b'more smog'more

i've been meaning to blog this one for awhile. not only is this deplorable, as baltimore has received a big ol' "f" from the lung association and councilwoman pugh biked a whopping one day to work back in '04, but the publicity photo that they chose to use for the publication regarding air quality has some random woman sitting in the background eating a box lunch and billowing out a monster puff of smoke just as they snapped the photo.

couldn't they have cropped the woman out of the photo at least?

public priorities

i feel the need to express my unrest on the subject of the new google feature that ranks the most searched queries on g-trends. now it is not really the tracking of these stats that concerns me, but the rampant presence of pop culture reality tv iconography that seems to bring people to search for more answers and information on such trivial drivel.

in my opinion, based on this information and the countless millions of cell phone votes that these shows receive every night, the '08 presidential election should be a reality show itself-- "america's next president." we may actually see a majority voter turn-out for that one--as well as scrutiny of the candidates within a platform of voting people off the island or off the stage in a way that we the people seem to understand.

sorry, charlie.

"even if deadlines for troop withdrawals are dropped as expected, democratic leaders are claiming victory in the high-profile fight with bush."

sorry dems, puff up your chests as you may, but you lost.

odd visitor

a few sundays ago, around quarter after 10pm, a. and i were upstairs getting ready for the work week and i was simultaneously talking with my sister on the phone. yes, talented, i know. and suddenly, there was a rap at the door. the sort of rap that meant business. who could it be? our downstairs was dark and we thought maybe sean was dropping by on a whim. nevertheless, we cautiously and curiously toed downstairs and unlatched the deadbolt to see one of baltimore's finest clad in his blue uniform and cop cruiser doubleparked out front. i waved at him with the phone still to my ear and said hi, he turned to us and said,

"we've had a complaint that you have been abusing your child."

a. and i turned to each other, cocked an eye at one another with a bit of a pursed smile and then looked back at him and announced in stereo,

"we don't have a child."

the cop looked at us in an authoritative-accusatory sort of way and said, "you don't?"--his eyebrow cocked and head tilted slightly as his tone inflected. at this point i asked my sister to hold on, and put the phone finally to my side. we again said quite plainly, "no."

our gentleman caller then changed his whole posture and gave kindof an aww-schucks embarassed dance-shuffle on our porch. he called back to his dispatcher and confirmed the address, which he was standing in front of, but someone along the chain of telephone had written down the incorrect street number as we don't have any children, save each other. the sheepy-copper then slunk away with an apology and all we were left to think about was the poor kid who was actually getting abused somewhere along our block or the next that didn't get the help that their neighbors called upon the authorities for. some mistakes are bad, and equally so, sad.

bye-bye, wolfie

thanks for separating the classes and cultures further. the world bank's neo-classical imperialistic approach needs a dramatic overhaul. let's hope that wolfie is succeeded by a numbers economist with a heart and a brain and some nerve---perhaps we should ask the wizard?

02007+10K

founded in part by avant-garde musician brian eno and david hillis, creator of the connection machine supercomputer, the long now foundation seeks to adjust the current cultural ideology of "faster, higher, cheaper" to "slower, better, sustainable." from the reading i have done on the foundation, it is a very interesting concept with existentialist roots. the organization plans to be in it for the long haul--10,000 years-- to effectively carry out its mission. an audacious goal, indeed.

where do you get your news?

Public Knowledge of Current Affairs Little Changed by News and Information Revolutions - What Americans Know: 1989-2007

the best dental floss ever

this stuff is the bomb. it doesn't fray or shred like standard floss tends to do. it acts more like dental tape products, like glide-- but dental tape is usually sold in 5 and 10-yard tins for ~$3/ea.

get this, this supreme floss comes in a recyclable package filled with 100 yards of flossing joy. i've been using this product for about 10 years and go through about one every 9 months.

it is usually found at local natural foods outlets, but it looks as if you can also purchase it online for a hair over $4.

make your dentist proud.

shee-kag-go

we went to chicago earlier this month and had a wonderful visit with my cousin jason. we dined out at the fantastic chicago diner, with the tag line "meat free since '83." soy milk shakes to drool over in your dreams.

we also went up to milwaukee to see auntie jill and stayed with her for the night. she has a beautiful bungalow house on the north end of town. it was so good to be with them again, we always have a good time.

interestingly enough, a. and i were taken aback by the humanness of everyone in chicago and milwaukee. random people talked with each other and not in a disingenuous way. this is a stark contrast to the gritty eff-off attitudes of the mid-atlantic region where you really don't engage into conversation with random folk. this was a breath of fresh air to see people smiling in public and fraternizing with one another.

to rate the chicago diner, i would say that the dagwood club and chocolate chip cookie dough milkshake i had was a definite 8.9/10 and these lovely little biscuits and tempeh gravy, soysage, and tofu scramble (with sunflower seeds) were holding a strong flight pattern at 9.2/10. yummy in my tummy!