Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Try and follow this
"Try and" construction may be older than "try to".
Just a brief faq note on a construction that I find fascinating in its idiomatic use.
Just a brief faq note on a construction that I find fascinating in its idiomatic use.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
What am I drinking? What are you drinking?
I'm drinking:
2 oz. Bulleit Rye (on sale at Super King)
.75 oz Lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup (with cardamom)
2 tbsp muddled mint
Dash Soda water
Dash Blood orange juice
You?
2 oz. Bulleit Rye (on sale at Super King)
.75 oz Lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup (with cardamom)
2 tbsp muddled mint
Dash Soda water
Dash Blood orange juice
You?
MeFi Mag Issue Four: Work!
MeFi Mag Issue 4:
By MeFi Mag in Entertainment
This issue touches on the theme of work, in various forms. Klangklangston takes a look behind the scenes at the Institute of Erotic Arts and Sciences, msalt discusses the similarities of comedians to Daoist monks, Lutoslawski reveals the torture of man-boobs, iamkimiam is interviewed about "Meffy" vs "Mee-Fai", Brandon Blatcher traces the path Neil Armstrong's journey to be first man on the moon and brina chats with the newest moderator, restless…
Free PDF with sound here! (Due to limitations of print, there is no sound in the Magcloud edition.)
Tell me what you think!
Friday, July 08, 2011
LA Times says LA needs to respect cyclists
Columnist Hector Tobar goes riding; gets attitude adjustment.
Nice little article about the Passage rides Amanda goes on.
Nice little article about the Passage rides Amanda goes on.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
The sale of two douches
I bought a case of beer from the Rite Aid tonight, the one on Santa Monica at Vermont. There are two checkout lanes open, each with a woman checking out. I choose one lane, and I'm standing there with my case of bottles, and the cashier is idly chit chatting with the other cashier and the woman who's in front of me.
Her kids are orbiting and hitting each other, pouting and whining, and they're in their mid teens. Neither cashier nor the woman seems to be in any hurry.
I think about going over to the other line, but I see that woman's not getting rung up either. Because I'm judgmental and annoyed, I start paying attention to what the women have.
There has to be some sort of sale on douches at the Rite Aid. Both women have double packs of store brand douches. The price has somehow been marked incorrectly or isn't scanning, so everybody's just chillin' on the douches.
I wanted to yell, "JUST LEAVE THE DOUCHES! THEY ARE UNHEALTHY! ALSO THIS BEER IS HEAVY AND I WANT TO DRINK IT COLD!"
Her kids are orbiting and hitting each other, pouting and whining, and they're in their mid teens. Neither cashier nor the woman seems to be in any hurry.
I think about going over to the other line, but I see that woman's not getting rung up either. Because I'm judgmental and annoyed, I start paying attention to what the women have.
There has to be some sort of sale on douches at the Rite Aid. Both women have double packs of store brand douches. The price has somehow been marked incorrectly or isn't scanning, so everybody's just chillin' on the douches.
I wanted to yell, "JUST LEAVE THE DOUCHES! THEY ARE UNHEALTHY! ALSO THIS BEER IS HEAVY AND I WANT TO DRINK IT COLD!"
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Linkdump Wednesday!
Spectral Layers from DIVIDE FRAME on Vimeo.
A remarkably clear-headed rendering of the Oxford comma thing.
Highwayman's exploits bound in his own skin.
Local time, Seoul.
Fashion It So does TNG pr0n.
Has feminism gone too far? Is there any hope?
American Utopianism.
Cy Twombly photography book.
Seth Lower's Diamonds are Forever.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Happy birthday to me!
I had a pretty good birthday yesterday (well, and today).
It started shittily enough, with yet another grinding battle against an over-burdened health care bureaucracy, but picked up with a trip to Mom's Tamales — not to be confused with Mama's Tamales, our previous favorite tamales. (Still good, just Mom's were fluffier and spicier.)
Stopped by the CSA; going to their potluck tomorrow.
Amy and I met Amanda and Isaac at City Sip, had some tempernillo and rioja, along with some tasty cheeses. Not too bad for happy hour — $4 tempernillo is worthwhile even if it's a bit one-note.
Then Amy and I headed off to Sage Bistro, a vegan half-raw bistro. Service was great, food was three stars, with every dish having sauce problems. Too much dressing on the salads, too many sauces on the spring rolls, too sweet marina sauce on amazing little ravioli.
We took a quick detour by Seth Lower's show at the Weekend Gallery, right across the street from Wacko. It was a really small space, but it's worth seeing.
We ended up back at home with fresh berries and cream. Fantastic.
Today, had a picnic up at Barnsdall Park (an official webpage that's unfortunately ranked lower than the spam farm it replaced) with a passel of folks I haven't seen in a while. It was nice overeating in a park. We swung by the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery on our way out — strong LA County show there, though the photographers again beat everybody else.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
What I Would Like for my Birthday
I'm turning 32 on Friday, so like all procrastinators, I consider this ample notice of my birthday wishes.
I generally feel weird about asking for things — it seems needy, I already feel cluttered too often (so maybe don't need that much more stuff) and I rarely remember things that I need outside of the contexts where I need them.
Hence not buying bread until my sandwich making is stymied.
But since some of you have asked (and asked and asked), and it seems needlessly precious of me to insist that you simply divine what I want based on what you know about what I like, I thought it couldn't hut to give options.
— An amp/receiver
Mine's a second- or third-hand model from an old prof of mine. I'm not sure whether it just needs cleaning or whether it has officially died, but the left channel keeps cutting out and it vexes me.
— Speakers
Though they once were rich and round, my circa '86 Sony's are now buzzy and incapable of the same great sound at anything less than "really loud." It makes me despair for my neighbors.
— A Flickr pro account
I've meant to set this up plenty of times, but haven't. Costs about $25 for a year, I think.
— A portfolio website
Really, I should set this up myself too, but each time I do it, I end up frustrated.
— Booze.
Sweet, delicious booze of all kinds. Wine, rye, scotch, gin or even absinthe.
— A nice chef's knife.
I've been using a commercial kitchen one, which is adequate, but it's dying slowly. I've had it resharpened a couple times, and it just doesn't hold the edge all that long.
— Art.
Really, framed art — whether that means getting some of my prints framed or new art with frames — is something that I always love and really do keep a long time. Book art is also awesome. I find that I don't tend to reread books that often (always onto something new with my ADD), but I can look at well-printed art books over and over.
— A large external hard drive.
I've run out of media storage space. Again. I will run out of media storage space again again again. I need to store music and photos, preferably on a networked drive.
— Music
On CD, honestly. I've run out of mp3 space, and a well-mastered CD really does sound better. Especially jazz. My copies of the great mid '60s and early '70s jazz masterpieces are all succumbing to bitrot and scratches, so I need to replace them, and I don't want mp3s for jazz, at least while my ears can still pick out most of it.
— Twin lens Holga
I just saw some 3-D slides shot on one of these, and they're amazing. Of all the variant Holgas, this would be my first choice.
— Vosages sea salt and almond chocolates
They're crazy good.
There are plenty of other things that I'd like, from an external flash for my camera to more lenses for my cameras, or concert tickets, or a trip to Disneyland or that water park from Bill and Ted's, and I always like food (or ingredients) and anything involving 32 or 2^5 would be apt.
I generally feel weird about asking for things — it seems needy, I already feel cluttered too often (so maybe don't need that much more stuff) and I rarely remember things that I need outside of the contexts where I need them.
Hence not buying bread until my sandwich making is stymied.
But since some of you have asked (and asked and asked), and it seems needlessly precious of me to insist that you simply divine what I want based on what you know about what I like, I thought it couldn't hut to give options.
— An amp/receiver
Mine's a second- or third-hand model from an old prof of mine. I'm not sure whether it just needs cleaning or whether it has officially died, but the left channel keeps cutting out and it vexes me.
— Speakers
Though they once were rich and round, my circa '86 Sony's are now buzzy and incapable of the same great sound at anything less than "really loud." It makes me despair for my neighbors.
— A Flickr pro account
I've meant to set this up plenty of times, but haven't. Costs about $25 for a year, I think.
— A portfolio website
Really, I should set this up myself too, but each time I do it, I end up frustrated.
— Booze.
Sweet, delicious booze of all kinds. Wine, rye, scotch, gin or even absinthe.
— A nice chef's knife.
I've been using a commercial kitchen one, which is adequate, but it's dying slowly. I've had it resharpened a couple times, and it just doesn't hold the edge all that long.
— Art.
Really, framed art — whether that means getting some of my prints framed or new art with frames — is something that I always love and really do keep a long time. Book art is also awesome. I find that I don't tend to reread books that often (always onto something new with my ADD), but I can look at well-printed art books over and over.
— A large external hard drive.
I've run out of media storage space. Again. I will run out of media storage space again again again. I need to store music and photos, preferably on a networked drive.
— Music
On CD, honestly. I've run out of mp3 space, and a well-mastered CD really does sound better. Especially jazz. My copies of the great mid '60s and early '70s jazz masterpieces are all succumbing to bitrot and scratches, so I need to replace them, and I don't want mp3s for jazz, at least while my ears can still pick out most of it.
— Twin lens Holga
I just saw some 3-D slides shot on one of these, and they're amazing. Of all the variant Holgas, this would be my first choice.
— Vosages sea salt and almond chocolates
They're crazy good.
There are plenty of other things that I'd like, from an external flash for my camera to more lenses for my cameras, or concert tickets, or a trip to Disneyland or that water park from Bill and Ted's, and I always like food (or ingredients) and anything involving 32 or 2^5 would be apt.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
In which Michele Bachmann misunderstands government spending
When Michele Bachmann says that she didn't benefit from federal money, as she told the LA Times, her justification is that the money didn't go directly into her pocket, i.e. that "…the money that went to the clinic was actually training money for employees. The clinic did not get the money. And my husband and I did not get the money either. That's mental health training money that went to employees."
She's reframing the issue to answer a question of whether or not she directly profited, which isn't the question. It's a dodge, and she should be called on it — she was willing to spend the government's money on her training programs rather than spend her own money.
Likewise with the farm subsidies to the farm she co-owns. That she hasn't taken a payout doesn't mean that she doesn't benefit from the subsidies to the property she owns — that's like saying you haven't benefited from a free new wing on your house because you haven't sold it yet.
By misrepresenting how she benefits, Bachmann lies about how government works. Government spending is almost never a direct individual payment, except in the so-called "entitlement programs." Instead, policy goals are achieved through tax breaks and grant or subsidy spending. It's that type of government spending which politicians such as Bachmann cast as normative, expected and not to be included in the moral calculus of conservatism.
It's a lie that enables hypocrisy and the ongoing war against the middle class (a much more real beast than any war against Christmas).
She's reframing the issue to answer a question of whether or not she directly profited, which isn't the question. It's a dodge, and she should be called on it — she was willing to spend the government's money on her training programs rather than spend her own money.
Likewise with the farm subsidies to the farm she co-owns. That she hasn't taken a payout doesn't mean that she doesn't benefit from the subsidies to the property she owns — that's like saying you haven't benefited from a free new wing on your house because you haven't sold it yet.
By misrepresenting how she benefits, Bachmann lies about how government works. Government spending is almost never a direct individual payment, except in the so-called "entitlement programs." Instead, policy goals are achieved through tax breaks and grant or subsidy spending. It's that type of government spending which politicians such as Bachmann cast as normative, expected and not to be included in the moral calculus of conservatism.
It's a lie that enables hypocrisy and the ongoing war against the middle class (a much more real beast than any war against Christmas).
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Gangs, drugs, metal, punk, what?
I stumbled onto this short item on a gang shooting in South LA. I was curious about the gang, and it turned out to be The Defiant Ones, a black motorcycle club that started in the '50s.
Trying to find more info on them, led me to a flickr set of the 1982 LAPD gang handbook.
One of the weird things about the handbook is that they say that the white gangs mostly label themselves as "stoners," e.g. Downey Stoners, La Mirada Stoners, Paramount Stoners. So, I start googling for some of those, and run across a 1985 article about Fight For Freedom, some white punk rock gang, which sounds pretty hilarious.
In there, they quote credulously from Gregory Bodenhamer, who apparently ran a program called "Back in Control." Though in the article, he's fairly sane, it turns out that Bodenhamer thought that kids needed to be depunked and demetaled, and ran some crazy brainwashing camps in the '80s, which this rambling blog entry connects to the PMRC, Focus on the Family, the evangelical DC prayer group called The Family, and Hilary Clinton. Bodenhamer is also quoted in this goofy article about druggy metal heads.
Trying to find more info on them, led me to a flickr set of the 1982 LAPD gang handbook.
One of the weird things about the handbook is that they say that the white gangs mostly label themselves as "stoners," e.g. Downey Stoners, La Mirada Stoners, Paramount Stoners. So, I start googling for some of those, and run across a 1985 article about Fight For Freedom, some white punk rock gang, which sounds pretty hilarious.
In there, they quote credulously from Gregory Bodenhamer, who apparently ran a program called "Back in Control." Though in the article, he's fairly sane, it turns out that Bodenhamer thought that kids needed to be depunked and demetaled, and ran some crazy brainwashing camps in the '80s, which this rambling blog entry connects to the PMRC, Focus on the Family, the evangelical DC prayer group called The Family, and Hilary Clinton. Bodenhamer is also quoted in this goofy article about druggy metal heads.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Seniors eat cat food; Rep. Ryan eats cake
While the world has focused on Weiner's weiner, Representative Paul Ryan has committed a real ethics breach: His budget plan includes hefty subsidies for his wife and father-in-law, which he'd benefit from.
While it's important to Ryan to make sure that Medicare fails and seniors die, it's also important that he make some money from our energy policy.
Is there any better summation of Republican economic philosophy than "Fuck you, got mine"?
(edited to fix Ryan's title — He's a rep, not a sen. Mea culpa.)
While it's important to Ryan to make sure that Medicare fails and seniors die, it's also important that he make some money from our energy policy.
Is there any better summation of Republican economic philosophy than "Fuck you, got mine"?
(edited to fix Ryan's title — He's a rep, not a sen. Mea culpa.)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Come on, Trader Joe's, do the right thing
Florida tomato workers' fortunes have improved, but Trader Joe's still refuses to sign an agreement that Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Sodexo, Whole Foods and other large fast food and food supply chains have already done.
The agreement would increase prices on winter tomatoes (October through May) by about a penny per pound, translating into thousands of dollars for workers that are essentially at the very bottom of the American workforce. Seriously — there are literally slavery rings being run in Florida, forcing people to pick tomatoes for no pay and not allowing them to leave.
By refusing to sign the agreement, Trader Joe's tacitly supports the working conditions.
Trader Joe's provides their reasoning here, alleging that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is spreading lies and defaming them. While they raise some worthwhile points, saying things like "no serious business would agree" to these terms is belied by the fact that Whole Foods as well as the major fast food chains (and their suppliers) all have.
When I canvassed, I dealt with a document from Trader Joe's legal team that was similarly combative, misleading and fundamentally misrepresenting the decisions made since Pruneyard, which makes me more suspicious of their document here.
I like Trader Joe's. I shop there pretty often. I'm going to talk to the store managers about this, and I encourage you to do so as well. While their letter concludes that they will not be pressured to agree to CIW's terms — as so many others have — I will be pressuring them, and depending on their reply, may make other arrangements for spending my money.
The agreement would increase prices on winter tomatoes (October through May) by about a penny per pound, translating into thousands of dollars for workers that are essentially at the very bottom of the American workforce. Seriously — there are literally slavery rings being run in Florida, forcing people to pick tomatoes for no pay and not allowing them to leave.
By refusing to sign the agreement, Trader Joe's tacitly supports the working conditions.
Trader Joe's provides their reasoning here, alleging that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is spreading lies and defaming them. While they raise some worthwhile points, saying things like "no serious business would agree" to these terms is belied by the fact that Whole Foods as well as the major fast food chains (and their suppliers) all have.
When I canvassed, I dealt with a document from Trader Joe's legal team that was similarly combative, misleading and fundamentally misrepresenting the decisions made since Pruneyard, which makes me more suspicious of their document here.
I like Trader Joe's. I shop there pretty often. I'm going to talk to the store managers about this, and I encourage you to do so as well. While their letter concludes that they will not be pressured to agree to CIW's terms — as so many others have — I will be pressuring them, and depending on their reply, may make other arrangements for spending my money.
Going mobile!
I've enabled a mobile version of my blog, handily suggested to me this morning by blogger, after Amy couldn't get here with her tablet last night.
This is Amy's favorite song ever too, maybe second to My Wife.
This is Amy's favorite song ever too, maybe second to My Wife.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
If only it was Tim and Eric…
I used to live in this district, and while Hahn's a machine hack who won based on her family's legacy, it's good to remember every now and then that the folks running against her actually believe this shit.
Luckily, there's a gif for that:
This is what turning right means. It means that Craig Huey's supported by some pretty reprehensible motherfuckers, and he's yet to speak out on the ad.
While pundi-bloggers are quickly calling this "The Most Offensive Political Ad Ever", that undersells the assholes of the past.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Steaming streaming for the ear holes
3VOOR12 - Luisterpaal is a Dutch site that looks legal enough, and has a bunch of music that I've been curious about but haven't found streaming for free in the US (i.e. Grooveshark). And unlike Spotify, it doesn't bounce Americans.
Been digging The Oh Sees, Cults and Fucked Up albums.
Been digging The Oh Sees, Cults and Fucked Up albums.
Space is full of assholes
Tumblr Hate the Future is awesome dystopic revenge for all the milquetoast iFuture bullshit.
Monday, June 06, 2011
One quiet murder
These People Mean Nothing To Each Other (PDF), by Greg Stolze.
A little over-reliant on corny dialect, but otherwise a good little crime story.
A little over-reliant on corny dialect, but otherwise a good little crime story.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Good governance is persistent
The prize bureaucrats of the Hapsburg empire make for better governance even today.
When life gives you lemonade
For childhood businesses, the lemonade stand is a hoary trope. Simply hearing the phrase, one can already picture the table, pitcher and reversed letters.
But for Nicholas Martin, they're also a way to make a misleading case against governmental regulation.
Martin, the head of an organization that reeks of astroturf (no website, the only legitimate mention on the web comes from Sourcewatch noting another astroturf organization Martin belonged to), the Consumer Health Education Council in Indianapolis, complains that his daughter is only allowed to operate a business on public grounds one day a year, and that the health department would prohibit unlicensed food vending.
Of course, he doesn't bother to get any names or anything that might make the quotes verifiable.
Instead, he proceeds with the kind of blind privilege that entitles him to complain endlessly about regulations that generally make sense if considered in the light of the equality of the law — would he want everyone who wants to sell whatever food or drink they want to be able to do it anywhere? His strongest complaint is that the zoning laws officially prohibit him from having the stand on his lawn, but if that's really a problem, change the laws.
It's also disingenuous to pretend that these laws would meaningfully restrict his freedom — the health department says it would only respond to a complaint, and if his daughter was poisoned by someone else's lemonade stand, he'd be the first to complain. Rather, they function more like laws against speeding, where the laws themselves are only sporadically enforced, especially against the most egregious violators, but everyone still speeds. Just not by as much as they might otherwise.
Why the Los Angeles Times decided to run a facile anti-regulation piece from Indianapolis is beyond me, but next time I would hope that an editor would take a brief look at it before signing off on thin claims, misleading anecdotes and transparent propaganda from an anti-government activist.
But for Nicholas Martin, they're also a way to make a misleading case against governmental regulation.
Martin, the head of an organization that reeks of astroturf (no website, the only legitimate mention on the web comes from Sourcewatch noting another astroturf organization Martin belonged to), the Consumer Health Education Council in Indianapolis, complains that his daughter is only allowed to operate a business on public grounds one day a year, and that the health department would prohibit unlicensed food vending.
Of course, he doesn't bother to get any names or anything that might make the quotes verifiable.
Instead, he proceeds with the kind of blind privilege that entitles him to complain endlessly about regulations that generally make sense if considered in the light of the equality of the law — would he want everyone who wants to sell whatever food or drink they want to be able to do it anywhere? His strongest complaint is that the zoning laws officially prohibit him from having the stand on his lawn, but if that's really a problem, change the laws.
It's also disingenuous to pretend that these laws would meaningfully restrict his freedom — the health department says it would only respond to a complaint, and if his daughter was poisoned by someone else's lemonade stand, he'd be the first to complain. Rather, they function more like laws against speeding, where the laws themselves are only sporadically enforced, especially against the most egregious violators, but everyone still speeds. Just not by as much as they might otherwise.
Why the Los Angeles Times decided to run a facile anti-regulation piece from Indianapolis is beyond me, but next time I would hope that an editor would take a brief look at it before signing off on thin claims, misleading anecdotes and transparent propaganda from an anti-government activist.
Friday, June 03, 2011
MeFi Mag issue three!
MeFi Mag Issue 3:
By MeFi Mag in Entertainment
This issue was written and shot all over the world — from Japan to Texas, Scotland to Pennsylvania — then compiled in California, laid out in a secret lair on the East Coast and printed back in California. With that global community in mind, and with summer approaching — which increases the number of travel questions (pg. 16), it made sense to pick a Travel and Place theme for June. We have stories on how the land shapes narrative (pg. 20), o…
Issue three is out!
Buy a copy (or download it for free) and see why I've been grumpily copy editing for weeks!
Thursday, June 02, 2011
I made ice cream
From this recipe, but I will say that his emphasis on whipping to get a lot of air in the mix led to (maybe because of the hand mixer) more a mousse than an ice cream. Though that might have also been because I didn't have any milk and just used cream straight through.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Why conservative jokes suck
The Irony of Irony (Ironic!)
Literally unbelievable!
For some of you who see me comment on MetaFilter, you'll know that I'm generally annoyed at the lazy reductionism of people of faith as credulous rubes (seen in its most patronizing in the "Santa Claus" construction).
But that's because the vast majority of the people I know who are people of faith don't take the faith too literally. They understand that conceiving of the world as a battle between God and Satan is both simplistic and, well, magical in a bad way. If I believe that it is literally the antithesis of all that is good and holy that motivates your actions, then sure, $8 billion Abortionplex.
Likewise, the feeling of "Fuck you, nah just kidding," that pervades conservative humor (including a "Tiger Woods vs. Obama: Who's more diverse?" gag) comes from the sense that everyone is using the pretense of humor as a way to cover up the ostensibly unpopular or impolitic opinions they really hold (hence believing that Colbert is really a conservative, and that his jokiness is only a play on Bill O'Reilly), and an antipathy toward critical examinations of those opinions — which is when humor is invoked as a defense.
Literally unbelievable!
For some of you who see me comment on MetaFilter, you'll know that I'm generally annoyed at the lazy reductionism of people of faith as credulous rubes (seen in its most patronizing in the "Santa Claus" construction).
But that's because the vast majority of the people I know who are people of faith don't take the faith too literally. They understand that conceiving of the world as a battle between God and Satan is both simplistic and, well, magical in a bad way. If I believe that it is literally the antithesis of all that is good and holy that motivates your actions, then sure, $8 billion Abortionplex.
Likewise, the feeling of "Fuck you, nah just kidding," that pervades conservative humor (including a "Tiger Woods vs. Obama: Who's more diverse?" gag) comes from the sense that everyone is using the pretense of humor as a way to cover up the ostensibly unpopular or impolitic opinions they really hold (hence believing that Colbert is really a conservative, and that his jokiness is only a play on Bill O'Reilly), and an antipathy toward critical examinations of those opinions — which is when humor is invoked as a defense.
Why yes, that is tasty
1.5 oz rum
3 oz pineapple juice
1.5 oz Gerolsteiner (buck a liter at Jon's)
.75 oz Cointreau
Dash Angostura bitters
All measurements approximate.
Stir. Drink.
3 oz pineapple juice
1.5 oz Gerolsteiner (buck a liter at Jon's)
.75 oz Cointreau
Dash Angostura bitters
All measurements approximate.
Stir. Drink.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Culinary intersectionality of suck
As a vegetarian, Mexican food is pretty easy to make at home — tacos, burritos, enchiladas, these are all things that have a pretty simple format, but can support huge variation. But when Food Network show Mexican Made Easy wants to do a vegetarian episode, what do they choose? A trifle, lasagna and a salad.
Any cooking show's ethnic food is a dodgy proposition — I think what makes these cheese sticks Mexican is just the cilantro — but it highlights a tremendous failure of imagination with vegetarian food.
This is especially depressing since the vast majority of what I eat is "vegetarian ethnic" food — "American" food is pretty meat-centric, shaped by generations of agricultural policy to heighten cheap meat and cheap starches. And because I'm lucky to live in a place where "Mexican" breaks down into endless regional differences (from Oaxacan to Korean), I know that "Mexican" is both spices and format, and is pretty damn easy.
So, mainstream+vegetarian+ethnic hits this culinary intersection of suck, where this food that could have been tasty and simple ends up a bland, uninspired hassle. It's no wonder that most folks think they couldn't be vegetarian — I couldn't either if I had to live on "Mexican mac and cheese."
Luckily, there are some (still easy) ways to make your Mexican food exponentially better.
The first is to grind your spices fresh. Put cumin in pretty much everything, usually when you're cooking sauteeing the onions (pretty much every vegetarian Mexican dish involves building from some onion sautee or another). You can use dried oregano, but fresh cilantro is much better. Adding a pinch cinnamon can add depth, especially with beans. Black beans have more flavor than pinto beans (which is why pinto beans make better refried). The spicing goes from dark to light — add things like cumin, dried peppers or bay leaves earlier, add things like cilantro, fresh peppers or avacado later. Salt cautiously throughout.
Most of all, just season a little more than you think you should and cook the vegetables a little less.
Any cooking show's ethnic food is a dodgy proposition — I think what makes these cheese sticks Mexican is just the cilantro — but it highlights a tremendous failure of imagination with vegetarian food.
This is especially depressing since the vast majority of what I eat is "vegetarian ethnic" food — "American" food is pretty meat-centric, shaped by generations of agricultural policy to heighten cheap meat and cheap starches. And because I'm lucky to live in a place where "Mexican" breaks down into endless regional differences (from Oaxacan to Korean), I know that "Mexican" is both spices and format, and is pretty damn easy.
So, mainstream+vegetarian+ethnic hits this culinary intersection of suck, where this food that could have been tasty and simple ends up a bland, uninspired hassle. It's no wonder that most folks think they couldn't be vegetarian — I couldn't either if I had to live on "Mexican mac and cheese."
Luckily, there are some (still easy) ways to make your Mexican food exponentially better.
The first is to grind your spices fresh. Put cumin in pretty much everything, usually when you're cooking sauteeing the onions (pretty much every vegetarian Mexican dish involves building from some onion sautee or another). You can use dried oregano, but fresh cilantro is much better. Adding a pinch cinnamon can add depth, especially with beans. Black beans have more flavor than pinto beans (which is why pinto beans make better refried). The spicing goes from dark to light — add things like cumin, dried peppers or bay leaves earlier, add things like cilantro, fresh peppers or avacado later. Salt cautiously throughout.
Most of all, just season a little more than you think you should and cook the vegetables a little less.
You got gore in my Satanism!
Three brief guides to metal subgenres (or "What's the difference between black metal and death metal, anyhow?")
Sunday, May 22, 2011
A brief defense of terrible things
There are two things any article about Odd Future needs to feature: That they're pretty rapey, and that white critics like them.
This is especially important to mention this if you are a white critic.
Since the album came out nearly two weeks ago, most critics have had it for months and are clearly bored of it — you can see this by the "let's cover the coverage" meta-stage we're in now, where Cord Jefferson makes a whole article out of telling listeners why they really like it (or at least why white critics like it — fetishizing black man's rage again.
(He ends with a doozy: "Ike Turner, Mike Tyson, Chris Brown -- all lack men whose anger went from latent to gruesome, and whose reputations were shattered irrevocably in the process. Because the fetishization of black aggression has its limits. And while white people love to hear you say you're going to beat and rape some women, God help you if you ever actually do it."
Poor Dominique Strauss-Kahn learned that the hard way.)
So, briefly:
OF has beats I like and flows I like, and the cartoonish rape is part of a cartoonishly violent world they create. But I like metal and I like skatepunk and I don't mind stuff that's intentionally gross or gruesome, so long as there's something else there. It's not for everyone, but while race is part of the context of OF, it's not nearly as important to me as the aesthetic norms of the rest of the stuff I listen to. Putting a lot of emotional charge into the cartoony rage and violence would distract me from both the other stuff going on in the music that I like, and the sense of humor I think OF comes across with.
Which means that I find the defenses of OF on the "Freaking out the squares" tip to be pretty bullshit too — it's constant talk about the least interesting part of the music, like focusing on just how Satanic metal bands are.
This is especially important to mention this if you are a white critic.
Since the album came out nearly two weeks ago, most critics have had it for months and are clearly bored of it — you can see this by the "let's cover the coverage" meta-stage we're in now, where Cord Jefferson makes a whole article out of telling listeners why they really like it (or at least why white critics like it — fetishizing black man's rage again.
(He ends with a doozy: "Ike Turner, Mike Tyson, Chris Brown -- all lack men whose anger went from latent to gruesome, and whose reputations were shattered irrevocably in the process. Because the fetishization of black aggression has its limits. And while white people love to hear you say you're going to beat and rape some women, God help you if you ever actually do it."
Poor Dominique Strauss-Kahn learned that the hard way.)
So, briefly:
OF has beats I like and flows I like, and the cartoonish rape is part of a cartoonishly violent world they create. But I like metal and I like skatepunk and I don't mind stuff that's intentionally gross or gruesome, so long as there's something else there. It's not for everyone, but while race is part of the context of OF, it's not nearly as important to me as the aesthetic norms of the rest of the stuff I listen to. Putting a lot of emotional charge into the cartoony rage and violence would distract me from both the other stuff going on in the music that I like, and the sense of humor I think OF comes across with.
Which means that I find the defenses of OF on the "Freaking out the squares" tip to be pretty bullshit too — it's constant talk about the least interesting part of the music, like focusing on just how Satanic metal bands are.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Like hulahoops and pet rocks
A new Catholic investigation finds that widespread child molestation by Catholic priests was society's fault, blaming individualism and shifting norms..
But it certainly wasn't celibacy or gays in the clergy.
Hey, c'mon, it was the '50s through the '80s, who didn't toke a little hash and molest some kids?
But it certainly wasn't celibacy or gays in the clergy.
Hey, c'mon, it was the '50s through the '80s, who didn't toke a little hash and molest some kids?
Angel, Bounce, Constrobuz, 1, 2, 3
Angel Haze's Altered Ego mixtape. Spitting like a sprinkler, Haze is who you can listen to if Odd Future makes you feel liberal guilt.
Mad Decent's Bounce It! is three years old, but if you're just getting to Big Freedia, this mix is homework.
Constrobuz makes hazy oozy woozy beats.
Mad Decent's Bounce It! is three years old, but if you're just getting to Big Freedia, this mix is homework.
Constrobuz makes hazy oozy woozy beats.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Mein Gott in Himmel!
I've been trending more and more atheist lately, until yesterday, when my back went out. Amy's at a conference, and I'm in so much pain that I can only assume that God exists and he's punishing me for being very, very bad. If only my playacted pagan Thor worship could save me!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Does Farming Monthly have a review section?
When farmer John Rollins buys a farm in Messengers 2: The Scarecrow, it comes with a tractor, a ropes course, a barn full of hay (but no animals) and a corn field he can't get to grow corn in twenty minutes of trying.
He paid a lot for it, probably too much since he obviously doesn't know anything about farming, like that you have to water plants and that you can't eat ornamental corn that's been wired to the stalk's armpits. Oh, also you're never going to grow enough corn to live on if you're doing it in a field the size of a basketball court.
His terrible farm failing, he blames the crows (who also have no interest in eating the corn), and brings out the scarecrow from the secret compartment in his barn. Do not pause to say "What?"
Things go pretty well for Rollins once he gets the scarecrow up — the crows all die, his new neighbor (the "Jump to Conclusions" guy from "Office Space") brings him a beer, the bank agent gets hit by a semi that somehow means Rollins doesn't have to pay his mortgage, he sees his neighbor's wife inexplicably topless and rubbing herself in soft focus with her nipples blurred out.
In exchange for all this good fortune, Rollins pretty much destroys any sympathy you might have for him. Played by the perpetually squinty Norman Reedus, Rollins rapes his wife, fantasizes about killing his kids, and thinks that sowing a crop means whipping kernels into dying cornfields and wearing designer shirts. The movie rewards him with full, harvestable ears the next day, making sure that worse than an inept loser, he's an undeserving winner. At least everyone else realizes that his desire to wear the accessories of murdered men is troubling, and that his explanation that the scarecrow did it is pretty psychotic.
But, suddenly afraid of the inevitable conclusion that people bad at farming kill their families, the film suddenly veers into rubber monster territory. The twist is that there's no twist. The scarecrow's somehow related to the top hand's grandfather's exposition exposition black magic and what could have been a credible, if half-assed, anti-boozer morality play suddenly wants to be taken seriously as scary business. The rubber guy chases one of the kids around, fights an already K.O.ed deputy, then gives the mandatory minimum suspense time threatening the other kid before getting walloped with a thresher.
Even by the logic of horror movies, the ultimate resolution is a failure — the family just pulls the stuffing out of the scarecrow and stores him back in the secret room in the barn, instead of burning it. Perhaps because the family just moved to the farm that afternoon, they don't realize that one of the best parts of farm life is bonfires. Have we come so far from our witch-burning past?
Happily, we can assume that killing the deputy and the man from the bank did nothing to assuage Rollins' financial or legal troubles, and that the film focuses on perfunctory sequel bait because neither his boring family nor the bad farmer will be in it.
He paid a lot for it, probably too much since he obviously doesn't know anything about farming, like that you have to water plants and that you can't eat ornamental corn that's been wired to the stalk's armpits. Oh, also you're never going to grow enough corn to live on if you're doing it in a field the size of a basketball court.
His terrible farm failing, he blames the crows (who also have no interest in eating the corn), and brings out the scarecrow from the secret compartment in his barn. Do not pause to say "What?"
Things go pretty well for Rollins once he gets the scarecrow up — the crows all die, his new neighbor (the "Jump to Conclusions" guy from "Office Space") brings him a beer, the bank agent gets hit by a semi that somehow means Rollins doesn't have to pay his mortgage, he sees his neighbor's wife inexplicably topless and rubbing herself in soft focus with her nipples blurred out.
In exchange for all this good fortune, Rollins pretty much destroys any sympathy you might have for him. Played by the perpetually squinty Norman Reedus, Rollins rapes his wife, fantasizes about killing his kids, and thinks that sowing a crop means whipping kernels into dying cornfields and wearing designer shirts. The movie rewards him with full, harvestable ears the next day, making sure that worse than an inept loser, he's an undeserving winner. At least everyone else realizes that his desire to wear the accessories of murdered men is troubling, and that his explanation that the scarecrow did it is pretty psychotic.
But, suddenly afraid of the inevitable conclusion that people bad at farming kill their families, the film suddenly veers into rubber monster territory. The twist is that there's no twist. The scarecrow's somehow related to the top hand's grandfather's exposition exposition black magic and what could have been a credible, if half-assed, anti-boozer morality play suddenly wants to be taken seriously as scary business. The rubber guy chases one of the kids around, fights an already K.O.ed deputy, then gives the mandatory minimum suspense time threatening the other kid before getting walloped with a thresher.
Even by the logic of horror movies, the ultimate resolution is a failure — the family just pulls the stuffing out of the scarecrow and stores him back in the secret room in the barn, instead of burning it. Perhaps because the family just moved to the farm that afternoon, they don't realize that one of the best parts of farm life is bonfires. Have we come so far from our witch-burning past?
Happily, we can assume that killing the deputy and the man from the bank did nothing to assuage Rollins' financial or legal troubles, and that the film focuses on perfunctory sequel bait because neither his boring family nor the bad farmer will be in it.
@neighborgevork's National Anthem
Oh say can you see
that the twighlight all day
our flag was still there
through the twighlight
what so proudly we
oh the shadowous night
oh so proudly we saw
that our flag was still there
I thought about telling him that "Purple mountain's majesty" was in there somewhere, but figured that anthropology requires distance.
that the twighlight all day
our flag was still there
through the twighlight
what so proudly we
oh the shadowous night
oh so proudly we saw
that our flag was still there
I thought about telling him that "Purple mountain's majesty" was in there somewhere, but figured that anthropology requires distance.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Never let the flag distract you from shooting
I'm a total liberal, but I think this is exactly the kind of stupid you should get to be on your own land. Plus, four-wheelers are fun as hell.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Dinner with a show
Amy and I finally went out to Di Carlo tonight, the wood-fired pizza place next to the weird cash-for-cars joint.
When we got there, we realized they didn't serve booze, and for a couple of our sophistication, sobriety was not an option. So while Amy rode back to the house to pick up a bottle of Trader Joe's Barbera d'Alba, I was supposed to order a pizza and a salad and wait.
That was thwarted by the drama from the table before us.
I started eavesdropping shamelessly (as is my wont) when I hear the waitress say, "You should have told me!" to the table, then the guy in the corner starts saying, "I don't usually tell everyone I'm diabetic when I order."
He comes up to the counter, and starts telling some man (I assume the owner or manager) that he loves, loves, lurves this restaurant, but that he ordered 25 minutes ago, and got told it was only going to be five more minutes 12 minutes ago. And that the waitress didn't seem to care at all, and he'd already taken his medicine after the last time she told him five more minutes. He said, "I'm diabetic, this is serious."
Now, granted, he had a whiny, entitled voice. And the waitress usually has around zero control over when things come out of the oven, especially a wood-fired one. The manager jumped to and got the parties their pizzas, which were pretty much right there anyway.
But on the way out, the dude came up again. He reached across the counter and took the man's (owner? manager?)) hand in his and started talking about how he loved the place, but was so incredibly angry that something, something something whispered, because he suddenly realized that everyone in the restaurant could hear him.
The waitress had come over to the counter and started arguing with him, sotto voce. As the customer left, she flipped off a "Fuck you, bitch" with a delightful Latin accent (her dyed blonde hair and fake tan made her ethnicity unplaceable) and went out after the customer to continue swearing at him, at the same time her boss was still trying to glad hand him.
It was weird — the waitress was totally cool to Amy and me, but totally over the line to this other guy who seemed to kind of be in the right. I was stuck trying to explain it with stereotypes, like, that whole party (including the diabetic) were trim, well-dressed guys with the Valley Girl accent, and the waitress had an indeterminate accent that just marked her as "not American" (it might have been easier to guess if she wasn't a bottled golden blonde). So my guess was homophobia, which might be racist, but who knows?
Anyway, it was a lot more interesting than the goofy conversation the guys next to us were having about the relative loot factors of a bunch of games. "Borderline, I love it, I'm a total loot master. I love a level nine sniper rifle with a six shot clip." That guy was talking about the temple he worked at and how cool it was that his boss had an open mind and "liked all that new age shit."
Luckily, the pizza was really pretty damn tasty.
When we got there, we realized they didn't serve booze, and for a couple of our sophistication, sobriety was not an option. So while Amy rode back to the house to pick up a bottle of Trader Joe's Barbera d'Alba, I was supposed to order a pizza and a salad and wait.
That was thwarted by the drama from the table before us.
I started eavesdropping shamelessly (as is my wont) when I hear the waitress say, "You should have told me!" to the table, then the guy in the corner starts saying, "I don't usually tell everyone I'm diabetic when I order."
He comes up to the counter, and starts telling some man (I assume the owner or manager) that he loves, loves, lurves this restaurant, but that he ordered 25 minutes ago, and got told it was only going to be five more minutes 12 minutes ago. And that the waitress didn't seem to care at all, and he'd already taken his medicine after the last time she told him five more minutes. He said, "I'm diabetic, this is serious."
Now, granted, he had a whiny, entitled voice. And the waitress usually has around zero control over when things come out of the oven, especially a wood-fired one. The manager jumped to and got the parties their pizzas, which were pretty much right there anyway.
But on the way out, the dude came up again. He reached across the counter and took the man's (owner? manager?)) hand in his and started talking about how he loved the place, but was so incredibly angry that something, something something whispered, because he suddenly realized that everyone in the restaurant could hear him.
The waitress had come over to the counter and started arguing with him, sotto voce. As the customer left, she flipped off a "Fuck you, bitch" with a delightful Latin accent (her dyed blonde hair and fake tan made her ethnicity unplaceable) and went out after the customer to continue swearing at him, at the same time her boss was still trying to glad hand him.
It was weird — the waitress was totally cool to Amy and me, but totally over the line to this other guy who seemed to kind of be in the right. I was stuck trying to explain it with stereotypes, like, that whole party (including the diabetic) were trim, well-dressed guys with the Valley Girl accent, and the waitress had an indeterminate accent that just marked her as "not American" (it might have been easier to guess if she wasn't a bottled golden blonde). So my guess was homophobia, which might be racist, but who knows?
Anyway, it was a lot more interesting than the goofy conversation the guys next to us were having about the relative loot factors of a bunch of games. "Borderline, I love it, I'm a total loot master. I love a level nine sniper rifle with a six shot clip." That guy was talking about the temple he worked at and how cool it was that his boss had an open mind and "liked all that new age shit."
Luckily, the pizza was really pretty damn tasty.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Issue 2 of the MeFi Mag!
MeFi Mag Issue 2: Issue 2, May 2011
Second issue of the MeFi Mag, featuring stories by Cortex, Msalt, It's Raining Florence Henderson and more. New media the old media way!
I edited it again. Woo!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tea party? Racist? Where'd you get that idea?
I mean, aside from the constant mantra of racism throughout. I do appreciate that he separates "blacks" from "nigras" though. Would a racist do that?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Link dump: Impartiality, the N word, batting averages
Truth-out nails Wisconsin supreme court justice Prosser and his partisan dealings.
People who said "nigger" today. They all look pretty much like you'd guess.
Offense is down across baseball. New pitcher's era?
People who said "nigger" today. They all look pretty much like you'd guess.
Offense is down across baseball. New pitcher's era?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
It's Operated by a Crank!
I don't usually like steampunk (well, not since I used to play Deadlands with @Sekari), but I'm loving nerd heroes 2-D Goggles, the goofy nerd-history-hero webcomic.
Fans of Hark A Vagrant! will appreciate it.
Fans of Hark A Vagrant! will appreciate it.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Child of Lesbians Snatched by Baptist Extremists
My retitling is a little sensationalist, but what do you do when a story like this happens?
In it, a kid (had to two moms in Vermont) get kidnapped by one of her mothers — the one who renounced homosexuality under the thrall of some hardline Southern Baptists — who was aided by a pastor and an employee of Liberty University in traveling through Canada and Mexico to Nicaragua, where the poor kid's no doubt been raised under a lunatic pre-modern Christianity.
Your right to believe a crazy-ass religion does not give you the right to steal a child, nor the right to keep the kid from their non-crazy parent.
In it, a kid (had to two moms in Vermont) get kidnapped by one of her mothers — the one who renounced homosexuality under the thrall of some hardline Southern Baptists — who was aided by a pastor and an employee of Liberty University in traveling through Canada and Mexico to Nicaragua, where the poor kid's no doubt been raised under a lunatic pre-modern Christianity.
Your right to believe a crazy-ass religion does not give you the right to steal a child, nor the right to keep the kid from their non-crazy parent.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Maybe you can save us, One True Scotsman!
I would love to see a comic book hero who used his ability to exemplify positive traits in order to fight his arch nemesis Straw Man.
Doing so, he could save Christians, Objectivists and Nazis (maybe in that order).
"Thank God you got here, One True Scotsman! All the straw men were making us look like bigots!"
"Don't worry, boys! We know that all true Christians believe in charity, chastity and cannibalism!"
"What about us?"
"All true Objectivists become moral through the magic of self-interest!"
"Awesome!"
He could wear a plaid cape and carry a claymore and be cheap.
Doing so, he could save Christians, Objectivists and Nazis (maybe in that order).
"Thank God you got here, One True Scotsman! All the straw men were making us look like bigots!"
"Don't worry, boys! We know that all true Christians believe in charity, chastity and cannibalism!"
"What about us?"
"All true Objectivists become moral through the magic of self-interest!"
"Awesome!"
He could wear a plaid cape and carry a claymore and be cheap.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
On Armenian food in LA
LA Weekly's Squid Ink writes about Armenian food and mentions me, though I'm a little unclear on where they found my comment (it's pretty much true, though).
Too bad they spelled my name wrong.
Too bad they spelled my name wrong.
Dick Durbin puts the smackdown on Chase's CEO
Interchange fees are a bit of banking jargon, but Durbin does a great job dismantling Jamie Dimon's specious anti-regulation screed with this sharply-worded letter.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Charles Murray has always been racist
It's important to remember any time this Bell Curve bullshitter starts getting positive, or even neutral, press, that he was a cross-burner, but provides the fig leaf for other racists by averring that he had no racial animus when he did it.
Zombies bring out the stereotypes
Angry Asian Man examines post-apocalyptic racial politics.
Bonus: What about the Black Skins?, an essay on racism and retconning.
Bonus: What about the Black Skins?, an essay on racism and retconning.
Uprock you don't stop
Like the tango (more), Uprock is a dance style born of the streets and rife with violence. But where Tango has emphasized the sexuality (long mythologized as brothel music) and transformed into a ballroom style with romantic passion bowdlerizing the overt sexuality, uprocking has been shunted off as the less popular battle dance cousin of b-boying.
Uprock is mostly upright (toprock), with feigned punches, kicks, gunfire and arrow shots, with the basic repertoire drawn primarily from locking.
While most of KMEL's competition is floorwork b-boy stuff, in the clip above he gets into the grittiest uprock video I've found on youtube, a flurry of punches, kicks, burns and jerks.
And, of course, the Rock Steady Crew with their "hit" Uprock:
You can compare Uprock most directly to Krump and Hyphie, with the wild and aggressive arm sweeps:
E-40's "Tell me When to Go" (embedding disabled).
Which, in turn, came out of clowning and turfing, but that's another goddamned post.
Anybody got some great regional dance styles they've been sitting on?
Uprock is mostly upright (toprock), with feigned punches, kicks, gunfire and arrow shots, with the basic repertoire drawn primarily from locking.
While most of KMEL's competition is floorwork b-boy stuff, in the clip above he gets into the grittiest uprock video I've found on youtube, a flurry of punches, kicks, burns and jerks.
And, of course, the Rock Steady Crew with their "hit" Uprock:
You can compare Uprock most directly to Krump and Hyphie, with the wild and aggressive arm sweeps:
E-40's "Tell me When to Go" (embedding disabled).
Which, in turn, came out of clowning and turfing, but that's another goddamned post.
Anybody got some great regional dance styles they've been sitting on?
More CicLaVia stories
Collected here, including Lance Armstrong riding the route.
One thing that bugged me about a lot of the comments there was that it seems like a lot of pedestrians, and parents in general, are raising ruckus over the perceived "unfriendliness" of all the bikes. They're suggesting more choke points, more mandatory dismount zones and other nonsense in order to "save CicLaVia," calling it "toxic" now.
And frankly, that's a bunch of bullshit.
Part of the problem is that it was much more crowded this time — it was such a blast last time, that the attendance seemed to be at least double (going by the estimates provided by organizers). With more people comes more congestion, especially with a lot of inexperienced riders, and more congestion means that everyone has to be more responsible for their own safety and space.
It also means that the rules of traffic become more important — namely, that slower traffic keeps to the right, and folks pass on the left. Fewer folks getting to the middle of the street and then stopping unannounced will make everyone happier.
But arguing that it's necessary to cripple the bike experience in order to include more pedestrians is nonsense, and that's what more choke points and more dismount zones would do. Instead of streamlining the experience, and recognizing that any time you have, essentially, a self-directed parade of 200,000 people that there's going to be some chaos, a few vocal pedestrians are retreating to the Harrison Bergeron mode of conflict resolution.
One of their common comments was that CicLaVia isn't just for bikes, or that it's not a "bike event." Honestly, it really is primarily for bikes, though everyone is invited to come. It's organized by the Bicycle Coalition, it's named after "ciclovia," or "bike path," in Spanish. It's a bike event that is generally inclusive of other modes of transport. If the Pedestrian Union would like to organize a similar event without a focus on bikes, they're welcome to it.
Another part of the problem is, and I know I've ranted about this before, that people in LA are shitty walkers. Go to any crowded event — a farmers' market is the Platonic ideal of this — and you'll see a great raft of flitting, stalling, meandering and veering idiots with no conception of their personal space or flow of people around them. If you walk out into a mass of bikes riding at you and suddenly stop — like I saw pedestrians do at CicLaVia — you are creating the danger, not the bike. The kind of idiocy that's only annoying from pedestrians generally becomes dangerous when in the midst of vehicles, and bikes are vehicles. A bike accident can really fuck you up.
Further, there's a common misconception of the maneuverability of bicyclists among pedestrians, where, I'd guess because of a tendency to normalize for our own behavior, pedestrians assume that bikers are just as agile as people walking, and that they can stop or swerve as quickly as a walker can. But they can't. So pedestrians meander out into traffic and then blame the "aggressive" cyclists for yelling at them to get out of the way.
Because the relationships between cars and pedestrians or cars and bikes are pretty well understood and codified by law, there's a default assumption that likewise, bike and pedestrian etiquette is a likewise settled matter when most pedestrians (and bicyclists) simply don't have any experience with a bike-dominant traffic paradigm, and so they default to the idea of pedestrian rules instead of recognizing that bikes are a third beast — not as fast or massive as cars, not as nimble or slow as pedestrians. That is exacerbated by things like grade, which are readily apparent to bikers but not so much to cars or pedestrians — the calls for more choke points in particular ignores the role that momentum plays in enjoyable biking.
Finally, I'll cop to my own bias here: one of the recurrent complaints was about the inability to take small children throughout the route and the demand was to have that need catered to. While I was glad that there were a bunch of kids out there (who all seemed to be doing fine), the way that kids learn the rules of the road is through respectful interaction with the mass, not shifting the mass to cater to the needs of the kids. The event was already family friendly. If it wasn't family friendly enough for you, the problem is your family and not the event. While no doubt little Caleb or Amethyst or Dribbles is precious and special, teaching them to interact with the greater world on its own terms will serve them much better than complaining that CicLaVia wasn't nerfed enough for your kid's proto-neurotic riskphobic enjoyment.
One thing that bugged me about a lot of the comments there was that it seems like a lot of pedestrians, and parents in general, are raising ruckus over the perceived "unfriendliness" of all the bikes. They're suggesting more choke points, more mandatory dismount zones and other nonsense in order to "save CicLaVia," calling it "toxic" now.
And frankly, that's a bunch of bullshit.
Part of the problem is that it was much more crowded this time — it was such a blast last time, that the attendance seemed to be at least double (going by the estimates provided by organizers). With more people comes more congestion, especially with a lot of inexperienced riders, and more congestion means that everyone has to be more responsible for their own safety and space.
It also means that the rules of traffic become more important — namely, that slower traffic keeps to the right, and folks pass on the left. Fewer folks getting to the middle of the street and then stopping unannounced will make everyone happier.
But arguing that it's necessary to cripple the bike experience in order to include more pedestrians is nonsense, and that's what more choke points and more dismount zones would do. Instead of streamlining the experience, and recognizing that any time you have, essentially, a self-directed parade of 200,000 people that there's going to be some chaos, a few vocal pedestrians are retreating to the Harrison Bergeron mode of conflict resolution.
One of their common comments was that CicLaVia isn't just for bikes, or that it's not a "bike event." Honestly, it really is primarily for bikes, though everyone is invited to come. It's organized by the Bicycle Coalition, it's named after "ciclovia," or "bike path," in Spanish. It's a bike event that is generally inclusive of other modes of transport. If the Pedestrian Union would like to organize a similar event without a focus on bikes, they're welcome to it.
Another part of the problem is, and I know I've ranted about this before, that people in LA are shitty walkers. Go to any crowded event — a farmers' market is the Platonic ideal of this — and you'll see a great raft of flitting, stalling, meandering and veering idiots with no conception of their personal space or flow of people around them. If you walk out into a mass of bikes riding at you and suddenly stop — like I saw pedestrians do at CicLaVia — you are creating the danger, not the bike. The kind of idiocy that's only annoying from pedestrians generally becomes dangerous when in the midst of vehicles, and bikes are vehicles. A bike accident can really fuck you up.
Further, there's a common misconception of the maneuverability of bicyclists among pedestrians, where, I'd guess because of a tendency to normalize for our own behavior, pedestrians assume that bikers are just as agile as people walking, and that they can stop or swerve as quickly as a walker can. But they can't. So pedestrians meander out into traffic and then blame the "aggressive" cyclists for yelling at them to get out of the way.
Because the relationships between cars and pedestrians or cars and bikes are pretty well understood and codified by law, there's a default assumption that likewise, bike and pedestrian etiquette is a likewise settled matter when most pedestrians (and bicyclists) simply don't have any experience with a bike-dominant traffic paradigm, and so they default to the idea of pedestrian rules instead of recognizing that bikes are a third beast — not as fast or massive as cars, not as nimble or slow as pedestrians. That is exacerbated by things like grade, which are readily apparent to bikers but not so much to cars or pedestrians — the calls for more choke points in particular ignores the role that momentum plays in enjoyable biking.
Finally, I'll cop to my own bias here: one of the recurrent complaints was about the inability to take small children throughout the route and the demand was to have that need catered to. While I was glad that there were a bunch of kids out there (who all seemed to be doing fine), the way that kids learn the rules of the road is through respectful interaction with the mass, not shifting the mass to cater to the needs of the kids. The event was already family friendly. If it wasn't family friendly enough for you, the problem is your family and not the event. While no doubt little Caleb or Amethyst or Dribbles is precious and special, teaching them to interact with the greater world on its own terms will serve them much better than complaining that CicLaVia wasn't nerfed enough for your kid's proto-neurotic riskphobic enjoyment.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
CicLAvia II: Electric Boogaloo
Amanda's twitpic of Foursquare.
Amy and I rode down the route to MacArthur Park and played foursquare for about two hours with a huge mix of folks. Alex took pictures, so we'll probably see them up soon.
We headed through downtown, which is always the best part for me — it feels like we had a revolution and we won.
We made it all the way to the 4th St. bridge over the river, then headed back. Lots of fun.
On the way, we managed to lose Amy (she got ahead of us, but we thought we'd left her behind, so waited :( ), and Carson stopped off at home.
After all that euphoria, it was probably too much to ask that there weren't any morons — like the Parking Enforcement guy trying to tell me that I needed to read the vehicle code when I took the lane have read it, and more.
I also got a bit of vindication from the AT&T driver that rode up on us and flipped off Amanda and me last Friday.
So, I was riding back up my street, and I see his truck pulled over. The dude's got this biker 'stache and I could tell it was him, so I got him to roll down his window and said, "Hey, last Friday, you were honking at me and flipping me off. What was that about?"
He started out by denying it, saying that all the trucks looked the same, and I told him that I knew, because I wrote down the truck number. He kept denying it was him, so I started taking pictures with my cell and he put his hands on me to get me to stop him from taking the picture. Because I'm an obnoxious photographer, I know the law about that too (I can take pictures of whatever I want as long as I'm in public, pretty much). So then it turned into, "Why do you wanna get me fired, man? I bike too! In Ensenada!"
Well, I'm pissed because you lied to me and I had to keep interrogating you. Once he put his hands on me, I knew that I could call the cops and report an assault charge if I really wanted to be a dick (it's unlikely that it would stand up, but it would really fuck up his day).
It ended with him apologizing to me, and to Amanda (by proxy), though he wouldn't let me video it. He also gave me his card with his boss's number on it.
I'm trying to decide what I want out of it — on the one hand, he seemed genuinely apologetic. On the other hand, he lied to me right off the bat, so it makes it hard to trust the apology. And even after talking to him, he was still off on this idea that bikes had to ride as far as possible to the right, and never side-by-side.
What I really want is for AT&T drivers, as well as LA Parking Enforcement (if you really want to enforce traffic laws, you shoulda become a cop, not a meter maid), to learn that bikes can take lanes and have a right to LA streets. I'm not really sure what the best way to do this is, but I'd prefer that to anyone getting fired or anything.
Friday, April 08, 2011
It's a mix party!
Mixparty.org.
You gotta keep this kinda quiet so it doesn't get shut down, but Mixparty is a pretty sweet social mp3 streamer. Upload stuff with a group of friends and listen to it while you clean the house or edit a magazine or whatever it is you're doing with your day.
You gotta keep this kinda quiet so it doesn't get shut down, but Mixparty is a pretty sweet social mp3 streamer. Upload stuff with a group of friends and listen to it while you clean the house or edit a magazine or whatever it is you're doing with your day.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
It was a lemon party with Amanda
Amanda and I peeled some 20 or so lemons for our "artisinally-foraged limoncello," and I ended up with a lot of lemon juice (probably around a liter).
The lemons we used were from our friends' Chris and Cammie's yard, where they have a Meyer lemon tree, and also a shishi yuzu (the nobly version of what gets called yuja in Korea).
I'm thinking that I'm going to make a big ol' punch that we can drink with dinner tomorrow — the Meyer lemons being as sweet as they are kind of throws the ol' rhyme off (you know, "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak"), so I think I'm going to cut back on the simple syrup I'd normally add and make a fairly sour rum punch.
This is our test run for the limoncello, so we made just over a gallon of it. If it works, we can scale it up and sell shares.
The lemons we used were from our friends' Chris and Cammie's yard, where they have a Meyer lemon tree, and also a shishi yuzu (the nobly version of what gets called yuja in Korea).
I'm thinking that I'm going to make a big ol' punch that we can drink with dinner tomorrow — the Meyer lemons being as sweet as they are kind of throws the ol' rhyme off (you know, "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak"), so I think I'm going to cut back on the simple syrup I'd normally add and make a fairly sour rum punch.
This is our test run for the limoncello, so we made just over a gallon of it. If it works, we can scale it up and sell shares.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Why I like the Blue over the Green
On the Blue, we talk about socialist superheroes.
On the Green, the people look for $20,000 watches.
Let's lynch the landlord.
On the Green, the people look for $20,000 watches.
Let's lynch the landlord.
It's looking like the 13th is the next deadline
For MeFi Mag stuff, so if you're reading this and you've got more to contribute, get it in. Anything from 300 to 4000 words.
Bound by the inductile chains of logic
Don't believe in evolution because of what the Bible says? You shouldn't believe in the water cycle either.
Monday, April 04, 2011
MeFi Mag #1 is finished!
MeFi Mag Issue 1:
By Josh Steichmann in Entertainment
Featuring Scody's story about meeting Roger Ailes, Ambrosia Voyeur's critical look at the '70s Scifi flick Zardoz, a short poem by Unicorn on the Cob, story by Devil's Rancher, reprinting a long comment by EmpressCallipygos, Meatbomb's remembrance of airport in Central Asia from the '60s and Flapjax at Midnight's description of the March 2011 earthquake in Japan
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Carmenian
So, I met my neighbor Tibor, it's his car. I ask if I can take a picture and he says yes.
"It is the most popular old Mercedes model in Armenia," he says.
"Great, man. I've just got this buddy that studies Armenia."
"This is for the protests, on April 26. Tell your friend that I will have flags on it for the parade. I'm not going to just leave it like this."
"OK."
The twenty-sixth is the genocide protests.
"But America has not recognized the genocide because Turkey corrupts —"
"Yeah, and the NATO thing."
So I told him I'd take more pictures nearer to the protests, when he has the flags. I introduced myself, then scuttled back upstairs when I realized that I was, like, a good twelve years or so older than the kids and thus had nothing to talk about with them. ("I hear you like the G-6, like the G-6.")
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Amy and Josh get drunk and rank the states
In order:
1) California
2) New York
3) Wisconsin
4) Vermont
5) Washington
6) Michigan
7) Pennsylvania
8) Oregon
9) Illinois
10) Ohio
11) Minnesota
12) Iowa
13) New Hampshire
14) Maryland
15) Hawaii
16) Arizona
17) New Mexico
18) West Virginia
19) North Carolina
20) Georgia
21) Colorado
22) Tennessee
23) Kentucky
24) Florida
25) Maine
26) New Jersey
27) Arkansas
28) Nebraska
29) Kansas
30) South Dakota
31) North Dakota
32) Virginia
33) South Carolina
34) Nevada
35) Wyoming
36) Rhode Island
37) Connecticut
38) Missouri
39) Massachusetts
40) Delaware
41) Louisiana
42) Idaho
43) Montana
44) Indiana
45) Utah
46) Oklahoma
47) Texas
48) Alaska
49) Mississippi
50) Alabama
1) California
2) New York
3) Wisconsin
4) Vermont
5) Washington
6) Michigan
7) Pennsylvania
8) Oregon
9) Illinois
10) Ohio
11) Minnesota
12) Iowa
13) New Hampshire
14) Maryland
15) Hawaii
16) Arizona
17) New Mexico
18) West Virginia
19) North Carolina
20) Georgia
21) Colorado
22) Tennessee
23) Kentucky
24) Florida
25) Maine
26) New Jersey
27) Arkansas
28) Nebraska
29) Kansas
30) South Dakota
31) North Dakota
32) Virginia
33) South Carolina
34) Nevada
35) Wyoming
36) Rhode Island
37) Connecticut
38) Missouri
39) Massachusetts
40) Delaware
41) Louisiana
42) Idaho
43) Montana
44) Indiana
45) Utah
46) Oklahoma
47) Texas
48) Alaska
49) Mississippi
50) Alabama
Friday, April 01, 2011
Talking Tigers Baseball
Obviously, we lost the season opener because I didn't post anything about it and also was probably eating the wrong kind of chips and not enough oranges or some other superstition I've failed to honor.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Wisconsin GOP doesn't want you to see this.
Now, it's kind of mediocre as a gotcha — some former Real World/Road Rules dufus is now a congressman, and he wants you to do more with less while simultaneously complaining about how bad he has it at $174,000 a year.
But it's more interesting that the Wisconsin GOP has been sending a passel of cease-and-desist letters around because they don't want the public seeing Sean Duffy cluelessly defending his money.
(Though, to be fair, the audience member who thinks that 435 times $174,000 is equal to the $14.21 trillion we owe in public debt is probably just as silly, if not more.)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The thinnest line
The US is right to intervene in Libya, and even better, it's been intervening in the right way: Responding to a request from a regional council to support a democratic uprising, then handing off authority to a coalition under international authority.
However, there are a million things that could go wrong. In large part, we can be certain that Gaddafi is a tyrant, but we can't be certain that he won't be replaced by another. One big way to increase the risk of this being less a revolution than a coup is to arm a faction.
President Sarkozy has pushed hard for it, but if the US is going to provide the bulk of the arms (and, inevitably, troops to supply those arms), the US needs to lead the coalition, but the US leading the coalition will only undermine the international support and the credibility of the rebels as a legitimate authority.
The US walks an incredibly thin line here between letting a people breathe free and clumsily stumbling into another middle-eastern quagmire.
Amber Rissman, somebody looking for you!
Unless it's you. But I've had fifteen referrals to this blog in the last week for people looking for Amber Rissman. (Maybe it's you, Amber? Googling yourself?)
Social Security policy homework
The next time you feel tempted to describe Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme," feel free to read through the resources linked here. It's a fantastic round-up and I'm only, what, 50 pages deep?
Moments of major league play!
Top five worst baseball slogans, 2011. Unsurprisingly, the Royals oversell their talent.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Last night, in LA
The best part about driving through town is how it removes the context from every instance of weirdness you see — you never have any time to ask follow-up questions.
Two weird moments from the drive from Culver City to Los Feliz last night:
At the big, floodlit Shell station on Venice at Overland, some trying to sell gas from a red jerry can to people who had stopped. He was a black guy in a brown sport jacket, and kept making the pouring gesture and rubbing the fingers of his other hand together.
On Pico west of Crenshaw, a boy was holding open the door to a storefront church that hadn't started services. He was wearing a suit, had a bunch of balloons in his hand, and was dancing side to side while people inside were finishing setting up chairs.
Two weird moments from the drive from Culver City to Los Feliz last night:
At the big, floodlit Shell station on Venice at Overland, some trying to sell gas from a red jerry can to people who had stopped. He was a black guy in a brown sport jacket, and kept making the pouring gesture and rubbing the fingers of his other hand together.
On Pico west of Crenshaw, a boy was holding open the door to a storefront church that hadn't started services. He was wearing a suit, had a bunch of balloons in his hand, and was dancing side to side while people inside were finishing setting up chairs.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Veggies cause gas
Vegetarian Times article about vegetable storage, including which veggies release ethylene and which don't.
Most useful Veggie Times article ever.
Most useful Veggie Times article ever.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Twosquare league results
Last weekend, Amanda and Josh played the inaugural league matches of the new season, with Josh taking both sets 2 to 1.
The first set, played with the green ball, scored: A 21, J 16; J 21, A 19; J 21, A 18. The second set, played with the larger red ball, scored: J 21, A 18; A 26, J 24; J 22, A 20.
In the second set, Amanda's 26 point victory tied the previous record, set by Carson. In both cases, Josh was the loser.
Josh and Amanda also played one game on Monday, with Amanda triumphing with the green ball: A 21, J 19.
The first set, played with the green ball, scored: A 21, J 16; J 21, A 19; J 21, A 18. The second set, played with the larger red ball, scored: J 21, A 18; A 26, J 24; J 22, A 20.
In the second set, Amanda's 26 point victory tied the previous record, set by Carson. In both cases, Josh was the loser.
Josh and Amanda also played one game on Monday, with Amanda triumphing with the green ball: A 21, J 19.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Americans waking up to class politics
Will they hit snooze and go back to sleep?
OpEd from my old ArborUpdate buddy Ari Paul in today's Al Jazeera.
OpEd from my old ArborUpdate buddy Ari Paul in today's Al Jazeera.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Fox News trolls their readers
How unions make your life better, published on Fox News. Fair and balanced?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
New developments in the world of Twosquare
As most of you don't realize, the inaugural season of two-square just wrapped up, ending just before the blue ball to which we have all become so accustomed broke.
Unfortunately, the end of the season corresponded with the arrival of Steichmann's parents, and in the subsequent cleaning, it is believed that the final scores of the last six games of the season were lost. It is known that Carson and Josh split the day, with three wins apiece, and for record keeping purposes, they have been assigned scores of 21 to 19 in three game chunks. We can only hope that scholars of the future somehow uncover the records of these early two-square games.
It is also remembered that Carson made some pretty impressive plays off the wall in the set, despite being totally sore from racquetball.
The season lasted 49 games, plus four exhibition matches, and involved three competitors: Amy, Carson and Josh. With Amy ultimately deciding that her playing days were over in the world of competitive twosquare, she has moved on from the sport, but tells us she'll be back often to play in exhibition matches, as well as acting as a line judge and coach. All the best, Amy!
We at the league would like to congratulate Carson on receiving the "Rookie of the Year" award, as well as acknowledge his current high score of 26, which we're sure will stand for many years to come. His off-the-wall antics mask an impressive dedication to backspin discipline.
So, what's new?
New balls!
Now twosquare involves a choice of balls! The smaller, green official "foursquare" size, and the larger, red "playground" size.
"After last season's constant jokes about 'blue balls,' we knew we had to do something to keep that going. Both will be acceptable for league play, but the choice will be noted in the records," said commissioner Steichmann.
Visitors will be given preference in deciding which balls to use, with a minimum of smirking.
New players!
Amanda "Soft Hands" Colligan played her first six games last week, and she's already making a name for herself with her polite and gentle play. Can she be goaded into more aggression? She's a twosquare competitor worth observing at some point in the indefinite future, as Howard Cosell would say! Match details to follow!
New chalk!
From the RiteAid. It's OK for chalk, I guess.
An ongoing quixotic quest to make a twosquare home game!
Perhaps a tabletop RPG based on GURPS? Or just a boardgame with maybe some dice and stuff? Would anyone actually play it? What if they were really drunk?
Unfortunately, the end of the season corresponded with the arrival of Steichmann's parents, and in the subsequent cleaning, it is believed that the final scores of the last six games of the season were lost. It is known that Carson and Josh split the day, with three wins apiece, and for record keeping purposes, they have been assigned scores of 21 to 19 in three game chunks. We can only hope that scholars of the future somehow uncover the records of these early two-square games.
It is also remembered that Carson made some pretty impressive plays off the wall in the set, despite being totally sore from racquetball.
The season lasted 49 games, plus four exhibition matches, and involved three competitors: Amy, Carson and Josh. With Amy ultimately deciding that her playing days were over in the world of competitive twosquare, she has moved on from the sport, but tells us she'll be back often to play in exhibition matches, as well as acting as a line judge and coach. All the best, Amy!
We at the league would like to congratulate Carson on receiving the "Rookie of the Year" award, as well as acknowledge his current high score of 26, which we're sure will stand for many years to come. His off-the-wall antics mask an impressive dedication to backspin discipline.
So, what's new?
New balls!
Now twosquare involves a choice of balls! The smaller, green official "foursquare" size, and the larger, red "playground" size.
"After last season's constant jokes about 'blue balls,' we knew we had to do something to keep that going. Both will be acceptable for league play, but the choice will be noted in the records," said commissioner Steichmann.
Visitors will be given preference in deciding which balls to use, with a minimum of smirking.
New players!
Amanda "Soft Hands" Colligan played her first six games last week, and she's already making a name for herself with her polite and gentle play. Can she be goaded into more aggression? She's a twosquare competitor worth observing at some point in the indefinite future, as Howard Cosell would say! Match details to follow!
New chalk!
From the RiteAid. It's OK for chalk, I guess.
An ongoing quixotic quest to make a twosquare home game!
Perhaps a tabletop RPG based on GURPS? Or just a boardgame with maybe some dice and stuff? Would anyone actually play it? What if they were really drunk?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)