Us Weekly Digest with Jay Frosting (Saturday Video Roundup comes a day late this week)
If Max Headroom were an actual person with a YouTube channel, he’d be Jay Frosting.
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ArtSunday: Dr. Sammy’s Ultimate Bitchin’ Badass Trans-Genred Playlist From Hell
What do Rammstein, The Dixie Chicks, Rick Springfield, The Beatles, U2, Uriah Heep, Toots & the Maytals, Talk Talk, Shiny Toy Guns, Primus, APC, the band that eventually turned into (shudder) Maroon 5, and a bunch of other bands, many of which you never heard of (445 in all) have in common?
Read moreIt’s WTF Friday: Home Depot, Lululemon and Guns & Ammo swallow their tongues
Nothing is more essential to crisis communications than an idiot to create the crisis… Rev. Dickie had that item yesterday about the Lululemon co-founder who observed, on national TV, that yoga pants don’t work for all women. Ask your doctor if spandex is right for you, huh? I guess we now know why he’s the former CEO. He’s not the
Read moreHappy Birthday, Raymond Loewy
Google honors the father of industrial design; so does Scholars & Rogues I have grown to really appreciate design in recent years. I’ve never had any formal training in it, unfortunately – what I know has mostly been learned ad hoc, on the fly. I have done a bit of low-level design work in the course of my work and hobbies,
Read moreBeltway Zen: has the Washington Post ever met a liar it won’t publish?
At WashPo, the narrative is more important than the facts… Earlier today a friend forwarded me, via e-mail, the text of an opinion piece that was ostensibly about the “new reality” on the right. It began well enough. Following the recent tea party Tet Offensive — tactically disastrous but symbolically important — the Republican establishment has commenced counterinsurgency operations. Sens. Mitch McConnell of
Read moreThe real problem with online dating
Online dating sucks, especially for a guy like me. There has to be a better way. Match.com sucks. eHarmony sucks. OK Cupid sucks. Plenty of Fish really sucks. (Although, it should be noted, at least those last two have the advantage of being free.) I assume that Christian Mingle sucks, although perhaps in ways I haven’t thought about yet. I
Read moreThe weird-ass week in sports
I might need some of my astrology expert friends to weigh in here. We began with a World Series where both teams had new managers, and one of them had never been a manager before at any level, if I understand correctly. This is unusual. Then we had a WS game end on an interference call for the first time
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Image: SunnyHill.org
Read moreRed Sox win World Series! (Baseball is a funny game)
Before the season began, I fully expected my Red Sox to finish last in the AL East. (I wasn’t the only one.) I figured Ellsbury and Petey would be solid, but past that there were so very many discouraging things to consider: New manager: there was reason to be hopeful about John Farrell, but still, new guy at the helm
Read moreCyberspace, cognitive mapping and design: some stray thoughts
I apologize in advance because this is going to ramble. And be wonky. If it helps, please know that it all makes sense in my head. Our professional development program at work – yeah, my new job has an actual interest in professional development – has us doing some reading each week and informally discussing the insights. This week we
Read more10-second beer review: Laurelwood Brewing Pumpkin Ale
Maybe I’m biased, but I’ve always felt like holiday brews should be bold, audacious even. Laurelwood’s seasonal pumpkin strikes a lovely note body-wise – it’s a nicely balanced amber that’s very “drinkable” (although I hate that term).
Read moreRIP Lou Reed: one of rock’s most influential artists dead at 71
Solo and with Velvet Underground, Reed changed the rock landscape forever When the iconic Velvet Underground & Nico album was released in 1967 I was all of six years old, so VU was never a part of my lived experience. I never became a fan of their music, exactly, although my inner rock historian grew into a deep respect for their place
Read more10-second beer review: Elliott Bay Mashing Pumpkin
Tasty coppery ale with crisp pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg high notes and rich malt body.
Read moreThe UNSHARE button: Can we all just step away from the propaganda?
Our social media activities would benefit from a dose of critical thinking. A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on. – Terry Pratchett I had an exchange with my sister earlier about something she had shared on Facebook. If you haven’t seen it, it’s the one alleging that 11 US states now have
Read moreThe GOP’s highly entertaining civil war
Embarrassing defeat in government shutdown and debt ceiling face-off reveals cracks in GOP coalition. While I have retired from political blogging, there is some value in pausing, from time to time, to remind our readers about past discussions of particular relevance to the events of the moment. One such opportunity presented itself this morning, as John “The Straight Talkin’ Mavericky
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