Surely by now you've seen the coffee mugs being produced which look like Canon lenses?Great—if you are a digital photographer who shoots Canon brand equipment. But, what if you are a Nikon user? No fear, as there are also mugs made to look like Nikon lenses as well. The Nikon versions even have a functional zoom!While these are nice novelties ... [Link]
List posts are all the rage lately in the world of blogging. Not wanting to be one to miss the bus, I've assembled a list post of my own. So here you go—a list post with links to 64 other photography list posts.Crack open a beer and get comfy as you now have 2884+ images to browse though.Update: I've just ... [Link]
Seeking refuge from the Red Plan. The upshot: [Link]
ISD 709? [Link]
I just watched this clip from Hardball. Its gratifying when a journalist, in this case Chris Mathews, makes it clear that his know-it=not smart a** guest, in this case a GOP oriented radio talk show host, doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about. By the way, here’s what Winston Churchill said about “appeasement.” “The word ‘appeasement’ is not popular, ... [Link]
Oof, I stink. I need a shower.Things are pretty much good. My hours at Teavana got majorly cut for this week, so I have the next four days (including today) free. Hopefully I'll be able to hang out with Lioness or Siamese Cat or someone. Thursday is the Apocalyptica concert at First Ave. :) I am very excited. Then I ... [Link]
If there is one title in my collection of photography books which I appreciate more than any other, it would have to be Martin Parr's Small World. The characteristic that sets Small World apart from the others is that it the first photography book I have owned that made me laugh out loud more than a few times.In Small World, ... [Link]
DHG posted on the Penalty Box this morning (and Heisenberg also posted) that tUMD has a new recruit, Kyle Osterberg. Kyle played for Lakeville South, but will now be with the USNTDP. He is a centre, left handed, and Heisenberg has him listed as 5'7, 150. Perhaps his name is actually Kyle Connolly? He will be joining us in 2012. ... [Link]
[Link]
Paul Goosens has sent me a quite rational, if not irrefutable, response to my recent post. Its gratifying to know Paul still checks my blog out: Greetings, Harry I read with interest and continued amusement, your recent post about the plans to build a new school for Edison Charter Schools. I will spare the details of the inaccuracies in your ... [Link]
There is an interesting article about the new Old Faithful Visitor's Center in today's New York Times. The essay also touches on the idea of nature versus managed nature and what the experience of visiting a National Park is like, describes scenes similar to those shown in my last post, and ends with quotes from john Muir. I'll be visiting ... [Link]
I'm sorry, this isn't very nice, but this picture (from the official arena site) is really hilarious.I'm not really sorry, though, because if I was sorry I wouldn't be making fun of it.First of all, that's Al. Were there no photos of Kenny available? He has been in town for a few weeks. Just put the pads on for a ... [Link]
[Link]
I read about a discovery recently concerning water striders those bugs who skate above water. It seems males will make vibrations on the water that attract predators whenever the female striders they mount resist them. Females either submit to the male or face being devoured from below. Internet services offer some less lethal opportunities for sexual aggrandizement. “Anyway, last weekend ... [Link]
My posts have been few and far between recently. Its not for want of topics but rather my inclination to practice grandfathering and read books again. My eight loyal readers know that I’ve been reading the recently published full diary of Anne Frank out loud to my wife this summer. (I obviously haven’t read it every night or we would ... [Link]
I got a call recently from a former Duluth City Councilor asking me about a public notice that the Edison Schools are building a new school up along the Rice Lake Road. Over the years this Councilor has talked to me about Edison because I was on the School Board that invited Edison into town twelve years ago. Charter Schools ... [Link]
Property developers must have their tongues hanging out all over Duluth as they enviously see how readily the City gives in to the School District for Red Plan variance requests. Here’s an email sent by City Councilor Jim Stauber to the City Attorney on that subject. Mr. Johnson, we (the Duluth City Council) have granted numerous variances based upon our ... [Link]
I’m kinda glad that Loren Martell made a stink about the District making its public correspondence, well, public. This one came out with the rubber stamp notation “spindled” on it. I’ve retyped it. • SPINDLED LETTER RECEIVED AUG 26 2010 OFFiCEOF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS Mr. Grover, Board Chair: I live just slightly west of your district, but everything you’ve ... [Link]
I heard a great quote the other day that went something like this: "Every artist has influences. It is the artist's duty to transform and transcend them." (William Styron)One hallmark of the modern era in art is its insistence on originality. Each of us is instructed to find our own voice, to create "authentic" work that is truly our own ... [Link]
40 days!!! Only 40 days to go!!! Are we going to make it??? I don't know. I guess we've still got baseball, Vikings football, and UMD football (who won 35-10 yesterday, yeah!)Last year I posted for 40 days straight leading up to the season. That's not going to happen this year. I am busy working on my WCHA Fantasy Hockey ... [Link]
Sitting here late night, with a well lubricated brain, checking religiously from time to time via “Peak Timing” for updates on how my buddies and heroes, including Dave Schuneman, Chris Schotz, Charly Tri and Dan Dittmer, are fairing in the Salsa 24 hours @ Afton…I am struck with the absurdity of it all…and how I will be in the same ... [Link]
Thirty years ago there were about 8,000 known asteroids. Today there are over half a million known asteroids. One fellow has been plotting their orbits and has put them on a three minute video. More here: half a million asteroids [Link]
Imagine that you have been invited to a huge party, and when you get there everyone is a somebody... a Somebody in the history of pop music. Who do you talk to first? Do you walk around looking for your favorites first? Or do you just saunter around talking with whoever you run into next?That's what it's like to pick ... [Link]
A roadside beauty--I think it's Western Monkshood. If I'm wrong, it's probably some variety of larkspur. Either way, toxic beauty has always been the most appealing kind to me.Afternoon downpours cut short our travels yesterday, but I did get to visit several places I hadn't stopped at previously. After brief stops at Obsidian Cliff and Roaring Mountain, we headed to ... [Link]
It's amazing how we can judge the fuck out of the actions of someone we hate, but turn a blind eye when a dear friend commits an identical crime. I'm so much more willing to accept simple human weaknesses from someone I like. [Link]
LOS ANGELES -- I like when I'm doing something that, when described, has a certain Wacky Mad Lib-bedness to it. For instance, last night we:Watched a silent movie with a glo-fi soundtrack in the parking lot of a grocery store. I suppose that this has the same effect:Sang live band karaoke with Chainsaw from Summer School on bass. I suppose ... [Link]
Time magazine called billionaire Steve Wynn one of the world's 100 most influential people. Certainly having suitcases full of money gives one a fair measure of leverage in circles of power, and even though the troubled economy reduced his net worth by half he still remains in the billionaire league.You can't go to Las Vegas without seeing Wynn fingerprints everywhere. ... [Link]
System Information for node1 System Date : Sat Aug 28 03:21:18 2010 UTCMachine Address : 192.168.100.10 Machine OS : Linux Kernel : 2.6.18-194.11.1.el5 Linux Distribution : CentOS release 5.5 (Final) CPU Name : AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T Processor CPU Type : x86_64 CPU Instructions : istanbul CPU Speed (MHz) : 3314.652 System Memory : 2009 MbHyper-Threading : Off EMS.cshrc ... [Link]
The sky is dimming, Ben Webster's breathy sax blows in my ears, and a bit of end of the year melancholy stirs in my soul. I tried to go for an evening stroll earlier but elk were all over an area where I sit to watch the world, and people were standing on the little bridge where I stand to ... [Link]
Hey, remember when I was all "No more sad books! Sad books are bad!" I hope you didn't take me seriously.I just finished Christopher Isherwood's "A Single Man" and let me tell you, it was an all-out sadness bender. The best analogy I can make is that the opening pages were like getting hit with a lead slug. The sense ... [Link]
Monday, 1:52 P.M.: Report of the theft of a toilet paper dispenser from the wayside in Glidden.Wednesday, 11:34 A.M.: Report of subject hiding in bushes. Update: Subject said he was just resting under some trees.Thursday, 1:08 P.M.: Caller reported a reckless driver on U.S. 2 near Iron River. Officer stopped vehicle driven by an elderly man who was confused about ... [Link]
[Link]
1. The Muppet Show, while classic, would've been even better without a laugh track.2. This makes me wonder if the SNL writers of the late 80s watched a lot of The Muppet Show when they were growing up. [Link]
STATESVILLE, NC (WBTV) - A man who was with about a dozen people who were looking for a legendary “ghost train” in Iredell County was hit by a locomotive and killed early Friday morning. There’s a lesson in here somewhere… [Link]
LOS ANGELES -- I won't be able to do LA: Day 2 any justice until Chuck uploads the video, but suffice to say: Once you perform live band karaoke with the guy who played Chainsaw in Summer School on bass, you might not ever be able to go back to that soloist with a single microphone and a badly pixelated ... [Link]
I remember once when I was a teen in New Jersey watching a neighbor pounding a metal stake into the ground with hammer at dusk. The interesting part was that I was several houses away and that when the hammer hit, I would see the sparks, but the sound came a couple seconds after. This delay made an impression on ... [Link]
We are the Rude GMO Critics, bitches. [Link]
Recently, Minnesota Monthly ran a small shout-out to Lucia Watson, the chef celebrating the 25th anniversay of her restaurant Lucia's. I liked what she had to say so much I cut it out, framed it and put it in my kitchen: "Food should be: balanced, clean and simple."In case you haven't picked up on this, I can be about as ... [Link]
[Link]
SAME, Ecuador The earthquake shook me awake in the early morning. The bed was trembling as though we were sleeping on a vibrating model, and it was just fed a quarter. Half-asleep, I rubbed my eyes to shake the daze. Where am I? ….. OK, I know this for sure. … I’m at a hostel in Ecuador on the Pacific ... [Link]
This is probably going to be the most controversial opinion I ever put on here, but no one who would find it controversial actually reads RWD. Since there is nothing going on in the NHL this off-season (at least nothing interesting), bloggers are getting the vapors over the inequity between traditional sportswriters and themselves. Because bloggers are SERIOUS JOURNALISTES!!111!!, yo.But, ... [Link]
THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS FROM RICKY DEFOE, CO-CHAIR OF THE DULUTH AMERICAN INDIAN COMMISSION: Memorial Gathering for Tony LaDeaux, who passed away on August 25, 2009: Peach Church 1111 North 11th Avenue East, Duluth Sunday, August 29, 2010 5:00 p.m. Hope to see you there to support the family. Ricky DeFoe [Link]
Dr Ben Carter, from the University of Liverpool, presented his research on dry water at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston. He said: ‘’There’s nothing else quite like it. Hopefully, we may see dry water making waves in the future.'’ Dr. Carter, you crack me up. This story reminds me of the line by comedian ... [Link]
Make sure you're keeping up with Drew Wheelan's blog. He's finding a lot of shorebirds right now. Gulf Coast Oil Spill [Link]
I've recently been reading a book about the Conquistadors, with its focus specifically on how Hernan Cortez conquered the Montezuma and the Aztecs. It is an almost unbelievable account of how an army of hundreds brought down the most powerful empire of what is now called Central America. The population of Tenochtitlan, the island city at the center of the ... [Link]
I'm not sure how this happened, but over the past few days I've become obsessed with cleaning my bathroom. I am realizing with growing horror, however, that this is a task that may have no finish line. Also, the entire situation has taken on far, far too much meaning, which always creates a fun and scary situation.My bathroom was never ... [Link]
[Link]
Dr. Dixon is pleased they can find a good education elsewhere. Lamentable quotes. “[Dr. Dixon] knows that parents are looking for stability right now but says that the public school system won’t be able to offer that for at least the next couple of years.” “Over all enrollment at private schools in Minnesota has remained stable, Denny. That makes Duluth ... [Link]
Mockingjay is book three in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. If you have not read the second book, stop reading this post and pick up a copy because what I write in the next paragraph will spoil book 2, Catching Fire. If you haven’t yet read the first book, The Hunger Games, I [...] [Link]
LOS ANGELES -- The mayor of Inappropriate-ville is sitting across from me on a flight from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City (1). After a brief interaction with a tot before we boarded the plane, she finds herself seated next to the child's father, while the child and her mother watch a Disney princess movie in the seats behind me. The ... [Link]