Sideways Glancing

Read a wonderful piece by Tim Krieder from the Happy Days blog in the Times called 'The Referendum' (courtesy of my friend Astri over at True/Slant) that's not only beautifully written, but can be related to most everyone's life in some way or another. It's fascinating.

"One of the hardest things to look at in this life is the lives we didn’t lead, the path not taken, potential left unfulfilled. In stories, those who look back — Lot’s wife, Orpheus and Eurydice — are lost. Looking to the side instead, to gauge how our companions are faring, is a way of glancing at a safer reflection of what we cannot directly bear, like Perseus seeing the Gorgon safely mirrored in his shield."

Astri notes how Facebook is the way we in our 20s perform 'the Referendum' -- when all we have is our relationships to other people, Facebook provides daily evidence that pushes your self-esteem one way or the other.

The Last Temptation of Fluff

This ought to brighten your day/week/month.

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.

From a One-Star Amazon Review of Shawshank Redemption

"I didn’t need to sit through 90 minutes just to see a guy going through a crap tube barfing up his guts. Oh, give that guy an Oscar. More like Shawstank Congestion. It’s like some twisted kinda Karate Kid who’s mute and has a sort of Southern Fried Yoda for a companion. But then he’s always barfing and swimming in poop. It gets disgusting and after a while you’re like I get it and why? for godsakes."

- Cynical C

Mogadishu

This has been passed around the interwebs a lot in the past few weeks, apparently, but it's just too good not to mention. The Wiki-travel page for Mogadishu has to be one of the most terrifying travel guides ever written. The prose is just so magically scary.

You should read the whole thing, but for a sampler, here is the "Get Around" section:

--- "Mogadishu has had no effective government for 18 years, which has left the transport network that was in place in disrepair. Roads are a muddy mess during rain, traffic lights do not work, and there are no enforced traffic laws or public transport. Some reports say that to get through intersections near markets crowded with people, those wealthy enough to have vehicles fire machine guns into the air to clear a path. Safe travel through Mogadishu is only possible by convoy with heavily armed guides and guards, which actually can be hired quite easily. Even with guards, the likelihood of being injured, kidnapped, and/or killed is still very high. The only traffic rule that can be agreed upon is the traffic drives on the left side of the road" ---


Wait, this one is also golden: from "Stay Safe":

--- "The safest way through Mogadishu is escorted by Ethiopian and official Somalian troops; however, they themselves are a target for the militias and may come under attack. Independent travel is suicidal. Infantry are highly likely to get engaged in street battles, and an armored vehicle can provide far better protection against most threats. A bullet proof vest is a must-have in Mogadishu." ---

Oh Look, They Found Hell!

Some crazy scientists found Hell if Hell were a planet! It's so close to the star it orbits that it's basically on fire. This is the best quote:

"The place may well look like Dante's Inferno, with a probable temperature on its 'day face' above 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,000 degrees Celsius) and minus-328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 200 degrees Celsius) on its night face,"

The planet is called CoRoT-7b because, you know, scientists like aliens. Also, "the scientists were helped by the fact that CoRoT-7b is relatively close to Earth -- about 500 light years away, in the constellation of Monoceros, the Unicorn."

In conclusion: Scientists are nerds.

This CNN article says it all.

Let's All Go to Baltimore and Save Dookie

When you see a great movie or finish an incredible television show after you've watched it all the way through (actually, Six Feet Under is the only other one I've seen all the episodes of), it seems you want to do one of two things: A) MAKE something that rivals what you've seen, or B) change something in your life or the lives of others, inspired by what you've seen.

The Wire did both. Enough has been said about the show to fill a small library, but I will say that it inspired me in more ways than most anything I've ever seen on any screen or in any pages. The characters, the hierarchies, the morals, the drama, the world it created. It's unlike anything else.

Also memo to Hollywood - put Michael K. Williams in all your movies. Go on. He will make all your movies better.

Nah I want my bacon I gotta tell you somethin

Born to be a reality star, this chubby little wonder!

I've started to freelance a bit for Williamsburg Greenpoint News + Arts (or The WGNews). Today they posted this amazing photo of what McCarren Pool used to look like...

Bowerbirds

I will love this band forever.

I Want to Defend Myself and this Shirt I'm Wearing Inside Out

You guys are being such ass holes about my shirt.

First of all, when I first bought this shirt, the lady at the store said it could be worn this way. I was trying it on in the dressing room and noticed that there was a different design on the inside and I thought to myself: Well, this looks kind of cool. I just thought it to myself, OK? But then I was about to ask the lady at the store if she thought the shirt could look cool inside out and she said - wait, she cut me off, actually - and said, "Some people actually wear this shirt inside-out because it's sort of like having two different shirts."

Two shirts! There's proof right there that this is so not a big deal. Straight from the mouth of the lady who works at the clothing store. She knows fashion. She has to. It's her job.

I don't have many shirts is the other thing. Not that I'm a poor guy - I mean, who has any money these days, right? Which one of us is the Monopoly man? - but I don't have many clothes. Period. So the idea of two shirts for the price of one isn't a wild and crazy thing. If you bought two awesome shirts for the price of one would you feel like a moron? Would you feel duped? No. You would feel great. You just got a great deal! That's how I feel about wearing this shirt inside-out. I feel like I got a great deal and I don't want to let myself down.

The other thing is that I forgot to take off the tag. Clearly. So sue me, alright? Sue me! I'll take the tag off tomorrow. The important thing is that I'm trying to explain to you that it doesn't matter where the tag goes. In Japan they actually put the tag on the other side of the shirt! This is what I'm told about Japan. So different international locations have different ideas about where the tag should go, that's all I'm saying. If I was in Japan we would not be having this conversation. This would be a moot conversation in Japan.

I don't like the way you guys are looking at me tonight. It's important for you to know that I like the way this looks.

That girl is totally eyeing me. I'm going to go talk to her. BRB.

....

She has a boyfriend, OK? A boyfriend. Wasn't because of the shirt. That's ridiculous. You are all being so ridiculous right now I can't even believe it.

You watch, though, in ten years shirt manufacturers will get the idea. They'll figure it out. You'll see!! People want variety in their lives. Variety, after all, is the spice of life. You know how people say that about life? Well they'll say it about fashion. They probably already say it about fashion.

It seems foolish to me not to have a cool design on the inside of a shirt. I'm no Johnny Hilfiger but why wouldn't that be a good idea? Riddle me that, you stupid ass holes. Riddle me that!

I'm going home.