I've written before about how annoying I find standing ovations for mediocre musical performances. But today at a concert of the Handel & Haydn society in Boston, I spotted a new devilry - people trying to get a standing ovation together at the interval of a merely decent effort. Clearly, my efforts at imposing a standard of excellence for standing ovations aren't having any effect. So here's a bright line rule: You can only stand and clap if at least one person in your row is literally in tears at any point in the concert as a result of the performance's excellence. Crying is defined as liquid seeping out of the eye rather than merely welling up inside, and if there's any doubt (for example, someone is dabbing at their eye with a handkerchief), you should interpret that against the standing ovation. That's the new standard. I hope it works.

UPDATE: Click here for a link to the Boston Globe's review, and my even more annoyed comments about it.

Stuart Benjamin at the Volokh Conspiracy argues that libertarians must show the GOP that there are some limits to how much we're willing to be taken for granted.

Professor Bainbridge welcomes the possibility of libertarian dissertion arguing that if they leave the GOP fold they will be forever ignored by their new bedfellows. (Worse than now?)

Oh what I wouldn't give for a realignment.

Solutions? I have mulled over the possibility of amending the natural-born-citizen clause to allow Arnold Schwarzenegger or Tony Blair to run for president. (From what I can tell Blair might need to be approved by Congress if he wanted to run and keep the British prime-ministership at the same time, though.)

Failing that, I suggest voting for some sort of gridlock this time around and then fighting much, much, harder in the next primaries.

Jim Lindgren at the Volokh Conspiracy is surprised by the Chicago Tribune's endorsement of Bush. [But see, UPDATE below.] He shouldn't be. He writes:

Although most people nationally still think of the Tribune as a conservative newspaper, its political orientation is much like any other paper. My unsystematic impression is that its news side has been pretty pro-Kerry in the last month (my daughter subscribes but I don't read it much beyond sports). In 2000 the Tribune endorsed Gore (the Chicago Sun-Times endorsed Bush in 2000), so the Chicago Tribune's going for Bush this time is a reversal.

The nation has an opportunity for a new president to set a fresh direction, not just for the government, but for politics in America. An opportunity to govern in a spirit of bipartisanship where the goal is to get things done.

The best candidate to do that is the Republican nominee for president, the governor of Texas. The Tribune today endorses George W. Bush for president.

Rather, it is a time for voters to have the confidence to take a careful, sober look at the nation's leadership and make decisions about the future not out of fear or anger, but out of conscientious deliberation and reflection.

Such reflection, we feel confident, would lead the vast majority of American voters to this conclusion: Bob Dole should be president of the United States and Bill Clinton should not.

Accordingly, the Tribune today endorses Bob Dole for president.

I'm having a visitor arrive on Wednesday, so I don't need to plan meals for the entire week. I'm also particularly busy. The end result of all these things is a simple menu for the next few days. For those interested, I've also added a few extra bits this week, including breakfast and snacks.

Breakfast - slow cooked oatmeal (it only take five minutes, folks. Make the effort!) in a mix of milk and cream, topped with great lashings of local honey (thank you Farmer's market!) and a toasted walnut or two.

4 p.m Snack - Chocolate quick bread, from Rose Levy Beranbaum's magisterial "The Bread Bible" - I always have a slice of cake, a bit of quick bread, or a muffin at around 4 pm, sometimes with coffee. All of those are fast and delicious, and this decadent 13 tablespoons of butter disaster is one of the best.

Beet and Goat Cheese "Terrine" - No, it's not really a terrine. But I love beets, and this open sandwich of rough brown bread topped with thick slices of the earthy root and strong goat cheese, broiled just a minute or two in the oven, makes for a tasty dinner.

Spaghetti carbonara - I don't trust American eggs enough to make my carbonara the way Italians do (that is to say, by tipping a golden, fresh, egg into my plate at the last moment), but I do have some pancetta and great parmesan. Solution? An eggy, cheesy, bacon tinged feast.

Inspired by Amber Taylor, a few brief thoughts:
The Philadelphia Story: This is the classic movie of which High Society is the puckish remake. Not bad: Cary Grant is enviably cool as he lounges around the set bending everybody to his will. But Katherine Hepburn is too much steel and not enough flint. And Jimmy Stewart-- how could anybody fall for Jimmy Stewart? I'd take High Society, which replaces Grant with Bing Crosby, Stewart with Frank Sinatra, Hepburn with Grace Kelly and adds Louis Armstrong for a dash of much-needed verve. (And has music written by Cole Porter to boot.)

Il Postino: It's about Panlo Neruda and a lot of people love it, so how could it go wrong? Answer: My loyalty to Neruda is too great. Every time the title character-- a soiled part-time postman who is marginally illiterate-- starts pestering Neruda when he is busy kissing Mathilde, writing a poem, or peeling an onion I wanted to yell: "Leave him alone, you pest!" Maybe the movie gets better; my friend and I walked out 45 minutes in.

Further blogging from me will be limited for much of today. I'm having a Heidi-ish day and poured several cups of hot tea over my hand this morning when trying to move it from caraffe to teapot.

I've updated my posts on Presidents' college education and on racist juries.