December 10, 2004
Morning brew:
It could be the most expensive coffee in the world, but purists didn't give very it high marks. The fact that it's plucked out of cat droppings after the beans pass through the intestines of Indonesian civet cats (along with rats or whatever else they had for dinner) might account for the unusual "natural" taste and aroma.
Posted by jjdaley at 03:19 AM | Comments (35) | TrackBack
December 01, 2004
Dropping the kids at the pool:
Some geeks have way too much time on their hands. Clever, but I think there's an olfactory element that may be missing.
Posted by jjdaley at 05:04 AM | Comments (46) | TrackBack
Blood money:
Transylvanians used to roll their eyes and explain to outsiders that the Dracula myth wasn't historically accurate. But there's money in vampires so now they bite the bullet and talk like Bella Lugosi for the tourists.
Posted by jjdaley at 04:35 AM | Comments (34) | TrackBack
November 30, 2004
Fear itself:
Jay points to a CSM story on gang intimidation in Boston that I missed this morning. It's good to see this problem getting some attention.
Here's how some of our local rap 'artists' see the issue.
Posted by jjdaley at 01:22 PM | Comments (371) | TrackBack
Cult of Mac attack:
Carpundit is much more gracious than I would have been to the negative commenters to his Apple Store post.
Although I still like and recommend the computers and the Apple Stores, I haven't drunk the Kool Aid. Those fanatics who bristle at the slightest criticism of Apple should get a life.
Posted by jjdaley at 08:05 AM | Comments (431) | TrackBack
Cosmeceuticals:
(Or, as they used to say on Green Acres, cosmeteticals.) What's the difference between cosmetics and dermatology? Less, these days, according to Business Week.
Posted by jjdaley at 07:26 AM | Comments (243) | TrackBack
November 28, 2004
Off the hook:
What should you do when your whip turns out to be a hooptie or a scraper? A silverback explains.
Posted by jjdaley at 02:25 PM | Comments (65) | TrackBack
November 17, 2004
Bell-ringer policy
I just want to say that I encourage Salvation Army bell-ringers to set up their kettles at the entrance to this blog.
Posted by jjdaley at 04:41 AM | Comments (234) | TrackBack
November 16, 2004
Thus Spake Bart
The CSM looks into academia's embrace of popular culture as a tool to teach religion and philosophy.
Posted by jjdaley at 06:29 AM | Comments (275) | TrackBack
American madressas
There's no shortage of ignorance and stereotyping of religion these days. But on this topic, I join with the Blue State elites in criticizing the 'religious right.'
Not teaching the science of evolution, in deference to religious belief, is the first step to this country's joining the third world. Here and in the Middle East, a retreat from modernity is a real danger. And if there were any doubt, fundamentalists in Iraq are showing us how important the battle for and against science is.
Posted by jjdaley at 05:18 AM | Comments (168) | TrackBack
November 14, 2004
Whose streets?
You can't make this stuff up. Apparently a couple of tanks from Camp Pendleton drove up to LA to ride in the next day's Veteran's Day parade. On the way, they stumbled into an A.N.S.W.E.R. rally, where they stopped to ask directions.
Here's how the Indymedia crowd reacted. (via Outside the Beltway)
Posted by jjdaley at 03:08 AM | Comments (169) | TrackBack
November 10, 2004
Blackberrys in Mayberry:
David Brooks says he can't compete with Karl Rove (but he sure knows how to suggest a blurb headline.)
Posted by jjdaley at 02:24 PM | Comments (166) | TrackBack
July 08, 2002
Ted on ice:
The Ted Williams story is getting too strange not to be true. Originally it was just his head, (his brain, apparently) that was going to be frozen. But stop and think: we're talking Ted Williams here, not Richard Feynman.
Then it was his DNA that was going to be utilized for cloning. But you don’t need to preserve the body, or even the head, to extract DNA. As I understand it, a sample can be taken from the body and stored in a lab, and the body could then be buried or cremated normally. This would be much cheaper than freezing the body.
And now it seems that the real reason his son, John Henry, wants to put Ted on ice is to revive him later. News flash: Ted has been out of the Major League for a while. He was a once great athelete, with a now, 83 year old body. Even forgetting for a moment, the loonyness of the process itself, what exactly would be the point of cryogenicaly preserving him in that condition?
It seems to me that there's a whiff of Norman Bates and his mother in all this.
Also, Dan Shaughnessy weighs in on this debacle.
Posted by jjdaley at 09:03 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
July 06, 2002
Ain't that America
I'm just getting around to reading Lileks' 4th of July column. Tatoos, discount stores, garage door openers, lemons the size of softballs, and forty flavors of orange juice. A great column, on a great day in a great country.
Posted by jjdaley at 10:46 AM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
July 05, 2002
Society’s Child
Janis Ian on Music Downloads.
Things maybe are heating up. Music industry sounces have leaked that they intend on going after individual file swappers. The Music Industry still doesn’t get it.
Posted by jjdaley at 02:08 PM | Comments (8)
June 23, 2002
The Great American Movie
Watching The Deer Hunter Sunday night on AMC (with annoying but informative pop up comments) I learned that during the first Russian roulette scene, DeNiro apparently suggested that Cimino put a live round into the gun to 'notch up the tension' for the actors. Cimino agreed but “checked it like 5000 times” so nobody got hurt.
Whatever the reason, it stands as one of the all time high intensity movie moments.
But it was the Pennsylvania scenes that made this a great American movie. The wedding in the cathedral with the choir singing and then the reception. The hunting scenes. Drinking in the car. The last scene in the first part of the film at Welsh’s bar where the boys come in drunk, singing “Drop kick me, Jesus” and then go quiet as George Dzundza sits at the piano to play a Chopin Nocturne, just before the scene shifts to Vietnam. And of course the final scene, back at Welsh’s singing God Bless America.
The other thing that strikes me is that Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken and Robert DeNiro all look like kids. Time marches on I guess.
Posted by jjdaley at 10:37 PM | Comments (12)
June 22, 2002
The face of American celebrity
HUBLOG takes note of a Boston.com celebrity snapshot. It’s Britney, Tiger, Michael and Oprah juxtaposed. (Doesn’t Britney look a bit like Michael Jackson (or visa versa) in that picture?)
Then it’s Beverly Beckham in the crosshairs for her “what terrorism means to me” column in which she seems, in light of recent terrorist attacks around the world, to focus ultimately on what could happen to her. The effect is to make her seem as brave in her everyday life as those Israelis who continue to go about their lives in a real danger zone. HUBLOG was right on target on this one.
Beckham's next column might be about how the asteroid last week almost hit HER.
Posted by jjdaley at 12:36 AM | Comments (34)
June 19, 2002
Mind the gap
In addition to the New York subway blogger’s map, there is now a London Tube map.
Here are the closest bloggers to Abbey Road.
(And speaking of Abbey Road, I’m fourth down on the page, crossing the famous street.)
Posted by jjdaley at 08:14 PM | Comments (45)
A cup of mud
Only in Berkeley. A group is trying to put a measure on the ballot that would allow only politically correct coffee to be served within the city limits. (link from Country Store via DaliyPundit.)
Posted by jjdaley at 09:00 AM | Comments (40)
June 16, 2002
Dim Sum music
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon...
Click here to start the music.
Posted by jjdaley at 02:28 PM | Comments (105)
June 15, 2002
A New Kind of Scooter
Apparently Dean Kamen is laying the political groundwork for the public introduction of the Segway scooter. This AP story raises the safety issues.
“The high-tech Segway scooter is still months away from being available to the public, and already half the states have speedily cleared a path by changing their laws to allow the electric-powered vehicle on sidewalks.
The manufacturer has waged a lobbying campaign at statehouses around the country, winning over lawmakers who see the Segway as a remarkable tool to ease congestion and more.“
Posted by jjdaley at 12:55 AM | Comments (13)
June 13, 2002
A Breakfast of Champions
McDonalds is serving Spam for breakfast in Hawaii.
Posted by jjdaley at 10:26 PM | Comments (23)
Reality TV
Noy Thrupkaew compares the stories from the reality series, The Hamptons and Boston 24/7, and guess who wins.
Posted by jjdaley at 08:44 AM | Comments (34)
Citizen journalists
The criminal case against R.Kelly was initiated by the video tape (of the rapper with a minor) which was sent into the Chicago Sun-Times. The paper, after getting their story, sent the video on to the police. It may sound like a no-brainer, but apparently journalistic ethics don’t allow a reporter to provide any evidence to the police. Except, of course, when it creates something new to write about.
Posted by jjdaley at 08:43 AM | Comments (15)
June 12, 2002
MP3s for sale?
Amazing as it seems at this point, at least two of the major record companies are getting ready to embrace (and charge for) unrestricted MP3 downloads, according to this article.
Posted by jjdaley at 11:02 PM | Comments (42)