DiBruno Bros. has a Blog

I was stumbling around the web today and found out that DiBruno Bros has a blog. I love DiBruno's. Just today I bought some Tomme Out -- some of the world's stinkiest cheese. And we ate every bite at the office. Yum.

Check out their site. Some really good writing about wonderful food. And...they have discount offers for blog readers!

Ever Want to Know How to Ninja Kick Someone in the Neck?

If you ever want to be able to reach in, pull out a perp's heart, and show it to him before he dies, this is it. Well, maybe not, but at least you can learn to really protect yourself. Best defense: Walk away.

Top 500 Images on the Internet

The Top 500 Images on the Internet is the big Digg story today. What surprised me was that a picture of Pamela Anderson I posted a long time ago didn't make the list. I get over 500 people a day just looking for this.

Helen Mirren is a Hottie at the Oscars

I thought Helen Mirren was a hottie last night at the Oscars. Second place in my book went to Gwyneth Paltrow. Guys? George Clooney, hands down.

I am so sick of the young girls acting like idiots. A real grownup dame, Helen Mirren has that je ne sais quoi.

Fave Foto Friday: The Numbers Edition

Today is Pax's Fave Foto Friday. And I'm going with a collection today by Chris Jordan.

Prison Uniforms, 2007
Archival inkjet, 11x23 feet in six vertical panels
Depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005.


Chris does the photography of statistics:

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics tend to feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or $12.5 million spent every hour on the Iraq war. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

Check out the whole series. Amazing.

Portcullis: A New Vocabulary Word for Me

Photo credit: Kevin Lawver

I read this in Newsweek today about British Prime Minister Tony Blair: "Gone are the bright eyes and the portcullis smile." Portcullis smile?

I know two or three words. I could spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious when I was 7. I learned antidisestablishmentarianism later that year. I studied Latin for eight years. But I'd never heard the word portcullis used. The word breakdown was easy enough...but using it in a sentence was another. Now I'll use it three times today and it'll be added to my bag-o-tricks. *portcullis smile ensues*

Portcullis: Etymology: Middle English port colice, from Anglo-French porte coliz, literally, sliding door: a grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place and lowered between grooves to prevent passage

Do you look up new words when you see them? I used to make this standard practice. I've slipped a bit. I need to get back in the habit. You never know when someone might ask you what they call that little indentation at the base of the neck.

What's That Dirt On Your Forehead?

Today is Ash Wednesday, which was one of my favorite days when I was a kid attending Immaculate Conception. All the kids who went to "public" would ask us why we had "dirt" on our foreheads and we would pretend we were part of some exclusive club. Right. We were part of Club Catholic. (Not quite exclusive where I grew up, btw. There were more kids with "dirty foreheads" than not.)

So, I laughed when I saw this cartoon today.

I Know I Shouldn't Laugh

I read this today and for some dang reason it really made me laugh...I guess it's all that "teach a man to fish" stuff I've seen in every business book lately.

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Happy Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras. I'd love to be in NOLA. I need to add "Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans" to my list of things to do.

Bird of Paradise

I know, it's not Fave Fot Friday, but this was one of the top pix on Flickr today, and it really made me smile.

George Bush: The Flowchart

WWGWBD has a flowchart of the thinking style of GWB.

I Have to Try Out Snackbar

PhilaFoodie has the lowdown on Snackbar. It sounds yummy. And it's right around the corner at 253 S. 20th. I could go for small portions right now!

Britney Spears is Shaved...Everywhere

Britney Spears shaved her head. Now I guess she can say convincingly that the carpet matches the curtains.

Fave Foto Friday: Aurora Borealis

It's Fave Foto Friday over at Pax's Place. And I'm playing along this week with a stunning pic of the Aurora Borealis taken by Dalla. Oooommmmmm.

Forget SI Swimsuits, Gimme New Dollar Coins

The SI Swimsuit Edition is so yesterday. And since the Teenage Mutant Ninja iFlipflops were last seen wrestling over Beyonce's booty-licious cover, I'm left out in the cold being a numismatist of my own domain. Can I play with one of these new dollar coins just released from the U.S. Mint until I need glasses?

For Rick

Rick said he liked my Burl Ives Snowman, but just stumbled across the new SI 2007 Swimsuit pix and said that was more his style on a cold day in Chi-Town. Beyonce is on the cover. This one's for you, Rick.

A Burl Ives Snowman

I got home from NYC before the big snow and ice started. I'm thinking it might be a "work at home" day tomorrow if it's icy out.

Funny thing about this picture. I can still imagine the smell of my dad's aftershave (Aqua Velva?) that he used after he used his Norelco electric shaver.

Word to the Bird: Dixie Chicks Make Nice at the Grammys

The Dixie Chicks cleaned up last night at the Grammys, winning five awards that included: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Country Performance, and Best Country Group. Word to the bird.

Newpaper Blackout Poems

Austin Kleon's Newspaper Blackout Poetry is amazing. I'd like to think he wrote this one for me ;-)



It's true. I do.

Say Hello to the Next President of the United States: Barack Obama

Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States today with these words:

It was here, in Springfield, where North, South, East and West come together that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people - where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America.

And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States.

I got chills watching his speech. On Sept. 24, 2004, I met him in person in Philadelphia. And one of the most amazing things ever happened when a woman held up her baby and asked him to sign her baby's shirt. "I want to tell her she met the first black president of the United States." Two-and-a-half years later that still gives me chills. You can see a bunch of pix I took that day here.

Fave Foto Friday: Zen Bridge

Pax's Fave Foto Friday is running a beautiful picture of Anna Nicole Smith from her Guess days. Nice. I like this one. It reminds me to calm down...and remember that winter can't last forever.

Anna Nicole Smith on the Ultimate Trim Spa Diet

Anna Nicole Smith is dead.

Camera Tossing Is Much Better Than Cookie Tossing

Mark, at The Long Cut, points us to camera tossing. Very cool. Now, I'll have to figure out how to learn to let go and toss $2,000 worth of glass.

Rochambeau Done Right

This Bud Light Rock, Paper, Scissors ad was the highlight of the Super Bowl for me. Lowlight: Da Bears. Why I call Rock, Paper, Scissors "rochambeau"? Because I watch too much World Series of Poker, and the real gamblers wh play that game for big bucks call it "rochambeau."

Badass Coffee Company

I was just told about Badass Coffee Company by The World's Best Comcast Technician. I'm going to order some Badass Coffee. I dunno whether it'll make me a badass, but I'm getting it anyways, just because of the cool name. (Does having a ponytail and a motorcycle qualify me? Or is it just a sad, sad little commentary on a squandered life?)

Missing Monday for 2007-02-05

Pax has Missing Monday up.

Bear Down, Chicago Bears

I still remember the 1986 Super Bowl like it was yesterday. And now the symmetry of today...Go Bears!

Fave Foto Friday: Swan Lake

I'm finally getting off my lazy blogging butt and playing along with Pax's Favorite Foto Friday. I don't know the provenance of this photo, but it makes me happy anyways.

Boston Beaners Go Bonkers Over LiteBrite

The City of Boston was "The Hub of Ridiculousness" yesterday. A marketing promotion by Comedy Central brought Boston to a standstill. In the words of Cartman: You bastards!

What a great world we've created: Take down Aqua Teen Hunger Force or the terrorists win. Note to Boston PD: Check the blogs. While you were shutting down the city you could have done two minutes of looking and would have found out that "the bomb" was a guerrilla marketing campaign.