Friday, October 29, 2004
nanowrimo
November is National Novel Writing Month. Meaning, you have the month of November to crank out a novel comprised of 50,000 words. Getting through that first draft in 30 days sure sounds appealing. Fascinating, even.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Lamb-ic pentameter
You will never find a No Doubt record in my collection, nor an independent release by Gwen Stefani. However, she's great-looking on video and I like her knack for design so much that I sport one of her Le Sportsac bags that says "Love Angel Music Baby" on it in gothic font. The letters L.A.M.B. stand for her loved and lost dog named Lamb and for that, I am sold.
Having Gwen's bag also makes airport bartenders talk to me. But I don't have anything to say about her that doesn't have to do with style. Besides her handbag and clothing line, Gwen threw down cute red hearts and letters on a yellow background for Hewlett-Packard so you can print and slap it on your iPod. They call them "tattoos" but I call them silly. And sticky.
Having Gwen's bag also makes airport bartenders talk to me. But I don't have anything to say about her that doesn't have to do with style. Besides her handbag and clothing line, Gwen threw down cute red hearts and letters on a yellow background for Hewlett-Packard so you can print and slap it on your iPod. They call them "tattoos" but I call them silly. And sticky.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
8 mile man does good
Is it wrong to like an Eminem video that so brilliantly bashes Bush? Check it out, pass it on...
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
meet me at the meat raffle
Who doesn't love a raffle? And when the prizes include top quality meats, you won't be steered wrong. Get it? Steer.
Jackpine Social Club Holiday Party
Friday November 5th @9PM
Thee Parkside 1600 Wisconsin St. @17th
Oranger
Ian Moore
Beaver Nelson
+ meat
$10 cover includes special giveaways, including some highly-coveted, previously out of print Jackpine buttons featuring an image of a porterhouse steak. They're rare!
Jackpine Social Club Holiday Party
Friday November 5th @9PM
Thee Parkside 1600 Wisconsin St. @17th
Oranger
Ian Moore
Beaver Nelson
+ meat
$10 cover includes special giveaways, including some highly-coveted, previously out of print Jackpine buttons featuring an image of a porterhouse steak. They're rare!
Monday, October 25, 2004
Imagine Paul McCartney
And Tony Bennett. In a duet! And Neil Young performing for the annual Bridge School Benefit yesterday at the Shoreline Ampitheater. And Sonic Youth!
Bookended with legends, this lineup was out of a dream. Amazing show, what a wonderful day. We were the privy few, so close to the stage, it was amazing.
To quote Nick en route home, "Why would you see anyone else when there's Tony Bennett?" A living legend whose heart still soars over San Francisco, and Mountain View, and anywhere he goes.
One of Tony Bennett's finest moments was in-between songs, "My personal prayer is that someday someone will find a way for people to stop killing each other." Neva's article says this and more.
Bookended with legends, this lineup was out of a dream. Amazing show, what a wonderful day. We were the privy few, so close to the stage, it was amazing.
To quote Nick en route home, "Why would you see anyone else when there's Tony Bennett?" A living legend whose heart still soars over San Francisco, and Mountain View, and anywhere he goes.
One of Tony Bennett's finest moments was in-between songs, "My personal prayer is that someday someone will find a way for people to stop killing each other." Neva's article says this and more.
Friday, October 22, 2004
she-wheeling
Gloria Steinem is on wheels. In a recreational vehicle, to be specific. She'll track more than 1,500 miles to reach out to voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio with her lecture titled, "Why This is the Most Important Election of My Lifetime."
Her press release states, "Whether young people go to war or not, whether women can make their own reproductive decisions or not, whether there is arsenic in our drinking water or respect for the United States in the world – these are just a few of the life and death questions...Voters also need to be aware that the next President will likely appoint two or three of the nine Supreme Court Justices, who rule for a lifetime. We are not just talking about four years, but decades of influence over our rights."
Her press release states, "Whether young people go to war or not, whether women can make their own reproductive decisions or not, whether there is arsenic in our drinking water or respect for the United States in the world – these are just a few of the life and death questions...Voters also need to be aware that the next President will likely appoint two or three of the nine Supreme Court Justices, who rule for a lifetime. We are not just talking about four years, but decades of influence over our rights."
antispace
My new favorite book is an old urban planning texbook which I cannot bring myself to return to the library. It's about "lost space" in urban design.
Roger Trancik describes lost space as, "the leftover unstructured landscape at the base of high-rise towers or the unused sunken plaza away from the flow of pedestrian activity in the city...surface parking lots...the no-man's land along the edges of freeways...abandoned waterfronts...in need of redesign -- antispaces, making no positive contribution to the surroundings or users."
These lost spaces are easy to identify in American cities. Think of any office park: it's your basic parking lot interrupted by buildings, offering nothing appealing to pedestrians. Get in the car, get in the building, get back in the car. Anyone walking around without a cigarette or cellphone looks suspicious.
Trancik sees lost space in America as a vital opportunity to apply lessons learned from ancient cities that are friendly to pedestrians and local vendors alike. Think of lively European open-air cafes. Think of diverse buildings cozily unified in pedestrian squares with bustling markets and activity. Then think of what your own city could become...
Roger Trancik describes lost space as, "the leftover unstructured landscape at the base of high-rise towers or the unused sunken plaza away from the flow of pedestrian activity in the city...surface parking lots...the no-man's land along the edges of freeways...abandoned waterfronts...in need of redesign -- antispaces, making no positive contribution to the surroundings or users."
These lost spaces are easy to identify in American cities. Think of any office park: it's your basic parking lot interrupted by buildings, offering nothing appealing to pedestrians. Get in the car, get in the building, get back in the car. Anyone walking around without a cigarette or cellphone looks suspicious.
Trancik sees lost space in America as a vital opportunity to apply lessons learned from ancient cities that are friendly to pedestrians and local vendors alike. Think of lively European open-air cafes. Think of diverse buildings cozily unified in pedestrian squares with bustling markets and activity. Then think of what your own city could become...
Thursday, October 21, 2004
ever shoot yourself?
In this era of most Friendster photos being self-portraits with our without one's own arm in the frame, I went even further to shoot my first very own video project last week.
It's a bit disorienting to make moving images with no one else in the room. Just me and the Handycam. And sometimes the dog. Soon, I will master how to put said video projects on this very site and then, the universe.
Monday, October 18, 2004
leather tastes pretty good
Back from CMJ where I had a blast. My biggest claim to fame on this trip was that Nick introduced me to Little Steven.
I knew the name Little Steven, but I didn't know why. I thought he was a musician, but I didn't know why. I didn't know he's been playing with Bruce Springsteen since 1967. This is because I never listen to Bruce Springsteen. [Love his politics, can't stand the band.]
This was at our pal Dave Kaplan's showcase at the Mercury Lounge. Holly Golightly was playing and Little Steven was there, wearing a bandana on his head. He was completely approachable to anyone who went up to him. Clearly, he appreciates his fans and was warm and friendly to them all.
I didn't recognize him, so Nick kept saying, "He's the guy from the Sopranos. The one with the lip!" as he re-enacted the pushed-out lower lip thing. "Oh yeah." I said. But I didn't want to meet him. Really. I didn't.
But Nick had such a nice chat with Little Steven that he decided to rope me in for an introduction. I was kicking and screaming, but it was too late. Next thing I heard Nick say was, "This is my wife, Rosemary."
I said "I love the Sopranos!" He said "Thanks" and he smiled.
Then I said, "You do music too?"
He fled so fast, he actually vaporized.
Friday, October 15, 2004
times squared
Look at me, I'm in Times Square! There is so much electricity here that it even when it's night, it looks like daytime.
I'm typing at some hokey email station in a visitor information center. The massive pink Post-It billboard is around the corner, presumably with my name on one of them, donated to breast cancer reserch. By the way, how many million germs are on this keyboard?
A very special shout out goes to Steve for saving me and generally being a genius. : )
I'm typing at some hokey email station in a visitor information center. The massive pink Post-It billboard is around the corner, presumably with my name on one of them, donated to breast cancer reserch. By the way, how many million germs are on this keyboard?
A very special shout out goes to Steve for saving me and generally being a genius. : )
Monday, October 11, 2004
Dear John
Just back from a weekend trip to Minneapolis to take care of [read: be worshipped by] my adorable nieces, Lilia Rose and Natalie Estee. They're 6 and 3 and a complete riot, nonstop. My mother was there too and incapable of answering my question, "How in the world did you have 5 kids?" She did it in 7 years. Imagine.
Speaking of worshipping, my old friend John forwarded me this flash movie about the Republican platform. Since Halloween is nearing, it's the perfect time for anything chilling and creepy.
And soon I'm off to New York for CMJ. I'll be back next week. Please miss me.
Speaking of worshipping, my old friend John forwarded me this flash movie about the Republican platform. Since Halloween is nearing, it's the perfect time for anything chilling and creepy.
And soon I'm off to New York for CMJ. I'll be back next week. Please miss me.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Candyfreak
Just polished off a superfun book recommended on a friend's blog. It's by the author of My Life in Heavy Metal and his storytelling is so open and fresh, it's as if he's with you in the same room.
You'd think that there'd be a flimsy connection at best between a daily intake of chocolate and the meaning of love in the universe. But Steve Almond finds the connection, both with and without a gooey center.
He also refers to coconut as "cuticles." And wants Kerry to win!
You'd think that there'd be a flimsy connection at best between a daily intake of chocolate and the meaning of love in the universe. But Steve Almond finds the connection, both with and without a gooey center.
He also refers to coconut as "cuticles." And wants Kerry to win!
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
holy crap
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
the dog with a clever snout
A greyhound named Red is a real smartypants. A closed circuit camera in a London kennel captured him at night, nosing the latch to his cage door open, and then freeing his fluffy pals. Everybody, get in the kitchen and sniff!
A video on CBS News shows the entire thing, and reports that more than 300 people have called the kennel asking to adopt him, mischievous snout and all.
I love how Red waited until the people were gone to do his little trick.
A video on CBS News shows the entire thing, and reports that more than 300 people have called the kennel asking to adopt him, mischievous snout and all.
I love how Red waited until the people were gone to do his little trick.
70 million women can't be wronged
The lack of respect for human life has become blatantly apparent in this presidency. Bush admits repeatedly that he foisted troops into a war under false pretenses. Steve Earle performed on Sunday in Golden Gate Park and said that "mathematically, it is not possible to *not* have a draft" if Bush is elected on November 2nd.
But Bush favors the lives of the unborn, even at the adult mother's expense. Even when a woman's health and very life is in danger, Bush believes that the unborn is more important. But condoms can break. Birth control pills can be forgotten or reduced in efficacy by taking antibiotics or eating Tums.
A woman's life is simply more important than a bunch of unwanted cells. Bush doesn't believe this.
Look here to see what SFGate reports. And if you don't care about the 70 million women of child-bearing age whom this would directly affect, think about your sister, your girlfriend, your mother, your daughter.
But Bush favors the lives of the unborn, even at the adult mother's expense. Even when a woman's health and very life is in danger, Bush believes that the unborn is more important. But condoms can break. Birth control pills can be forgotten or reduced in efficacy by taking antibiotics or eating Tums.
A woman's life is simply more important than a bunch of unwanted cells. Bush doesn't believe this.
Look here to see what SFGate reports. And if you don't care about the 70 million women of child-bearing age whom this would directly affect, think about your sister, your girlfriend, your mother, your daughter.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
booster seat
The outcome of last night's presidential debate is, I suppose, still up for debate. But here are some things our group knows for sure:
~Dubya's zoomed-in podium resembled a child's booster seat
~Both were shot from faraway lenses, like Barbra Streisand
~Kerry was engaging, attentive and responsive
~Dubya parroted his party line in heavy repetition
~Moderator Jim Lehrer was a hardass to Kerry and blatantly cornered only him with heavy, multi-tiered questions
~Kerry's answers were concise, well thought-out, and equally multi-tiered
~Dubya was often permitted to yammer past the red stoplight
~This made him appear even more of a blowhard, parroting his party line in heavy repetition
~Somebody should count the number of times Dubya whined about, "hard work."
And the entire time, Kerry was downright presidential.
~Dubya's zoomed-in podium resembled a child's booster seat
~Both were shot from faraway lenses, like Barbra Streisand
~Kerry was engaging, attentive and responsive
~Dubya parroted his party line in heavy repetition
~Moderator Jim Lehrer was a hardass to Kerry and blatantly cornered only him with heavy, multi-tiered questions
~Kerry's answers were concise, well thought-out, and equally multi-tiered
~Dubya was often permitted to yammer past the red stoplight
~This made him appear even more of a blowhard, parroting his party line in heavy repetition
~Somebody should count the number of times Dubya whined about, "hard work."
And the entire time, Kerry was downright presidential.
