Happy Happy

Enjoy.

(Who knew scientists could be so goofy?)

Some things just don't translate...

Check it out: the Simpsons go Arab.

Am I Spam?

Just had the disconcerting experience of being unable to read the spam-fighting character string that Yahoo has incorporated into its email system...

Been gone too long?

So I've been in Chicago for a few days with my lovely family, not for holiday (I can't seem to stop working), but nevertheless without access to a robust internet connection. At first I was anxious about not checking my email twenty times a day, but then I discovered that it was kind of nice to "unplug" from the net for a while.

Anyway, the above photo (taken by yours truly) features Thandie standing in the middle of Millenium Park. It was one of the most astounding places I've been in a while.

In other news, I recently noticed this preview of the upcoming IJG show in San Diego.

Another question

What value has Kirsten Dunst really added to the sum total of human accomplishment?

I'm just asking.

Signage we love, no. 3

Saw this one today. (I'll paraphrase it because, once again, I don't have a cameraphone.)

The scene: an overhead digital sign on Vermont, just south of the intersection with Adams.

The sign: "Stop at the red, or else you'll be dead."

Something like that.

(So what, now, do they have traffic cops poised at the intersection, ready to pick off anyone who runs the red light?)

Come on... you know this is creepy

So. You're an indigenous soldier fighting for the freedom of your country, and you're walking down a dirt path one day, and you see some nitwit in one of these. Do you

a.) run like hell?

b.) laugh uncontrollably (hopefully without getting shot)?

c.) go with the flow, and, Bugs Bunny-like, provide directions to the local barbershop, then go on your merry way?

America is burning redux

My colleague at the IML, Steve Anderson, was kind enough to post the actual image of the LA Times front page; you know, the one I alluded to a few posts ago. You've got to see it to get the full effect.

IJG sighting

Joe Taylor just did a nice piece on us at the Soundstage AV website. Get it here.

The Pyramids

I'll admit it. I've become something of a sucker for surf music. Possibly because so much of it is available for free online.

That's not the only reason, of course. I was always a fan of the film Endless Summer; the idea of going on that sort of massive road trip, without much more than your wits and the clothes on your back, has always been appealing to me (thus my willingness to make the jump to California in the first place). At its best, surfing is the ultimate Hemingwayesque challenge: a puny human trying his or her mettle against the forces of nature.

Anyway, in the rotation right now: the Pyramids. Here's a little bit about them, courtesy of Reverend Frost's blog (where you can also get some of their music):

"The Long Beach, California group achieved some notoriety after [their manager] convinced them to shave their heads just as the British Invasion and became 'America's answer to the Beatles.' During their concerts they'd wear Beatle wigs which they would throw to the audience halfway through the show revealing their bald heads. Hired girls would then storm the stage. Other gimmicks were arriving at a job on elephants or in a helicopter. The gimmicks worked and they were soon appearing on Bandstand and Hullabaloo and in the beach movie Bikini Beach."

America is burning

If you have a chance to look at the front page of yesterday's LA Times, do so.

The banner headline: "Roberts Confirmed as Chief Justice."

The banner image directly under that headline: a wide angle aerial shot of the California fires. Lots of red and orange, and huge plumes of smoke.

The size and juxtaposition conveys the (ostensibly unintentional) message that now that Roberts is in, we should all prepare for a long run of hellfire and damnation. It's quite poetic, in a sick way...