Who knew?

Evidently the Oxford Dictionary has this thing where anoints a new "word of the year". I'm not sure what the nomination and selection process consist of, but I can't imagine it's as exciting as what happens in Celine's dressing room.

Anyway, without further ado, the word of the year is: locavore. Personally, I would've liked to see "cougar" as the winner.

Who let the dogs out?

I don't know what to say about this:

Let's catch you up...

So it's been a couple of wks since my last post, so to fill you in on what I've been up to, here's a little show and tell:

Enn, Ephanie, Vix, L and I braved the Staten Island and made our way to the wilds of NJ, also known as Six Flags Wild Safari. There, we watched idiots try to entice wild animals into their cars and watched lazy animals watching us.

This is right after the giraffes spotted a keeper driving with their feed. They all took off like they were late for a party:



Here's a mother and three cubs. What you can't see are kajillion flies zipping around these bears. Not so cute, but I like the electric fence. It's a good touch.



Then we hopped next door and got on some rides. I got a little motion sick after my second loopy ride and broke out in cold sweat. So the prospect of getting on this was not so pleasing, but clearly not everyone felt this way:



Then last wknd there was the annual Halloween dog parade at the dog run at Thompkins Sq Park. I don't know who looked sillier, all the dogs in ridic outfits or the mass of people milling about.

Here are two of my favorites from that day:




That's it. La la. Show over. Go home.

In other news...

I always knew there was something off about Philly. Guess I'm not the only one who thought so. How e.

Bathing Azn-style

Saw this on treehugger about how the Japanese conserve water through how they bathe themselves. Now, I don't know about other azn countries, but I know that in Taiwan folks also do the sitting shower thing. Anyhoo, this is a good primer for saving water and also if one to find oneself doing some public bathing in Asia.

Pet Peeve No. 123

Men who sit on the subway with their legs spread at a 90 degree plus angle. They look like they're getting ready to do some birthing. Either that or they've got some physical problems with their sacs that prevents them from closing their legs for fear of doing themselves some serious injury. If the latter, please seek professional assistance lest one day you piss me off enough that I take care of your problem for you.

Chickenhead, hot or not?

I say not.

adopted?

Who looks more like their muhmuh? Them's some hairy kids.

Unintentially Creepy

So here I was listening to one of my favorite online radios -- Sky.fm's 80's station -- grooving to Culture Club when this song starts.

I am the eye in the sky
Looking at you
I can read your mind
I am the maker of rules
Dealing with fools
I can cheat you blind
And I don't need to see any more
To know that
I can read your mind, I can read your mind

Um, yeah. Don't call me, I'll call you.

Symmetry In Biology

Ever notice that hold people have really soft skin like babies? Evidently as we age our skin thins. When we're born we have baby soft thin skin that hardens as we age, then at some point it thins out again. Biology can be scary.

War Comes to Pets

A sign of the times, customized armor for your puppies in case of war:

HP Attack

Ephanie and I visited Harry Potter Place in Soho:



We saw lots of adults dressed in age-inappropriate clothing, and lots of children with random crup drawn on their faces. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of those because I didn't want my camera lens to crack.

We also saw the Knight Bus:



We also took some silly pictures of ourselves as HP. Unfortunately I was looking the wrong way so the picture looked as if I have a broken neck. However the worst part was that while we were stuck in line waiting for the photos Scholastic began live-streaming JKR's reading of Book 7. I began humming like a crazy person. Damn you Scholastic, damn you.

morningstar delight

well let's see, what did i do today. well, first i spent a couple hours browsing my favorite harry potter fan sites looking for more interesting tidbits about my favorite book series of all time. no juicy tidbits today, but i made a few more friends on the bulletin boards, too bad they're all too young to travel alone so we can't meet up and hang out.

then enn woke up and was absolutely glowing. i don't know how she manages to look so beautiful when she first wakes up. must be the japanese genes. she is so cute when she is sleppy and watches golden girls with one eye open and one eye closed.

later i cooked up one of my favorite salty treats.

The Media Loves Cop-ShootersKillers

Looks like cop-shooterskillers Dexter Bostick and Robert Ellis are being arraigned today at the Brooklyn Criminal Court. And how do I know? By the 4 news vans parked beneath my windows and the mass of reporters outside the courthouse:



Here's Ch.2 reporting live from the scene:



For those not in the know, Bostick and Ellis are two of three men who are being arraigned on charges related to the shooting of NYPD officers Russel Timoshenko and Herman Yan in Crown Heights during a traffic stop earlier this week.

What'choo looking at???

Don't know what it is about these birds of prey, but they sure are one suspicious looking bunch.

Personally I think this particular bird looks as if it's been caught doing something.

Um, what dear? No, I didn't eat the mouse. Uh, what's in my talon? Uh, what talon? I mean, uh, nothing. Nothing at all.

Sending out an SOS

I just finished watching about 12 hours of Live Earth. A few observations:

1) Older rockers should look to Jon Bon Jovi and Sting as models for how they should be living their lives -- both have a lot less bloat than most others of their generation, for ex. Nick Rhodes;

2) No one cares about Sydney. Both Bravo and Sundance showed acts from NYC, Rio, Shanghai, Tokyo, Johannesburg, and Hamburg; but neither showed anything from Sydney. Even Keith Urban didn't perform in Sydney but rather NYC (well, actually Giants Stadium in Jersey, but close enough). For crying out loud, they even showed the scientists in Antarctica; and

3) Performers should not be singing ballads in stadiums. Stick with rock anthems, or if you're Madonna songs involving slow gyrating orgy dance routines (starting at 3:44 into the song).

I love vegetables!

Unfortunately that sometimes result in compost-y smelling poots.

Oh well.

Blockage

As much as I hate the amount of environmental and monetary waste that goes it producing a large firework display such as the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks I still love the booming insanity of it all. That said, I hate crowds and was hoping to avoid the teeming mass of people by taking in the display from the roof deck of my new building. Unfortunately, after a quick reconnaissance I realized a problem:



Given where the barges are placed I won't be able to see shiz. Oh well. Teeming masses here I come, though hopefully the rain will keep some of them away.

Happy 2/3 Day!!!

Ever since I've started working in my current field I've always like the day before a national holiday because I only have to work 2/3 of a work day. Yay! Sticking it to The Man!

Unfortunately, this will be my last 2/3 Day as I'm switching jobs and my new job will not care about national holidays, bank closures, terrorist acts, national calamities, and so on.

So it's with a heavy heart that I celebrate this my last 2/3 Day. So long 2/3 Days, I'll miss you.

Perspective

Not long ago, New Yorkers used to queue for bread:



Now we camp for phones -- yes a really cool looking, technologically flashy phone, but a phone nonetheless:



That said, at least no one waited in line for bread for a week unlike these people.

What Enn Says 2

The latest:

"i did it!

i had to do it!

i put the avon b. cancer walk people on my spam list!

:/"

Piaps of Pride!

Piaps, like people come in a variety of shapes and sizes; and I was glad to see that diversity reflected at this year's NYC Pride. That said, check out the azz on that lab -- someone doesn't hold back at the chow bowl:

Sex Kitten

Here's a shout-out to an old friend of Enn's who had a thing for a little filly:

Annual Lament

Well, not exactly a lament but something more along the lines of wistfulness. What am I talking about? This -- whenever the weather starts getting warm and the kiddies are out on the streets full-force because they're no longer tethered to their school yards and classrooms I'm reminded of those languid summers when I used to sleep in until one or two in the afternoon after staying up all night doing nothing. Ah, the glory that is summer break. And somewhere mixed in all this nostalgia is a wistful longing for a experience that I'll never have, and that is the sleep-away summer camp. Yes, it may be a hell never to be repeated for some but even then it's a once in a lifetime experience, no? Of course in my dreamiverse, the camp that I really wanted to be at was the one with Ferris and Angel, though quite honestly now that I know what that movie was all about I kinda am leaning towards the camp where Sharon and Susan met... *lets get together, yeah, yeah...*

A Nice Surprise

Last Tuesday I was stuck in my boringly meaningless weekly meeting that rehashes the contents of this work flow database that my colleagues and I update on a daily basis. However, because same the idiotic powers-that-be who requires our presence at this pointless meeting forgot to reserve our usual conference room we were sent off to the other side of the floor in search of an unused meeting space. After one or two abortive attempts we were successful in usurping this room that was a third of the size of our usual conference room. We were a bit cramped to say the least. However, unlike our usual meeting space this one was a corner room and therefore had humongous office windows serving as two of the four walls. As we shuffled in I managed to grab a seat at the far end of the conference table by one of the two windowed walls. As the powers-that-be droned on I happened to look out the window to pass the time, and goodness what did I see:



After some researching I found that this fantastic building was 20 Exchange Place. It used to be The City Bank Farmers Trust Building, and unfortunately will soon become William Beaver House -- housing that's aimed at the NC-17 crowd.

Hairy Times

VH1 has compiled another useless list of songs that's going to be plaguing my mind for the next week. This time the focus is the 40 Most Softastic Soft Rock Songs. Why they didn't title this "Greatest Hits of the 70's" is beyond me because practically every song that was a hit in the 70's was on this list. Though I suppose "softastic soft rock" sounds a bit more flashy and catchy than "the greatest '70s hits". Now I love a good 70's tune as much as the next person. Who can forget Karen's haunting voice or the wonder that is Steve. Haha, tricked you. Though he's pretty awesome too.

Anyway, even with all that goodness there is the horror that is the 70's hairiness as best exemplified by this gross album cover:



Is it just me or does that look like cover art to some gay porn?

Intergenerational Love Is Creepy

What Enn Says

This is the inagural post for what will be a regular thread in this blog, that is things that Enn says to me about me, the world, etc.

So lets get to what Enn says, shall we?

As I indulged in some cheese and peanut butter crackers which left me a bit parched, I took a sip of some water. Unfortunately for me, the water went down the wrong pipe and I started to choke and cough. Enn, who had been standing behind me, said with much indignation as I turned towards her, "Why are you coughing at me?"

And that ends our first of what I believe will be a fruitful thread, "What Enn Says".

Why non-Americans think Americans are (fill-in-the-blank)

Suspicious Minds

When one thinks of baby animals, the first thoughts are usually cute in a size-appropriate way and somewhat goofy in an age-appropriate way. In either case, one's image of said baby animal is a picture of naive innocence. Which is why it's so troubling to see these peregrin falcon chicks that were found on the Throgs Neck Bridge:



One almost want to ask, where's the love? They look like they're about ready to rob a bank. Though on second thought, maybe they're just acting like any other New Yorkers by displaying a little "don't f with me" attitude.

Fire!

Not really. Though I did manage to set off the smoke alarm for the very first time today. I guess that's another "first" that I'll never experience again. *sniff*

Note to self -- Remember to use oils with LOW smoking points when making popcorn, or else risk irrevocable damage to one's hearing as one stumbles about trying to find a stool/chair/small child on which to step in order to reach the blaring smoke detector all the while clutching the ass-end of one's Swiffer in order to reach the magic button that will turn off the sodding scream machine.

Though on the bright side, all the adjoining units to mine now know of my existence. Hello neighbors!

Dead or Asleep?

Is it just me or do these pets look like they're not quite alive?

Of course if one is interested in an eternally sleepy friend then I suppose these would make the perfect fur-friend.

My favorite is the King Charles -- cute enough to pass, quiet enough to make one wonder:

Trixx I Played Today

Today Enn and I were talking about -- well, it was more like she was telling me about all the "sad" episodes of comedy sitcoms that really made an impression on her. For example, the episode of "Silver Spoons" when Ricky went on a hunting trip with his grandfather and had to shoot the deer, or the episode of "The Cosby Show" where everyone is fighting but in the end they hugged after gathering around the TV to watch MLK Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Then I said, "remember that episode of "The Cosby Show" where Denise finds out she's HIV postitive?" She didn't quite buy that one, esp. since I couldn't keep my face straight. However, I came up with an even better one later on. "Remember when Ethel lost her leg on "I Love Lucy"? "Whot? How?" "In a landmine accident." "Really??? I don't remember that!" ST 1, Enn 0.