Oh, to be young again...

I ran across this at work, really. Apparently there are some super enterprising parents out there. There's a website, of course, where one can actually
put your daughter up for auctionto be married and make a killing ranging from roughly 6 grand to 100 grand. And whose idea was it to stamp a gaudy yellow engaged on their forehead? No dignity can be found in the, um, ad placement Miss $5,995 right next to Miss $79,995. I want to know more about who proposes to these girls. Finally, why oh why must the bride prices end in ...995? Must be a science to bride price marketing that we are not privy to; probably the same clever folks that gave us goofy car prices and that damn $19.95..but I digress. I know I shouldn't throw stones ;) but....




Marissa's parents don't sound too supportive:

Marissa likes to put on airs and thinks she’s better than all of us here and who knows maybe she’s right. She’s looking for a smart, sophisticated man who knows “art” and “culture” and “style” and who can understand her better than we can.

*K

Austin E. Cox

I have been playing way too much chess lately and had an excellent win this past weekend. Note my latest obsession, 1963 Austin E. Cox Chess Set for Austin Enterprises. Extruded Aluminum. * K

used cars

This may have a particular resonance for J, but can be enjoyed by all.
Happy Friday... *L

Baby Chickens!

Last night I watched the movie Baraka. There are many intellegent and thoughtful things I could say about this film, but intstead I am going to focus on the most awesome part of the movie: the part when baby chickens are everywhere. If you haven't seen this fine film, I highly recommend it. It shows thousands of baby chickens being tagged and sorted and chucked down chutes. They are so farking cute I could start freaking out right now at the thought of it. I am thiiiiiiiis close to running away and getting a job in a chicken factory so I can be the lucky duck to sort the baby chickens. I would probably get fired though, because I would simply NOT be able to stop myself from shoving 2, 3, even 4 baby chickens in my mouth at regular intervals. I suppose this sort of behavior renders a hairnet and gloves unnecessary. I love baby chickens! I want to smear them all over my body! I want to go down the chute with the baby chickens

and be a baby chicken too! sigh. j

synthetics

I'm wondering what you two think about this controversial figure & his work. No, not my Governator, but Craig Venter. His TED talk is pretty damn fascinating, but naturally brings up some thorny issues. If you don't have time for the 32 minute lecture and Q&A, there's Stephen Colbert's 6 minute interview that somehow covers most of the same major points.

I mean, fourth generation fuels made from CO2? One can't help but get excited by the possibility, the whole saving-of-humanity-from-inevitable-destruction thing, but there's a catch. And oh, what a catch. (And I guess if you're J, you might not really get as excited about saving humanity anyway.)

And in case you both missed it somehow, The 6th Day was about cloning, and yes, there were 2 Arnies, and yes, he got to use the "go fuck yourself" joke on a fellow cloned person twice in the course of the same movie.

*L

Stolen from blog: Stuff White People Like #82

This really made me laugh. So i'm sharing it with you. For full website see: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/82-hating-corporations/
j

One of the more popular white person activities of the past fifteen years is attempting to educate others on the evils of multi-national corporations. White people love nothing more than explaining to you how Wal*Mart, McDonalds, Microsoft, Halliburton are destroying the Earth’s culture and resources.

While the growth of multi-national corporations can be attributed to a number of complex social, economic and political factors, many white people prefer to take the word of two trusted sources: No Logo and AdBusters.

Published in 2000, No Logo has been responsible for more white person “enlightenment” than any book since the burning of the library at Alexandria. By reading this one magic book, white people are able to get a full grasp on the evils of multi-national corporations and then regurgitate it to friends and family.

Advanced white people will supplement No Logo with a subscription to AdBusters, where they will learn how to subvert corporate culture and return it to the masses. Specifically, this means taking ads and redoing them to give a negative message about a product. Apparently the belief is that when other people see this ad, they will be hit with an epiphany that their entire existence has been a Matrix-style manufactured universe.

If you plan to engage in lengthy conversations or get high with white people it is recommended that you read No Logo or one issue of AdBusters. Failing that, it is acceptable to buy a copy to leave on your coffee table. When white people see it, they will recognize you as someone who can see through the advertising and has a proper perspective on life.

adb_cover.jpgWhen engaging in a conversation about corporate evils it is important to NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as the companies mentioned earlier. White people prefer to hate corporations that don’t make stuff that they like.

Following these simple steps can help you gain the trust and respect of white people in a relatively short period of time

Yum

I saw this yesterday at a grocery store. The label says "as is"- eeew. * k

NY Post Post

I miss the outlandish NY Post headlines. The bizarre fodder for the office stories and doctored photos that made me pony up a quarter, then gave me a toothache. * k