Sticky post
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 11:34:53 PM
Oakland Sewage Treatment, Zombie Apocalypse, Amtrak, travel
...
Absolutely
NOTHING came easy last year. Getting the hell out of the SF Bay Area ahead of the
Zombie Apocalypse proved to be no different. I was hoping to get a discount bus ticket, but when
that plan fell through, I was forced to decide between purchasing a Greyhound ticket for approximately 110 dollars, or taking a nice... comfortable-- and
QUICKER-- ride on Amtrak-- with
AmtrakConnect Wi-Fi™ to keep me occupied during my journey-- for only $50 more! Although I
really couldn't afford the extra amount--
How could I pass THIS one up?First, the train was over two hours late arriving at the Jack London Station.

Read more...
Sticky post
Tuesday, November 30, 2010 5:39:29 PM
friends list, opera, friends, Opera community
...
I only add people who are actively BLOGGING, not people who are just trying to add heads to their "Friends" list. If you send a friend request, PLEASE follow this simple guideline.
Thank you.
Sticky post
Saturday, September 6, 2008 11:12:10 PM
Kate Bush, Residents, Velvet Underground, Shawn Colvin
...
If any of these videos have expired, please let me know. I can usually update them.
B. Blogger
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones -
Sinister MinisterGin Blossoms -
Follow You DownElvis Costello, with the Imposters, hosting the David Letterman Show -
What's so Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?Townes Van Zandt -
Pancho and LeftyRobert Plant with Fairport Convention -
Battle for EvermoreDead Kennedys -
Holiday in CambodiaLos Lobos -
Kiko and the Lavender MoonHellecasters -
Orange Blossom SpecialLucinda Williams -
Passionate KissesRichard Thompson -
Genesis Hall,
52 Vincent Black Lightning,
Waltzing's For Dreamers,
A Heart Needs a Home with Linda Thompson, and
Heartbreak Hotel, with John Cale (Velvet Underground) and Shawn Colvin
Joe Ely -
Fightin' for My LifeEmmylou Harris & Nash Ramblers -
Other Side of LifeMarianne Faithful -
The Ballad of Lucy JordanSnakefinger (Philip Lithman) -
There's No Justice in LifeTom Waits -
You are Innocent When You Dream,
Tom Traubert's BluesKate Bush -
Wuthering Heights,
Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)Gov't Mule w/the Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns -
ChameleonResidents -
Teddy BearKirsty MacColl -
Don't Come the Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim (updated), and
In These Shoes?Nick Drake -
Northern SkyThe Pogues -
Dirty Old Town (written by Kirsty MacColl's father, Ewan MacColl), and Fairytale Of New York (with Kirsty MacColl)
Monday, January 23, 2012 9:15:27 AM
PACs, Political Action Committees, Occupy, polls
...
I "re-purposed" a cartoon the other day to this effect:

From (quoting the Boston Globe):

The Occupy Wall Street movement may be starting to lose its luster with the American public [as of Novenmber 11 of last year], with four in ten now saying they have an unfavorable view of the protests, a new nationwide UMass Lowell/Boston Herald poll shows.
The online poll of 1,005 American adults reveals that 35 percent still have a positive impression of the Occupy movement, but 40 percent now say they have an unfavorable opinion. About one quarter of the poll respondents had no opinion or were unsure.
and...
Half of American adults say they have an unfavorable impression of the Tea Party, while just 29 percent hold a favorable view, according to the poll. A total of 31 percent say they have a “strongly unfavorable” view, indicating the intensity of feeling against the Tea Party movement is relatively high. Just 10 percent view the Tea Party movement in a “strongly favorable” light.
Just 13 percent have a “strongly favorable” impression of the Occupy movement, while 21 percent had a “strongly unfavorable” view. Surprisingly, lower-income voters have the least favorable opinion of the Occupy movement, while those making more than $100,000 are more supportive.
This isn’t really surprising. Both the Tea Party and Occupy tapped into popular resentments at the outset but gradually wore out there welcome as the protests became more associated with the yahoos who showed up than the legitimate complaints that spawned them.
The poll does show one common thread between both movements, however — a strong dislike for both Wall Street and the federal government.
The problem, of course, is that there isn’t 86 percent or 72 percent support for any particular public policy solution to these issues. That makes it easier for political action committees and large corporations to prevent action.
Thursday, January 19, 2012 1:58:08 AM
internet, Protect IP, SOPA, disinformation
...
Two or three days ago, announcements were broadcast on various Media Outlets stating that two bills in the Congress and the Senate, SOPA and PROTECT-IP were effectively “Dead-in-the-Water,” resulting in the cancellation (or extreme reduction) of what would have been an extremely disruptive– and therefore highly dramatic– strike/protest by Major Internet Companies against the proposed legislation.
MORE at
Media Vulture
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 12:49:14 AM
Popol Vuh, end of the world, reset, Mayan calendar
...
The Good News is that The World™ will
NOT end on December 12, 2012.
God will just push the "RESET" button on that date...
The
BAD News is that
we will ALL come back as microbes. (
What did you THINK was going to happen?)
In the coming
Long Count™, if you are able to remember just
ONE thing... remember:
TAKE THE MONEY!!!
Friday, January 13, 2012 10:27:01 AM
fashion, Pennsylvania Dutch, amish, jargon
...
Begin with: Hipster, a harmless humor piece on Cracked.com, click
a link with the phrase reading, "the July 2009 issue of Time magazine said on hipsters", which leads you to
a Time Magazine article, Brief History: Hipsters
at the bottom of which is a link to "Hipster Bingo", which reminds you of a recurrent phenomenon (since the Dot-Com era) of "Buzz-Word Bingo" and javascript "Buzz-Word Bingo," "Techie Job Title" and "Web Economy" Generators.
Enjoy Hours and Hours of UTTERLY UNPRODUCTIVE DITHERING! Finally...
Waste somebody ELSE'S TIME!!! Write your OWN JavaScript Jargon Generator or Mad Lib game. The code can be found ALL OVER the WEB! Also... HERE
UPDATE!!!

Lifestyle
Apparently, Hipsters Are Taking Hints From the Amish Now
Trendspotters, take note — all the cool kids are dressing (and farming) like the Amish these days.
By
Melissa Locker
In Brooklyn, it would be hard to tell if this seller were Amish or just a hipster.
Attention trendwatchers: There’s a new hipster icon in town. They wear black and white, eschew buttons, rarely wear accessories, and mostly only hang out with one another. Their elusive hipster enclave isn’t in Williamsburg, Brooklyn or Silver Lake in Los Angeles — or even in “Portlandia.” For the latest trend in oblique hipness, head to Pennsylvania Dutch country and the homes of the Amish.
Yes, you read that correctly, the Amish are experiencing a zeitgeist of fashion-forwardness that they haven’t experienced since, well, the 1800s. Last year the New York Times ran a fashion spread under the title “Amish Fashion Week” featuring men in simply cut trousers, unadorned shirts, and broad-brimmed black hats. As with many trends from the runway, the look has finally trickled down to the rest of us. But the accidental hipsterness doesn’t extend just to fashion.
Read more:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/11/apparently-hipsters-are-taking-hints-from-the-amish-now/
even MORE: Amish Romance Novels: No Bonnet Rippers
Read other related stories about this:
The Latest Unlikely Hipsters: The Amish - The Atlantic WireAmish journey from homespun to hipster - Los Angeles TimesAmish Fashion Week - New York Times
Thursday, January 12, 2012 11:14:18 AM
Jamie, Ronald McDonald, Adam, Discovery Network
...
Sure you eagerly await the blog postings of your
favorite Opera Friend, anticipating the pithy and/or snarky utterances that are sure to issue from their lips...
But
ARE THEY REAL? Are they
REALLY just everyday people like you and... well,
I was going to say me... but, huh huh huh (<-- insert amused little laugh HERE)... people that
you SEE every day? How do
you know your favorite Opera Belle is not just some
unshaven, sweaty twenty-something queeb in a Polo Shirt, with
half a dozen unpaid interns running around trying to ride the crest of the
latest MEME WAVE you just haven't heard of yet???
Have you ever asked yourself
WHY you never see two of your
FAVORITE BLOGGERS hanging out
together, laughing and relaxing over a shared pizza and a pitcher of
CHEAP BEER?How do we know that
THIS picture:
is really of the Bloggers you've come to "know" as "Nerak"™ (aka "Karen") and "Bad Blogger"™ (aka "B.Blogger", "Robert", or "that
GUY..."), and not actors HIRED by the guy-in-the-sweaty-Polo to play "Nerak" (aka...) and "Bad, etc..."? Or, how do we know it's not just Photoshopped™?
Read more...