I left DC feeling quite inexplicably optimistic.  It was a cold, clear morning and I was abundantly supplied with coffee and pup.  I had ten new albums with which to get acquainted over 800 miles of interstate.  And a mere ten days later I have completely exhausted the Fleet Foxes album, which was magical the first time I heard it -- but I now have ( Read more... )

This week delivered a veritable cornucopia of wonderfully shitty TV: ANTM season finale, Top Chef, Grey's Anatomy & the It's Always Sunny finale (shitty only insofar as it's ending).   I dont know when I became such a televisionary.  Prolly when I moved here to discover some 600-odd (although 600 is even...) channels after four years of severe TV ( Read more... )

Each night before going to bed I fill up a big glass with ice, then fill it up with water and chug it all in seconds because it's so wonderfully refreshing.  Then I use the last gulp to choke down a great vitamin C, on which I invariably choke a little.  Tonight all my cups were dirty, so I used a 16oz measuring cup with a really thick lip, so a ( Read more... )

There's this small, quiet town in Turkey. It's (one of) the oldest town(s) in the world, actually, with remains of settlements dating back as far as 10,000 years.  But the history of this town is about to ... be history -- another city up the river has contracted European engineers to build a huge dam that would invariably submerge the ancient ( Read more... )

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On the five o'clock bus ride home I stared out the window, past motley haggard faces reflecting flashes of sunset, at the bright orange trees whirring by, and thought about suburban swimming pools.  If backyard pools are not the quintessence of America, I dont know what is.  And as winter approaches the idea of poolside gin & tonic is all the more ( Read more... )

The dog had fleas and because he was licking himself raw, I had to put a cone on him.

Ever since he's been wearing this awful thing, there have been some funny street exchanges:

- "Look, a conehead"
- "Hey cone-dog"
- "It's a furry gramophone!"
- Father says to his little son, "Look, is that a Bichon?"  
"No," replies the child. 
"No, then what is it?" 
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1.  Just about as good as it gets:

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UGH.  Last time I was up this early I was actually just up this late.
Bagel will help.

Good morning, world !

At first I was excited at the prospect of this novelty camera.  It's a replica of a rolleiflex twin reflex camera ... And not only is it miniature, but also digital !  The hand-crank works and there's even an LCD monitor in the viewfinder.  Look how happy it renders the token Asian model !


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