2009.06.28
US Loses to Brazil, 3-2
US men’s soccer has come a long way. We’ll be the underdogs in this sport for a long time but today we almost made a second indelible mark in the final of the Confederations Cup against Brazil. Going into the second half we were up 2-0 but then Brazil pulled it together and scored three to win.
Even though we lost, I’m pretty excited because we are doing better and eventually we will beat some of those horribly, desperately conceited teams that really need to have their high horse knocked out from under them. Of course I’d settle for anyone accomplishing this, but I’d be happiest if US was the team to do it.
Congrats, guys, on a great game!
No Comments | Catergorized: life2009.06.24
USA Beats Spain
Congratulations to the US soccer team for beating Spain today, 2-0, in a stunning upset. I only caught the end but I plan on watching highlights later tonight… I’ve heard the second goal was stupendous. This is rough news for Spain, who just came off of having FC Barcelona win the European club league.
Go USA!
2 Comments | Catergorized: life2009.06.13
Curtis Jones, RIP
I’ve just gotten news that Curtis Jones, a mainstay of ex-pat culture in Prague for more than two decades, passed away.
RIP, Curtis. If you find the afterlife half as interesting as we found you here I think you will have a pretty good time.
No Comments | Catergorized: friends memories prague2009.06.08
Muslims Fight Back
I’ve been wondering for years when the Muslim people and not just their pressured governments would start fighting back against extremists in their own countries. It looks like it’s starting now. About time.
No Comments | Catergorized: thoughts2009.05.28
CA Prop 8: The Defenders
Without going into detailed analysis of why I think the CA Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8 was flawed, I would like to simply say it is sad -pathetic, really- that we still live in a world that would curtail rights for anyone. Which is why I think this video, called The Defenders (via SFist), is pretty good except the ending, which probably actually hurts the message.
I’d also like to repeat a previous proposition that by law we should simply ban marriage and institute civil unions. If people of faith want to preserve the symbolic meaning of marriage they can but their marriage will not be recognized by the government in any sense. Maybe that’s just me, though. Honestly, I don’t understand what those folks are defending. They treat the word marriage like a trademark. I would remind them of what happened to words like Kleenex or, I believe, Xerox and is in the process of happening to. Marriage is now a generic term and nothing people of faith can do will ever change its impending genericide.
2 Comments | Catergorized: political rights thoughts2009.05.27
Photo Manipulation; Tilt and Tile
I’ve got two interesting online apps that Banana Boy sent my way about photo manipulation. One is to change your pictures into fancy (but fake) tilt-shift images. Called TiltShift Generator, it has an online and downloadable version (downloadable version requires Adobe Air to be installed). Here’s an example I made. The first is unmodified and the second is, obviously, modified.
The second online app is called Repper and will create patterns out of a selection of an image. Some of the possibilities are pretty amazing for designers. I had some trouble uploading the image above but eventually created the images below. On the left is the image you download. When you make it a repeat you get the image on the right.
Nice stuff. I’m particularly happy to be experimenting with the tilt shift app!
No Comments | Catergorized: photos san francisco technology2009.05.23
Interceptor
Here in San Francisco the “meter maids” drive these little three wheeled vehicles called Interceptors. What they are intercepting I have no idea. However, like everywhere, these things (specifically the people who drive them) are not terribly popular. Yesterday walking back from lunch we saw this one, which someone had modified ever-so-slightly. Very funny.
2009.05.20
When a Home is a Castle
They say a home is your castle. What if it was a church? Right across the street from Dolores Park here in San Francisco is the home I want. Does anyone have $10,000,000 I can borrow?
I wonder if they are willing to let the first floor be a cafe. It’s really too big for a living room, especially when the upstairs is so-o spacious itself.
1 Comment | Catergorized: san francisco2009.05.08
Makes Us Stronger
There’s a common saying. That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
I bet I could hurt you in a way you would never recover from…
(Apropos of nothing, BTW. Just a thought I had after hearing someone blithely use that quote in a context that made absolutely no sense).
1 Comment | Catergorized: grrr2009.05.07
Watching Shadow
Sora - Audrey KawasakiI’m not much of an art fan. I appreciate certain kinds of visual art (mostly older, classical styles) but not enough to go out of my way to see it, let alone buy anything.
One of the sole exceptions to this is a woman named Audrey Kawasaki. I found her stuff over a year ago and have always been impressed. Her subjects are normally young women which, I won’t deny, are attractive. However, it’s they eyes of these women that are the draw. Melancholy, with depth and thought. They can be haunting yet alluring. They seem to call out, quietly, but what they are saying or asking I couldn’t say.
It looks like Ms. Kawasaki is having a show in Japan called Watching Shadow. Since few of us would have a chance to see the pieces, she gives us a preview on her blog. Nice, neh?
There’s few bits of art I would seriously consider buying and putting on my wall. Some of these I definitely would, though I have to admit that even many of these I wouldn’t. Still, from my point of view, that’s high praise. If anyone happens to be in Japan and wants to pick up this one, called Sora, for me I wouldn’t say no.
No Comments | Catergorized: fashion
