backyard-grown Jersey tomatoes.  I'm with JasonGrote, they're the best thing ever.  The best way to eat a momater is sliced like an orange with salt.

[Sarah]

What you Jerseyites need to do is send me care packages of tomatoes when the time comes. 

[Julie]

Grocery store tomatoes are gross, but homemade tomatoes are delicious - especially freshly picked, when they are still warm.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Yes to the salted fresh tomoatoes, Yesno.

What you Jerseyites need to do is send me care packages of tomatoes when the time comes. 

I'm now a Brooklynite, and even though I'm so close to my home state that I could conceivably bike there, the closest thing I have now are heirloom tomatoes, which are pretty expensive and only available a few months out of the year, but they're still pretty awesome.  I'd send you some if I knew how.  And from the member map, I think Yesno's a Denverite now.  Actually, I'm supposed to be there in February 2009 if you want to have a FOT meetup.

Oh, did I mention that I have two cats?

[yesno]

JG, buzz me a ring when you're going to be in town.  February isn't necessarily the most fun time to visit Colorado, and usually the super coolest thing for visitors to do (go up into Rocky Mountain National Park and drive up to Trail Ridge Road, get to where it's at least 11,500 feet in elevation, and then get out of the car and run around and do pushups until you pass out) isn't an option because the road is closed after a certain point.  But even just Denver has some cool stuff.

You may have heard me call the show and brag about my rainbow suspenders (I live in Boulder).  You may have dozed off during my not-very-dynamic performance, however.

I've been in Colorado for 10 years now.  I abandoned NJ the day after high school graduation, though I did sort of return briefly for a disastrous year in Philly.  Visiting Jersey since, I've actually seen nice towns that I wouldn't mind living in.  I pretty much assumed that all of Jersey was like Brick (my hometown), Toms River, Seaside, and Point Pleasant which is why I left.  New Brunswick isn't bad, but it always seemed a bit bro-ish.

Though if this summer in DC works out, I'll be moving there in May '09.

Let me use some smileys, I never do that.   

edit:  I had two cats, too, but one of them died last year.  People, be aware of arterial thromboembolism.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I remember and liked your calls, Yesno.  I'll let you know when next I'm out.  I've actually visited every winter since February 2006 because of the Denver Center Theater, and for the most part have seen like 14 blocks of downtown.  I've been to other parts of Colorado before, but for the past 3 years I've been trapped in Denver, either because my visits were brief and schedule-filled, or (in the case of 06/07) the weather was so shitty.  I actually got stranded in Denver on Christmas in '06 due to airline error, which was completely depressing and infuriating (of course United were assholes about it).  That weird Daniel Lebeskind wing of the art museum is pretty interesting.

We should also have some FOT fun in DC this summer! 

Sorry to hear about your cat.  I had a cat die young of cardiomyopathy in 2004 and it was horrible.

[yesno]

Will there be some JG theater action in Denver?  Because don't think I won't go.  Because I will.

To re-rail this thread, here's a 2004 red state/blue state population cartogram:

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Denver gave me my first big break actually.  I'll PM you the details if you want, but I think I spend too much time on these boards talking about mah shit as it is.  If I can actually force myself to write this Neal Cassady play, I should have another production in 2010.

Three maps, to atone for my blather:

Decadent LA in the 70s and 80s (Google Maps' embed code isn't working, so here's the link0:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=101386585248378180364.00000113270d45b852ca2&z=10

The Interstate System, simplified:


The Isle of California, c. 16th century:

[chrisfoll577]

That soda map pretty much illustrates the major language barrier between my girlfriend (who's from Chicago) and me. you can attribute the weird shading of easter mass. to the older folks around here who call it 'tonic'.

A map of who roots for what Baseball club in the US.  It's kind of hard to read here, but the Common Census Sports Map site has clickable maps that interpret the stats for MLB and every other major sport.

[Sploops]

for T.B.R.

[Emily]

[buffcoat]

I'm becoming a crank, I suppose, but I should point out that I-40 goes to Wilmington, NC, which is more than 100 miles south and east of Raleigh.

[Regular Joe]