Thursday, March 16, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Enough of this Bullshit
Is it just me or this “National Dialogue” looks more like the scene from the first Godfather episode where all the bosses sit together and amend their slices of the Lebanese pie?
I would give my left nut to have them all wiped out like in the scene in Godfather III, even if Michael goes down with them with all his nephews.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Nude Race Ban
The mayor of a New Zealand town wants a nude cycling race to be called off - because the participants won’t be wearing helmets. (more)
Monday, March 13, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
What the blogosphere has confirmed over the years is what the gods have always indicated. All is Relative. I no longer wish to contribute to the noise pollution by adding more words in these pages. And, since I have not yet reached a consciousness of a god, I will still live and act my part in these pages, but only by visuals and or illustrations in revealing tidbits about this cave dweller. As once did men and women in caves of France, I like to return to the age of innocence. (Whatever that means :p)
Monday, January 30, 2006
a Dumbass-cus story
Someone please remind our crazy loon of a president that he has more to worry from his own constituency than any mossad agent from getting to him.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
- Well, what can one say except to congratulate Hamas for their roll in obtaining the reins of responsibility and accountability for Palestinians in the occupied territories and their brethren in the neighboring countries. I’m sure many Lebanese will hope that Hamas will deliver better results than Fatah.
- Suggestion for those in our neck of the woods: LET US PLEASE STOP CALLING POLITICAL EVENTS AS IF THEY WHERE NATURAL “DISASTERS.” Now we all should know by now that Nature doesn’t err. Isn’t it getting a bit old with the earthquakes, the tsunamis, the volcanic eruptions, the raining of frogs and all the other bullshit? Let us call the events as they are: THE SHIT HITTING THE FAN over and over again, while we the people, time and again ask for more.
- Cute Overload
At Cute Overload®, we scour the Web for only the finest in Cute Imagery™. Imagery that is Worth Your Internet Browsing Time. We offer an overwhelming amount of cuteness to fill your daily visual allowance. Drink it in!
- Suggestion for those in our neck of the woods: LET US PLEASE STOP CALLING POLITICAL EVENTS AS IF THEY WHERE NATURAL “DISASTERS.” Now we all should know by now that Nature doesn’t err. Isn’t it getting a bit old with the earthquakes, the tsunamis, the volcanic eruptions, the raining of frogs and all the other bullshit? Let us call the events as they are: THE SHIT HITTING THE FAN over and over again, while we the people, time and again ask for more.
- Cute Overload
At Cute Overload®, we scour the Web for only the finest in Cute Imagery™. Imagery that is Worth Your Internet Browsing Time. We offer an overwhelming amount of cuteness to fill your daily visual allowance. Drink it in!
Friday, January 20, 2006
I'm posting this because I recently had an argument with a woman in my local coffeehouse.
If you are a Jackass by nature, please heed these calls. Thank you.
How to Squelch Your Inner Jackass
Waiting in line recently at my local coffeehouse -- an establishment as renowned for its leisurely service as for its place in San Francisco history -- I was blown away by the absolute arrogance of a young woman standing two or three places ahead of me.
She had already irritated everyone within earshot by conducting a very animated cell-phone conversation in her singsong, Valley girl, yuppie voice. But now it was her turn to order and the cafe's irritation turned to cold fury as she impatiently waved off the barista to complete her thought (which no doubt required a herculean effort). Alas for young Brie, or whatever her name was, she picked the wrong guy to trifle with. Our barista tossed her out of line and took the next person's order. She huffed off, still tethered to her phone, to our general delight.
Today, we consider the mobile phone. More than the personal computer and, now, the iPod, this is the technology that even the most technophobic of cats is likeliest to possess. In other words, they're all over the place. It's understood why people use cell phones. What we're concerned with here is how they use 'em.
Too often the answer is "rudely." Yeah, "rude cell-phone user" columns have been done to death over the years. But those columns keep getting written for a reason: There are still far too many of you thoughtless blockheads out there. So let's try it again.
Not everyone who uses a mobile phone is as willfully thoughtless as our friend Brie. But the level of rudeness isn't the issue. It's the mere fact of rudeness itself -- that's the issue.
Mobile phones have helped to make a crass and vulgar society even more crass and more vulgar. Portability makes it possible for anyone to take a private conversation public and that's never a good idea. In its way, some moron babbling into a mobile phone is as obtrusive and obnoxious as the idiot who plays his boombox at full throttle in the park.
Look, the world is not your personal playground. Do not share with us your musical tastes; do not share with us your latest wheelings and dealings. In public places, you have an obligation to hold up your end of the implied social contract by not imposing yourself on those around you. This is crucial to a civilized society and just because technology allows you to act like a braying ass in public doesn't mean you should do it. Quite the contrary, in fact. You need to be more aware of your surroundings than ever.
That said, it's understood that you will use your phone away from hermetically sealed rooms and the solitude of your studio apartment. So, please, observe these little niceties:
* Don't use your phone in obvious situations where your one-sided conversation can only be disruptive: at the movies, at a concert, in a public auditorium, on an elevator, in a crowded waiting room, etc. I would add city buses to the list, but those are already rolling prison yards for the most part. Use your phone if you must, but use at your own peril.
* If you're in the middle of a face-to-face conversation with someone, don't take a phone call. It's disrespectful. You can go on the theory that if the incoming call is important enough, the caller will leave you a message. You can then return said call at a more convenient moment, and nobody is offended.
* If you're expecting an important call and somebody stops by to chat you up, let your buddy know that you might have to take a call. That's fair.
* Ditch the ring tone and put the phone on vibrate. The only person who cares about an incoming call on your phone is you. Don't worry, you'll feel it. (It feels go-o-o-od.) Most ring tones are not only intrusive, they're inane.
* Don't have emotional phone conversations in my face. In other words, don't break up with your boyfriend publicly. (Besides, we can't see him and being able to see his reaction is half the fun.) Wait until you get home and then toss his sorry ass out the door.
* Don't talk on the phone while you're grocery shopping. For whatever reason, the acoustics of a shopping aisle seem to amplify your voice. Also, talking on the phone tends to distract you from what's going on in your immediate vicinity and I need to get around you to reach the Cocoa Puffs.
* When you're in my cafe, turn off your phone and don't use it at all.
* Personal note to my son: Using part of a rap song as a voicemail greeting, where the only intelligible words are "bitch" and "fuckah," is not a felicitous way of welcoming an incoming caller. While your friends may find this the height of wit, your employer and professors and parole officer almost certainly will not.
A final thought: I kind of like those Bluetooth earpieces where you don't use your hands. The ones that hang from your ear and have you talking off into the ether. You look like a crazy guy wandering down the street, the only difference being that a real crazy guy usually has something interesting to say.
- - -
Tony Long is copy chief of Wired News. He's working his way through his second cell phone.
If you are a Jackass by nature, please heed these calls. Thank you.
How to Squelch Your Inner Jackass
Waiting in line recently at my local coffeehouse -- an establishment as renowned for its leisurely service as for its place in San Francisco history -- I was blown away by the absolute arrogance of a young woman standing two or three places ahead of me.
She had already irritated everyone within earshot by conducting a very animated cell-phone conversation in her singsong, Valley girl, yuppie voice. But now it was her turn to order and the cafe's irritation turned to cold fury as she impatiently waved off the barista to complete her thought (which no doubt required a herculean effort). Alas for young Brie, or whatever her name was, she picked the wrong guy to trifle with. Our barista tossed her out of line and took the next person's order. She huffed off, still tethered to her phone, to our general delight.
Today, we consider the mobile phone. More than the personal computer and, now, the iPod, this is the technology that even the most technophobic of cats is likeliest to possess. In other words, they're all over the place. It's understood why people use cell phones. What we're concerned with here is how they use 'em.
Too often the answer is "rudely." Yeah, "rude cell-phone user" columns have been done to death over the years. But those columns keep getting written for a reason: There are still far too many of you thoughtless blockheads out there. So let's try it again.
Not everyone who uses a mobile phone is as willfully thoughtless as our friend Brie. But the level of rudeness isn't the issue. It's the mere fact of rudeness itself -- that's the issue.
Mobile phones have helped to make a crass and vulgar society even more crass and more vulgar. Portability makes it possible for anyone to take a private conversation public and that's never a good idea. In its way, some moron babbling into a mobile phone is as obtrusive and obnoxious as the idiot who plays his boombox at full throttle in the park.
Look, the world is not your personal playground. Do not share with us your musical tastes; do not share with us your latest wheelings and dealings. In public places, you have an obligation to hold up your end of the implied social contract by not imposing yourself on those around you. This is crucial to a civilized society and just because technology allows you to act like a braying ass in public doesn't mean you should do it. Quite the contrary, in fact. You need to be more aware of your surroundings than ever.
That said, it's understood that you will use your phone away from hermetically sealed rooms and the solitude of your studio apartment. So, please, observe these little niceties:
* Don't use your phone in obvious situations where your one-sided conversation can only be disruptive: at the movies, at a concert, in a public auditorium, on an elevator, in a crowded waiting room, etc. I would add city buses to the list, but those are already rolling prison yards for the most part. Use your phone if you must, but use at your own peril.
* If you're in the middle of a face-to-face conversation with someone, don't take a phone call. It's disrespectful. You can go on the theory that if the incoming call is important enough, the caller will leave you a message. You can then return said call at a more convenient moment, and nobody is offended.
* If you're expecting an important call and somebody stops by to chat you up, let your buddy know that you might have to take a call. That's fair.
* Ditch the ring tone and put the phone on vibrate. The only person who cares about an incoming call on your phone is you. Don't worry, you'll feel it. (It feels go-o-o-od.) Most ring tones are not only intrusive, they're inane.
* Don't have emotional phone conversations in my face. In other words, don't break up with your boyfriend publicly. (Besides, we can't see him and being able to see his reaction is half the fun.) Wait until you get home and then toss his sorry ass out the door.
* Don't talk on the phone while you're grocery shopping. For whatever reason, the acoustics of a shopping aisle seem to amplify your voice. Also, talking on the phone tends to distract you from what's going on in your immediate vicinity and I need to get around you to reach the Cocoa Puffs.
* When you're in my cafe, turn off your phone and don't use it at all.
* Personal note to my son: Using part of a rap song as a voicemail greeting, where the only intelligible words are "bitch" and "fuckah," is not a felicitous way of welcoming an incoming caller. While your friends may find this the height of wit, your employer and professors and parole officer almost certainly will not.
A final thought: I kind of like those Bluetooth earpieces where you don't use your hands. The ones that hang from your ear and have you talking off into the ether. You look like a crazy guy wandering down the street, the only difference being that a real crazy guy usually has something interesting to say.
- - -
Tony Long is copy chief of Wired News. He's working his way through his second cell phone.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
As I was driving on the freeway today this quote came to mind: “What we have here is failure to communicate.” I still haven’t figured out the significance of this yet, but thought I’d share it with you.
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