Black Friday Death pt. 2
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1801 hrs
Barry Leiba over at the always excellent Staring at Empty Pages put it far better than I did:
The authorities should look, instead, to the ones who are really responsible for the crush in the first place: the store owners, and the retail industry in general. I’d like to see the store owners held responsible and charged with manslaughter for this. I’d like to see the retail industry and the advertisers charged with incitement to riot. Because that’s what this was: a riot. And that’s what’s being done with these advertisements for “Door busters!” and other Black Friday hype: they’re meant to whip crowds into hysteria and mayhem in the name of shopping. They are absolutely stirring riots. And those responsible should be held accountable for it.
Read the whole post here.
Black Friday Death
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1040 hrs
I have always made my position on Black Friday clear, and a death at Wal-Mart yesterday further enforces my disgust for this unofficial holiday. From the article:
"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."
What the fuck, people? Is buying a Wall-E robot or an Elmo Live doll really worth the life of another human being? Haven't things gotten way out of control when the police have to be called in?
I thought Christmas was supposed to be a Christian holiday, but the way people act on Black Friday — the first official shopping day of Christmas — is utterly appalling.
Friday Funday CCXXVII
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1035 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
The Indonesian Mimic Octopus [del.icio.us]
The Indonesian mimic octopus uses its unique abilities to hide from predators in plain sight.
Blame Game : Et tu, Palin? | Palin 2012 [del.icio.us]
Palin vs McCain in 2012
Sonacom [del.icio.us]
I'm not really sure how to describe this, but musical wallpaper comes close.
Walken the Walk [del.icio.us]
"The greatest impersonation challenge probably ever." Via Bruhniversal Studios.
Maru [del.icio.us]
Maru is an adorable kitty and a huge hit in Japan. Be sure to watch the videos of Maru climbing into boxes.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2310 hrs
Morah and I drove down to Clarkston last night, and early this morning we were on the road for Walla Walla. We had Thanksgiving dinner at her aunt's house, then drove to Yakima to her grandparents' house, where we'll spend the rest of the weekend.
I hope everyone had as delicious of a Thanksgiving as Morah and I!
Nazi Graphic Design
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2020 hrs
Despite how awful the Nazis were, you have to admit that they had excellent graphic design and brand cohesion.
A Departure
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2005 hrs
You may have noticed that I didn't write posts for Saturday and Sunday. I thought about writing back-posts to make up for it, but then I realized how unnecessary that is. The reason for trying to write a post every single day this month was to get me writing again, which has definitely happened. Back-writing the posts wouldn't have served any useful purpose.
Plus, anything I would have written would have been pretty boring. I have a couple of posts in mind, but I either want to wait to write them, or the typical problems have cropped up again.
Although I think it's safe to say that my attempt at writing more frequently has been successful, it's not accurate to say that I'm "done." Since the purpose was to help me get back into a more steady rhythm, I intend to continue writing blog entries. I may not post every single day, but expect a fairly consistent stream of posts.
Now if I could just find time to change the masthead.
Friday Funday CCXXVI
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2103 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Energuy [del.icio.us]
Drag Energuy around his house and click on various items in an attempt to save energy and money. Fair warning: clicking on this link will resize your browser.
PipeTwister [del.icio.us]
I don't know why, but I really enjoy these kinds of games.
Cubeecraft [del.icio.us]
Little, blocky, paper craft figures to waste resources and clutter your desk at work.
Greens Keepers - Lotion [del.icio.us]
"It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." This is a surprisingly good song.
Roomba Driver [del.icio.us]
Saying anything would only ruin this.
HDTV
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2101 hrs
Morah and I finally received our HDTV converter box rebate coupons on the mail, so today we bought a couple. Being a video guy, hooking them up was a no-brainer, and the setup process was equally easy.
The real surprise came when I saw the image quality. Even on my lousy old CRT television, the image looks sharper than its analog counterpart. Our convert box found 15 channels, most of which have unique content (some are just the same show in a different aspect ratio).
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch HDTV!
The Will, The Wall
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0731 hrs
Every so often I get the desire to create something. Unfortunately, this desire doesn't usually include websites. I want to paint a picture, build furniture, draw a web comic, shoot a video, and so on. The problem (besides not having enough time) is that I often lack the muse, the tools, or the technical skills required to accomplish my goals.
Sometimes the feeling is more abstract; I know that I want to create something, but I'm not sure what. In high school, I used to paint after school every once in a while. A friend and I would take a long strip of butcher paper, lay it on the ground, and paint. Inspiration was haphazard at best, and it was during one of these painting sessions that I first learned from a teacher about Jackson Pollock.
This desire to make something without the ability is frustrating, which seems only to fuel the desire further.
I suppose at some point I need to admit to myself that even with all the time and money in the world, the skill required to fulfill my desires will always elude me. Even if I could learn the skills, I don't know that I could find the correct inspiration. At work, I look at what the graphic designers do and am blown away. Even in film making — something that I do well — I see the work of other directors and know that I would never have thought to do the same thing.
How do you know when you're the best at something? When people tell you that you are? No matter how depressing it feels to be so far from that level of creativity and skill, it must be equally depressing to know that your success is transitory, and that you are surrounded by your successors.
Is this what the human struggle is all about? Do we live our lives in a vain attempt to be unique? I'm certainly not content to simply be a cog in the system, but without cogs, the system wouldn't run. Must our passions always only be our hobbies?
Weird Habits
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0847 hrs
How many of you have weird habits?
For example, when I walk past things, I tend to touch them. For example, when I walk down the stairs at work, there is a soffit overhead that I usually reach up and touch. Often when I walk through doorways, I touch the doorknob or doorjamb. When we walk through department stores, I feel the fabrics of the clothing on the racks (not on other people, of course).
Another (possibly weird) habit is that I almost always smell food before I eat it or use it in cooking. This is perhaps less weird as it serves a practical purpose (ensuring that the food hasn't gone bad), but it has become so second nature as to be described as a habit.
I'm sure I have others that I can't think of, or of which I'm not aware, but I wanted to hear from you to find out what sorts of weird habits my readers have. So let's hear it — tell us about your weird habits by leaving a comment.
Update: I thought of another one! I can't believe I forgot to mention this as it's one of my favorites. I love (love!) to peel that static plastic off of new products. You know the kind; it usually comes on plastic stuff (for example, the screens of mobile phones) to protect it. There's a similar plastic film that has a slight stickiness to it that I don't care for quite as much, but I do still enjoy peeling it off as well.
Daylight Saving Time Sucks
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2039 hrs
Seriously, can't we all just adjust however we feel appropriate? If you really need that extra sunlight, buy a sunlamp, get a job that allows you keep your own hours, or move toward the equator. Just don't make me change my clock for your own arbitrary benefit.
Not only is the clock changing annoying (especially since some of my electronics don't know the new rules about when it happens and change early - meaning I have to change them twice), but at this time of year, I need more time at the end of the day, not the beginning. I get off at 4 P.M., and by the time I get home after riding the bus, there really isn't any daylight left to do anything. And I'm not going to do my yard work at 5 in the morning.
Daylight Saving Time, like timezones themselves, needs to go away. It's for the greater good. We have alarm clocks now. The farmers can wake up whenever the hell they want.
Speaking of clocks, why doesn't every single timekeeping device made come with a way to automatically set itself to the atomic clock?
Secular Sunday XVI - lolGod
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1137 hrs
Morah and I were talking about lolcats the other day, and suddenly this idea popped into my head:
Also, while doing some searches for other lolGod stuff, I came across this very funny blog.
A New Raking Challenge
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0932 hrs
I came home a couple of days ago to find this:
The entire yard and driveway are covered in these seed pods. They really suck. They're nearly impossible to rake up, because they slip through the tines of the rake. They can be moved off of the concrete fairly easily with the blower or a broom, but they stick in the grass pretty well.
Has anyone had to deal with these before? Does anyone have any tips or know any tricks?
Friday Funday CCXXV
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1812 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Spelling Bee! [del.icio.us]
How well can you spell? I was averaging around 530. Some of the pronunciations of the words was weird, though.
Monster Smart [del.icio.us]
What's the point? Don't bother watching the whole thing. The first 10 to 20 seconds should tell you all you need to know.
The Matrix Runs on Windows [del.icio.us]
XP no less. Damn you Clippy!
Auto Phone Sex [del.icio.us]
This is one of the first videos on Funny or Die that I've seen that's actually funny.
And finally... THE CUTEST VIDEO EVAR!
Once upon a time... [del.icio.us]
That's it, my kids are learning French.
Why I Can't Blog
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1802 hrs
Alright, the title of this post is bit of a lie. Obviously, I can blog, the trouble is that I never do. This whole, "every day in November" thing is seriously pushing me to the limits.
The first problem is that I don't have anything to say. I often think, "gee, I haven't written a post in forever. About what should I write?" Then I sit around trying to think of something, which usually doesn't work.
If I do happen to think of something, I tend not to have the time. I'm often so busy with work, the house, the yard, and trying to get caught up on a million other things, that my blog gets neglected.
Worse still is when I have an idea and the time, but I'm too lazy to write. This often happens with the better topics, because they will require a significant time investment, and sometimes research is necessary.
Overall, this "every day in November" thing has been good for me, because it forces me to think and write - both things I enjoy doing - and it also helps me begin to re-establish a pattern. I think, however, that in the future, instead of trying to write every day, I'll try to post at least 3 or 4 times a week.
For those of you who have blogs, how do you tackle writer's block? Do you wait it out, really sit and think, or do you just post trite crap and hope your readers don't notice?
Winning at the Wine Tasting
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2023 hrs
Morah and I went to a wine tasting tonight that the wine steward at our grocery store told us about (is that the kind of thing that only happens in Spokane?). I tried a little over a dozen wines, and best of all, I won a bottle of wine! Both Graham (the wine steward) and Mike (the general manager of Twigs, where the tasting was held) said that the wine is supposed to be very good. We're excited to try it!
House Warming Party
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2131 hrs
Morah and I had our house warming party on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who was able to make it!
To those who weren't able to make it, you missed out on some awesome Wii action, which we projected onto one of the downstairs walls. Let me tell you, when it comes to playing the Wii, bigger is better.
The Strip-Not-Strip Club
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2223 hrs
A couple of Saturdays ago, Morah and I went to The Torch Lounge in Coeur d'Alene with a friend to see a friend of his friend dance. She had been asking him to come for months, and since it was her last night working there, he decided to go before he never had the chance again (and who could blame him - she's hot).
Going to The Torch Lounge was an interesting look into a subculture that I never knew existed, and for which I wouldn't have imagined there would be a demand.
Here's basically how it works: It's laid out like a strip club, with a bar along one wall and a stage in the middle of the room. On stage there's a stripper pole, and patrons sitting at the stage are expected to tip. The girls dance and strip, but the main difference is that they never actually get naked (something which I came to describe as strip-not-stripping).
Perhaps you are, at this point, wondering how they can strip without getting naked. It's quite simple: they wear multiple pairs of underwear. The bottom-most set of panties and bra tended to be black, which led me to wonder if, much as the audience of a bunraku performance is supposed to pretend not to see the black-clad puppeteers, I was supposed to pretend her last layer of clothing wasn't being worn.
Each of the girls had what could be classified as "signature" moves, and each had a repertoire that included some pretty standard stripper techniques (this is mild conjecture, based entirely upon what I've seen in movies, as well as my own limited exposure to strippers).
Whenever our friend-of-a-friend was up to dance, we would sit at the stage and give her the requisite tips, in return for which she would dance. After a while, Morah and I felt bad for the other strip-not-strippers, so we sat at the stage for each of them, as well.
Really, though, nothing any of the girls did was worth the money. Granted, the eye-candy was nice, and we all enjoyed ourselves, but looking around the room at all of the slack-jawed, horny young men (and women. One girl was there with her mother, who I'm pretty sure had recently come out as a lesbian), I couldn't help but wonder why everyone wouldn't just go to Stateline Showgirls - an actual strip club, and a mere 12 miles away.
The experience was interesting, to say the least, but I certainly wouldn't have any desire to go when I could go to a real strip club and see women get naked, or better yet, just stay home and save the money.
Secular Sunday XV - El Presidente
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2158 hrs
Last month, the Spokane Secular Society (formerly the Spokane Atheists) elected me president of the organization. It's definitely an honor, but the position carries with it a certain number of less-than-desirable duties.
For example, I am in charge of determining where and when we meet. To date, we've been meeting on Sundays - a sort of tongue-in-cheek nod toward the fact that we know none of us will be in church. And although that has worked out well so far, every other secular group in Spokane does pretty much the same thing. On top of that, we've been meeting at the house of our vice president, which although free, can't accommodate more than about a dozen people.
My new goal is to find a place in Spokane that:
- Is centrally located (downtown is ideal)
- Has parking (there should be a lot of it, and it should be free)
- Is inexpensive to use (again, free is ideal)
- Can accommodate about 50 people
Can anyone think of an adequate venue?
Listening in Sync
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1435 hrs
While Morah and I were raking leaves last weekend, we were both listening to our iPods. The thought occurred to me that although there are billions of people and billions of songs, there's a small but real chance that you and another person are listening to the exact same song at the exact same time without ever knowing it.
This thought doesn't apply to being at a concert, watching T.V., or listening to the radio. In those cases, other people are almost guaranteed to be listening in sync with you. What I'm talking about is someone playing a CD or listening to their iPod.
Anyway, just a random thought.
Friday Funday CCXXIV
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2021 hrs
Friday Funday brings you some fun and interesting links from my travels around the internet. Funday links will open in a new window.
Photoshop in Real Life [del.icio.us]
Graphic designers will really appreciate this one.
Super Obama World [del.icio.us]
Guide our 44th president through this Super Mario Brothers knock-off.
I'm a PC BSOD [del.icio.us]
My friend Tom made his own "I'm a PC" ad. Made on a Mac.
Speaking of my friends, they always post stuff on their own blogs before I can! I guess the problem with Friday Funday is that I don't get to post until Fridays. Here are a couple of great links from the week that were posted to my friends' blogs.
Streaming Puppies [del.icio.us]
To be fair, Kris sent me this link before he posted it on his blog.
"Star Wars" - an a capella tribute to John Williams [del.icio.us]
I saw this on Tuesday (or thereabout) and added it to my Friday Funday list. Then Phoenix posted it to his blog this morning.
30 Bags and Counting
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2143 hrs
Morah and I have a lot of leaves. Below is a before-and-after picture of our backyard last weekend.
We filled 15 bags. Last night, we raked the front yard and filled about 10 more. A few weeks ago, Mike and I filled probably about 5 or 6. This evening, Morah and I raked the backyard again and filled 9 bags.
Like I said, we have a lot of leaves.
A Right, Not A Requirement
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2145 hrs
Every time political season rolls around, you hear them.
"You have to vote."
"It's your duty as an American to vote."
"I have no respect for people who don't vote."
"If you don't vote, you can't complain."
They're those quips that people are so fond of saying, especially to those of us who don't vote.
And you know what? They're absolutely wrong.
The Constitution affords us the right to vote, but doesn't require it to be a citizen. Therefore, just as much as I have the right to vote, I have the right not to. The latter is an option that I exercise in protest of the current system, which I believe to be flawed.
This post isn't about the flaws in the system, or the reasons why I don't vote (for that, see this post, this post, and this post) This post is a response to those people who say the above phrases, or ones like them.
"You have to vote."
"It's your duty as an American to vote."
As I said before, the Constitution doesn't require citizens to vote; it merely gives them the chance. Whether or not they choose to vote is entirely up to them. An ideal situation would be for every American to vote, and for every vote to count. Unfortunately, that's not the case (there are some exceptions, which I'll explain later).
"I have no respect for people who don't vote."
Really? Well, I have no respect for people who vote based solely on party lines (all-democrat and all-republican shouldn't even be options on the ballot). I have no respect for people who vote without bothering to take at least a little bit of time to get to know the issues and politicians. I have no respect for people who vote without understanding how the system works.
"If you don't vote, you can't complain."
I hate this one. If you say this, you are truly stupid.
Since the Constitution is not conditional, the First Amendment applies regardless of whether or not I vote. I understand the implication of the statement; that I didn't attempt to vote someone better into office, so who am I to complain about the situation? Shouldn't the same be said of people who vote for a politician, only to later criticize that person's policies? What about all of the people who voted for Bush? Should they not be allowed to complain about how he has been running this country because they didn't vote for someone better?
Of course not.
It doesn't matter if you voted for or against Bush, or if you didn't vote at all. We're all living in the lousy economy and we're all allowed to bitch about it. That's part of what makes this country so great.
Earlier I said that your vote doesn't count, but that there are exceptions to this. In the presidential election, your single vote will never be the deciding factor (this is especially true depending on the state in which you live). In local matters, however, your vote does count (in the last race for governor here in Washington, Gregoire earned fewer than 200 votes over Rossi). Also, many of the propositions and initiatives pass by narrow margins, and they determine how your tax dollars are spent.
This year, I almost registered to vote. Mostly it was because of the propositions and initiatives, but early in the presidential campaign, Obama's message of hope and change stirred me. As I grew more educated about his platform, the glimmer disappeared from my eyes and the desire to vote waned (don't get me wrong though, I'm definitely glad that Obama beat McCain).
It's very likely that, in the next election, I'll vote. But I still refuse to pick candidates simply because they're the lesser of two evils. If I don't like either candidate, I'm writing in my own name.
What would it take to make me like and support a candidate? I'll leave you with this quote from the musical, The Will Rogers Follies: "Don't ask me what my platform is, I leave that stuff alone. For no one keeps their promises, as history has shown. I'll run a clean campaign and that will be my winning card. Considering the stuff you've seen, well, that won't be too hard."
Yes We Can, But I Didn't
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 2149 hrs
Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America, even though I didn't vote for him (I didn't vote for McCain either). I'm too tired to write my full blog entry about voting today, but I am definitely pleased that my fellow Punahou alumnus has so thoroughly paved a path to the White House.
Gifts for Morah and I
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1959 hrs
Some people have been asking me what gifts they should get for Morah and I. We're very simple to shop for this year — just buy us gift cards for house-related stuff. Stores like Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond are perfect choices for us. And, of course, you can't go wrong with cash.
Scooby, Scooby Doo, Where Are You?
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1939 hrs
At work, the whole I.T. department dressed up as the gang from Scooby Doo (and one villain). Here's the result.
Not NaNoWriMo, Not NaBloWriMo
Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 1919 hrs
With everything that has been going on in my life lately, it's not a giant mystery that I haven't had much time to write many blog posts. I don't like it when I write back to back Friday Fundays, so in an attempt to get back into writing, I'm going to try to write a post every day this month.
I'll admit, this post is being written on the 3rd, which is when I came up with this idea. So since I'm not doing NaNoWriMo, and I missed NaBloWriMo, this isn't either of them. This is my own little thing to keep you all entertained, and to flex my fingers and my brain.
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