An apology to those folks not usine IE and seeing this page all funky or ugly or unusable. Cross-browser compatability checks will come during a time when I'm not too busy to even post...

now you can leave comments, go ahead...

The New York Times, traces the hipster cache of PBR to the Lutz Tavern circa 1999. Talk about getting in on the ground floor.

Yes, I am actually too busy to blog...

I'm not quite sure what to make of Goodwill's new auction site. I suspect it is much like the "collector's corner" in thrift stores where random crap is marked up for no apparent reason. I wonder what Al Hoff, creator of the brilliant zine Thrift Score, has to say.

So I come home last night and as I'm trying to go to the elevator my way is blocked by a bat swooping through the hallway, yes a bat. I of course haul my ass back outside, and call Animal Control. (Best use of cell phone...ever) While I'm waiting other people are going through the lobby as if a bat is nothing to be concerned about. I must be really bothered by bats, I can't remember the last time I had such uncontrollable heebie jeebies. They think they can just open the door and the bat will fly out. Yeah right. They thought I was overreacting when I called Animal Control, but they were glad they came after they realized the bat was just going to fly around and around regardless of wether the door was open or not. Animal Control used stick technology to wack the bat unconscious long enough to flick it outside.

This is not my first encounter with bats in this building. A couple of years ago, there was a bat in my bedroom. I know, while I was sleeping, ewwwwww. The Animal Control Folks who came that time were much more professional, they had special gloves, put the bat in a packing-tube-like bat container, and even gave me a receipt.

Despite the serious heebie jeebies that bats apparently give me, I know that they are an important part of the ecosystem. The Century Plant, which is used to make tequila, is exclusively pollinated by bats. The Bacardi Rum people have devoted themselves to protecting bat habitats. Everyone who can should get a bat house. The more bat habitats and houses there are, the less likely bats are to come into my apartment.

Here's a Harper's type list about my appartment building

1- number of times there has been a fire that was real and trapped me on the upper floors
numerous - number of times there has been a fire alarm and no fire but the firemen had to come anyway to turn off the alarm
1- number of times someone has been stuck in the elevator and the firemen had to come to get him out
2 - number of times I've encountered a bat in the building
2- number of weeks there was no heat during record low temperatures
4 - number of serious water main breaks
82 - number of days before I leave forever.

I'm putting this on the refrigerator as soon as I get home...Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad [via askYahoo]

When I heard of the Ataris' alblum So Long, Astoria, I assumed they were refering to Astoria, Queens, New York. Nope, they are actually huge Goonies fans, they're album has pictures of Astoria, Oregon all over it. I am finding this all very, very weird.

You might be from the Pacific Northwest if...yes it's a bit corny, but as someone who's getting more and more homesick, as the moving date approaches, I appreciated it. It's also good to know that I've passed the Are you ready to move to Portland? quiz with flying colors.

In related news, I've got my ticket to go home aboard the Empire Builder.

Imagine my suprise to see that the Baltimore Sun has a short write-up [scroll down to second item] about the new train service between Portland and Astoria, Oregon. More information from local-er sources can be found here and here.

Here are a couple of collections of labor photograpy. LOST LABOR: Images of Vanished American Workers 1900-1980 is historical. While UNSEENAMERICA consists of contemporary photos taken by the workers themselves.

I went to see the Cowboy Bebop movie last night. Highly recomended.

Yes I know there are some maintence issues I need to deal with, RSS, adding comment, etc. I'll get around to them.

This Sunday the Baltimore Sun ran an article about thrift shopping. It was pretty incoherent, lacking any general thesis. It made the point that in hard times more people are likely to buy used clothing, sell their old clothing for money or both. Wow! What an amazing insight! At the very end, it goes on to assert that there has been a surge in "theme parties" because of the economic down-turn, which was also contributing to an increase in thrift-shopping. Huh?