Reasons that even when it's supposed to be okay I'm glad that I didn't mail Christmas presents to my parents in Washington DC.
12/21/2001 10:22:33 AM

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

It's this kind of MIT prank that will entertain students of popular culture the 21st century in 200 years. (link, as is often the case, from Rebecca Blood)
12/19/2001 10:50:01 AM

Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Apparently St. John the Divine in Manhattan is on fire.

I've never been there, but one of my favorite writers, Madeline L'Engle, works there, and it appears in many of her novels. I always hoped to see it.
12/18/2001 03:49:45 PM

Monday, December 17, 2001

Apparently David Bowie is starting his own record label.

And the song "Changes" is 30 years old today. (How is that possible, I ask you?)
12/17/2001 09:14:07 PM

It's funny how your perception of people can change over 15 years.

First, you might see someone as a romantic lead for your 15 (or even 19) year-old fantasies; then as a competent and often inspiring singer/songwriter; then not just as a musician, but as a man stumbling over a midlife crisis, with potenially exciting plans and an unexpected sense of humor you'd overlooked in your early 20s; finally as a tragic figure who couldn't see far enough around his alcoholism to envision a future.

Stuart Adamson, the (former) lead singer of Big Country, was found dead yesterday in Hawaii. He'd been missing since November 7.

I'm crushed.

His work always represented the importance of staying alive to me. I'm so incredibly sorry that he didn't, and I can't imagine playing his songs and having them refer to this.
12/17/2001 08:08:59 AM

Thursday, December 06, 2001

We still have pirates?
12/6/2001 10:24:25 AM

Wednesday, December 05, 2001

SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21)

Week of December 6, 2001

The paycheck my feminist friend Riana earns as a stripper is 10 times what it was when she took care of senior citizens. Her increased income and leisure time allow her to devote herself to writing poetry with an intensity that was impossible before. Since she made the job transition, she has published two books. But is there a price to pay for using her body in a way that's at odds with her politics? Has she lost her self-respect? Has her soul been twisted? Not as long as she mines the contradictions for her poetry, she says. Now let me ask you, Scorpio: If it's true that any job you do requires some compromise, what kind of job and compromise would best serve your creativity? Begin this meditation now, and keep it burning brightly throughout 2002.

link swiped from rebeccablood
12/5/2001 05:44:24 PM

Apparently David Greenglass lied under oath to save himself and says he is unconcerned that his perjury may have sent the Rosenbergs to the electric chair.

We should all have such wonderful brothers.
12/5/2001 04:24:26 PM

Tuesday, December 04, 2001

Swiped from metafilter: Consult the Dead Parrot

My favorite answer so far:

Q: What with the Celtic Tiger and all I find I am very rich and can purchase anything I want. But when I was growing up in the two-room cottage in Cork things were different and I still feel the guilt so cannot buy things that have no use. Can you suggest a use for a mosquito-repealing garden candle that was going for 10% off in Habitat?

A: I assume you don't have a mosquito handy to repeal at this time of year. Have you considered repealing the Union? Parnell had a bash at it a while back, but those candles weren't scented in his day so it's no wonder he never got far.

12/4/2001 03:33:12 PM

Monday, December 03, 2001

Aaaaaggghhhh!

He isn't even dead yet! Why does Washington DC have to be tattooed all over with Ronald F*cking Reagan's name?!

link by way of enormous fun weblog.
12/3/2001 11:38:18 AM