ohhhhh, so THAT'S where W's brains went

Austin road sign warns motorists of zombies

An Austin road sign meant to warn motorists about road conditions instead read: "The end is near! Caution! Zombies ahead!"
Vandals broke off a lock on the sign in central Austin early Monday and then hacked into the computer to change the words, said Sara Hartley, a city spokeswoman.
When they were done, the sign read: “The end is near! Caution! Zombies ahead! Run for cold climate!”
Before leaving, the vandals reset the password so the city could not easily change the sign. The sign's humorous warning stayed up for several hours before the manufacturer of the computer could reset the password.
Austin officials aren’t taking the spoof lightly, noting it is a criminal act.
“The sign’s content was humorous, but the act of changing it wasn’t,” Hartley said.
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Obviously, this is fantastic. Of all the things in the universe these pranksters could've picked to type, they picked zombies. For that, i applaud them.

song 13

Yo Yo Ma takes his bow as we count down my Top 15 songs. (yay! unintentional pun! Bow. Bow. Okay whatever.) i love cello music, i don't know anyone who doesn't. All the beauty of classical music without the squealy flutes and violins and scary cymbals and sopranos. Cello music is red wine and feathers and orchids. Here is my favorite cellist, playing my favorite cello song, Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. The way it builds in the third minute is so great, i listen to this song on repeat all the time.
(i realize the video is a little random, but it beats the version i found of this song set to a slideshow of Salvador Dali's more...terrifying surrealist pieces. Be sure to stick around for the amazingly bizarre city councilman hologram at the end. It was too good to pass up.)

Reason #11...

...of why i like Philip Seymour Hoffman: you can read the phrase, "Up next he voices an obese New Yorker with Asperger's in the claymation film Mary and Max" and realize just how much you love the entire world.

like him or not...

...he's your president, and you can't ignore that some pretty sweet art came out of this campaign. And what do we do with good art? we bastardize it!!!

She's Only Happy in the Sun

Penny honored Dr. King in her own special way yesterday. It involved snoring and moving from patch of carpet to patch of carpet, depending on the position of the sun. Just another terrible winter Monday in Redding. Today she is celebrating the inauguration in much the same way.

song 14

The 14th song on my top 15 list is Third Eye Blind's Motorcycle Drive By. This song made the list by virtue of its nostalgic connections. Find a carpet square, kiddies, cuz it's story time.
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Once upon a time there was awkward Nazarene girl who had just graduated from high school. She joined a bunch of other awkward Nazarene kids on a trip to Toronto, Canada. In that group there was a goofy-looking Filipino wearing a PLNU sweatshirt. The girl, who was shy, asked, 'are you going there?' the boy grinned and said 'yes!' (he had crazy teeth). He asked if she was, too. She said, 'Yes. This fall?' 'Yes!' he said, and then pointed to another boy and said, 'he is too.' That boy was not Filipino, he was pale, pale white. The three awkward PLNU-bound kids became fast friends on their trip.
That Fall, they all met up at PLNU. Only the pale white boy had a car, and it was a beater with lots of bumper stickers for Christian bands. Sometimes the window didn't roll up and other times the clutch didn't work. The pale white boy drove his friends everywhere and he always played the same album. Even when the album was not playing, the crazy-toothed Filipino would sing the same song off that album. Very soon, that girl began to associate that song with that year and that car and those boys. Eventually there were other boys and girls who came and went from that car and they joined in the song too. Now the girl hears the song and thinks of 4 years and a dozen people. That is why to this day, she loves the song very much. The end.
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So here you have it: i couldn't find the official video...i'm not even sure there is one. You'll have to make do with this fan's slideshow.

new math

Riddle me this, Batman:

Flight from Redding to San Francisco: $351

Flight from Redding to Fresno, with a mandatory stop in San Francisco: $305

Same travel dates, same airline.

Sooo, if i want to save $50 on my trip to San Francisco, i need only buy a trip to Fresno instead and just ditch my connecting flight?

(And that is a picture of Josh from a few years ago, before he grew the beard.)

support magnet addiction therapy

Today i saw a van (down by the river, no less!) that had no fewer than 10 magnetic 'cause' ribbons it. Autism awareness, breast cancer research, POW memorial, MIA memorial, generic patriotism, September 11th....etc. i didn't feel like tailing the woman home just make a complete list.
We've all heard the quote: "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." It seems this person interpreted that as "If you don't stand for everything, you'll fall down"...or something. When it comes to charity or 'support' in this context, does the 'quality before quantity' rule apply? Or is it jaded of me to question whether there's a point where people are just committed to commitment, rather than committed to a cause? i'm addicted to Orbit bubblemint, so it's not illogical that someone else can be addicted to the high from having a reputation as a philanthropist.
Then again, there are amazing people out there who give and give and give and truly support what they believe in. Maybe this driver is a breast cancer survivor with an autistic child and POWs and MIAs in her family. Quite possible. On the other hand, what purpose do those magnets serve? They don't say "Ask me how you can help find a cure for Autism!" Sure, the money you pay for the magnet goes toward that purpose, but after that, what does it communicate to other drivers? That you should let them in your lane because you're a giving, supportive person, that's what.The thing about the causes so widely proclaimed from tailgates is that they're the most well-known, 'popular' causes already, so it's not like you're actually raising any awareness about breast cancer by having a pink ribbon on your car. No one sees one of those and goes 'WHAT? Cancer? of the breast???! i never thought it possible!' You don't exactly see very many Calvarial Hyperostosis Awareness ribbons.
Ultimately these magnets just say 'This is a reality and it sucks.' (unless they're the puzzling kind that just say 'CHIHUAHUAS!!!'....actually, chihuahuas ARE an unfortunate reality...) They're meant as some sort of not-so-secret handshake between folks dealing with the same problems, a simple 'me too.' To that end, i can appreciate them, but i maintain there are at least 80 bajillion more classy ways of accomplishing the same purpose.

just your typical january barbeque

Since Winter (the season) is A.W.O.L. this year, it was in the mid-70s today and we barbequed. Please welcome the honorable first chicken apple sausages of 2009. Undoubtedly the first of many, many, many to come. They're not much to look at, but with some grilled peppers and sweet onions and a nice cold brew.....sono magnifici.

Taking Chance

Kevin Bacon is one of those actors who has been around forever but still seems to fly under the radar. He makes great choices (Mystic River) and mystifyingly bad choices (Beauty Shop), so maybe that's why i want him to succeed. Who knows? i also have a soft spot for Brendan Fraser, who only ever makes amazingly terrible movies that not even i will watch. My affections are distributed at random i guess.
Anyway, here's a trailer for Taking Chance. When i watched it i assumed there was another layer intentionally left out of the trailer to garner suspense. i did a little research and it is a true story and very, very simply exactly as it seems: one soldier escorting home the remains of another. The men had never met. Even people who oppose this war and/or who are generally not patriotic can participate in this kind of story. The trailer features one of my favorite Greg Laswell songs too.

next: cracking codes for the CIA

This WAS a fairly large rope twisted in thick strands and knotted on both ends. It is now several piles of colorful dog floss. How she managed to untie and uncoil it (while underwater, blindfolded, with all 4 paws tied to her tail!) (and a bomb strapped to her chest!) (oh and pirahnas in the water!) (pick a card!!!) is a mystery to us, especially since she, you know, EATS GARBAGE and the concepts of 'sit' and 'lay down' are evidently too advanced for her.

*Although she IS super cute 24/7, the trick to getting the extra-adorable expression for pictures is to hold the iPhone camera steady while pretending to bark like a dog. Since i suck at even simple sound effects, this expression is 'i'm worried about that dying alien you seem to have living in your throat, Kallie. Give me a chicken-buddy.'

torture

For some reason, we thought it would be fun to make a list of our Top 15 songs. We set a date to get together with some friends and all share our lists and swap mix cds of our picks. (Sidebar: i find it incredibly redundant to write/type/say "to get together," since the word 'together' begins with the words 'to get.' It's terribly annoying and English is bonkers, but whatever.) Anyway, the sharing of lists was supposed to be revelatory and fun. The making of the lists was supposed to be trying, yet indulgent. In truth, for most of us the making of the list was frustrating and painful and confusing and not at all indulgent (except that we're educated, priveliged white kids with ipods and enough leisure time to sit around making song lists...so maybe indulgent in that sense). It was, in a word, torturous. And self-inflicted, which is an added layer of bothersome. Oh, and they had to be in order of1st Ultimate Topmostest to 15th Topmostest. The sharing was revelatory and fun, so our efforts were rewarded, but sweet baby jesus in the manger, what efforts. i was near tears when the Foo Fighters had to be booted because i couldn't make room for 'Best of You'. It felt like i was telling a very dear friend that they weren't good enough and that i wasn't inviting them to my super awesome birthday slumber party. It was difficult, but i highly recommend having a Top 15 party with your best pals. Just know there will be work involved, but you'll come away a better sense of your friends and a bunch of rad new music. Or a bunch of Radiohead, depending on your friends.
i'll post my top 15 in bits and pieces and if you want Josh's you'll have to beg him for it. Or he can pay me $5/song to post them for him.
My number 15 was Nina Simone's "Feelin Good". This song is a complete package: great lyrics set to balls-out music and a delivered by a worthy singer. It totally captures the feeling of being on top of the world, and if you're feeling on the BOTTOM of the world, with, oh, say a runny nose, phlegm-y chest, sore throat and chapped lips AND a monster crick in your neck...it will still manage to make you feel like you can capture the castle.
This is a really cool music video i found for the song. If the video doesn't work you can go to its page HERE. Turn up your volume, sit back, and hear how Miss Nina does it.

Feeling Good, Nina Simone
by mrfnk