the good, the bad and the ugly

from today's news:

the good -
whether you like barack obama or not, i hope you will appreciate this story about his mother's character as revealed through her life's work. she's the good guy in this world of ours.

the bad -
this is actually mostly good news. i only call it "the bad" because it seems unconscionable to me that it took so damn long. it seems bad to me that industry; for reasons of either greed, ignorance, misplaced loyalty or all of the above, allowed themselves to go bankrupt, become 60% government owned and worst of all, create Massive unemployment and chaos while the technology now "suddenly in place" has really been damn near in place for decades.

the ugly -
in case you don't click and read the news stories here (highlighted in red), i'll tell you a bit more about this one. last week the courts awarded the recording industry a $675,000 judgement against a man for downloading and sharing 30 (thirty!) songs online.

now that's UGLY. in my opinion, i think the rule should read as follows: if a record label or artist has already made a million bucks, all their stuff is fair game for anyone savvy enough to share it for free. end of soapbox.

for more rant...

i'm pretty sure the following is all three, the good, bad and ugly , and includes TWOD (the word of the day). the word irredentist is new to me and can be found in the last sentence of the above article.

OH! & one more good!...
i gave away the last of awol's pups today.
the brown one with the paul newman eyes, the one most like awol now has a new home with one of the aides who works on mom's alzheimer unit. she will bring him to work with her. and THAT is a very very good good thing.

(i have pics, but i can't upload them on my connection, but i will as soon as i am able.)

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hodgepodge is a cool word...

my friend terri sent me a forwarded email with photos of 15 really cool & strange buildings. (i especially like this one) --> 

i looked it up on the interwebs and found what may be the original posting and...it has fifty (50!) of the wackiest constructions you can imagine.

believe it or not, there is only one barcelona building in the whole lot. (but several gaudi-esque ones.)

check them all out when you have the time.


one of the buildings shown in the above link is/was in houston, texas. it seems the city was going to demolish a house and a couple of artists seized the opportunity to create this awesome piece. as i have a little bit of personal experience with the black hole effect of condemned property, this one struck my fancy, too. (story link)



speaking of striking my fancy...i've been meaning to post this link for some time now. this is just one image of a most amazing personal library. this guy's displays include everything from a raptor skeleton to a nazi enigma code machine to a sputnik. and much much more. it is a veritable modern day cabinet of curiosities.



above:

Gadget Lab A brand-new One Laptop per Child XO, far left, sits next to a relatively ancient RadioShack TRS-80 Model 100. In back, a 1911 typewriting machine and a 1909 Kent radio. The large contraption at center is the Nazis' supposedly unbreakable Enigma code machine. The book to its left is a copy of Johannes Trithemius' 1518 Polygraphiae, a cryptographic landmark. On the right is an Apple II motherboard signed by Woz. An Edison kinetoscope sits beside an 1890 Edison phonograph (along with three of the wax cylinders it uses for recording). Nearby is a faithful copy of Edison's lightbulb. The gadget with the tubes is an IBM processor circa 1960. In front of it stands a truly ancient storage device, a Sumerian clay cone used to record surplus grain.

next is a juried art exhibit currently showing in dallas. artists from all over the u.s. and canada submitted work interpreting the theme of the show, Farewell Shoes for Mr. Bush.

some were funny, some sad. 

("One that brought tears was a simple pair of work boots below a printed tribute to a man who had been a good father and hard worker but who died without health insurance. The artist was his widow." - juror, jim schutze)

it was a fitting outlet for the disappointment and resentment and even outrage that many of us in dallas feel about mr. bush moving to our fair city. 

my favorite piece (pictured above), by rebecca sanchez of dallas, is made of plastic army-men and won an honorable mention. it's called, "Soles of our Soldiers." 

(for the complete story and a much better picture of that piece, go here. or if you happen to be reading this after president's day, 2009, here.)



ok, i've taken up enough of your time for one day, but i must leave you a Dog picture O.T.D.

this is awol's crazy-ass, french whore of a girlfriend, gigi. he's in Luuuuuv.



"woof woof!"

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V(ideo) O. T. D.

i haven't checked out the rest of it yet, but i have a feeling it's all pretty goddam cool and worth a look-see. click on "her morning elegance" after going to this website.

(thanks, chrissy).

...in other news, i found what i suspect are the rest of the cars needed for my *cartable* today. i'm pretty excited about that.

so far i've made 5 different *veggie-tables*, and once helped sean make a *fishtable.* (there may be pics somewhere in here. and then again, maybe not.)

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the cartable (pronounced with a short a in the table part) is going to add to the goodness of the coffee table world & the betterment of the world in general by leaps and bounds. i might even try to sell this one. i could use the bucks.

these are all mechanized and will go on the carved limestone legs of the table and will be easily accessed to play with on said glass top.

vroom, vroom, vrooooom!!!

and yes, that's a penguin. pretty cool, huh? i am so easily amused.

(please feel free to click to enlarge any of these pictures.)


these will be on the sandstone tabletop under a sheet of 3/8" or 1/2" glass, depending on the funds available.


oh, wait. the 2 airplanes on the left are also mechanical and will be on the legs...&...i found all of those today to add to my already formidable collection of potentially cartable cars!

.........................................................................

the following little numbers have all been collected over the past few months & are mostly roadkill:


these "mini machines" were my son's and salvaged from the house fire:


(these broken ones are all road kill & will probably not be incorporated into the cartable.)
i call it my "junkyard." complete w/ junkyard dog:


& finally...
the Dog picture Of The Day...

"keepin' watch at the window"

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mr. chi-city &... the Blog O' The Day (edited)

i found that video over at the 122 blog. stop by and have a look. (it's not all mr. chi-city)

[EDIT: i changed the above link to 122 to a specific post because aaron keeps posting chi-city stuff and the last one was lame. the 122 blog is a group of 16 or so, 20-something year old college buddies, some of whom have now graduated/are in grad school elsewhere. they started the blog after experiencing a very serious personal and communal tragedy. one we all should hope never to experience ourselves. 

as a consequence of their loss, this group of hyper-intelligent, caring, crazy mofos has an even stronger bond than before. 

because of their love for each other and their hilarious fucking senses of humor...may 122 live forever. amen.]

while i'm at it, check out this cool adventure...random news story otd.

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M.O.T.D.

Metaphor Of The Day: 

[edit - see picture above and link below for a metaphor (this post), via the following Brilliant simile.]

"Building a fire is like playing jenga backwards." (jtb)

ok, so i haven't felt like posting much lately. 

i have a feeling that may change in the near future. i may even post pictures of my new dog. he's a pretty cool dude...mom kinda likes him.

she's always been a pretty hard sell for change. of any kind. 

(puns intended. and she's never been too fond of pets before now.)

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of lemons and monkeys and a random Q.O.T.D.

when life gives you lemons...laugh your ass off at it.

Question Of The Day: wtf is pink lemonade, anyway?

according to carnival historian Joe Nickell, in his 2005 book Secrets of the Sideshows, a man named Pete Conklin who ran a circus lemonade and peanut concession actually was the one who invented the drink. One day in 1857, while Conklin was making regular lemonade, he ran out of water. In desperation, he used the pink water from a tub that one of the bareback riders had used to wash her red tights. Unfazed, Conklin added some lemon slices and sold the concoction as “strawberry lemonade,” promptly doubling his sales. And, as they say, when life gives you lemons …

isn't that fascinating?

although pink lemons do exist, today's pink lemonade isn't made from their juice. (hopefully, it's made of some artificial dye not derived from an athlete's tights. right?)

remind me to never drink pink lemonade again...

but trust me on this one... bicycle riding monkeys are REAL.

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S.O.T.D.

i should have taken a picture of my dinner. you would be sooo jealous. provided you're not vegetarian or vegan.

fried bologna and tomato(yes, also fried) with lettuce and avocado on sourdough bread.

for some reason avocados are 3 for a dollar right now and i have been in sandwich heaven. avocado and eggs, chicken salad and avocado, tomato and avocado, avocado and avocado, peanut butter and avocado...

ok. so i didn't really have a PB&A. but i just might.

what's your favorite sandwich? Read more!

CAOTD

1st of all, lily , it's just funny because it's funny. (see comments for last post) 

Crazy Article Of The Day from the science world...

do i have to point out the humor in the use of "AI" for artificial insemination in that article? AI is more commonly used as an acronym for artificial INTELLIGENCE. now, am i just sick or is that ironic? (and funny, lily.)

and what about this: "Semen samples can be collected and preserved from both wild and captive (rhinoceros) populations..."

yikes! (((shudder))) that's not a job i would want.
and what would your title be? master rhinobator?

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random stuff. with lists! & a WOTD.

why are these my two favorite answers in today's syndicated nyt x-word puzzle?

17A - hero/giant created by rabelais = gargantua.
39A - menacing = sinister.

a. because they're lots cooler than synchronized swimming?
b. because i'm a total dork?
c. some other reasons i'll try to explain after the jump?
d. all of the above?


d., of course, is the correct answer. but you already knew that, didn't you?



ok, lets deal with *gargantua* 1st.

a. because it's so much fun to say. try it.
gar-GAN-tua. hahahahaha.

b. because this is a cool picture of him:


c. and because this is even awesomer. (yep, i read the whooole thing. i told you i was a dork...)


but why in the cornbread hell would i like *sinister* so much??

a. because i got it with just the n. (from the parmesaN crossing.)

b. just because.

c. and really because...(this is where i think it gets a little bit whacky)
the actual word of the day from wordsmith.org is *ambisinister.* coincidence? (duh. of course it is you gullible, ambisinister oafs.)


maybe that's too small to read, but here's the salient text:

ambisinister

MEANING:
adjective: Clumsy with both hands. (Literally, with two left hands.)

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin ambi- (both) + sinister (on the left side).

wha? "sinister" comes from "the left side" ????
oh those crazy latins...

all you left handed people out there oughta start aclamorin' asap. that sounds like prejudicism (sic) to me.

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bonus random stuff in case you can't read the screenshot above):

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)

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hey. if you didn't learn anything new today, don't blame me.


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silly diversions (from the people inside my computer)

for your viewing and listening pleasure. (thanks wendy.)




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Rebus Of The Day...












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i was tempted to use this picture instead of the last one. (wtf?)



would that have been unfair to anyone? well, anyone other than wendy. she'd probably know stuff like that.

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and this one i ganked from donald's crossword blog. (thanks, donald.)



as you can see, i'm easily amused. (smile)

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you silly rebus, you

R.O.T.D.




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aren't you glad i didn't use this one?




awww...did that give it away?




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in other news, it was 99 degrees here today. 25% humidity. and it felt like it.



and mom made me feel...well...proud of her today.

when i was taking her to bible study this afternoon there was a new alzheimer's resident who was balking at going. "but i'm catholic," she said.

i said, "oh, come on. you'll enjoy it. i'm an atheist and i don't think it's so bad."

i thought the lady was gonna faint.

mom just smiled and said to her, "but don't we all read the same bible?"
and the lady said, "well, maybe i'll just go for the company..."

and we did.

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to paraphrase, "we're all created from the same dust." (from somewhere in the 3rd chapter of genesis, i think.)


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amazon ant

in today's nyt syndicated puzzle, the clue at 107D was amazon. the answer? ANT.

huh?

never heard of 'em. so i looked it up and found it to be absolutely fascinating. did you know they "are incapable of feeding themselves, and must rely on captured worker ants to care for them"?

me either. check out the wikipedia article here. (aw go ahead. it's short and Very interesting. then come back and read the rest of this post.)

oh & speaking of ants...

have you heard about the houston-area invasion of "crazy ants?" no, no, no, not crazy aunts...ants.
they're called crazy because they move so so fast and erratically. there are apparently billions of the tiny critters taking over a 5 county area in southeast texas. yikes!

the good news? they eat fire ants. unfortunately, they also eat plants, beneficial insects, the hatchlings of small birds, and fiercely infest electrical equipment, have multiple queens and are resistant to pesticides.

"...when you do kill these ants, the survivors turn it to their advantage: They pile up the dead, sometimes using them as a bridge to cross safely over surfaces treated with pesticide."

brilliant.
and creepy.

i'm thinking an anteater would make a great pet for houstonites.


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Rebus Of The Day:





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let's see...

who can i offend now? hmm...



this one from boingboing cracks me up. and as usual, the comments are at least as funny as the article.

how 'bout these pics my sister sent me from the web?...




(i think i'll call that last one the HOTD.)

or this one from this dark roasted blend post...



can you say, "christvertising"? say what?!?

this one is only maybe offensive if you're an inveterate shoppaholic. maybe...
the transparent toaster???

and last, but by no means least, here's something else from boingboing. gem sweaters??? oh my.





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SOTD and other fuzzy photos

fuzzy wuzzy wuz a bear/fuzzy wuzzy had no hair/fuzzy wuzzy wuzn't very fuzzy wuz he?

ahahahahahaha.
that's a little ditty i remember from childhood. did anyone else say that real fast for no particular reason when they were a kid? my sisters and i sure did. i just thought of it for the 1st time in a long, long time when i saw how out of focus this picture i took of Opal was. (see last post to read about opal.)

lots of times when you try to take a *candid* picture of someone, you know how you'll first say, "sMiLE!" ? well i didn't. i just said her name.
she was sweeping up after lunch and when she turned around i snapped the shutter knowing i'd get a worthy *Smile O' The Day* photo.
awesome, huh?

more fuzzy pics after the cut...

this is my friend harold. when you look up *loyal* in the dictionary, his picture will be in the sidebar as a visual description. if it's not, it damn sure should be. i love him even though he is a republican.



his wife lara and me. (hey, i told you they were fuzzy pics...)


COUSIN IT. (it's actually my friend karen, but when i tried to take HER picture, she refused.) karen has pretty hair don't ya think?. and a pretty smile, too. but she's kinda shy...[NOT!]


and harold took a couple of me.



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HOTD

lately this has looked more like an abandoned blog than it really is. i'll start a post and lose interest, or more accurately, lose motivation. this time i set up outside hoping the different locale would spark a different attitude. (as i typed that it started to rain. )

but this time i'm letting my stubborness take over...

[ok, that was written 2 freakin' days ago. after it started sprinkling, i set up back inside. the sun came out again. i went back outside. it rained. now, i'd intended to include several of the 1/2-fleshed posts: the wedding, the silent house, the contest "prize" and more, but let's see if i even finish the HOTD story for now and then we'll go from there. ok?]

so, that picture was taken on valentine's day. the last time i saw mom. over 2 long weeks ago. it's breakin' my heart just to type that. just like the last few times i saw her and left her, i'm crying just thinking about it. no, not because of her condition. simply because i miss her.

back to the photo, rick.

they were having a valentine's party at the alzheimer's unit when my sisters and i went to visit that day. linda, the awesome person in charge of the residents' care, had a trivia game planned for them. to start it off she said, "now everyone put on their thinking caps."

mom nonchanlantly reached for, unfolded, and placed her napkin on her head.
(and that, my friends, is only a tiny part of why i love her.)



guess what? i'm on the bus, on my way to see her now. to take her to vote for her favorite republican and to vote for my favorite democrat myself. i hope to stay a few a days. i'll try my best to keep y'all posted. no promises, though.



whether it makes sense to anyone but myself, the following long-remembered quotation seems apropos to me.

"and the night shall be filled with music / and the cares, that infest the day / shall fold their tents, like the arabs, / and as silently slip away." ~longfellow~

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more news from austin and... the DOTD

at scholz garten last night, one of the many places austinites watched the debate on tv, a rowdy crowd created a drinking game. "every time obama says 'change,' 'hope' or 'believe,' you drink. and for clinton? any time she says 'record,' 'experience' or 'mexican food.'"

hahahahahaha. ya think anyone got plastered?

after the official debate clinton and obama went all over town. among other places, clinton went to guero's taco bar and obama went to the austin music hall...

i begged my brother to take me to that one. it wasn't publicized, but we knew it was happening because the brother caters for the bands there. we coulda gotten in, but he was sure we'd also get kicked out. i guess he likes his job or something.

what a chicken - *#!@.

anyway, it turns out obama got up on stage with ray benson, joe ely and a bunch of other musicians and sang "boogie back to texas." kinda reminds me of bill clinton playing the sax on the tonight show. he also played catch with ut's quarterback, colt mccoy, yesterday. (i know, big deal, right?) those pics aren't available to copy for some reason.

tonight there's an obama rally on the state capitol grounds. (if anyone remembers my old blog, that's where i "almost" got a date with amy sedaris.) that should be cool. last time he was here, over a year ago, 15,000 people showed up on the shores of lake austin. i betcha there're at least twice that number tonight.

and now for something completely different.
for you dog lovers, pack your bags and meet me next friday night for yappy hour at my favorite coffee shop, the irie bean. i just love this concept. and the picture is priceless.



now, if this dog would just show up...

Dog O' The Day:


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