i like to pretend i'm on The Wire

been trying to figure out a way to record conf. calls when we use VOIP. figured it's gotta be possible. dina shows the way.

we like our salami

Man fined for hiding his salami
With the new airport screening practices, this fellow Swissman should have hid the salami in his pants. Seriously, a little contraband salami never hurt anyone. In solidarity with young Dylan Pascal Graves, I shall remove the phrases "the air of forbidden fruit" (which i use often) and replace it with "the air of forbidden meat". I ask that you do the same.

Last Minute Gifts

If you're still scrambling for a holiday gift for that special person on your list, here are a few looney things that just might do the trick:

Kiddie gimp suit
Art of Brandon Bird
Caffenated hot sauce

Or, you could always make something. Gifts made with love are always more meaningful. for example, I'm going to try to make a Squirrel launcher for my pops.

menja be, caga fort!

I got the book Everybody Poops for Christmas one year. It was my favorite gift that year, I was 22 years old.
I can't believe I had never heard of it before, but I saw this brilliant act of cultural curiosity on the wikipedia front page today: Caganer: "The Defecator". The reasoning for this bizzare addition to some Catalanian nativity scenes is given as:

1. The Caganer, by creating feces, is fertilizing the Earth. Thus, he is considered a symbol of prosperity and luck for the coming year.

2. Some Catalans consider it to be funny.

Perfect message for the holidays, right? Rusty Cundeiff said it best: "When I doo-doo is my shit not brown
it’s a universal thing we all flush it down"

God bless us, every one.

holiday cheer in apperitif form

Thanks to NOLA.com: Food and Recipes i was able to track down a apporx recipe for one of my favorite drinks of yesteryear:
limoncello

I'm going to try to whip up a few batches for the holidays. Just thinking about it brings back good memories of Europe and bad memories of Diesel Grain alcohol, which fortunately is not available in these parts.

Makes a little over 2 quarts
8organic lemons (untreated)*
1liter Diesel Grain Neutral Spirits, 190 proof* (original recipe calls for 1 quart alcohol, 180 proof)
2 ½cups sugar (original recipe calls for 14 ounces)
1quart plus ½ cup bottled still (non-carbonated) water (original recipe calls for 1 quart)

Peel the lemons, leaving a little white attached to the peel. (Reserve lemons for other uses.) Place lemon peels in a large glass or ceramic container with the alcohol; close container well with a lid, or seal with a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Leave in a cool place for at least four days, preferably a week, gently shaking a couple of times a day. The peels will lose their brilliant yellow color over time.

On the fifth day or later, prepare a syrup by heating together the sugar and water, making sure the water never quite boils; let slowly simmer five minutes, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Let syrup cool.

Strain the lemon-scented alcohol through gauze or a strainer, and mix alcohol into the syrup; shake liquid well before pouring into pretty bottles with caps or corks. Let the limoncello sit for two to three days before serving cold in tall shot glasses or liqueur glasses; it will last indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

opportunities to give

Short notice, but still time to give to a couple good causes. Give (even if its 10 bucks) to Spirit of America blogger challenge, a web-based humanitarian project.
And if you're in Chapel Hill give a few minutes and a pint or two to the red cross blood drive. Thursday, December 16th, from 10:00am-2:00pm you can drop by the UNC Wellness center at Meadowmont, otherwise find a blood drive near you here.

inspirato

trailers make me happy:
batman begins
charlie and the chocolate factory

film premiere

Just got word that my short dance film glacier knocks will be having its premiere on January 22nd @ midnight, Carolina Theater in Chapel Hill, as part of the Choreo Shorts Festival.

I'm happy with the way that piece turned out and The Carolina Theater is a great venue. I can't wait.

anyone want a couple cartons of Kools?

New research shows that Cigarette Smoke Is A Culprit In Poor Healing And Increased Scarring. This discovery shouldn't surprise anyone. But now that it's official, and powerfully described in some of the best science writting I've seen in a while, I am staying away from smoke, whether it's 1st, 2nd, or 5th hand. In recovering and rehabilitating from this last knee surgery scar tissue is the great satan:

"Wound healing is a highly choreographed, biological drama of clotting, inflammation, cell proliferation and tissue remodeling. It features an exotic cast of clotting and growth factors, specialized cells and structural proteins, each of which must time their entrance and exit perfectly. Nothing messes up this timing like cigarette smoke. Clinical studies have consistently shown that individuals exposed to cigarette smoke – whether “first-” or “second-hand”– heal poorly and are more likely to develop scarring and associated diseases."

Picture book

Photographer and martini maven Joshua has just launched his new website, and it's five star. He presents photographs in sports, auto, portraits, and editorial...

A young runner stretches her quad as an unreal suburban neighborhood darkens around her. A perky car waits in an empty parking lot for someone or something. In front of grand clouds and blue sky, a bearded man dares you to mock his scooter.

On a previous incarnation of his website Joshua offered great stories and comments about the making of each picture. And while I still miss those quick personal hits, I think more than ever his work his work takes the viewer to a place where they can't help but dream their own stories

the original original thirteen

Check out the old school homeland getting a shout out as the wikipedia featured article of the day: Old Swiss Confederacy

#406

I know they picked "Lose yourself" as the best hip-hop song of all time in their latest top 500 list and I know they cook up sensatinal news stories when skin or crap like this isn't selling enough issues, but Rolling Stone appears to have eaten too much of their own oatmeal shitpoo this time.

There's been a lot of censorship stories out there to froth about recently:
cupid's wang
we are people too
and of course "no advocating allowed"
But the Rolling Stone absurdity's a particular thorn. We expect this kinda crap from SC legislators and other cowardly media execs, but from Ralph "No matter how paranoid you are, what they're actually doing is worse than you can possibly imagine" J. Gleason and the sometimes home of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - it hurts, no matter how low they've already sunk.

Don't worry though, just listen to cool calming voice of FCC chairman Michael Powell saying Baby, everything's gonna be OK.

Yup, afraid the good doctor was right, "The last half of the 20th Century will seem like a wild party for rich kids, compared to what's coming now. The party's over, folks."

just to see what its like

Rope (1948) has always been my favorite Hitchcock film since my aunt showed it to me way back in the day. I couldn't decide if I wanted to be the two Ivan Lendl ice-cold murders trying to get away with their "experiment" or if I wanted to be Prof. James Stewart who had to unravel their perfect crime.

In this article fromAnvil, Joel Gunz analyzes some of Hitch's classic endings:

"Hence, I believe that these quick exits are Hitch's way of telling the audience: "Okay, you came, you saw, you got your thrill, now run along home." They also help to implant the tangy aftertaste of unresolved disquiet that is characteristic of his films."

When I went back and watched Rope recently I was surprised by a few things: the acting was amazing, the main characters were obviously gay, and the ending didn't feel right. Something just didn't fit for me. Gunz's explination of this ending helps me understand and appreciate the ending for what Hitch was trying to do, esp. with the long unscored soundscape.
""Rope" is like one long exhalation. Then it comes to a still, motionless end." Hitchcock, in first color film made an "experimental one-shot" adaptation of a stage play with Nietzsche-Superman driven homosexual murderer protagonists and a fiitingly bold ending. genius.

scoped

Carson is dead!

Here's a picture of me pre-operation. Can you tell I've already been doped up? I don't have any pictures post-operation, b/c by then i was in the exclusive (and camera-phone free) five-timers club recovery lounge...the lap of luxury.

Doc said the surgery went well, and as was the case before little bands of scar tissue were the cause of all the pain. They used local nerve blocks this time instead of general anesthesia and i was still unsedated enough to watch them do the nerve block in my leg, which was very cool. The surgery resident made out the painkiller perscription to himself and screwed up the antibiotics perscription as well. Despite this glaring disregard for details, I feel pretty good.

Now its time to start the rehab and keep that scar tissue hydra from coming back. 48 hours of ice and elevation and watching the wire to kick things off.