Archives: October 01, 2004

It's as hard as managing them in real life

Sunday, 31 October 2004 04:16 PM

A hypnotizing diversion: The Enchanted Maze Garden, which asks you to "[h]elp Business, Design, and Technology converge on each of their goals simultaneously."

(Via Fark.)

And yet I can't remember how "schadenfreude" came into the conversation

Friday, 29 October 2004 11:00 PM

Did we have a swell time at yesterday's Pittsburgh BlogFest? Indeed we did!

The MeetUp.com phenomenon was explained to those not in the know by others more intimately familiar with it. We learned about a new blog launched that very day. We lamented the unexplained disappearance of certain well-loved comedy albums.

New art exhibitions were heralded; politics were intelligently discussed; recent art blog wars were mentioned but tabled for later discussion.

Specially cultivated apples were distributed and eaten.

A tired but happy baseball fan attempted to set us up as her husband's "internet girlfriend" (a proposal we are still considering). Insider scoops on Pittsburgh's entertainment venues were shared. Special by-popular-demand postings with photos were promised for the next day (and then delivered!).

There was a notable amount of live knitting and display of funky yarns. We discovered that one can learn knitting by reading about it on the Internet.

And importantly, various thoughtful and clever ideas for organizing the proposed directory of Pittsburgh-area blogs were suggested. (We hope to have some useful bits running soon ... details to come.)

And a significant moment of personal growth: Ever since I first read the word schadenfreude, I have mispronounced it. BlogFest attendees sprang to my aid, and I now have at least a 50/50 chance of saying the word almost correctly. Thanks, BlogFest!

Many absent blogs were missed, and mentioned with fondness. Regrettably, no local sports blogs were represented at the event. We speculated they might have been thrown by the prominent mention of knitting in announcements. We hope they'll overcome their concerns in time for our next BlogFest.

Which, with any luck, will be soon.

I'm your other mother

Friday, 29 October 2004 07:25 PM

Three Italian film students have, as a class project, created a "trailer" for Neil Gaiman's wonderful book Coraline. You can view it online.

Skål

Thursday, 28 October 2004 11:19 AM

Students: Do you believe in working hard but also playing hard? Norway is your kind of place.

"One out of five students at the University of Oslo has developed health ailments related to their study conditions." Coincidentally, "[r]oughly half of [the pre-university students in Oslo who were] surveyed feel that they are not sufficiently challenged by their schoolwork, and even those having trouble feel the same."

"One in three male Oslo university students drink dangerously high levels and eight percent drink enough to cause immediate damage." An expert there on youth and intoxicant use thinks it's fine as long as they drink less once they graduate. Oh, and also, "Byåsen Trade College in Trondheim has applied for a license to serve beer, wine and spirits."

Tangential, and disturbing: "Dutch police in Eindhoven now believe that a doctor working in Oslo may have disposed of his wife's remains using acid."

(Link #2 from Fark.)

I've been to Norway a few times for work, and I confess that at no time did I see hordes of drunken students with noses in textbooks, nor murderous doctors with acid.

Rather, I found it to be a starkly beautiful, quiet place. The town I visited was Bergen, along the coast. I travelled there in spring and summer, so I valued that the heavy curtains in my hotel room blocked out light so I could sleep. I was served salmon with every meal, including odd toothpaste-style tubes of salmon spread at breakfast and lunch. The electrical current in the hotel caused my travel hairdryer to melt slightly. (The hairdryer still works though.)

The oddest part -- aside from my halting interactions with my Norwegian colleagues, who spoke English perfectly and yet seemed unable to understand my views on our company and ideal business strategy, just as I couldn't figure out how they thought the business should run, all of which led to my eventually burning out and resigning and dropping out of the dotcom world altogether, not that I'm bitter or anything -- the oddest part of Norway, as I was saying, was that the are no Norwegian restaurants. I wanted to try authentic, local food, but all my colleagues could offer was Italian, Chinese, German, Mexican, American.... Even when pressed, they couldn't name any traditional or regional dishes.

But, they all liked beer and I did too. So we had a company party at a high-end pizza joint, toasted a new spirit of cross-cultural collaboration, and went back to work the next morning to continue chipping away at the company's shareholder value.

Reverse the curse

Thursday, 28 October 2004 09:20 AM

Are we done with baseball finally? It seems to stick around longer with each passing year. But now that one curse has been broken, we can set our sights on another: the trend of the Washington Redskins home game predicting the winner of the presidential election.

Since the Redskins became the Redskins in 1933, the result of the team's final home game before the presidential election has correctly predicted the White House winner. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins. If they lose, the incumbent party is ousted.

The statistical anomaly puts some of the players in a quandary, including Washington cornerback Fred Smoot:

"We've got to win this game no doubt, but I'm hoping John Kerry can kind of reverse the curse," Smoot said. "I'm wishing him luck, man. This is the millennium for all trends to be broken."

Side note: You gotta like a guy named "Smoot."

UPDATE: Oh hey, and while we're record-breaking, let's put an end to this New England Patriots' winning streak, shall we? It would be for the best for everyone: With the Red Sox winning the World Series, New England fans can't handle too much more joy.

You like long walks on the beach too?

Tuesday, 26 October 2004 03:37 PM

Another one of my entrepreneurial ideas has been taken: PersonalsTrainer offers to fix your personal ad so you sound more like you than you can manage yourself.

However, the lead example offered on the home page is less than reassuring. The "before" is definitely all kinds of wrong ("I have a nice personality. I have 2 cats & I like to go to restaurants."). But the "after" also leaves much to be desired ("I'm a mix between Mother Teresa & Britney Spears...."). Even assuming they mean the pre-2004, non-redneck Britney, would any right-thinking male want a combination of very-holy-but-wizened, chastity-vowed aid-giver and bleached, over-makeupped and under-dressed lip-syncher?

Actually, if you averaged out their wardrobes and hemlines, you might have a nice knee-length pencil skirt in an attractive shade of plum.

The big improvement is in the example photograph. Which, come to think of it, is the only part of the ad most men will look at. So maybe PersonalsTrainer.com is on to something after all.

(Link via Gawker.)

This post removed

Monday, 25 October 2004 10:06 AM

I've had to remove this entry. Sorry.

Gripping stories that happen to be true

Sunday, 24 October 2004 04:55 PM

An event you won't want to miss: 412: The Pittsburgh Creative Nonfiction Literary Festival.

I'll be part of a panel discussion Sunday morning, talking about online publications. Both Inkburns and Fat Plum will have items available in the Media Fair over the weekend, so stop in and see us!

From the webpage:

412: The Pittsburgh Creative Nonfiction Literary Festival
For Readers, Writers & Publishers
Featuring John Edgar Wideman, Richard Nash, the 412 Media Fair and More
November 12-14, 2004

WHAT IS 412?
The First Annual Pittsburgh Creative Nonfiction Literary Festival

412 is a week of readings, lectures, parties and workshops featuring literary Pittsburgh, from colleges and universities to city magazines and newspapers to indie and online publications.

412 expands the local audience and introduces new publishing projects that represent the future of Pittsburgh and creative nonfiction.

412 showcases Pittsburgh's great writers, independent publishers and venues.

412 encourages locals to support local literary initiatives by volunteering, attending events and submitting their work.

412 is the place where students, teachers, authors and readers converge in an atmosphere of creativity, optimism and celebration of Pittsburgh's unique place in the literary world.

Creative nonfiction is shorthand for an exciting genre that encompasses the hard-hitting honesty of journalism and the dramatic techniques of fiction. Creative nonfiction is no oxymoron; it’s gripping stories that happen to be true.

In addition to the presentations and media fair over the weekend, 412 is sponsoring a variety of parties and gatherings the whole week leading up to it, culminating in a book party on Friday, November 12.

Full details can be found here. I hope to see you there!

Wheels within wheels

Sunday, 24 October 2004 04:25 PM

If for some reason you choose not to attend the Pittsburgh BlogFest, you can instead see Jonathan Lethem read American Shorts Reading Series.

According to the website, "Although Lethem’s latest foray into the literary world, a short story collection entitled 'Men and Cartoons', will not hit stores until November, Lethem has agreed to give us a preview. In addition to discussing his fiction, Lethem will speak about his work as a writer/critic for The New Yorker and other periodicals. A question and answer session with the author will be followed by a book signing in the Lecture Hall."

Let's get small

Thursday, 21 October 2004 05:58 PM

Of the Google searches by which people find this site, the one that pleases me most is "electric dog polisher." We have thus far mentioned such a thing only once and yet we're currently in the top 10 sites using it -- score!

The phrase, or at least our use of it, is of course from Steve Martin's very funny album Let's Get Small. Here's the bit in which it features:

I'm into bread. I love money, I love everything about money, I love to eat it. Money.

They say you can't take it with you? I'm taking it with me.

I'm into bread. I love bread.

I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. I got a fur sink. Oh, let's see.... Electric dog polisher, that was a good one. Gasoline-powered turtleneck sweater.

And of course I've bought some dumb stuff too.

While it's funny on paper, his delivery improves it immensely. If you haven't heard this album, or haven't listened to it in years, do check it out. The album is available via iTunes, but most unfortunately "Let's Get Small" is the only track omitted. Hunt down the CD or, better yet, find someone with the original LP and a working record player. You may even find some leftover traces of ... let's call them "enhancing substances" in the seams and cracks of the album cover. A true relic of the 80s!

An interesting tidbit: On January 9, 1979, well before Wal-Mart became the powerhouse retailer/censor on the block, K-Mart pulled Steve Martin's "Let's Get Small" from the shelves for being in "bad taste."

Drinks of the week: Blue Denim and Dimond Fizz

Thursday, 21 October 2004 05:38 PM

Tomorrow is Denim and Diamonds, a fund-raising event held yearly at the Butler Country Club. It features a big raffle, the prize for which is a Mercedes. My parents won one year and have come close to winning again since, so they buy tickets to be in the running. But they never attend. I'll be attending in their place, schmoozing with folks and eating the free food, doing my best impressions from Fletch and Caddyshack.

Blue Denim

Ingredients:
2.0 dashes Angostura Bitters
1.0 dash Blue Curacao
0.5 oz. Bourbon
0.5 oz. Dry Vermouth

Fill a mixing glass with ice and add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a glass filled with ice.

Diamond Fizz

Ingredients:
1.0 chilled Champagne
1.5 oz. Gin
0.5 each Lemon juice
1.0 tsp. powdered Sugar

Fill a mixing glass with ice and add gin, lemon juice, and sugar. Shake and strain into a large glass and add ice. Finish off with champagne.

(Both recipes from idrink.com.)

Big Ben's blog

Monday, 18 October 2004 01:02 PM

Ooh! ooh! More Steelers goodness! Ben Roethlisberger has a blog:

I never wanted to play at the expense of someone getting hurt, especially when he is as great of a guy as Tommy is. But I knew I had to be ready when the team needed me, and I am trying my hardest to fill in well for Tommy and just win football games. These games have been a lot of fun (obviously it's always more fun when you win!) I definitely need to take some time here to thank my teammates for everything they do. They are making my job so much easier, and they really are the ones doing all the hard work.

It looks like he started it just after being drafted. So far he hasn't been consistent with updates, but the quote above is from last Friday. I don't expect we'll see any starling revelations here -- there will be lots of "I'm just grateful to be here" and "I only want to do my job as best I can" and "there's really no competition between Tommy and me, he's a great guy and I wish him well, whatever Coach Cowher says we'll do" -- but I'll be checking it faithfully all the same.

Hey, maybe Ben will come to the Pittsburgh BlogFest!

(Many thanks to Exit Stage Left for pointing out the new Pgh blog.)

Football's version of the Zapruder film

Monday, 18 October 2004 11:19 AM

After yesterday's exciting win over Dallas, with rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger becoming the first Steelers QB to win in Dallas since 1982, it would seem Steelers fans couldn't be happier.

But the good news keeps coming. Physics shows that the officials' ruling on the field regarding the Immaculate Reception was correct:

Fetkovich, an emeritus professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University, certainly believes in Newton, the English mathematician who formulated the laws of gravity and motion three centuries ago. But the die-hard Steelers fan had long suspected game officials might have blown the call on the most famous play in football.

"For a long time, I believed that the Steelers stole one," he said of that Dec. 23, 1972, playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders.

His mind began to change almost seven years ago, however, when a New York Daily News sportswriter, Hank Gola, sent him a tape of the play and asked him to analyze it for a story marking the play's 25th anniversary.

He didn't have much time before Gola's deadline. But when he closely watched the NFL Films tape, he thought he could make a strong case using the laws of physics that Terry Bradshaw's desperation pass had bounced off Raider free safety Jack Tatum before landing in the hands of Steelers running back Franco Harris. Harris would run the ball in for the winning touchdown.

Even after Gola filed his story, Fetkovich remained fascinated and kept studying the play. He even did some experiments by bouncing a football off the wall of his O'Hara garage. Again, the evidence convinced him that the ball had bounced off Tatum ---- the call on the field ---- and not off Steelers running back Frenchy Fuqua, which would have made Harris' catch illegal under NFL rules at the time.

"It's absolutely clear in my mind that the correct call was made," he said last week.

And then it turns out that all the experiments weren't necessary anyway. From the addendum to the above article:

Both Gay and Fetkovich studied the Immaculate Reception using the familiar, if incomplete, version by NFL Films. But readers of the Oct. 4 article about Gay's book, such as Vince Palamara of Mt. Lebanon, noted that NBC's superior video of the 1972 playoff game was replayed during the telecast of the 1998 AFC Championship game.

The replay generated little comment in most newspapers, but Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News called it "football's version of the Zapruder film," noting it clearly showed the ball hitting Tatum.

(The October 4 article is also available online.)

Drink of the week: Vampire

Thursday, 14 October 2004 12:25 PM

Tonight I'll attend the Butler Little Theatre's production of Dracula, and afterwards I'll bring friends back to my piano lounge for cocktails. I expect we'll need something strong (dare I say 'biting'?) to recover from the show. Here's what I'll serve:

Vampire

1 part Raspberry Liqueur
1 part Vodka
1 part Cranberry Juice
1 part Lime Juice

Shake everything with ice; strain into a cocktail glass.

(Drink recipe courtesy of DrinkNation.)

Pittsburgh bloggers, unite! In person!

Wednesday, 13 October 2004 10:17 PM

If you are within 60 or so miles of the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to form the Ohio, and you have a blog or read blogs (you know who you are: you're reading this), please take note:

We are planning an event that you must attend.

WHAT: Pittsburgh Blogfest
WHEN: Thursday, October 28, 5:30 - 9:30 pm and later
WHERE: Finnegan's Wake (near PNC Park, 20 General Robinson St., North Shore, 412-325-2601), in the Pub Room
WHO: You
AND: Inner Bitch, Creating Text(iles), Grabass, My Brilliant Mistakes, many more
WHY: We seem to have so much in common. We should meet.
AND ALSO: We want to create a Great Directory of Pittsburgh Blogs, and this will be a nice way to kick it off.

We meet, talk, laugh, cry, eat, drink, complain about comment spam, compare sad tales of long and wonderful entries we've written that were lost to the ether when we tried to post, eat and drink some more.... It'll be great fun. And there will be Live Knitting.

We know there have been other, previous blog events in the area, and we hope to build upon them. There now seems to be a critical mass of blogs here. Let's have fun.

Please RSVP so we can warn the nice people at Finnegan's Wake how many blogging types to expect. Send an email to blogfest at closkey dot com. (We're still working out the domain name for the Great Directory.)

See you there.

If you torture the data long enough, Nature will confess

Tuesday, 12 October 2004 09:02 PM

I promise the political content of this site will soon return to its usual, low level. (Certainly by November 3.) But now that we've learned for whom novelists will be voting, perhaps we should also consider who is favored by economists ... or at least who they believe would do a better job managing the U.S. economy.

Would John Kerry or George Bush do a better job stewarding America's economy? Judging by the polls, voters are not sure. Within the past couple of months both candidates have had narrow leads on the issue. Ask economics professors, however, and you get a clearer answer.

In an informal poll of 100 academics, conducted by The Economist, Mr Bush's policies win low marks. More than 70% of the 56 professors who responded to our survey rate Mr Bush's first-term economic policies as bad or very bad. Fewer than 20% give positive marks to Mr Bush's second-term economic agenda, and almost six out of ten disapproved. Mr Kerry hardly got rave reviews either, but his economic plan still fared better than the president's did. In all, four out of ten professors rated Mr Kerry's economic plan as good or very good, but 27% gave it negative scores.

Running in the cold? So much of the suck.

Tuesday, 12 October 2004 08:38 PM

NIKE dips a toe into viral marketing: please enjoy these odd little Flash cartoons promoting NIKE Sphere products. So bad they're good!

They remind me of the stuff by OddTodd. A lot. Either he's finally found himself a job, or he's very easy to imitate.

Also, his wife is hot hot hot

Tuesday, 12 October 2004 11:07 AM

Forget the soccer moms and NASCAR dads: Who is winning the novelists' votes?

Lorrie Moore
Are there really any novelists voting for Bush? I am tempted, since my vote is almost always bad luck, its recipients almost always losing.

(Link via The Morning News.)

Three hours with Baby Mamet

Tuesday, 12 October 2004 10:26 AM

Good reading elsewhere: Skot at Izzle pfaff! shares memories of role-playing for cash in college, acting like as a hostage taker to give policemen practice in negotiation:

I was quite free to invent a vivid past for my bad guy, as well as any motive I might have for the "kidnapping," up to and including batshit craziness; similarly, M., the victim, and I were free to invent any relationship that might exist in our predicament, if any. What did need to happen was that (1) in the course of our chats, I was to make at least one completely unreasonable demand, and (2) that eventually M. should begin to exhibit symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome, the famous psychological effect of the victim beginning to sympathize more and more with the captor. The rest was up to us. "You can kill her if you think they're doing a bad job," said the fellow mildly. I cheerfully turned to M. and informed that the moment we got into the room I was going to beat her to death with an ashtray and take her forty bucks.

(Many thanks to Creating Text(iles) for pointing out this fine, fine thing.)

And in a way I'm yearning

Saturday, 09 October 2004 02:27 PM

Nick Cave... dark and creepy. You're a bi-polar
genius, with equal passion for the most
degrading aspects of humanity, as well as the
beauty & wonder of God and Heaven.


Which fucked-up genius composer are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Although ironically I'm not at all a fan.

(Link thanks to Syntax of Things.)

Queen for a day

Friday, 08 October 2004 06:00 AM

Today is my birthday. I like to treat myself on my birthday; perhaps I'll make a King Friday/Queen Saturday crown like my sister Laura and I used to wear.

Gosh, we were cute.

(Lest I get too nostalgic for my younger days, there's plenty of evidence that it wasn't all so pretty.)

The secret is the bun

Thursday, 07 October 2004 11:37 AM

Having been born in Philadelphia, I know the folks there are particularly about their cheesesteaks. And this example violates every cheesesteak rule I've ever heard.

But being as it's lunchtime, that sandwich looks tasty to me right now.

"Not voting is like always letting a man pick your drink...."

Monday, 04 October 2004 11:21 AM

Getting single gals out of the bars and spas and into voting booths: Carrie the Vote:

Carriethevote.com seeks to draw and attract a single unmarried female audience that has never voted before. Since unmarried women have traditionally been brushed aside in politics for the “Nascar Dad”, or the “Soccer Mom", this website hopes to build critical mass by informing this huge demographic of their voting power.

CTV mainly seeks to a wake up call to let women know how voting makes them fabulous. There are plenty of websites that can expertly inform voters about women’s the election issues, and so CTV prefers to leave these serious matters to them. In fact, for the sophisticated woman in the know about political issues affecting women who no doubt votes, CTV may be a bit of a bore. CTV simply offers an easy breezy general guide to introduce the non-voter on how to incorporate voting into one's life.

Carriethevote.com came to life after new research about the absence of single unmarried female voters during American elections. In developing the content and design of CTV, several women’s groups were consulted about creating a sassy Sex and the City type satire that relates to the unmarried single female voter. Also, women, who have and have not voted before, were polled on the street to ask what would get their attention and what approach would get them to start thinking about voting.

I've never watched Sex and the City and had already registered to vote before I learned it would make me FABULOUS. But if you sign up for the raffle, tell 'em you were referred by me (use the address "mail (at) closkey.com"). I can always use a new pair of high-heeled shoes.

In other tongue-in-cheek humor, Sylvia explains why you should vote.

Still looking for a campaign website that reflects your views? Check out Kerry Haters for Kerry.

They've got my vote!

Make it rain

Friday, 01 October 2004 09:51 AM

For other Tom Waits fans without TVs and/or cable: his performance of "Make It Rain" on Letterman, plus the matching interview, posted by I'm Just Saying (to whom I'm personally very grateful).

(Link via the ailing Syntax of Things.)

Copyright © 2004 – 2007 Cynthia Closkey