Busy busy busy. This week has been nutz! 24 on Monday night with friends. (crappy episode, but great food and company.) Cooked dinner for friends last night (salmon, sweet potato french fries, sauteed greens and salad). And now tonight I've got a poker game that will surely go late. And it's not that I'm complaining 'cause I love hanging with friends, but it is definitely putting a crimp in my blog postin'.

I'll have good stuff for yas tomorrow, but for now you can just sit and gaze at this lovely sunset off of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand, and I'll pretend we're back there, sipping Changs and feasting on delicious Thai food.

This animated map is very cool. It shows the economic activity all over the world. The results are not all that surprising, but it's fun to look at.

Yesterday I found a site called Memorizable. It is a quick and easy way to memorize any type of fact. What I found particularly cool was that I used information I memorized yesterday just testing out the site, during some political talk during 24 commercials.

Now, although this is an foreign ad of some kind, is is pretty damn cool. The size of the painting and how it's all revealed is quite fun.

And because I like all things slo-mo or stop action, here's what it looks like when a golf club strikes a lighter! Awesome.

Friday has once again become a day that matters. You look forward to it all week. You savor it all day. And then you shout for joy when it's go-time and the wide open weekend is spread out before you. This Friday is fun because Rose Hill Drive is at Cafe Du Nord, and I'm really looking forward to checking them out. I wrote about them here quite a while ago, but this is my first opportunity to see them live. Du Nord is a classy little venue in SF, and just a few doors down from my favorite bar in the city. We've got a crew going, so that means we'll get to take over a section of the floor, and in a club this small it'll mean we'll own the place.

Of course, truth be told, I'd rather be with James, DM and Tina down in New Orleans at the HOB, hearing the sweet sounds of Tweedy on his acoustic, but a trip like that just wasn't feasible after all our recent travels in SE Asia. There, Fridays didn't matter any more than any other day, and quite often we had no idea what day or date it was. Which was magnificent, of course.

We've still got a buncha hours before the weekend begins, but here's some music from Stanton Moore's new(ish) album to keep you grooving through the day. Click on the 'e-card' and have a listen. I'm definitely picking up this disc ASAP. There's a great Zep cover in there, too.

Another way to kill time is to check out the close-up images of these tiny creatures. There's more of them than us, so watch your back!

To the left is an image Scott took, from the Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Miami, of the Dale Chihuly exhibit. Scott and Laura were there visiting Lu's parents.

Top Chef was great again last night Turns out I just love food. I knew that, but this show has engaged me in a way that I never anticipated. I find myself on Wednesday nights presenting the meal to Lu as though we were in the finest restaurant in all of SF. "This is a delicious cheese, sliced and then placed over tomatoes. The tomatoes are fresh, salted and then delicately peppered via a mill, after which bread is used to envelope the ingredients before being butter and then briskly sauteed in a pan coated with Teflon."

"It's grilled freaking cheese sandwich," she says to me, exasperated. To which I smile and present the dish with a flourish.

Check out this visualization of how various artists have influenced each other.

This here is a 'tag cloud' of Ws State of the Union Speech. The size of the words indicates how frequently he used them.

And lastly, some fun facts about the End of the World.

Alright people, get to work!

I'm becoming increasingly obsessed with the vacation Lu and I just took. I can't get it off my mind, and really do not want to. But it's the random moments that keep appearing as full-formed images just behind my frontal lobe that trickle down through me as a gentle waterfall of spectacular awesomeness that I just can't shake. Clearly, part of me never left those lands. To the right is Ankor Wat, just as the sun is coming up. That was only one of the many incredible moments we were lucky enough to experience.

The problem is that it's just so much to assimilate. To comprehend. There are beautiful instances that simply appear in my mind and I cannot do anything but follow the flavor of the memory and savor the exact instances of perfection that we stumbled upon time after time.

It wasn't all easy. There were so many times on our trip that we disagreed or misunderstood or simply did not want to deal with whatever insane situation was developing around us. But luckily we *always* had each other, and it was a damn good thing. Decisions are often difficult when you are on the side of the world that you are not familiar with. There's different constellations there.

Major slacking on the posting recently. It's because I have a serious problem that only manifests periodically. The fact is, I'm addicted to books. And when I get a book that I like to read, I kinda do it in lieu of everything else. Pile on top of that a crick in my neck that's got my whole skull throbbing, and you've got the recipe for serious, professional slacking. We're talking propped up on the couch with ice on the offending muscle and page after page of written text.

Really, I'm actually sorta reading 2 books at the same time, and it turns out they have quite a bit in common, thematically. The way they are each written could not be more different, though. Against the Day by Pynchon and Quicksilver by Stephenson both take place in a fictionalized version of history, and both deal with the hidden workings of the world. Namely, money, gold, silver and the pursuit of the underlying structures that inform and support the shape of the world as we know it today, as it was developing, then. And best of all, it is pure coincidence that I am reading both of them at the same time.

In accordance with the mathematical ideas alluded to in Quicksilver, I give you pi, visualized, and then a surprising, albeit, seemingly unrelated video that also deals with the mystery of circles.

Early wakeup for work tomorrow. I dread the alarm already.

I'm not sure if any of you know this, but Jack Bauer never retreats, he just attacks in the opposite direction.

Here are Bootie's Best Mashups of 2006.

This is the USA in exactly 4 minutes. (turn down the music if it ain't your thing)

It is also important that we never forget the events of Nov. 22.

And when the bridge starts to resonate, it's time to evacuate.

There is something so comforting and relaxing about a pint of beer on the bar, the NYTimes open before me, Beck on the iPod and the stroll to our apartment a few minutes down the road. Where work is left behind and home is yet to be and it's just me on the stool with all the words I can find and lots of flavor in my glass. I like it, then. It's mine.

The cold snap in CA just won't quit. Last night nearly 75% of the citrus crop was damaged in a deep freeze. I even kept my jacket on while at the movies yesterday, watching Pan's Labyrinth. The reviews on Metacritic do not lie. This film is amazing. It was one of the most compelling, fascinating, challenging and remarkable films I have seen in a long time. Brilliantly subtle and powerful symbolism, shocking images, powerfully realized characters, lush cinematography and a plot that you simply do not see in mainstream American films. Guillermo del Toro is not afraid to punch you right in the eye to achieve his goals. There were some brutal scenes that had everyone in the theater fidgeting and reacting, but the blood and violence served important roles in defining characters and creating the visceral emotions he aimed for. The violence was graphic, but not gratuitous, and that is a fine line to tread. If you enjoy movies that make you think while you squirm, go check it out!

On a lighter note here is a time-lapse of Picasso painting. It is amazing to watch the way he creates, reworks and transforms the painting as he goes. I especially liked the way he takes the portions that are very realistic and then reinvents them in his trademark Cubist style.

Last offerings are pure piracy, via my brother Mike. All the TV shows you could want here. And streaming movies, here. I'm still waiting to see how the TV/film worlds deal with things like BitTorrent, YouTube and all the other video sites out there. It's clear that something has to change, but the final outcome is anyone's guess. It is quite obvious, though, that by and large the music industry has failed to adapt to the changing digital landscape. I'm not optimistic that the producers of moving images will do much better. If anyone has a good answer, please let me know!

Didn't get to post last night 'cause I spent the evening with iDVD putting some clips together for my parents. Clearly the program is rather awesome, but going into it blind and trying to get a DVD together was a little tricky. However, the end result was a finished DVD, and I'm sure that's a whole hell of a lot further than I would have gotten with a PC program. It's amazing the way Apple's stuff just *works*.

To the right we've got an image from the sex district of Paris, via Scott. I'm certain he was only there taking, pictures, though. Also a big congrats to him because he just sold a few of his images to a band for their album art. Nice work man!

It's cold out there today in SF. Perhaps not cold enough to freeze beer, but cold.

Looking forward to seeing this film now that we've got MLK day off. It's a rare thing to see a flick with that high of a rating on metacritic.

Last link today is just plain scary. The Faces of Meth. Mouse-over the images to see how this substance destroys humans.

The iPod selected Marley to start off the day, and the song was absolutely perfect. It's amazing how his music still stands the test of time, and how sometimes, the 'pod just nails it.

Blech. Feeling crappy today. Coughy coldy blah. I even got out of work early today and *didn't* stop off for a pint with the paper. But I'm good at kicking these things, and I anticipate being in fine form for the upcoming Winter Wineland in Healdsburg this weekend. We thought about doing some camping with our new awesome Sierra Design sleeping bags, but with temps like this, we're going to pass.

I almost passed on posting about Blitzen Trapper, but I found myself going back to listen to more of their music. So here it is. Freaky funky folk rock with some pop and sputter. I was also psyched to see that Ropeadope is edging ever closer to opening their digital music label. To tide us over and keep the appetite appropriately whetted, they have put up a sampler page. Enjoy!

This post by David Byrne is very interesting. Quality-of-sound in mp3s and other digital formats has been an ongoing discussion among my friends. Some hate the fact that any quality is lost, whether or not they can even detect it. Others address the issue by only using lossless formats. And still others claim if you can't hear the difference, it really doesn't matter. Byrne has a slightly different take, and it's definitely worth a read.

Tickle Me Elmo in flames? Oh yes. And it's macabre fun. Specially the flailing and insane giggling.

I was also facinated to learn that Google has a new space weapon, and it's damn good thing they do, 'cause lo and behold, Giant Insects are invading. Thanks Google, for protecting us.

Last bit is a little tip for those of you getting rid of old digital photo cards. Make sure to wipe them before you toss or sell them! It's crazy the amount of stuff these people found on cards purchased from EBay. This info could also be of help if you damage a card or erase it by accident.

I read about this story in the NYTimes on Wednesday and I was astounded. You must have heard about it, how Mr. Autrey saved a man's who fell off a subway platform just as the train was coming. Here he is on Letterman recounting the event.

Zoom through this huuuge picture of Boston. Check out the street art of SF. See if this weird online Sopranos repeat game is for you. And for the love of god, have a good Saturday.

This is an interesting music site, where the price of the song increases as it becomes more popular. It starts out free and builds to a buck. Another cool aspect is that there are rewards for the people that recommend songs that gain in popularity.

It was friggin freezing all afternoon. But SF is weird. On the way home just after dusk, it was slightly warmer and much less windy than it was all day. However, at no point in the near future will it be as warm as Brooklyn, NY. 70 in January? Um... yeah, that's freaky. I would suggest to all NYCers that they should take advantage of the nice weather and BBQ, but that might not really help the situation at all.

Going to Borat tonight at the Parkway Speakeasy Movie Theater. Everyone we've talked to about the film immediately goes into a poor Borat impersonation which transforms into them highfiving someone else that has seen the movie and then the two of them wandering off laughing, exchanging quotes and "remember when..."s. That's a good sign. And there's few places better to catch a movie like this than the Parkway.

It's Friday night, so I should be at happy hour, but sometimes you gotta take a Friday off and just kickit for a few hours before heading out into the night. So now it's time to pour a beer and relax as deeply as possible for the next 2 hours. Enjoy your weekends!!

Got a better vibe today! This post/article by our friend Brad about our time in Don Det, Laos really made my day. He captured the unbelievable beauty of those islands, and the sublime joy of the most chill Paradise on the planet, perfectly. I still can't believe we were all there, watching that sun set, night after night. We played a lot of spades and had a lot of fun.

Fun is good. It's my motto this year, just like previous ones. Have more of it, daily, if possible. Also be more nutritious. And safe. Thinking more Funk and more Robot in '07, as well as a healthy helping of fantastic feasts. One week after NYE and there's more good music in the city. Malkmus is at Bimbo's tonight. That's fun. So will poker be on Sat night. I didn't win on Festivus, but the previous game I took home a big pot. Talking with my friend tonight I realized that playing Texas Hold'em is a lot like snowboarding, except typically you don't break anything on the way down. Except, perhaps, your bank account. But neither snowboarding nor poker is fun to play broke.

ALSO, the image below from Scott is updated. Better rez image on this site, and it links to an even BETTER version on his web site. Framed pictures make an amazing gift and I could not recommend a better source of amazing photos suitable for framing than Scott's. If you see something you like, let me know. I can probably get you a good deal!

Feeling a little sour today 'cause I woke up at least once an hour all night last night, for no good reason. As if there's ever a good reason for that, except maybe to check on the wonderous overnight flowering of the magical money tree that I still can't get seeds for. I heard cats yeowling. I heard my neighbors engaging in relations. I heard the sound of my brain thinking and Lu's soft breathing. I had sweat of limbs and a touch of lumbago, and then just before dawn I finally fell deep enough to sleep to dream, and then the alarm woke me up. I couldn't remember what I dreamt but they left me... unsettled. However, I am happy to say that I did not wake up with Mr. Cratchet to the right in my back yard. That was my brother Mark's lucky treat.

At work I learned about 2 programs that are alternatives to Photoshop and Illustrator, and both are free and open source. GIMP is for image manipulation. Inkscape is for layout. As a result of not knowing about those programs and trying to work in Microsoft Suck--I mean Word--I had to redo the document I was working on, thrice. But lessons I have learned. And Inkscape is so much better than Word for this kinda thing, I wonder what the hell I was doing even attempting it with that program.

Fools on the Muni. War in the papers. Shitheads making speeches. Full moon in the sky. Maybe this rain that's just rolling through will soften and cool and cleanse the sour stink of my funky mood.

The image to the right is a photo by Scott, taken inside the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a ceiling designed by Domenech i Montaner. Gorgeous.

I'm looking forward to picking up The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I saw this title on numerous "end of" lists, so I'm going to give it a shot. Sounds like just the kind of thing I enjoy. It is a post-apocalypse tale of a father and son trying to make a go of it in a shattered landscape and civilization. Bring it.

And speaking of post-apocalypse, my good friend Tina is taking a trip down to New Orleans to see Jeff Tweedy perform. That in and of itself is quite awesome, but to make it even better, Tina has been contacting various organizations to see if she can help out. It's been over a year since Katrina, but parts of New Orleans are still in shambles. Here's a few of the organizations she's contacted: Relief Spark, the St. Bernard Project and Emergency Communities. She passed on a few others I'll post up another time, and when Tina gets back I'll make sure to post a full report of her experience down there, both the music and the volunteering!

The start of the new year also brings new laws into effect. Usually it's to tell you what else you can't do, but this one actually relaxes some old regulations. As of January 1, 2007, beer purveyors are allowed to offer 'tastings' of their beverage in bars. I look forward samples at some of the fine breweries here in SF!

Last bit is pure silliness. Brilliant stop-action fun and superb editing in Tony vs. Paul.

Alright, time to find out if the couch is as comfortable as I remember it from yesterday. I spent hours there recovering from NYE debauchery and I made a secret pact with it to love it forever.