Link to the video. I haven't watched it with sound yet, but I do remember getting a kick out of that fellow's haircuts. People were clearly torn between two feelings:
In case you were wanting to check it out, here's the Men Together Flickr page.
Original photo.
"Smiling Ladies" by Heron, from their eponymous debut, 1970.
I just dig this song in a very deep way.
Chances of being used in a future Wes Anderson movie: Moderately High.
Thanks go to Patrick Hohlweck for introducing this song to me, and then for not getting too fed up when I wanted to listed to it ten times in a row in the car.
So you might have gone to the polls all ready to vote for the president, only to have your buzz killed by the fact that there's all these other boxes that you also have to check while you're there. The further along you get, the more local it gets, and unfortunately, I would venture to say that most people of my generation don't know who these people are and what they stand for. Even if you vote straight ticket, there are still all these random names of people running for school board, county coroner, etc., and they don't list party affiliation. What do you do? Here you are, expecting yourself to feel all awesome for participating for the right team in the democratic process, only to have your moment of triumph harshed by the sobering realization that you don't know jack about local politics. You spent all this time hating on Sarah Palin when you could have been informing yourself about who would make a good county commissioner. What's a This American Life fan to do?
I've made it simple. Here are my rules for avoiding voting for an a-hole, without actually doing an research.
#1. Pick the one that isn't Republican.
#2. Think hard. Have you seen any of these names on a bumper sticker on an SUV? If so, avoid.
#3. A-holes often have a-hole names. Sometimes you can just tell. Say the name to yourself, try to envision the type of person who might have such a name, then in your mind try to shake hands with the person that you have imagined. Is the handshake "gooey"? Does s/he smell like a leather jacket? If the name looks it belongs on a country club roster, move right along to the other options.
#4. If you can't tell, go ahead and pick the name that sounds diverse. Diversity comes in many flavors: female, African-American, Jewish, Hispanic, Asian, middle-eastern. In that order. If the name "sounds gay" you are welcome to go with that one as well.
#5. If all the above suggestions have failed, try to pick people with the same last names as people you were once friends with.
That is all.
I love the Indiana Daily Student, but yesterday I felt like the luckiest guy in the world because when I sat down to eat at the Union, someone had left some spot-on commentary about this article, scrawled on the side with what appears to be a dull #2 pencil. And no, the scan didn't get cut off, it actually ends with the word "stupid."
In case you haven't seen the video she's talking about (I know I hadn't!) it is here. Good thing I voted before I saw this video, otherwise I would have been totally confused into maybe not voting because of this video. Will I Am has a lot of pull in my life, you know.
Also from the IDS:
Late-night musics, ideas for a frozen world, an iced-over New York City.
mp3
All this time I had only heard the word "Dickensian" spoken but had never seen it spelled until now. If you asked me yesterday how to spell this word, I think I would have guessed "DeKensian" or something. In the process of adjectivizing this proper noun, the emphasis ended up on the wrong syllable. Consequently, I didn't really know what this word meant until now either, and of course seeing it in print immediately clued me in to its meaning. I always just kind assumed from context that it meant something kind of old and impoverished.
This explains why Michael Showalter uses the word Dickensian to describe one of the alternate names for restless leg syndrome, "sewing machine foot."
Now I know what I'm going to say when a Mad Lib asks for an adjective. I used to always just say "poopy," but now I have something really good.
