It's true, what they say about riding a bike; one never really forgets. What a sight I must have seemed! Rolling along on the engine red bike of a 12 year-old, laughing maniacally, my 1950's dress riding up my legs, on my head a constricting lime green bejeweled helmet I've not donned since the 5th grade when I last rode. God, I felt free! And I needn't any nostalgia to know that this will be the summer of my life, at least thus far, and it's hardly over!
- Mood:
jubilant
Japanese fishermen brace for giant jellyfish
http://tinyurl.com/ns6wam
Nomura's jellyfish seen in Sea of Japan for third year since 2005
Species can grow 6 feet (1.83 meters) in diameter, 450 pounds (204 kilos)
Tears in expensive nets can devastate communities
http://tinyurl.com/ns6wam
Nomura's jellyfish seen in Sea of Japan for third year since 2005
Species can grow 6 feet (1.83 meters) in diameter, 450 pounds (204 kilos)
Tears in expensive nets can devastate communities
My bones are aching with love. I feel like it's finally okay to be me. I'm coming to terms with the past and the present to find who I am today. It's okay to change. I also think I'm a relatively good camper for someone with moderate OCD.
- Music:Sun Kil Moon
enthralledPosted every Saturday.
Click the song titles to watch the music videos or hear the audio version.
Then hit "Go Back" to return to the chart.
Here's this week's Top Ten for the week ending July 18, 2009:
1. Paparazzi - Lady Gaga (1st week at #1)
2. Laughing With - Regina Spektor
3. All To Myself - Marianas Trench
4. Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5. Teardrops On My Telephone - Hunx & His Punx
6. Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs *NEW*
7. Danny - Younger Lovers
8. Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson **Re-entry**
9. LoveGame - Lady Gaga *NEW*
10. (Wan Dat) Azz Iz - Johnny Dangerous
Dropped from last week's chart:
Cruising - Hunx & His Punx
Man Hamoon Iranam - Googoosh
Everybody Everybody - Cyon Flare
Top Album:
Far - Regina Spektor (2nd week at #1)
( More!! )
Click the song titles to watch the music videos or hear the audio version.
Then hit "Go Back" to return to the chart.
Here's this week's Top Ten for the week ending July 18, 2009:
1. Paparazzi - Lady Gaga (1st week at #1)
2. Laughing With - Regina Spektor
3. All To Myself - Marianas Trench
4. Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5. Teardrops On My Telephone - Hunx & His Punx
6. Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs *NEW*
7. Danny - Younger Lovers
8. Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson **Re-entry**
9. LoveGame - Lady Gaga *NEW*
10. (Wan Dat) Azz Iz - Johnny Dangerous
Dropped from last week's chart:
Cruising - Hunx & His Punx
Man Hamoon Iranam - Googoosh
Everybody Everybody - Cyon Flare
Top Album:
Far - Regina Spektor (2nd week at #1)
( More!! )
This ad campaign from Levi's kinda sums up my philosophy of late. After some down times recently, i'm back in a determined mode to create my own happiness, not dwell on the past, and not look to others to make me happy. Took this photo of an advertisement at the Castro Street MUNI station. The theme is MOVE FORWARD.
07.17.08
Took DS and rags to the Metreon Thursday evening to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. While i did enjoy the film, i would rank it low on the list of all films from the series. It felt unoriginal, had no sense of wonder, looks a lot like the last movie, and the big bang-up ending was anticlimactic. Somewhat disappointing, but nowhere near as horrible a film as was Goblet of Fire.
That's me and Ron Weasley in the photo courtesy of a movie poster at the theater. Stood in front of it next to my fave character and then messed around with it in Photoshop. Looks like we are ghosts at Hogwarts! hehe.
07.16.09
DS and i spent Wednesday in Yosemite Park with my mother and aunt who are visiting from Mississippi and Tennessee. Took the shuttle buses around Yosemite Valley and saw Bridal Veil Falls, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Half-Dome, El Capiton, the Three Brothers, the Cathedrals and lots more. It was a warm beautiful summer day and the scenery was indeed spectacular.
View my Yosemite photos on Flickr by clicking here!
07.15.09
A Pan-Asian thunderstorm?
Having watched it roughly 40 times now, it really strikes me: Melissa is doing a lot less dancing than anyone else on the stage. Think about it…
Oh, and Janet Jackson can be fudged around a bit until she’s actually useful, no?
(And for those of you who haven’t watched either of this week’s episodes, this is just the group number for the tour, and you still won’t know who got cut when you’re done watching.)
- Location:30° 21' 55.08", -97° 41' 26.58
- Mood:
bouncy - Music:So Much Betta — Janet Jackson — Discipline
Special Birthday Wishes for the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
kev_bot!
FYI: Most of my livejournal posts are friends only. If you're interested in my journal feel free to leave a comment & be-friend me & you'll be added in return.
Hit the road Tuesday afternoon with DS for a drive out to Groveland, CA to meet my visiting Mom and Aunt. Stopped along the way in Riverbank for ice cream at the Sno-White Drive-In. Also stopped to take the above photo of a Triceratops sculpture. Cool. We got to the hotel around 8:30 p.m. and had dinner before heading to bed to get up early for our day at Yosemite National Park.
7.14.09
- Music:Fable - Robert Miles
calm
I must confess that I am obsessed with my Kleen Kanteen. To you it may just be a tube of stainless steel but, oh, is it so much more than that. I have had thermoses and water bottles before but this one is different. First off, the simplicity of its design makes it easy to clean and hard to break. A dent is the worst thing that would happen if I dropped it and even then it would still work.
The only downside is that it doesn't insulate very well so I made a sweater for it out of an old sock to ensure hot liquids will not burn my hands. It works great and if it gets dirty, I can just take it off and throw it in with my laundry.
Most importantly, I have discovered that this thing has the ability to pay for itself. In an effort to reduce my consumption of disposable drink containers, I have been requesting that my beverage be put in the canteen everywhere I go.
An unforeseen advantage of this practice is that it confuses the hell out of most cashiers and they don't know what to charge me. At Subway, for example, they only charged me for a .99 cent refill. Then today at Starbucks (whatever, like you never go there), the barista asked me if I wanted her to fill the entire thing. I met her confusion in kind and was about to explain that it was a 40 oz bottle and I only bought a 16 oz mocha but I caught myself before this happened and said "Sure, whatever you think is best".
Oh yeah, 24 free ounces of coffee never tasted so good.
Most importantly, I have discovered that this thing has the ability to pay for itself. In an effort to reduce my consumption of disposable drink containers, I have been requesting that my beverage be put in the canteen everywhere I go.
An unforeseen advantage of this practice is that it confuses the hell out of most cashiers and they don't know what to charge me. At Subway, for example, they only charged me for a .99 cent refill. Then today at Starbucks (whatever, like you never go there), the barista asked me if I wanted her to fill the entire thing. I met her confusion in kind and was about to explain that it was a 40 oz bottle and I only bought a 16 oz mocha but I caught myself before this happened and said "Sure, whatever you think is best".
Oh yeah, 24 free ounces of coffee never tasted so good.
Yesterday, a little piece of Chicago history died.
The Sears Tower is no more. It is now the Willis Tower.
That doesn't even sound right.
Some will argue that this is just progress. Chicago Stadium became United Center, Comiskey Park became U.S. Cellular Field, Marshall Fields to Macy's...
But in all of those cases, no one was happy.
I can justify the changes of Chicago Stadium and Comiskey Park because those aren't even the same structures anymore. Both were completely new buildings built from the ground up.
But even Macy's admits that of all its new branches, the former Marshall Fields on State Street is pulling in the least profit, as Chicagoans feel betrayed by the name switch... especially after Macy's publicly announced that they wanted to preserve Chicago history and would not change the building's appearance... which they went ahead and did anyway.
And there is something to be said for tradition. Wrigley Field has been owned by the Tribune Company since the '80s, but it's not known as "Tribune Field", is it? I don't think the Empire State Building in New York is still owned by Empire State, Inc. The John Hancock Center was named for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, but has since been acquired by Manulife Financial. Again though, it wasn't renamed "Manulife Center." And Aon Corp. hasn't owned the Aon Building since 2003.
It certainly doesn't help that no one knows who the heck "Willis" is. Then again, perhaps that just gives the new company all that much more reason to change the name.
Most people will go right on calling it Sears Tower, I assume. A 36-year habit cannot be broken overnight. In '85, people went right on calling the Standard Oil Building "Big Stan," even though the company changed names to Amoco.
Because it's not just about a name. For Chicagoans, it's about pride. It's about tradition.
No one loves the Cubs because they're winners or great players. The Cubs and Wrigley Field have been a Chicago symbol for over 100 years. Marshall Fields, the 'L', deep-dish pizza... all of these have been Chicago staples for decades.
And it's not just Chicagoans either. Visitors have come to rely on these constants when they tour Chicago. When you visit New York City, you expect to see Times Square and the Statue of Liberty. When you visit L.A., you expect to see the Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame. And in Chicago, you expect to see the Sears Tower. Not the friggin' "Willis Tower."
Willis, you can pat yourselves on the back. Everyone will now remember your name.
They just won't remember it fondly.
The Sears Tower is no more. It is now the Willis Tower.
That doesn't even sound right.
Some will argue that this is just progress. Chicago Stadium became United Center, Comiskey Park became U.S. Cellular Field, Marshall Fields to Macy's...But in all of those cases, no one was happy.
I can justify the changes of Chicago Stadium and Comiskey Park because those aren't even the same structures anymore. Both were completely new buildings built from the ground up.
But even Macy's admits that of all its new branches, the former Marshall Fields on State Street is pulling in the least profit, as Chicagoans feel betrayed by the name switch... especially after Macy's publicly announced that they wanted to preserve Chicago history and would not change the building's appearance... which they went ahead and did anyway.
And there is something to be said for tradition. Wrigley Field has been owned by the Tribune Company since the '80s, but it's not known as "Tribune Field", is it? I don't think the Empire State Building in New York is still owned by Empire State, Inc. The John Hancock Center was named for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, but has since been acquired by Manulife Financial. Again though, it wasn't renamed "Manulife Center." And Aon Corp. hasn't owned the Aon Building since 2003.
It certainly doesn't help that no one knows who the heck "Willis" is. Then again, perhaps that just gives the new company all that much more reason to change the name.
Most people will go right on calling it Sears Tower, I assume. A 36-year habit cannot be broken overnight. In '85, people went right on calling the Standard Oil Building "Big Stan," even though the company changed names to Amoco.
Because it's not just about a name. For Chicagoans, it's about pride. It's about tradition.
No one loves the Cubs because they're winners or great players. The Cubs and Wrigley Field have been a Chicago symbol for over 100 years. Marshall Fields, the 'L', deep-dish pizza... all of these have been Chicago staples for decades.
And it's not just Chicagoans either. Visitors have come to rely on these constants when they tour Chicago. When you visit New York City, you expect to see Times Square and the Statue of Liberty. When you visit L.A., you expect to see the Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame. And in Chicago, you expect to see the Sears Tower. Not the friggin' "Willis Tower."
Willis, you can pat yourselves on the back. Everyone will now remember your name.
They just won't remember it fondly.
- Mood:
annoyed
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