white hair

I sink slowly into the street. Escalator etiquette slouches during the evening commute; a man yawns and stretches so languidly that no one may pass. I stare at his crown, mocha through a darker fringe. One white hair knifes from his scalp. I wonder what happened on the day this hair was born: like any other, up at seven, shower and oatmeal and train and hours of inconsequence, or the unthinkable day. The day he murdered his neighbor over an anxious animal. The day he finally got the courage to abandon the crust of love. The day he gave up his dream of being a playboy in Prague. The white hair is a reminder of the one thing or of nothing. He never will see it in the mirror, so I will carry the secret for him, even if I can’t know what it is.

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Posted on 30 Mar 2010 | Comments Off

the fastest post of the slowest runner

O, look, a fifteen-minute break: just enough time to talk about exercise. Since we last talked about exercise, I am still in the Couch to 5k program, with a few breaks due to illness. How I hate that phrase “due to illness”! But there it is. Also, I have now mapped my regular route, and discovered that my pace is much too slow. I will need to train significantly harder to complete a 5k in a reasonable amount of time. Right now I am stuck on day one of week six of the nine-week program, which is slightly demoralizing but not spirit-crushing because I love it. There, I’ve said it: I love running. I don’t love running uphill, but that makes sense, right? My legs go all noodly and the whole running thing seems like an ill-conceived idea....

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Posted on 16 Mar 2010 | 4 comments

academy award winning movie trailer

This is a cleverly-turned phrase that inspires you to spend a few minutes of your precious time watching this video. (Obligatory dedication to Ergazork.)

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Posted on 11 Mar 2010 | Comments Off

galactica: sabotage

I love Battlestar Galactica. I love Beastie Boys. Therefore, this shot-by-shot tribute to the Boys’ “Sabotage” video using clips from BsG … well, it made my frakkin’ day. (Thanks to Monica for the link.)

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Posted on 10 Mar 2010 | Comments Off

portland redux

Because sitting in my office with the door closed while eating a wilted salad and trying not to cry is not an acceptable new hobby, here is the briefest of notes on our trip to Portland. [flickr album=72157623524721396 num=5 size=Square] It feels so good to take a risk — traveling with friends — and have it turn out better than I could have hoped. Although it is always nice to have alone-time with FunkyPlaid, the four of us made a great team. The highlights were many, and involved eating, geocaching, and visiting with friends. There was only one lowlight, in the form of an overpriced and disappointing meal at Bluehour, which I will be reviewing in detail soon. In fact, I have decided to dedicate a portion of this site to reviews, focusing on but not...

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Posted on 9 Mar 2010 | 3 comments

links for 2010-03-09

Newsom's Orwellian doublespeak on city layoffs From the article: "As the Chronicle reported that day, none of the affected employees are happy about this 'offer' they can’t refuse, and their unions are even talking about suing the city. As for this plan to 'maintain services,' that’s based simply on Newsom’s demand that city employees – who, because of the layoffs in previous years, are often already doing several people’s jobs – do 40 hours of work in 37.5 hours." (tags: sanfrancisco economy jobs layoffs) 15,000 S.F. workers given layoff notices Yes, I received a pink slip. No, I have not (yet?) been rehired. No, I most certainly do not approve of the mayor's tactic. From the article: "Newsom ordered...

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Posted on 9 Mar 2010 | Comments Off

what to say

I had this idea during dinner that I would get out my laptop and write something about the Big News, but I don’t know exactly what to say. Forgive my befuddled rambling. For those of you who haven’t yet heard, I was one of the 15,000 City and County of San Francisco employees to receive a pink slip on Friday. Only I was on vacation and, in an effort to unplug, had not checked work email or RSS feeds all week. We returned home late Friday night, and my pink slip arrived in the mail on Saturday. To say that I was shocked in that moment … well, I was shocked, but I was also a mess of other emotions. I opened the envelope, expecting a direct deposit slip, and received something very different. (It wasn’t pink at all, if you’re...

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Posted on 8 Mar 2010 | 8 comments

links for 2010-03-08

The Ultimate Dungeons & Dragons Game Room From the post: "The Burntwire Brothers spent the last two years building the ultimate Dungeons & Dragons game room." And what a game room it is. (via Laughing Squid) (tags: d&d game home design) YouTube – The Coolest Guy in the World 2 I don't know if he is the coolest guy in the world, but his video is worth a watch. (tags: video parkour juggling gymnastics) Recipes for Health – Baked Tunisian Carrot, Potato and Tuna Frittata – NYTimes.com Tonight's recipe … very easy to prepare, and quite tasty! (via funkyplaid) (tags: recipe food tunisia gluten-free) Ethnologue, Languages of the World An encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world’s 6,909...

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Posted on 8 Mar 2010 | Comments Off

links for 2010-03-06

Edward Anatolevich Hill – Justin Erik Halldór Smith This is a brilliant explanation of the Trolololololo meme. (tags: humor Trolololololo) Mr. Trolololololo (trolololololo) on Twitter Mr. Trolololololo has a Twitter account! (tags: humor twitter Trolololololo) TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO I can't stop watching this. (tags: humor videos music...

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Posted on 6 Mar 2010 | Comments Off