en route

Sitting in London's Stansted airport en route to Jenna's wedding in S. Maria de Leuca, Italy.
Andrea just noted that Europeans are much better dressed than Americans headed for vacation. I took slight offense.

GROVER IS BITTER

GROVER IS BITTER: "GROVER. To millions of children throughout the world in the seventies and eighties, that name was synonymous with a funny, cuddly and ultimately loveable fuzzy blue monster from Sesame Street. For many of us, Grover was hands-down the best character on the show: bringing laughter, intelligence and a certain irreverence not seen in other 2-dimensional children's programs of the day. And he was cute, too.

But what many of us didn't see behind that brave exterior was a monster cowering in the face of his own insecurities, a monster so unsure of himself he wouldn't even watch his own performances, and a monster who ultimately allowed his own weaknesses to overcome him and nearly ruin his career. A genius, a tyrant, a womanizer or just a washed-up drunk? It's time to expose Grover- the monster behind the myth."

GROVER IS BITTER

GROVER IS BITTER: "GROVER. To millions of children throughout the world in the seventies and eighties, that name was synonymous with a funny, cuddly and ultimately loveable fuzzy blue monster from Sesame Street. For many of us, Grover was hands-down the best character on the show: bringing laughter, intelligence and a certain irreverence not seen in other 2-dimensional children's programs of the day. And he was cute, too.

But what many of us didn't see behind that brave exterior was a monster cowering in the face of his own insecurities, a monster so unsure of himself he wouldn't even watch his own performances, and a monster who ultimately allowed his own weaknesses to overcome him and nearly ruin his career. A genius, a tyrant, a womanizer or just a washed-up drunk? It's time to expose Grover- the monster behind the myth."

DIEGO SANCHEZ MONTENEGRO

DIEGO SANCHEZ MONTENEGRO

WSJ.com - Booming Local Housing Markets Weigh Heavily on Overall Sector

WSJ.com - Booming Local Housing Markets Weigh Heavily on Overall Sector: "The biggest markets

Booming northeast and California housing markets dominate national real-estate value
Area
(Bolding indicates boom market) Estimated Value
(in billions) Share of U.S. Market* Share of U.S. Population
Los Angeles-Long Beach CA PMSA $1,171.4 6.8% 3.4%
New York NY PMSA 1,145.7 6.6% 3.2%
Boston MA-NH PMSA 720.9 4.2% 2.1%
"

yahooza.com

yahooza.com

ERBOL.

ERBOL.

Boing Boing: Rush Limbaugh, copyfighter

Boing Boing: Rush Limbaugh, copyfighter

David's Blog: On Science and Everything

David's Blog: On Science and Everything: "announcment in Science Magazine that scientists have identified and cloned a partial genome of a long extinct cave beer from a tooth and bone from bears that died in Austria 40,000 years ago."

Ch�vez Hits Back: "Bush Is to Blame for Bolivian Crisis"

The NarcoSphere || Ch�vez Hits Back: "Bush Is to Blame for Bolivian Crisis": "h�vez told the national television audience:

“The President of the United States came to the OAS meeting to give a slovenly speech and, his face pale, he proposed a medicine of death: He said that the salvation of Latin America is in a free market.… It is this capitalism that is generating exclusion, misery and, as a consequence, destabilization. He’s like a doctor that knows that a medicine is poisoned, that it is killing people, but who keeps prescribing that medicine. That is what is killing the people of Latin America. That is what has been crushing the people, what has generated the largest inequalities we have ever known.

“We, the peoples of Latin America told him: ‘No, Mister Bush. No, Sir. I’m sorry for you. Thank you. But his theory of poisoned medicine has failed.

“What is the cause of what happened in Bolivia? Fidel? Ch�vez? No. It’s Bush. It is all that he represents. It is capitalism. Fortunately, the Bolivian people were able to open the door to a peaceful solution, but we were at the point of civil war.”

“I spoke with (Bolivian) President (Carlos) Mesa, a friend, a good man. He told me, ‘Ch�vez, well, I’ve come this far, I can’t go any farther. I tried.’ And I told him, ‘Here you have a friend, you have a brother country to Bolivia.’”

“Those who say that Evo Morales is responsible are lying. From the streets he prevented the installation of another military dictatorship. If not they would have gone into civil war.”"

Really Odd Facts About Michael Jackson - Forbes.com

Really Odd Facts About Michael Jackson - Forbes.com: "But can anyone imagine a case like this going forward if Jackson were not the defendant?

Jackson, of course, is an exception to every rule. But his alleged victim had denied the abuse publicly and privately, to both a teacher and a social worker. While witnesses may at times change their stories, district attorneys don't have to proceed with a trial were the evidence is weak. They can select their victims often enough.

They can also select the charges, and Sneddon chose to allege a vast conspiracy, turning the trial into more of circus than it would have been without those charges. "

Messapia Hotel and Resort - Mediterranean holidays in Italy

this is where we will be staying in Italy

Puglia Hotel and Holiday apartments - Messapia Hotel and Resort - Mediterranean holidays in Italy

Times Literary Supplement: Jeff Hornstein's book

Weekly book reviews and literary criticism from the Times Literary Supplement: "Realtors, the heart of the American middle-class"

Hillbilly Antigone

Lookingglass Theatre Company: Productions: "Snake handlers, a soothsaying grandma and a horn headed brother lay claim to Lookingglass in a new musical inspired in equal measure by Sophocles, early country music and old time religion.

The Flicks and the Wallers have been feuding on Badd Mountain for as long as anyone can remember. Antigone Flick and Harmon Waller have created a place in their hearts where the feud can’t touch. But when County Judge and Preacher Creon Waller, espousing a flammable potion of religion and law, declares the body of Antigone’s brother Amos is to be strung up as an example of the wages of sin, she is forced to take a stand.

“...pray before you act and make sure it’s not the devil talking back...”"

Guardian | 'Mummified' bodies found in Moscow flat

Guardian | 'Mummified' bodies found in Moscow flat: "'Mummified' bodies found in Moscow flat

Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow
Thursday June 9, 2005

Guardian
Police said yesterday they had found the mummified bodies of three generations of one family in a flat where they had apparently lain dead for between two and 10 years.

The Moscow prosecutor's office said police broke into the flat in the south-west of the capital after complaints that the Komarov family had not paid their utilities bills for months. Inside the flat, in Artyukhino Road, they found the bodies of a man and three women in two bedrooms and the kitchen."

Flickr: Photos tagged with puglia

Flickr: Photos tagged with puglia

Italy wedding

this is where my friend jenna's wedding will be set.
3 weeks and counting
Puglia Hotel and Holiday apartments - Messapia Hotel and Resort - Mediterranean holidays in Italy

HAYWARD / Graduation speaker pressured, bows out / Some CSU students threatened boycott over his views

Feels like Pitzer c. 1993. Where's Jose Calderon?
Rodriguez is a great writer-- and I can read him even while disagreeing with him. Wow, imagine that- the ability to listen to voices that oppose your own.
HAYWARD / Graduation speaker pressured, bows out / Some CSU students threatened boycott over his views: "Writer Richard Rodriguez, invited to speak at the California State University East Bay commencement in Hayward on Saturday, has decided to withdraw from the program after some graduating students threatened to boycott the event."

The Pod Caravan

The Pod Caravan
for tanya and bill:
The pod is a simple, stylish living unit for two. Its so small that classics like the Mini and Morris 1000 can tow it, and yet inside is a double bed, as well as cooking and washing facilities, seating and storage.

Free Katie

freekatie.net
join the movement to liberate Katie, a young, gifted, actress held captive by forces we may never understand. Even one summer of captivity is too long for one so bright!

Greg Lee & Alex Desert

Greg Lee & Alex Desert
Originally uploaded by lantzilla.

Hepcat is back, and on tour!

More Bolivia Reports

The NarcoSphere || Authentic Journalism of the Masses: "Here, 'the revolution' is anything but a party. Dancing hippies, drum circles and four-story high puppets are notably absent from the recent mass mobilizations that have rocked Bolivia for the past two weeks. There are no breaks for concerts, no hemp clothing for sale. You are not an individual, but a part of your contingent, and from them you do not stray. In stark contrast to the large-scale demonstrations in the US that have characterized the burgeoning anti-globalization movement, marches here in Bolivia are supreme examples of discipline and seriousness. Rigidity replaces fluidity; unity replaces individualism; rash actions are rare. The marchers have anger and determination in their hearts but reign that in for the sake of the long-term struggle. Their intensity is in their expressions, chants and willpower - not in violent behavior. Sure, some bring their whips, dynamite is abundant, and I saw one man yesterday wielding a cactus. But most of the time these are symbols of strength, rather than weapons for destruction."

Narco News: Are the U.S. and Bolivian Governments Trying to Bribe the Social Movements?

Narco News: Are the U.S. and Bolivian Governments Trying to Bribe the Social Movements?: "Leaders of remote neighborhoods of the city of El Alto have complained that representatives of the government agency Democratic Initiatives, who work with resources from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), offered much needed equipment for their neighborhood committees’ social centers, on the condition that their committee presidents lift the general civic strike now in its 15th day."

Blog from Bolivia: Is the US Helping Light the Fuse of Bolivian Violence?

news from bolivia
Blog from Bolivia: Is the US Helping Light the Fuse of Bolivian Violence?: "nd where is the US in all of this? A very reliable source told me this afternoon that the Embassy here is in talks with Vaca Diez, helping pave the way for his succession. This should not be a surprise. Never underestimate the ability of the US government in two respects:

1. Nothing Big Happens Politically In Bolivia Without The US All Over It

Who did Carlos Mesa meet with yesterday just before tendering his resignation? The US Ambassador. Do you think he paid a similar visit to the Spaniards or the Nicaraguans? After the 2002 elections who called in the various candidates one at a time to pressure them to line up behind S�nchez de Lozada? The US Embassy. It would be utterly out of character for the US Embassy NOT to have its fingers all over the question of who succeeds Mesa and apparently it is acting in true form.

2. The US Embassy is Really Good and Being Stupid

Remember back to the elections in 2002. The US Ambassador at the time took square aim at Evo Morales as the US’s chief Bolivian political enemy. To implement that view the US Ambassador publicly threatened Bolivians with a cutoff of aid if they voted for Morales, an announcement that single-handedly skyrocketed his support in the polls and put him within two points of finishing first. One would suppose that the US interest in Bolivia right now is promoting stability. By promoting Vaca Diez behind the scenes the US is really shoving Bolivia off the cliff."

WWOZ

Louisiana Music and New Orleans Music Radio WWOZ: "We broadcast live from the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival annually, and our award-winning programming can be heard on radio stations around the country. Playing blues, jazz, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, Brazilian, Caribbean and a whole lot more, WWOZ keeps the music and heritage of the Crescent City alive and loud. Hear our Internet broadcast live from anywhere in the world!"

Google Search: community college near Denver, CO

this is where andrea is today
Google Search: community college near Denver, CO

Cold White Peas - New York Times

Cold White Peas - New York Times: "The music industry loves to blame its problems on digital piracy, a case that has yet to be fully proved. The real problem is an addiction to blockbusters, and that is what today is all about - feeding the monster this industry has become. These days there are more musicians and bands than there have ever been, and there are still plenty of music-buying fans. Together, they are discovering alternative means of connecting with each other.

The big record companies continue to insist that the only route to profitability is blockbuster sales of a few titles, and the result is all too predictable - music that matters more for how it sells than how it sounds."

Yahoo! Photos - ndr_snz's Photos - IMG_702

Yahoo! Photos - ndr_snz's Photos - IMG_702

Federal Authorities May Prosecute Medical Use of Marijuana

maybe know the drug reform movement will move beyond a pot-centric strategy to focus on broader issues of the drug war.
trying to find a silver liniing...
Federal Authorities May Prosecute Medical Use of Marijuana: "Federal Authorities May Prosecute Medical Use of Marijuana
Supreme Court Rules States' Laws Do Not Protect Users

The Supreme Court ruled today that the federal government has the power to prosecute the use of marijuana for medical purposes even in states that have enacted their own laws permitting it.

In a 6-3 decision, the court agreed with the Bush administration that the regulation of controlled substances, including marijuana, is the exclusive province of Congress."

John Edwards book club: The Working Poor : Invisible in America

Amazon.com: Books: The Working Poor : Invisible in America: "The Working Poor examines the 'forgotten America' where 'millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being.' These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement. He shows how some negotiate a broken welfare system that is designed to help yet often does not, while others proudly refuse any sort of government assistance, even to their detriment. Still others have no idea that help is available at all.

'As a culture, the United States is not quite sure about the causes of poverty, and is therefore uncertain about the solutions,' he writes. Though he details many ways in which current assistance programs could be more effective and rational, he does not believe that government alone, nor any other single variable, can solve the problem. Instead, a combination of things are required, beginning with the political will needed to create a relief system 'that recognizes both the society's obligation through government and business, and the individual's obligation through labor and family.' He does propose some specific steps in the right direction such as altering the current wage structure, creating more vocational programs (in both the public and private sectors), developing a fairer way to distribute school funding, and implementing basic national health care."

John Edwards Vlogs

One America Committee: Home

Ska for the Skeptical

Ska for the Skeptical

notes on the Chi Indy Rock Scene

Via Chicago -> first and last post -looong sorry: "an indie rock establishment has evolved that stifles creativity-you cant be creative when you live in an atmosphere of fear of offending the 'wrong people'-so now when people move to Chicago they come not to show what they have done, but they come like any trembling office worker, scared but confident in his ability in the fine art of corporate ass kissing-the Chicago scene has become an office like any other. So you have a music scene that takes sustenance in giggling and snorting and gossiping about anyone outside the well-oiled machine of clubs, publiciists, booking agents , journalists,and -oh, yeah, 'fans' (smirk, giggle)-"

Cool tool: Blogdigger Local : near 60660

Blogdigger Local : near 60660

Lessig on cit-jos, advertising, and sensationalism

Lawrence Lessig: "As he said to me,

'An amateur journalist simply doesn't have a conflict of interest, or the conflict of interest is so easily disclosed that you know you can sort of get it out of the way.'

It is because I found Dave's view so compelling that I've been worried for sometime about the emergence of advertising in blog space. I'm not against it. I just worry about how it might put pressure on the 'doesn't have a conflict of interest' norm. If the virtue of the amateur is to seek the truth, that virtue could be in tension with the desire to earn more ad revenue. The simplest way to get linkbacks is to say the most absurd things imaginable.

But the more I've talked about this with observers and friends, the more I think the real fear is not bloggers tempted by ad revenues. It is instead the emergence of the equivalent of tabloids in blog-space: commercial entities whose sole purpose is to generate ad revenue, who do that by being as ridiculous and extreme as possible."

From Philly mag's story cutting on wharton; does this describe you?

The MBA above all teaches people to act like corporations, to follow the path of highest ROI. Humans don't know how to act like humans anymore. Instead they are drones, vassals to their massive debt loads for whom reflection and critical thinking are not useful offsetting assets.

Shmoogle

Shmoogle

The Long Tail: The dangers of "Headism"

The Long Tail: The dangers of "Headism": "I've been riffing on the dangers of 'headism', the mistake of assuming that the economic incentives and other forces that dominate at the head of a demand curve apply equally down the tail. This is a common misconception, much like when people ask bloggers how they intend to make money from their online noodling (other than, you know, turning it into a sure-to-be bestselling book coming out RSN).

For too long we've viewed the economics of the entertainment industry through the lens of hits and stars, studios and networks. Just as we are recognizing that the Long Tail is a huge and growing market that was hidden by the scarcity economics of the old distribution systems, we're starting to realize the nature of the goods, the participants and the incentives in this new market are also different. Here are a few examples:

Products

"