Zodiac

I watched "Zodiac" last week and didn't find it to be particularly scary. Of course the things portrayed in the movie actually happened, but I don't consider movies to be real life and thus are not scary.

So I told my friend AH about it, and she decided to watch it as well. I was scolded the next day for lying about how scary it was. Apparently, she was so afraid she wouldn't even go outside to smoke a cigarette. Oh, to be such a scaredy-cat.

Golden Arches

When I was in Berlin last year, I don't remember seeing any McDonald's. But that doesn't mean they aren't there, so what's the big deal about them putting in another?

This article shows views from both. From what I can gather, it would as similar as a McDonald's going in on Hawthorne at approximately 34th. It seems to be a comparable type of neighborhood, (not filled with yuppies, so it can't be similar to Northwest) and I'm quite certain that attempting that would produce similar outcomes: rioting, vandalism, anti-MickyD's sentiment.

However, there are a few small voices of reason at the end of the article. The neighborhood is comprised mainly of adults who have a free will and can decided not to eat McDonald's, and McDonald's is as much competition to the local restaurants as it would be to Papa Haydn. We've got fast food in town here and people still choose the local carts first. Lastly, tolerance is a two-way street and if people expect to be tolerated, they may have to tolerate someone/thing else.

On Leading A Double Life

Today was another laid back Saturday. I took a trip to the Farmer's Market as usual, and had to pay to park my car. I put the stub in my back pocket so I could reference it for what time I needed to be back at the car. Turns out I didn't need it after all.

Several hours later, I took the stub out of my pocket so I wouldn't forget and wash it, and I found a second stub. This mysterious second stub was for a movie, "Lucky You," which I have never seen. I was immediately accused of leading a double life. I would be more than willing to admit this feat, if only I could remember even a moment of this supposed other self or the movie. I know I've never seen that movie, but I also know that the movie stub was in there for a while because it had been washed, and that movie came out in June. I then hesitated for a moment, wondering if the pants I was wearing belonged to someone else (also evidence of a double life) but I know they are mine---one of my best pairs of jeans. Also, I've never loaned these pants to anyone.

I'm truly bewildered. How could I have picked up this stub and put it in my pocket without knowing? If I didn't do it, who did? Or, is it like "Fight Club" in that all those hours of insomnia I am actually leading another life at night? I'll have to say nay to that because I have managed not to miss work or suffer any of the other symptoms of Tyler Durden. For now, the mystery remains unsolved. If anyone has any clues, please comment.

Drawing A Blank

In the span of time it took to log in to write this blog, I managed to forget what I was planning on blogging about. Therefore, I will use this moment to plug another eatery.

Le Happy is a delicious little crepe place. If you can forgive the sometimes questionable service, you will find that the crepes rectify any apprehensions you may have had about the joint. Since most of you have been to Le Happy already, I will just state that anyone who reads this who hasn't must definitely plan a dinner there. Here are a couple reviews which are both true depending on the night.

Now, if I am able to remember what my original blog intent was, I will post again...

Death Is A Cat

When I think of Death, I don't usually picture the Grim Reaper in the hooded cloak. I'm more in tune with "Meet Joe Black." In this interesting article presented by MSN, it seems that neither choice is correct.

Apparently, this cat is able to predict deaths within about 4 hours. It's pretty weird, and I'd like to meet him, but I am too afraid of dying.

World's Smallest Park

Welcome to Mill Ends Park. Yes, that 2 foot diameter hole is a park, and apparently, was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds smallest. And yes, Portland is home to Mill Ends. I've lived here for 4 years and this is the first I'm hearing about this.

The Wikipedia article was funny. It gave a brief history of the park, including how it came to be (Founded by a man named Fagan in the 1940's, the location was originally slated for a light pole. Having noticed the pole never appeared, he took it upon himself to plant some flowers for viewing from his office window.), who lives there (Leprechauns and butterflies), and what attractions it hosts (In the 70's it boasted a butterfly swimming pool and a Leprechaun-sized ferris wheel which was delivered by a regular sized crane. Now it is principally a garden.)

Located in the intersection of Naito Parkway and Taylor Street, the park was a bit of a chore to get to, but the hint of possibly meeting Fagan's Leprechauns is alluring to many who would tempt fate by crossing out to see for themselves. Having realized this perhaps, it was moved 7 feet toward the crosswalk when Naito was revamped. I will admit, it is a bit of an anomaly and I'll be going down to check it out this weekend.

Squirrel Espionage

MSN reported this morning that 14 squirrels were arrested in Iran for acts of espionage. The squirrels are reportedly being detained. The article doesn't say what was done with their eavesdropping devices. Interviewees speculated on the origins of the squirrels, citing the intelligence of British squirrels, and questioning why anyone would rely on squirrels to spy.

Here is the article. It is short and amusing, with some funny comments below.

I'm Going To Let These Christian Louboutin's Speak For Themselves

*Shudder*

I cannot begin to describe all the things that are wrong with this outfit---Actually, I can.

1) The blazer is too big
2) the sweater is made for a woman
3) the shorts barely qualify as underwear
4) hideous, oversized yellow bag
5) shaved legs
6) socks bunched up
7) socks with sandals

What the hell? This is modern men's fashion? This man is little more than a woman with a penis so how do designers expect average men to adhere to this way of dressing? Clearly, this is a runway look that will (with hope) never appear on the streets. Short shorts for men simply are not a good look.

"This airport is too convenient not to be used."

I wasn't planning on blogging about the plane crash that happened in South America but when I saw the quote that I used as a title, I couldn't help myself.

The most current article regarding the incident says "The airport is too convenient not to be used." said Vivianne Santorini, a 57-year old attorney waiting to check in for a flight to the central city of Belo Horizonte. "Is it safe? I guess not. But there are also risks driving your car and crossing the street and everybody continues driving their car and crossing the street."

Let us look at some facts here: 1) the plane couldn't stop for some unknown reason; 2) the runway was wet; 3) they hadn't completed the resurfacing of the runway; 4) the runway is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 feet shorter than that of La Guardia. (I find this interesting because La Guardia is in an even more confined space and even they have been able to allot enough space for a proper landing strip...)

You all know how much I hate to fly. Thus the basis for my almost maniacal interest in reading any story involving planes. I find it extremely disturbing that officials seem to not care about the factors that went into effect to cause this disaster. The above mentioned points are all cause for concern individually---here all four are combined. While I can understand the logistics of rerouting all those flights and shutting down the airport, one has to question, at what point are they asking for another accident? This one was the third in a string of four plane incidents there this week, the second major crash related to this runway, and the fifth case of a plane going off the end of the runway.

A later quote sums it up for me: "Whenever lives are at risk and something can be done to reduce that risk, if that means shutting down this airport, so be it. Of course, it's going to create a mess, but you have to choose between messes and lives."

(At this time, I'm choosing to not even discuss the fact that Brazil's airports are all controlled by their military. That is an entirely different topic in need of its own post.)

Harry's Imminent Death

I haven't read this article, but my answer is a resounding "I sure as hell hope so."

I am so sick of Harry Potter hype. In an attempt to distance myself from it I try to avoid all talk of Harry Potter---I never read anything about it, I never watch anything about it, and I've never even allowed my eyes to settle on an actual copy of one of the books, let alone picked one up. So naturally, I was drawn to such a headline as "Will Harry Die?" And I'll say it again. I sincerely hope so. I don't want to hear about another Harry Potter book for as long as I live.

(I am willing to admit however, that my hatred of Harry Potter could be at least partly attributed to that vampiric old man who plays him in the movies. I. don't. like. him.)

Es Ist Schrecklich!

Quite possibly, this is the MOST horrible music video I have ever seen.

Why, in god's name, would Leonard Nemoy sing a song devoted to Bilbo? That's right. Bilbo. Baggins. The hobbit.

Chef Hack

Hell's Kitchen is one of only two reality shows I watch---the other being America's Next Top Model.

Those of you who have not seen Hell's Kitchen are missing out on Chef Ramsay's insane temper, the yelling and screaming, the drama and childishness. Once you get a look at Chef Ramsay making decisions based on favoritism then you really won't be able to deny your addiction. I say this because after tonights episode, it would be near impossible to claim otherwise when he didn't eliminate the blonde idiot.

I hope my sarcasm wasn't too buried.

The Short And Tall Of It

Here is an interesting article which discusses the comparison of heights of the various nations. When I say the various, I mean more simply a handful that were easy to draw conclusions about. Apparently, after the close of WWII, America was the tallest country. Now, for a number of reasons, the average height here has been surpassed by other nations.

Oddly, I first heard of this through an article on the intranet at work which explained that in Japan, clothing designers are having to rethink the proportions of Japanese women, whose (in this current generation) are tending more toward that of American women. They blamed this change on evolving diets. The article linked above also gives differences in cuisine as evidence.

What I found most puzzling about this article is why the writers assume that there is no limit to height and that Americans have "stopped" growing, concluding that that equates to having less of a concern about the welfare of our children?

End Of Era

The age of 26 has passed. And with today comes the end of what suddenly became birthday week. Just to take a second, I want to say thanks again to all my special people for making this b-day be the end of my yearly b-day slump. I've had such a great week.

Here's what my friends have to say about being 27. This is the age at which the good stuff finally starts trying to scratch its way to the surface. There is the potential, already, that this could be happening so I'm going to keep my unsuperstitious fingers crossed.

I'm really glad that b-day week has come to such a fun close. And while I've had almost a week at this ripe old age, I am only looking forward to getting to that aforementioned good stuff.

Meanwhile, I got really fed up with some over-sensitive people at the shoeblogs so I wanted to just post that thread here for anyone interested to see. It is regarding the beautiful Blahnik ladies shown in the picture. Wouldn't you all just freak out if I suddenly showed up wearing those?

The Rival

I was introduced to St. Cupcake last year. Yesterday I was introduced to Cupcake Jones (oddly, by the same friend, you cupcake lover!!), and I must say it put up it's battle and easily won. St. Cupcake was an interesting novelty: a cupcake cafe that only serves, you guessed it, cupcakes. The problem with it is that the cakes taste a little preserved. Also they are kept at room temperature which is fine but they get sort of melty. We picked up a few choices again this evening from Cupcake Jones and found the cake to be like what you'd expect if you were a good baker and made them yourself, and the frosting flavorful.

Aufweidersehen, St. Cupcake, thanks for the good times.

Thunder Storms Rock

When I lived at my parents, we used to get probably 10 thunder storms every summer, maybe more. We would sit on the deck and watch them move across the sky. Everything is flat out there so you can see for miles. They ranged from no precipitation to large, marble sized hail. Sometimes, they would occur in the middle of the night, right above the house, scaring me out of sleep.

Here, thunder storms are few and far between. Since living in "the Valley" I've only seen 4 or 5. Tonights was pretty good, though. An interesting point is that I was actually checking the weather report which stated possible storms and 20% chance of showers when it started raining those big, telltale drops. It was a welcomed cooling.

Brace For Impact

It has been official for a while that we will be getting smart car dealerships in America. I've seen several around town that were procured through other means (direct import, I'm guessing). They are hilarious to look at, and when I first saw them while on a trip in France, I was amused to watch them flying around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, inter-disbursed with other, slightly larger, cars.

This article purposely addresses one important issue: safety. As they put it, how can a 1200 lb smart car stand up to a 4500 lb suv? The other, overlooked, unintentional question, however, is the price. That is what I am bracing for. Why would ANYone pay $12000 for the base model? It's asinine!

In the article, you can also watch a video of a crash test. Those are always entertaining.

Moron Alert

This article almost made me laugh.

One would think that all other Springfields would lose out to the actual hometown of the Simpsons. And all smart people know that that is Springfield, Oregon.

And how do we know? The mountains of evidence, of course.
The creator was raised in Portland, Oregon. Most of the characters that weren't named after his immediate family were named after streets in Portland. The nuclear power plant symbolizes Weyerhauser. There are scores of references during shows...

If you look a this article, you can view Springfield, Oregon's entry which highlights the aforementioned evidence.

Birthdays...

Today was potentially the most usual day I've had. I took off work because I didn't want to deal with any of that, but since everyone else was working, I ended up enjoying a day of chores and errands. While I have received some gifts, they were a couple days early, so other than getting a delicious salmon dinner and someone else doing the dishes for a change, my birthday was like any other day. And in my new, wise, old age, I have determined that the best way to enjoy a birthday is to do it the way you want. For me, having alone time was exactly that.

Convincing Disguise

Police are on the hunt for a man who robbed a New Hampshire bank on Saturday disguised as a tree, according to MyFoxBoston.com.

The suspect walked into the Citizen's Bank in Manchester with tree branches duct taped to his body and demanded money from the teller.

The teller filled a bag with cash and the suspect took off. A dye pack inside the bag exploded, the Web site reported.

Manchester cops described the man as a white male, between 45 and 50 years old, wearing glasses and a blue shirt.

Those tree branches must have been quite convincing. I have colored this post green in tribute to his ingenuity. The report makes no mention of a weapon so I can't figure any other reason the teller actually gave the bipedal foliage any money. It would never occur to me to tape any sort of flora to myself in an attempt to fool regular people---this I will have to try Halloween 2008. (I already have plans for Halloween 2007, which I will discuss further as we get closer to that date.)

Unfortunate Combination

If you get queasy at the slightest gore, do not click on this.

What I can say is that iPods, people, and trains do not mix. If your mp3 player is on so loud you can't hear a train coming, well then you will end up with bigger problems than trying to find time to go jogging.

Favorite Holiday

My lack of posting yesterday was due to the late-night show at the waterfront. We got a pretty nice view of the fireworks after abandoning the Blues Festival, which was unbearably overcrowded. Keep in mind, and I'm sure it is no surprise, I consider almost every situation overcrowded when it comes to these kinds of events.

Maybe someone more familiar with bridges can tell me why at just after 9 pm on the Fourth of July, was the chosen time to raise and lower Hawthorne's draw bridge a few times, as though they were testing it? It is prime real estate for firework viewing, so imagine our surprise when we were told by the operator "the Hawthorne Bridge will be closed for firework viewing. All pedestrians must move to the sides of the bridge." Of course, these were hyper-inflated statements, since once they were finished doing whatever it was they were doing, we were all allowed to return.

What was almost equally as fun to watch as fireworks was all the police boats on the river telling all the boaters to move away from the barge. The only thing which may have tipped the enjoyment to the top tier would have been if they lights on the bridge's trusses could have been turned off. Obviously that can't happen though...All in all, since July 4 is my choice holiday, I had a good time and found it worth the exhaustion today. (Pictured is something I found while checking out the web. I don't know if it was from yesterday's display.)

Japanese Social Security

Here is an amusing factoid I found while perusing the web:

In Japan, by the time man reaches the age of 60, he is commemorated with a special ceremony. This ceremony features the man wearing a red kimono, which denotes that he no longer has the responsibilities of being a mature adult.

Entertaining as a form of social security, I would assume it has its flaws. Considering it entitles a man, essentially, to complete freedom one would hope he and his compatriots would not almost instantaneously revert back into children.

After a little research, I confirmed that the above fact is indeed a fact and describes the kanreki ritual. This signifies when a man (or woman now) has reached age 61 (because in Japan you are considered 1 when born), he enters a child-like state because he now has to be cared for again, as 61 used to be quite old.

No such luck here. Our generation won't be able to retire until age 80 at the rate we are going.

Libby Scoots Past Jail Time

We all remember the leak of the name of a former covert CIA agent a few years ago. Finally a resolution was had, and Scooter Libby was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about how he knew about the agent and whom he told about her. *yawn*

What I find most interesting is that Bush commuted the prison sentence. Perjury is punishable by all the ways imposed on him: prison, fines, probation. I think it a bit unsettling that Bush did this because as he said, "Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable."

But what is the accountability? $250,000 fine and some probation? Likely small change and a minor inconvenience to Scooter. Prison is often a much more effective means of letting someone know they were wrong, and I'm sure that if the offender hadn't quite the same relationship to the White House, he would be sitting in jail as we speak. I mean, hey, we made Paris go to jail for driving on a suspended license and lying about it...let the punishment fit the crime and let all crimes be judged by the same moral guidelines.

The Real Sadness In Suicide

I had heard about a year ago about a whole town which had been auctioned on ebay. I found it odd because for one, I didn't know one could own a town. Also, I thought you couldn't ebay anything that was alive---though a town isn't, it does have inhabitants.

According to this article, the new owner was barely old enough to have his hands on the kind of money it takes to buy a town. He started making some improvements and, after realizing what kind of continual input of dough it would take, tried to sell it. Unsuccessful, however, the guy committed suicide back in November. Though the article doesn't mention why he may have done it, one could speculate that there is at least the potential relation to the town, and stresses caused by the sudden financial instability.

But the real sadness is expressed perfectly by this statement:

"When Daniel passed away it was just so devastating," said Rose Valentine, who lives just outside town. "(Bridgeville) is kind of looking pretty shabby again. It's pretty sad."

Are we sad that he died? Are we sad that the town is now shabby once again? No. We are pretty sad that someone who speaks like that gets quoted in articles.