Big Brother Goes Global

The NY Times reported today that researchers have found a major spy system to be compromising governmental and private computers around the world. The system is being controlled by enlarge from computers in China. The spyware can even enable the video and audio applications of a chosen system. Sensitive systems including those of the Dali Lama, the Indian Embassy in Washington, and a NATO computer have been hacked by the spies. In at least one case the spied material was used to “warn” an intermediary, helping to make connections between Tibetan exiles and Chinese citizens, to stop her political activities. The Chinese government? The CIA? Big Brother still doesn’t have a name.

To be continued . . . . maybe. Right?!

The Military is Hiring . . .

No Shit???!! At some point in an unemployment low I signed on to some job search website (or maybe several). This turned out to be one of the most fruitless endeavors ever (except that it helped to ensure my monthly unemployment check). My inbox still gets thronged with the websites attempts to find me a job. Normally I check each email and promptly click delete but this one caught my eye and made me laugh. Apparently “the Military is Hiring” and not only that, but the job that I could have with the military would be “stable” -in what regard I am not too sure. The job I could apply for would be “exciting”, -no doubt. But to top it all off there is a job for me in the military that “fits [my] interests and personality”. Yeah, I can’t believe I never thought of this before! F*** grad school and aimlessly traveling the globe!

The real shizz is, this is all that faithful website can dredge up with the current state of affairs.

Video killed more than the radio star...

8 Hours a Day Spent on Screens, Study Finds

The Nielsen Company spent 952 days watching various age groups consume media in an attempt to gain insight that would help media companies better target us, b/c we need more of that...

Highlights:

* adults are exposed to screens (TVs, cellphones, even G.P.S. devices) for an average of 8.5 hours a DAY (that's more sleep than most people get)

* regardless of age we all expose ourselves to the same amount of time in front of screens

* 18-to-24-year-olds watch the smallest amount of live TV of any age group (three and a half hours a day), while the 65+ age group watched the most

* when asked to recall their behaviors people underestimated the amount of time they spent with TV by 25% on average

* researchers also noted that people associated a "social stigma" to watching a lot of TV

Misconceptions of Poverty

The Seattle Times posted these two articles on their website today:

States consider drug tests for welfare recipients
"Lawmakers in at least eight states want recipients of food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing...Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing."

Seattle Pacific students spend 5 days on streets to feel pain of homeless
"Google the words "spring break" and up pop images of bikinis, beaches, more bikinis, and margaritas...That couldn't be further from the experience this week of 18 Seattle Pacific University students. They chose to spend their spring break on the streets of Seattle living as if they were homeless, as part of the school's experiential "urban plunge" program."

And from the NYTimes:

Financial Safety Net of Nonprofit Organizations Is Fraying, Survey Finds
"'It’s very clear how fragile financially many of these organizations are, and especially the ones on the front lines, the safety net or lifeline organizations,' said Clara Miller, chief executive of the fund...More than half the respondents said they would like help communicating their financial difficulties to their boards and donors, highlighting the growing belief in the nonprofit world that government and the public do not understand the role it plays in American society."

It's a sad state of affairs...

Green Festival

It's supposed to be rainy and blah outside this weekend, so you shouldn't feel bad spending the days indoors at the 2nd annual Green Festival. Get a peep at our favorite celebrity do-gooder Danny Glover, and author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman John Perkins. There's too much to see in 2 days so I'm going to check the online schedule to plan ahead and make the most of my time, and $10. Guilt free.

Sheep herding w/ LEDs

This is freaking RAD! Another reason to love the Welsh, dogs and technology.

Fear Factor

Would you eat shmeat a.k.a. test tube flesh? I am finding the whole PETA endorsed quest for a viable, affordable alternative to meat, which actually is meat, pretty bazaar to say the least. The further I read up on all of it the more confused I get and the more I want to know: will people really eat this shizz? As a vegetarian I will never be faced with the question myself but I am interested in the controversy -as far as I can tell its one of those things for the new-age-rich-hippie that shops at Whole Foods and feels guilty when they aren’t green enough, vegetarian enough, or liberal enough. But maybe not, I mean if people have to eat meat, then this should be the meat they eat, right??? The pros and cons are enough to make your head spin. The new meat is referred to as shmeat because harvested cells from an animal are grown on a nutrient soaked spongy sheet (meat+sheet=shmeat). Apparently large quantities can be grown at a time and could be in a grocery store near you soon.

The pros: Shmeat could help to solve the protein demands for our ever growing world population, animal cruelty would all but go away, environmental impacts of factory farming would disappear, it could be healthier – shmeat engineers could add omega 3’s take away fat etc., its not any less natural then some of the foods we eat regularly like cheese or bread which all require processing natural ingredients in order to be created

The cons: ick factor X 100, safety is questionable -we really can’t yet say what messing with nature like this could do (not that we don’t already do this where meat is concerned , I mean we feed cows hormones), people would be even further removed from the food they eat (think Styrofoam and plastic wrappers plus test tubes), it my not really be humane- scientists still have not found a way to complete shmeat without calf fetuses up in the mix, it will need additives to taste good, it could pass through the FDA without public input

Whatcha think???

Smokin Smarties

1) I want to smoke a smartie

2)It must hurt blowing it out your nose

3)Why didn't we figure this out when we were 13?

4) Another reason to keep the internet away from kids.

It's totally conflicting, I know.

One in 8 Million

The NYTimes has a new weekly piece that introduces readers to the olio of people walking the streets of NYC. It's presented as a slideshow with the profiled person telling their story and it's totally fascinating. My fav so far is Melissa the urban taxidermist who confesses to having frozen squirels delivered to her job unbeknownst to her coworkers. A new profile will be up everyweek. I can't wait to see who they introduce us to next.

Fairey from the Streets

Shepard Fairey has an exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. So the most pressing question of our generation: Is Fairey a sell out? I dare you to ask a graff-writing/appreciating-urban-street aficionado, and remember you'll never get that hour of your life back.

Paris Bling Bling

A nine-month study commissioned by Pres. Sarkozy to make Paris the first sustainable “post-Kyoto city” (aka post Kyoto Treaty) has resulted in 10 plans by both French and international achitects. The aim? To create a plan for a greener, more sustainable city, and to break down the isolation between the outlying neighborhoods and the historic center. Those outlying neighborhoods include the poor immigrant neighborhoods that erupted in violence in 2005.

One design calls for a massive greenbelt to circle the city and all new construction to be limited to that space. Another promotes the idea of a new elevated train system...my fav was proposed by Richard Rogers, whose amazing work (i.e. Bodegas Protos, Spain and Lloyds Register, UK) has made him an architectural superstar. His design is pictured above and includes a underground rail system that would cut the city into pie-like wedges that all converge on a singular center. I wish there were more pictures!!!

PS: apparently Pres. Sarkozy is often dismissed as President "Bling Bling". Must sound even more ridiculous with a French accent.

Seattle SoundBite Tonight!

6pm tonight at Showbox SoDo . . .

Regional bands, including The Helio Sequence, Sue Quigley, Bird Show of North America, and Doctor Doctor play while thirteen local restaurants, like Crémant, Quinn’s, Serafina, Tango, and Via Tribunali serve street-food eats.

Tickets online at ticketmaster.com.

Northwest Music on the Scene Tonight

The Pica Beats, Grand Hallway, and Grant Olsen (of Arthur & Yu) are at the Tractor Tavern Tonight. Tickets available online at ticketweb.com

Prohibition Era Minus the No Alcohol part. . .

What??: Twenty/Twenty Revue a twenties themed theatrical fundraising celebration. Complete with prohibition era music , a fashion show with Vaudevillian Vignettes, dancing, a silent auction and old time circus arts. The show will highlight Seattle’s unique retail community with local and international designers, models, actors, musicians and dancers. Plus there will be snacks and drinks! And finally but most importantly proceeds benefit Vitamin Angels a nonprofit that helps to provide needed nutrients to children around the world.

When??: Saturday, March 21

Where??: Georgetown Ballroom, 5623 Airport Way S. (206-763-4999)

Get tickets at brownpapertickets.com or http://twentytwentyrevue.org/

Get more info at http://twentytwentyrevue.org/

Find out more about Vitamin Angels at: http://www.vitaminangels.org/

Fear Mongering

www.SwimAtYourOwnRisk.com

When I was little I spent summer mornings at swim team practice. I've always had an irrational fear of water animals, aka animals that want to chomp my feet off. So I enlisted this fear to help me be the best swimmer AquaDive ever saw...unfortunately, imagining sharks chasing me in the well chlorinated lap pool only resulted in mad dashes that ended in panic enduced hyperventilating. Six months ago I finally conquered this fear just enough to snorkel sans freakout in Oahu's Shark Cove (take that irrational childhood fear!)...but now, after perusing this blog I fear my progress may have taken a serious setback. Damn internets.

Sounders Kick Off

It's opening day for the new Seattle Sounders. Led by the man who won last years MLS coach of the year award, Sigi Schmid, and captained by this man:

What more would you need? Soccer, killer coaching, standout team, and Freddie! I guess sun would be nice too. Cheap seats are $20 and the games run until October.

Really? Really? Finally.

The first day of spring is almost here!!! Haha!!! Spring in Seattle really just means we are that much closer to summer in Seattle! Cant wait, might even need to celebrate the Equinox this year, its been a loooong winter.

Get some spring in your step with the mayor and some preschoolers during the annual Pike Place Market Daffodil Giveaway:

Nickels, city council members and students from Pike Market Child Care and Preschool will hand out 12,000 daffodils grown by Pike Place Market farmers to celebrate the first day of spring. Flowers will be given to shoppers, workers and residents in about eight downtown locations, including Fourth Avenue and Pine Street, City Hall at Fourth and Cherry, the downtown library at Fourth and Madison, and Pacific Place at Sixth and Pine.

(The 1st day of Spring is March 20 - dbot)

PSA

I can't help watch this:



and not hear chiggity check yoself before you wiggity wreck yoself... and then some stuff about shotgun bullets being bad for your health.

We better be careful Boogs.

Dada Economics . . . .

Ever see a grocery cart miles from the nearest grocery store? Remember ridding in the cart down the isles while your mom pushed? Remember getting a little older and skating down the rows after hopping on?

What do you fill your grocery cart with now?

Artists for a Work Free America and Vital 5 Productions are giving a $500 grant to the person who creates the best “work of art” in a grocery cart using supermarket finds. Just enter an image of your creation to win. Entries will also be part of the Dada Economics exhibit at Bumbershoot this year. Sculptures will be accepted thru May 15th

WTF?

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency is supposed to secure the U.S. border. But in recent months they have set up checkpoints on the highways of the Olympic Peninsula and at the Anacortes ferry terminal — miles away from the border. Typically, the agents question drivers and passengers about their citizenship. These checkpoints are an infringement on people’s rights to travel freely. Please sign the petition opposing Border Patrol actions inside our border as abuses of our civil liberties and a total waste of physical and financial resources. The petition is available via the ACLU who will send the signed petition to our elected officials in Congress. Just click on the link here.

Oh my gods!

Battlestar Galactica creators David Eick and Ronald D. Moore were joined by the Admiral and President Roslin at UN headquarters to discuss the correlations b/w BSG and the real world UN. To top it off it was moderated by Whoopi-frakin-Goldberg! A highlight of the evening: Edward James Olmos stood and delivered (hehe) a moving speech demading we cast off the idea of race. I'm scouring the internet to find video, I hate myself for missing this!

Cut and Paste

Time Inc. has announced a new way to take in their magazine content making it all yours! Just in time to save print journalism! Phew. You get to choose among the oh so compelling bunch of Time Inc. magazines which along with Time mag includes: Travel and Leisure, Golf, and Sports Illustrated. They cut and paste according to your "interests" and create a customized magazine delivered to your mail box, both virtual and literal. So far it's free, and being funded by Toyota, which by default makes it oh so progressive. Peep it: https://www.timecmg.com/mine/

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Samurai Warrior Ethic

Sen. Charles Grassley is pushinig for a shift in policy, away from these played out "Hope" shenanigans to the Samurai warrior ethic kind of estilo:

"I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe [AIG executives] ought to be removed," Grassley said. "But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.
"And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology."

Word on the street is Obama's facing a populist uprising...think feudal Japanese ethics are the next step?

RIP PI

Yes, yes, I know the PI is still online, and I'm one of those people that has never dropped a quarter for the real thing, but the loss of the Seattle PI still stikes me as tragic. Sure it's nostalgia that takes me back to my childhood when the Seattle PI would arrive faithfully on our porch every morning, but outside of my life's little box it feels like a bad omen. And what will become of Seattle's (aka Wallingford's) favorite son David Horsey??

Looks ominous to me...

Bailouts? Stimulus Package?

What does a trillion dollars look like???

http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html

note: the pallets on the last pic are double stacked!

"All the presidents' girls" . . . . and one man.

Annie Kevan’s take on portraiture is definitely fresh and full of exploration . . . as the artist says “my work isn’t really about portraiture; it’s always firstly about an idea”. Remember the name because people are taking note, or should be. Really it is only a matter of time before this artist is no longer starving. The photo above is the portrait of Mariella Novotny, supposedly one of JFK’s many concubines. Mariella stars in Kevan’s “All the Presidents’ Girls” series which includes every mistress from Marilyn & Monica to Venus & a Princess. Other series titles include “Boys”, “Girls”, “Mousketeers” and more. Each run reveals a little bit more of the artist’s investigation of society and the labels that we be become. As she puts it, she seeks to “reflect [her] interests in power, manipulation and the role of the individual in inherited belief systems”. Check out the rest of her work.

For The Do Gooders Hair Do

CHOP YOUR MOP FOR CHOICE

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest'sYoung Professionals invite you to get Chic for Choice!

Saturday, March 21st - Monday, March 23rd, 2009Join us and let haircare make a difference for healthcare!$35 includes a haircut appointment with one of Seattle's most talented stylists, hors d'ouevres, and a chance to win one of our fabulous gift baskets.

Get glam before you go out at one of our participating salons:Vain (Ballard)Salon Chemistry (Capitol Hill)Helmet Head (Georgetown)Deluxe (Phinney Ridge)Salon Divine (Wedgewood)Salon Lorache (Columbia City)Quint Eby Salon (Belltown)

Go to:http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppgnw/chic-choice-23965.htm Select a SalonChoose a StylistSchedule your appointment

Has music season started yet?!

The ratio is looking better! No more good-show-every-3-months kinda rates. If last week is any example (Simian Mobile Disco AND Kim Ann Foxman were in effect) the music season is upon us!

4.13 Monday Chop Suey Presents
SEBASTIEN TELLIER
Chairlift
$12adv/$14dos
8pm doors
21+

Who's comming with me????

There's video!

A Must See . . .

Garden and Cosmos: the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur

This show has been hyped all over Seattle, but for good reason, go while you can. You'll feel enlightened as you walk away, I promise.

"There must be a neuroscientific explanation for the pure pleasure of seeing these 17th-to-19th-century Indian paintings. Every tree is a fireworks display, a dendritic rush—the brain recognizing itself in the universe. Painted rivers glimmer gold and silver, seeming to move by you, playfully, as much as you move by them. The colors, opaque watercolors, are ecstatic. No wonder: They're made of lapis lazuli, malachite, vermilion, indigo plant, and the bright yellow urine of cows fed only mango leaves. Women, kings, gods, and animals appear in waves that reverberate across space. They dance, they chase each other, they give foot rubs, they swim, they consider their place in the cosmos, they fall in love. The eye simply registers joy." (Jen Graves) http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Event?event=964976

SAAM http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/visitSAAM.asp

America’s next top melee

Arrests After Melee at TV Casting Call

"It was America’s next top melee.
An open casting call for the reality television program 'America’s Next Top Model' turned into mayhem on Saturday afternoon in Midtown Manhattan. Fights broke out, three people were arrested and at least six others suffered minor injuries after they were pushed down in a crush of thousands of aspiring models waiting in line to be discovered...

Contestant hopefuls said the lines were poorly coordinated, and no one knew what to do or when they would be seen. With little to eat and no way to use the bathroom without losing a spot in line, tempers flared...

By 6 p.m. Saturday, West 55th Street was littered with the wreckage of the day: torn sleeping bags where aspiring contestants had spent the night, police barricades, shoes and clothes in the gutter. More than a hundred women still waited on the sidewalk, hoping to get into the Park Central.

'This was a huge dream of mine,' said Rebecca Albora, 21, of Saddle Brook, N.J. 'I lost my dream. I lost my chance.'"

Brutal

El Corrido de Joe Arpaio

I caught an article about this corrido in the NYTimes this morning. As a previous resident of Maricopa County I learned how easy it is to loath Joe Arpaio. He is an embodiment of the failed policies and showboating of not only AZ but immigration reform nationwide. Corridos these days are usually reserved for stories of drug cartels and kingpins, Sheriff Arpaio takes a much deserved place by their side. Sing it hermano!

Voy a cantarles un corrido a los presentes,
que le compuse a Joe Arpaio de Arizona,
un sinverguenza, desgraciado, anti-inmigrante,
que se ha ganado el repudio de toda la gente.

Es un sheriff que está gastando mucha plata,
mucho dinero que paga el contribuyente,
Arpaio mete preso al inmigrante
porque el dice que son unos delicuentes,
pero tan sólo buscan un trabajo decente
que en su pais ellos no lo han encontrado
y sin sentido y sin razón aparente
por una calle encandenados los paseaba

Ya los latinos de Arpaio están cansados,
Ya los latinos están muy organizados
no tienen miedo ni al sheriff, ni policía,
a Joe Arpaio le dicen y le repiten
sos criminal deberías estar preso.

I will sing a corrido to all those present
that I wrote for Joe Arpaio from Arizona,
a shameless, disgraceful immigrant hater
who has earned the repudiation of the people.

Arpaio puts the immigrants in jail
because he says that they are crooks
but they are only looking for a decent job
that they haven’t found in their own country
And without any apparent sense or reason
he paraded them in chains down the street

Latinos are tired
Immigrants, who are very organized,
don’t fear the sheriff or the police.
They say to Joe Arpaio and they say it again:
You’re a criminal and should be in jail.

You can hear him sing it here.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 at first sight

"so i made really brief eye contact with andy samberg last night like, just an instant at the snl after party"

Word(s)

Olio (ō'lē-ō'): 

A mixture or medley; a hodgepodge.

A collection of miscellaneous pieces.

A medley or potpourri, as of musical or literary selections; miscellany.

Melee (mā'lā', mā-lā'):

A violent free-for-all.

A confused tumultuous mingling, as of a crowd.