Time to take this bull by the horns and milk it.
Just spent some time over on Paul Graham‘s website, and I’m going to spend some more. It’s some of the best stuff I’ve ever read on the topic of design, like this passage under “Good Design is Strange” in the essay about Taste:
I’m not sure why. It may just be my own stupidity. A can-opener must seem uncanny to a dog. Maybe if I were smart enough it would seem the most natural thing in the world that e^i*pi=-1. It is after all necessarily true.
The Lady Janet went to San Francisco today, so I got to spend the whole day with Emily. We had so much fun, and it was really cool.
Because her kindergarten class did a whole thing on the original Thanksgiving feast this week, we got to play “Indians.” She made me pick out an Indian name, and I chose “Runs-with-Cats,” but “Princess Clearwater” insisted that I make it “Chief Runs-with-Cats,” and I hate to admit it, but that kinda works for me.
Then we did all kinds of things, like painting each others faces (to look like cats), making a placemat for me to use at the feast exactly like the one she brought home from school, and having a “campfire” around a candle.
But it got really cool when we went to have the “feast,” which was a grilled cheese sandwich, and the dialogue went like this:
Chris: Does our tribe like our sandwiches cut into triangles or straight across?
Emily: In half.
Chris (demonstrating): Diagonally like this? (lays knife from corner to corner) or straight like this? (lays knife straight across the center)
Emily: Straight. Our tribe doesn’t use any diagonals. They don’t even have a word for “diagonal.” When you say “diagonal” to them, they just hear “blah-bla-blah-bla-blah.”
That’s my girl! (Benjamin Lee Whorf would be so proud.)
Those of you who’ve been with me for awhile will recall that I have long predicted a lashback against the current diet craze, and have suggested a product line called Sugar-Salted Fat that would appeal to the rebels among us.
Well, it looks like Hardees is on board with this concept. I present the Hardees 2/3 lb. Monster Thickburger™
I think my faith has finally been restored — by this grilled cheese sandwich that bears the image of the Virgin Mary. (Brother.)
Very interesting little thing over at The Sneeze.
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.
Q: Why has Attorney General John Ashcroft resigned from the Bush Administration?
A: He no longer has the gall for it.
I saw something really funny on the way in to work this morning. There was a Jeep coming up the road out of the American River canyon with one of those dark plastic sunshade-banner thingies across the top of its windshield. It looked like it was upside down, but what it said was:
It’s worth a jaunt over to MichaelMoore.com. I found several things Michael said to be helpful to me, among them:
14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than the one he’s having this week. It’s all downhill for him from here on out — and, more significantly, he’s just not going to want to do all the hard work that will be expected of him. It’ll be like everyone’s last month in 12th grade — you’ve already made it, so it’s party time! Perhaps he’ll treat the next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn’t he? He’s already proved his point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.
15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn’t ever need to pander to the Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear that he should spend these last four years building “a legacy” so that history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and arrogant — and thus, reckless — that he will commit a blunder of such major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from office.
I’ve quoted more than I planned to because these two go together, but I figure it’s OK, since MM said it was OK to download his whole freakin’ movie.
I forgot that nobody but me cares about Elliott Smith, so I’m going to revise the rules on the contest just a bit:
I will give away three copies of From a Basement on the Hill to the first three people who ask me nicely.
I’m pretty sure you can reach me through a link on my blogger profile… just click on my picture. If that doesn’t work, leave a comment or sign my guestbook, and I promise I’ll get back to you.