27 1 / 2012
"Autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward — are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying."
29 1 / 2011
In 1732 Bach composed “The Coffee Cantata” to parody the increasing paranoia Germans had regarding coffee addiction.
Currently reading: The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop by Nina Luttinger & Gregory Dicum
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06 6 / 2010
(via lifeaintafairytale)
J.K. Rowling has an incredible gift for capturing the essence of true, honest, fierce and loving friendship. These little moments in her novels remind me how grateful I am of my own amazing friends.
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05 6 / 2010
I’m getting incredibly frustrated.
Have we really gotten to a point where we just settle for no information? The Weather Channel site keeps telling me there is an “Air Quality Alert” for my county. What has caused this alert? Oh, well, uh…they don’t exactly say. So I googled it, and the best thing I found was a vague two paragraph article with a sentence about heightened ozone levels. Now I took high school science but I’m a little rusty. Would it be so hard for there to be a nice little description of exactly what that means, or at least a link from the Weather Channel’s alert to some further, general information? The thing is, I care, so I’m making the effort to find out a little bit more. I’d assume most people don’t really care, but I do think that is partially a result of being discouraged when trying to get more information and therefore settling for the controlled nuggets we receive on a daily basis.
(Reading 1984 and Brave New World recently may have influenced my sudden extreme dissatisfaction)
/rant
30 4 / 2010
George Carlin: Life is Worth Losing
I’m a modern man. A man for the millenium. Digital and smoke free. A diversified multicultural postmodern deconstructionist, politically, anatomically, and ecologically incorrect. I’ve been uplinked and downloaded, I’ve been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high tech lo-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multitasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond. I’m new wave but I’m old school and my inner child is outward bound. I’m a hotwired, heatseaking, warmhearted cool customer, voice activated and biodegradable. I interface with my database and my database is in cyberspace, so I’m interactive, I’m hyperactive, and from time to time I’m radioactive. Behind the eight ball, ahead of the curve, riding the wave, dodging the bullet, and pushing the envelope. I’m on point, on task, on message, and off drugs. I got no need for coke and speed. I got no urge to binge and purge. I’m in the moment, on the edge, over the top, but under the radar. A high concept, low profile, medium range ballistic missionary. A streetwise smartbomb. A top-gun bottom feeder. I wear power ties; I tell power lies; I take power naps; I take victory laps. I’m a totally ongoing bigfoot, slamdunk rain maker with a pro-active outreach, a raging workaholic, a working rage-a-holic, out of rehab and in denial. I got a personal trainer, a personal shopper, a personal assistant, and a personal angenda. You can’t shut me up, you can’t dumb me down, cause I’m tireless and I’m wireless. I’m an alpha-male on beta-blockers. I’m a non-believer and an overacheiver, laid-back but fashion foward, up front, down home, low rent, high mantinence, supersize, long lasting, high definition, fast acting, oven ready, and built to last. I’m a hands on, footloose, knee-jerk headcase, prematurely postraumatic, and I have a love child who sends me hate mail. But I’m feeling; I’m caring; I’m healing; I’m sharing; a supportive, bonding, nurturing, primary caregiver. My output is down, but my income is up. I take a short position on the long bond and my revenue stream has its own cash flow. I read junk-mail; I eat junk food; I buy junk bonds; I watch trash sports. I’m gender specific, captial intensive, user friendly, and lactose intolerant. I like rough sex; I like tough love; I use the f-word in my email, and the software on my hard drive is hardcore; no soft porn. I bought a microwave at a minimall; I bought a minivan at a megastore. I eat fast food in the slow lane. I’m toll free, bite size, ready to wear, and I come in all sizes; a fully equipped, factory authorized, hospital tested, clinically proven, scientifically formulated medical miracle. I’ve been pre-washed, pre-cooked, pre-heated, pre-screened, pre-approved, pre-packaged, post-dated, freeze-dried, double wrapped, vacuum packed, and I have an unlimited broadband capacity. I’m a rude dude but I’m the real deal, lean and mean, cocked, locked, and ready to rock; rough, tough, and hard to bluff. I take it slow; I go with the flow; I ride with the tide; I got glide in my stride; driving and moving, sailing and spinning, jiving and grooving, wailing and winning. I don’t snooze, so I don’t lose. I keep the pedal to the metal and the rubber on the road. I party hardy and lunchtime is crunchtime. I’m hanging in, there ain’t no doubt, and I’m hanging tough, over and out.
- George Carlin, Life is Worth Losing
Excellent. Georgie, you are so missed.
15 3 / 2010
Reading Salinger’s Franny & Zooey
reminded me why I love to read, and why reading is infinitely better than watching televison or a movie. Nothing compares to the intimate digestion of words, streaming across crisp white pages, begging you to come in, look deeper, drink them in with all their nuanced meaning and metaphor.
12 3 / 2010
BOOK CLUB!
In an effort to remedy my sudden & extreme lack of reading, I’ve joined with two of my friends to form a book club. We had our first meeting last week, where we discussed Push by Sapphire. AMAZING book. READ IT.
We are meeting on Monday over martinis (so apropos) to discuss Franny & Zooey by Salinger, then it’s on to our second set of books: Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 and Orwell’s 1984. We’ve also added a significant number of people to our club for the next round, which is quite exciting. There is really nothing more satisfying than expanding your literary horizons collectively. As much as books are about the experience while reading they are also so much about what you learn from them and can share, and having a forum for that is priceless!
31 1 / 2010
I’m completely enthralled by this whimsical tea set. It seems that I may have to find a white tea set at Goodwill and get to work painting a similar one for myself. Perhaps with images based on John Tennial’s original illustrations instead of Disney’s interpretations. I found a web edition of the Carroll’s Alice with illustrations. The quality isn’t excellent but it’s still nice to peruse.
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26 1 / 2010
Purchased today:
Word Origins & Their Romantic Stories by Wilfred Funk
I’m slightly obsessed with etymology & linguistics.



