From the Southside of Chicago

I'm a Blues lover. In a few weeks I'll be sailing the Pacific with some of the genre's finest.

I can only imagine how proud artists Koko Taylor & the Blues Machine, Elvin Bishop, Magic Slim and Ronnie Baker Brooks must be of Chicago’s own.

Congratulations, Barack Obama, on accepting your presidential nomination on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s “Dream” speech. Politics aside, every American can honor and admire this historic event.

Somewhere in the midst of last night's remarkable revelry, even Faux News confirmed the GOP may postpone the beginning of its own convention. Huh, talk about cut & run...

So, what can derail such an enormous undertaking as one of America's two political conventions, a rally-driven gathering of the party's faithful from all corners, a production that's years in the making?

A powerful phenomenon named Gustav, apparently.

Uh, they wouldn't spell that B-A-R-A-C-K, would they?

I only hope that with so many punditry hours to fill no one will seek to make an absurd gender disconnection between Katrina and Gustav and preparations made to guard against these storms. But, I wouldn't be surprised, would you?