Here and There

No time to write just yet (work and gadget-drooling ensue), but I got me an iPod Touch!

… the best of us are.

Awesome. They’re redesigning the penny. Can’t wait.*

* The above post is sarcastic. I can’t think of a bigger waste of time and resources than to redesign the most useless, reviled coin in the world. Well, maybe invading Iraq gives this a run for its money. So to speak. But you get my point.

New $5 bill design unveiled.

Ran across an item in the news yesterday, a study showing that the number one state in the US where languages go to die is Oklahoma. At first, I thought, Well, wow. If we needed proof that that part of the country was a cultural vacuum, now we have it.

But on second thought, the distinction is a rather dubious one.

Here’s what I mean: In order for a culture (or parts therein) to completely absorb those that would attempt to assimilate with it, it must be powerful. For Oklahoma and Oklahomans to be better at killing off languages other than “Oklahoman English,” they must kick a lot of language ass. Hats off, Okies.

* Don’t ask me how (because I’ll explain in a moment), but I discovered today that one of two accepted plural forms of “vagina” is “vaginae,” pronounced Vuh-JIGH-nee. Hee hee. Snicker.

Okay, okay, so here’s how I found out the above item: Was trying to verbally catalog the female genitalia with my girlfriend, and naturally we consulted Merriam-Webster online.

* On that note, we also learned that the origin for “pussy” is related to that of the words “pouch” and “purse.” Kinda makes sense, eh?

So now it’s time for Here and There to clean up its act.

An armless artist, who draws with his feet, head-butted another man to death in Georgia.

Had an interesting prior 24 hours. In that time:

I think my attitude for today is to assume that nothing works. It would be amazing if this post goes live seamlessly.

Via Daring Fireball, this on billionaire Mark Cuban’s switch.

Just in case I have any devoted readers out there, I want to apologize for posting so haphazardly lately.

No, no, it’s not the busy excuse. It’s the my-job-sucks-and-is-really-stressful-and-so-I-spend-all-my-free-time-socializing-
or-with-my-girlfriend-and/or-my-dog excuse.

Sorry.

I too miss mepedia. I guess I haven’t really been learning much lately, outside of the occasional new word from playing Scrabulous.

So, bear with me as I do my best to fix the problem of overworked, underpaid, and no brain cells.

Had a conversation at a party over the weekend regarding presidential candidates. I let my interlocutor know that, as soon as I read that Rudy Giuliani decried universal health care as socialized medicine, he was out as far as I was concerned. And so, my logic goes, I will, with 100 percent certainty, be voting for a Democrat in the next presidential election (unless a viable, ahem, Bloomberg, third-party candidate emerges).

I told my friend of my hope that, by the time February 5, 2008 rolls around and it’s time to vote in California’s primary, Barack Obama would still be in the running, because so far, with less than six months to go, he’s my frontrunner. I reminded my friend of an aversion to voting for HIllary Clinton, at least until she’s nominated.

But on to why I’m writing today …

My friend made a few points that may have knocked a few more bricks out of my Hillary-defense wall.

First of all, he equated Obama with Kerry in the sense that, no matter how much people like us appreciate the ideas, energy, and articulation of the candidate, they are both too intellectual to play well in a general election. It was refreshing to hear anything besides Obama’s supposed inexperience and/or ethnicity as a strike against him. And the more I thought of it, the more I agree with my friend. I can’t go choosing the candidate who’s right for me. Sadly, I have to choose the person who’s right for the nation.

Now, whether that person is Clinton is another story, and one we may have to wait 14 months to determine.

The second point my friend made was his response to a question I asked. “Can Hillary Clinton beat any of the Republicans?”

“She can,” he said. “Americans want a dynasty. Also, they’re tired of Republicans, and Giuliani’s views of abortion and gun control, his supposed blaspheming of the church, will be enough to turn Republican voters away.”

“They would never vote for a Democrat, though,” I said.

“Right. They just won’t vote.”

So, presuming Bloomberg (or Al Gore, for that matter) doesn’t get involved, and Clinton wins the nomination, I hereby announce that I am beginning to think she may not be so bad. Hell, I might even feel good voting for her.

And today, she unveiled her plan for universal, individual mandate health care. Nice.

Exactly what Google’s founders did, announced today.

Now there’s Statetris, the perfect game for geography nerds cum puzzle lovers.

Enjoy “wasting” your time …

Went to a fairly disgusting display of commerce and marketing otherwise known as a concert last night.

The main draw for me and my companion was South Carolina’s Band of Horses, a band I first heard at the Candy Store in San Francisco, quite by accident. I think it was the vocals that really struck me at the time. And an airy yet rocking quality to the music.

I eventually got my hands on their Everything All the Time LP and was instantly addicted. But then I missed two or three shows they played in SF. The last time I missed them, it prompted me to join Sonic Living, a great site for people who love music (isn’t that really everyone?).

So this time around, I got a notification almost as soon as the show was announced, and got tickets asap.

Wow, am I ever glad I went to that show.

The band’s performance was just so spot-on, so tightly executed, loud, and good, it gave me chills pretty much the whole time. They really are a perfect mix of straight-forward hard rock, blues, and even a little of folk and country thrown in for good measure. Added bonuses: a Lite-Brite-like lighting backdrop and the gentle, humble, kind rapport of the main vocalist, Ben Bridwell.

The band releases their second full-length, Cease to Begin, on October 9, 2007. Can’t wait.

This is one of those things I could stare at for hours: