NOAA is ready to launch the next weather satellite in its Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites- R Series, called GOES-T to orbit. The GOES-T satellite is launching on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 1st, 2022 at 3:38 p.m. CST.

NASA will provide live launch coverage beginning at 3:00 p.m. CST on NASA TV, on the NASA App, and on the NASA website and YouTube channel.

GOES-T will be renamed GOES-18 once it is launched into orbit and is the third of four satellites in NOAA’s most advanced fleet of geostationary weather satellites to date. The other satellites in the program include GOES-R, GOES-S, and GOES-U.

Illustration of the GOES-T spacecraft with Earth’s reflection.
Credits: Lockheed Martin

Together the series of satellites will conduct weather and environmental observing activities that include monitoring weather systems, monitoring weather hazards, conduct ocean observations, observe space weather, conduct lightning mapping, and perform solar mapping among dozens of other applications.

An Atlas V rocket carrying GOES-T rolls out to the pad ahead of its launch. Photo: Michael Galindo/Cosmic Chicago

NASA supports the GOES-R mission and is inviting the public to follow along to learn more about the GOES-T satellite, the upcoming launch, and the science involved in weather observation. Register for NASA’s public launch event and access launch resources, a launch passport, and mission activities.

It’s been an incredible first quarter for music. With new albums from Andy Bell, Animal Collective, Beach House, David Bowie, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Hippo Campus, and The Lumineers, it’s hard to keep track of what I’ve listened to, and what I need to listen to. So far, Hippo Campus and The Lumineers are getting a ton of spins, but that’s about to change with this week’s releases.

The Shout Out Louds House is finally out and it’s eight songs of greatness. They continue to stretch and grow with each new release. This time around I’m hearing some serious Cure vibes, with a lot of big basslines, and a retro touch.

Englewood is back with a keyboard-driven album, called Summer Dreamin’. It’s a fun album that merges hip-hop and jazz, and even a bit of island music.

Maude Latour has a catalog full of bangers that you’ve probably never heard of, and “Headphones” is another one. A bit more low-key than her usual fare, but still an addicting slice of pop. She has an incredible voice that runs the gamut from Tay-Tay to Kylie.

Interestingly enough, ICP has been on my #RADAR the last two weeks, and both songs are actually good. Yeah, just keep hating on dem wicked clowns, while they continue to stack cash.

It took me a while to understand Future Islands. They were a band that I didn’t get into right away. “As Long As You Are” was the eye-opener. “King Of Sweden” I get. It’s right up my alley.

Neoma made the cut this week with “Tears At Bae.” She’s got a sound that is all her own, and I’m looking forward to more music.

Souly Had is supporting Felly on his latest tour hitting Chicago on March 12th. “Superficial” Is the latest single with Fel moonlighting and this is another winner.

Beach House release Chapter 4 of their Once Twice Melody project. This final batch of tunes is fantastic, and slowly getting me back into this duo.

More Della Reese this week, on a live version of “Close To You.” This is a voice I need more of in my life, and I love her scat-attack!

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It’s time to get out of the house. The mask mandates are ending, and there are a lot of places to explore. Some are new, and some-like Convito Cafe & Market in Wilmette- are old favorites.

Nancy Brussat’s timing has always been impeccable. When she opened the original Convito Italiano in 1980, the market for top quality ethnic cuisine and gourmet imports was just taking off. Brussat knew that finding the right location was as important as choosing the inventory. And here again, her instincts were spot on.

No one would mistake Lake Michigan for the Mediterranean, especially in early March, but together with the Plaza Del Lago’s shopping center’s distinctive Spanish-style architecture and upscale ambiance, the setting is light years away from the endless strip malls and congested roadways that dot the contemporary landscape. Like Convito, it’s unique.

Brussat originally opted for a small space adjacent to the plaza; two years later, she moved to a larger space in the plaza itself. Four decades and multiple iterations later, Convito Cafe & Market is still spot-on.

It’s 2:30 on a wintery Wednesday afternoon when I arrive, notebook in hand. The lunch crowd has come and gone, leaving only a few stragglers enjoying a final sip or two of coffee.

No one hurries them. The laid-back pace is reminiscent of Italy or the south of France, places where a meal is meant to be savored. Both the cafe’s menu and the market’s well-stocked shelves and display cases are similarly skewed.

I talked with Nancy Brussat a week ago. We’ve known each other for years, and it was nice to catch up. Her daughter, Candace Barocci Warner, has been working with her for a long time. Warner was a good teacher, and the partnership- like Brussat’s long time partnership with her Italian mentor-has been seamless.

The second visit was all about browsing the market with an eye towards picking up a few things for dinner.There’s a lot to see, including some wonderful watercolors by Brussat’s sister Karen Brussat Butler. To be honest, browsing food and kitchen stores is one of my favorite activities, second only to browsing libraries and second-hand book shops.

I begin with the imported pastas and the frozen house made sauces, eventually opting for the thin-cut Chitarra from Abruzzo and a container of the tomato/eggplant sauce. A chunk of Parmesan Reggiano comes next, along with a pizza and a package of breadsticks.

Lasagnas are one of Convito’s specialties. The repetoire includes twelve, some vegetarian and some made with meat, poultry and/or a meat sauce. Five or six versions are typically featured. While the daily menu is available online, two versions are usually included: the Mama Mia made with mozzarella, parmesan, and a hearty meat sauce, and Grandma’s Lasagna, complete with spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, roasted red peppers and a meat sauce.

A good selection of entrees, salads, vegetables and starches are also featured, along with baked goods made in house, breads from Bennison’s Bakery in Evanston, and ice cream from Homer’s in Winnetka.

I studied the display case. Everything looked good, but here again, I went for the eggplant, this time partnered with tomato, zucchini and olive oil in a caponata that could be eaten hot, chilled or at room temperature.

Which brought me to the wine. Most-but not all-of the options are Italian. That’s not a surprise. Pairing wine and food from the same region makes sense. Still, there are no absolutes when it comes to food. And as long as you don’t mind a bump or two, thinking out of the box can be an adventure.

Convito Cafe & Market
Plaza del Lago
1515 Sheridan Road
Wilmette, IL 60091
847.251.3654

It’s true. Feminist Gloria Steinem came to my house 38 years ago, at the height of her life of being the feminist Gloria Steinem. She would be turning 50 in a few months, which she mentioned almost as soon as she arrived. And I thought, wow, that’s old.

(I wouldn’t be turning 50 for almost 17 years. I didn’t tell her that, though.)

Sure enough, on her birthday later that year, she posed naked in a bathtub for People Magazine. And everyone made a big deal out if it. And I felt like telling everyone that she told me personally she’d be celebrating her 50th birthday. Although not nude in a tub.

My job the day she came to my house was to make my always well-received tuna fish. I opened a few cans, mixed the tuna with lots of mayonnaise, some lemon juice and a lot of pepper–my mother’s recipe. And I put out other things like bread and potato chips and placemats and napkins and soft drinks. And finally, coffee and some coffee cake and cookies.

I did my job. But I couldn’t think of a thing to say. Even though I’d always been a big fan of Gloria Steinem. And I always thought if I’d only been more savvy in crafting my own career as a writer, I could have been a contender like her. I didn’t say that, though, I just pushed the tuna closer to her. And the cookies, too.

This is how she ended up at my house: There was a feminist artist/writer living in Indiana who had made a deal to write a book about feminism and feminists, starring Gloria Steinem. But she felt she was getting too old to take on such a task. She was a friend of a friend of a friend of my husband back then, the outstanding writer Paul McGrath. And she decided he should do it.

So she invited me and my toddler daughter Molly and Paul–and one in the chain of mutual friends to come visit her and talk about the project, to see if he would truly be interested.

He seemed to be. And to Indiana we went.

She had a beautiful, rustic home in a vacation area on the water. And we all got along quite famously that day. And Paul agreed to write the book she had in mind. Not ghost-written; he would write it in his own name. She just wanted it written.

And when we left, she assured him that Steinem would be visiting us soon–and she’d make all the arrangements. And interviewing Steinem would get him going, she being THE feminist whose interview would put him on the right track for the rest of the writing of the tome, she explained.

Before we left, she piled every book she owned on the subject of feminism into our trunk–and into the backseat of our car, surrounding Molly and I with layers of what seemed like rubble from an old coal mine.

Paul perused the books from time to time over the next few months; he made notes so when Steinem visited he wouldn’t sound like a dummy.

Finally, the day came for Steinem’s visit to our big two-bedroom apartment on Michigan Avenue, at Randolph Street. Our friend who’d been at the Indiana house with us picked her up and brought her over. (She was to make sure–over the tuna fish– that Paul asked every question he should.)

So in walked Gloria Steinem that day, 49-years-old. And for some reason I went mute and couldn’t think of anything to say.

When the interview was over, Paul and our friend and Gloria made small talk and I went into the bedroom to nurse my toddler. As that’s what many women were doing in the early 80s: Being throwbacks to the early 50s. Probably a nefarious plot thought up by the Reagan administration to keep a maximum number of women out of the work force for as long as possible, nursing toddlers.

Afterwards, Molly and I rejoined the (now) gaggle at the table.

And I finally thought of something to say to Gloria Steinem. I had a question.

“Gloria,”I said. “Do women at Ms. Magazine nurse their kids while they work?”

Gloria looked sort of puzzled. “Well,” she said. “Yeah.”

And then she said, “If they have babies and they bring them to work, they do. Not everyone does. But those who have kids often do. If they bring them to work, and if they nurse which we think is fine. So yeah, they do.”

And that was that. She sat for a bit longer with us, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Or ask.

After a while, she left. And since that day, whatever she did or said or got publicity for, I remembered our little back and forth. My question, her answer. And that I made my mother’s tuna fish for her.

In the end, the book deal fizzled.

Almost 40 years later, through a divorce and moves and Paul’s death, I still have all the books that woman gave us. She didn’t want them back and we never saw her again after the day we visited her at her home in Indiana. And I often run across those feminist books from that era, in various bookcases throughout my house, the ones the woman who got everything going piled in the car that day.

And through the years, the day that Gloria Steinem came to visit I always thought of as one of my own life’s milestones. Like when I see the plates I served her lunch on, it always comes to mind.

And how I couldn’t think of anything to say until I asked my one big question. That, too, was a milestone.

Nick Richmond [Founder and Chair, Freedom Initiative Now]: We played ball… we masked our children for the entire school year…and the parents were devastated when the Governor [reversed his position and] …That really encouraged me to step up and push back…and [that became] literally hundreds of thousands of people who have been fighting [these statewide school masking orders].

Watch the “Public Affairs” show featuring Nick Richmond, Freedom Initiative Now:

-24/7 by clicking here:

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And airing on Cable this week (and next) in multiple areas (See this blog later in the week for this weekend’s and next week’s cable airing schedule):

(1) Throughout Chicago, Cable Ch. 21 (CAN TV):

–tonight 8:30 pm and midnight

 -tomorrow night, 9:03 pm(as the 1st segment of the Illinois Channel two-hour  package) 

(2) –In Aurora, Tonight, Wed and Sat, 6 pm on Aurora Community Television (ACTV-10)

(3) –In Rockford (and surrounding suburbs), Thursday, 8:30 pm, Cable Ch 17

A partial transcript of the February 23, 2022 Public Affairs show featuring Nick Richmond is included below:

Nick Richmond, Chair and Founder, Freedom Initiative Now: It wasn’t just my efforts, it was all those grass roots groups, like Illinois Patriots…There are many out there, Awake Illinois is another…all of these groups have collectively put in the work to get to where we are now…we are seeing the dam start to break, we have awakened enough people now to where it’s going viral. 

*****

Nick Richmond: We played ball… we masked our children for the entire school year…we shut our business down… we did everything we could to participate in thwarting this virus…and the parents were devastated [in the summer of 2021] when the Governor [reversed his position and] said…no change of heart, you are going to follow my orders [to mask all our school kids] or else…That really encouraged me to step up and start to push back against this…and [that became] literally hundreds of thousands of people who have been fighting [these governmental orders].

*****

Nick Richmond: Attorney Tom DeVore attended [our meeting in the northwest suburbs], Darren Bailey came, [Orland Park] Mayor Pekau came…and so we began educating people…and gave them motivation [to] not be afraid to use their voice…we had 140 people at the first event, then two weeks later we had 500 people…we put about a quarter of a million dollars of our own cash to get things started…and BTW when [this 4 year old girl] puts a mask on, she’s a totally different girl… she doesn’t talk, she doesn’t socialize, she clams up…

*******

 NIck Richmond: We followed the guidance of Tom DeVore [last summer]…We went to the school board meetings…we continued to rally people peacefully… making our point that we want optionality… these are our children…I recommended to parents they [draw a line in the sand] telling them this will go on forever if they don’t determine at which point they are willing to say “Enough is enough, I am done,” whether that is pulling their kids out [of their traditional schools] and putting them into a home schooling situation, getting them into a Christian Liberty Academy [type of] school- if you can find one that has room…and there are other options out there…

******

Nick Richmond: My son now is at a great private school where masking Is optional. [Before making the move, I wondered] will I see a noticeable difference academically, socially, as a result of being in a school where he can see his teacher’s face, see his fellow classmate’s face, not be muzzled all day long and I saw that difference immediately: the level of math, reading, writing…it’s off the charts in just the short time that’s he’s been [at the new school without a mask]. I think it’s evidence that the masks do affect these children…

Richmond: It was just BS that [Governor Pritzker] was pulling out of thin air to justify what he was doing, so my answer to your question is no, there was no data or science [coming from the Governor to promote masking of the students in schools].   See here and here

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Jeff Berkowitz: Why is the Governor doing this? Why is he continuing to try to appeal to the IL Supreme Court to [try to] preserve his statewide school mask order… do the teachers’ unions’ have the Governor in the palm of their hands?

Richmond: Yes, you could say that. You could also point to the super-majorities in the legislative branch and how he’s rolled these powers for 700 days… and it was the legislature’s duty to deal with removing those powers and they didn’t.

Richmond: We have the State House [elections coming up] which is huge, 118 seats up for grabs; the IL Supreme Court, the Governor’s race, the IL Attorney General’s race, there’s four or five key races that we, the people, need to get involved in…how can you be upset about the outcome if you don’t actively participate…

Jeff Berkowitz: You have the statewide GOP ticket with some guidance and help from Ken Griffin who may get involved to the tune of $150 to $300 million. What do you think of Griffin’s involvement?

Richmond: I don’t know him personally…he’s made some big claims…but it’s how you spend the money and it’s the grass roots movement… that’s gonna make the difference for the people on the Republican ticket….  

****************

Nick Richmond: …one of the biggest threats that we face …is the… [People’s] willingness to be conditioned and controlled and if we allow that to continue …our liberties will continue to get chiseled away if we don’t get actively involved.  

After two years of so much “sameness,” I want lots of new in 2022. “First Times” has become a proper noun for me, and here’s my list:

Skiing. We bought all the gear for three boys and have gone four times. They are picking up the sport- and themselves off the slopes- so quickly.

Dog. After a bittersweet goodbye to our pit mix, Sydney, in October, we sought out a much calmer dog. We adopted 11-year-old Hazel from Paws. She’s a chill grandma beagle mix who sleeps 22.5 hours per day.

Zoom funeral. Ah, Covid…we wanted to honor my mother-in-law, but didn’t know how that would go on Zoom. It actually turned out that a lot more family and friends were able to share memories than in a typical service.

Sacred space. Covid closet. Where the HVAC unit lives. Whatever you want to call it, this is my retreat with morning coffee, afternoon tea, and evening wine. Lots of reading, journaling, and deep breaths go on in MY space.

Games. What Do You Meme (family edition); Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza; Sleeping Queens; Quirkle. These have brought lots of joy, laughter and strategy to cold days in Chicago and evenings in Florida with grandparents.

Snakes on a plane. Just kidding. That my kids are on a plane isn’t new, per se, but the fact that I got to actually READ on the plane while flying solo with all three was very new in ’22. No one was nursing / crawling / puking on me. I’ve waited a DECADE for this moment.

Old things in new ways. This has been little things, like cooking Mrs. A’s potatoes or Mrs. K’s green beans, instead of my boring method. I went out to dinner with girlfriends, and we dined at a vegan restaurant. My four and seven year old now join the 10 year old in writing silly mad libs (one potty word maximum per story). I bought a new dress, covered in sequins!

Mask choice. And this morning, it felt like spring and new beginnings in so many ways: my first grader walked to school for the first time in his elementary career with no mask.

Cara Connors describes herself as a “former Catholic high school/current queer, corn-fed comedian.” That’s just part of the story. She started out in the Chicago suburbs, then moved to New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, all the while picking up experiences, insights, and brilliant comedic steam.

Cara grew up in Niles and attended Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette. College in New York followed, then marriage. Together with her husband, she moved to Canada where she made key discoveries that would change life for the better, both for her and for comedy fans.

It started with a chance walk by Second City in Toronto. Cara was in the midst of a desolate experience in grad school and needed something more. So she said goodbye to emptiness and signed up for improv. She divorced her husband and came out. Her career took off.

In just seven years, this effervescent comedian has become a headliner, actor, producer, writer, creator and on-screen star. Her feminist undercover investigative series Cara Takes Up Space is now streaming on OutTV. She describes it as “a mix of Nathan Fielder and Inside Amy”, though it is distinctly Cara. Her meaningful shenanigans would make Sacha Baron Cohen proud. She also stars on E!’s Dating #NoFilter.

Cara has performed at Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laugh’s Festival and had just appeared at the New York Comedy Festival’s Upright Citizens Brigade Headliner series when the pandemic hit. I asked her what the pandemic was like for her and she told me that “it was a fruitful time creatively” and “I don’t know if that makes me sound like a piece of shit!” It certainly does not! With more time and fewer obligations, she wrote a pilot. Not only that, she also watched all thirty-four seasons of 90 Day Fiance, spoofing it on Instagram and racking up nearly half a million views with her talent for impersonating voices and characters.

Cara is now on a fifteen-city tour taking her queer comedy showcase Straight for Pay on the road. The tour stops in hometown Chicago for one night only at The Hideout on Wednesday, March 2.  With Cara that evening is Maggie Winters who was named one of Time Out Chicago’s Women of the Year in 2021. “Maggie,” Cara says, “is unbelievably hysterical and truly a star.”

Cara kindly spoke with me by phone about her singular journey, the power of queer comedy, the importance of being yourself, and in an equally delightful side note, our shared faith in Dog.  

IN THE BEGINNING

Teme: What did you love or not love about growing up in Niles?

Cara: What’s not to love about Niles? The town motto has changed three times over the course of my life. It was “Where people count.” The one that always made me laugh was when they changed it to “Niles: it’s all here.” And it really is. I enjoyed growing up in Niles and being close-ish to the city. There were a lot of parks. I led a fairly feral childhood.

Teme: What is your most Niles memory?

Cara: Have you ever been to Booby’s? To me, it’s a very famous place. It’s a family-owned restaurant. They have these incredible steak sandwiches. I always think of food, but of course there’s the Leaning Tower. I felt very chic growing up with that. Obviously I didn’t get out much as a kid.

Teme: Which experiences most influenced your comedy?

Cara: I grew up in a big Irish Catholic family. Everyone’s loud and funny. You’d better be loud and funny if you want to keep up. It was like, “Oh, you think you’re funny? Well, my uncle is a snowplow driver, and he’s funnier than all of you, so shut the hell up!” I was sent to Regina as a punishment to try to straighten me out of it. I think that only emboldened me to be more of a loudmouth.

I would also say the Molly Shannon/Will Ferrell era of S.N.L. That cast had so many very physical female comedians and completely unhinged characters. I was always reenacting the Spartan cheerleaders and I memorized “Superstar.” I was constantly watching it on VHS.

HOW TO CONNECT

Teme: I noticed that you’re great at physical comedy, too. In one bit, you talk about feeling socially awkward and you reenact some of the things that socially awkward people do out in public. That’s me in real life!

Cara: I really wish I was exaggerating, so I’m glad that’s relatable. I’ve leaned into talking about those things instead of trying to put on some kind of facade. I’m talking about that in this [upcoming show], just coming out with it in the beginning and playing with the audience. I come out like, “I’m actually a really chill person.” But no, I’m literally having a nervous breakdown this entire set. And then trying to convince people I’m straight and coming out with that. So, yeah, the anxiety is definitely discussed at length.

Teme:  How did you overcome it? Your depiction of anxiety is so on point, but you also seem very at home on stage and very natural and you connect so well with the audience.

Cara: Thank you. I feel like the more I lean into that part of myself, the more people actually connect with it. When I was starting out, I tried to cover it up. But it’s better to come out with the truth. I do feel very safe on stage. It’s this little protective bubble. I go on stage and the layers come off. I don’t know that I overcame it. I think I just gave myself permission to talk about it. It’s kind of a built-in safety net. If anything goes wrong … Not “if.” When something goes wrong or when some weird tech glitch happens or someone yells something or I trip over my words or fumble something that I shouldn’t, it’s already been named. So I can just be, “Well, here we go. I guess I can’t even say my own fucking set.”  

Teme: I really relate. If I could go to a party and stand behind the curtains the whole time …

Cara: If there was a big dog behind the curtain as well-

Teme: Oh, perfect.

Cara: … then that would be truly ideal. Sometimes I just act like a four-year-old. Well, if my eyes are closed or I’m covering my face, no one can actually see me, right?

Teme: Exactly. And if I’m just talking to the dog, then no one can see me, either.

Cara: No one!

TO FIT IN OR NOT TO FIT IN

Teme: What does your comedy say about you?

Cara: My comedy says some of the things that I can’t necessarily say in my day to day life. I have, like everybody, these internal monologues and little neurotic things that I’m constantly worrying about. Comedy is a way for me to connect with people.

My comedy is pretty emotional and plays with a lot of moments of tension. That’s what’s been really fun about this hour. I have room to spread out. I don’t have to condense my identity and point of view into a three-minute set for twelve drunk people in a bar. Now I can actually get into it and trust that there’s a flow and that over the hour I’ll take people on a ride and they’ll want to come.

Teme: I think when comedians are honest that way, people both laugh and connect. It’s like therapy, spirituality and comedy all coming together in that experience.

Cara: Yes. I came up in the Toronto comedy scene. It was a very strong community. Then I came to L.A. and in many shows, it felt like there’s a lot of posturing, trying to play to the back of the room and inside references. My initial instinct was, I want people to like me and I want to fit in. And I won’t ever actually be able to do that. So I should just do the only thing I can. There is that Maria Bamford leaning into the mumbling-to-self and in and out of characters and leaving people wondering, okay, is she actually a little bit off kilter? Or is this a game? Playing with those things is always really fun.

CANADA AND TURNING POINTS

Teme: How did you end up in Canada?

Cara: I used to be married to a man, and we moved to Canada. It was right before the Trump era. We were both done with New York. I had gone to undergrad there. And he randomly suggested it. He was, “What about Canada?” And I was, “What about it?” We ended up there as kind of a progressive haven up north.

I was not doing comedy at all. Then, after a miserable first year of grad school I was feeling kind of lost. I saw that they had a Second City Toronto. I knew Second City from growing up in Chicago. My cousin used to be a Second City main-stager, and I would go and see her. So I took a class at Second City Toronto and that’s when I got hooked.

Teme: Back then, everyone said they were going to move to Canada, including us. Not a bad idea!

Cara: That’s the one actual tangible resource that I have. I don’t have any money or a 401k, but I do have dual citizenship. I feel like that might come in handy if some “Handmaid’s Tale” goes down.

Teme: To quote one of my best friends, you can’t have too many passports. What was it about comedy that spoke to you?

Cara: I always loved it. I watched every standup special that ever came out. In school, I was constantly being reprimanded and was the naughty class clown. But sometimes I think I’m a bit slow on the uptake with certain things. It takes me a minute to process, which is probably why I didn’t come out until I was twenty-six. I think it was the same with comedy.

I signed up for the class at Second City because I had such a miserable time at grad school and needed to do something fun for myself. I was on the streetcar after the second class. It was truly like an Oprah lightbulb moment. I was, holy shit! This is obvious. This is what I’ve always been meant to do. I had this flashback of all these things in my life. I was always making these little videos just for fun, but never showed them to anybody. It all just clicked into place.

Teme: Will there be more episodes of Cara Takes Up Space?

Cara: That’s my dream. I don’t know that there’s going to be more episodes because it isn’t in my control, unfortunately. I loved the social experiment side of it and was truly shocked by some of the things that people said to me.  One episode we did, I was a bouncer. I got fired on the spot, kicked out and escorted off.

Teme: That’s awesome. I’d love to hear about that!

Cara: I went undercover as a man and got hired at this very douche-y nightclub in Toronto as a bouncer. Basically, I was just yelling at 18-year-old boys with fake IDs and lightly bullying them and trolling them for hours on end. But they let me check all the IDs independently, which was, quite frankly, their mistake. Apparently, I was asking inappropriate questions and asking for the code word or a trivia. And doing different accents. Just generally trying to upset and derail the night for a pack of 20-year-old guys in matching button-downs. The bar wasn’t happy. But yeah, that was fun.

THANK DOG!

Teme: May I ask you about your adorable dog? I’m such a dog person and I saw his photo on Instagram.

Cara: Oh my God. I’m sure you’re referring to Pepe a/k/a Pierre James.

Teme: That’s the cutest name!

Cara: He is the absolute best. He’s absolutely fabulous. He has definitely lived multiple lives. This is not his first journey here. I would gladly talk about him at any point. That’s the hardest part about going on tours. My girlfriend’s parents are watching him because they have two enormous basset hounds. Together they’re just this very, very funny crew. He comes with me to therapy. It’s very L.A.

Teme: I totally get all of that! How do you know he’s lived past lives? What kind of things does he do?

Cara: It’s just his energy. He has human eyes. Blanket statement: all dogs are amazing.

Teme: Yes!

Cara: I love all dogs so much. But there are certain dogs that have that energy. He’s just so emotionally attuned. If I’m crying, Pepe puts one arm on me and, then he’ll look back at me, checking on me. He’s ten pounds, so he comes with us everywhere. He loves everyone and makes people happy constantly. He’s a secure man. That is the definition. He’s literally dismantling the patriarchy every day.

STRAIGHT FOR PAY ON TOUR

Teme: Of course I want to ask you about your tour and show! How did you decide to call it Straight for Pay?

Cara: “Straight for Pay” came out of an ongoing joke. My whole life, before I came out and before I knew that I was gay, I was acting straight and thought that I was straight, but was not comfortable in my own skin. There’s been this shift where now, in the last several years, I’ve figured out who I am and embraced that part of my identity.

But constantly, whenever we have any kind of queer story that’s being told, somehow 80% of the time, we’re still, “Gosh, let’s just give it to Charlize Theron.” So Straight for Pay is my campaign for myself and other people to steal straight roles from actual straight actors because I think that it’s time that we take it back.

It’s a nod to the fact that I do not want to be straight, and I’m glad that part of my life is over, but I will absolutely pretend to be so for a fat check. The joke being that I do still pass in many settings, which is very comical to me. I am hit on by men, which is always shocking and upsetting. And I still am called in for “young wife” and “young girl.” But I am gay for free, so that is important to know as well.

Teme: How did you create Straight for Pay?

Cara: I started it as a curated queer show. When I was in Toronto, I ran a weekly show. I loved hosting. That’s where I got my chops on stage and it forced me to write new things every week. I started the show in L.A. when I randomly met this guy at a show, and he said, “I have this yard. If you ever want to produce a show …”

At first I was, okay, this guy’s going to murder me. So I sent my location [to friends], and went and met with him. It turns out he has this beautiful yard, and he just randomly liked me after a show.

So I started asking my favorite comedians in town. Probably 90% of each lineup is queer. Many comedy shows and especially comedy clubs, if there’s one female headliner a month, it’s “Wow, they’re really doing well.” If there’s two women on the lineup, one’s going to go up second, and one’s going to go second-to-last because “obviously, two women back to back are going to say the exact same thing.” But fifteen men in a row talking about jerking off, that’s okay. We’ve never heard that story before!

When the clubs started opening after the pandemic, it seemed like every club in L.A. was eager to welcome back Louis C.K. or Chris D’Elia. What the hell is going on? So, not to be avant garde, but I wanted to have a show where people on the lineup haven’t all been accused of sexual assault. So that was definitely a big motivation.

I want to take this hour and eventually make it into an album called Straight for Pay.  I’ve worked out a new thirty to forty minutes in the last six months at the showcase. The hour now is a hybrid of the New York Comedy Festival hour plus the new half hour, and going through my own weird process to figure out my favorite sixty minutes.

Teme: Do you have a favorite story from the tour so far?

Cara: I did my show in Denver at a club that has a house dog. They have a pug. There was this group of people that were super excited and super cute and just glad to be there. But everything that I was saying, they were responding to and then chatting about. I had to do a, “Look, I can see I’m going to have to use a firm hand with you guys.” And then they liked that even more. It had the opposite effect. I finally got them to calm down. Explained to them what a show is and how to sit and not talk.

As soon as I got them settled, I start the next bit, and turned away. And that’s the moment that the pug chose to walk into the audience. Then of course, everyone loses it, myself included. And I was, “Okay, we have to take a second. Let’s talk about this dog. It’s incredible.” So I’m just as bad as them. I have ADHD and I’d got myself back on track and then completely get derailed because there’s a pug. But what do you expect?

Teme: A pug! What can you do?

Cara: What I wanted to do was put his sweet little bed on stage. But we already started thirty minutes late. There was a blizzard. I was, okay, not today. His name was Mochi. He was in a little flower sweater. So, so fat. You could audibly hear every breath. It was incredible.

Teme: Do you have anything that you’re always sure to bring on tour?

Cara: I do. I have a crystal that my best friend gave me. I also have a childhood photo – I did an inner child healing with my therapist – where I’m painting and there’s kids in my class around me. They all are painting these rainbow finger paintings, and mine is just all black. So it’s just a little reminder, like: “Yeah! Be yourself!” And be kind to yourself. Those are my two little talismans.

Teme: What was the most recent thing that made you laugh?

Cara: My girlfriend makes me laugh constantly. But my most recent laugh … We just got to Austin (Texas) and we went to a place that’s a coffee shop/brewery/dog park. We went in and sat down and there was this humongous dog next to me. I’m going to sound like a crazy dog lady in this article.

Teme: Same here!

Cara: What made me laugh was there was a huge sleeping dog under a table where a guy was sitting. Then this woman approached the guy and said, “Oh hi, are you Kevin?” And he stood up right away. Then the dog immediately stood up and bumped his head on the table. It was so awkward. At first I thought it was a first date, but it was some kind of work consult. But clearly, the guy and the dog were not expecting this woman who walked in to be extremely gorgeous. And I was, wow, that would be me, smashing my head as I’m trying to look cool at the same time.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE HIDEOUT!

Teme: Absolutely anything else we should include about the show!

Cara: I’m very excited to do a hometown show and to perform for friends and people that I went to high school with who maybe didn’t like me very much, but now they maybe will be nicer to me.

I mentioned my cousin is a Second City person. She’s ten years older. I always had this very nerdy fixation on her and was constantly the equivalent of tugging on the end of her jacket trying to get her attention. I always joked with friends, “I’ll know that I made it when Carisa comes to my show.”  And now she has said that she’s going to be coming to the show.

I definitely want to make my hometown proud. I’m going to have a lot of friends coming out and people who have had my back from day one. I want to make them and my cousin Carisa proud.

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Cara Connors’ Straight For Pay Tour comes to The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago, on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 9:30 p.m. With Maggie Winters. TICKETS HERE.

If you’re not in Chicago, find Cara’s tour here.

Follow Cara at caraconnors.com and on Instagram.

A lot of people are unhappy with the New York Times acquiring Wordle, the trendy daily word game. My great ChicagoNow fellow blogger Howard Moore reminds us that this is just a game, and not to get too worked up about how difficult the words seem to have become.

I ran into a different issue the other day. As one of my five-letter guesses, I entered the word “Slave.” The omnipotent Wordle moderator immediately informed me that my attempt was Not in the Word List.

Excuse me? The word is present in Merriam-Webster, with multiple definitions including “a person held in forced servitude.” Other definitions include the use of the word in tech environments.

But a little research indicates that certain words, deemed by the Times as offensive, have now been removed from the Wordle word list. “Slave” is apparently on the offensive list. Thou shalt not use it.

And in this case, I don’t get it. Which just shows my ignorance. Apparently, there has been a debate for years about whether the word should no longer be used. Former Trib columnist Eric Zorn devoted a column to the controversy in 2021. The word is a “needlessly dehumanizing word to describe a person who was in bondage.”

But isn’t that the point? Calling a slave a slave exactly points out the dehumanization that slavery was. Euphemistically dancing around it with terms such as “enslaved person” just doesn’t convey the horror of the stain on our history.

I have a second point of reference. Next month, I will be celebrating Passover. I will lead my family’s Seder, in which we will read from the Haggadah. After a few blessings, we will read (and chant) Avadim Hayenu. “We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt.”

The harsh words are blunt and are used with other symbols (charoseth–a chopped nuts and apple mixture representing the mortar used during forced construction work, maror–bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness of slave life) because we never want to forget. Indeed, the theme running throughout the Seder is to pass the history from generation to generation.

Just as the more recent ancestors of many of us who died in World War II concentration camps were not “people ensnared by a Nazi policy,” but rather murder victims, slaves were slaves. Let the horror of the word speak on our behalf, and may we never forget.

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Boston Cream Pie in Boston. The custard-filled cake with chocolate frosting – now the official state dessert of Massachusetts – got its start at Parker’s Restaurant at Boston’s Omni Parker House in 1856.

Ahhhh dessert. When it comes to dessert everyone has a favorite be it mom’s Apple Pie or edible algae (yes it is a thing).

Dessert is part of our culture. In America desserts are named after cities. There’s Boston Cream Pie. There’s Philadelphia Cheesecake. There’s Lady Baltimore Cake and Baked Alaska to name a few. Then there’s the Bismark. Some may think is named after Bismarck, South Dakota. But they are only partly right. According to many, the Bismark is named after for Otto Von Bismarck–as is the city of Bismarck.

Desserts carry names of the famous and the not so famous. What is a Betty, you ask? Or a Brown Betty? Charlotte takes the cake when it comes to desserts named after people. There’s Charlotte Cake, Charlotte Russe and Charlotte Royale Cake. While, of course, we all know Little Debbie.

Holiday’s set the stage for many desserts. What would Thanksgiving be without Pumpkin Pie. Cherry Pie is a good way to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. The Classic Yule Log is a tradition for for many at Christmastime. And what would Fat Tuesday be without the perfect paczki.

From pound cake to ice cream, dessert is one of the staples of American dinner tables everywhere.

As much as we all love dessert, everyone has their favorites (and least favorites), age-old go-to’s, and secret family recipes passed down through generations.

The team at Coventry set out to understand just that, looking at Google Trend data over the past year to uncover which dessert is the most popular in every US state.

Methodology

Using a list of 40 popular desserts, they explored Google search trends over the last 12 months for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Here’s what they found.