playing in the mud

the wind

in the palm trees.

if only it worked this way

but it doesn't

and maybe that's what we have to learn.

mele kalikimaka

i'm not sure if what i just saw was this:


the innocent millipede

or this:


the venemous centipede.

but i'm not going out there again to find out.

as it turns out, i was wrong about this whole sun thing

the earth revolves around the surf, don't you get it? the surf.

what was i thinking?

i'm at the tippy top

this is what i need to do

from an LA times article about living in small spaces:

"I tell all my clients to make three piles: the throw-out pile, the maybe pile and the keep pile. The keep pile is what tugs at your heart," says Rucker. "Then I tell them to toss piles one and two. If you have of lots of 'maybe' stuff, you'll feel like a maybe person. Surround yourself only with things you love."

The Rucker rule: Bring into your house only those things you absolutely do not wish to be without. You'll feel a lot better. Throw out that unsightly chair, get rid of clothes you don't wear or items that are only marginally satisfying, give away books you've read (unless you love your library, in which case make a beautiful one). Eliminate all that creates disharmony. A harmonious house contributes to a harmonious life.

i am beginning to feel...cluttered.

i turn my camera on

i got my digital camera back from the shop, almost 9 months after i broke it, and just in time for the holidays.

i found this video on it.

the shortest day of the year

it's all downhill from here, folks.

my high school physics teacher is dying of cancer

he was mean, curmudgeonly, old (even then) and the spitting image of underground cartoonist r. crumb.

he wasn't even a very good teacher.

so why am i so sad?

do you know what i really want for christmas?

to be able to raise one eyebrow. that is all.

look up

castor and pollux, the two brightest stars of my patron constellation, will be visible tonight.
look for them three hours after sunset, 2 and 7 degrees to the left of the moon. i'll be watching.

we sure are cute for two ugly people

just the start

before and after

can you spot the changes?

12:01am

someone just died.

i know it happens all the time, that others are dying too. but knowing about it beforehand - it's different.

it's almost like you can feel a life slipping away.

gizoogle

is an excellent tool for procrastinating.

check me out.

my favorite is the "shawty stick of butta".

the night started later then

9 days until the winter solstice.

that's it.

i think my brain just sizzled.

$2 million

i'm reading about risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis and how you assign value to "non-market" items. it turns out the going rate for a human life is $2 million. this was never decided on officially, but instead backed out by analysis of existing public health policy. government agencies step in to regulate public health hazards if the cost to save one human life is $2 million dollars or less.

i totally understand the need for this kind of valuation, and yet it chills me to the bone.

take that, google earth

be forewarned - stay away from this site if you're trying to concetrate on oh, say, studying or something. Otherwise, happy stalking.

Windows Local

note: although the image quality is much better, the "birds eye" photo function only seems to work in major cities. can microsoft never win?

ananas

ananas means pineapple in french, german, italian, dutch and various other languages. it's fun to say. and fun to listen to.

ananas - tosca

cookies for breakfast

clean sheets, hot, sweet coffee, a package at the post office, and this outside my window:


i'd say i woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.

it's true

molasses really does move slower in january. or december. or whenever it's cold, really.

baby, it's cold outside

although not cold in any real sense of the word, it has been quite chilly here recently - by southern california standards. keep in mind we don't have much in the way of heat or insulation.

but i don't mind. it gives me a chance to snuggle up and listen to this song.

oh my god

the little stick of butter has a blog!


as it turns out, i was wrong about his name.

validation

i usually find business school to be something of a sisyphusian task, but every once in a while i realize, quite unexpectedly, that i've learned something - not just memorized a fact, but actually understand a process.

it helps. it really does.

what is it about vocoders

that are so pleasing?

hide and seek - imogen heap

it's better than studying

jokes courtesy of tiny mix tapes:

Q: Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella?
A: Tha drizzle!
-Tim Harrington

Q: How do you get a nun pregnant?
A: Fuck her.
-Steve Brown

Q: What did 50 cent say when he saw his grandmother knitting a pair of socks??
A: Gee you knit??
-Mark Richardson

Q: What's the hardest part of rollarblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.
-Patrick Hillman

So this girl walks into a bar and tells the bartender she wants a double entendre, so the bartender gives it to her. -Savingboyw

do you know the way to santa fe?

last night i saw the movie rent. i must confess that i loved the musical in college. and last night, as i sat in the theatre silently singing along in my head, i realized that i still know all of the words.


the idea of new york this musical inspired is one of the reasons i moved there after i graduated, just a few blocks from where rent was set. the reality proved to be quite a bit different from the fantasy, however. not bad, just different. and with less singing.

la vie boheme, indeed.

god bless my brother

for putting up with my morning sing-a-longs on the 405.

today's selection, courtesy of the ronettes:


thanks, ladies.