Taked baby. Meet at later bar night or day, sometime

So speaking of bizarre alternate realities...We were talking about that right?

Do you think this is what the character Charlie from "It's Always Sunny" dreams of at night? Knocking up the Waitress?

Well, I guess I'm making things a little convoluted, since this is actually happening in real life, and it would only be a bizarre alternate reality if the show was the plane of reality that we all operated on.

I did not intend for this to become so existential! Good for them!

Begat Begat Begat

This is not a chicken and egg situation: The British Office came first, and inspired our American favorite. The stateside version has had great success, and the lives of characters have been far more heartily developed (given that our version has been on for 7 seasons, and the original only got 3.) Indeed, The Office is a show that has demonstrated that a remake can be more developed and popular than the original.

But dear reader, we're not the only country that is building television icons out of Ricky Gervais' creation. Did you know that Afghanistan has their own version of the Office? WELP - They do!

It's called "The Ministry!"



Man, the "jim/tim" character is kind of groveling and lame....but I doubt there was much room for a love story to make him cooler. Also, I like black the humor is in this version, the commentary on politics and terrorism - it's a weird window into another reality!

Blessed are the Cheesemakers

Seeing how wonderfully simple it is to make goat cheese on Serious Eats has totally rekindled my desire to adopt a milking goat for the yard. In addition to getting sooo much delicious cheese, it would make it so poor Paul would never have to mow the lawn again! I would say that that is a pretty solid win-win. Plus, we would get great fertilizer for the garden out of the deal? Are there any downsides? Maybe a few, like this being a lot of work, and having to mate them to get the milk...... but I am ignoring that right now!

This could be me!

Jittery Zeitgeist

I posted not too long ago about one of my favorite street artistes - Jeremy Fish.

I can't believe I overlooked the fact that he's collaborated heavily with rapper Aesop Rock, creating art for not 1, but 2 music videos!



Also, did you know that Aesop Rock is brilliant?



I've been into to rap lately. But it has to be good rap! I like Aesop Rock because his lyrics are really imagery heavy and kind of abstract. I guess I like verse encroaching on the ambiguous borders of poetry.

Caturday XXXV- Oliver and Company - 1988

What's that? You want to see something that makes me get all teary eyed this Caturday?

Well, ok, but just for you dear reader!



Particularly if there has been beer drinking involved, this can bring the sobs. *sniff* He just wants a home!

Society Dog Show - 1939

Mickey Mouse is such a incorrigible optimist! Look at him here, trying to fit in with the upper crust at a fancy pure bred dog show. Can't he see that Pluto can't compete with these privileged pooches?



The story takes a Romeo and Juliet turn, as Pluto falls in love with a sassy little terrier who can see through the class lines.

The whole tale of class warfare comes to a head when vanity takes down the whole event in a fiery blaze of hubris!

Moral of the story: Blue collared folks are more likely to be heroic, so you better be nice to them and stuff!

Space Babes

 Yesterday, We went to the Star Trek Convention in Boston, costumes and all. If I do say so myself, we ladies were lookin' pretty cute!

If you'd like to see more out-of-this-world beauties (HA!), check out this Flickr stream: The Galactically Hot Women of Star Trek!

It was a good way to research appropriate hair stylings. For the next Convention, I wanna do a bee hive!

Flying into the eye of a hurricane, 1988.

NOAA- part nerdy scientist, all action hero.



The fact that hurricanes have lady names makes this reminiscent of sea captains talking about legendary monsters.

Seriously though, this is pretty neat!

Last 5 Books I Read

The March - E.L Doctorow

This is a really good portrait of life during the American civil war. The storytelling is absolutely relentless, bombarding you with one compelling vignette after another. It's a broad, rich portrait of the time during William Tecumsah Sherman's march to the sea. Highly recommend! 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

I LOVED this book! I literally had a hard time putting it down. Have you read this yet? No? GO READ THIS! It's an awesome mystery story, that's totally conscious of avoiding cliches. Great characters! Great Story! Are you reading this yet? You should be!

The General in His Labyrinth - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This is a book about the great Latin American hero, Simon Bolivar. One might expect a story about a war hero to be full of action and exciting battles. However, this book focuses almost entirely on the great general's final days. Some of his exciting past is recalled as a flashback, but mostly, you're stuck with a dying man with a bad case of the woe-is-mes. So much of the story is focused on this depressing portrait of illness and physical deterioration, that the book just drags on and on. A very slow read, for me at least. I would recommend only to a real Latin American history  devotee.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

This is a great book that covers a lot of topical ground: Comic book heroes, world war 2, sexuality, magic, celebrity, art, religion, love, racism. All the themes are explored thoroughly and beautifully, with strong, compelling characters you want to root for. I really, really enjoyed reading this one.

 Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut

This is a good book about an unexpected turn for the human race, framed around the scientific magic of Darwinism. It has an interested narrative perspective, and dabbles in the mystical nature of the afterlife. It's one of the few stories I've read where all the folks who are about to die are identified off the bat, and I liked that.

Exceptional Neck Moves

 

All mammals have 7 vertebrae in their neck- Including giraffes.

BUT! The swan has 23 neck vertebrae. This gives it a power of neck flexibility (nexability?) that is truly, truly outrageous.

Wildflowers

They are my favorite sort of flowers really, I think. I have many good memories of being a kid in summer, in a meadow near my grandparent's summer cabin, making bouquets with my cousins. What's my favorite wild flower?

 Rudbeckia Hirta. Alias: Black-eyed Susan.

This flower is purported to have a variety of medicinal uses; it's roots have been said to remedy sores, snakebites, colds, worms, and earaches.

I was always attracted to it's sunny color. Plus, it's long basal leaves are perfect for rounds of "he loves me, he loves me not."

I'm sad to hear it referred to by some as an "obnoxious weed!" Because it is beautiful. I am interested in reading botanist Richard Mabey's book "Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants". Can't we all just get along with our uninvited vegetation?

Localvore in training

Last month was strawberry season, and the local strawberries from around us were so unbelievably good. It has very much made me realize that some foods are not worth eating unless they are fresh and in season. I feel the same way about Corn. There's plenty of ears down at the Big Y, but I've been completely abstaining until I can get a fresh ear from a nearby farm. It really does make a difference in quality and taste.

Since we're so lucky to live in area that actually does grow a ton of food, I'm feeling more dedicated to the the notion of using what we're lucky enough to have at arms length. With that in mind I've printed out this handy chart and pinned it up in my cube at work.

While I have enthusiasm for this now....I am concerned that I may waver when it's winter and there's nothing around to munch but roots. We shall see!

USA! USA! USA!

Patriotism! YEAH!

Stuck in my head right this instant:

Paul and I have very recently started watching "Bleach" (2004), another supernatural animated epic. It's pretty awesome, about ghosts and soul reapers who help them pass on.It sounds kind of  like "The Sixth Sense" (1999), but this has way more badassery and monsters!

It's also the first anime we've been watching that's still making new episodes. With 15+ seasons, it may take us awhile to catch up though...



Anywho, I've had the theme song (Asterisk by Orange Range)stuck in my head all day. Having a song you do not know the language of stuck in your brains is problematic, especially if you're one to sing along, like me!