Nerf-Tastic

We used to transform my buddy's basement and have epic nerf battles back in the day, but we only had access to the old-school models like the four ball popper and the bow and arrow I think we had an automated dart gun but it shot like six darts, not 500 per minute...



(via GL)

posting will be light until the new year, stay warm kids.

That's Doctor Horrible To You

So I finally saw Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible with a grown up Doogie himself, Neil Patrick Harris is straight killing it these days (whatever it may be).



I now also have They Might Be Giants stuck in my head...

Happy Holiday Burritos

I feel a little bad spreading something so obviously put together to go viral (as Bloggasm mentioned) but this is pretty great.

I wish I had a warehouse and the money for a load of microwaves, I've got the time right now...

Yowza, That's Fast

Speed cubing is crazy. Like me, you've probably seen some video of folks working through a Rubik's Cube wicked fast. But, also like me, you probably thought hey that's cool and moved on, today Kottke got sucked down the rabbit hole and coughed up some goodies.

I'd never really thought about how you do a cube fast, other than shrug and figure it tooks lots of practice. Apparently you also need to memorize upwards of 50 algorithms (over 100 if you want to kick serious ass) I guess that's why the speedsters all look the cube over before they start, they're figure out which set of moves to apply based on teh placement of certain tiles.

The math behind speed cubing, and the woman behind the math, were profiled in this week's NYT Science section. It's a nice piece and you should go take a look. The short version is that Dr. Jessica Fridrich grew up in Chezchoslovokia and fell for the cube hard as a kid, taught herself the math to figure it out, met a professor from Binghamton University and went to grad school there, finalized the Fridrich Method, and now works on 'camera ballistics'.

Kottke's right it's a steep slope once you jump down that hole, and right now I'm really glad that I don't have a cube around (although I'm tempted to go get one), so here is just one video of World Record speed cuber Yu Nakajima getting it done with one hand in less than 15 seconds (if you let him use 2 hands he can do it twice as fast).

Are You Addicted To The Movies?

The site Film Addict will rate your movie addiction based on what percentage of the IMDB top 250 you've seen.

I suppose using the IMDB top 250 is as good a baseline as any, it does contain a pretty good mix of new and old films.

Via Kottke, who is 53.6% addicted. Whereas I came in at 56.8%.

Compare yourself to me, or chart your addiction solo, either way enjoy.

Hey F*ck Face - Billy Ripken Speaks

So 20 years later and Billy Ripken is finally telling the tale of how his 1989 Fleer card came to be know as the obscenity card, or just the fuck face card.

Here in MD we were all O's fans already and big Cal Ripken fans, so it probably magnified the story for us, I can remember looking for the card a few years later since I wasn't a big collector until a year or two later.

But I digress, according to the man himself the bat in question was his batting practice one and he needed a quick and recognizable label to distinguish it from everyone else's:

Now I had to write something on the bat. At Memorial Stadium, the bat room was not too close to the clubhouse, so I wanted to write something that I could find immediately if I looked up and it was 4:44 and I had to get out there on the field a minute later and not be late. There were five big grocery carts full of bats in there and if I wrote my number 3, it could be too confusing. So I wrote 'F--k' Face on it.

Extra cool fact, Fleer gave Ripken a bunch of the cards and he autographed them as groomsmen gifts for his wedding.

Definitely check out the rest of the interview, with CNBC's Darren Rovell, for more on the bat and the card, including Billy Ripken's thoughts on Fleer's role.

(image originally from snopes, story via kottke)

Text From Gmail

If you still aven't hopped on the gmail bandwagon, and really you should have when it first launched and you could secure your name or first initial and last name etc as your email address, there's yet another cool new addition to the platform to lure you in.

While my cheapskate friends, and those who just happen to be online at the time, have long used the Verizon website to send texts to me (you can send texts from most cellphone providers' sites to their customers) you can now send texts to any US cellphone from the gmail chat window.

Preliminary tests worked great last night, it's a bit better for outgoing messages though as the return text from Becca took about 20 minutes to appear in my chat window.

Check out the labs section when you log in...

While we're on the subject Gadget Lab is reporting that you can send away for gmail stickers, so that you can remember those keyboard shortcuts (that I never use, it's why I have a mouse) or just slap M-velope's on everything. Yes apparently that is the official name of the gmail logo.

Vegas Baby! Vegas!

image from coast travel

I've never been, but wondering how Vegas is doing is a logical question given our current economic situation, and the jokes I keep hearing about a casino bailout being next in line after Detroit.

NPR sent John Ridley to check out the scene last week. He says the place was dead, and on a fight night too boot.

(audio is available through the link)

Random Surfing

Turned up this shot of a bus stop in Dubai, where it gets very, very hot.

From Flickr user elvis_payne, via GGW

I Saw You...

The rise of Craig's List missed connections has been a disappointment for me. The I saw you section in the City Paper was always on my reading list when I snagged a copy, and now it's fairly empty if it even exists at all. It's also true that the best apartments and group houses in town used to be in the City Paper and are now on Craig's List and that Hasn't upset me at all. But I digress...

Greater Greater Washington pointed out this very cool map of missed connections from Craig's List. Each state has the name of the most popular locale, also available broken down by gender preferences (m4w, m4m, w4m, w4w).


Originally produced, and for sale, by very small array.

Rock the Cello

Puts a whole new spin on an old, old classic (instrument that is)...



(via my cousin JC)

TIVO Attack!

So I don't have a Tivo or generic DVR (shocking I know) and about the only reason that I manage to survive this horrific scenario is that I currently watch very little television.

It's pretty much some sports, a little Daily Show, and maybe some scrubs re-runs. How do I manage with so little TV you ask, I spend time online and I work the Netflix account.

This is all really just to say that everyone that I know with a Tivo/DVR loves it and swears they don't know how they lived before. For some slightly more concrete proof, of albeit back of the napkin style calculation we can turn to Justin Wolfers at the Freakonomics site...

What about the gains to the average American?

Fire in the Sky

If you've ever gazed up at the stars, especially if you were hoping to catch a shooting star you've got to see this...



As the voice-over says the video came from a police cruiser dash cam (man those things are great).

(thanks to my Dad for pointing this out)

One of These Things...

Is not like the other. Just having a bit of fun with the internets this afternoon and this photo from Salon's home page caught my attention because I'd seen almost the same photo earlier during a bathroom reading session (that means EW time)...
















So which hand is the Commish using to ram that dude's head into an aquarium?

Foto Friday - But You Can Eat It Too

This week's photo comes from Greg Takayama who blogs on food, photos, and life in general.
(photo from this post)

The LOIRP is Pretty Cool

The LOIRP is The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project, what it boils down to is that NASA is in the process of digitizing and cleaning up old images from the early lunar orbiters in the late 60's.

They have a fairly interesting website complete with photo gallery explaining the process but also the long journey that the original data tapes went through before finally undergoing the current restoration and digitization.

The NYT had an editorial on the newly restored image and it's view of a younger, different earth today. Most interesting tidbit, in 1966 when the photo was taken Earth had roughly half as many people living on it as it does today.

Wild.

(If you're into the Moon, MoonViews looks like it's worth a gander)

Gmail Makes You, You

So it turns out that Gmail makes your email address yours regardless of whether it has dots in it. I think it's really cool that yourname@gmail.com is the same as your.name@gmail.com.

Maybe that's just because I got some email from friends who inadvertently or because they had my address wrong stuck in some dots.

Google explains here.

Just Wow - Earth from Space

This video stitched together from still images by NASA astronaut Dr. Donald Petit is absolutely mind-blowing, you've got to see it.



(via Dot Earth, see also NYT profile of Dr. Petit)

Kenny Mayne is a Funny Guy

I don't watch much TV at all these days, and the time in my life when I regularly caught several Sports Centers was quite a while ago now. Today though I saw most of the 10am SC and they were hyping Kenny Mayne's new online show Mayne Street. Seeing as how Kenny was my favorite anchor back in the day (he and Dan Patrick regularly killed it, but I'd be remiss if I didn't throw Rich Eisen in there as well) I was glad to see he's still in the game and you know what else, he's still got it...



more stuff and future episodes at ESPN

So This is Pretty Cool

Follow the link, just trust me...

Oh, make sure you aren't in the middle of anything that you can't put off for a bit, this will distract you for at least a little while. There is just so much stuff going on, even more than it first looks like since you can hold the mouse at the bottom of the screen to scroll it down a bit and most of the icons are interactive, so yes you can press that button.

The woman speaking to you can be a teeny bit creepy though.

(via Kottke)

Mac vs PC - The Battle Continues

The folks at the Onion have the early comparison for you...

Apparently Snow Leopard isn't part of the joke.

(via Gadget Lab)

If You Like Photoshop

Or even if you just know what the window for it looks like, you'll enjoy this shot from Flickr user wandaaaa...

(via Kottke, full size here, Blogger keeps chopping it off)

And I Was Only Using a #2.5...

Yikes! who else got nervous that the scantron would somehow screw up their grade or that they'd inadvertently cause a catastrophe?

(Seriously people, just add xkcd to your RSS already)

Foto Friday Riposte

ed note: the photo will be posted soon, bear with us

Foto Friday - Lives

Even if Tempelhof Airport is no more.

Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters - From NYT

That's a DC-3 leaving Tempelhof as the last flight ever. The DC-3 and Tempelhof were made famous during the Berlin Airlift in 1948-49, you really ought to know what I'm talking about.

Read the article on the airport's final flights in the NY Times.

Brave New World

photo from New York Times

I just finished reading an article from the April 13 issue of the Sunday Times Magazine (I've been saving them for the crosswords) about the future applications of cell phones (or mobile phone if you're just about anywhere else in fact most phones I've owned have used the label 'mobile' when classifying the type of line for a contact) specifically their economic and social impacts in the developing world.

The developing world, both rural and in the slums of the worlds largest cities (Mumbai and Rio spring to mind), is the next market for cell phone manufacturers, seeing as how everywhere else folks already have phones (cell and otherwise).

If you're interested in technology and its impact you'll know a lot of whats covered in the article already, if not you'll probably be a bit surprised at the ways in which cell phones are changing peoples lives throughout the developing world. My favorite tidbit was the home grown money transfer program running in Uganda where you buy a pre-paid card and call the PIN to someone else to use, normally someone running a business as the village phone, who then gives that amount to who you were trying to send it to. Very cool.

So go read the article, and then check out the blog of the main guy, Jan Chipchase.

Beyonce - The Cliff Notes

Sasha Frere-Jones (The New Yorker's pop-music writer) has a great listener's guide for Beyonce tucked into his latest post, ostensibly on pop-producers and the direction of the genre today...

Beyoncé, for all her traditional behavior as good-looking good girl, is building a catalogue of songs that have little to do with traditional expressions of love or pain. She is most fond of the second person, and her hits, in the aggregate, form a sort of default advice column. She isn’t as interested in her own pain as she is in telling others what mistakes not to make. I’ve made a small list of her key talking points, reaching back to her work in Destiny’s Child:

“No, No, No”: Be entirely clear with your partner; vague language can lead to confusion and hurt feelings.

“Bills, Bills, Bills”: Money and romance do not mix, so keep separate bank accounts and go Dutch until your relationship is stable.

“Bug-A-Boo”: Constant communication can feel more like harassment than affection.

“Say My Name”: If your partner is avoiding you, arrange a face-to-face meeting. Monosyllabic answers and lack of affection can be an indication of deeper troubles.

“Jumpin’, Jumpin’”: Couples do not necessarily need to spend every night together. Plan one night a week where you are with your friends, and he with his.

“Independent Women Part 1”: If you pay for your own shoes, you are more likely to judge your relationship on its own merits rather than a tallying of goods exchanged. (Get Cameron Diaz to help you count your belongings, if you feel like you’re losing track.)

“Bootylicious”: If you are more experienced than your partner, make sure to be explicit about your needs and expectations. Direct questions will save time and decrease anxiety. (Comfortable jelly levels, for example, should be established early on in any relationship.)

“Check On It”: If a man shows sustained interested, allow him to get close to you over dinner, or a movie. Leave your options open. If he has a friend, perhaps invite him along; the friend can act as a control group for the evening.

“Ring The Alarm”: Fights are not always unhealthy. Sometimes, a blowout can be cathartic and release pressure that might be damaging your ability to communicate. Introduce a sense of play into your arguments—megaphones are fun (make sure your neighbors are familiar with your routine, and don’t call the police), and role-playing can help defuse anger with humor.

“Irreplaceable”: If your ex is having trouble finding his way out of the house, provide clear and consistent directions. Men are sometimes challenged by the word “straight,” which has sexual overtones. Suggest that he go left or right, terms familiar from both baseball and driving. Also, keep several empty boxes on hand. (Once broken down flat, boxes can fit horizontally into a closet or under a leaky houseplant.)

“Freakum Dress”: Be sure you own at least one freakum dress. If you find one you really like, consider buying several of them in different colors. (Make sure you have a friend who can explain what a freakum dress is.)

“Single Ladies”: If a man values your relationship, be prepared to demand a commitment. Suggest that he signal the value of his commitment by buying you an enormous piece of jewelry, something big enough to kill a hamster with one mild blow.

I Like Turtles - Berkley Breathed On the End

BB talks about Opus, the comics, kids' books, and the political climate...

The very, absolute last comic strip characters destined to become true household words across America were invented 23 years ago: Calvin & Hobbes. There are and will be no more new ones.

(b/c I'm a C&H fanatic)

Does That Look Right to You?

The eyeballing game is tons of fun.

Just start playing you'll figure it out, there's also a good about section if you're the kind of person who reads the instructions first.

My best (and so far only) score is a 3.59 (the lower the better, you'll see when you play).

This is definitely my new favorite time waster...

(from Kottke who only got a 4.34)

Dunnn Nuuuhhhh, Duuunnnn, Nuuuuhhhhh....

Forget about Jaws, giant catfish are snatching people in India and Nepal.

(see also zooilogix)

Sound Investing...

I just received this advice from the theater we subscribe to...

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: All Woolly Mammoth Investors

FROM: Howard Shalwitz, CEO & Jeffrey Herrmann, COO

Washington, DC • October 3, 2008

As the U.S. Government plans a financial bailout of historic proportions, we write to assure you that Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company remains solvent and your investments in our institution secure.

We ended our most recent fiscal year with a modest surplus, thanks to strong 4th-quarter sales and a careful eye towards expenditures.

Meanwhile, our recent investments in R&D have served to replenish our inventory and diversify our product line. And several of these new additions – DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, THE K of D, and STUNNING – have recently been re-purchased by other firms and sold to audiences across America. We have steered clear of sub-prime liabilities precisely because of this commitment to investing only in quality properties and employing the most creative and skilled workers to develop them here in our state-of-the-art facility.

Further, we have maintained our investments in our local community to ensure that demand for our line of products remains strong. And, in partnership with firms like The SEED School, Metro TeenAIDS, Univ. of Maryland, and The Corcoran School, we continue to develop the workforce of the future.

Next year will mark our 30th year in business, and we are proud of our past accomplishments and our present stability during this turbulent time. Still, we remain fundamentally dependent on our investors to provide us with the funds we need to pursue our mission with confidence and vigor. This year we have set an ambitious goal of raising $350,000 in capital.

We hope you will maintain Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in your portfolio of investments with the confidence that your dollars will generate rich dividends – payable in provocation, laughter, and surprise – for years to come. Together, we can continue to lead our industry and electrify our customer base with the most innovative line of theatrical products available for consumption in America.

Visit Woolly

Oklahoma?

Cheapest beer in DC

There are probably bars where you can get a cheaper beer than the $2 Natty Boh's at the Red Derby, but I don't think I'd want to drink there. The Derby, at 3718 14th St. NW, only accepts cash and does most of it's business in cans. They've got a nice selection of beers I haven't tried because I'm broke.

It was packed last night for the debates, the crowd getting a little loud and then shushing itself so that we could all hear. I had a great time, it's relaxed and the red walls and beat up couches are just what I'm looking for in a bar. There's even a pool table in the back, but bring your ATM card, because they only take cash (there's an ATM in the bar).

Sarah Palin and Wasilla's Rape Kits

Okay, so about a week ago Maya sent me to Get Your War On to check out the episode about Sarah Palin and her policy on rape kits. GYWO was, as always, completely over the top, so I did some research. The issue (according to Jessica Yelin at CNN) appears to be that the chief of police Palin appointed in Wasilla was one of the most vocal opponents of legislation banning the charging of victims for thier own rape kits. His objections were based in fiscal concerns. There was a lot of pressure to eliminate budget items while Palin was Mayor, but that she didn't specifically target the cost of rape kits. It's still pretty messed up, but I see it more as an issue of callousness than delibrate targeting of rape victims.

I can't really do a better job of making this funny than the comic that brought this issue to my attention:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Sarah Silverman and her grandma

I think this is funny. Possibly it would be funnier if my grandma was Jewish, but I don't think so.


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Morning edition

So I wake up every morning and my roommate is making turkey bacon and listening to NPR, and I'm starting to feel more informed again.... this morning there was an interesting interview with President Ahmadinejad. I thought it was interesting because you don't hear american journalist pushing people at all these days, and well, I guess I'm fascinated by Iran. I like to listen to people with radically different view points and try to see what they mean, and why it looks that way to them. Ahmadinejad makes some interesting arguments. Not necessarily ones I agree with, but it could make you think, if you felt like thinking.

Foto Friday - It's Art

So this is a photo of a painting, not just a photo it's still Foto Friday, this is my site and I make the rules.

I've had pieces by Willem de Kooning catch my a couple of times recently, once on the way into the men's at the Buffalo Airport and then again in this week's New Yorker listings.

This piece is entitled Gotham News and is the one from the Airport...

Soulja Boy is Hilarious

It has been quite a while since I listened to rap or hip hop regularly, especially anything that could be labeled commercial. It is true though, that the second CD I bought was Doggystyle (Automatic for the People was first) but like I said, a while ago.

These days when I flip through the radio the stuff I hear is garbage, and I'm going to throw up some Soulja Boy vids because I enjoy them and I think his sense of humor and willingness to engage online is pretty freaking cool. I do not think that he makes good music.

First a video game review (via Kottke)



And how about that childhood classic on how a bill becomes a law? Uh huh, you pass that...



(via EK)

Connecting with Students

David Ramesy wrote a quite brilliant piece on his first year teaching at a public charter school in New Orleans for the Oxford American. It's mostly about learning to be a teacher and working within our broken school system but the underlying theme that provides the story with its undeniable flow and rhythm is how Mr. Ramesy connects with his students through the music of Lil' Wayne...

(via SFJ)

Foto Friday - Let's make some juice

Energy Secretary Bodman Opens Solar Power System On Energy Dept. Build WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 09: The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled 891 photovoltaic modules on the roof of the the department's Forrestal building roof September 9, 2008 in Washington, DC. According to the department, the 891 photovoltaic modules will generate approximately 200 megawatt hours of electricity annually, providing up to eight-percent of the Forrestal complex's energy during peak hours. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This shot ran in Wednesday's NYT but didn't appear on the website, curious no? You'd think great photography would be up on the web as well. Instead I found it after searching through the Getty Images site (hence the water mark) since google failed to find it.

Big Numbers

In case you were wondering Paul Krugman is teaching ECON 553 this fall (yes that's the five hundred level, yowza) and yes the slides make my head hurt.

Are You Ready For Some Foosball?!

Over here on the lighter side of life things would be going a lot better if the 'Skins had had a decent showing to open the season.

Not that it'll brighten your spirits, but Tom Boswell has a well written piece on the new west coast offense and the fact that QB Jason Campbell is being asked to learn yet another new system. One of the interesting tidbits that Boswell works in is the nature and difficulty of matching the right type of QB for the offense that's being run. Campbell was probably the right guy for Coach Gibbs' scheme but doesn't look to be the QB that will fit into Zorn's new overhaul.

Also if you want to see which games are on TV throughout the country check out this site with cool google maps mashups going on (via Kottke). Last time I was there it seemed to be behind and not quite running right, still a neat idea though.

Justice Dylan

Well Bob Dylan has long been hailed as a great lyricist, if not always as a great vocalist. And it turns out that judges in courts throughout the land agree.

Back in July (the things you miss when you're on vacation huh? Um, totally worth it) Chief Justice John Roberts of the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS, like POTUS) cited Dylan in his dissent to a case that the NY Times described as "an achingly boring dispute between pay phone companies and long distance carriers"

The absence of any right to the substantive recovery means that respondents cannot benefit from the judgment they seek and thus lack Article III standing, ‘When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.’ Bob Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone, on Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia Records 1965).

Rolling Stone chimed in as did the online self described legal tabloid Above the Law. Everyone was all too happy to point out that the quote isn't quite right. While online lyric sheets, including Dylan's website, agree with the cite Rolling and the others say if you listen to the words its actually a double negative cause really 'When you ain't got nothing...'

In another interesting tidbit you'll find in the stories Dylan is the most cited musician leading his closest competition, Paul Simon, 26-8.

I got to this story while catching up on the Freakonmics blog.

If you want to see the whole researched paper follow this link.

Every time I see Dubya speak I hear the lyrics to Idiot Wind in my head...

Foto Friday - The Return

Not quite back with a blast because the image that I want to bring you today is actually a flash doohickey on the NY Times website.

So follow the link for an awesome view from atop the 10 meter (highest) platform at the Beijing Water Cube. Once again the NYT web team has provided an excellent interactive experience online they're definitely leaps and bounds ahead of any other newspaper website in terms of utilizing the opportunities provided by the web.

I got there via Kottke.

Next week real pictures, I promise.

Vacation Time - and Shameless Promotions to Boot

Ok kids, I'm out of town for the next 5 weeks so don't expect much from me.

Feel free to check out the efforts of some of my longtime friends and compadres...

Eric Hutchinson (he's almost sort of famous a little bit)

And

Good Not Great

or if you need some photos taken

Moment In Action

Late night food

In DC, when you want a bite to eat at 3 in the morning, you grab a Jumbo Slice on 18th street, or get a grilled cheese at an all night diner. In Italy, you go in the back door of a bakery selling sandwiches and cream filled brioches on the sly. In Madrid you can get a falafel or a kebab. But in Istanbul when you make your weary way out of the disco, you eat steamed mussels stuffed with delicious rice and plenty of fresh lemon juice from the guys selling them on every street corner. I don't even like shell fish all that much, but this was an unforgettable experience; so good that even the vegetarians I'm traveling with ate a couple. Fantastic. And even if Rough Guide says not to eat them under any circumstances, I think I'll risk it again next time I pass through.

Foto Friday, er Monday Actally.

So I'm late again, sue me. Maybe three people are paying attention (how come none of you emailed to see if I was ok?) so I don't think that life ground to a halt anywhere.

With this installment of Foto Friday I'd like to direct your attention to another blog that you'll enjoy and will pretty much ruin any high opinions you had of Foto Fridays. So follow the link to The Big Picture at Boston.com (the Boston Globe's site) and feast your eyes on gallerys of huge pictures.

In the past couple of months, since The Big Picture debuted, they've run some of the same shots as we have only much bigger and better. Enjoy.

Here is a shot from the recent 'Martian Skies' gallery.

The air is certainly thick enough to fill a parachute. On May 25th, 2008, the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this dramatic oblique image of the arrival of its sister probe from NASA, the Phoenix Lander, descending on its parachute. Phoenix and its parachute can be barely seen in the larger image with 10 km wide crater informally called "Heimdall" in the background. Although it appears that Phoenix is descending into the crater, it is actually about 20 kilometers in front of the crater. Given the position and pointing angle of MRO, Phoenix is at about 13 km above the surface, just a few seconds after the parachute opened. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

Cranes

Like giant erector sets or insane Lego creations tower cranes, or T cranes as I call them, are seemingly everywhere in the DC area these days. (I think it has something to do with all the construction)

I've never heard of an accident involving one here in town (it must have happened at some point though) but up the road in NYC they've had a rough time of it this spring. (heard about that did ya?)

The WaPo had an article on the cranes on Monday, which while pretty basic is worth a peek. The paper also ran this cool graphic (a shame they didn't make it interactive online).



Any one else a little nervous when they saw that its all held up by a five foot thick slab? Or that the diagram doesn't cover heights? According to the article the tower part is simple and can rise up to 250 feet without any additional support or anchoring.

I think these cranes are great, I remember growing up with them and the 'Skins winning the Super Bowl ('91?) and there being huge banners along the crane arms that said Go 'Skins! and the like. Even after reading the article though, it seems a little preposterous that they don't just fall over.

Foto Friday Two-fer

I know 'two-fer' sounds like a fun and exciting deal, so I apologize by following it up with two sobering photos. Both of these impressive shots involve devastation, or at least damage, caused by flood waters.

(Both also come from the NYT)

First, here is a before and after of the Chinese city of Beichuan: As it stood with substantial earthquake damage, and after the draining of a 'quake lake' flooded much of the city.

(NYT story)

Closer to home, this is what downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa looks like today.

(NYT story)

Nintendo Cheat Codes Never Die...

They just end up on the internet. And no, not on versions of the same old games played online (it might work though I haven't tried). I'll let you guess where...okay if you didn't guess that Google is involved you should leave now, we can't be friends.

Google, in its ever expanding array of coolness, has snuck the Konami cheat code into Google Reader. I still remember all-night Contra sagas and think I could hit the code from muscle memory alone. If you don't still have twitchy thumbs here you go.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

Definitely go check out the Wikipedia page for the Konami Code.

Once again, I love the internet.

(I got here via Wired's Gadget Lab) (Don't freak out, hit refresh to bring it all back to normal)

Foto Friday

Sorry for the downer shot two weeks in a row, but this is a picture that I think everyone should see.

The shot ran in huge format above the fold on the cover of Thursday's NYT Arts section. No it is not staged or altered, he really got that shot. Just amazing on many levels.

Watch for more on the story and book back on the main page soon.

Stranger than fiction

This reads like an Onion headline: Giant Vulva Bicycle Taxi is Freudian Wet Dream
And to warn you, the bike is anatomically correct. I'm not sure I'd be willing to crawl on in there myself, but maybe for the sake of art... In any case I respect someone who's willing to take their beliefs to such an extreme. I haven't got that kind of faith.

Foto Friday

This guy is our President. No, really.

Belgian Fries

So I was in Brussels a couple weeks ago, trying out my new Italian accent in French, and felt obligated to eat some French fries and drink beer made by monks. I stayed in a youth hostel to the north of the city and got a funky, youth oriented tourist map from them that had a couple locations labeled as 'the best fries in Brussels'. I picked one that was basically just a little trailer pulled up in the plaza behind a church. There was the smell of hot grease, a confounding list of toppings choices and a huge mound of once fried, thick cut fries, ready to be popped back in the oil.
I have to admit, I was expecting thinner fries; these were nice meaty steak cut style fries, and definitely tasted like potato. Actually, my first bite was sort of mediocre. I was disappointed, they seemed a little bit limp, and the deliciousness factor was low, even smeared with mayonnaise. Eating fries with mayo is a habit I picked up in Guinea, I love it. But there I was with a lap full of hot potato product, resigned to pick out the crunchiest bits and make it through at least half of what I'd paid for.
Five fries later I started thinking "wow, this tastes a LOT better than the first bite!" By the time I had made my way to the bottom of the paper dish, I was relishing every bite, and I wiped up the very last of the mayo with a hint of regret that it was over. I don't know how they could get better as I ate my way through them, but in the end, those were some of the best french fries I've ever eaten.

Food for Foto Friday

I wanted to give you a great shot of some Pho side plates, mmmmmm.

Unfortunately I struggled with Flickr and the Washingtonian so instead take a look at the June cover and follow the link for the Cheap Eats slide show.

Foto Friday - Late Edition

Nature is insane. Check out this image of a storm converging with the Chaitén eruption in Chile two weeks ago.



(from National Geographic News)
(see another photo of the storm here)

Mmmmmm, Hashbrowns.

Because xkcd should be on your rss reader, and I haven't had any potato products recently...


All I need now is a little bit of ketchup.

Foto Friday

Since I'm no longer trapped behind a desk day in and out toiling away lo those long hours, I've decided to throw out some weekly features. Over on the Political side of things we introduced Two Truths & A Lie on Tuesday and today we're happy to bring you the first installment of Foto Friday (yes that would be the royal we, man). Please enjoy, and keep an eye out for other exciting A/V bonuses coming soon...

Today's Foto comes from the BBC News via Mark Bittman's NYT blog, Bitten.

This image of a peppercorn and a grain of salt taken by David McCarthy is the overall winner (and close-up category winner) in this year's Visions of Science Photographic Awards. The competition is sponsored by Novartis and The Daily Telegraph. (©David McCarthy)

Corner of Nebraska & Connecticut Finally Safe Again

Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Frank Winstead has cleaned up the corner and removed the scourge that was the beloved ping-pong table in front of Comet Pizza.

If this just sounds wrong to you never fear; Marc Fisher has handed out an exceptionally raw take down of Winstead over on his WaPo blog (that's a joke people, his blog is called raw fisher). Check it out for the full story and keep an eye on the links (Marc always does a great job with them) for the opportunity to thank Commissioner Winstead yourself (there are also photos and video people).

I suppose the only reassuring tid-bits are that the table still exists, its back inside, and that outdoor seating might be coming to Comet.

Now raise your hand if you remember the Thai Room.

P.S. this brouhaha has created quite a nice little comment stream at DCist.

Standard Operating Procedure

so Errol Morris, the Oscar winning director of The Fog of War, has a new movie that was released April 25^th and I can't go see it because I'm in the wrong country. It’s called Standard Operating Procedure, a documentary about the people who made the Abu Ghraib photographs and how they came to light. He’s also written a book on the subject with Philip Gourevitch, the author of We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda.

I really enjoyed going to see The Fog of War with my father when it came out, and I'm hoping this will me more of the same intense confrontation with reality. Morris has a unique approach to difficult subject matter, he said on the Salon.com podcast : "I don't see it as my job to get people to say they’re sorry. I don’t want to hear your confession, I don’t want to hear you apologize... I just want you to tell me your story!" I have a lot of respect for someone who attacks a problem without seeking to lay blame or exonerate.

As for the other half of this pair, I finally finished Gourevitch's book about Rwanda last summer and it was one of the most heartbreakingly bleak books I've ever read. And I'm really glad I read it. It was a gripping, well written account of an incredible tragedy. It's hard to face the darkest parts of who we are as human beings sometimes, and I'm thankful that we have people like him to help us try to understand.

Oh and did I mention that Danny Elfman composed the score? One of the things that made Fog of War so intense was the relentless score by Philip Glass, a mad genius of noise/sound composing. I don't really know how to describe his work, go check out his site. but embarrassingly enough, I've loved Danny Elfman since his Oingo Boingo days and I've been consistently impressed by his work in film, and I can't wait to see this movie.

Unfortunately, my geographical location makes it somewhat improbable that I'll be seeing it any time soon. In the meantime I'm going to be reading Morris and Gourevitch's recent New Yorker article on Abu Ghraib, that my brother recommends. But I don't have time to tonight because I have to learn il congiuntivo and I'm going to Brussels for the weekend. Ciao!

A Taste of Orzo

So I’ve been in Italy since February. My mother already knows all about the exciting/stressful series of events that brought me from one continent to another and, since I’m pretty sure she’s the only one reading this, I’m not going to bother catching you up. Instead I’m going to write about the holy grail of caffeine consumers: Italian coffee.

Before you say to yourself: “wait, the last time this woman wrote about coffee, she was expounding the joys of Nescafe…” let me just explain two things about Italian caffeine intake.

First: Italians aren’t obsessed with coffee. I haven’t met any that drink more than 2 – 3 a day. Most commonly Italians drink a latte or a cappuccino in the morning and that’s it until maybe an espresso after dinner every once in a while. And let me stress that the portions are much, much smaller; we’re talking about a couple of tablespoons of coffee in a big cup of hot milk here.

Americans have a different set of ideas and expectations about Italian coffee than Italians do. There are bars full of people drinking cappuccinos and lattes all afternoon in the piazzas in Florence, and they’re almost overwhelmingly tourists.

All of the foreigners I meet gush about how good the food/coffee is here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about the coffee. I just think you could hand a tourist a foul, totally off cup of coffee (maybe Nescafe) and because they’re in Italy it would be transformed into a spectacular liquid joy.

Second: Orzo. What, you might ask, is orzo? Orzo is the Italian word for barley, or Hordeum vulgare. In Italy, it’s roasted, ground up and steeped to produce a dark, coffee like substance that many people drink in the morning as a substitute. I believe that it was widely used during WWII as a coffee alternative because the actual stuff was unavailable.

Why are Italians drinking burned grain product? I don’t get it. I tried some, in the spirit of scientific inquiry, and it tasted pretty much like it smelled. I felt like I was drinking a cup of whole wheat toast that had been cooked until it was just barely shy of being a lump of charcoal. Mmmm, nutty.

More Web Fun

Once again I find myself thinking that some people have entirely too much time on their hands. Hey at least this guy is getting creative with it.

Some friends sent this one my way, so thank them and then kick back and enjoy yourself for a few minutes. After all you probably deserve it.


Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART

Yeah yeah, 5 million people have watched this already and you might well be one of them. If so was it worth watching it again?

I like the sky, thanks.

This afternoon I was desperately in need of some fresh air, so I escaped from the office for a stroll around the neighborhood (Dupont South, at least that's what I call it). It was a gorgeous afternoon and I really enjoyed my bit of time outdoors, especially the sun and sky, the fresh air, the wide streets, the flowers being planted around the trees in the sidewalks, the fact that I wasn't shuttered in and oppressed by behemoth obnoxious skyscrapers.

So when I was once again cloistered away at my desk you can imagine my disappointment when I saw that Matt Yglesias was attacking my fair city. Matt seems to think that we should have taller buildings and destroy the character of our city, I couldn't disagree more.

I was born and raised and currently reside in Takoma Park (right by the metro, and yes that means I get to say that I'm actually from here) and I don't know any locals (natural born or long term enough to have raised kids) who would even consider the possibility of constructing taller buildings in DC. The suggestion that we need taller buildings always seems to come from someone from away, quite often from the land of early twilight and vertigo itself.

The quick background, if you need it - and it turns out I did, self-professed low skyline lover that I am, I had always bought into the urban legend that no building could be taller than the Capitol dome with the exception of the Washington Monument. Actually, in 1910 a building called The Cairo went up and dwarfed its neighbors and generally upset folks around town. Congress got in the mix and passed the Height Act of 1910 which stipulates that a building's height cannot exceed the distance between it and the building across the street, plus 20 feet.

Paul Schwartzman wrote a great article on the history of the limitation and some modern-day challenges to it last May, there are fantastic graphics involved as well, check it out. Paul also handles the principle arguments for and against taller buildings in town.

Roger K. Lewis had what amounted to a response later that same month, reminiscing about being shouted down by Jonathan Yardley, lo these many years ago, for suggesting that DC needed taller buildings. Roger has a great summation of the choice made though:

People offended by the Cairo made a definitive value judgment: The building fabric of Washington was to remain uniformly low-rise. There would be a memorable skyline but no skyscrapers. The Height Act of 1910 ensured that Washington's streets and neighborhoods would remain airy, sunlit and protected from soaring buildings that are inharmonious with their surroundings.

And so we live in a great town, with a unique character and feel that has a lot to do with how tall the buildings are and the sense of openness and freedom that they help impart upon us.

Like I said in my comment to Matt, if you're jonesing to be hemmed in by some tall, oppressive buildings take it across the river.

Who Needs TV?

If you're missing your daily ration of the boob tube with the writers on strike, just fire up the web - there's something for everyone.

And if you think that online video/shows/shorts aren't any good, you clearly haven't been looking very hard...