2007-02-28

"I am a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy."

So says the mythic recluse, J. D. Salinger. On another Salinger kick, I skipped into a site chock full of under published works (thanks to The Wit of the Staircase)and was thrilled to see a memoir by his daughter. Dead Caulfield's fills it's cyber pages with all things be-Holden and was deeply amused by Dumbledore's death in the style of The Catcher in the Rye.

From The American Society of Authors and Writers:

In 1999, rumors circulated that three of Salinger's neighbors who had spent time in his home had seen a bank vault in which the author claimed to have placed "15 or 16" of his completed novels.

All are presumably about the Glass Family.
If it's true that he has written these other books, the question of the day is what will happen to them after the author's death? His friends believe that he will either destroy them or authorize their publication, which would make for one of the most enlightening posthumous collections ever.

Meanwhile, the author--who leads an ascetic life--refers to himself as a "failed Zen Buddhist," walks about in a blue mechanic's uniform, and, when he goes to local restaurants, eats in the kitchen to avoid people.

2007-02-25

One Thing Leads to Another

It began with the Bottle Gang's list of Hollywood's Greatest Drinkers. In this list they deify the wonderful Dean Martin whom I adore. Having watched a a plethora of The Dean Martin Show, and one show in particular in which he's singing some song with the omnipresent lit cigarette going when the cherry of the smoke lands in his lap. He doesn't stop singing for a second, just sticks the cigarette in his mouth, stands and sweeps the glowing ash away with a gleam in his eyes the entire time.

The comments on this list lead me to an article in Modern Drunkard Magazine about über boozer, Andre the Giant, entitled The Greatest Drunk on Earth.

It then occurred to me that I hadn't found my mullet for Monday. I quick scan of the news led me to it and to a story about the discovery of a tomb believed to have been that of Jesus and his family. This led me to a blog post from decision of the Day which describes how police no longer need a warrant to enter a house if that house has a meth lab. Fascinating stuff.

Deep into a rant from that read, I skipped over to Metafilter to find yet more lists! Joy!

The first - The 50 Craziest Rock Stars!

The second - The 50 Most awesomely Dead Rock Stars. Generally any use of the word 'awesomely' is Jen repellent but I succumb to the love of the list.

All of this digging around online occurred after a weekend of digging my truck out from where is was stuck in the middle of the driveway after an escape attempt. Cabin fever thwarted by Mother Nature. Although not as deeply in it as the car below, I was quite stuck. At least I was able to enjoy the vision of determined squirrels attempting to cross the snow. It went kind of like this LEAP - disappear in deep snowy crevice - LEAP - disappear once again in deep snowy crevice -repeat until the pile of peanuts the kindly lady with the stuck truck put out.


But I didn't want to leave this post with such a dreary photo, so here: What has passed from the Plains to the Coast: A Stubborn Cold Wedge.

UPDATE: Is James Cameron full of shit?!?!?!?
Finnish Disco With Åke Blomqvist!!!

Let's learn how to dance, kids!

2007-02-21

Small and Hairy


That is how one could describe the latest addition to the island of Sumatra, young Andalas. He was born in the L.A. zoo and flown to Sumatra when he was old enough for the flight.

Two young female rhinos, Rosa and Ratu, are anxiously awaiting his arrival at a rhino sanctuary in SumatraÂ’s Way Kambas National Park.

2007-02-19

Bhut Jolokia!

Anyone who is a true furnace face will remember that name. It is the new hottest chili pepper on the planet.

Bhut Jolokia comes in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units. That's nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the variety it replaces as the hottest. By comparison, a New Mexico green chili contains about 1,500 Scoville units; an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000.

The Guinness Book of Records agrees that Paul Bosland, a regents professor at New Mexico State University, has discovered the world's hottest chili pepper. The Bhut Jolokia is a naturally occurring hybrid native to the Assam region of northeastern India.

In it's dried form, photo right, it may have as many as 1 million Scoville heat units.

The name translates as ghost chili, Bosland said.

"We're not sure why they call it that, but I think it's because the chili is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it," he said.

You can get seeds for this horrifyingly hot pepper at the here at the NMSU College of Agriculture and Home Economics, where they also supply the answer to the burning question: How do you get the burning sensation to stop after consuming chile peppers?

Answer? The best way to ease the burning sensation is to drink milk, or eat yogurt or any other dairy product. A substance found in dairy products known as casein, helps to disrupt the reaction. This substance, which is a lipophilic phosphoprotein, acts like a detergent and literally strips capsaicin from its receptor binding site. If you get the oil on your skin, you may want to rub it with rubbing alcohol first, then soak in milk, this seems to alleviate the burning. If you get it in your eyes, the only thing you can do is repeatedly rinse with water or saline. Be very careful when handling hot chiles, especially pod types like habanero as there are reports of these chiles actually blistering the skin. Gloves are recommended when handling or peeling any types of hot chile.

*a measure of hotness for a chili

Not your average buildings


Beautiful murals transform mundane abodes in Russia.

Important Notice!

"Tell me about your mother..."


You want a couch like Freud's? Here's how.

Where is the Love?

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility. The Iraq war has transformed Walter Reed into "a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients."

"We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it," said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months.

Meanwhile, despite predictions that the cost of medical care for veterans will skyrocket, the Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans' health care in a bid to balance the budget by 2012. At the same time he wants more money for more troops and wants the world to be patient as his plan takes effect.

This is a logic free zone.

Not Better in Hindsight

Mullet Mayhem

2007-02-18

The Monster Mash

Kid Creatures from DrawerGeeks is a lovely page by ferocious artists taking monster renderings from kids and making them all that they can be. There are plenty of monstrous illustrators out there making our lives a little creepier many via comic books. Worth1000 alone a source of gorgeous horrors. There are endless film monsters to make our nights little bumpier. But what are monsters? Are any of them real? Or are monsters made? Or is it really that anyone can be a monster?

Here is how one man learned to love monsters.

And check out the box of monsters!

Oh, those furry happy monsters!

I love them so....
DO NOT laugh!

Strangely funny in my current feverish state.

"Same Ol' Song and Dance" Cuteness Buffer







I've Looked at Lies From Both Sides Now....

President Bush, you know the one, is probably most likely going to nominate Michael Baroody*, to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He doesn't exactly have a pro-consumer history.

ConsumerAffairs.com writes of Baroody:

"Because of Baroody's Republican ties and history of opposing strong safety regulation, his appointment is unlikely to be popular with the Democratic-controlled Congress."








House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who herself took Rep. William Jefferson seat on a powerful tax committee last year away from him after he froze much bribe money, has decided to putting him on the Homeland Security panel is a groovy idea.

"It sends a terrible message," King, R-N.Y. "They couldn't trust him to write tax policy, so why should he be given access to our nation's top secrets or making policy for national defense?"



















*the chief lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers

Detour

2007-02-12

The Studious Mullet


Taken from the Muskego Library where Marcus Sakey and Sean Chercover were speaking. The highlight made this photo a must. Thanks to Jon Jordan for remembring his camera!

2007-02-09