Check this out!

Time Lapse Test: Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

This video is amazing. I could see the smoke cloud from Santa Monica but this video really does the fire justice. The power of nature is astonishing.

This is why I love Boing Boing

One website that I follow quite regularly is Boing Boing.

Boing Boing covers all kinds of amazing things. Some stuff they cover, like new technology fads, steampunk, and ukulele videos, are not really my bag (baby), but there's always something new and interesting on their site each day.

I like this site for their coverage of weird science fiction, cool gadgets, old patents for interesting things like a device to inject ice cream into bananas, and even civil rights issues.

For example, today Boing Boing had a link to a Smithsonian story about micronations. Check this out, man. It's awesome. I totally intend to create my own little micro-nation within the People's Republic of Santa Monica. Our borders will consist of the alley, the walkway, and the walls I share with my neighbors, but dammit it will be a separate nation! Our currency will be cans of root beer (a precious commodity) and our motto will be "Suck it, Santa Monica!" I suspect we will still receive parking tickets, however, as the City may not be privy to our secession. If it leads to an "international" incident I'll let you know.

The Sun Tan

I remember at summer camp one year being made fun of by some other campers for having a "farmer's tan." I had tan lines on my arms from wearing short sleeves and on my legs from shorts. Until those kids made fun of me, I had never been aware that a "proper" tan was devoid of lines--that is unless they came from a swimsuit (lets ignore the fake bake orange people running around these days).

Ever since then I've always been conscious of my farmer's tan. I've never had what most consider a proper tan, except in my early years when the entire summer was spent at the pool. These days If I get a tan its from hiking or biking or washing the car, so likely there lines on my feet from shoe straps, lines on my arms, and the like. I'm way past the point of caring. I'm currently sporting a wicked farmer's tan.

But the revelation I had last night, and I'm sure to most of you this is nothing new, is that the tan is a total status thing. Those kids, whether they knew it or not, where making fun of my farmer's tan, because I had not acquired it properly, i.e. laying out in the sun and doing absolutely nothing but tanning. A farmer's tan is theoretically not as good as a proper tan because it was acquired while working or actually doing something. The value is placed on having the ability to do nothing but literally lie on your ass and bake.

That being said, in many other cultures the importance is on staying as white as humanly possible. The tan is associated with work. Pristine porcelain white skin is associated with privilege and being able to stay out of the sun. Darker skin=lower class. Ever see those Asian ladies driving on the road wearing welder-type masks to keep the sun off their faces? But generally speaking in America the tan is something that is sought in the summer, even with the risks associated with it these days.

So I say if you don't have some kind of farmer's tan in the summer, you got too damn much time on your hands. Get out there and do something, you lazy rich bastard.

The Aftermath

Well somebody partied a little to hard on their birthday and totally crashed on the couch.

ODed on frosty paws and kettle corn. Oh the crazy life of the Boo Boo Bear.

Top Ten Heathers Quotes. How Very.

1. Heather Chandler: Did you eat a brain tumor for breakfast? (Not-so-fun-fact: the actress that uttered this line died of a brain tumor in the early aughts).


2. Heather Chandler: "What's your damage?"


3. Veronica: "Oh come on! Mineral water has come a long way."

J.D.: "But this is Ohio. If you don't have a brewski in your hand you might as well be wearing a dress."


4. Heather Chandler: "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw. Do I look like Mother Teresa?"


5. Cop: "The quarterback buggering the linebacker. What a waste! Oh the humanity!"


6. Veronica: "Heather why can't you just be a friend? Why are you such a megabitch?"

Heather Duke: "Because I can be."


7. Veronica: "Heather says real life sucks losers dry. If you wanna fuck with the eagles, you gotta learn to fly. I said, 'so you teach people how to spread their wings and fly?' She said yes. I said 'you're beautiful.'"


8. Great pate but I gotta motor if I want to be ready for this funeral.


9. Kirk: "Hey Ram, doesn't this cafeteria have a no fags allowed rule?"

J.D.: :"Well they seem to have an open door policy for assholes though, don't they?"


10. Heather Chandler: "You stupid fuck."

Veronica: "You goddamn bitch."

Heather: "You were nothing before you met me. You were playing barbies with Betty Finn. You were a bluebird. You were a brownie. You were a girl scout cookie. I got you into a Remington party and what's my thanks? It's on a hallway carpet. I got paid in puke!"

Veronica: "Lick it up baby. Lick. It. Up."

Heather: "Monday morning your history. I'll tell everyone about tonight. Transfer to Washington. Transfer to Jefferson. No one at Westerberg's gonna let you play their reindeer games."**



**I didn't even have to look this one up. Its been memorized and embedded in my mind from the tender age of 12. In 1990, they were the awesomest lines I had ever heard.

Another Reason Why I Love The Japanese

I bought a plastic pitcher from the Japanese market on Sunday. The reason for this purchase is primarily the fact that any glass pitcher in our home lasts, on average, 2 days before breaking. I think we had one from Target that we broke the day we got it.

So I saw this little number for a good price and with a cute little pink cap, so I snatched it up without a careful examination. Once I got it home and washed it, though, I realized the special surprise that we got along with a functional pitcher.

Cute little sayings are written into the plastic on the side of the pitcher. I had an awful time trying to get you a good photo of what it says.


Just in case you can't clearly read what is says above, the pitcher reads: "The shining sun is very dazzling to me. When I lied on an open verandah and closed my eyes, wind sang gentle songs to me."

How awesome is that? And what the hell does it mean? According to the illustrious Mr. T, this is a perfect example of Japanese products, wherein they provide you not only with a pitcher, but with calming and peaceful says on the side for you to peruse while drinking your iced tea. I think it's hilarious.

And then when you finally get to the bottom of the pitcher, it includes this gem (which I had an even harder time getting a good photo of).



It reads: "It seems that I will be able to have a further comfortable summer."

But only because I drank that fabulous iced tea out of that fabulous Japanese pitcher! Arigato!

P.S. I just realized this is not far from the crazy ramblings that come out of Bai Ling, international acting superstar. Coincidence? I think not. Perhaps we will soon learn of her new joint venture with plastic company marine!