February 12, 2005

...but you can look darn spiffy when you go. For those of you who want to make a final statement, consider buying one these colorful fantasy coffins.

The Goreletter is horror writer Michael Arnzen's weird, "work in progress" newsletter. My favorite section is the twisted prompts for sicko writers. (Ex. Do something truly nasty with a liposuction device. Ewww!)
 

February 11, 2005

Alex Lencicki recently visited a McDonald's near his office and marveled at the people who hung out there. His intriguing observations made me want to visit a local Mickey D's, too. Not to eat, mind you -- after watching "Super Size Me," I promptly swore off eating food served by the Golden Arches -- but just to observe the other patrons.

Henry Rollins went on a similar people-watching excursion once at a Rite Aid store in southern California, then described what he saw on "A Rollins in the Wry." The only place I've encountered such weirdness is on the bus. Clearly a ride on public transportation is in order.

I've never seen such fruitful artistry. Elegant and edible. (Source: GrrWoo)

* fresh flowers
* private jokes
* the scent of a lover
* Snoopy valentines
* boxes of chocolate, particularly ones that come with candy descriptions

February 10, 2005

The latest Jaded Writings column has been posted. Enjoy this reprint of one of my favorite Valentine's Day essays.

* Berthold Brecht - 2/10/1898
* Roxanne Pulitzer - 2/10/51
* Sidney Sheldon - 2/11/17
* Judy Blume - 2/12/38
* Henry Rollins - 2/13/61
* Litsa Dremousis - 2/13/67
* Carl Bernstein - 2/14/44
* Matt Groening - 2/15/54

February 8, 2005

Nellie Tambascia truly understands the meaning of the phrase "Love thy Neighbor." During a recent snowstorm, this charitable Massachusetts woman donned her winter jacket and gloves and shoveled her sidewalk. Then she cleared the sidewalks in front of her neighbors' houses. Nellie, by the way, is 87 years old.

Benjamin Scuglia, a blogger from Los Angeles, recently noted his penchant for "oldies music":

"Slowly, stealthily, K-Earth 101, L.A.'s 'Oldies' radio has become the station I inevitably find myself turning to when languishing in traffic. Don't know when that happened. This steady onset of growing-older cliches (creaking joints, going to bed early, 'those damned kids,' et. al.) is goddamn embarrassing. And now I can't fucking get 'Build Me Up Buttercup' out-of-my-head, and I don't even like the song," Scuglia wrote.

I know the feeling, Ben. Modern rock does nothing for me. I enjoy listening to independent artists, of course, but when it comes to radio tuneage, I inevitably switch to an Internet station playing "all 80s, all the time."

February 7, 2005

* President George W. Bush proposed a $2.57 trillion budget today. Bush's plan suggests cutting Medicaid by $60 billion and increasing defense spending by 4.5 percent, but it doesn't account for the money needed to pay for the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (San Francisco Chronicle)

* Finland, Norway and Uruguay top the 2005 index of environmental sustainability, which ranks nations on their success at maintaining or improving air and water quality, maximizing biodiversity and cooperating with other countries on environmental problems. The United States ranked 45th out of 146 countries studied. (The New York Times)

* The National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh has received $33.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund Awards to help it buy letters and manuscripts from writers like Jane Austen, Charles Darwin, J. M. Barrie, William Wordsworth and Lord Byron. (The New York Times)

* Maricica Tescu, a 33-year-old Romanian woman, gave birth today to a 5.7 pound baby boy by Cesarean section -- 59 days after giving birth vaginally to its twin, a 3.5 pound boy. (San Francisco Chronicle)

* The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging mothers to sleep close to their babies to facilitate feeding, avoid giving them pacifiers during the early weeks and breastfeed exclusively for six months -- no formula, juice or baby food. (The San Jose Mercury News)

Although it's not bookmarked as my homepage, I probably visit Google more than any other Website. To keep up with what's going on behind the scenes at the search engine's headquarters, I also read the Google Blog.
 

Past Afterthoughts