So among some circles I've developed a weird reputation as the guy who takes "jumping" photos. Anyway, apparently, there's a new jumping photo subgenre that has emerged...which I want to get involved with RIGHT NOW. Photos of people...jumping....off swings!!! And there's a whole Flickr pool of these photos. EXTREME!! Here's an awesome example:
I saw this on a couple websites first (Sorry Kaizar), but here's a surprisingly entertaining rap homage to the weekly newsmagazine The Economist that incorporates samples from the magazine's online podcasts.
The chorus of the rap runs: "He reads the Economist so he can get the gist, its solid competence gives him confidence that his intelligence is correct."Other lines praise editorial standards such as "The style in which they write is simple and concise, how do they get their sentences so precise?"
Listen to the mp3 here.
Mildred Loving passed away on May 2, 2008 at the age of 68. She played a seminal role in the civil rights movement and reforms of the 1960s. Loving was an African American woman whose marriage to her white husband resulted in the seminal Loving v. Virginia decision in which the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Virginia's anti-miscegenation law, which banned interracial marriages, was unconstitutional. What I didn't know but learned from the Times's informative obituary (a must read) was the following:
Mrs. Loving stopped giving interviews, but last year issued a statement on the 40th anniversary of the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling, urging that gay men and lesbians be allowed to marry.
Read rest here.
I would find this image hysterical until I realize that when politicans say "my fellow Americans" it includes idiots like this Texan (natch) woman, pictured here protesting amnesty for illegal immigrants on the argument according to her sign that illegal immigrants are...anti-English Language. Her message is that the ability to speak and understand English is like a contemporary Voight-Kampff test, which is used in the film Blade Runner to distinguish between "real" humans and replicants, except here it's used to distinguish between real "Americans" and the Others. The English language/Voight-Kampff test distinguishes real humans/Americans (presumably for this protester, real Americans are also of a whiter hue) from replicants/immigrants. It's a frighteningly dehumanizing logic. Please call me out if you disagree. [Memo to self: Re-watch Blade Runner and try to construct a comparative relationship between it and the debate and rhetoric surrounding the immigration issue.]
People: I cannot state this enough. If you are going to insist on trying to establish English as the "official" language here in the US then by golly at the very least make sure your spelling is on point at your rallies and protests! I personally think that that inverted exclamation point at the beginning of a word in Spanish is pretty badass. ¡I would like to see a bit more of that!
Back on the soap box after the jump.
I dislike the phrasing "illegal immigrant." Robbing the Dunkin Donuts in Penn Station is illegal. Putting a muay thai elbow to the head of a guy standing in front of you at the bar because he didn't hear you when you said "Excuse me--I need to use the restroom" is illegal. Feeding Funions, as delicious as they may be, to the police horse is illegal (I think). Running away from the cops after pouring your drink on them is illegal. But just...being here in this country is illegal? I don't like the connotation. I prefer something like "unofficial immigrant." Or what about plain ol' "immigrant?" But I don't like that either. No one calls the gal who just moved here from England or Sweden an "immigrant." It's a safe alternative word that implies a certain ethnic, cultural, or religious background that is decidedly non-white.
At the end of the day, it's all just a matter of paperwork and whom you know. Sure, it's a matter of semantics, but semantics matter. And on this point I think the protester and I would agree.
Canal Street, NYC, 2008
Storefronts shuttered after being shut down by the police for selling counterfeit purses. Although hardly effective (just go to Chinatown and its surrounding streets anytime during normal business hours tomorrow), it looks good to the press, public, and Louie Footahn.
- Helen Rowland.
Is there anything more unisex than Converse sneakers?
The next time I proclaim a social sabbatical please disregard it. After last weekend's debauchery, I stated that I needed a break from going out and such. How'd I do? Just two days after my proclamation:
On Wednesday, I went to the Iron Man premier and drinks afterwards.
Thursday, I crashed a Univision party after work.
Saturday: Habana Outpost's block party. Drinks all day. Drinks all night at St Marks and a couple East Village parties.
Sunday: Russian Jewish party with open bar at 92Y followed by a late dinner in Chinatown.
Akon calls T-Pain. It's a lot more funny than it sounds. [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=5AB7qL3volo]
During the 1983 baseball season, following a tough 1-0 loss, then manager of the Chicago Cubs Lee Elia went off against the fans and local media. Every other word coming out of his mouth is a variation of "Fuck." [youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=uv23pqH9iG0]
I can't believe this story hasn't gotten more press or maybe it has and I've just been out of the loop? The awkwardly shaped yet menacing F-117 has been retired by the US military. Understanding the military's ability to adapt and upgrade their weapons platforms, I was a little puzzled that these successful stealth bombers, costing $45 million each, were being shut down. Although slightly tinfoil-ish in tone, this analysis provides an interesting context and theory to F-117's retirement. For one, it apparently wasn't that stealthy at all: On March 27, 1999 during our involvement in conflict in Yugoslavia, one of the F-117s was shot down. (An event that is celebrated on that day each year by the battalion responsible for the successful take down.) Was it just blind luck?
1960s tube amplifier enthusiasts will be thrilled to learn that the Yugoslavian air force attributes the shootdown of the F117A to P-12 type vacuum tube-technology Russian radars so old the U.S. considered them obsolete.
According to their account, the F117A Stealth fighter was detectable by antique radar operating at wavelengths of 2 meters—a detail that had supposedly escaped the Stealth designers, who operated on the assumption that the plane would only have to be invisible to modern centimeter and millimeter wavelength radars.
Read rest here.
Their terrible cover this month aside, Smithsonian Magazine has a good essay in the most recent issue from Joan Acocella on the New York City state of mind. I find this to be her truest point:
While New Yorkers don't mind correcting you, they also want to help you. In the subway or on the sidewalk, when someone asks a passerby for directions, other people, overhearing, may hover nearby, disappointed that they were not the ones asked, and waiting to see if maybe they can get a word in. New Yorkers like to be experts. Actually, all people like to be experts, but most of them satisfy this need with friends and children and employees. New Yorkers, once again, tend to behave with strangers the way they do with people they know.
Read rest here.
I spotted Gary Dourdon (CSI) standing next to me at an intersection as I was on my way to the subway after work on Friday. Apropos of nothing other than his recent bizarre arrest after he was found sleeping in his car by the police. Oh yea, he was found with heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and prescription pills. Take it easy there, Gary.
Okay, warning: I'm so amazed by this video courtesy of the BBC (Way to go BBC! Truly awesome!) that I will now be writing in caps. YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO CLIP OF A MAN WHO GREW HIS FINGER BACK!!! HOLY CRAP!!!
Now this is what I'm talking about when I used to think about living in the 21st century as a child.
Walker Evans was a photographer noted for his images taken during the Great Depression, many of which are widely recognized. Less known, but what really interests me about him is that he also took these incredibly voyeuristic yet equally poignant photographs in the New York subway using a camera hidden in his jacket. These were collected and published in his monograph Many Are Called. It still has an amazing resonance today nearly some 70 years later. While the fashion and ethnicities of straphangers have changed, the facial expressions have not.
This should be filed, er bookmarked under "Awesome." Each daily final Jeopardy question/clue is collected and posted here at this website. Some people have way too much time on their hands...and thank gawd they do! Reminder: Other Jeopardy related entries posted by yours truly, who also apparently has too much time on his hands.
Also, did you know that Alex Trebek recorded a radio commercial for Alaska Airlines? Huh? Didja? I bet you didn't.
My iBook died again. When people ask me how old it is, the fact that I call it an "iBook" should provide some general idea.
DC: How long do I wait to change my Facebook relationship status? Me: Hahaha.
When N said there was some random open bar thing, I was expecting a couple drinks at a one hour shindig. What I did not expect was that we'd crash a Univision private party at the Town Tavern with an 8 hour happy hour plus beer pong table. I have photos, except those photos are on some random girl's camera and when she uploads her photos to her Facebook page, N and I will be tagged as "who are these guys??"
Thanks to N for the connect.
K: Eating kimchi for breakfast! Me: Did you hook up with some Korean girl last night?
