Dying of Consumption

There was a substantial windfall last month. I finally came to the following conclusions regarding that money:

1. Buying an Apple Cinema Display is asinine since my MacBook will be slowed down.
2. Buying an iPhone will be chumpy since I’d have to pay at least $150 just to cancel the Verizon contract.
3. Buying a MacBook Pro is imbecilic because I’ve not had my MacBook for even a year and it appears all the Apple laptops will be refreshed around September.
4. Buying a flatscreen TV may not be a bad idea.

The problem is that of all the geeky electronics listed above the only one that really tugs at my heart is the iPhone. However, my financial sense holds me back. I still remember when I used to be in debt a few years back when I was coming out of college. There was definitely a sense of purpose and triumph when I buckled down and whittled down my $3,000 debt to zero. Now I promptly pay my credit card twice a month and make sure the credit card company makes no money off of me. The credit company actually sends me money since I have a rewards card. But I also keep thinking that all of the things I listed are completley unecessary. . . I’m acting as if the money is burning in my pocket. Sometimes I have to be reminded that all I need is a coffee, a book and some sunlight to derive lots of satisfaction.

Caganers: All Too Human

The little peasant is squatting. He’s already evacuated. There’s a brown pile there and it’s surprisingly realistic. Oh, the Catalans and their scatological fixation. I’m continually fascinated when I think about caganer figurines. What does this mean for a people? What does this mean for a culture?

Not only do the figurines exist, they are placed in Nativity scenes! Imagine preparing the solemn Nativity scene with shepherds, animals, Mary, Joseph, Magi, etc. . . and then placing a little figurine hidden away and squatting.

Something happened when the Conquistadores were crossing the Atlantic. As far as I know, Latin America is lacking this scatological component. We do not casually mention shitting on the communion wafer. In Mexico shitting on anything is not used as an insult, shitting is shameful. What does this mean about Catalans and Spaniards? On the one hand, I admire the idea that even at this great cosmic moment - the birth of the Savior - we mere humans still had to poop. I admire the figurines of famous people squatting and pooping. Yes, Zapatero, Bush, and the Pope all poop (and caganers of all of these people have been made). But on the other hand, isn’t this larger scatological fixation kind of weird?

Soviet Russia’s Vinni Pukh

I hate Winnie the Pooh. I hate his voice, he’s bland, he lacks charm, etc. Imagine my surprise when I found the Soviet version of Winnie the Pooh and completely fell in love with it! Not only is the animation charming, Vinni Pukh looks more like a bear, he has a cute raspy voice and he’s a little not-so-bright troublemaker. The episode I’m embedding teaches kids to be considerate when visiting. It’s just hypnotic and comforting for some reason:

If you find this mildly entertaining, then I suggest heading over to this think in pictures essay called Winnie the Pooh in Russia, it’s very well done.

Let’s Try It Again

I’m going to try again. For me, maintaining a blog seems to follow a pattern. I started with a collaborative blog that seemed to die after a few weeks. My next attempt was a personal finance blog, that lasted a few months and then died (I think it’s still out there). My latest attempt is this blog and after the trip to Europe I sort of let it die. Today, while walking around the National Mall and re-reading Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style, I started thinking about how I want to do creative things. I have all this cool software and how-to books but I don’t really create. I want to create. I can appreciate beautiful things but I want to do more than just appreciate.

At some point in my walk I started thinking about writing and this blog. If you can’t even update a simple blog on a routine basis how will you improve your writing? Determined, I walked to Caribou Coffee. Here I am.

Let’s try this again.

Using the “PC Hammer”

There’s no better way to weasel out of a discussion than saying “You’re just being PC!” People hide their ugly and stupid beliefs by saying “That’s just PC man, fuck that!”

No, I do not mean that you have to sanitize your language but own up when you say something. This idiot, Josh Homme, frontman of Queens of the Stone Age, just launched the word “faggot” like there was no tomorrow.He’s rightfully getting a lot of flack for it. But instead of penning a nice mea culpa, he sends out an ugly statement that a 12 year old might pen. He wrote:

By that logic… I also told that young whipper snapper I’d have anal sex with him… how can I possibly reconcile these opposing viewpoints? I called him a pussy too. Does it mean I hate our one worlds’ collective vagina? I never have been nor intend to be politically correct. That’s your cross to bear. To me, that PC world would suck more shit than the porta-potty truck at Glastonbury. Homophobic? I’m in Queens of the Stone Age for crissake… You say, “So. Your band name doesn’t prove anything.” Maybe not. But it’s a helluv a lot more definitive than the logic of some watchdog… (sorry canine-American, canine-European, canine-African, canine-Australian & canine-Asian) moralist, keeping score from pure perfectionville?

You see what he was trying to do? Deflate a real argument about using such powerful words that reflect such pure hatred. No one wants to stifle his verbal diarrhea, keep doing it idiot, I’m just not buying any more of your music.

Would Mr. Homme have used the n-word when insulting the guy who threw that shoe?

Baltimore is Reeaaal

This last Saturday we headed to Baltimore with a couple of friends. We first headed to American Visionary Art Museum to check out a PostSecret exhibit. The museum was aaaiiight but the real jewel was the museum store. The museum store was quite possibly the kitchiest place I’ve ever seen. There were so may things I almost bought but decided I had squeezed out all delight by merely holding them.

We also went to a magical place called The Book Thing where we dropped off some books we no longer wanted and came back with lots of books we did want. I came back with:

• The Age of Absolutism by Max Beloff,
• InDesign Killer Tips by Kelby and White, and
• LaTeX, A User’s Guide and Reference Manual by Leslie Lamport.

Baltimore… is an interesting city. And as if the Baltimore overload wasn’t enought we also started watching The Wire.

Triumphant Return

All this talk of vacation, it seems I took a little vacation from the blog as well. I’m sure more ramblings will show up soon…

The Trip

Arrive in Barcelona.

Head to Toulouse.

Head to Biarritz.

Head to San Sebastian (Donostia).

Head to Deba and Bilbao (small stops).

Return to Barcelona.

Heading to Spain and France!

I’ll try to update from there!

Hoarding Books

I feel like I’m hoarding books, I’m lusting after books. I’ve recently been inundated by books, although surprisingly, they’re all non-fiction. Here’s a listing of what’s in my queue:

All 4 of Tufte’s books, I’m going in order, I’m now on Visual Explanations. They really are beautiful books and I’m learning a thing or two.

My old statistics book (thanks mom and dad!). I have fond memories of this book, I want to relearn some stats and this is just the ticket. This itch to re-familiarize with stats is blatantly related to the Tufte books.

Letter by Letter by Laurent Pflughaupt, should reach my hands this Monday or Tuesday. It seems like it will be an interesting read.

The Elements of Typographic Style, should also reach my hands this Monday or Tuesday.