Wednesday

Born to Run -- Barefoot!



I think I've somehow known this since I was young, but here's proof that the human foot (and body) evolved to run healthiest barefoot!  From the LA Times:

MTA sign designer dies at 82



NYC subway signage is known the world over for its modern simplicity, Helvetica-esque Akzidenz Grotesk lettering, bold colored circles.  Yhe co-designer of the NYC MTA signage, Bob Noorda,  has died.  From Second Ave. Sagas:
"Underground, Massimo Vignelli is the superstar of the design of subway signs. He is largely credited with bringing a uniform design to the subway system shortly after the formation of the MTA in the late 1960s. Vignelli, who at the time was with the design firm Unimark International, did not work alone. He brought Bob Noorda, a leader in Modernist design with him, and Noorda was one of the driving forces behind Transit’s eventual use of its now-ubiquitious and familiar signs."
The ubiquitous signs have become a symbol of New York itself, and a lasting testiment to modernism.



Tuesday

Unhappy Hipsters Mope around Modernism

This is a hoot:  Somebody's re-titled photos from Dwell Magazine, with snarky depressing results.



"In search of a less bleak playground, the toddler pedaled faster."

For a few more go to the Tumblr page HERE.
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Canned Crap an American Tradition - Happy Birthday Canned Beer



We love it.  We just love it.  We pretend to hate it, but we love it.  Especially Brooklyn douchery culture:  "oh I'll just have a PBR, because I'm on a shoe-string budget . . . just look at my $196 skinny jeans."  They're so EVERYTHING ELSE!  But back to topic:

75 years ago yesterday, a New Jersey brewing company sold the first canned beer, and ever since Americans have had a love affair with watery beers in toss-away tin.  But check this out - not everybody does it that way!  I KNOW!

Tricky Topic Needs Un-Lidding - or - Take the Log out of Your Eye

It's difficult to talk abuse and molestation.  That's probably why we SHOULD talk about it.  For one thing, at the heart of much of popular mainstream homophobia is the misguided notion that gay men are responsible for molesting boys and straight men are responsible for molesting girls.  It's just not true.  And if the reasons for denying marriage rights, adoption, and equality of citizenship are, at their base, false . . . well we need to talk about it.  Rob Tisinai has made a video that even a wing-nut could understand.  Take a second to check it out, and PASS IT ON.  It's important.



Can Capitalism and Sustainability Coexist? Lemme check my tablet. . .



With apple's newest and most hollered-about toy about to hit the market . . . just a few years after the iphone, and just weeks, perhaps, after they released their record-crushing profits from the very same, can we expect the leader in big-boy toys to ever take into consideration the wasteful lifestyle that 90s-style gadgetry spawned?  From treehugger:
"Ultimately, the buzz over this tablet device says we're a long, long way off from minimizing our consumption of goods - especially electronics - and that our technology is growing and changing faster than we can consume, appreciate, and more importantly reuse or recycle all of the things we create with our advancements."

Friday

R.I.P. Air America -- as if we need more bad news. Literally.


Just sad.  The station goes off the air Monday . . . a warning of what's to come, unfortuately, as big business -- newly invigorated by the recent SCOTUS ruling -- slowly buys up the rest of our communication outlets...   Think the internet is the last bastion of free speech?  You're right.  Think it's gonna stay that way?  You're wrong.  From their site:


 
It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.. .

The Best Thing He's Read All Year -- 10 Years AGO.

Though this is now nearly ten years old, the voice is clear, and the battle is no nearer won.
from Andrew Tobias:

The Best Thing I've Read All Year

Published on May 04, 2000
Sunday, April 30, 2000
By SHARON UNDERWOOD
For the Valley News (White River Junction, VT)

Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people.
I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.
 

My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the ...

The South needs some more Freedom to remind them of Slavery


A serious proposal for the Charleston Harbor -- a male version of the Statue of Liberty called the Statue of Freedom (they love that distinction, Liberty is so snooty) has made its way to the Patriot's Point Development Authority.

"At Tuesday’s monthly board meeting, Rodney Cook, of the National Monument Foundation suggested that a male version of Lady Liberty could house a museum about South Carolina’s role in the Civil War.

The statue would be the same size as the one in New York City, and cost about $150M. Most of that money would come from the private sector."


Wait . . . South Carolina's ROLE in the CIVIL WAR? -- you mean starting it and losing it, and now wanting to commemorate cotton and slavery with a big statue to duel with the North's much less homo-erotic one?

Good one.

Some words from the brilliant Geoffrey Nunberg on the shift from Liberty to Freedom after the leap ...

Thursday

Government of the People, By the Corp., For the Corp.


Worst news ever.  SCOTUS today overturned a century old restriction on corporations (and probably unions) directly funding political ads for candidates. . .

Well Put! - from the Atlantic - do read!


From the Atlantic - through Andrew Sullivan - source unclear:

"My teabagger parents are gloating today about the Brown victory. To them, this whole politics game is like football: they simply cheer for the red team to beat the blue team. Period. They don’t know or care how Brown or any of their other preferred candidates are going to solve the real crises my generation will face.
And for all their slogans and smugness and phony outrage, the teabaggers are on the wrong side of the future in every way I can imagine: Entitlements will have to be cut. The eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security will be raised, benefits will be means-tested, and Medicare will eventually be rationed. Everyone in my generation knows this. We accept it. But we want those programs to stick around in at least a minimal, bare-bones form. The teabaggers just mindlessly shout “Don’t cut my Medicare!” But they don’t mind bankrupting it for my generation.

Enough with the Race to the Skies - or - The Future of Prestige is Green


While the developing nations of the world race to build spires that amaze with their glimmering glass, it might do us a load of good to remember that those kind of accomplishments also require hot water and poop to be pumped up and down a MILE IN THE AIR, which is stupid.

Check out this green Ski Resort from architect Michael Jantzen:  SLIDE SHOW HERE with a built-in slope, wind and solar power and heating, and plenty of luxury amenities.
 
Cool is what we ask for.



Wednesday

Every two seconds

Every two seconds an area of forest the size of a soccer field is being destroyed in the world--  want to see how fast that is?  Want to re-consider paper towels, napkins, printing twice? 




Americans Spend More on Driving than Healthcare, Education and FOOD.


The healthy and wealthy bike, the poorest spend 1/3 of their income on TRANSPORTATION . . . mostly on cars.  From The League of American Bicyclists:

More and VIDEO after the jump!

Driver Shoots Cyclist in the HEAD.

This is from November, but I just found out, and it's SO INSANE I thought I'd share:
"while driving down the road one day, Charles Diaz grew upset at seeing a man riding his bike on a busy street with his 3 year-old son. So he shot him in the head. Thankfully, the bullet narrowly missed his skull, instead getting lodged in the cyclists' helmet. Well, Diaz has just been sentenced for admitting to nearly murdering a man by firing a gun towards his head--and he's received a paltry 4 months in jail."
FOUR MONTHS IN JAIL?  That's IT?  You can get more for smoking pot.  INSANE!  I put this guy in the Please Keep your Crazy in the Carolinas category.  Thank you.
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Borough Quiz Answer [roar!]

Back after a long winter hiatus, it's
Sights, Blights and Hi-lights from NYC's Fantastic Five!!

Long past time for the answer to last week's quiz:

Any Idea where this dude surveys the land?


Don't Cram the Pram -or- A little fresh air never hurt anybody.

Scandinavians have a WONDERFUL habit of leaving their babies in their prams OUTSIDE thier chosen gathering places.  Even in winter.  It looks funny to us:

[more + picture after the leap]

Tuesday

Bilble verses printed in rifle scopes give enemy every reason to believe we're in a religious war.


The last thing we want is to broadcast to the world that our army is marching and bombing and killing in the name of Christ.  That's their bag -- we're supposed to be reacting to that kind of kookery with a force for justice and freedom to worship any or even NO god.

So what are we doing paying ONE COMPANY 660 MILLION DOLLARS to manufacture rifle scopes with Christian Bible verses in them?  And the company (not surprisingly) unrepentant.

Rachel Maddow  and ABC discuss this mess after the jump:

A gentle reminder to EVERYONE ON EARTH

Common decency dictates the following:















Thank you for listening.


Smaller is better, Slow is too.



Or are you? (more after the jump)

Dear Pat Roberston - an open letter from Satan



This from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: (after the jump)

GO MASS! or Don't Let Prayer and Horses Fool You

Today's the day, Massachusetts, be strong, be brave and don't be fooled by the big white guy with a pick-up truck and a third-grade grasp of American History.


AND --

AND!!  let this be a warning to the Obama Admin., that if the Dems can't even pass this watered-down limp useless bill, THEY HAVE FAILED THE POPULARITY CONTEST.

and unfortunately, that's what it is.  That and a blizzard of lies.  The Dems have lost control of their message.  Lost control to TEABAGGING.  It was that easy.

I'm accepting ideas on how make Most Americans understand that they will never be Millionaires, and that the FLUFFY, SHINY logos of their favorite companies are the SEALS ON THE TOMB OF THE MIDDLE CLASS.

Anyone?






Friday

New Yorkers should know. . .





What year is it? or Why Notre Dame is in the dark ages.

UPDATE:  The Observer Editorial team has posted a more offensive and off-mark "apology" on it's website  HERE

Now I like jokes.  And I like comics, and irreverent humor is a favorite, but this is beyond and way below that.  This appeared in a Notre Dame student paper:



From GLAAD:
"The cartoonist had posted on his blog – though it’s since been removed – his original version of the cartoon. In the original version, it shows that the punchline read, 'AIDS' instead of 'A baseball bat.' The paper, he reported, preferred 'not to make light of fatal diseases.' The Observer made a dangerously misguided decision that promoting violence was somehow superior to making fun of HIV/AIDS."

The text, in case you can't read it:  "What's the easiest way to turn a fruit into a vegetable?  No idea.  A baseball bat.

Classy, Notre Dame.  I thought the youth were more enlightened.  I guess they're also morons.



Get your Green Goo OUT.


Find out what this sludge is . . .

Thursday

Olbermann's Reply to Limbaugh and Roberston




F is for Filibuster! or The Matter with Parliamentary Procedure

Ok, all it takes to stop a bill (like healthcare reform) from passing in our illustrious US Senate are:

the Senators from the 20 least-populated states (that's 10.2 percent of the country's population)

 . . .  and ONE OTHER GUY.

Yep, 41 Senators is all it takes for a filibuster to blow a bill out of the water. 

Great system.  I'm going to go let some blood and burn some witches now . . . because those systems still seem fine to me too.

Furious.

Racism loud and clear from the voice of the Right


As if we needed further evidence that Rush Limbaugh is pure evil, we have this from dailykos:

Wednesday

Robertson: Haiti had a pact with the Devil

This is why he must be given a show on Comedy Central; but laugh though we must, THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of Americans listen and love him.  Now that's funny!!



Stupid is the new black. (also the new pink, blue and green)

Any New Yorker who has hurried through subway connections this week, huddled against the cold weather, has seen these at every turn:

and I can't help but think that we've hit a new low. 

BE STUPID . . . do Americans need a reminder?

New Yorkers! Dump your electronics the green way this Saturday.

If you're in the NYC area, and you have any of this:

  . . . bring them to TekServe (teamed with the Lower East Side Ecology Center) for free collection and recycling.  Like this:

They do it every year, and it protects air, soil and water from insane levels of toxins
"The components in many electronics can be incredibly hazardous to the environment - contributing up to 70% of the toxins found in landfills - so it's important that they are properly recycled. Find out more through our links to articles on computer recycling. Sponsored collection events, like this one, are one of the easiest ways to properly dispose of your old gadgets in NYC. Due to funding constraints, the city's electronics recycling events and the Build It Green electronics drop-off program have been suspended."


Tuesday

Avatar (a favorite with me) Slammed by Vatican.



Gimme a break. HERE


"In a recent World Day of Peace message, the pontiff warned against any notions that equate human person and other living things. He said such notions "open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man's salvation in nature alone."


Ugh.



GREEN SHIPS! How cool! Props to . . . uh . . . History?



Ok this seems pretty innovative.  This British company is building Wind-Powered ships (imagine?) in an old ship-building district (bringing new jobs), making them out of recycled steel, firing the steel with torrefied wood (no fossil carbon), and launching them to ferry a coal-replacing fuels (biomass, torrefied wood pellets)!  I love them!  Go ships!


"Torrefied wood pellets produce more energy per unit by volume than conventional wood pellets, and can be readily co-fired with coal without the need for retrofitting or altering the ovens in any way. It has even been suggested that torrefied pellets could eventually replace coal, allowing power plants to become entirely "green power" facilities. Rather than shutting down "dirty" coal plants, operators could simply add torrefied pellets to the normal coal load, until they are able to replace coal altogether."


More on Torrefied Wood HERE



Germany takes the lead in reducing emissions.



Following the Copenhagen clusterfuck, Germany emerges as a leader while other nations -- including ours -- fall away from promised reforms.


"Germany has a firm target that the government has even spelled out in its coalition agreement to cut its emissions by 40 percent," Schellnhuber told a news conference. "That's unconditional. Germany will continue to be a driving force."


Full article from Reuters HERE Bravo!!



Trial in Malawi to begin. Love mocked. Prison Likely.



This image (thanks to towleroad) of two lovers mocked on their way to their trial pretty much says it all.


" Anyone convicted of violating the ban on homosexuality could face a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The couple's defence team argued in court Monday that their arrest on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation 'amounts to discrimination, a violation of their rights to freedom of expression, conscience and expression as enshrined in our republican constitution.'

"Our prayer is for a constitutional review of the laws in the penal code that criminalise homosexuality in the country and are inconsistent with the constitution," lawyer Noel Supedi told a packed court.

Chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa, presiding over a case that has generated widespread public debate in the country, agreed with the plea for a constitutional review but ruled the case could be moved to the constitutional court only with the consent of the chief justice."






Stunning footage of the 7 train extension!




Copenhagen in the Bleak Mid-winter! Go BIKES!

The beautiful, healthy, enlightened people of Copenhagen bike despite winter. Love them.

Copenhagen January Cycling - Your Country from Copenhagenize on Vimeo.

TEXT



and now . . . Road Rage with Andy Battaglia -- Episode 1 [ding]



From time to time I'll bring you a totally justified rant from the brilliant cramped mind of Andy Battaglia. Here we go!


"To Whom It May Concern: China is currently building 12 high-speed rail lines that will go upwards of 250 miles per hour across thousands of miles and will open by 2012 effectively making air-travel across short distances a thing of the past. In America we're building a two-mile long subway extension in New York that was first proposed in 1920 and will open in 2017 (maybe), and even that is only partly funded and could be halted (for the fourth time).
If you want crumbling highways and bridges packed with traffic and slow Amtrak trains that take two full days to get from New York to Florida, America is the country for you. For the love of all things, can we invest in rail infrastructure! And by invest, I don't mean talk about it for years and spend millions on "studies" only to delay actual construction for it to eventually be derailed by the automobile industry lobby. France, Germany and Sweden have managed to create the most comprehensive rail systems in the world, and I don't think our being a huge country is a good enough reason for us to not be investing in this stuff. We USED to have fancy things and amazing pieces of engineering and infrastructure in the early parts of the last century. Then we stopped investing and sold off thousands of miles of railroad rights-of-way so that "developers" could replace them with strip malls, and McMansion gated communities with no sidewalks and only cars to get to and from anywhere. Ohh and before that GM bought all of our clean electrified light rail and trolley lines across the country, decreased service to make them unattractive, and then ripped them up so they could be replaced with slow smog-producing GM-made buses. But I digress...Thanks. -Andy"



Thank YOU, Andy.



It's time for BOROUGH QUIZ!!! [gong!]

Back after a long winter hiatus, it's
Sights, Blights and Hi-lights from NYC's Fantastic Five!!


Any Idea where this dude surveys the land? Answer at the end of the week!

WHERE THE HECK IS THAT GUY?
Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Staten Island


Melanie DeMore Performs Over the Rainbow for Federal Prop. 8 Rally

In the early morning hours of January 11 -- the beginning of the Federal challenge to California's Proposition 8 (restricting marriage to straight Americans) -- Melanie DeMore entertains the assembled crowd at the Federal Court Building in San Fransisco.

"If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why o why can't I?"

Pretty astoundingly beautiful,  I think.


And if you're confused about what is going on with this challenge:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Friday

I can't describe this.



This is amazing, just click through below to the blog for the full glory.


"Badger tickling: proceed with caution"

"Vampire penguins? Zombie guinea pigs? We're done for.... done for."


WORDS OF A SLEEP TALKING MAN (thanks to towleroad)



Endangered Species 2010 (the cutest and most marketable anyway)



FULL GALLERY HERE


Crippling Mortgage? Walk away . . . big business would.



Welcome back!  Happy New Year!  Here's a delightful thought for the new year!
". . . in a market society, since when are people responsible for the economic effects of their actions? Every oil speculator helps to drive up gasoline prices. Every hedge fund that speculated against a bank by purchasing credit-default swaps on its bonds signaled skepticism about the bank’s creditworthiness and helped to make it more costly for the bank to borrow, and thus to issue loans. We are all economic pinballs, insensibly colliding for better or worse."
So let's all act like the banks and just walk away!  An interesting perspective from John Courson at the NYTimes . . . full article HERE.