jonesing

al gore is my hero.

2007-03-22T10:54:00.000-04:00

i know, i know...i'm jumping on a bandwagon...but seriously. where was this guy in 2000? he's so passionate and cool. if only he'd been that way on the campaign trail!

i promise you that the day will come when our children and grandchildren will look back and ask one of two questions--either "what in god's name were they doing?"...or "how did they find the uncommon moral courage to rise above politics and redeem the promise of american democracy and do what some said was impossible, and shake things up, and tell the special interests...we're gonna do what's right."

*swoon*

best. reunion. ever.

2007-02-12T09:53:00.000-05:00

thank god for youtube. (don't tell the guys over at blip.tv that I said that)

the police...possibly the greatest rock trio of all time...rocked last night's grammy awards...proving that the old guys still have it. (of course, i never doubted that sting still had it.) special shout-out to stuart copeland and his awesome, grinning face--was he having the best time ever or what?!

presale tickets for their 2007 reunion tour (!!) go on sale tomorrow, february 13th. and i'm not ashamed to admit that i would tease my hair and go all flashdance-style for a pair of them.

fix your jones for the police @ this insanely thorough fansite

This Internet Thing is Going to be HUGE

2007-02-09T15:10:00.000-05:00

seriously.

oh Web 2.0...how you terrify and fascinate me all at the same time. I'm not afraid to admit I'm afraid of you even as I'm violently attracted to you.

this fantastic short was created by Kansas State University professor Michael Wesch--part of the Digital Ethnography working group there. As part of his research, Wesch examines the impacts of digital technology on human interaction.

fix your jones for more information on Wesch & his work @ ksu.edu

just in time for valentine's day...

2007-02-07T12:01:00.000-05:00

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other.

there's something so tragic and yet so inspiring about something like this...maybe it's just the hopeless romantic in me...but what a remarkable thing to be buried for thousands of years alongside a person you adore. even in death, love seems to triumph.

oy. what's gotten into me?

oh...and by the way...yes. i'm back.

fix your jones for more about this tragic love story @ reuters.com

sad robot...

2007-02-05T15:15:00.000-05:00

GM's sad robot ad was arguably the best ad of this year's Super Bowl. I feel so bad for the little guy. He kills me!

Of course...robotsploitation is a definite weak spot of mine. I couldn't finish AI because I couldn't bear watching the kids tease the teddy bear. I'm such a dork.

fix your jones for more superbowl ads @ cbs sportsline and ifilm.com

just like the real thing...

2006-08-30T21:54:00.000-04:00

big shock, i know...but i missed this week's elimination round of rockstar: supernova (stupid cable), but found this gem on my search for the results. thank god for the interweb. i don't know anything about this blog or this blogger...but the liveblog of tonight's episode made me laugh out loud. more than once.

some of my particular favorites:

Reference to Supernova as Supermediocre
We interrupt this review to ask, "Why is Dilana wearing silver horns?"
Ryan says that he could have made 20 years of good music with Supernova, and his "good luck" to them sounds for all the world like he's saying, "You're going to suck now without me." Oh, Ryan, Ryan. They'll suck no matter who they choose.

heh. it's almost as good as watching it myself. Although I do wish I saw that Ryan drama live. What a tool that guy is.

fix your jones for a clever little blog @ Ramblings of a Cat-Controlled Mind

Try Your Hand in the Kitchen

2006-08-21T15:02:00.000-04:00

Friday night, I had a yummy dinner at a nice little restaurant nearby...and topped off the hearty meal with a fantastic, if a tad strange sounding, dessert. Olive oil cake sounds like exactly the type of thing that is not, in fact, a fantastic dessert--it conjures something a little too greasy, a little too tasteless, a little too...weird. But, when I asked our waiter about it, he waxed rhapsodic and exclaimed that it was, indeed, perfect...like a poundcake without the butter...the perfect blend of sugary, floury goodness.

He was right. For those of you who are trying to watch that cholesterol intake (those scary trans fats get you every time in the baked goods arena), olive oil cake is a great idea--i would have used "substitute," but it didn't feel like a substitution at all.

Try this recipe from Tulocay's Made in Napa Valley:

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 extra large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Lemon
3 tbsp grated lemon zest

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Grease and flour an 8" springform pan, or line a cake pan with parchment paper.

Place egg yolks, sugar, olive oil and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix until combined. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to above mixture and mix until just combined. With a mixer, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the flour mixture until combined, being careful not to overmix.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the pan and turn the oven down to 325° and bake for another 15 minutes. The cake will rise and turn a nice deep golden brown color. It is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Garnish with lemon zest and serve with a side of fruit and crème fraíche.

Fix your jones for more olive oil-centered recipes @ www.madeinnapavalley.com and oliveoilsource.com

is it safe to have a dad crush on a metalhead?

2006-08-16T12:54:00.000-04:00

first, apologies to jonesing readers...i don't have a very good excuse for going AWOL, except that i went to New Orleans for a week at the end of June and came back with a desire for my next post to be about that. I'm still trying to figure how to explain the emotions, the experience, and the reality i found there...and the post is coming...it's just taking some time.

so...instead...i give you a little piece of fluff. enjoy.

as you may recall from last year, i have a frightening love of the "Rockstar" reality tv show--born of my equaling frightening love of the band Inxs. Last summer, Rockstar: Inxs captured my attention like no other reality television show has ever done. without it, i am certain i would have been a far more productive human being! when it was announced this year that Rockstar: would continue with a brand new band headlined by Tommy Lee, I was skeptical. I've never been a hard rock kind of girl...motley crue was never how i rolled...i have little to no knowledge of the genre--except, perhaps, of crossover hits like "Enter Sandman" and "Welcome to the Jungle." My knowledge of Tommy Lee's contribution to the world of music is even further limited. I knew him, not as a drummer, but as a familiar face from the pages of my US magazine. (Thank goodness for Wenner Media)

Nevertheless, I endeavored to persevere--committed in equal parts to producer Mark Burnett, and co-star Dave Navarro (who doesn't love a guy with the balls to wax his eyebrows into points and wear arm warmers?)

And lucky me. My knowledge of Enter Sandman and Welcome to the Jungle pays off! Supernova is more than just kooky Tommy Lee! It is Jason Newstead, former bassist for Metallica, and Gilby Clarke, former rhythm guitarist for Guns n' Roses! (Did I know who these people were before hand? Hell no! Does it matter now? No! I am converted!) They are smart where Tommy Lee is not. Clever where he is heavy handed. Good humored where he appears not to "get it."

Which brings me to the title question of this particular post. I have developed a strange crush. It's odd. It's unfathomable. But it's true. I have a dad crush on Jason Newstead. Is that wrong?

Jones, you may say, what exactly is this dad crush you speak of? Well, I'm glad you asked. To be blunt...I would like Jason Newstead to adopt me. He's so supportive and kind...so concerned for the best interests of the crazy rockers on the show. In one night, he cautions Lukas to take care of his "incredible" voice and congratulates Zayra on a beautiful, if completely ludicrous, song. He's the dad we all wanted: slightly nagging, challenging without being critical, supportive without being Ward Cleaver. Is it any wonder that I adore him?

I wonder if he'll give me away at my wedding? If I ask nicely?

fix your jones for the rockstar of your choice @ rockstar.msn.com, jasonizer.com, gilbyclarke.com, tommylee.tv, or 6767.com

puppetry is the greatest of artforms

2006-08-14T14:02:00.000-04:00

it's been a while, i know.
here's a little something for your patience.
xo, jones

There are no Celebrities in Angola

2006-06-17T09:40:00.000-04:00

on a serious note, yesterday's new york times front page offered a sobering look at the cholera epidemic in Angola...a Southwestern coastal African nation.

Cholera, as you probably know, is a bacterial illness contracted through contact with feces. In its worst form, the disease causes watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps--followed by rapid loss of body fluids, dehydration and shock. Without treatment, people infected with Cholera can die within hours. Says the Times:

Only one in six Luandan households is lucky enough to have running water, and for many of them, it comes from a community standpipe, according to Development Workshop, a nonprofit group in Angola.

These community standpipes are usually linked directly into the Bengo River, the primary water source in the country. The river is highly polluted--its banks strewn with garbage and human waste. Water distributors pick up millions of gallons of polluted water from this river, claim to have it "sanitized" and sell it at 12 cents a gallon--a small fortune to people in the slums of the country. Of course, in some situations...it's not sanitized...and the epidemic spreads.

This is combined with the unfathomable reality of living in poverty:

Children stripped to their underwear dance through sewage-clogged creeks and slide down garbage dumps on sleds made of sheet metal into excrement-fouled puddles.
Much of the city has no drainage system; in heavy rains, the filthy water rises hip-high in some of the poorest dwellings.

According to the WHO, As of 6 June 2006, Angola has reported a total of 43 076 cases and 1642 deaths (overall case-fatality rate (CFR) 3.8%). In the last 24 hours, 280 new cases including 8 deaths have been reported. Fourteen out of 18 provinces are affected.

Doctors Without Borders officials say the government response to the outbreak has been woefully slow and underfinanced. A crisis committee began work only two and a half months after the epidemic began, and the government has set aside a mere $5 million in emergency money to fight the disease.

Here's the thing, though. Angola is not the poverty-stricken African country we all think of when we think of those obscure land masses "somewhere in Africa." According to the Times:

Angola is in the midst of a gusher in oil revenue, its hotels crammed with oil executives and its harbor filled with tankers carrying away the 1.4 million barrels of crude pumped here each day. The economy grew by 18 percent last year. The government racked up a budget surplus of more than $2 billion.
This year it is expected to take in $16.8 billion in revenue, well over twice the $7.5 billion it received in 2004. Next year, revenue is expected to rise by a third again, almost all because of oil.
Economists say the government simply has more money than it can spend.

I have an idea of how they can spend it...The cost of a single dose of cholera vaccine? 31 cents. With 16.8 billion dollars in revenue, they could purchase 51,612,903 doses of vaccine...enough to vaccinate the entire population of Angola 5 times over.

Unfortunately, in spite of all this, Angola suffers the same fate of most of Africa--no Brangelina babies (Namibia) or George Clooney led rallies (Sudan). Instead, these millions of impoverished people suffer disease quietly, forgotten by the rest of the world. Take a moment, and consider how you might be able to make a difference.

Fix your jones for not letting the world ignore injustice @ doctors without borders ...or simply pass this story on.

2 hours of my life i want back

2006-06-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

I confess...i fell victim to the ridiculous gossipy hype about The Break Up...the Aniston/Vaughn movie depicting, as the title would suggest, a break up. I like Vince Vaughn a lot and, despite being squarely on Team Jolie, I was willing to give the former "friend" the old college try.

Oh, Jones...when will you learn?

If it weren't enough that the script was mediocre at best (Sorry, Vince...leave the heavy writing in your world to Owen Wilson and Jon Favreau), and that the acting was fairly awful (with the exception of Jason Bateman, Favreau, John Michael Higgins, and Judy Davis (who played Aniston's fantastic egomaniacle boss)), it didn't help that Vaughn and Aniston...supposedly hollywood's next hot couple...had little to no chemistry (i feel bad for their doomed relationship already).

Unlike many reviews that I've read that included all of the above as legitimate criticisms, there was a cake-topper for me. I remind you that Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston are, currently, the A-List of the A-List. So why did they sell out and phone in a ridiculously unbelievable potentially happy ending to a movie that (despite all of the above) was at least gutsy enough to not pretend to believe in happily-ever-after? I'd expect it from Aniston, with the trash she's been making recently, but from Vaughn? Coming off of Wedding Crashers? I had hoped for more.

Ugh. The long and the short? Two hours of my life i'd like back. This week's issue of People Magazine is more interesting. And yes. I went there.

Fix your jones for a good vince vaughn movie @ wedding crashers or swingers. As for Aniston? TiVo Friends...it's the best I can suggest.

Attention Internet: Reply to the Library of Congress!

2006-06-07T12:53:00.000-04:00

I've always had a little bit of a thing for the Library of Congress--I mean, who isn't curious about the group of people who assign ISBN numbers, catalog books, and keep a copy of every single publication America has or will produce until the end of time?

But last month...the Library of Congress got that little bit cooler. First, some history

In 2000, the good people there realized that:

The Library's traditional functions of acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving materials of historical importance to the Congress and the American people to foster education and scholarship extend to digital materials, including Web sites.

The LOC established a pilot project designed to preserve these primary source materials.
A multidisciplinary team of Library staff studied methods to evaluate, select, collect, catalog, provide access to, and preserve unique web content reporting on a variety of topics for future generations of researchers.

In July 2003, the Library and the national libraries of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the British Library (UK), and the Internet Archive (USA) acknowledged the importance of international collaboration for preserving Internet content for future generations and formed the International
Internet Preservation Consortium.

Recognizing the importance of preserving web-based content and coverage of some of the era's most important events, LOC finally and officially instituted an official Web Capture Team, "to support the goal of managing and sustaining at-risk digital content." The team launched the Web Capture site at the Library of Congress homepage in May, taking visitors inside LOC's Internet preservation program. So far there are materials on the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, and the upcoming Election 2006, to name just a few of the subjects covered.

Web capture culls content from thousands of Web sites within a single theme, adding up to about a terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) of collected material per month. The collection already boasts more than 45 terabytes of storage. Websites captured are almost always noncommercial in nature--including newsletters, campaign, public advocacy sites, and sites primarily centered on political and public policy issues.

incredible, right? right. but...

Because of copyright restrictions, the Library can only collect and display materials—or make them available for online searches—after it has secured permission from the resource's owner or author. Unfortunately, LOC only gets a 25 to 50 percent response rate when contacting those in charge. As a result, only a few collections, including the one on Hurricane Katrina and another on September 11th, are retrievable over the Internet.

So, you don't have to answer my email, kids...but when you get email from the Library of Congress...answer it. For history's sake.

fix your jones for the Library of Congress in the 21st Century @ web capture

beer for bags

2006-06-02T17:11:00.000-04:00

today's fantastic idea...the beer for bags trade at Crumpler Bags in New York City. From Saturday, June 3 through Sunday, June 11, shoppers can trade beer for one of six of Crumpler's accessories--ranging from Cellphone cases to messenger bags. Groovy!

when asked what they're going to do with the beer...the australian owners of the store answered "we're going to drink it!" which explains why they're so picky. a case of bud is not going to cut it--they're serious about what they're willing to trade their swanky messenger bags for. For example:

1 case of pacifico and 1 bag of limes gets you a bean bag chair
4 cans of boddingtons gets you an ipod case

it's a great deal...and you can dine out on the story for years.

fix your jones for those crazy aussie deals @ crumplerbags.com

Anderson Cooper reminds why I love Vanity Fair

2006-06-01T11:50:00.000-04:00

In the past decade, I have had a secret, on-again, off-again love affair with Vanity Fair. Here's how it usually goes: I stumble upon a copy of it during my daily routine, and leaf through it to find the latest and greatest Annie Leibovitz or Herb Ritts (RIP) photograph of the most intriguing celebrity, politician, or "other" of the hour. At that moment, usually the gene that makes me a rabid US Magazine reader kicks in...and I read the article associated with the person of the hour. I'm always intrigued. almost always impressed.

but then i get sucked in.

i read the article before...the article after....graydon carter's editorial note...and the vanities...oh the vanities!!! and the...the piece de resistance...which i always save for the end...the proust questionnaire (not to be confused with the pivot questionnaire--possibly the best reason to watch Inside the Actors' Studio as well).

then, in a stupor of journalistic, gossipy, dramatic excellence...I subscribe.

my subscription lapses 12 months later.

rinse and repeat.

This month...it was Anderson Cooper. The juiciest of the juicy...the dreamiest of the dreamy...the most heroic of the heroes. The cover story is less journalism, more memoir excerpt. Tells the story of the poor little rich boy Anderson--son of, not only a Vanderbilt, but a Vanderbilt who made waves in the perfume, makeup, decor, and denim worlds, brother to a tragic, brooding young Vanderbilt Cooper...who threw himself off a balcony in 1988. More importantly, it tells the story of Anderson Cooper--cold, barricaded Anderson Cooper--who, like the rest of us, lived the images of a Hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast and saw, in the heart of humanity, tragedy and beauty to mirror his own.

In disasters, in war, it isn't governments that help people, at least not early on. It's individuals: policemen, doctors, strangers, people who stand up when others sit down. There were so many heroes in this storm, men and women who grabbed a bandage, an axe, a gun, and did what needed to be done.

Need I explain why, this afternoon, I subscribed to Vanity Fair?

Oh...and, in case you're wondering....Ron Howard's motto is "Panic is not our friend."

Fix your jones for a tempting and satisfying reading material @ vanityfair.com...or buy dispatches from the edge

love your body already!

2006-05-28T14:39:00.000-04:00

Like most women, Stacey Politi has faced body-image crisis from time to time. after holiday meals, she's stood with the beautiful women in her family and complained about her own body, as they criticized themselves. Saddened and frustrated, Politi decided to do something about it:

“I figured if every time I looked in the mirror, I had something screaming back at me to ‘remember my beauty’ I was bound to remember one of these days,”

So Politi created Eve's Rib Clothing--a t-shirt company designed to empower women of all sizes to broadcast their beauty to the world.

Eve’s Rib Clothing comes in all sizes and is made to make every woman feel comfortable in her own skin. These shirts are meant to help women love themselves and to make sure that the little girl you see while walking down the street is raised in a world where it is known that “obsessing over pounds is only for British Bankers.”

A portion of every purchase from evesribclothing.com goes to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the largest not-for-profit organization in the United States working to prevent eating disorders and provide treatment referrals to those suffering from them.

fix your jones for beauty all around you @ www.evesribclothing.com

Tom Robbins...A Genius Speaks of Love

2006-05-25T13:01:00.000-04:00

I've learned something that many women these days never learn: Prince Charming
really is a toad. And the Beautiful Princess has halitosis. The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the mediocre and the vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes it that. Loving makes love. Loving makes itself. We waste time looking for the perfect lover instead of creating the perfect love. Wouldn't that be the way to make love stay?

Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.

(sigh)

Tom Robbins...timelessly eccentric. Worth a try.

Read Still Life With Woodpecker...if not for a treatise on the true meaning of love...for a heroine with an unhealthy crush on Ralph Nader. When you're done...try Skinny Legs and All...if not for a smarter look at the Arab/Israeli conflict than any middle eastern scholar can give you...then because it opens on "newlyweds driving cross-country in a large roast turkey."

I promise...you may be perplexed...but you won't be disappointed.

fix your jones to curl up with a really good book @ the tom robbins page at amazon.com

Wednesday at the Movies

2006-05-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

Point is, what's so wonderful is that every one of these flowers has a specific relationship with the insect that pollinates it. There's a certain orchid look exactly like a certain insect so the insect is drawn to this flower, its double, its soul mate, and wants nothing more than to make love to it. And after the insect flies off, spots another soul-mate flower and makes love to it, thus
pollinating it. And neither the flower nor the insect will ever understand the significance of their lovemaking. I mean, how could they know that because of their little dance the world lives? But it does. By simply doing what they're designed to do, something large and magnificent happens. In this sense they show us how to live - how the only barometer you have is your heart. How, when you spot your flower, you can't let anything get in your way.

fix your jones for a really good movie @ susanorlean.com, or buy it here

school's out...for fridays

2006-05-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

in today's 'what the hell?!?" segment...

CNN reports:

In parts of the American West such as Salmon, sharply higher fuel prices have prompted a growing number of school districts to save money by shortening the school week to four days. School systems in such remote, sparsely populated areas, where school bus routes can stretch across many miles
and take hours to complete, say far higher transport and other energy-related expenses are squeezing already shrinking budgets.

So much for global competitiveness....

fix your jones for educational insanity @ education-world, the christian science monitor, and a school district in south dakota. (be sure to take note of the fact that no one can prove increased achievement)

ceasing and desisting...

2006-05-18T14:13:00.000-04:00

the red badge of honor that so many web-geeks wear with pride is a fascinating item--a sword weilded with heavy-handed fervor by the largest of companies to squash competition, ostensibly. Unfortunately, all too often, the cease and desist underscores the bullies on the playground of life--attacking the meek without thought or remorse.

be warned, big bullies. the meek...they shall inherit the earth...i've heard, at least.

Enter the story of The Chocolate Farm, a home-grown chocolatier in Denver started in 1998 by then 11-year-old Elise MacMillan and her 13-year-old sage of a brother, Evan. Elise had learned to make chocolate from her grandmother when she was 3 and, a born overachiever, she started a chocolate stand at a local farmers' market when she was 10. The stand became a full-blown business--website (designed by Evan) and all--and the siblings now employ 20-40 people, depending on the season. They plan to turn their business over to professional managers in the fall, when Elise goes to college.

So fine...maybe we all hate these kids just a little bit for their drive and determination, but all-in-all, a pretty cool story, right?

Not according to the people over at Russell Stover. According to the Denver Post,

The corporate confectionery, which owns Whitman's Candies, wants the Macmillans to stop using the word "sampler." On their website, www.thechocolatefarm.com, the siblings sell a "Chocolate Farm Sampler," which includes three-quarters of a pound of candy and a recipe book.
Russell Stover advertising executive John O'Hara gave the Chocolate Farm an ultimatum in a Thursday e-mail:
"The Sampler mark has been used by Whitman's since 1912 and has been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1922. ... Please ... remove the Sampler mark from any and all material that you may be using; otherwise, Whitman's will have no other choice but to pursue legal remedies."

Uh...Sampler...as in, A representative collection or selection: a sampler of American short-story writers. A variety; an assortment. As in...sample our chocolates and worship at the feet of child entrepreneurship.

The story is enough to make us cry out--don't back down alliterative child duo! Elise and Evan 4-ever!

Never fear. They benefit from their youth--Elise's moxie is charming. "It's a generic term. Anybody ought to be able to use it. Nobody has confused our Chocolate Farm Sampler with a Whitman's Sampler." Evan's self-deprecating flattery is endearing. "We feel flattered that they would consider us a threat," Evan said. "It just seems like the most ridiculous thing in the world to go after a couple of kids with a small chocolate business."

Lay on...Elise and Evan! Exeunt, fighting!

fix your jones for farm-raised chocolate and no bullies @ thechocolatefarm.com

Sorkin vs. Fey--Thursdays on NBC

2006-05-15T15:17:00.000-04:00

Running scared as usual, the guys over at NBC, while freaking out about the fact that ABC is destroying them in the ratings, have made a colossal error in judgement. They are lining up two "behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show" series next season. From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Aaron Sorkin's show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" is the most prominent new series on NBC.

Sorkin, creator of "The West Wing," brings Bradley Whitford from that series to his new show, along with Matthew Perry of "Friends" and Amanda Peet. It's about the turmoil and romance backstage at a network comedy sketch show, and NBC is telegraphing its importance by scheduling it at 9 p.m. on Thursdays - once the time slot of "Cheers" and "Seinfeld."

NBC has also scheduled "30 Rock," a comedy that Tina Fey of "Saturday Night Live" wrote and stars in, about the backstage world of a network comedy. Reilly (Kevin Reilly, NBC Entertainment President) said he wasn't worried about two new similar series, saying the tone is very different.

"If they were two cop shows, nobody would waste a minute of breath on it," Reilly said.

this is true...but they're *not* two cop shows, genius.

well...i've been a sorkin fan since Sports Night...and i'm sick and tired of tina fey's potty humour...not to mention her atrocious acting...so Studio 60 is where my money is.

fix your jones for all things aaron @ bartlett4america.org, sportsnight.net, and the studio 60 on the sunset strip blog

Wednesday at the Movies

2006-05-10T12:07:00.000-04:00

Whatever became of the moment when one first knew about death? There must have been one. A moment. In childhood. When it first occured to you that you don't go on forever. Must have been shattering. Stamped into one's memory. And yet, I can't remember it. It never occured to me at all. We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out we come, bloodied and squawling, with the knowledge that for all the points of the compass, there's only one direction. And time is its only measure.

Now available on DVD!

fix your jones for a very good movie @ Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead or buy it here

See Sophie. See Sophie Get Me a Coke.

2006-05-09T13:22:00.000-04:00

A sweet little home movie good for a smile...Sophie, a beautiful labrador retriever, gets a drink from the fridge, flushes the toilet, speaks, and grumbles. She also puts the average dog to shame with her mad skillz.

take a look...

and then...

fix your jones for dog training tips @ The Dog Daily and The Trick is in the Training

cukoo bananas quote of the day

2006-05-08T15:26:00.000-04:00

We're all sort of the anti-blog....and I think we will eventually triumph over the blogs!"

--Roger Hodge, Editor, Harper's in a New York Magazine article about new editors at Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, Paris Review, and New Republic.

uh-huh. right.

fix your jones for the "baby Remnicks" @ New York Magazine

it's friday. expand your mind.

2006-05-05T16:39:00.000-04:00

From Kirsten Johnson -- an artist we should all know.

My work has always been portrait based - driven by a need to capture expression and emotion.
Working with inanimate objects hasn't changed this, it's focused it.

The emotions depicted / written are complex and specific, contrasting with the extreme simplicity of the subject. Needy. Gorgeously insincere. Morbidly curious. The use of chalk not only references a child's world but suggests impermanence. Always the same two socks are used - scrutiny through repetition. The viewer takes on a more active role as he / she relates to the emotion stated or decides that manipulation is taking place.

How does footwear with buttons sewn on to it appear to be "paranoid"? Is it "paranoid" because we are told it is "paranoid"? Why do we feel the need to transfer emotions?

genius. just genius.

fix your jones for sock puppets more human than most people @ kirsten johnson's touchy feely

pumpkin eaters

2006-05-05T12:30:00.000-04:00

despite being glued to the fantastic coverage (well done with the constant scooping the big kids, guys) that the crim son has been turning out about poor downtrodden kaavya viswanathan and her "accidental internalisations" of 2, 3, 5, 7, any number of books that have been released over the past few years. But I can stay silent no longer...

After being scolded by Katie Couric, mocked by her peers, and (eek!) bitch slapped by Salman Rushdie, Kaavya received her death blow earlier this week when Harvard Alum and Little Brown publisher Michael Pietsch announced that Little Brown was leaving its prodigal teeny bopper out in the cold.

I'll confess...I received a smidgen of joy and evil glee when I heard this...I, like any other self-reflective would be young author, felt the sting of jealousy that this 17 year old got a $500,000 two book deal like manna from heaven while I'm squarely in my mid-twenties, working nine-to-seven every day to make ends meet. Alas...my loathing couldn't last as long as the controversy...and now I feel pretty bad for this kid.

The facts:

young indian prodigy is nagged and pushed by her over-achieving neurosurgeon of a father into getting into harvard whatever it took. he even hires a 25,000 college advisor to give his little girl an extra leg up. the kid's a pretty good writer (unless she plagiarized her essays as well) and her advisor says, well...a book deal sure won't hurt your chances of getting inside the hallowed halls of harvard yard. one hell of a marketing meeting later, a 17 year old (and some professionals who are hired to 'sex up' mediocre books) get a cool half million dollars to write two books.

what i assume happened next:

young indian prodigy *freaked out*...and when she came down from her anxious, intimidated state, decided that the risk of getting caught plagiarizing in the literary world is about as slim as getting caught plagiarizing on an ivy-league campus. slim.

ah...but kaavya...you didn't consider what happens if you end up in that narrow alley of the cheaters who get caught. smug laughter. loud accusations. microscopic inspection. ostracism. alienation. and did i mention a bitch slap from one of the greatest authors of the modern age?

take her money away, expel her from harvard...fine...but don't doubt that her punishment is cruel and unusual and devastating already. not only does she have to suffer her crazy father's likely insane criticism and the fact that, at 19, her reputation and all work she's ever done will be called into question...she has to go back to academia and face some of the greatest minds in the world, turn in papers, and walk the already hyper-critical hallways and landscapes of cambridge. her social and academic life is ruined.

and with a name like kaavya...she's not bound to be forgotten quickly. may i suggest she consider changing it? kate. that seems like a suitably commonplace pen name...and you can keep the k.

fix your jones for kaavyagate @ the crimson and the harvard independent and for some stunning data on the prevalence of plagiarism @ plagiarism.org

wednesday at the movies

2006-05-03T12:17:00.000-04:00

There are stories of coincidence and chance, and intersections and strange things told, and which is which and who only knows? And we generally say, "Well, if that was in a movie, I wouldn't believe it." Someone's so-and-so met someone else's so-and-so and so on. And it is in the humble opinion of this narrator that strange things happen all the time. And so it goes, and so it goes. And the book says, "We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us."

fix your jones for a very good movie @ http://www.magnoliamovie.com/ or buy it here

tra la...it's may

2006-05-01T16:30:00.000-04:00

May Day?

belgium, may 1, 2006

or mayday?

chicago, may 1, 2006

fix your jones for the beauty of community organizing @ the montgomery bus boycott, cesar chavez, and the women's suffrage movement

finally...someone who understands

2006-04-18T16:52:00.000-04:00

fix your jones for more people telling their (and your) secrets @ PostSecret

from this woman's sign to god's ears.

2006-04-13T17:07:00.000-04:00

Berlusconi Shows his Diplomatic Mettle

2006-04-03T13:14:00.000-04:00

It's time again for storytime with Silvio "Looney-Bin" Berlusconi--the crazy Premier of Italy, running for re-election and trailing in the polls (the Italians seem to have, at last, come to their senses).

During a stump speech, Berlusconi enlightened his audience with his vast knowledge of Chinese history, preaching in that ineffable way that only old Italian men can, that "[If you}read The Black Book of Communism...you will discover that in the China of Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the fields."

Uh-huh.

All this, as the Italian embassy in China is promoting 2006 as "The Year of Italy," to increase Chinese-Italian relations.

He can be Premier, Italy, but it's probably best to lock him away when the neighbors come over....because of this too:

fix your jones for Italian craziness @ news.google.com/italy

good for a chuckle...

2006-03-23T10:42:00.000-05:00

fix your jones for political funniness @ Stephanie McMillan's cartoonery

Why Advice Columnists Should Be Drawn and Quartered

2006-03-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

Every day, I read the Chicago Tribune. I think it's a terrific paper--really intelligent and grown up--and it tells the International news in a way that few other major metropolitan American papers do. I'm a fan. I almost always skip the section with the advice columnists, but today, I couldn't help but skim a column from Amy Dickinson in last Friday's paper.

The question came from a mother (Saddened by Complacency) who discovered her 16 year old's myspace profile and was horrified by her daughter's blatant display of sexuality online. Totally understandable that Mom would find this tragic, right? It's Ms. Dickinson completely asinine response that infuriated me. I'm quoting it below:

You are right to monitor your daughter's computer use. However, why she still has a myspace account at all baffles me. The site is intended for people 17 and over. I realize that this rule can be ignored, but if your daughter is demonstrating such poor online judgment, then it's time to take the "car keys" away until she figures out that those provocative photos she is sharing with the universe could affect not only her life now but haunt her well into the future. I don't have to provide you with nightmare scenarios -- just open the newspaper and pick and choose among horror stories about images of young people posted on the Web that end up being bought, sold and traded on porn sites.You need to talk to your girl not just about these dangers but about the more basic idea that her body belongs to her alone. You should then take the lessons you've learned to your community of parents -- through the school's PTA.

I'm astounded. What horrible, horrible advice. Sure, maybe I feel this way because I've spent years researching and thinking about girls and online journals and the positive ways they can impact self-esteem, community, and social interaction, but come on. Of course, that's probably what I get for thinking of advice columnists as journalists--god forbid this woman ask an expert what they think. Ugh. On what planet is prohibiting a child's Internet access either intelligent or feasible? So...I wrote an email...which I'm sure won't be published...so here it is. Enjoy.

Dear Ms. Dickinson,

A few thoughts on your response to "Saddened by Complacency's" concern for her 16 year old's myspace.com page. As an educator who has done a huge amount of research in the area of teen Internet usage, I have to respectfully disagree with your suggestion that Mom restrict her daughter's web site access. Doing so will not only infuriate her daughter, but run the risk of alienating the child--who certainly won't let her mother's restrictions keep her from participating on myspace. As we all know, the Internet is ubiquitous in our world, and kids use sites like myspace to discover themselves, to communicate, and to commiserate with their friends.

Kids need an outlet, and sites like myspace (which is not nearly as "public" as one would imagine and includes all sorts of safety screens that many teens use to keep strangers out and friends in), are designed to provide that outlet. Your assertion that the site is for 17-year-olds and older is incorrect--in actual fact, myspace is designed for high school students and limits account access to anyone younger than 16. Other, similar sites, like the ultra popular livejournal, are open to young people older than 13.

My experience shows that girls like this one use weblogs and online journals to vent, to express themselves and, most importantly, to garner acceptance for all the crazy emotions the average teenager feels. On these social networking sites like myspace, facebook, and livejournal, rare are the "lurking strangers," many are the schoolmates and friends. In fact, most of these users are being remarkably safe without their parents' intervention. Of course, few parents pause before "taking away the car keys" to ask about that.

The Internet is here to stay--and kids are going to use it. The culture of fear that we think benefits our kids in fact makes parents seem not just old fashioned but ridiculously uninformed--remember that this generation is the first that cannot remember life without the Internet--so, for them, it is a tool for communication and expression--like the inside of our locker doors, late night interminable hours on the phone, and diaries.

I am, in no way, suggesting that parents stay out of their children's business on the Internet. In fact, just the opposite. If "Saddened" wants to address her concerns for her daughter, she should try the old fashioned way--talking to her about *why* she has a myspace page and what she gets out of it. While parents often believe that they know best in all situations--in actual fact the Internet and websites like myspace, livejournal, and blogger are the domain of the young. Being closed minded and prohibiting teenagers' Internet access to websites where their friends are spending huge amounts of time will only serve to limit parents' own access to their children's lives.

Parents...ask your kids about the Internet. They know more about it than you do. And after you've listened, offer your thoughts and concerns--you'll be amazed by how much they've already listened to you and how safe they are being.

Thanks.

---------------------------------
fix your jones for knowledge about the Internet by asking the nearest 15 year old.

Whatever happened to logic?

2006-03-16T16:50:00.000-05:00

The Missouri House of Representatives today voted 96-59 to delete the funding for contraception and infertility treatments after Rep. Susan Phillips told lawmakers that anti-abortion groups such as Missouri Right to Life were opposed to the spending.

The clinics that receive the most funding from this bill are those in poor, urban neighborhoods that help women in those areas learn valuable family planning skills.

Now...It's been a while, but let's see if i remember my logic class in college:

If the majority of unwanted pregnancies occur in the poorest neighborhoods in the country, and women in unwanted pregnancies are more likely than other women to have abortions. Then it's safe to say that most abortions occur in the poorest neighborhoods in the country, right?

and...

If most abortions occur in the poorest neighborhoods in the country, and the only way to stop people from having abortions is to stop people from getting pregnant, and aside from abstinence, the only way to stop people from getting pregnant is contraception...then it seems fair to say that providing family planning and contraception to women in these poor neighborhoods is a crucial strategy towards lowering the abortion rate there.

So explain this to me:

WHY IS EVERYONE GOING COMPLETELY INSANE?

well...everyone but this guy.

it's becoming repetitive, but...

fix your jones for justice for all by donating @ naral.org, plannedparenthood.org, moveon.org, aclu.org, or all four.

god. and his plan.

2006-03-07T09:38:00.000-05:00

The Governor of South Dakota stood yesterday, on a pedestal of self-righteousness, and had the gall to say, when asked if rape shouldn't be a factor in allowing a woman to have an abortion, "God has a plan."

As a liberal (I know it's a four letter word--but today, I am proud to wear the label)...I spend many hours of many dinner parties defending the right of religous people to base their actions in faith. Indeed, if I had a nickel for every time I have said, "we can't judge them simply because they believe in a higher power," I would be a very wealthy woman. But today...I'm through.

I'm damn tired of the god-has-a-plan line of thinking.

I heard it after 9/11...and after a 7-year-old child was beaten to death by her parents in New York City...and again today about the rape. God has a plan for one in six women to undergo the pain and solitude and devastation that is rape? God has a plan for a child to be sexually assaulted ever 3 minutes in America? Why is that, religious zealots? Are you going to sell me some line about original sin and Eve and the apple? I'm mad as hell. and here's why.

God has a plan is the ultimate cop-out. I mean, come on. Stand up for yourselves. Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of those around you. Don't hide behind God. Read the book you all tout so loudly and passionately...I mean, isn't it right there in the beginning that God gave us, his "greatest creation" (a negotiable label after yesterday's debacle) free will? Didn't Eve eat the apple and disappoint her Creator? He certainly didn't have a plan for that. He was pissed! I mean...if he had a plan, wouldn't he have seen that one coming? Are these people just so busy brushing up on the the two and a half lines about gay marriage that they've forgotten their Genesis?

Here's the thing: when I meet him at the pearly gates, God will look me in the eye, recognize that he gave me free will to do with what I please, and he, and he alone, will judge me and my actions. My body, my life, and my choices are not yours to judge, to dictate, or to limit.

It's time, sane America...it's time for us to look down the barrel of the Christian right and tell them that we simply won't stand for religion clouding up our laws. This is no longer about economics, or education, or the war in Iraq. Instead, this is about a basic right of all women to make their own decisions about their own bodies. This is about the most base and elemental freedom any of us can imagine--the right to have our lives be our own.

if nothing else, this horrifying, terrifying, Orwellian, Atwoodian event should convince us all that the 2006 midterm elections are essential to the pro-choice movement. A Democratic congress is the first step towards blocking what, at worst, might be a full reversal of Roe v. Wade, and, at best, might make abortion an issue of States Rights--giving half the women of America no possible outlet for the procedure in their homestates.

fix your jones for justice for all by donating @ naral.org, plannedparenthood.org, moveon.org, aclu.org, or all four.

don't stop there. VOLUNTEER to help win back Congress @ the dnc website

a dark day for women

2006-03-06T17:33:00.000-05:00

Lawmakers in South Dakota threw away the chisel, grabbed a sledgehammer and went at Roe with a fury, all but daring the Supreme Court to step in.
The bill they passed last month, HB 1215, bans all abortion, including in cases of rape and incest, including cases that threaten the health of the mother; the only exception is if the mother’s survival itself is at risk, and even in those
instances the doctor must “make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child.”
Doctors caught performing abortions would be charged with a Class 5 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

there are no words.

fix your jones for justice for all by donating @ naral.org, plannedparenthood.org, aclu.org, or all three.

Democrats Acting Like Republicans

2006-02-14T17:05:00.000-05:00

Shame on Charles Schumer, Harry Reid, and other Democratic Party Leaders who pushed Ohio's Paul Hackett out of the Senate race there in favor of Sherrod Brown, another safe, run-of-the-mill, toe-the-line candidate.

Hackett was fresh air--a young Iraq war veteran who could look Republican leaders in the eye and speak frankly about the war and its impact both here and abroad. He was a candidate who made me proud to be a Democrat--and hopeful for the future of my party. He was change,
and promise, and no-nonsense.

And now a stand-up guy who just might have won the race is out of the running (and out of politics) because the party leadership didn't know what to do with someone new and honest. Just goes to show that, no matter what side they're on, politicians are still just politicians.

Shame on the Democratic leadership...how dare they misuse democratic ideals so flagrantly.

update: on the main page of the DNC website, the top story is about 40 war veterans running for congress in 2006! dems are using these men and women on one hand...and ruining them on the other. Read what Howard Dean has to say.

fix your jones for the independent party @ cuip.org

a johnny cash moment

2006-02-12T22:50:00.000-05:00

while encouraging my newfound jones for one john r. cash and i stumbled across this video of him singing one of my favorite joplin songs...and then i realized it's not a joplin song at all. it's written by some guy named fred foster and kris kristofferson.

groovy. and while you're at it...see walk the line. you won't be sorry.

fix your jones for the man in black @ allmusic.com and johnnycash.com

oh america...what has happened to you?

2006-02-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

As millions likely noticed last night, The Rolling Stones were censored during their halftime performance at the Super Bowl yesterday. In what was almost certainly the action of television executives cowering like babies in the corner after 2004's janet jackson "wardrobe malfunction" debacle, lines in the Stones' Start Me Up and Rough Justice were muted for "sexually explicit language" WHAT?

Start Me Up...
You, you, you make a grown man cry
You, you make a dead man {silence}

Rough Justice...
One time you were my baby chicken
Now you've grown into a fox
And once upon a time I was your little rooster
Am I just one of your {silence}

I remind everyone that the Rolling Stones, while certainly risque in their heyday...now are simply clever lyricists...and neither come nor cocks--referencing roosters--are filthy words. I'm amazed that these choices were made...and, frankly, horrified that more people aren't up in arms about this.

it seems that, while america is busy fighting for freedom in the middle east, we're letting it die a horrible death at home.

fix your jones for dirty, filthy Mick Jagger @ rollingstones.com and for rare coverage of last night's debacle @ Chicago Sun Times or the BBC

geisha beauty

2006-02-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

In the grand world of brand loyalty, people go a little nuts. From Starbucks triple shot half caf mocha frappuchinos to Levis Jeans to Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, we all have our bizarre obsessions. I have my own crazy product loyalty--for me it's clorox wipes, paper dictionaries, and all things google. I used to console myself with the idea that i had few brand obsessions...but lately i've been close to falling victim to another.

i was introduced to fresh, inc., remarkable makers of skincare, makeup, home products, and the most amazing lip balm ever, by friends about 3 years ago, specifically around their perfumes--unique, natural, dare I say fresh fragrances that range from the musky, masculine tobacco flower to the newly created pink jasmine.

Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, husband and wife co-founders of Fresh, believe that every product must be as enjoyable as it is effective. Sophisticated delivery systems and innovative formulas advance the performance of ingredients both familiar and exotic. Visually engaging packaging reveals sensuous textures and scents for a uniquely gratifying multi-sensory experience. Trusting their instincts and responding to their own genuine needs, Lev and Alina keep Fresh consistently ahead of the curve.

for christmas, santa left a prize in my stocking that i had somehow missed during my pre-holiday shopping there. there, in a little pink box, was a jar of goo straight from heaven. Part of a temporary line inspired by the film Memoirs of a Geisha (I know...film merchandising...kinda sketch), the flower petal face mask is amazing...not crusty and uncomfortable like every other mask i've ever used...this one is a luxurious gel (algae extract) filled with crushed peony and rose petals and chamomile and aloe oils. are you kidding me? it is incredible...i highly recommend.

but i want to spend a second telling you that this isn't a girly place. it's clean and spare, and perfect for people who get hives from trendy beauty stores. the makeup is natural and light...the fragrances organic and decadent. and there's even a men's line that the men in my life like enough to shop for themselves.

try it. you'll like it.

for the cosmopolitan among you, visit the fresh in your neighborhood; all others, fix your jones for bath, body, and face with a twist @ www.fresh.com

today--a love story

2006-01-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

today, a beautiful love story from mcsweeney's...a love story that entirely fits our time.

From A TREASURY OF MODERN LOVE STORIES TO FILL THE VOID BETWEEN VALENTINE'S DAY AND SWEETEST DAY, by Anthony Jaffe, you'll find this one under the heading "2." it's only two paragraphs...and worth the look.

Here, the first few lines:

No one in the Burger King saw Tina slide her Whopper under the table and stuff it with the head and torso of a freshly killed rat, which she had covertly removed from her purse moments earlier. No one, that is, but Glenn. He had watched the lovely but sad young woman from the moment she had walked into the restaurant. And now, as she was surely about to take a bite of the adulterated sandwich and let loose a hideous shriek, he sat down across the table from her....

and, while you're there, consider giving time or $$ to 826NYC -- a fantastic nonprofit that gives kids a chance to loose their inner artists.

fix your jones for something cleverly written @ mcsweeneys.net

everyone's an artist

2006-01-28T14:07:00.000-05:00

at the end of 2005, i started jonesing for an outlet for artistic expression--i'd been working for a while for an organization that paints murals (among other things) in intercity parks and schools--and I became fascinated by how well a fresh coat of paint and a simple design could brighten up even the saddest of locales.

understand, that i have, for years, thought i had little to no skill in the areas of art and design--but i've always kicked around a variety of creative outlets--writing, knitting, painting the bathroom, graphic design, etc. anyway...in november, i decided to bite the bullet, and registered for a beginning drawing class at the school of visual arts in chelsea. as expected...i'm not great at all this...my first class was all figure drawings--and let's just say, the learning curve on this when you're just starting out is pretty steep. I didn't even know how to hold the pencil; it's like learning to write all over again.

According to artist and professor of art anatomy Sarah Simblet, there's hope for me. Simblet is the star of a BBC3 reality tv show called life class--where she is teaching 6 people who have absolutely no background in art that they can draw--and they can do it well in as little as a week.

“When I meet most beginners the first thing they say to me is, ‘I don’t know how to draw.’ They convince themselves before they arrive that they can’t draw. I love the challenge of proving them wrong.”

Not being in the UK--I don't know if she pulls it off--but if I know my reality tv M.O...she probably does. Let me know if you've got the scoop on this. The UK seems to be the place to embrace your left-brainedness, though. in just a few short clicks, I dug up not only this BBC special, but also a Campaign for Drawing, a not-for-profit designed to give people around the UK the chance to draw again--because everyone has drawn before:

1200 venues across the UK offered an exciting programme for The Big Draw 2005 - with hundreds of events for adults and children - involving artists, designers, architects, cartoonists, illustrators, scientists and the Campaign's own patrons. These activities were mainly free and widely accessible. They drew on every kind of subject - from landscapes, architecture, portraiture and still lives to the imaginary, optical, digital and scientific.

The Big Draw 2006 will take place in October. Register here. I'm actually considering taking a trip over there...and letting myself free for a little while.

Simblet may be right, though--in only a few short hours, my drawing, with the help of my amazingly encouraging teacher, went from chicken scratch to discernable outlines of the human figure. I was amazed that i had it in me, frankly...which is great, because it will keep me going back for more.

For now...I'm going back to the web for more tips and tricks...and a few models that I can work from before I ask my roommate to donate time to the cause.

fix your jones for loosing the creative part of yourself @ portrait-artist.org and drawingpower.org.uk

online learning

2006-01-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

i'm all for the concept of catering any educational setting to a child's "multiple intelligences," a theory by Harvard Professor and genius Howard Gardner essentially focused around the idea that IQ testing only tells part of the story--and that every child, or person, learns differently. Some children are number smart, some word smart, some people smart--some learn by doing, others learn by reading, others learn by being read to.

I've always thought that "online learning" was a pretty neat way to cater to some areas of multiple intelligence...it's perfect for the disciplined learner who works well in solitary situations. The increasing popularity of places like The University of Phoenix Online, American Intercontinental University and Gotham Writer's Workshop illustrate an increase in the value of online learning--which, of course, is to be expected, considering the shift our whole world is taking in the direction of the Web. While I feel like I have to push back a little and argue that online learning can't ever recreate the experience of classroom learning, I'm willing to admit that, for some, it's the most convenient way to educate yourself.

And then, this morning, I stumble upon this: An article in the Chicago Times entitled City approves state's first virtual public school. What?? This can't be what it seems, right? Ah...but it is. So, I think, it must be a high school--Chicago's answer to Philly and Microsoft's "School of the Future."

I was wrong. At Chicago's school, 600 Kindergarten through 8th Graders--instead of going to school every day--will log on to school. WHAT??

"We want to offer diverse, innovative opportunities for children, and not everyone learns the same way," said Chicago Public Schools spokesman Malon Edwards. "They (teachers) are wary of it, which is understandable."

Gee, Malon...I can't imagine why the teachers are wary of it. Maybe because it's COMPLETELY INSANE? We're talking about a critical period in human social and cognitive development. Many Kindergarteners have their first experiences with socialization and peer interaction at school. They sit on carpets and play games. They learn to articulate themselves to others. They learn to communicate to groups. They interact with people their own age. This is true of all years of school, certainly...but elementary school is so very critical.

Leaving aside social development--what about development of discipline, control, and a concept of sometimes having to do something that you don't want to do? Parent's are going to be required to be watchdogs over their children's learning in a school like this--and, let's be honest, is that really going to happen?

I'm horrified by this. It's a sure-fire way to decrease the amount of human interaction and social development that every child needs...and it takes the brilliant concept of online learning and online communities of practice and perverts it. Unfortunately, all online learning systems will suffer because of the inevitable failure of this school.

Sorry for the rant, y'all...

Fix your jones for an online learning program near you @ www.worldwidelearn.com; for information on child cognative and social development @ pbs.org/wholechild and earlychildhood.com; and for the right way for your kid to use the internet @ kids.getnetwise.org

expand your mind today

2006-01-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

fix your jones for being more artsy @ lemonpepperhotwing.blogspot.com

Adam and Eve drove an Excursion

2006-01-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

Adam and Eve did indeed drive an Excursion according to George W. Bush as played by the master Will Ferrell. This video, a hysterical sequel to the ACT video posted online during the Kerry/Bush election, features Ferrell as our fearless leader...talking the talk about global warming.

As usual, Ferrell does the funniest, most accurate Bush-as-idiot impression I've ever seen in my life. Side-splittingly funny, both of these videos are the best political satire I've seen in ages...vastly reminiscent of the best of Saturday Night Live political reaming.

Where the White House West video is a parody of Vote Bush Ads, and features the Prez mending his fence with a pickaxe and running terrified from horses urging, "Somebody call Dick Cheney," the Earth to America video shows Bush "relaxing...growing out his soul patch" and mocking those tricky little facts that we all get so uppity about.

The new video aired on TBS as part of Earth to America, a two-hour comedy special from November 20th, 2005...celebrating the earth with the funniest people on it. Kudos to TBS for being bold enough to challenge the current administration. If only more would do it.

Fix your jones for organizations that aren't afraid to mock the eminently mockable @ america coming together and stopglobalwarming.org

new year...new facts

2006-01-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

in honor of 2006, a treatise on everyone's favorite new year's lyrical mangle--Auld Lang Syne.

Made famous in my own consciousness by the witty banter of Harry and Sally...I have always accepted the Ephron theory of subtext for the song...that "we're just supposed to remember that we forgot" the people that we forgot. after all...if we forgot them...how are we supposed to ever remember them? right. so now that that's cleared up, here's a non-Reinered critique from The Telegraph:

Auld Lang Syne has achieved a level of global acceptance that dwarfs Mozart or the Beatles. It follows the National Anthem at the conclusion of the Last Night of the Proms; it used to be the tune for the national anthems of Korea and the Maldives; it's used by Japanese department stores to usher customers out of the building at closing time; and it was played at the funeral of Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

Strange, I know. The accepted translation of "auld lang syne" is "a long time ago" and, most people know at least the first few bars of the song--most commonly attributed to Robert Burns in 1788. Most of us can get through the "should auld acquaintence be forgot and never brought to mind?" part...but we have no idea where to go from there. In fact, the original lyrics are written in Traditional Scottish, but a survey finds that about 20 percent of Scots are lost once they get past "Should auld acquaintance be forgot"...so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself if you're humming along two bars into the ditty.

Of course...perhaps all this helps to explain why so few of us can remember a song designed to encourage us not to forget.

fix your jones for interesting facts about a curious holiday ditty @ http://www.hogmanay.net

cunnilingus is a dialectic like any other

2005-12-31T10:26:00.000-05:00

where else but the internet do you stumble across such a fantastic social commentary and chuckle-filled short film as this one from young hae-chang heavy industries? (This particular (mis)step happened over at esoteric rabbit).

Cunnilingus in North K orea begins with a hip-rolling beat that makes you unable to look away...as if the pretext of the film weren't enough:

the following is a text that north korea’s dear leader kim jong-il asked young hae-chang heavy industries to present.

uh-huh.

it's about 6 minutes long, fascinatingly entertaining, and entirely safe for work.

fix your jones for a clever piece of short film @ yhchang.com

pta night

2005-12-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

there are rare moments when i believe that god is visible in film...it's uncommon--sure there are films that entertain me...ones that engage me...ones that make me chuckle...and I don't often ask much of the movies I watch. I'm thrilled with the mindless joy of a silly teeny-bopper movie or romantic comedy...in the past few days there have been three that, while not the best in the world, have been just what I was looking for, one after the next after the next...i'm embarassed to admit.

but there are two directors who seem to constantly keep me in awe...who seem to consistently entertain, intrigue, and engage me....who make me envy their skills to the point of greenness...and who provide me with immeasurable quantities of those rare moments when i forget to breathe because the film is so incredible. despite the remarkable differences between them, both occupy that space just inside the front hall of household name-dom...and both deserve a place at the diningroom table as far as I'm concerned.

the first, paul thomas anderson, catapulted to the heights of my consciousness when I saw the film that has become my personal jesus--magnolia. Magnolia is a complicated story that leaves the viewer constantly in awe of the art and craft that went into both writing it and making it. It is a constant reminder of the power of our personal demons, and the reality that life, however strange and inconsistant, will go on. It is the film that changed my life. if you haven't seen it, you should. (not to mention the fantastic soundtrack from Aimee Mann)

But the genius of anderson is in all of his films--from Hard Eight, a fantastic first film that is, on the surface, about gambling, and at its core about the realities of life; to Boogie Nights, which proves that no world is perfect; to Punch Drunk Love, which leaves us all with the valuable lesson that, no matter how we have limited ourselves in the past...the future can always exist with hope.

The joy of watching any Paul Thomas Anderson film, however, is his ability to demand and draw out the most amazing performances from any actor--Magnolia proves this 100 fold with remarkable performances by Philip Seymor Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Jason Robards (in his final film) and others...but the cake topper here is the completely uncharacteristic performance from Tom Cruise--as insane as Cruise is proving himself to be recently...he has never been more talented and less egocentric in his acting than he was here, under Anderson's tutelage.

If he could do it for Cruise, is it any wonder that Marky Mark turned Mark Wahlberg under the same mastery? That Adam Sandler proved his own acting skill with Anderson behind the camera in Punch Drunk Love? It shouldn't be...but it is always amazing to see the performances that PTA pulls from the actors he works with. But don't take my word for it...check out this article from Esquire...and believe what you read.

In all of his films, however, he has demonstrated a natural filmmaking flair, a bent for risk taking, and a predilection for taking actors where they might otherwise never get to go. But what further distinguishes him is a skill much rarer among modern young filmmakers—his ability as a dramatist.

Rumor has it that his next film, coming in 2006, is an adaptation of the Upton Sinclair novel Oil! starring Daniel Day Lewis--a man who I think is one of the best actors in film ever...needless to say...i'm looking forward to seeing the next project from this remarkable man.

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After all this gushing about Paul Thomas Anderson, it will likely shock the hell out of you when I tell you that the second director of all directors on my list is a guy who makes a living on ending films with a twist and a flourish...M. Night Shyamalan. I know...I know...people either love him or hate him...and he is the man who gave bruce willis, mel gibson, and william hurt the vehicles with which their careers rekindled...which is a tragedy of cinema, I'll agree...but what about Joaquin Phoenix, Blythe Howard and Toni Collette?

It all began with the sixth sense...yes...haley joel osment saw dead people. creepy. then came unbreakable (the superhero one)...and signs (the alien one)...all of them suitably creepy...all of them suitably big cinema big thrill big "holy shit!" in the middle of a movie theater. I loved them all, I confess, because they were complicated, character driven, and had unique little things about them that I hadn't seen in other places.

And then came The Village...a story that began as just another creepy M. Night movie and ended as a commentary on society as we know it. ended with a quiet "wow" instead of a loud "oh my god!"...ended with me leaving the movie knowing that shymalan had crossed that treacherous territory from movie director to filmmaker. the characters...the humanity...the writing...all superb...and he even managed to keep the twist that i love so much in all his movies.

the other night, at a midnight showing of Brokeback Mountain, a trailer came on and the everyman of everymen, Paul Giamatti seemed to be the star of a charming romantic comedy...mr. movie intoned about an average joe building super...ah...silly me...i should have known...it was a teaser for the next shyamalan film...The Lady in the Water.

A bedtime story that Shyamalan wrote for his children, The Lady in the Water is Blyth Dallas Howard (Ron Howard's daughter--who was discovered for the lead role in The Village)...a bedtime story characer who is trapped in our world and must be protected by the residents of Giamatti's building while she solves the puzzle that is keeping her in the real world.

Bizzare? Yes. Worth my $10.50? Absolutely.

-------------------------------------

So what is it that draws me to these two directors more than any of their peers? What is it that makes them, so different in their own right, occupy my highest regard? Many things, I'm sure...but most importantly, their powerful ability to portray the remarkable in the average--a feat that so many attempt, and fail to accomplish.

Fix your jones for some damn good cinema @ www.mnight.com or http://www.cigarettesandredvines.com/

stocking stuffers

2005-12-21T12:22:00.000-05:00

if you're anything like me...you're on a constant never-ending quest to find the perfect little gift for everyone in your life. This quest only becomes more complicated, stressful, and pressing when it's the Holiday Season...specifically in the area of the stocking. After all...there are only so many gifts you can fit into a piece of footwear.

But never fear! Here are a batch of things to fix the jones of the coolest on your list.

for the wine lover:
every wine lover has a favorite decanter...and every wine lover knows the pang of sadness that comes the day you peer into said decanter and see that it is beginning to stain from all the marks of your passion for imbibing. From Wine Enthusiast comes a neat little invention...the stainless steel decanter cleaning balls...pour these little round balls into the bottom of your decanter...swirl them around in warm soapy water and watch red stains go away. ($19.95 from Wine Enthusiast.com) Pair this with a 6-month membership to the sterling vineyards wine club and you'll be the most popular gift giver this holiday season.

for the dog lover:
the snazzy dog lovers in the crowd should have this neat little product from bon-ton...especially those who spend half their time outside pooper scooping...the bon ton doggie pick up kit, available from the container store and a number of other nifty boutiques, is a sweet little bone-shaped container filled with the perfect sized bags for picking up your pooch's business. Available in red, black, and my favorite--leopard print. ($6.99 from the Container Store)

for the businessman:
this tiny little case is the perfect gift for the type-A personalities in the crowd. A plastic tube with a simple little winding mechanism, the tie-caddy by pinnacle ventures rolls neckties into neat little packages for easy storage and suitcase packaging. Bizzare...but a hit with the business crowd--take my word for it. ($5.95 from Pinnacle Ventures)

for the groovy homebody:
Handmade in Paraguay by local farmers, comes loofah-art, funky vegetable shaped scouring pads--delicate enough to clean vegetables and strong enough to scour even the crustiest of pots and pans. If you purchase from Uncommon Goods, a portion of the proceeds goes to OIPIC, a local non-profit that protects the Paraguayan land, builds schools and provides health care. A good charity for global health to boot. ($22.00 for a set of four from Uncommon Goods)

for the one that likes fun:
The keychain pocket kite--because you never know when you might have the urge to fly a kite. this little thing attaches to your keys, your belt, your dog's collar...and comes complete with a full-sized kite and string--Unfolded size is 18 inches x 12 inches with two 29 inch tails. ($4.99 from gagworks.com

fix your jones for other teenie gifts @ www.containerstore.com; www.uncommongoods.com; and www.wineenthusiast.com

paradise: found -- a few months early

2005-10-31T12:05:00.000-05:00

Nestled not too far off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico in the gorgeous, warm, Carribean Sea lies La Isla Nina--the island of Vieques, a former Spanish Virgin Island that is now a part of Puerto Rico. It also just happens to be home to some of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Just four days in Vieques makes for a lifetime of memories--from swimming in the warm, calm water in Esperanza's Sun Bay, to swimming at night in the largest bioluminescent bay in the world, to kayaking through dense mangrove forests, to lazing around on a warm shaded porch with nothing but the iquanas and the ocean to watch.

A secret--The Caribbean in late-October is an untouched jewel--at the tail end of the rainy season and three weeks from the start of high season, you get the perfect amount of warm sun, soft sand, and local charm...along with miles of vacant beaches and no need to plan anything more than a few hours in advance. Your payment? Maybe a late afternoon thunderstorm--but a padded cabana chair and a view of the ocean from a covered porch makes that seem more treat than tragedy.

Begin with a drive across Puerto Rico, from San Juan to Fajardo--take your time getting there, and ask your driver to tell you all about the island on the way. If you're lucky, you'll get someone who will take you along the northeastern coast of the island--bringing you in perfect view of the Puerto Rican rainforest before you get to Fajardo and purchase your tickets for the Vieques ferry.

The ferry will drop you in Isabel Segunda, the island's largest town, where you will have no choice but to hire a publico at this local hotspot. If you've done this right--you're staying on the southern coast of the Island, in Esperanza, a 50 yard strip of lazy bars, restaurants, and guesthouses no more than 20 feet from the ocean. Looking for a good one? Try the Trade Winds Guest House, owned by Harry and Janet--15 year transplants from New Hampshire, guaranteed to make you insanely jealous of their laid back life in paradise.

walk on the beach...lay under a palm tree...swim in the 80 degree, crystal clear waters of the Caribbean...drink a fruity drink...forget that you have a life beyond Latitude: 18.13º N Longitude: 65.40º W...dream about making your life there.

But don't miss out on Abe. A character out of the how-to book on life in the Caribbean, Abe runs one of several kayaking and snorkelling businesses on the island....he runs "at least 3, sometimes 4 trips a day--at least 7, sometimes 8 days a week." They range in length and product...but you shouldn't miss the six hour trip that begins in Mosquito Bay and meanders through desolate mangrove forests and caverns, where in lieu of padling your kayak, you pull yourself along by the roots of the trees. After the mangrove forest, Abe will take you across the bay to a secluded beach, where snorkelling is remarkable and the simple dinner he brought for you is the best meal of your life.

You will watch the sun set over the ocean (he even plays the ukelelie and some inappropriate songs) and, under cover of night, kayak back into the bay--which in the darkness becomes the most incredible natural sight you've ever seen...your paddles, your kayak, your hand, and the fish surrounding you in the dark water are lit up by millions of bioluminescent sea creatures--tiny dinoflagellates that make every movement seem like it is in starlight. Abe will anchor the kayaks--and you can swim...making sea angels...."the more you move...the brighter they glow."

i promise you you won't be disappointed.

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for the history buff in you:

Beginning as a Spanish Virgin Island and then annexed by Spain into the nation of Puerto Rico, Vieques had a thriving economy in the 19th and early 20th centuries--highlighted by the sugar cane industry and the coffee industry. Starting in the late 19th century, however, numerous rebellions against working conditions in the sugar plantations, combined with falling prices of sugar, lead to an economic crisis during the 1930's. Residents began leaving Vieques to the nearby St. Croix, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico--clearing out the island for what would be it's legacy in the American consciousness.

In the early 1940s, The US Navy seized the opportunity of the sugar crisis on Vieques to purchase more than 70% of the island's land and begin bombing practice and munitions testing on the island. The Navy even went so far as to, in 1947, begin plans to relocate the entire population of the island to St. Croix. Amazingly, after almost five decades of local uprisings against this suggested movement, including human blockades against military Puerto Rico and the residents of Vieques were able to issue an ultimatum to the US Navy, declaring, among other things:

We accuse the U.S. Navy of polluting our air, water and land and contributing significantly to the high level of cancer and other diseases related to the degradation of the environment that affect our population. We make them responsible for all the dead, wounded, ill and other victims of their military activities during these six decades, and for the profound psychological damage caused to our children.

We declare that the Navy is an usurping entity of our territory, whose presence and activities violate the natural right of the people of Vieques to enjoy our natural resources and the right to peace.

We hold the US government responsible for any harm or injury against any Puerto Rican who exercise his or her right to defend our land.

On May 1, 2003, the US Navy left the island of Vieques--leaving a legacy of uranium deposits, unexploded munitions, and an extraordinarily high rate of cancer in its wake. Over 60% of the island has become the largest Wildlife Sanctuary in the Caribbean under the protection of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service--much of that space will never be able to house people, because of the amount of environmental and physical damage caused.

fix your jones for paradise found @ enchanted-isle.com, vieques-island.com, Trade Winds Guest House, and abessnorkelling.com

an idea whose time has come....

2005-10-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

in the grand scheme of public art, it seems a surprise that it's taken until now for guerrilla artists to meld the old-school world of grafitti with the all-media ready cellphone craze.

enter grafedia...

imagine being able to hyperlink text far from your computer--imagine having the ability to scratch out words in chalk, or in newspaper ads, or in sharpie and have anyone who happens by be able to "click" for more information. that's the idea behind grafedia.

Grafedia is hyperlinked text, written by hand onto physical surfaces and linking to rich media content - images, video, sound files, and so forth. Viewers "click" on these grafedia hyperlinks with their cell phones by sending a message addressed to the word + @grafedia.net to get the content behind the link.

How does it work?

1. You have a product that you want to share, a message that you want to broadcast, a piece of art that can't be held back.

2. You log on to grafedia.net and upload audio or visual imagery about that product, message, or art, and select a keyword that speaks to you.

3. Once your idea is on the web, you leave your computer, and your home, and you publicize the idea by writing the keyword underlined in blue around your city/town/block.

4. You walk away...and leave others to discover your creation. When they do, they send a text message from their video-ready cellphone to "yourword"@grafedia.net. And they get a message back almost immediately with an image or audio file that tells them more about your idea. still not sure what it means? try texting a blank message (or emailing one) to jonesing@grafedia.net. groovy, huh?

Sound too simple to make an impact? consider this:

You can make street art with grafedia, or just leave behind simple calling cards for others wherever you go. You can have running dialogues between authors, or create interactive narratives or poetry in public spaces. Grafedia is a boundless, interactive publishing platform, base, cheap, and easy to use. It is an open system - the places and ways to use it are limitless.

a genius of an idea that is the brainchild of John Geraci at NYUs interactive telecommunications program, grafedia gives people the opportunity to make the physical world a living, breathing part of the world wide web. grafedia just might be the product that shifts the general perception of the web as "different" from the "real world." after all, how can the two be different when there is so much common content?

amazing....

fix your jones for being ahead of the trend curve @ grafedia.net and john geraci's homepage

a poet worth reading

2005-10-04T16:19:00.000-04:00

Thinking hard about you
I got on the bus
and paid
30 cents car fare
and asked the driver for two transfers
before discovering
that
I was alone.

Two years ago, for my birthday, a dear friend gave me a copy of Richard Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America, The Pill versus The Springhill Mine Disaster, and In Watermelon Sugar and changed my life.

I'd never heard of Brautigan--a wild-haired, quixotic counterculture beat poet and writer who, despite being remarkably prolific, cloistered himself salinger-style and refused to give interviews or deliver lectures during the eight years when he produced the bulk of his poetry.

The act of dying
is like hitch-hiking
into a strange town
late at night
where it is cold
and raining,
and you are alone
again.

In the months since I became aware of him, I have passed Brautigan's work to friends, family, and strangers--wishing every time that I could be as succinctly elegant and as simply eloquent as this man who took his own life so tragically early, the victim of personal demons and critical obscurity. If only there had been poetry like this in my high school English class--I would have found myself appreciating the art form so much more.

Does anything represent the twin despair and hope of unrequited love more than Brautigan's, Please?

Do you think of me
as often
as I think
of you?

Since discovering Brautigan, I have discovered so many cool things about him...like this: in 1968, he published a collection of poems called Please Plant This Book: eight seed packets, each containing seeds, with poems printed on the sides. What I wouldn't give to see an original edition of the collection--alas, I have a feeling I'll just have to console myself with http://www.pleaseplantthisbook.com/, a flash version of the original--typos and all (seeds not included).

Anyone with a favorite poet certainly has a favorite poem...and I would be remiss in leaving you without transcribing mine...the one I have turned to countless times...the one that remains doggeared in that life-changing gift:

Karma Repair Kit, Items 1-4

1. Get enough food to eat,
and eat it.
2. Find a place to sleep where it is quiet,
and sleep there.
3. Reduce intellectual and emotional noise until you
arrive at the silence of yourself,
and listen to it.
4.

Fix your jones for a poet like none other @ richard brautigan online, brautigan.net, and pleaseplantthisbook.com

the ultimate marriage...

2005-09-14T11:40:00.000-04:00

there are some geniuses in this world....this i know to be true.

there is the genius who invented the clorox wipe....the one who came up with the brilliant idea for ikea...., and, of course, every member of the team that realized the world needed Rockstar: INXS.

my most recent genius discovery is less about one person and more about a burgeouning society of people...those who have discovered the glory of the Earth's most decadent pairing and made a movement of it--of course, i'm talking about chocolate and wine. While I'm certain this clan of epicurians is neither new nor revolutionary, i've come, in past weeks, to be surrounded by them--and i love it.

I begin with two fellow brooklyners, Alisha Lumea and Avril Pendergast-Fischer, these women decided to make their passion for decadence a business and create Coco Vino, an online chocolate shop that produces bonbons to die for--that happen to be socially conscious.

Dedicated to celebrating the everyday beauty of life, Cocoa Vino couples two of life’s most sensual pleasures—chocolate and wine. The robust character of many wines and liqueurs makes them ideal flavorings for filled chocolates, and they feature in many classic European recipes. Using traditional European production methods and a New York sense of style and innovation, Cocoa Vino pushes the classic into the modern by exploring new flavor harmonies and unexpected pairings....All our ingredients respect the environment, the physical and economic well-being of workers and your health.

Organic, sustainable, and made with products obtained through fair trade, Cocoa Vino's bonbons range from dark chocolate and malbec to dark chocolate, espresso, and sambuca. Yum. Not in the mood to order online? Hire these geniuses to create the favors for your wedding or to throw a wine and chocolate party at your home.

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staying with brooklyn (I'm slowly learning I'll never have to leave the borough again), I have to plug the best new bar in park slope...cocoa bar.

during the evening, cocoa bar transforms into a dessert and wine bar/lounge. our wine and beer menu has been carefully selected to be perfectly paired with our chocolate pastries, truffles and pralines.

complete with a storefront shop and takeout drink bar to a interior lounge space with table service to a huge backyard patio space...this is the place to order a bottle of cabernet and a decadent dessert and while away the evening hours.

-----

while at cocoa bar, i discovered perhaps the most amazing spa products i've ever seen...a line of chocolate and wine face scrubs, soaps, and body washes from aqua dessa...all organic (some even vegan), aqua dessa has been offered millions to sell out to big business cosmetics...

Since our products are made with fruits, beries, honey, seaweeds, herbs, and botanicals, these natural ingredients haven't been testen on animals. After being exposed to the manufacturing practices of cosmetics...we walked away from all the millions of dollars and glamour and made a commitment to make it our life's mission to create the purest products in the world...

hey...if you can't eat chocolate every day...at least you can bathe in it.

what a marvelous idea.

fix your jones for chocolate and wine together @ www.cocoavino.com, www.cocoabarnyc.com, and www.aquadessa.com

pretty and practical...or vice versa

2005-09-12T16:59:00.000-04:00

Form follows function--that has been misunderstood. form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union. --Frank Lloyd Wright

Whenever anyone quotes Wright on form and function, they stop at the first -- and forget to continue on...to where he really imparts his genius. For anyone who's ever asked why something practical can't be gorgeous or whimsical or both...anyone who is obsessed with their ipod because it is both music and beauty...anyone who thinks that whoever designed the mini cooper is a god among men for designing something that is both a great car and a great looking car...

why settle for the itty bitty booklight...when you can have something ever more charming? check out black & blum's reading light, quote: "This cute little chappy will join you with your nightly read." It's worth the shipping and handling costs from the UK, i promise you. surf around their website while your there....I'm a big fan...especially of the wall climber...think about it for a kids' room...or for your own.

in the kitchen, i've become a little too manic about zyliss products...they have such gorgeous, clean design, but work better than any shredder, slicer, or peeler i've ever used before...i'm especially attached to the pizza wheel--such a ridiculously simple design--how come no one has thought of it before?

and for the wine enthusiast in you...there's no place like l'atelier du vin...home of arguably the most beautiful decanters...corkscrews...and barware available for those looking to build a wine bar that makes houseguests drool...their mission?

to devise a good tool...we stick to a few rules that we have set ourselves: usefulness of function, reliability and ease of use, classic design and simple shapes.

if only every company were as focused....

fix your jones for slick home gadgetry @ http://www.black-blum.com/, http://www.zyliss.com/, & http://www.atelierduvin.com/

making lemonade...

2005-09-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

So I've been thinking for a while about how to blog the positive things about Katrina....

Frank Stronach, who airlifted evacuees from New Orleans to Palm Beach, Fla. all while he is bankrolling the construction of a new mobile-home community, complete with school and community centers in Louisiana for more than 300 victims of hurricane Katrina....

Sean Penn working round the clock to help rescue his fellow New Orleanians while Matthew McConaughey pitches in with the Humane Society to rescue dogs and cats...

Kids across the country stuffing backpacks with school supplies to make the first day of school as normal as possible for displaced little ones.

Then, yesterday, I picked up the New York Times and started reading a briliant op-ed by David Brooks, Katrina's Silver Lining. Essentially, Brooks sees the entire katrina experience as a fantastic opportunity--one to stop urban poverty and inequity in its tracks and redesign and rebuild New Orleans into one of the greatest cities in the world--without centuries of cultural strife and urban dissent. Genius.

Katrina was a natural disaster that interrupted a social disaster. It separated tens of thousands of poor people from the run-down, isolated neighborhoods in which they were trapped. It disrupted the patterns that have led one generation to follow another into poverty.

It has created as close to a blank slate as we get in human affairs, and given us a chance to rebuild a city that wasn't working. We need to be realistic about how much we can actually change human behavior, but it would be a double tragedy if we didn't take advantage of these unique circumstances to do something that could serve as a spur to antipoverty programs nationwide.

In all this tragedy, David Brooks has given me immense hope...what if we can wipe the slate clean? What happens when the haves and the have-nots live side by side? What happens when centuries of oppression are literally washed away? Where can humanity go with a fresh start?

And isn't it cool that the city that can make all this happen is one of the most beautiful, fresh, culturally amazing ones in the world? I say...bring it on.

Fix your jones for the end of social inequity as we know it @ David Brooks' column.

the importance of being quixotic

2005-09-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

it's been a while since i posted, i know...and i apologize for that--i've been glued to cnn for the past few days...but this morning, I snapped out of my obsessive search for new information on the tragedy in the delta...and allowed my tivo to record something for the first time in four days.

lucky for me...trusty tivo turned to one of my favorite channels--ifc--and recorded Lost in La Mancha, a documentary I've been told to see countless times but just never got around to renting. For the past two hours I've lazed on the couch and watched tragedy unfold for Terry Gilliam and his team as he attempted to put one of the greatest pieces of literature on celluloid. I couldn't tear myself away from the heartbreaking story of Gilliam's dreams being shattered by a string of terrible luck.

Quoth Variety:

There's no shortage of disaster stories in the history of film production, but none have been recorded with such frankness, immediacy and aching sense of disappointment as in Lost in La Mancha… entertaining and instructive... a tantalizing memorial.

Perhaps the best part of the documentary (which views like the best season of Project Greenlight yet), is when one of Gilliam's art directors points out that Gilliam embodies the heart and soul of Don Quixote himself--a man who's fantasy project seems more real and within reach than any project he's ever worked on...and who must come to accept a harsh reality that his fantasies will never come to fruition. About an hour into the film, I resolved to go see Gilliam's latest picture today--in the hopes that my $10.75 will help him finance a second shot at making his film. (Click Here for your TiVo to record Lost in La Mancha for your own viewing pleasure.)

Of course...what Lost in La Mancha really did for me was make me want to go back and read Don Quixote again--the last (and only) time I did that was in high school...but I remember loving the vivid imagery, Cervantes' scathing narrative, and the charming hero--who embodied everything good and chivalrous and gorgeously idealistic I'd ever imagined. It's no wonder so many artists over so long a time have been inspired by this brilliant character.

Considering it was published in 1605, in Spain, one wouldn't think that a teenager would have found such joy in the pages of Don Quixote, but I did...

The plot covers the journeys and adventures of Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza. Alonso Quijano is an ordinary Spaniard (an hidalgo, the lowest rank of the Spanish nobility) who is obsessed with stories of knights errant (libros de caballerías), especially those written by Feliciano de Silva. His friends and family think he is crazy when he decides to take the name of Don Quijote de la Mancha and become a knight errant himself (a don being a title of a higher nobility, and a quixote in Spanish was a piece of armor). Then he sorties to wander Spain on his thin horse Rocinante, righting wrongs and protecting the oppressed.

Don Quixote was crazy for sure...but there was something about this man who tilted at windmills, saw an old nag as a trusty steed, and a low-born prostitute as a fair maiden, that connected with me...and I remember debating heatedly in my English class in support of his reality being the only one that truly mattered. I think I'll leave it at this...and take myself off to buy another copy of that book.

An Aside: Not too long after reading the book, I can remember buying the soundtrack to my favorite television show--Northern Exposure--on which there was a song by a band I'd never heard of, "Magazine 60," called Don Quichotte. Strange song, for sure...but fun nonetheless. Here's a clip...and the whole thing...enjoy.

"One man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world was better for this."

Fix your jones for don quixote @ the unabridged online don quixote, don quixote at wikipedia, lost in la mancha, and amazon.com

things you don't think about in a hurricane....

2005-08-29T15:21:00.000-04:00

where do the dolphins go?

As Katrina approached, three Atlantic bottlenose dolphins were evacuated from
the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Miss., to a hotel pool.

as charming as that photograph is...Hurricane Katrina is devastating the Gulf of Mexico...and the already tragically poor areas of coastal Mississippi and Louisiana.

What so many don't know (and are just now hearing) is that the City of New Orleans, more famous for laissezing the bon temps roulet, is actually one of the rare cities in the world that is built below sea level. I heard on NPR this morning that the city has never been hit full on with a Hurricane this strong (the last one they've seen was Hurricane Betsy in 1965). Their luck has run out today...and Katrina has hit ground hard. To quote a friend, "What little nothing they have is being washed away."

New Orleans is one of the country's most impoverished cities...huge numbers of residents in the surrounding area are without running water and electricity on a good day. Today, the 9,000 refugees that had moved to the Superdome had a scare when Katrina tore away part of the roof of the stadium...not nearly the worst of her work--much of the city is already in shambles.

In his AP article, Adam Nossiter offers some tragic accounts of people battling the category 5 (now 4) storm--I would quote, but they make me sad...so you can read for yourself. I will add this, however:

Seventy-three-year-old Josephine Elow of New Orleans pressed her weight against the broken doors of the hotel Le Richelieu as a hotel employee tried to secure them. "It's not life-threatening," Mrs. Elow said as rain water dripped from her face. "God's got our back."

Here's hoping she's right...

Fix your jones for information about the glory of the Big Easy @ madere.com & neworleansonline.com
Fix your jones for info on Katrina @ wikipedia & nola.com & hurricanecity.com

**new orleans sites are getting slammed today...so apologies if any of these are down.

Unique Regularly Scheduled Programming

2005-08-29T13:03:00.000-04:00

For those moments when you're jonesing for something clever (say...biting satire on urban stereotypes?) on the tube...and not even TiVo can help...

Through the genius of the guy over at Worship the Glitch (via the guys over at TiVo and the guys over at Blip.tv) comes GlitchTV, a free subscriber service that takes cool video in the public domain and aggregates it for your TiVo viewing pleasure. Glitch P-udding himself explains it better than I ever could:

WTG will be programming a daily "TV Station" for your TiVo called GlitchTV." Once you're set up, the only manual labor you'll endure is plopping down on the couch, hiting the TiVo button, and reading the list of what's on. We'll try to have a variety of programming and we're open to suggestions regarding what to program and how much TiVo space and download time is reasonable.

GlitchTV is filled with everything from old cartoons to bizarre community access television...but back to my point about urban stereotypes...

Last night, my TiVo presented me with Metropopular (2001):

an animated short film about what the cities of America would say to one another if they could talk. Frantic about a popularity contest in which these cities are competing, they jockey for top position while arguing between themselves. Highlighting their separate personalities, each city had his or her own reason why they should be ''America's favorite city.''

For anyone who's ever generalized about the entire population of a city...and believed it...this hysterical 3 minute short is totally for you.

Not a TiVo user? Check out metropopular over at Blip.tv...

Fix your jones for unique TiVo programming @ worshiptheglitch.com
Fix your jones for urban stereotypes (in Quicktime) @ metropopular on blip.tv

the heartbeat of american kitsch

2005-08-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

inspired by the latest curb your enthusiasm ads on the new york city subways, i've a hankering for a rousing game of knock down clown....which, in new york, means a trip to coney island for a day of nathan's original hot dogs, the death-defying cyclone, and an endless supply of carnival games i just can't win.

so...in preparation for a saturday shrouded in the delectable seediness of coney island--a place that, though it sparks my fear and loathing, i secretly adore:

first stop, nathan's original hotdogs, on surf and stillwell avenues, was founded by nathan handwerker in 1916... and quickly became a vile mecca for anyone looking for good, cheap eats. according to history of amusement parks, good old nate sold his garlicky dogs for 5 cents a piece...and the recipe hasn't changed. now, if you can survive the lines in the sweltering summer heat, you can reward yourself with a hotdog and a giant lemonade. (even better...nathan's is now open 24/7...for the midnight snacker in you.)

but after eating too many hotdogs, there's nothing like a ride on the jewel in coney island's crown--the cyclone. built in 1927, the cyclone is one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the world--you're strappend into the car by a bar of and there's nothing quite so thrill-inducing as feeling the car you're barely secured into (i've seen sturdier plastic wrap) lift from the track as you're careening down the first drop. honestly? you could die on it...but that's part of the fun.

for the visual learners in the crowd, check out the PBS film Coney Island: The Ups and Downs of America's First Amusement Park.

Coney Island is the story of a tiny spit of land at the foot of Brooklyn that at the turn of the century became the most extravagant playground in the country. In scale, in variety, in sheer inventiveness, Coney Island was unlike anything anyone had ever seen, and sooner or later everyone came to see it. "Coney," one man said in 1904, "is the most bewilderingly up-to-date place of amusement in the world." Coney Island is a lively and absorbing portrait of the extraordinary amusement empire that astonished, delighted and shocked the nation -- and took Americans from the Victorian age into the modern world.

between the coney island mermaid parade, a must attend new york city event, and this guy...the self-proclaimed mayor of coney island and founder of the Coney Island Circus Slideshow (starring insectavora for the time being)...it's a pretty bizarre place...but worth every second...as long as you only go once a season, and disinfect thoroughly when you get home.

fix your jones for all things coney island @ astroland, coney island info, the coney island history web site, and the flickr feed of mermaid parade pictures.

wear them while you still can...

2005-08-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

for anyone who has ever thought about wearing political clothing, but hasn't found that shirt that's cool enough...meet reason8...Combining Fashion, Art and Activism.
From gay marriage to the current administration to homeland security to social apathy, reason8 takes a stand, and encourages you to with clever, unique, wearable mass disruption.

going under the radar and along the way, reinventing the medium known as “message clothing”, Reason8 lends a voice when others are silent. Reason8 blends image and word in an ongoing quest to invent a language that describes our primal need to fulfill “possibility” and challenge a corrupt paradigm that prevents it. Fear is the real enemy. By insinuating ourselves into the fabric, onto the fabric – that is our social conscience, we intend to be a thorn in the flesh of Authority.

extreme? maybe. intriguing? absolutely.

fix your jones for wearing your politics on your sleeve @ http://www.reason8.net/

the endless search for the perfect card...

2005-08-22T15:50:00.000-04:00

a confession...i jones for paper products. hardcore.

today, i discovered quite possibly the most fun cards i've ever seen...simple, fun, and just perfect for nearly every woman in my life...and some of the men too. the fantasticly whimsical sharpie and paper creations at girlywhirly.com and fantasticaly snarky sharpie and paper creations at a sister site, surlygirly.com, are worth a look...and worth your opening your wallet.

straight from the mouth of the whirlygirly herself:

girlywhirly.com greeting cards are just for fun! girlywhirly.com is committed to creating greeting cards, invitations, announcements and other paper designs in the most environmentally friendly and earth-nurturing way possible.

****

for those unwilling to compromise on fun, but searching for something a little more elegant...head on over to everyiota.com and search out a retail store in your neighborhood that sells iota cards. tucked into their uniquely curvy envelopes, these cards are bound to be a hit with your fans....iota is a wholesale paper retailer, but if you're willing to spend $100 on all your upcoming paper needs...they'll take your order.

We are purveyors of original, colourful, affordable, and recycled stationary products, inviting you to ponder the small, enjoy the quip, send a message, convey an emotion. In every iota lies the opportunity for connecting people. The little things - every jot, every speck, every gesture - make a difference. So collect your thoughts, put pen to paper, exercise your writes and give an iota. Every iota makes a difference.

fix your jones for the best cards around @ http://www.girlywhirly.com/ and http://www.everyiota.com/

man's best friend...

2005-08-21T16:22:00.000-04:00

living in new york city, it's tough not to love the idea of being a dog owner...dog run culture here is intense--and it's not uncommon to meet friends or couples who got their start when their dogs met. between puppy play dates and doggie day care...the pampered pooch has become a new york staple.

boxers and standard poodles and pugs abound in my neighborhood...they seem to be the breeds of choice out here...but i confess to being a little irritated by all this purebred obsession. it's insane how many dogs there are in shelters and at the nyc pound--all of which need just as much pampering as the paris hilton set. why adopt from a specialty breeder in jersey when you can get a gorgeous, character-laden canine from bide-a-wee, the aspca, or mighty mutts?

the argument is so often that "with a breeder, you know where the dog came from." it's not a car, people...it's a dog. ironically enough, mutts seem to be smarter, healthier, and calmer than their purebred peers...and consider this: while a designer pooch may make you feel pretty, rescuing a loving pup from certain death makes you feel pretty terrific.

fix your jones for the perfect pooch at: bide-a-wee, the aspca, or mighty mutts.

be my little baby....

2005-08-19T17:36:00.000-04:00

for anyone who ever owned the dirty dancing soundtrack and listened to it until the tape wore out...for anyone who went through an "oldies" phase....or for anyone who enjoys the history and deconstruction of classic pop songs....this article from the salon.com masterpiece series is fabulous: "how the genius of phil spector and ronnie spector met and created a song of magnificent carnality." The ultimate jones, if you will...

There's generosity in a glance, just as there's generosity -- a willingness to lay yourself bare -- in the first line Ronnie sings: "The night we met I knew I needed you so." It's both pleading and brazenly confident, a declarative sentence with a question mark built in. (The pause she inserts between "I" and "needed" represents the terrifying but essential gulf she needs to cross even just to get started.) Ronnie was a woman, not a girl, when she cut the record; like a method actress, she's playing a character that isn't herself, but must certainly contain elements of herself.

fix your jones for the ronettes @ salon masterpiece

white tube socks

2005-08-18T19:26:00.000-04:00

they may come in pairs...but a white tube sock is a white tube sock.

fix your jones for mismatched socks @ littlemissmatched.com

genesis

2005-08-17T17:22:00.000-04:00

and so it begins...