the earthquake we'll soon forget

The earthquake that recently struck Iran is a disaster of enormous proportions. In the city of Bam (how ironic), estimates range from 1/4 to 1/2 of the city's population as having been killed in the disaster. Both the loss of life and the devastation of the city are staggering, While this may remain the lead story for a few days, as the death toll inches higher and a few heartwarming stories of survivors being pulled out of rubble days after the quake, will interest remain as the survivors are forced to migrate because their entire city has been destroyed?

The quote of the disaster, however, comes from Akbar Alavi, the governor of the province struck by the earthquake:

"We greatly welcome assistance from the United States. We welcome assistance from all countries except Israel."

Nothing like a catastrophe to reinforce international strife.

hooray for jesus

The "birth" of Christ, having been celebrated, a multitude of books received by me, a multitude of chocolate and pasta given by me, I can now turn my attention to my future internship, and more immediately, Anne's visit of fun and goodness. That, and celebrating Kwanzaa.

out...

• 253 truffles
• 6 lbs. gnocchi
• 3 lbs. ravioli

in...

• 1/4 c. basil
  
• 2 lbs. beets
  
• 3 lbs. bittersweet chocolate
  
• 1/4 lb. butter
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 7 c. flour
  
• 7 c. heavy cream
  
• 6 cloves garlic
  
• 1 lb. goat cheese
  
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms
  
• 1/4 c. olive oil
  
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
  
• 6 lbs. potatoes
  
• 1 can pumpkin
  
• 1/2 c. red wine
  
• 3 lbs. semi-sweet chocolate
  
• 1/2 c. shallots
  
• wonton wrappers

yet another sign of the apocalypse

We're all going to die.

Life imitates art.

I'm not a loser!

Greg Heltzer (of all people) sent me this New York Times article about how people who live with their parents in their mid/late 20s aren't such losers after all. Sweet.

Worst store ever

Shopping yesterday at Potomac Mills, I came across the worst store ever. Seriously, are bibles so expensive that they require factory outlet stores? At this store (which I did not enter), do they sell remaindered bibles, or misprinted bibles? Perhaps bibles missing books. Or a bible where Jesus is actually named Moe. Or Shemp. Really, any of the three (four) stooges. Now that would be a good bible.

long before the blog...

Happy third day of Hanukkah. For your gift, an old piece of technology. Long before the internet, even before AOL and Prodigy and Compuserve, this is the first modem I ever used. You put the phone into the handset. It proved marginally more efficient than simply yelling "one zero zero zero one zero zero one!" into the phone. Marginally. It operated at 300 bps, or 186 times slower than a new modem today. It was probably pretty spendy too, but since I was about five years old at the time, I don't remember.

fascist fascists

The American Family Association is a right-wing organization dedicated to promoting "traditional family values." Obviously this is code for "we are fascists." These fascists have developed an online poll to asscertain the values of Americans when it comes to gay marriages. Show them your values.

All the sinners are making their site a little slow right now, so be patient.

too much technology

I finally committed to a new cell phone. The Sony Ericsson T 616 complete with service from AT&T Wirelesss. The phone has an absurd number of features, including a picture phone and the ability to send and receive e-mail. It also has bluetooth, the fun of which I hope to write about in the future.

While I was off in cell phone buying land, the caught Saddam Hussein. I was with Kassie and thought he was living with Osama in Detroit. Oh well. All subsequent news coverage has focused on how badly Hussein's capture hurts Howard Dean. To my mind, it doesn't; and I think Dean's recent comments are the right strategy for a Democrat to pursue now that Hussein is captured:

The capture of Saddam is a good thing which I hope very much will keep our soldiers in Iraq and around the world safer. But the capture of Saddam has not made America safer."

This administration loses on Homeland Security, and the more the Democrats make it an issue, the more success they will have wooing Bush supporters.

Finally, my new phone number is:

202.297.4496

Spread the word.

Out with the old

I finally completed my weeks of agonizing and price comparing and settled on a new cell phone. My phone has been growing increasingly fickle and it has none of the cool features the kids are raving about. I bought a Sony Ericsson T616 from Amazon for -$75. Pretty sweet that my first three months of service will be covered by the "cost" of the phone. The phone is bluetooth enabled, which leaves the potential for all kinds of nerdy mischief. Goodie.

I also filled out my DC voter registration card today, so I can vote in our "primary" on Jan. 13. Because the Democratic party has a deal with New Hampshire and Iowa, they have managed to subvert the electoral process in DC (nothing new), and coerce most of the candidates off the ballot. See for yourself. I'll probably vote for Sharpton, though this could be Lyndon Larouche's year.

Amusing to me is the fact that nowhere on the DC Board of Election and Ethics website is the address to return my completed voter registration form. And of course, it isn't on the form either. There are even two conflicting addresses on several webpages. Hopefully this one will work. Of course, if it doesn't, who cares, it's not like I'm represented (which is only fair, since I'm not paying taxes).

toro: crack of the sea

I spent my weekend cleaning my room and doing all my laundry. But my walls are all painted and my furniture is in place, so soon my room will be all done (pictures forthcoming. I had dinner tonight at Sushi-Ko. Always a tremendous meal there, if not the most filling. Beef tenderloin with seven-spice powder and daikon was rare and juicy, an unusual starter, but very well balanced.

The duck breast with wasabi mustard opened my eyes to food pairings. I wouldn't have thought duck could withstand a wasabi mustard sauce, but it was perfect. The breast, both juicy and fatty, quite well prepared.

The highlight of my meal (and best thing I've eaten in months) was Toro. Impeccably fresh fatty tuna. It melted on my tongue, dissolving the flavors of tuna and sea water throughout my mouth. At $8 for two pieces, it may become a very expensive addiction, but I need more.

I'm going to wash it all down with yet another mixed berry milkshake (my fourth in three days). Yum.

Finally, from Josh: type "miserable failure" (with quotes) into google and hit "I'm feeling lucky."

boogie woogie woogie

I may still suck at flash, but making crappy animations is the only way to get better, right? Or I could read one of the four books I own on flash. That would require unpacking, though. Plus, how many people can say they've explored the unique relationship between pickles and lightning? In animation form.

The return of the electric pickle.

And stay tuned for the finale of the electric pickle. With the infamous Law & Order twist! Wait, that's Law & Order. Nevermind, there will be no twist, just more hilarity.

Update: The link comes from Anne: Where is the rake? Something to aspire to for the electric pickle.

more hilarity

Seriously, I'm not on crack. Anne just keeps inspiring these random wastes of technology.

Look! I made a flash animation.

a new era in comic hilarity dawns

I was inspired earlier tonight to make a comic. Lacking artistic skills, I rifled through the myriad saved images on my computer and have developed the following:

mr. drop and catch it man!

Some old and some new...but no class

I've been cleaning out some old digital photos.Scot and I were playing a board game called IDO. The games uses a bunch of 1x1 and 1x2 block pieces. Naturally, after playing the game several times, Scot and I devolved into making things with our blocks and then shaking the table to destroy the other person's work. Finally, we collaborated in an effort to make it appear as though one block figure was having sex with another. Classy.

In a completely unrelated note, Salon published this article about the growing influence of moveon.org. Particularly with George Soros' promise of wheelbarrows full of money to defeat the President, the GOP might have something about which to be concerned. The article describes how Moveon has helped Gov. Dean develop his internet campaign strategy. Clearly this strategy has been integral to Dean's success, but the use of technology by both organizations has also made them seem more liberal.

Moveon deliberately doesn't tackle divisive issues like abortion or guns, choosing instead to focus on solidifying the mainstream base of democrats (and moderate republicans angry with Bush extremism). The Dean campaign, in part because of its image as the campaign for young activists, has developed liberal credibility without a truly liberal candidate (like Kucinich or Sharpton).