2nd commute in a row that Muni fucked me over. This time, my 30 bus decided to stop at Folsom instead of the station.
Head trip of the week: any major company that has a media player (Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, Real, etc) got sued today by Media Rights Technologies because they didn't use a company's patented technology to prevent distribution of copyrighted works... apparently they've been "actively avoiding the use of MRT’s technologies," a policy they claim has been the cause of copyright infringement.
I won't even bother to comment on this... the absurdity speaks for itself.
Stuff like this almost makes me want to be a judge, so that I could just send these guys packing...
Muni: Fucking up your morning commute since 1904.
John McCain, where did you go wrong. Hear his stirring rendition of Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran, to the tune of the Beach Boy's Barbara Ann. I don't think I need to explain why this is creepy.
So, remind me again why everyone is so goddamn eager to get into wars?
Special thanks go out to the dipshit using a speakerphone on the 45 this morning. You, sir, are a scholar of the highest order.
A couple of interesting Chicago bits, in honor of Chicago's Olympic bid (courtesy of Gaper's Block)...
• The Library of Congress has an amazing collection of Chicago media (photos, sounds... even a 110 year old video accredited to none-other-than Edison himself!). I good starting point is a collection of photos from the defunct Chicago Daily News
• Compare and contrast: City vs. Suburbs. If you're a vain gas-guzzling comfort seeker, then yes, do move to the suburbs (the Suburbs article is an urbanist's nightmare in words).
Cue incoherant rant (before any of you get your undies in a wad, yes, this is the product of own imagination)
The City article also highlights the distinction between Chicago and Los Angeles (and yes, I'm working in typical stereotypes). See, Chicago is all about the self-made man—the person that took their destiny into their own hands and made their own fortunes. In contrast, the LA mindset seems to be "I'll show up and get discovered," which is essentially the opposite—hope someone else makes you into something. I think this speaks to the greater changes in the American psyché—a solid, productive work ethic replaced with the something-for-nothing mindset. And I think this frivolity is responsible for many of today's problems—a consumerist nature where the next dream product will make you happy (it won't) or a quest for fame satifying your needs (it doesn't). This obscures the real things that really make people happy, that your life really needs—hard work (and reaping the corresponding rewards) and community (connection with the world and loved ones)—these things are much more rewarding than a second toaster or an appearance on American Idol. What do you walk away from American Idol with? A nation of people judging, making you—you're not you, you're what people have made you to be. That's not something you're resposible for, something you've created—in the end, it's empty because you're not reaping the benefits of your own labors. Happiness doesn't lie in fame—it's in living, in fulfillment, in finishing a task that was worthwhile. Nothing is more impressive than seeing the human—nay, American—shear force of will in action. We're a country of doers—and we've lost our way.
What does it mean to live well?
Submitted by Dean.
Get up, do something that you love, sleep tight. Do it all over again the next day.
With Kurt Vonnegut exiting stage left, the folks at Mother Jones dusted off a commentary he wrote in 1983 about Ronald Reagan. Sounds vaguely familiar... Why is it that Republican presidents sound like a broken record?
Sandals + socks = bad. Flip-flops + socks = wrong. Very wrong.
