Hey, if you're a relative of mine and you want to buy me things, and you've already been over the previous guide for if you want to buy me things, and if you don't think I'm a jerk for thinking more about how people can buy me things than about things I will buy for other people, and you want to buy me some things, I could use:
- shirts (usually large t-shirts, medium real shirts, or 15-1/2 / 34-35. I like loud shirts.)
- socks that are cool (one size fits me, my shoes are size 11. I like loud socks.)
- sweaters/sweatshirts (see: shirts. I like good quality sweaters.)
- maybe even pants (32/32, more or less... ooh, I was looking for some corduroys. pants that are dark colors are neat because I usually ride my bike and mud splatters on them anyway. And I could use some new jeans, even.)
- speaking of which, bike fenders. or rather, a $20 gift certificate to Velo bike shop so I can buy them myself, because they're big to take on a plane.
Clothes are a good gift, I think: I'll need them anyway, and they wear out eventually (or I give them to goodwill) so there's little waste, and there's some personality involved in picking them out.
Does this make me a hypocrite, for hating on consumerist Christmas and then just playing into it? Err... maybe? I think the issue is, people are going to buy me gifts whether I like it or not, so if I'm just like "don't buy me anything", that just makes it harder for them. Plus, me being less hardline on anything is probably a good call, because on the one hand I'm saving the world, but on the other hand I'm being obnoxious to family and friends.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Gluten and lactose
Or "wheat" and "dairy" if you prefer.
It's all the rage to hate on these guys these days. What's the truth? I am open to the following arguments (I'll just use gluten, but they all apply to lactose too):
- gluten is a natural food, it's in wheat, it's totally healthy no problem
- gluten is hard on your digestive system, even if you're not allergic, so we should avoid it if possible (and it sure is possible)
- we've been eating bread for past couple thousand years so it's okay for us
- gluten was not actually eaten for thousands of years; most societies eat rice or corn or teff or whatever.
- we can eat them no problem, but not in the amounts we eat now (like meat), because ______
I am not open to the following arguments:
- some people are allergic to it so it's probably bad for all of us
- we've been eating it for the past couple hundred years so it's okay for us
- it's not so bad, anyway (i don't want to survive on things that are just "not so bad")
- come on, it's bread! shut up you dumb hippie!
- we weren't "meant" to eat dairy because it's food for a baby cow
- man, gluten is like, totally wack. you know? it messes with your internal rhythms, and it's just, it's just not good for you, you know?
If you know something, pipe up! I am interested. If I had enough reason to cut them out of my eats, I would, but I'd need to know they're more than just the fad of the month (see: fats, carbs).
It's all the rage to hate on these guys these days. What's the truth? I am open to the following arguments (I'll just use gluten, but they all apply to lactose too):
- gluten is a natural food, it's in wheat, it's totally healthy no problem
- gluten is hard on your digestive system, even if you're not allergic, so we should avoid it if possible (and it sure is possible)
- we've been eating bread for past couple thousand years so it's okay for us
- gluten was not actually eaten for thousands of years; most societies eat rice or corn or teff or whatever.
- we can eat them no problem, but not in the amounts we eat now (like meat), because ______
I am not open to the following arguments:
- some people are allergic to it so it's probably bad for all of us
- we've been eating it for the past couple hundred years so it's okay for us
- it's not so bad, anyway (i don't want to survive on things that are just "not so bad")
- come on, it's bread! shut up you dumb hippie!
- we weren't "meant" to eat dairy because it's food for a baby cow
- man, gluten is like, totally wack. you know? it messes with your internal rhythms, and it's just, it's just not good for you, you know?
If you know something, pipe up! I am interested. If I had enough reason to cut them out of my eats, I would, but I'd need to know they're more than just the fad of the month (see: fats, carbs).
Beggars
I saw a beggar today with a sign that said "I bet you $1 I can guess the state you were born in." She looked about my age, not super shabby, and I heard her asking some other folks "Can you spare some change so I can get a Greyhound ticket to go home?" I was intrigued by her sign, I figured she was probably just a good guesser and most people ended up giving her a dollar anyway. I asked her what state she thought I was born in. "You were born in a state of infancy." It was worth a chuckle. I gave her a dollar as un-condescendingly as I could.
But it made me wonder. I don't usually give money to beggars because of the ol' "they'll just spend it on booze" argument. I didn't think she would spend it on booze. (oh, and she was young and white. I'm sure that had nothing to do with it.) I started to wonder how much I could make in a day, if I went begging, and how much an old black grizzledman could make in a day. What if I was all sharp-looking? What if I got all shabby and dirty? What if I juggled, or offered to juggle? (it's a fine line between begging and street performing) If I was friendly, or if I just sat back unintrusively? If I acted superior, or super humble?
Might be a nice way to get to know a different walk of life. (of course I would give the money to other beggars or something at the end of the day.) (and of course this is the kind of thing I'd talk about but never actually get around to doing) I just somehow want to humbly say "look, folks. I know I'm not one of you. But I don't think I'm better than you."
But it made me wonder. I don't usually give money to beggars because of the ol' "they'll just spend it on booze" argument. I didn't think she would spend it on booze. (oh, and she was young and white. I'm sure that had nothing to do with it.) I started to wonder how much I could make in a day, if I went begging, and how much an old black grizzledman could make in a day. What if I was all sharp-looking? What if I got all shabby and dirty? What if I juggled, or offered to juggle? (it's a fine line between begging and street performing) If I was friendly, or if I just sat back unintrusively? If I acted superior, or super humble?
Might be a nice way to get to know a different walk of life. (of course I would give the money to other beggars or something at the end of the day.) (and of course this is the kind of thing I'd talk about but never actually get around to doing) I just somehow want to humbly say "look, folks. I know I'm not one of you. But I don't think I'm better than you."
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Jewelry companies
Preface: this post makes no sense after my last one. Whatever, it's on my mind rather heavily, so I gotta spit it out.
My dad forwarded this video to me and my mom and sister, because it's funny, etc. (don't worry, Dad, I had this post brewing for a while before you sent me this.) Ugh, it's like 5 minutes long, so I'll spare you: a guy gets his wife a vacuum cleaner for Christmas, she throws him in "the doghouse", which is an actual place where clueless unromantic men go and they can never get out, unless they buy their wives diamonds.
Obviously, I should have seen the punchline coming: it's all an ad for JC Penney's jewelry counter, and I will only mention them by name (and give them free publicity) so I can rail on them.
THIS KIND OF ADVERTISING IS REALLY AWFUL LIKE ENTIRELY NOT ALLOWABLE IT SHOULD NOT EVEN BE LEGAL THESE GREEDY AD MAKERS SHOULD GET THEIR GRUBBY FINGERS TORN OFF
Let me back that statement up. Of course this ad campaign is silly and over-the-top. I mean, look at the "how to get out of the doghouse" page. But we laugh at this, and the idea is still implanted in our minds: you have to buy your wife jewelry. Some ad campaigns are a little more serious, like one I saw on Black Friday, which I don't entirely remember, but it was something like "What would you do for love?" with a picture of a diamond. And some are more subtle. Fill in the blank:
A diamond is _____
Yeah. Right. You know how to finish that sentence. Thank De Beers. It's a cultural thing now! They've just created this market! And now a bunch of lily-livered men go out and buy their wives diamonds so they don't get put "in the doghouse."
So it's a good ad campaign, fine. Why is this worse than, say, Coca-cola? They're good at ads too, and they're making the world fat. But diamond ads are worse than Coke for three reasons, and many (most?) jewelry ads are guilty of the third:
1. Blood diamonds
2. Monopolistic business practices
3. They're preying on love.
And it's 3 that really gets me. Isn't that sacred? Can't we just agree that men and women loving each other is not okay to mine for advertising opportunities? Aren't we past the age of "the husband has to buy the wife pretty things because he's the big breadwinner"?
Isn't it really pretty scuzzy to implant into men the idea that "yeah, we know she'll still love you if you don't buy her jewelry, but maybe... just maybe... she won't find you quite so alluring... and maybe she'll get mad at you, or maybe not, but maybe she'll develop a thing for that sexy flashy high-roller at the office, or... I mean, not saying your wife would ever think something like that... just sayin'... well... you wouldn't want to test it, would you?" And then implant a nice societal faux pas on trying to break this system, ("Honey? I'm not buying you a diamond for Christmas because I don't want to support an insidious machine.") because it means you're cheap.
Third-to-finally, I wish I were a woman for 15 minutes so I could post this without just being accused of trying to avoid buying diamonds at some point in the future.
Second-to-finally, a source... did you notice that 80-minute documentary I posted at #2 up there? (ironically on a diamond seller's website...) I think I've seen this before, in Mr. Hess's 12th grade economics class, and I think it's a pretty good watch, if you have 80 minutes. I understand if you don't, I never do. It got me pretty convinced that De Beers and the diamond industry (more or less one and the same, at least back then) are really quite awful folks.
AND FINALLY, okay, NOW I'm done with hard-line rants for a while. I am all spent on righteous indignation (and generally tired, besides!). Thank you for reading, thank you for bearing with me, I love you all, enjoy the holiday season, and I actually do mean that honestly.
My dad forwarded this video to me and my mom and sister, because it's funny, etc. (don't worry, Dad, I had this post brewing for a while before you sent me this.) Ugh, it's like 5 minutes long, so I'll spare you: a guy gets his wife a vacuum cleaner for Christmas, she throws him in "the doghouse", which is an actual place where clueless unromantic men go and they can never get out, unless they buy their wives diamonds.
Obviously, I should have seen the punchline coming: it's all an ad for JC Penney's jewelry counter, and I will only mention them by name (and give them free publicity) so I can rail on them.
THIS KIND OF ADVERTISING IS REALLY AWFUL LIKE ENTIRELY NOT ALLOWABLE IT SHOULD NOT EVEN BE LEGAL THESE GREEDY AD MAKERS SHOULD GET THEIR GRUBBY FINGERS TORN OFF
Let me back that statement up. Of course this ad campaign is silly and over-the-top. I mean, look at the "how to get out of the doghouse" page. But we laugh at this, and the idea is still implanted in our minds: you have to buy your wife jewelry. Some ad campaigns are a little more serious, like one I saw on Black Friday, which I don't entirely remember, but it was something like "What would you do for love?" with a picture of a diamond. And some are more subtle. Fill in the blank:
A diamond is _____
Yeah. Right. You know how to finish that sentence. Thank De Beers. It's a cultural thing now! They've just created this market! And now a bunch of lily-livered men go out and buy their wives diamonds so they don't get put "in the doghouse."
So it's a good ad campaign, fine. Why is this worse than, say, Coca-cola? They're good at ads too, and they're making the world fat. But diamond ads are worse than Coke for three reasons, and many (most?) jewelry ads are guilty of the third:
1. Blood diamonds
2. Monopolistic business practices
3. They're preying on love.
And it's 3 that really gets me. Isn't that sacred? Can't we just agree that men and women loving each other is not okay to mine for advertising opportunities? Aren't we past the age of "the husband has to buy the wife pretty things because he's the big breadwinner"?
Isn't it really pretty scuzzy to implant into men the idea that "yeah, we know she'll still love you if you don't buy her jewelry, but maybe... just maybe... she won't find you quite so alluring... and maybe she'll get mad at you, or maybe not, but maybe she'll develop a thing for that sexy flashy high-roller at the office, or... I mean, not saying your wife would ever think something like that... just sayin'... well... you wouldn't want to test it, would you?" And then implant a nice societal faux pas on trying to break this system, ("Honey? I'm not buying you a diamond for Christmas because I don't want to support an insidious machine.") because it means you're cheap.
Third-to-finally, I wish I were a woman for 15 minutes so I could post this without just being accused of trying to avoid buying diamonds at some point in the future.
Second-to-finally, a source... did you notice that 80-minute documentary I posted at #2 up there? (ironically on a diamond seller's website...) I think I've seen this before, in Mr. Hess's 12th grade economics class, and I think it's a pretty good watch, if you have 80 minutes. I understand if you don't, I never do. It got me pretty convinced that De Beers and the diamond industry (more or less one and the same, at least back then) are really quite awful folks.
AND FINALLY, okay, NOW I'm done with hard-line rants for a while. I am all spent on righteous indignation (and generally tired, besides!). Thank you for reading, thank you for bearing with me, I love you all, enjoy the holiday season, and I actually do mean that honestly.
Chilling the &@*^$ out, again, again
I was thinking a bit. I think I've gotten a little too argumentative here on this blog and in life.
(not that I don't enjoy your comments. Please, I love talking with friends/family/whoever about topics I like! But sometimes I find it's adversarial, and that kind of wears on a person. Plus, sometimes I'm a jerk.)
Like the food thing. I want people to slow down their food more, to cook more, to eat more healthily, to buy local/sustainable/organic/humane/etc food, for a lot of reasons, but we can't go from fast food to farmers' markets overnight. So I'll stop looking down on your supermarket produce just because it's not THE MOST l/s/o/h/etc. and think, awesome, you're buying produce. (I will still look down on your big mac. :P)
And! You know New Years' resolutions? Here's mine. It's a month early. I resolve not to fret so much about Christmas presents. I will try to buy you something that is sustainable/unique/local/etc. AND non-commoditious, but I won't freak out about it.
And same with you. If you feel the need to buy me something:
1. You don't have to, really, obviously, but we're all older than like 11 now so I know too that giving a gift is for the giver and the receiver, so:
2. Really, the best gift you can give me is an experience, and preferably with you, and especially if I don't already hang out with you all the time. Heck, let's go to dinner somewhere, (or let's cook dinner!) or even just a caffeinated or fermented beverage (because it's a nice excuse for a conversation).
3. You know I like things that are sustainable/not-big-corporations/unique/good-quality/etc., so if you want to get me a thing, I will most likely enjoy it more if it is one of those.
4. But all that said, whatever you get me, I will thank you and enjoy it, and I will NOT worry about how it's just one more piece of plastic going to a landfill or whatever.
I'm not going to take all the fun out of Christmas presents by ponting endlessly in some philosophical realm about what is a "good" or a "bad" Christmas gift. That can wait until next year.
(oh, but I do have something to say about jewelry ads! Damn! Well, I'll post about that, and THEN I'll stop worrying about it.)
(not that I don't enjoy your comments. Please, I love talking with friends/family/whoever about topics I like! But sometimes I find it's adversarial, and that kind of wears on a person. Plus, sometimes I'm a jerk.)
Like the food thing. I want people to slow down their food more, to cook more, to eat more healthily, to buy local/sustainable/organic/humane/etc food, for a lot of reasons, but we can't go from fast food to farmers' markets overnight. So I'll stop looking down on your supermarket produce just because it's not THE MOST l/s/o/h/etc. and think, awesome, you're buying produce. (I will still look down on your big mac. :P)
And! You know New Years' resolutions? Here's mine. It's a month early. I resolve not to fret so much about Christmas presents. I will try to buy you something that is sustainable/unique/local/etc. AND non-commoditious, but I won't freak out about it.
And same with you. If you feel the need to buy me something:
1. You don't have to, really, obviously, but we're all older than like 11 now so I know too that giving a gift is for the giver and the receiver, so:
2. Really, the best gift you can give me is an experience, and preferably with you, and especially if I don't already hang out with you all the time. Heck, let's go to dinner somewhere, (or let's cook dinner!) or even just a caffeinated or fermented beverage (because it's a nice excuse for a conversation).
3. You know I like things that are sustainable/not-big-corporations/unique/good-quality/etc., so if you want to get me a thing, I will most likely enjoy it more if it is one of those.
4. But all that said, whatever you get me, I will thank you and enjoy it, and I will NOT worry about how it's just one more piece of plastic going to a landfill or whatever.
I'm not going to take all the fun out of Christmas presents by ponting endlessly in some philosophical realm about what is a "good" or a "bad" Christmas gift. That can wait until next year.
(oh, but I do have something to say about jewelry ads! Damn! Well, I'll post about that, and THEN I'll stop worrying about it.)
Bloggin' too much: Supermarkets!
Okay, so I'm a little hard-lined on food. I think you should buy the best (read: localest organickest humanest sustainablest) food you can, and farmers' markets are the best way to do that. I figuratively cringe a little when I buy, say, onions from the grocery store. I don't think the food crisis can be solved by the supermarket.
Mark Bittman does, though, and that's encouraging. I would like to think that the food crisis can be solved by people buying broccoli instead of meat at the supermarket. (ask me why sometime, it's kind of exciting) Better living through home cooking AT ALL, not just home cooking of organic local sustainable cage-free free-range grass-fed food.
So maybe it's worth it for me to take a softer-line stance. I mean, farmers' markets are still the best, but grocery stores (the produce section) are the "better", and making some change is better than none.
Mark Bittman does, though, and that's encouraging. I would like to think that the food crisis can be solved by people buying broccoli instead of meat at the supermarket. (ask me why sometime, it's kind of exciting) Better living through home cooking AT ALL, not just home cooking of organic local sustainable cage-free free-range grass-fed food.
So maybe it's worth it for me to take a softer-line stance. I mean, farmers' markets are still the best, but grocery stores (the produce section) are the "better", and making some change is better than none.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
A little politics but mostly late-night delusions
First of all, Guantanamo is/was so bad, but you probably already agree. (China is pretty bad too!)
But more entertainingly, last night I felt all sick and stuff, went to bed at like 10, woke up at 2 and lay awake for an hour. When you're feverishly lying awake at night, sometimes the goofiest thoughts pop into your head. For example, I kept going in circles on this one:
Why was Smash Mouth such a bad band?
I mean, their first CD was really pretty good. And "Walking on the Sun," despite its heavy rotation in adult-contemporary stations, is a quality song. (debate if you want; I won't back that assertion up unless I need to) And then what was even so bad about Astro Lounge? Sure, you heard "All Star" too much too, but "Then the Morning Comes" was pretty good. It had a nice bridge and everything. The rest of the CD was pretty fun; safe for kids and adults alike, maybe, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad. The rest of the CD was more or less varied, from their upbeat pop opener with clever lyrics about aliens "Who's there" to laid back "I just wanna see" to reggae curiosity/disaster "Road man" to kinda-weird "Home." You know, a good effort and all. All right, when they ended up with a cover song on a Shrek soundtrack I kinda lost interest, but before then...?
Call it Barenaked Ladies syndrome. Guilt by association. Or call it "why the hell was I thinking about this at 2am?!"
But more entertainingly, last night I felt all sick and stuff, went to bed at like 10, woke up at 2 and lay awake for an hour. When you're feverishly lying awake at night, sometimes the goofiest thoughts pop into your head. For example, I kept going in circles on this one:
Why was Smash Mouth such a bad band?
I mean, their first CD was really pretty good. And "Walking on the Sun," despite its heavy rotation in adult-contemporary stations, is a quality song. (debate if you want; I won't back that assertion up unless I need to) And then what was even so bad about Astro Lounge? Sure, you heard "All Star" too much too, but "Then the Morning Comes" was pretty good. It had a nice bridge and everything. The rest of the CD was pretty fun; safe for kids and adults alike, maybe, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad. The rest of the CD was more or less varied, from their upbeat pop opener with clever lyrics about aliens "Who's there" to laid back "I just wanna see" to reggae curiosity/disaster "Road man" to kinda-weird "Home." You know, a good effort and all. All right, when they ended up with a cover song on a Shrek soundtrack I kinda lost interest, but before then...?
Call it Barenaked Ladies syndrome. Guilt by association. Or call it "why the hell was I thinking about this at 2am?!"
Monday, December 01, 2008
Okay, politics again.
So, because I'm a flaming liberal, granola, dreadlocks, organic, etc, I think that when a whole lot of people are being murdered maybe we should step in and help. So does Obama's new UN Ambassador. Thank god. Don't get started on how this fits into whether the US should be the world's police or whether we should have invaded Iraq or whatever; I don't really care. Brain off, heart on for this one. Plus I'm at work and therefore not debating right now.
Recipe Challenge: fail.
Orgh. Three rounds in the ring with chocolate, cayenne pepper, and asparagus, and a winner is not me. It's really just that chocolate is difficult. Here's what I came up with, although you can do better by looking up any "vegetable burrito with mole sauce" recipe, I'm sure:
onions and garlic
a handful each of asparagus (diced), corn, black beans, rice
oregano, red pepper, cumin, salt
green onions and cilantro
some chocolate (I used about 40g)
tortillas
Saute the onions in oil, add the asparagus, corn, beans, and rice. Saute all that, add the spices, then the green onions and cilantro.
Melt the chocolate (double boiler it yeeeee) and mix it in with everything. Note that you cannot thin it with milk or it will get all milky and not what you want for mexican food, and you cannot thin it with water or it will seize up and get solid again! And chocolate itself is really thick! Maybe you should roll it up in a tortilla first, then drizzle chocolate over it.
It's a little weirder than a normal burrito. I mean, it's tasty, but it just kinda tastes like chocolate. Or spicy chocolate.
What kind of chocolate do you use? I tried regular baking chocolate (unsweetened) and found it too thick/boring/rich or something. I actually liked it better with dark (70%) chocolate, but again, it just tastes like chocolate.
At any rate, I'm done with this. I'm open to suggestions, if you'd like to give it a try. (the challenge was: make something with chocolate, cayenne pepper, and asparagus.) It's taken me forever to try this again, for which I apologize to Julie and to you, dear reader.
Okay, now, Julie, back at you: lemongrass, honey, and spinach/lettuce/a green of your choice. (if you can't find lemongrass, i guess ginger would be okay...)
onions and garlic
a handful each of asparagus (diced), corn, black beans, rice
oregano, red pepper, cumin, salt
green onions and cilantro
some chocolate (I used about 40g)
tortillas
Saute the onions in oil, add the asparagus, corn, beans, and rice. Saute all that, add the spices, then the green onions and cilantro.
Melt the chocolate (double boiler it yeeeee) and mix it in with everything. Note that you cannot thin it with milk or it will get all milky and not what you want for mexican food, and you cannot thin it with water or it will seize up and get solid again! And chocolate itself is really thick! Maybe you should roll it up in a tortilla first, then drizzle chocolate over it.
It's a little weirder than a normal burrito. I mean, it's tasty, but it just kinda tastes like chocolate. Or spicy chocolate.
What kind of chocolate do you use? I tried regular baking chocolate (unsweetened) and found it too thick/boring/rich or something. I actually liked it better with dark (70%) chocolate, but again, it just tastes like chocolate.
At any rate, I'm done with this. I'm open to suggestions, if you'd like to give it a try. (the challenge was: make something with chocolate, cayenne pepper, and asparagus.) It's taken me forever to try this again, for which I apologize to Julie and to you, dear reader.
Okay, now, Julie, back at you: lemongrass, honey, and spinach/lettuce/a green of your choice. (if you can't find lemongrass, i guess ginger would be okay...)
Sunday, November 30, 2008
BUY MORE STUFF
Wow, so many posts to write, and so little time. I mean, in the grand scheme of things. Let's start out with this quick one:
BUY MORE STUFF is a fantastic protest I saw outside the malls on Black Friday* yesterday. (let's just say I love my family very much, and their coming to visit is just about the only thing that would bring me anywhere near a mall on black friday. Yes, family, I'm aware that you are a full 50% of the readership of this blog, and that we really didn't spend too long there.) I'm thinking about joining them on their other Buy More Stuff days. The one thing I'm worried about: do people not get it? I mean, they have to. Right?
*I guess "Black Friday" means "the Friday when retailers get 'in the black'." Maybe it is that. It is also an awful awful day. I was packed in by hordes of people all the time. Some parents yelling at kids, etc. Stuff like this makes me want to do a big thought experiment (pow!) about what it is about modern-consumerist-Christmas that is broken and how we can fix it. Coming soon!
BUY MORE STUFF is a fantastic protest I saw outside the malls on Black Friday* yesterday. (let's just say I love my family very much, and their coming to visit is just about the only thing that would bring me anywhere near a mall on black friday. Yes, family, I'm aware that you are a full 50% of the readership of this blog, and that we really didn't spend too long there.) I'm thinking about joining them on their other Buy More Stuff days. The one thing I'm worried about: do people not get it? I mean, they have to. Right?
*I guess "Black Friday" means "the Friday when retailers get 'in the black'." Maybe it is that. It is also an awful awful day. I was packed in by hordes of people all the time. Some parents yelling at kids, etc. Stuff like this makes me want to do a big thought experiment (pow!) about what it is about modern-consumerist-Christmas that is broken and how we can fix it. Coming soon!
Friday, November 28, 2008
I haven't really said this much in the last 24 hours but man is it true:
Thank you for everything; I have no complaints whatsoever.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
In which Jared and I talk about commodities, but really it's just me
What's a commodity? Jared and I were discussing this. I've figured it out. This post might be full of highfalutin hand-waving and making up words that don't exist. Just pretend I'm a literature critic, and we'll all be cool.
Idea #1: things are not commodities. Is a paperback copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma (check it out, product placement) a commodity? You could say yes: it's always the same, no matter where you buy it. You could say no: it might have a lot of meaning, there's some art and some science that went into creating it, it's a valuable good. Let's settle this:
Things are not commodities. Requests are. Let's say a request can be commoditious (made-up word #1) or not.
Then a commoditious request is one that a relatively dumb robot could fulfill on a relatively idealized version of Amazon.com.
If my request is "I want a new paperback copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma", that is a commoditious request. A robot could do it in two seconds. If I say "I want to read a good book" or "I want something thought-provoking about the food system", a relatively dumb robot could not do that so well. If I want "a new Roomba," a robot could do that on Amazon.com; that's a commoditious request. If I want "something that cleans my floor the best," that's not commoditious (okay, that's kinda a crappy word*).
*oh zing oh snap no pun intended check it out shut up.
And it's a spectrum: let's say a robot would need a level of intelligence between 1 and 100 to fulfill a request. Then the commoditiousness of a request is 100 minus the intelligence of that robot. (Omnivore's Dilemma: he'd need about 2 units of intelligence to look it up on Amazon.com. That request has a level of commoditiousness of 98.)
If something is stylish or unique, that's less commoditious (a robot could not find you "a nice hat.") Less stylish, more commoditious (a robot could more easily find you "32W/32L basic blue jeans"). If something is hard to find (a Joe Shlabotnik rookie baseball card), it's less commoditious.
Why am I talking about this? Because Jared challenged my (and countless other White People's) love of mom-and-pop small stores. So here's my rationale: stores that fulfill less commoditious requests should be small businesses. Store that fulfill more commoditious requests should not exist. (Amazon.com, or another internet giant, should run them out of business.)
About the less commoditious requests: you want people who care to be behind these things. I want a bookstore owned by someone who likes books and who could maybe recommend me something, or talk about books with me. I want a bike shop owned by someone who knows bikes and who can advise me what kind of bike I should get, not because it maximizes his profit margin, but because I'll be a happier customer. I want to buy food from a farmer or a fishmonger or a baker because they care enough not to put industrial chemicals into their food.
The more commoditious requests? Let the robot shop for them, and let the robot send them to me. I just need a simple pair of scissors. I don't want to pay a bunch of shmoes to stock the scissors on the shelves and ring me up at the cash register and advertise in the Sunday paper. Economy-of-scale it up, send me a pair from the warehouse nearest me.
Other side notes that maybe I'll explore later or maybe not:
- Christmas gifts should be as non-commoditious as possible
- Wal-mart shouldn't exist at all
- People should strive for fewer commoditious wants
- and of course, why don't I apply this to FOOD and see what comes up. Bet it's snobby!
Idea #1: things are not commodities. Is a paperback copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma (check it out, product placement) a commodity? You could say yes: it's always the same, no matter where you buy it. You could say no: it might have a lot of meaning, there's some art and some science that went into creating it, it's a valuable good. Let's settle this:
Things are not commodities. Requests are. Let's say a request can be commoditious (made-up word #1) or not.
Then a commoditious request is one that a relatively dumb robot could fulfill on a relatively idealized version of Amazon.com.
If my request is "I want a new paperback copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma", that is a commoditious request. A robot could do it in two seconds. If I say "I want to read a good book" or "I want something thought-provoking about the food system", a relatively dumb robot could not do that so well. If I want "a new Roomba," a robot could do that on Amazon.com; that's a commoditious request. If I want "something that cleans my floor the best," that's not commoditious (okay, that's kinda a crappy word*).
*oh zing oh snap no pun intended check it out shut up.
And it's a spectrum: let's say a robot would need a level of intelligence between 1 and 100 to fulfill a request. Then the commoditiousness of a request is 100 minus the intelligence of that robot. (Omnivore's Dilemma: he'd need about 2 units of intelligence to look it up on Amazon.com. That request has a level of commoditiousness of 98.)
If something is stylish or unique, that's less commoditious (a robot could not find you "a nice hat.") Less stylish, more commoditious (a robot could more easily find you "32W/32L basic blue jeans"). If something is hard to find (a Joe Shlabotnik rookie baseball card), it's less commoditious.
Why am I talking about this? Because Jared challenged my (and countless other White People's) love of mom-and-pop small stores. So here's my rationale: stores that fulfill less commoditious requests should be small businesses. Store that fulfill more commoditious requests should not exist. (Amazon.com, or another internet giant, should run them out of business.)
About the less commoditious requests: you want people who care to be behind these things. I want a bookstore owned by someone who likes books and who could maybe recommend me something, or talk about books with me. I want a bike shop owned by someone who knows bikes and who can advise me what kind of bike I should get, not because it maximizes his profit margin, but because I'll be a happier customer. I want to buy food from a farmer or a fishmonger or a baker because they care enough not to put industrial chemicals into their food.
The more commoditious requests? Let the robot shop for them, and let the robot send them to me. I just need a simple pair of scissors. I don't want to pay a bunch of shmoes to stock the scissors on the shelves and ring me up at the cash register and advertise in the Sunday paper. Economy-of-scale it up, send me a pair from the warehouse nearest me.
Other side notes that maybe I'll explore later or maybe not:
- Christmas gifts should be as non-commoditious as possible
- Wal-mart shouldn't exist at all
- People should strive for fewer commoditious wants
- and of course, why don't I apply this to FOOD and see what comes up. Bet it's snobby!
Monday, November 24, 2008
"Is is"
People unnecessarily start sentences with "so" a lot. Particularly math professors. This is a funny quirk. Is it a nerd thing? Maybe when you get all mathy and intellectual, you find the need to pause before sentences to make sure your sentence is logical. I hear you there; I do that too. You don't hear carefree happy-go-lucky folks saying "so" a lot.
Here is another funny quirk. Sometimes people say "is is" when they mean "is." For example, overheard just now:
"My concern is, is that..."
What! Why do you do that?! Why doesn't anyone ever notice? This is really strange!
Here is another funny quirk. Sometimes people say "is is" when they mean "is." For example, overheard just now:
"My concern is, is that..."
What! Why do you do that?! Why doesn't anyone ever notice? This is really strange!
Of having a reputation of unfriendliness representing your city
Seattle, is it me, or is it you?
Life is mostly pretty good here. Work is back on the rockin' track where I love writing software, there is an abundance of nice places to go and cool events, and the weather is still nice most days. This weekend was really super fun, great, and did I mention great? And some wonderful people are moving out here soon.
But it's been hard to meet new friends. Okay, I expected that. But now I'm wondering if it's my fault or not. I imagined it was. But talking to some people who have moved here recently, many of them say the same thing: Seattleites are not welcoming. Not that they dislike you, just that they won't go out of their way to make you feel welcome. And it's been true: all the friends that I've met here, or at least a big most, have moved here relatively recently, or at least are not natives.
So this seed of doubt is sown. Now, I'm not going to harvest that weed; I'm not going to go out and join the chorus proclaiming "Seattle people are unfriendly!" Odds are, you get this in any city. It takes time, no worries.
And lest ye readers think me socially weak, and lest I allow my inner optimist to fail, I posit this: it's a good thing. It means that Seattlers are slow to make friends and slower to lose them. It seems like a pretty fair cold-weather-city thing around the world: fewer friends, but they're better. I'm all in favor of that. I'm always the one trimming the social circle, of splitting our group of 16 into four groups of four, of telling my freshman dormmates no you cannot all tag along for dinner because nobody can seat a table of 12. I imagine Seattle's doing that to me too, and whenever I find my niche, the friends in it will be more aligned with my personality and more interesting because of it. The forecast shows a couple more awkward months followed by meeting a lot of people I particularly dig.
Let's see how it pans out.
Life is mostly pretty good here. Work is back on the rockin' track where I love writing software, there is an abundance of nice places to go and cool events, and the weather is still nice most days. This weekend was really super fun, great, and did I mention great? And some wonderful people are moving out here soon.
But it's been hard to meet new friends. Okay, I expected that. But now I'm wondering if it's my fault or not. I imagined it was. But talking to some people who have moved here recently, many of them say the same thing: Seattleites are not welcoming. Not that they dislike you, just that they won't go out of their way to make you feel welcome. And it's been true: all the friends that I've met here, or at least a big most, have moved here relatively recently, or at least are not natives.
So this seed of doubt is sown. Now, I'm not going to harvest that weed; I'm not going to go out and join the chorus proclaiming "Seattle people are unfriendly!" Odds are, you get this in any city. It takes time, no worries.
And lest ye readers think me socially weak, and lest I allow my inner optimist to fail, I posit this: it's a good thing. It means that Seattlers are slow to make friends and slower to lose them. It seems like a pretty fair cold-weather-city thing around the world: fewer friends, but they're better. I'm all in favor of that. I'm always the one trimming the social circle, of splitting our group of 16 into four groups of four, of telling my freshman dormmates no you cannot all tag along for dinner because nobody can seat a table of 12. I imagine Seattle's doing that to me too, and whenever I find my niche, the friends in it will be more aligned with my personality and more interesting because of it. The forecast shows a couple more awkward months followed by meeting a lot of people I particularly dig.
Let's see how it pans out.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Of having one kickin' song representing your city
I was watching the Of Montreal show tonight and I was all like "ehh rock shows are so lame" because I was tired and standing up a lot.
Interjection: this is not at all a fair criticism. If there's one thing the Of Montreal show is, it's not lame. It featured a half-dozen dancers who played, at various times, golden statues, tigers and other animals, armymen, western gunslingers, and one big stone monster with huge limbs. There were a double-digit number of costume changes. The music is of course great, and they didn't half-ass anything. Plus I have a big man-crush on Kevin Barnes. But then, who doesn't?
End interjection. (that is not possibly the wright word. Nor is "wright" the write word there. Hoo boy, it's laght at nite.) So I'm all like "ehh" and then there's the encore and I was really thinking of skipping out before the encore, fatigue blah blah, and they Gronlandic Edit and Oslo in the Summertime, which were both cool, and then they cover Take Me Out, har har, okay. Then Kevin (so dreamy, etc.) says "we mean no disrespect by this next song. only love." and there's that chik-ah ka-chik-ah ka-chik-ah ka-chik drum riff and they go into Smells Like Teen Spirit. Hah! I took out my earplugs and like bobbed along a little bit! Which is saying a lot, considering how still I had been standing.
And it kicked arse! I suppose it is kind of one of those songs. And it's ours! Seattle's! I lay claim to it as if I were a native. Hah. But man! Maybe everyone thinks of Seattle as the home of the Grunge Rock Hall of Fame, and grunge kinda drags in general, but at least we have Smells Like Teen Spirit. Whoo!
Interjection: this is not at all a fair criticism. If there's one thing the Of Montreal show is, it's not lame. It featured a half-dozen dancers who played, at various times, golden statues, tigers and other animals, armymen, western gunslingers, and one big stone monster with huge limbs. There were a double-digit number of costume changes. The music is of course great, and they didn't half-ass anything. Plus I have a big man-crush on Kevin Barnes. But then, who doesn't?
End interjection. (that is not possibly the wright word. Nor is "wright" the write word there. Hoo boy, it's laght at nite.) So I'm all like "ehh" and then there's the encore and I was really thinking of skipping out before the encore, fatigue blah blah, and they Gronlandic Edit and Oslo in the Summertime, which were both cool, and then they cover Take Me Out, har har, okay. Then Kevin (so dreamy, etc.) says "we mean no disrespect by this next song. only love." and there's that chik-ah ka-chik-ah ka-chik-ah ka-chik drum riff and they go into Smells Like Teen Spirit. Hah! I took out my earplugs and like bobbed along a little bit! Which is saying a lot, considering how still I had been standing.
And it kicked arse! I suppose it is kind of one of those songs. And it's ours! Seattle's! I lay claim to it as if I were a native. Hah. But man! Maybe everyone thinks of Seattle as the home of the Grunge Rock Hall of Fame, and grunge kinda drags in general, but at least we have Smells Like Teen Spirit. Whoo!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Beets
How does one get into electronic music? I've happened upon it a couple times, like Decibelfest, and the Seacompression event last weekend, and it's always been a lot of fun. I would like to dance to that sort of music more often. I would like to learn how to make that music. I would not like to go to a sweaty club full of bros wearing shiny shirts and girls wearing not enough clothes. I also would not like to wave glow sticks around.
I have absolutely no inroads. I don't know anyone who might even know anyone who likes electronic music. (at least, not that I know of...) I imagine if I just show up at a club, I'd dance around for a while and leave, because it's not like you talk to people while huge beats are thumping in your ear, so that doesn't help. And there aren't any "learn to DJ" classes around. (I've looked.)
Seattlers! Where do I go to dance to electronic music? Where do I go to learn to DJ, or mix or spin or do whatever they do when they're like playing a gig? Other folks! Do you like electronic music? How did you get into it originally, then?
Also, on a side note, can you explain what the main subgenres are that I should look out for (and maybe a couple of quintessential examples of each so I can listen to them and see what I like)? Like, I dunno, "techno", "house", "drum and bass", ...? I do know I like Orbital, the Prodigy, Mylo, Crystal Castles, Prefuse 73, Boards of Canada, and Kraftwerk, if that helps. Oh, and Girl Talk.
I have absolutely no inroads. I don't know anyone who might even know anyone who likes electronic music. (at least, not that I know of...) I imagine if I just show up at a club, I'd dance around for a while and leave, because it's not like you talk to people while huge beats are thumping in your ear, so that doesn't help. And there aren't any "learn to DJ" classes around. (I've looked.)
Seattlers! Where do I go to dance to electronic music? Where do I go to learn to DJ, or mix or spin or do whatever they do when they're like playing a gig? Other folks! Do you like electronic music? How did you get into it originally, then?
Also, on a side note, can you explain what the main subgenres are that I should look out for (and maybe a couple of quintessential examples of each so I can listen to them and see what I like)? Like, I dunno, "techno", "house", "drum and bass", ...? I do know I like Orbital, the Prodigy, Mylo, Crystal Castles, Prefuse 73, Boards of Canada, and Kraftwerk, if that helps. Oh, and Girl Talk.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I am The Coldest
Geez! I am so cold! I got in like 15 minutes ago and I'm still shivering. I remember being really really cold only a couple times: once, when I was picking up prickly balls that my grandparents' tree dropped in their yard (this was a chore for some money to pay for saxophone repairs after I threw it on the floor in a fit of rage); once in marching band at the St. Patrick's Day parade when it was so cold out and I was way underdressed and marching in a goddamn parade so it's not like I could go inside or anything; once at Seven Springs, PA, when I was skiing, alone, with the CMU Ski Club (I was again way underdressed) and the snow was icy and it was at night and visibility was bad and the wind was blowing but goddamn I was going to get every last run I could out of that hill (this was a bad call). Why am I so cold? I just biked home from Phinney, maybe 5 or 6 miles away, downhill like hardcore, except I stopped off at my friend's friend's house (although, now, friend's house), and it was cold too, and oh my god it's like 15 more minutes later and I am still so cold.
(my temperature is 95 degrees, so at least I don't have a fever. Maybe I am turning to ice.)
Oh my gourd I might add this to the list of "Times I was so cold." I am so so cold.
(my temperature is 95 degrees, so at least I don't have a fever. Maybe I am turning to ice.)
Oh my gourd I might add this to the list of "Times I was so cold." I am so so cold.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Haircut, honesty, and other words with a silent "H"
I got a haircut. I shake my head and it doesn't move. However, at least it's not in my eyes, and it will probably be great in a few weeks. I swear, if I ever become a stand-up comedian, my only routine will be about the haircut questionnaire.
"What can I do for you today?" umm... cut my hair?
"How would you like it?" awesome. I would like my hair to look awesome. Sometimes it does. Sort of windswept across my forehead and a little curly in the back, as if to say, I don't care about hairstyles, but I was just like windsurfing or, I dunno, mountain biking, or something else badass.
(awkward pause)
Okay, I guess I know how I would like it: shorter than it is right now. But not too short! Ohmygod not too short! Do not cut my hair too short! I like preserving this little vestige of counterculturalism by having hair that's a little ruffy at the edges.
At this point it's either "okay" (and they cut it too short) or "well, how much shorter?" uhh... a half inch? Three centimeters? Look, I don't know. It just used to be pretty good, maybe two weeks ago, and now it's too long and in my eyes.
Oh, and this part! You know, I always part it at like 40% across my head. That's unintentional! See, I've been experimenting. Some days, I've gone with 50%. It kinda makes me look like a grade schooler. Some days, I go with 20%, or even 10%! Then I look like a coolman for sure! Or maybe a combed-over businessman. Yuck. Hey, by the way, I don't want to look like a businessman. I cannot think of an occasion in my life where I would like to look like a businessman.
Even more generally than this part, though! I would like to experiment with my hair. Do something crazy! Something wild! I mean, not like a mohawk, or a buzz cut (I like it longish), and I don't want to put hair products in it, and uh, well, I don't know. Something different?
(puzzled look)
Umm... okay. Just cut it shorter. *sigh*
See, what I should say is "cut it like a hipster," except nobody would know what that means, because no real hipster with a hipster haircut would ever admit that their haircut is a hipster haircut.
On another note, which is actually related, albeit tangentially, it's come to my attention that I've written a few posts/comments/etc. recently, playing the devil's advocaat. I should stop that. This blog should be about my thoughts, not "what someone might someday think of my thoughts." In fact, my life should be more about what I like, not how I will respond if someone criticizes what I like. A little less self-preserving hipster irony! It's too tiring!
"What can I do for you today?" umm... cut my hair?
"How would you like it?" awesome. I would like my hair to look awesome. Sometimes it does. Sort of windswept across my forehead and a little curly in the back, as if to say, I don't care about hairstyles, but I was just like windsurfing or, I dunno, mountain biking, or something else badass.
(awkward pause)
Okay, I guess I know how I would like it: shorter than it is right now. But not too short! Ohmygod not too short! Do not cut my hair too short! I like preserving this little vestige of counterculturalism by having hair that's a little ruffy at the edges.
At this point it's either "okay" (and they cut it too short) or "well, how much shorter?" uhh... a half inch? Three centimeters? Look, I don't know. It just used to be pretty good, maybe two weeks ago, and now it's too long and in my eyes.
Oh, and this part! You know, I always part it at like 40% across my head. That's unintentional! See, I've been experimenting. Some days, I've gone with 50%. It kinda makes me look like a grade schooler. Some days, I go with 20%, or even 10%! Then I look like a coolman for sure! Or maybe a combed-over businessman. Yuck. Hey, by the way, I don't want to look like a businessman. I cannot think of an occasion in my life where I would like to look like a businessman.
Even more generally than this part, though! I would like to experiment with my hair. Do something crazy! Something wild! I mean, not like a mohawk, or a buzz cut (I like it longish), and I don't want to put hair products in it, and uh, well, I don't know. Something different?
(puzzled look)
Umm... okay. Just cut it shorter. *sigh*
See, what I should say is "cut it like a hipster," except nobody would know what that means, because no real hipster with a hipster haircut would ever admit that their haircut is a hipster haircut.
On another note, which is actually related, albeit tangentially, it's come to my attention that I've written a few posts/comments/etc. recently, playing the devil's advocaat. I should stop that. This blog should be about my thoughts, not "what someone might someday think of my thoughts." In fact, my life should be more about what I like, not how I will respond if someone criticizes what I like. A little less self-preserving hipster irony! It's too tiring!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Whoo hah!
This is great!
Sound Transit Prop. 1 passed, meaning light rail is coming to Seattle!
The levies for upkeep of Pike Place Market and parks both passed.
The HOV lanes nonsense failed.
Governor Gregoire is projected to win over Rossi (still too close to officially call, though.)
Still pulling for Randy Dorn and Peter Goldmark, two minor state officials who were notably better for their spots than their opponents, but their races are very close with about half the votes in.
Dems picked up seats in the House and Senate. (I guess that's good?)
Oh. And, uh, That One.
I will say I'm super excited about all this, and then I will not talk about politics for like a year. But man, I'm super excited about all this!
Sound Transit Prop. 1 passed, meaning light rail is coming to Seattle!
The levies for upkeep of Pike Place Market and parks both passed.
The HOV lanes nonsense failed.
Governor Gregoire is projected to win over Rossi (still too close to officially call, though.)
Still pulling for Randy Dorn and Peter Goldmark, two minor state officials who were notably better for their spots than their opponents, but their races are very close with about half the votes in.
Dems picked up seats in the House and Senate. (I guess that's good?)
Oh. And, uh, That One.
I will say I'm super excited about all this, and then I will not talk about politics for like a year. But man, I'm super excited about all this!
On election day, I have this to say:
Calm down. If Obama wins, don't get all bitchy.
Hey, I saw that! Your smile! It got all smug! This applies to you too, Democrats!
I figured one nice thing about Obama would be that maybe if he runs, or wins, half the country wouldn't hate the other half of the country. Well, I don't know how that's turning out. But please, no matter how this all goes, no matter who you support, take a lesson from grade school (one that I had just as hard a time learning than you, I assure you) and win and lose gracefully.
Hey, I saw that! Your smile! It got all smug! This applies to you too, Democrats!
I figured one nice thing about Obama would be that maybe if he runs, or wins, half the country wouldn't hate the other half of the country. Well, I don't know how that's turning out. But please, no matter how this all goes, no matter who you support, take a lesson from grade school (one that I had just as hard a time learning than you, I assure you) and win and lose gracefully.
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