5/3/10

Dad does good

Heck's Photojournalist of the Year: James Miller

My dad's a photographer for the Marion Star, in Marion, Ohio. He drives all over the place getting pictures of all kinds of people doing most everything that people do or that happens to people. He's really good at it. I could never go up to a family who'd just lost their home and photograph them, or follow the Klan around, or shoot 3,576 high school volleyball games. The man has mad people skills.

Attention: "Hey daughters, thought you'd like to know that your ditzy father won the Associated Press Ohio Photographer of the Year award on Sunday for small newspapers. Read all about it: Star staffers win 12 awards in AP contest." (If you follow that link, you will see that our dad is the cutest.)

Photographer James Miller came in first in the best photographer category. Miller had a photo in second place in the best sports photo category where another of his photos was given an honorable mention.

Here are some of his submissions. I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm not gonna ask.

Sunset Field, © James Miller

Active Shooter, © James Miller

Tiny Bees, © James Miller

Steer Driving, © James Miller

"Best Sports photo, Honorable Mention, The Marion Star, James Miller, 'Steer Diving'— Very compelling image. Nice work."

Laying Hands, © James Miller

Line Out, © James Miller

"Best Sports Photo, Second Place, The Marion Star, James Miller. 'Line Out' — Knockout photo. Strong upward action and expressions. You can feel the mud and hear them grunt."

Scramble, © James Miller

Short Putt, © James Miller

Judge's comment: "We looked for the photographer's ability to shoot news, sports, features, etc. as well as use of angles, lighting and use of focal lengths, fstops and shutter speeds. The winners were chosen for the ability to show depth."

Congrats, dad! You have depth!

5/2/10

Updates

From Coach at the end of the Pittsburgh Marathon: "Dave killed it! 3 hrs, 42 mins, in the rain, with a bomb threat, 16,000 runners. I did [the half in] 1 hr 50 mins."

Awesome, guys.

From Bolen, "re: Apple ridiculousness. Just drove all the way to Montgomery Mall to let Apple charge my iPod battery and guess the fuck what? I need an appointment."

4/30/10

Things add up so pick your things

At least you have your bonsai tree

I always think about this thing Dave said, a couple years ago when he was briefly fascinated with Bonsai, which was to the effect of, if you do a little something every day, eventually you will have these awesome results. Seems common-sensical, but, how many days go by when you don't do a little thing that will grow into a rewarding, real result? When you're just treading water, eating, sleeping, entropy-maintenancing, doing your workjob, letting time pass. Anyway, I try to keep it in mind. Dave just started running in late October, and tomorrow he's running his first marathon, in Pittsburgh. Coach is running the half.

miss mess: i remember dave's quote - it was something like even if in 30 years you've accomplished nothing else, at least you have your bonsai tree.

Here's Dave last month doing the Oakland halfsie in his Five Fingers.

Goddamn Oil Spill

Hey locals, you can donate linens and towels to help clean up our oil-soaked wildlife, today at Tradewinds, 5500 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach. Info. Miss Mess sends NASA satellite photos of the spill.

Stuffing

Towels and sheets for birds

• I hadn't visited old Cockeyed in a long time. RT sent this: The Costco Prank
• Marla sent a couple sweet vids of PS22 kids: Don't Stop Believin and Landslide
• I'm not much for movies unless they're absurdly ridiculous, feel-good, and funny (I couldn't watch The Cove the other night, but I'm sure someone should), so here we have one: Kristen Wiig's and Will Forte's new SNL flick, "MacGruber," an action-parody about mullets. Here is a little explanation along with a Wiig anthem, and do have a look at: MacGruber Trailer, c/o LD.
• Douche
• *sniff*

Come back later for HK's scoop on this.

4/29/10

Outbored

Charlie Crist comes out! As an Independent.

Our governor, closeted, drunken, semi-moderate Republican Charlie Crist, is down there at the park right now making his big announcement. There are helicopters and cops on horses and assholes with their Marco Rubio signs. Bravo, Governor. Ballsy move. I hope this works out for someone.

Crist's handlers were blasting the usual misappropriated emasculated-failure-of-the-American-Dream anthem "Born in the U.S.A." That's to be expected, I guess, but they followed that up with Queen's "We Will Rock You," a song about...pretty much the same thing. For crying out loud, Grand Old Party, these songs aren't written in Latin. Don't you have an intern who knows how to use the internet?

I'm watching the live feed and now they're playing "Little Pink Houses," ah, yes. "'Cuz the simple man, bab,y pays for thrills, the bills and the pills that kill! Oh, but ain't that America." UPDATE: Now they're playing "I Won't Back Down," by Tom Petty. Totally better. It's a classic rock extravaganza down there.

Bolen: "That silver fox is making FL quite an interesting race."

4/28/10

Supercharged Full Moon

Balfour!

I finally made it to a Tampa Bay Rays game last night. They play at the Trop, which is a crashed flying saucer out by the freeway. Can I tell you about it, using mostly pictures?

4/27/10

what the cat dragged in

Wildlife

I had a nice weekend of beach, peeps, and yoga. On Saturday we did a class for a couple of homeless ladies from the St. Pete Free Clinic. They seemed to dig it. (Yoga to the people, A Yoga Manifesto - NYT mag). My friend Heather led them in the gentlest class imaginable, but when I asked one of them afterward if it had been too easy, she got wide-eyed and said, "Oh, NO, no." It's kind of amazing how little people are used to moving their bodies. I also saw the pilot of "Treme" (The HBO Auteur - NYT mag), David Simon's new show about post-Katrina New Orleans. Is anyone else watching it? (Anatomy of a scene)

In the past 30 minutes, Waffles has brought in one large, living lizard and one large flying cockroach. Do any of you Florida people have an extra screen door lying around? I need one.

3 cute things

1. This is the DC I know: A wandering family of ducks gets an escort home
2. A very tiny goat, LD
3. A very tiny horse, CA. I love the Saint Bernard's expression here.

Mail Bag

From: Jaime Hotdish
Subject: gay & nerdy

hi jm! hope all is swell in lovely florida and that you didn't wake up to any decapitated heads or mangled limbs. she means well, she really does.

hey, first up, something nerdy: what bug/issue tracking is sra using these days? i need to get something implemented at the U and am doing a bit of research on what's out there.

also, jacob was so giddy to see that you wrote about the new gay dude in riverdale. the night before, he had found out about it and was reading me all this info about kevin and i was like "yawn." sorry, i'm just not as into the archies as he is. seriously, he still buys the comics every once in awhile. and laughs while he reads them. and he seriously thinks a few of the girls are hot.

anyway.
have-a-nice-day.
jaime

me: i was WONDERING who still read archie!  i never would've guessed that.  can i post that?

we use Mantis.

Jamie: of course you can post it! "FOUND: One child-man in Minneapolis. Still reads Archie comics. Has a crush on Betty. Also enjoys Little Caesars pizzas." yep, that's the man i married!

i had an amazing grapefruit this morning and thought of you, but then i saw it was from texas, so i started thinking of kristen and rimas instead. man, i know some awesome peeps in great places.

luv,
jaime

gay & nerdy, continued

From Bob, "Tim Gunn critiques superhero gear." Crazy Sexy Geeks - Tim Gunn Strikes! Part 1 and Crazy Sexy Geeks - Tim Gunn Strikes! Part the 2nd (Superman)

Various locomotion at the end of the street.

PS. Stream The National's new album, if you like: The National Agenda. Also, interesting about brain drugs and therapy, Mind Over Meds

I just heard a racket and wondered what new nightmare the cat had dragged in, but found this instead.

4/23/10

i see dead creatures

She's not so bad. I'm just not interested in dating her.

This cat of mine is about to get a whole collar of jingle bells round her neck, to put the blingiest reindeer to shame. My floors are littered with fluttering, half-dead, wingless, tailless, dismembered, decapitated, disembowled, in-pieces parts of lizards, dragonflies, locusts, and frogs. Last night she almost brought in a Palmetto Bug, which is the local euphemism for GODDAMN-GIANT-FLYING-COCKROACH-AAAHHHH!

Psycho killer

From: Coach
Subject: Archie's new friend

Gay noozles, file under: whuck?

What, pray tell, will comics curmudgeon say? Maybe this'll finally politicize my grandma.

Archie Comics announces new gay character
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 23, 2010 2:47 a.m. EDT

Riverdale High School, the stomping ground of comic book legend Archie Andrews, will open its doors to its first openly gay student.

Kevin Keller will be the new student to join Archie, Jughead, Veronica, Betty and Reggie, Archie Comics publications announced Thursday.

"The introduction of Kevin is just about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive. Archie's hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics co-CEO.

Kevin will make his entrance in the comic book in September.

Archie publishers provided a sneak peak of the the plot and a page of the comic book on its website.

The story begins when Kevin comes to Riverdale and promptly beats Jughead in a burger-eating contest. This gets the attention of Veronica who realizes that she is falling for Kevin.

"Mayhem and hilarity ensue as Kevin desperately attempts to let Veronica down easy and her flirtations only become increasingly persistent," Archie Comics said on its website.

Yeah, what IS up with THOSE THREE?

LD Buzz

"Spot the Hold On Loosely."

Hey DCists, on Saturday, you can take your old electronics to EPA's eCycling Day. " Bring your unwanted computer and computer-related equipment (computers, monitors, keyboards, printers, etc.) and cell phones for free recycling. This year, EPA and cooperating organizations will collect unwanted computer equipment on Saturday, April 24, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Plateau, National Harbor (PDF) (1pg, 147 KB, About PDF) in Prince George's County, Maryland."

If you're not sure why this important, read this: Conflict Minerals 101: What They Are And How You Can Help.

4/22/10

Earth day ideas, vol 1.

Day One with the Diva Cup, by Miss Mess

Even someone called Miss Mess has managed to wrangle the famous menstrual cup.

I kept forgetting that I have the Diva Cup, but last night when I was getting ready for bed I figured, now's the time to go for it. I was worried about the first time, especially since that link you sent me made it seem like it was going to be a huge ordeal to get it in. I don't know if my vag is just well travelled territory or what, but getting it in wasn't too hard. I used the "triangle" method and not to be too graphic but I felt like I sort of had to treat it like I was trying to fuck it or something, but whoosh it went right in. Now, I'm not 100% on the suction aspect of it, because I woke up at 4am and it was a little leaky and taking it out for the first time was totally fucking gnarly. I mean, I'm not too squeamish when it comes to period stuff, but it's a whole different ballgame to be holding a cup of menstrual blood and its attendant slimy clumpiness at 4am, groggy with sleep. I just held it for a second trying to figure out what to do with it, but then realized I could just dump it in the toilet. So yeah, that was nasty, but I was conveniently located right next to my bathroom sink to clean it up.

I tried to put it back in but I was too tired to do it, and was sort of on the fence as to whether it would be a good idea to use it at work today. So, this morning, I put it in while I was in the shower, figuring I would be nice & relaxed and sure enough, it went right in, but I definitely did not get the suction-turning thing down at all. And I kept messing around trying to get it and was eventually like, fuck it and finished getting ready for work. Right before I left though, I gave it one more try and I'm pretty sure I got it. But the only reason I even considered using it at work is because we have a handicap restroom that has its own sink. If I had to rinse this thing or deal with it in any way in front of other people, that would just not be an option. I don't know how you roadtripped with it.

- Miss Mess

"gay-looking people."

Lookit this shit

• Bongz: "Here's another one for the fuck yeah ftm files. Balian Buschbaum, former german pole vaulter." Uh, wow.
• Megs: Cilantro Haters, It’s Not Your Fault, nyt. But seriously, could you shut up about it?
• Dan: "cute house." Garage Days Revisited
• LD: TCO

More later, for real, require nap, stat. Waffles woke me at 5am by bringing a squirming, half-live lizard INTO BED. She's about to get a cowbell on her collar.

4/21/10

garbage in garbage out

Spring cleaning

• Bob: "did you see jon stewart use a full choir to tell foxnews to go fuck itself last night? classic." Yes, I did! God I love that man. Jon Stewart Slams Fox News Again
• Kelly: The Best Sign in the History of the World
• Megs: "Dudes check this jingle out-painting, photography and goddamn installation art all combined to fuck with your perception-nice job artist lady. Enjoy! Ps I wanna ride that subway car." Hyper-Realistic Acrylic Body Painting (DC!)
• Brian: "this seems like something you would enjoy." Iranian cleric blames quakes on promiscuous women
• LD: Various Buzz: 1. Characters from Black Hole comic brought to life, 2. Words of wisdom from Tax Day Tea Party protestors, 3. Beautiful photos from Eyjafjallajokull eruption
• Press here and scroll down to Ryan, wouldja? FTMS.

Marla's Stevie, with that silly Hipstamatic.

4/19/10

#springtime #randiness #dirtyoldlady

Turn clear like a wrapper and die

Today Waffles did a little standing around, a lot of getting stepped on, and then she went for a stroll with me. I think she could be one of those cats that enjoys an evening constitutional, if I can only break her of the habit of being directly underfoot at all times. This compulsion of hers makes for an awkward walk for me and a painful one for her.

Report: Yoga is Not for the Bendy

This weekend we eight wee yogis spent nine hours doing yoga, which is a hell of a lot of yoga. We each had to write and teach our own 90-minute sets, with the rest of us practicing. The hardest part of teaching, for me, is the performance anxiety. Talking in front of people isn't easy. (Telling people what to do, on the other hand, comes naturally.) When we weren't doing yoga this weekend, we were learning about chakras. So go ahead, ask me anything about chakras, and I will be happy to make up an answer.

But for real, there is a Yoga Myth I want to clear up, and that is the idea that yoga is "for" flexibile people. My mom recently mentioned that she and my stepdad want to start doing some yoga in Uganda. I was very pleased to hear that, then she wrote, "We tried it some years ago. He wasn't very bendy then and I'm probably not very bendy now! We'll give it a shot." This is a common misconception. Yoga isn't FOR bendy people. If you practice yoga your flexibility will slowly improve, from wherever you start, and your strength and stamina will quickly improve. That's the point. If you're doing yoga you're doing yoga. If you do a forward bend and touch your knees, and the guy next to you has his hands flat on the floor, you're both reaping the benefits. Yoga meets you where you're at, see. And by the way, in case you're wondering what the advantages of flexibility are anyway, which is something I used to wonder, here you go. In my opinion, the benefit of increased flexibility is increased happiness in the experience of existing in your own body, which of course is where we have to/get to be our whole lives, unless you've entirely retreated up into your head already.

To summarize, yoga's for everyone, and that's not just some bullshit. NYT Magazine has a pretty interesting theme this week "The Science of Living a Healthy Life," cover story gist being, it's hard for women to lose weight with exercise, because we are wired to replace all spent calories, BUT "exercise seems to remodel the metabolic pathways that determine how the body stores and utilizes food." So it's not hopeless. We can always work to divert the worn trails in our brains. And PS weight loss and maintenance are great and all, but if our goal is stronger bones, bodies, endurance, etc., exercise will improve your quality of life, even if you are the poor rats in that lab test. Ok?

Mail Beg

From: Brian
Subject: double down

this shit is funny: Should I eat it? KFC's new Double Down sandwich

"At 530 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium, the KFC Double Down will definitely kill you if you get it in your mouth. Presumably, the first few hundred customers who eat them will flap their arms in mute horror as their jaws and then their necks turn clear, at which point they will stumble blearily into the KFC parking lot before collapsing into piles of grease-soaked tissue to be picked apart by seagulls, who will also die. 'Turn clear like a wrapper and die!' was, I assume, the Double Down's original slogan. Since then, however, KFC has replaced it with 'The KFC Double Down is real!'"

From: Rebongaz
Subject: new shane indeed

no need to read the commentary and especially not the reader comments — this one's solely for the pics. but damn if k-stew isn't looking essentially marvelous at coachella. #springtime #randiness #dirtyoldlady

K-Stew just look at the nice pictures, ok?

4/16/10

Manifest destiny

12 more years!

Megs text: "Hey dudes prez obama ordered his secretary of not being an asshole to issue new rules allowing gays & lezzies to visit partners in hospital — nice job Mr. Sir!" Obama extends hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners of gays, WaPo. "Yes! I want to send him a goddamn thank you card!"

I agree. But, counterpoint...

ESG: thanks for the link
me: pretty cool
ESG: i'm putting it in my story!
jm reads so i dont have to
me: rarely
ESG: is it wrong that this makes me angry still?
such little piddlin shit people expect us to ooh and thank them for
god
me: i will ooh and thank
thank you obama!
ESG: i know you have to start this way
it's just infuriating
maybe he will direct social security to do the same
me: the guy has a chance to DO something, and he DOES! miracle!
ESG: before the huge wave of gay boomers gets to be elderly and dies in poverty
it's true
he's very measured
12 more years!
me: by the time of X and Ys, we will be a-ok
the kids dont care about gay shit
it's an inevitable matter of time
ESG: it's a pretty amazing thing to see happen
i'm a believer
an angry one, but still

Today my brother would've been 21. Needless to say, were he here, I woud be buying him his first legal drink. Hold onto your loved ones (loosely, but don't let go, if possible).

4/15/10

A story about cheese, an Australian butcher and the joys of free enterprise.

Tastemakers

Mr. Meredith Bragg, accomplished musician, has "foolishly entered a video contest based on page views." Please help him out by watching his PSA on FREE ENTERPRISE. Woohoo! Who doesn't like sandwiches?

Brian: i shared it on facebook
luckily i am what they call a "tastemaker"
victory is all but assured

4/14/10

Scuzzy Beatnik hos, gay looking people, and worthless cats

Just check on the internet!

Achewood was the saddest yesterday. Philippe-goes-home story starts here.

Would you like to live with Tinfoil Hat? Bob's moving out! foolhardy roommate wanted to share shitshow apt/apocalyptic visions (williamsburg), Craigslist.

Went to PeaceLove for the "veggie burgers are made with neurotoxins, (ps. hoax) " stayed for the iPad Pros & Cons. His Con argument is right on. Also, he is a magician.

Homer Campbell puts the climate change debate to rest

From: Bob, and the Huntington Herald Dispatch
Subject: this is a good one

4/13/10

Who wants waffles?

Introducing Dr. Waffles Von Petersburg

I have Mondays off now, so yesterday I set out on my bike meet some friends downtown for lunch. It was another perfectly beautiful day, LD calls it "candy weather," before it gets insanely hot, and the air smelled like flowering trees and the only sound was breeze in the palms and birds singing and just as I was feeling all appreciative and lucky a butterfly fluttered down and orbited me a few times as I rolled along. It was ridiculous! Oh yeah, and I got kitty cat on Friday. Megs and I went down to the SPCA and looked around and this one was just right. She has a couple dozen names, but officially she is Dr. Waffles Von Petersburg. You can call her Waffles for short. Believe it or not, it's been a long, long, 17-years-time since I had a kitty all of my own. She bounces off walls, drinks from the toilet, and doesn't want to sleep in the bed with me. So, she is fairly excellent.

New Thneeds in the Souvenir Stand

I have added Megan's Canary Miner illustration to some items at the Overpriced Cafe Press. Nothing says I Care about the plight of artists and miners like a cautionary mousepad, journal, or greeting card.

Various

• Marlz, Donovan McNabb: 'I'd Like To Thank The Ungrateful, Over-Expecting, Oftentimes-Racist Fans Of Philadelphia', Onion.
• Mayor Eric, Eri Yoshida, Female Pitcher, To Play Pro Baseball In U.S. , HuffPo.
• Rebongz sez, "woah. this stuff is basically the sound of xanadu + wm. shakespeare, lyricist." Some early hard to find disco: Alec R Costandinos - Romeo and Juliet Part 1; Love And Kisses- Accidental Lover (PART 1 TO 2) DISCO 1977
• And THIS is awesome, Comic Book Cartography: A Collection of Maps and Diagrams, from LD. I need to return to this when I've got a good chunk of time. Ephemera Now!
• And finally, I'm really enjoying the tone this is taking: WHATEVER IT IS– IT'S BETTER IN THE WIND, at the iBastion of Nostalgic Masculinity, The Selvedge Yard.

4/8/10

the Power of Niceness

Everything we knew, you knew

Holiday cares.

Hmm...even the stars are weighing in.

The Aquarius moon is stellar for technological pursuits, and with the sun in Aries, the newer the better. Lives can be improved, what's lost is found, the difficult is made easy — and all it takes is a well-written line of computer code. Even those who are not technologically savvy are still vulnerable to becoming smitten with a dandy gadget.

Reads/Views/Eats

• Bob: "here you go. great story that gets to the heart of your matter. did i tell you that woz signed my mac?" The Apple Two: The iPad is Steve Jobs' final victory over the company's co-founder Steve Wozniak, Slate. Must-read!

  In 2006, professor Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard Law School predicted that over the next decade there would be a determined effort to replace the personal computer with a new generation of "information appliances." He was, it turned out, exactly right. But the one thing he couldn't forecast was who would be leading the charge. How, indeed, could anyone have guessed that Apple Inc., the creator of the personal computer, would lead the effort to exterminate it?

  ...[Steve] Wozniak's design was open and decentralized in ways that still define those concepts in the computing industries. The original Apple had a hood, and as with a car, the owner could open it up and get at the guts of the machine. Although it was a fully assembled device, not a kit like earlier PC products, Apple owners were encouraged to tinker with the innards of Wozniak's machine—to soup it up, make it faster, add features. There were slots to accommodate all sorts of peripheral devices, and it was built to run a variety of software. Wozniak's ethic of openness also extended to disclosing design specifications. In a 2006 talk at Columbia University, he put the point this way: "Everything we knew, you knew." To point out that this is no longer Apple's policy is to state the obvious.

• DEFFOTOTES! The triumphant return of For Better or for Horrible and Nats Opening Day, Phillies fans are morons.
• And now for something much cuter, from LD, Otter and kitten become friends (!!!)
• She's pretty insane, and I just love her anyway/because of it: Welcome to Roseanne World. Sample entry, "abort the pope!" - eom.
• Yet another from frequent buzzer LD, Pickled Pepper, Anchovy & Egg Sandwich on Rye, Not Eating Out in New York. It's a lot of text, but a hell of a nice-looking sandwich, and I like what she's up to.
• Ellen, "Idol" and the Power of Niceness, nyt, from Bob.
• Marlz: "kitty porn for those that like the menz." cute boys with cats

Bob: "Deb's all knocked up."
Read all about it, and see Brian's
educational PowerPoint presentation, Dayeinu!

4/7/10

Not Winning hearts and minds

Let's fight about iPads

It's always gratifying to get a flurry of Comment Cards here in the Kitchen, but often a surprise to find which dishes pique interest or controversy. In the last few months those have been: the Diva Menstrual Cup discussion, the shuttering of a stinky old watering hole, and me picking on beloved behemoth Apple.

But first, a diversion

From Megs, "u gotta check this out. i mean really. these ladies, dude, they're singing about potato salad and then, wait for it...wait for it. then utter human body madness. wow."

And from Dan W., "My mother sent me this. I think the guy learned some of these moves in his yoga class. He's very bendy as you will see."

Dan: "The Ross Sister's make my entry look like just another guy in a small box. I like the apple pick up scene the best. Reminds me of the time last week when part of my cupcake fell on the floor and I had to lean way back in my chair to pick it up."

"Love some of the comments on the YouTube site.  They are limberated."

FIGHT continued from 1A...

So, as I argued with people all morning about the damn iPad, I realized that there are many angles to approach the Problem/Shiny Toy/Revolution, and everyone was coming at it from a particular place. Usually friend and self weren't even fighting about the same thing. There was some (but not unanimous) agreement that corporate ownership and delivery of content is bad. There was argument that that delivery is quite slick. There was a claim that it might save newspapers. There was admiration for Apple's innovation, Steve Jobs' business savvy, along with the suggestion that all that matters is that people want the thing and buy the thing. There was the contention that not everyone cares if they can't fix their car/toaster/tiny expensive device. There was the usual assertion that what I think is Important is not, with an underlying hint of You don't understand how the world works. There was the fact that it's one friend's job.

I'm just not really interested in most of those angles. I care about these things: how we identify as consumers. How we surrender endless tiny bits of autonomy; how our stuff comes to own us. How we accept expensive, disposal items, that are full of materials that are toxic and that require enormous amount of fossil fuels to create. How the very company that sells us the product continuously makes it obsolete, so we have to buy a new product. But most of all, how people have become accustomed to this. Embrace it! The iPad seems to me more like a Game Boy than a personal computer. Instead of Nintendo cartridges you buy apps. And instead of playing Pac-Man you play Buy/Read Comics or Buy/Make Music or Buy/Watch Movies or Buy/Read Books, or, play Pac-Man. I mean, if that's what you want to do, ok. But I think every company and every product, just like every person, manifests certain values, and if we're going to swear allegiance to a brand, put a decal in the window, or even just purchase any damn thing, we should think about what consequences follow that decision, what we're embodying, what we're making ourselves into. You are what you eat. You are what you buy. You are what you do.

Making good choices

I know I sound like a self-righteous asshole who's claiming to be better than other people but I don't feel like that's it. I just want people to expect more accountability, demand more, of ourselves and our world. It DOES matter if we disempower ourselves by saying, it's okay if my warranty is voided if I attempt to open this machine I supposedly own, because I don't want to open it anyway. I don't mind if I have to take my baby to the Apple Store to have its battery changed. It's the principle of the thing! Are we mice or men?!

End of rant.

Letters/Wingnuts

From: Brian
Subject: Re: iPad

fair enough

in related news, its funny if you talk abot your ipad
but pretend you're a working-class bostonian talking about your ipod

me: example?  phonetically, please.

Brian:

"I got me one a' those, uh, new iPads."

Say this sentence in your normal voice, and it's a reference to your new iPad.

Say this sentence in the voice of Ben Affleck's character from 'Good
Will Hunting', and it's a reference to your new iPod.

In other news, I started posting online at the Ann Coulter forum
again, after a two year hiatus. Why can't I stop myself from doing
that?

Most recent sample comment:

"What you are missing is that Black people in American and probably a
lot of Hispanics too draw their political power from hurling racial
invectives at whites. Their unifying force is racism directed at
whites as well as trying to extort their money from them. You never
hear a single black or Hispanic leader extolling their 'people' to
treat whites fairly and without vilification."

It's like rubbing foul-smelling chemical mud on my legs.

love...
Brian

4/6/10

Something the size of a baby hippo, the color of a week-old boiled potato, that lives by itself, in the dark

On Sunday I was lazily drifting in a kayak, reclined, eyes closed, barely moving between a bayou and the Intracoastal, waiting for my friend Heather to reappear from the mangrove trails. Finally she rounded a corner on the stand-up board and paddled toward me, grinning and shouting, "I can't be stopped from exploring!" And then she paddled nearer and said, "All I ever wanted to be was an explorer!" And I thought how that was fitting to my friend Heather, as she is always traveling and trying new things. And then I thought about my own childhood, and realized that all I ever wanted to be was the editor-in-chief of my own little rag, for which I answered to no one and never had to check my sources. Who knew then that the world would give us blogs? Thank you, world.

LD Boing-Boing Buzz + Bob's Hometown Paper

• It's Real: KFC's Double Down: bacon and cheese sandwiched between two pieces of fried chicken, Boing Boing
• 1984, iPad edition, which led to Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you shouldn't, either)

The other night I got to play with my friend Kyle's iPad, which surprised me by looking like a giant iPod. The display is lovely, and he'd installed a few neat-o apps, but it didn't make me disagree with the curmudgeon above. No USB port, so no peripherals, no getting inside, all locked into buying Apple products. No bueno. A self-contained little universe of Helpless Consumer and The Man. Treating you like a dumb child with a large allowance. Do you want a car that you have to take to the dealership to fill a tire? And do you want to pay a premium for the air your car maker has developed and approved to fill your tire? No. A computer should be a tool, like the internet — not an end in itself.

• Bob: " god. this paper's full of wonderful shit this morning. it's like the gods knew a horrible mining disaster was on deck and decided to try and make up for it in other ways: Police: Ohio woman dies in spat over Easter attire. (Note: Columbus, Ohio! And don't forget the reader comments.)
• Bob: "you just got the HD moment of zen. what a superb publication. i just love it. i think the gist of this letter is something to the effect of 'if you believe in jesus, ou don't need healthcare. ideally, you'll die early and go to heaven. it's in your best interest!' which, of course, duh."

The Herald Dispatch Moment of Zen

Jesus the answer, not health care

"Change, that was needed, has come!" Sound familiar?

It was the words of the president just recently, the day the health care bill was passed.

I happen to be one of many who think that some of the changes included in the health care bill, that were made in secret behind closed doors with just a select group of individuals, are changes that we the people will experience ill effects from for years to come.

The change we need most in our nation is change in people's hearts. How do we do that? I'm glad you asked. I have a friend; His name is Jesus Christ. He says all we need to do is acknowledge that He is the Son of God, believe that He died on the cross for our sin, that he was buried and rose again the third day, and He will give us a change of heart. Not a makeover, a complete change of our thinking, our speech and our actions or way of living, and He gives a lifetime guarantee.

Jesus makes life worth living for, not for more taxes or higher taxes, but He promises everlasting life. Now that's what I call "change that makes a difference" and "change that's worth talking about!"

Patrick M. Smith

Huntington

Bonus: Coach reviews The Runaways

me: (re: midnight text, "runaways, wtf!") nice Runaways review
laura: sandy west was surprise hit
for the rest of my life, i just want dakota fanning and kristen stewart to lean against opposing walls
me: haha. nyt said she was universally loved and "troubled"
laura: yeah she totally worked at some shitty chain restaurant and died of cancer
me: it was weird to see Maybe playing the bass
laura: yeah jaime called her tammy bobammy
aka fake jackie fox
me: yeah i guess they were afraid of a lawsuit so they made her a composite.
died of lung cancer aged 47 !!! ugh
laura: do you think katherine moennig is sad she's no longer shane? kristin stewart totally owns that now
me: i know. that's how it goes. i wonder how jo feels.
laura: pink blazer at the end was the best.

4/5/10

SUP!

Sorry no update — today was the first day of my new work schedule, and I took advantage of it by not sitting in front of the machine all day. Yesterday a few of us got some boats and boards and went out to Clam Bayou, which was sort of half trashy/urban half Florida beautiful. Here's Millhouse on a Yolo Yak-brand SUP. Verdict: it's more fun than sitting, and good work for your feets.

4/2/10

Hi, I'm a bunny!

If you ate three Cadbury Eggs for breakfast yesterday, I sentence you to read this story on an apparently surprising consequence of British chef Jaime Oliver's quest to bring healthy food to the children of Bob's hometown, Huntington, WV, "the unhealthiest city in America." Cabell has stockpile of processed food to use, Herald Dispatch. For extra credit please study the comments section, and then submit a short report discussing whether you agree more with CitizenMom, We Are DOOMED, cloak n dagger, or Dumb Hillbilly. Make sure to submit your final verdict of who is to blame: A.) Obama/Liberals/The Government/Elitists/Socialists, B.) "ignorant, uneducated, unhealthy people" or C.) Rhonda.

The Sad Life and Sex Research of an Old D Academic

And here we have the fascinating story of one mannishly-dressed Dr. Mosher and her unpublished sex survey of Victorian-era women. It's got a "mysteriously bound file," a lonely, friendless researcher whose life's work was to disprove female inferiority, and a look at what turn-of-the-century ladies were doing and thinking in bed: The Sex Scholar: Decades before Kinsey, Stanford professor Clelia Mosher polled Victorian-era women on their bedroom behavior—then kept the startling results under wraps, Stanford Magazine.

Peep Show

Happy weekend!

P.S. J. Crew thinks you're an idiot, Zulkey.

This picture would've been cool had .38 Special gotten out of their bus.

4/1/10

Gay as an Albatross

You can't quite fool me with fake news stories, and stop creeping into my apartment with iodine smeared on your face. I know I'm gullible, but I don't believe McDonalds is about to start launching its food waste into orbit, nor that my sister's pregnant, nor that you just got busted for DUI in my truck. I am easily fooled, but this ain't my first rodeo.

True Things

Bolen sent this first, but from Rebongaz...."No doubt I'm the 100th lucky emailer, but yay! I love gay animals! A THIRD of the birds they lead with hang in same-sex pairs, etc. etc. Plus it gets almost nsfw ("Male Amazon River dolphins have been known to penetrate each other in the blowhole." eeps!)" Can Animals Be Gay?, nyt. Dig also the Easter-appropriate artwork.

This is cool, too, from Eric in Albuquerque, who has worked with her: Transgender Woman Is Who She Needs To Be (ABQ Journal, free registration required) "Bellsong — her legal name after taking the high-stakes, high-heeled plunge to live outright as the woman she had been itching to be and inching toward for years — believes she is one of the only, if not the only, transgender women working in a supervisory role for the city of Albuquerque."

2 Days of LD's Buzz

• two sloths cuddling slowly, cute overload
• Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Is A Fucking Hipster
• Psychiatrist famed for electroshock as "cure" for homosexuality busted on sex abuse charges
• How "Christ, What an Asshole!" is the Answer to the New Yorker Magazine Caption Contest
• Bikini protest of France's Burqa Ban, boingboing
• English drunkards of the early 20th century - nice gallery of rogues
• And a repeat, but still good: Florida Family Policy Council "mistakenly" uses wrong photo of lesbian parents

Kentucky Neil family portrait

THE DISTANT PAST

Let's talk about the weather.