• "Cash for Clunkers" is actually called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), and I've just about heard (read, designed, edited, watched ... ) enough about it.
• Hooray and hugs and cheers for hard work paying off and people who don't give up on their goals, themselves, or each other. I'm so proud of you.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
8.3.09
• The Warners refused to consider Julie Andrews for the role of Eliza Doolittle in the film version of "My Fair Lady," even though she created the role on stage. Instead, they would only cast Audrey Hepburn. The directors then had Hepburn's singing parts recorded again by a more polished singer and put those into the film, which took away the character Hepburn put into the singing parts and likely cost her an Oscar nomination for the role. Julie Andrews ended up winning the Oscar for best actress that year for "Mary Poppins." She thanked the Warners in her acceptance speech.
• Apparently symphony orchestras have jump on the "tweeting" bandwagon for their performances. (Read a story here.) Is there no place left to feel classy and sophisticated that doesn't involve a battery or wall outlet?
• Handwriting – especially really messy handwriting – does not fax well.
• Small nicities stick with people. Don't underestimate them.
• Isn't it strange how very good and very bad things bring people together in the same way?
This weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the wedding of two of my closest friends, which brought friends from many different places together to celebrate them. Seeing people you've met at various stops along the way not only makes you remember and appreciate the past, but also allows you to realize how great it is that the parts of people that make them friends very seldom change or go away. Even if you don't have the luxury of seeing them on a daily basis anymore, good friends always remain good friends. And it's terribly exciting to watch people you care about grow and make their lives uniquely their own – even if it has to be from a distance.
After the wedding, I found out that someone I'd known since grade school had died in his sleep. I no longer live in the town we went to school in. But I immediately remembered the first kind gesture he made when we first met – even as a third grader who probably didn't realize what a difference he made. He was very kind, very giving, and will be genuinely missed by many people. As the news has spread – mostly via Facebook – I've heard from several old classmates whom I haven't seen or spoken to in many years. The barriers that junior high and high school create are no longer there, and everyone is an individual now, which is encouraging even amid the shock and confusion. People are concerned, and they want to help one another. They want to express their appreciation and sympathy as the group they once were.
As I was thinking about it all – how strange it seems that two situations that foster opposite emotions can have similar results – one of those classmates said something that could not have been more true: "I believe in my heart Robert had a purpose even now ... bringing people together."
• Coincidentally, the newspaper ran a story about what happens to a person's online personality – their e-mail, Facebook and MySpace pages, etc. – when they die unexpectedly. (The full story can be found here.) In one of the instances featured, a friend of the deceased got her passwords from her family and kind of keeps up with her online pages, including replying to some messages that people send to her profile. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on this. Is it ok for someone to read and/or reply to private messages or e-mails sent to the profile of someone who has died? Does it matter who that reader is (friend vs. family)? What do you think?
• Apparently symphony orchestras have jump on the "tweeting" bandwagon for their performances. (Read a story here.) Is there no place left to feel classy and sophisticated that doesn't involve a battery or wall outlet?
• Handwriting – especially really messy handwriting – does not fax well.
• Small nicities stick with people. Don't underestimate them.
• Isn't it strange how very good and very bad things bring people together in the same way?
This weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the wedding of two of my closest friends, which brought friends from many different places together to celebrate them. Seeing people you've met at various stops along the way not only makes you remember and appreciate the past, but also allows you to realize how great it is that the parts of people that make them friends very seldom change or go away. Even if you don't have the luxury of seeing them on a daily basis anymore, good friends always remain good friends. And it's terribly exciting to watch people you care about grow and make their lives uniquely their own – even if it has to be from a distance.
After the wedding, I found out that someone I'd known since grade school had died in his sleep. I no longer live in the town we went to school in. But I immediately remembered the first kind gesture he made when we first met – even as a third grader who probably didn't realize what a difference he made. He was very kind, very giving, and will be genuinely missed by many people. As the news has spread – mostly via Facebook – I've heard from several old classmates whom I haven't seen or spoken to in many years. The barriers that junior high and high school create are no longer there, and everyone is an individual now, which is encouraging even amid the shock and confusion. People are concerned, and they want to help one another. They want to express their appreciation and sympathy as the group they once were.
As I was thinking about it all – how strange it seems that two situations that foster opposite emotions can have similar results – one of those classmates said something that could not have been more true: "I believe in my heart Robert had a purpose even now ... bringing people together."
• Coincidentally, the newspaper ran a story about what happens to a person's online personality – their e-mail, Facebook and MySpace pages, etc. – when they die unexpectedly. (The full story can be found here.) In one of the instances featured, a friend of the deceased got her passwords from her family and kind of keeps up with her online pages, including replying to some messages that people send to her profile. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on this. Is it ok for someone to read and/or reply to private messages or e-mails sent to the profile of someone who has died? Does it matter who that reader is (friend vs. family)? What do you think?
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
7.30.09
• "Were" – not "was" – is used when you're talking about a wish/desire or a situation that is contrary to reality.
- I wish I were 18 again.
- If she were here, she wouldn't be there.
- Were I going to the ball, I'd be dressed already.
- If I were you, I'd skip the event.
(This isn't something I learned today. I just keep seeing it used incorrectly.)
• That's all. I won't feel bad about having a lazy three-day "weekend."
- I wish I were 18 again.
- If she were here, she wouldn't be there.
- Were I going to the ball, I'd be dressed already.
- If I were you, I'd skip the event.
(This isn't something I learned today. I just keep seeing it used incorrectly.)
• That's all. I won't feel bad about having a lazy three-day "weekend."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
7.27.09
• Isn't it strange how you get irritated with a bad parking job even when a lot is basically empty and you know that no one will have to park next to the jerk taking up two spots?
• I heard Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster say today that he tries to learn something new on the field every day (Hmm! Guess I'm not the only one.) ... right before he said the team had to "play aggressive." Oh, bother.
• I'm going to try and trim my own bangs. More on that to come.
• Life is too short not to be blissfully in love with whatever or whomever you care about.
• Progressive cooking is terribly interesting. There are eyedroppers and bubbles and all kinds of taste- and scent-creating processes involved.
• One of the better interview questions I've heard asked to a chef is what tastes or smells from childhood inspired him. The concept of someone being so driven by a pleasant memory from their childhood is something beautiful.
• I don't understand why one person has to have the same program on multiple TVs at different angles. As far as I'm aware, there's no visual equivalent to surround sound that you can capture that way.
• I always feel kind of sad for people in obituaries who never had children ... then I remember that I don't want children. I hope whatever appears in my obit is exciting enough to make up for it.
• A humorous exchange after having a refrigerator unplugged to "thaw" for a few days:
Boy: So I plugged your fridge in like 2hrs ago, and it still hasn't gotten any colder. Do I have to turn anything on?
Girl: the breaker
Who says women aren't handy?
• The most expensive stock sells for more than $90,000 a share on the floor of the NYSE (where, incidentally, it no longer looks the way it does in the movies).
• I heard Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster say today that he tries to learn something new on the field every day (Hmm! Guess I'm not the only one.) ... right before he said the team had to "play aggressive." Oh, bother.
• I'm going to try and trim my own bangs. More on that to come.
• Life is too short not to be blissfully in love with whatever or whomever you care about.
• Progressive cooking is terribly interesting. There are eyedroppers and bubbles and all kinds of taste- and scent-creating processes involved.
• One of the better interview questions I've heard asked to a chef is what tastes or smells from childhood inspired him. The concept of someone being so driven by a pleasant memory from their childhood is something beautiful.
• I don't understand why one person has to have the same program on multiple TVs at different angles. As far as I'm aware, there's no visual equivalent to surround sound that you can capture that way.
• I always feel kind of sad for people in obituaries who never had children ... then I remember that I don't want children. I hope whatever appears in my obit is exciting enough to make up for it.
• A humorous exchange after having a refrigerator unplugged to "thaw" for a few days:
Boy: So I plugged your fridge in like 2hrs ago, and it still hasn't gotten any colder. Do I have to turn anything on?
Girl: the breaker
Who says women aren't handy?
• The most expensive stock sells for more than $90,000 a share on the floor of the NYSE (where, incidentally, it no longer looks the way it does in the movies).
Sunday, July 26, 2009
7.25.09
• Being considerate means, among other things, being aware of how your actions affect other people.
• No matter who you are, everyone has a "glory days" story or two.
• Even police are careful about what they say over the scanner.
• Doughnut. D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T. Doughnut.
• People gather information about others even when they aren't around. Don't act surprised. You do it, too. The places you frequent ooze information about you when you're away. If walls could talk? Try your desk, your trash, your doormats, your floormats, your fridge, your ...
• Police dogs are trained to ignore distractions, including people – the ones who aren't targets, anyway.
• Maraschino cherries don't come off the tree that way. They're preserved in a brine solution (water saturated with salt) before having sugar, color and flavoring added. Red Maraschino cherries are usually almond-flavored. Green ones sometimes are peppermint. Who knew?
• No matter who you are, everyone has a "glory days" story or two.
• Even police are careful about what they say over the scanner.
• Doughnut. D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T. Doughnut.
• People gather information about others even when they aren't around. Don't act surprised. You do it, too. The places you frequent ooze information about you when you're away. If walls could talk? Try your desk, your trash, your doormats, your floormats, your fridge, your ...
• Police dogs are trained to ignore distractions, including people – the ones who aren't targets, anyway.
• Maraschino cherries don't come off the tree that way. They're preserved in a brine solution (water saturated with salt) before having sugar, color and flavoring added. Red Maraschino cherries are usually almond-flavored. Green ones sometimes are peppermint. Who knew?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
7.24.09
• Bourbon is the national native spirit.
• After the oak barrels used to store bourbon are retired, they're sold to the scotch industry and used for storage again.
• Midnight is part of the day ending, not the one beginning.
• Tanning beds date to at least 1945.
• Frost-free freezers are prone to frozen lines and have to be thawed (read: take everything out and unplug it).
• The federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 today. When I got my first job, it was $5.15.
• After the oak barrels used to store bourbon are retired, they're sold to the scotch industry and used for storage again.
• Midnight is part of the day ending, not the one beginning.
• Tanning beds date to at least 1945.
• Frost-free freezers are prone to frozen lines and have to be thawed (read: take everything out and unplug it).
• The federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 today. When I got my first job, it was $5.15.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
7.22.09
• I'm sort of intrigued (in a train-wreck kind of way) by the idea that people get more self-conscious as they get older. The more you know, the more you've experienced, the more comfortable and confident you should be in dealing with what have come to be pretty normal situations. Maybe some people take a little longer to catch on ...
• I'm no expert, but Wayne Coyne is the most approachable front man I've seen to date. (ABOVE: The Flaming Lips, July 17, 2009, Pitchfork Music Festival, Union Park, Chicago.)
• There always will be someone you deem better – smarter, taller, more attractive, better spoken, better at Scrabble, you name it. But you don't always have to be or have the best to be happy. (Do you ever feel like you should have learned things long before now?)
• Putting in the effort to ride a bike is much more appealing in the summer. (Do you ever feel like you should have learned things long before now?)
• Sometimes what someone wants isn't what you'd assume they want. Watch the speech from "Chasing Amy." It might make more sense 12 years later.
• WD-40 was created in 1953 to keep rust off rockets. It stands for "Water Displacement, 40th formula."
• Bad things often happen for no good reason. When they do, you have to accept that your story – the movie of your life that runs through your head – now includes that bad thing and the repercussions of it. It might not have been your preference to assume responsibility for that kind of baggage, but you can't undo it. And often without finding a satisfactory explanation for it, you have to work the story around that bad thing.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
12/3/08
• Here's something new and fun to check out. Austin, Texas-based Soundcheck Magazine has launched its 20th issue in a digital, interactive format. It's not your average online music mag, and this issue is chock-full of good features. Have a read, and let me know what you think. Feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy!
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