telescreen.org

Inspired by my tasty Guinness last night at the Baggot Inn (where my trivia team placed first), here's a good NYT review of stouts. (I'm partial to Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout, myself.)

Do you like Scrabble? You may enjoy the Wordblog.

What was your first time like? (Link via Paul Frankenstein.)

The Post-Modern Essay Generator generates dazzlingly incoherent prose. (Much like this weblog.) Something similar was used with hilarious effect when an NYU physics professor managed to get his incomprehensible and meaningless essay published by a cultural-studies journal. (Thanks to Heather for the link.)

Just because they have free DirecTV doesn't mean they're good guys. Boycott JetBlue for implementing the TSA's CAPPS II program.

What is CAPPS II? This intiative (which doesn't actually make flying any safer), collects your personal information (including credit card numbers) and forwards it to the federal government, which compiles a dossier of your travels. The government then cross-checks this information against credit bureaus and other commercial databases (which aren't required to have accurate information in them), decides whether to single you out for extra screening, or whether to let you fly at all. (Oh, and you can't appeal these decisions. If they don't want you to fly, you can always ride the dog, I guess.) What criteria does the government use to make these decisions? Sorry, can't tell you: that's classified.

So, as the San Francisco Examiner asks, will I be put on a watch list if I buy pita bread and hummus? Probably not, but there's simply no way to know...there is no accountability and no appeal.

We're rapidly turning into a checkpoint society.

Words I'd never thought I'd type (at least till the election):

Way to go, U.S. Senate!

Let's hope the House follows suit, and that it would be inexpedient for Bush to veto.

Amazing NASA pic (via CNN) of Hurricane Isabel, taken from the International Space Station:

Wow. And my weekend plans involve hanging out in Virginia near Chesapeake Bay, too. Should be interesting.

ADDENDUM: Another kickass Isabel pic, by way of Brittney.

Is it harassment when you're attempting to annoy an exhibitionist hack? Nevertheless, Londoners are planning flashmobs (mobbers are asked to "bring a piece of food") and spelling out rude words with their bodies in front of David Blaine. (Links via BoingBoing.)

More people are annoying David Blaine in the midst of his stunt...this time dangling a cheeseburger from a remote-controlled helicopter.

Check out the counterfeit $200 bill successfully passed a couple weeks ago in Roanoke Rapids, NC.

Another good weekend, but nothing terribly momentous to report. Shortly after I finally awoke Saturday (hung over), my upstairs neighbor banged on my door. Seems that the delivery guys were here with his new couch and that he wanted to bring it in through my (ground floor) apartment and up the back stairs. Fine with me (I'd told him earlier that he could), but it's a little more than I could deal with, given my aching head and dry mouth. When I left, they had taken off both my front door and back doors, and were preparing to muscle the couch in. (I make it a habit of trying the doorknob as I walk out to make sure that it's locked, but it's a little difficult when the door is lying on its side in the hallway in front of the bathroom.)

I made it out to the TypePad/Movable Type meetup, and it was very cool to meet BenandMena (not only do they share a brain, they share a business card) and Anil from TypePad. Other bloggerati there included J-Ko, Meg, Joi Ito, Alaina from NYC Eats, Bob from All Feet On Deck, Christina from Glowlab, Cam from Camworld, Liza from Typepadistas, Paul Frankenstein, Andrew Raff, Andrew from The Morning News, and bunches more people whom I didn't meet. Lotsa good blogging conversation, and it's always good to meet online folk IRL. (Pictures to come this evening.)

After the meetup, I went to the Bohemian Hall beer garden in Astoria with B. We had heavy (but yummy) Czech food and beer. Then it was off to join our Astoria compatriots, Jonmc and Pips, for more beer (or juice in my case...something about the previous 24 hours made me want to go easy on the beer for a little while), and lots of good music.

Finally, after work on Sunday, B. and Jonmc and I met up for great noodles in Union Square. I'd been hearing about Republic for a while, and the food (and my pretty good mojito) lived up to expectations. Very cool design, too -- the whole place was strongly reminiscent of Wagamama in London.

Now I'm bleary-eyed and caffeine-deprived, and it's Monday morning. Wish me luck.

Hey, look who's back from his hiatus. Welcome back, Stav!

Did you ever know that Rolling Rock can roll right over your head?

Last night Chico invited Jon and me to a little hole-in-the-wall in Hell's Kitchen that opened last week. It's a former Middle Eastern greasy spoon (apparently the ex-owners were deported suddenly for being involved with al-Qaeda), and the only bar-type additions to the space so far have been a disco ball and a purple gel over the menu board. Liquor bottles were placed behind the Formica counter, and there were still many signs in Arabic. A placard announced "Available Rice Pudding." When you descended the dangerously steep stairs that led the bathroom, you passed a "Have You Prayed Today?" bumper sticker slapped on the wall. Most of the lights were off, and it was like drinking in a postapocalyptic bombed-out diner.

Oh, what a night. How much alcohol did I consume? Well, let's just say that I haven't engaged in such self-abuse since I was 13. (And, come to think of it, that was a different kind of self-abuse.) Some fragmentary memories of the evening include Nita, the bartender, telling everyone in the bar that I may look innocuous, but "he's the devil." (This was right before she kissed me on the cheek.) There was much toasting of Johnny Cash and Warren Zevon, much raucous singing along with Zevon, Cash, Dylan, and Mojo Nixon, dancing on the bar (no, not me), inappropriate uses of bottle openers, inappropriate uses of bottle caps, and other assorted mayhem.

Needless to say, I'm paying for it now.

Very, very sick...yet very, very funny. (via Sparkwood & 21.)

Congratulations, Dave. (He has seemed a bit mellower lately.)

So I was walking through Koreatown with Chico the other day, and we passed by a sign for a spa. Among the massage, jacuzzi, etc. features advertised was one for a "STRESS RELIVING SHOWER." [sic]

We were wondering what that would be like. Lye would pour from the shower head, for starters. It'd be really cold. Your parents would be in there. So would the fifth-grade bully, poking you repeatedly and flicking you on the ear. There would be a telephone with a really loud bell, too, exclusively to receive calls from telemarketers, creditors, and the IRS.

It's good to have goals in life.

Shit.

Rest in peace, Johnny. You've touched millions of people, and you will not be forgotten.

ADDENDUM: A quintet of classic Johnny Cash songs.

"Love does that." Country music come to life. (via tizzie at the monkeyhouse.)

Related to my brief rant below regarding the TSA's new CAPPS II initiative to profile all airline passengers: The TSA is saying that part of the screening process involves checking each passenger for outstanding warrants or other law enforcement alerts. As Grant points out, the Supreme Court says that's illegal.

John Ashcroft in 2003:

"I think it's patriotic to raise questions, to be involved in active debate. I don't question the patriotism of people who ask questions, or who engage in the debate. As I said, I think it's healthy that, especially issues about liberty and freedom, which are the, I think, the foundational components of the American culture, those are good debates to have."

John Ashcroft in 2001:

"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."

Ted Rall remembers 9/11. I have complicated feelings about some of the things he writes about. Probably too complicated to get into here. (I'll happily discuss 'em over a beer, though.)

.

Some very good news.

And some not-so-good news.

And some strange things.

(For more information on all of the above links, hover over them. The title tags will tell all.)

Really nice article in CJR on the blogging phenomenon. (Link via Chuck Olsen.)

Music of the spheres? B-flat.