words

My favorite song from "My Fair Lady" has always been the one that Liza sings to Freddy:

words, words, words,
I'm so sick of words-
I get words all day through
first from him
now from you!
Is that all you blighters can do?

But really, we all love words around here, don't we? So go read the Word Detective, who, as Eli says, is "always the charmingest."

bicycle love

Oh yeah:
I biked to work today for Bike to Work Day!
Thanks to the cute SF Bike Coalition volunteers at the refresher stations along the way. The schwag and apples were great, but the smiles were the best part. and I do promise to sign up, really, but I was late for work...

cicadas: good eatin'? or plague upon the earth?

Grab a skillet. You have just a few weeks to munch on fresh cicadas, 'the truffles of the insect world.'

I take serious exception to the cicada eater's comment about lima beans:
"There are people who eat lima beans ... mushy, gross, nontasting lima beans."
Obviously, Ms. Williams has never had fresh baby lima beans from a garden, steamed and served with lots of butter.
Then, someone else describes the cicada as "relatively bland, mild, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside with a nutty flavor."

in other words, eat this:


but not these:


yeah, good luck selling that, folks. Maybe in 2021 I'll be feeling more adventurous.

Kurt Vonnegut gets right down to it.

Cold Turkey

There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president.

and

Here’s what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey.

And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we’re hooked on.

mild hangover

This fine Friday morning on Justin Herman Plaza:

-about six people in Hawaiian shirts and leis, talking to
-three Elvis impersonators.
-one woman in a dirndl, who was talking to
-one woman dressed as a nun.
-a film camera and a few other folks milling around.
-about ten commuters, staring and looking confused.

and then, after nearly getting dive-bombed by a huge flock of pigeons, I went to buy myself some coffee.

I realize that the photos down there are too wide, and my links sidebar is missing, and everything around here is higgledy-piggledy. I'll get right on it, after my nap this full day at work.

dinner-licious

I've eaten more good restaurant food in the last six months than I have for years.
Or maybe I've just enjoyed it more.
At any rate, last night's dinner was sweetly savored at Da Luisa, a little place at the corner of Guerrero and 22nd in the Mission. The owner is hilarious, probably a nightmare to work for, but sweet and charming if you're there to eat and can deal with a little more attention than you're used to. If you linger in front of her door, she'll come out and do her best to lure you in. "I'm the best!" Apparently the restaurant was on the main drag of Castro for over 30 years, and she won me over talking about "my boys." "They love me, you know, because I'm a Mama to them." After dinner she came by to chat us up some more, and she said she learned a lot about "making the sex- no, love!" from being across from Collingwood Park every night. She was right about the three cheese ravioli with spinach and aurora sauce- it melted in my mouth. The puttanesca was tasty, too, though I believe my Gentleman Friend would have liked a little more, er, putta and fewer olives.

a new and improved Mount Rushmore

Debra and Ellen are driving halfway across the country!



Who knew there was a spam museum?

In the fair city of Detroit...

The other day, I picked up an album by Blanche, a band from Detroit that I heard about recently. Oddly enough, I think it might have been the photo I saw of them last week that intrigued me, more than descriptions of their music did. Then I found their adorable website, and this image, and this one, and I was in love. Good thing I love the album, too.
Pitchforkmedia (whoever they are) give the album, called "If We Can't Trust the Doctors," a rating of 6.7. They say "It's a record for drama queens." Which is exactly why I like it.

Listen to clips here. The review on that site says "Their debut album ‘If We Can’t Trust The Doctors’ is a remarkable, twisted masterpiece that ignores the scene sounds of their native Detroit in favour of gothic infused Americana."

and from their own website:
"In the fair city of Detroit, nestled among the garage-rock nooks and country crannies, lurks the music of Blanche. Husband and wife Dan and Tracee Miller trade intense and haunting vocals over an uneasy sea of pedal steel, banjo, raw guitar sounds, and sparse, driving drumming. The moods created in the songs seem to define Blanche. Some songs are sad and pretty, while others have a powerful, spooky feel. The melodies trick you into singing along with tales of superstitions, garbage picking, fading trust, and feelings of lost hope. The sound combines the intense desperation of the Gun Club, the sincere sadness of the Carter Family, and the creepy playfulness of Lee Hazlewood."

Via Monsieur Gordonzola, news of a new store called Needles and Pens, where Black and Blue Tattoo used to be, on 14th Street. Zines, books, DIY clothes, art, events. Field trip soon!

Also, a story from yesterday's Chronicle (I saw the Datebook section at Papalote and stole it, shame on me) about an awfully sweet love story.

This morning, and probably every day for the last week or two, I've looked at at least five different stories, articles or opinion pieces about the torture in Abu Ghraib. Morford sums up a lot of what I'm thinking.
SFgate's opinion poll for morons today:
"Should media show more images of abused Iraqi prisoners, executed Americans?" Why, no, we'd much prefer you blindfold us and feed us some nice Chicken McNuggets or the latest flavor of Jamba Juice and let us out long enough just to watch the Bachelor. Please?

poppies

avert your eyes, please- the lady is changing her outfit.

Moscow Times:
Kadyrov Killed in Victory Day Explosion

GROZNY -- Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov was killed when a bomb encased in the concrete platform of a Grozny stadium exploded during Victory Day celebrations. Officials said Monday that the attack appeared to have been planned by someone in Kadyrov's inner circle.

good morning, boys and girls!
for this morning's lesson in "freedom," we bring you this story:

LONDON (AP) U.S. soldiers who detained an elderly Iraqi woman last year placed a harness on her, made her crawl on all fours and rode her like a donkey, Prime Minister Tony Blair's personal human rights envoy to Iraq said Wednesday.

The envoy, legislator Ann Clwyd, said she had investigated the claims of the woman in her 70s and believed they were true.

dacha season?

who's bringing the shashlyk?

I'd give my eyeteeth for a dacha and a summer off. By now we'd be up there every weekend, planning and planting the garden, fixing the roof, getting it all together for a few months of sitting on the grass, nibbling on fruit, reading and napping. Long ambly walks. No watch on my wrist. Swimming in a nearby lake.

*seufz*