As Does a Man/He Returns the Lost Dough

Cabbie Returns $21,000 Left Behind in Cab:

The cabbie's name and his actions remind us what it means to step up and do the right thing, an important component of being a Man (or Woman...)

The link to the Daily News site (above) loads slowly so here's the text:


NY Cab Driver Returns $21,000 to Visitor
Associated Press
Updated: 01/12/2010


PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - A New York City cab driver is being praised for returning more than $21,000 lost by a visitor from Italy. Felicia Lettieri, 72, left her purse in a Manhattan taxi on Christmas Eve. It contained traveling money for her and six relatives. Police told them not to get their hopes up about finding it. The cabbie drove about 50 miles, to a Long Island address he had found in the purse. No one was home, so he left his phone number and later returned with the money. Lettieri's daughter, Maria Rosaria Falonga, told Newsday from Pompei, Italy that the cabbie also left a note. He told her: "Don't worry, Felicia. ... I'll keep it safe." The driver, Mukul Asaduzzaman, could not be reached for comment. He refused a reward.

Inside the Refrigerator

I find this picture-show fascinating, (and somewhat repulsive):

They call it "you are what you eat" but I'd add, "and store - and how!"

Happy Holidays!

Because of the aspect ratio, this plays better on the youtube page. Doubleclick to view on youtube.

Octopus Appropriately in Bowl

Calamari has just been taken off the menu.  Octopus utilizes coconut shell.

PS: I just realized calamari is squid. But I'm still convinced not to eat the cousin of the octopus or the octopus.

Not All Business

You can't run a government like a business because people are not commodities.  And here's a little secret: they're not (primarily) consumers, either.  We have a social structure comprised of many smaller social structures and they require management and coordination, but there is so much more to human existance than the exchange of goods and services.  When you make people into commodities, when the market crashes, the people have the experience of being devalued.  What a cruel hoax.

The Milkman's Train

Me gusto este musica! Alcides Ovelar - Tren Lechero

Sites Seat Cities

Sedementary Formations

I'm a romantic at heart, but deep down I'm a cynic.  The good news is: deeper down, I'm an idealist.

Precisely Why I Don't Care to Twit:

Miley Cyrus said it best:

"My reason [for shutting down Twitter] was because you write what you're doing at that moment, but at that moment, what you write is never what you're doing because you're too busy tweeting about it." (Quoted in Seventeen magazine, 2009)

About Holiday Shopping

Sunday.  Post Thankgiving Sunday.  No Black-Friday for me; I'm not interested in shopping when everyone else goes.  Christmas is coming, yes, and shopping is a requirement because the only people who truly appreciate the need to make small pacts to forgo the expenses are the ones with no kids. 

But, as soon as the pre-holiday dread passes (usually mid-December), the holiday focus will shift to spending time with friends.  When the shopping fairy comes, I will go with her and shop during the dinner hour on weekdays.  That's the time to go - when everyone else is hungry you can get the jump on the lines.  Another piece of advice: avoid the mall.

Ho ho oh!

Smaller and Smaller Gets Bigger and Bigger!

This is kinda like the end sequence to Men in Black, only different (use the slider).

Cell Size and Scale

Water on the Moon, Tears on My Pillow

(Chairface Chippendale tried carving his name on the moon with a giant laser, but the Tick thwarted him.)



Nasa Finds Water on the Moon!  Great! That means we can have sewers and waterslides on it, too!

I read a play once, probably famous, written in the early stages of the Apollo Program, that explored the notion of the moon as a romantic symbol losing its mystique once humans set foot on it.  Well, this blast and discovery the moon is "something we can use!" blows the sweetness of romance completely outa the water!

Ain't Gonna Study War No More

It's Veterans' Day.  The best way to honor our veterans is by ending war. Yes, the world has lots of bullies, and you gotta stand up to a bully, but killing?!  Come on.  Survival (and winning it all!) depends on our creating a more compassionate world so the concept of war can be relegated to History.  It could happen.  Imagine that.

For starters, get this song stuck in your head: Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Down by the Riverside

Consider a humbling wit:  George Carlin: We Like War

My Feet Go to Eleven

Never buy shoes in a hurry.
It's better to wait, I'll report:
Never expect that your purchase, if hasty,
Won't be too tottering, too tight or too short.

Rushed on your way to an elsewhere
Should never be the circumstance to meet
Your steps to the world, your platforms of peace
The support and showcase for your feet.

Instead, take your time and go browsing,
Considering what you like best.
And if you are moved to an impulse
Step forward; History tells the rest.

I bought my shoes in a hurry.
They're handsome and pretty - heaven!
But in pain by day's end, Honesty insists
They be given to an actual size ten.

Health Care Reform

Dan Piraro makes a very good case for Healthcare reform.  You know him, Bizarro cartoon - well known, worldwide - why, he's famous and everything!  But if he gets sick, he's in a pickle - and not the sweet kind!

No Pummeling Allowed!

See, here's the problem:  police officers are not supposed to beat people up, no matter how mad they get.  I refer to this quote in the linked story:  "4 California Cops on Leave After Student Beating"

From the story:
"Siegel's attorney, Terry Bowman, says the video leaves out details that would show why the officers acted as they did."

This is always the defense.  And this is always the problem.  There is no justification for cops beating up suspects.  Reasons are irrelevant.  That's the point.  Apprehend, arrest if appropriate, but pummel?  Nope.

Budget Cuts at the Local College Theatre

The Sag is Old

Javier the Questioner asks why some men wear their pants so low, and why they don't just pull them up. As Jean and Shanta look on, Danielle shares some crucial historical knowledge about how the sagging movement was born and who was the instigator of this fashion statement.  (Best viewed directly from youtube for wide screen - click on the video twice).

It May Be a Fine Line, but I'm on the Clever Side of it!

So I'm not impressed by corporate hierarchy - I thought that made me a difficult employee; but it turns out I'm among the best!  Yay!  Vindication!

See LA Times book review: the Care and Feeding of Clever Employees.

Focus People! Focus!

LA Times: James Rainey thinks we're inundated with info and need critical thinking skills to engage us in the process of information culling, too: With Information Galore, We Need News Judgement.

There was a conference about it and everything! Maybe they were planning it while I was out swimming in the surf that day (see below: "In Which I Become Editor in Chief...").