Much of this journal is friends only.  Comment to request addition!

Today the MacArthur Foundation announced the 25 MacArthur Fellows for 2008.  Recipients receive $100,000 for 5 years with absolutely no strings attached.

This year's winners spans science and art.   All are working on the fringes of their field and moving the world forward in exciting and novel ways.

If progress makes you happy, you can meet the fellows here.

Sorry I missed your party.

For Ben, mostly, but someone else might find this as amusing as I do... it's from the comments section of a review of the new Adam Sandler movie, Zohan.

If we take as self-evident that (a) the incongrouity of an asskicking but gay-seeming spy is humorous, and (b) to male Americans non-American males seem kind of gay, then this movie makes perfect sense. It is also interesting to note in this context that Munich primed American moviewatchers to think of Israelis, still gay-seeming by dint of their foreigness, as asskickers, and that further, the scene in Knocked Up where Seth Rogen and friends discuss how Munich portrayed Jewish people as asskickers then primed American moviewatchers to be aware of their own complex feelings about the relative gayness-asskickingness of Israelis. With Zohan, American moviewatchers are reassured that their contradictory thoughts require no further reflection.

I've had this passage from my favorite book (Infinite Jest) running through my head lately. I'm surprised, and yet not, that someone bothered to transcribe online, from which I have stolen it.

I don't think it makes much sense out of context, particularly if you don't know the book well, but the point is that many emotions that seem like they have some reflexivity-- in this case, the envy of fame vs. the 'feeling' of being famous-- do, in fact, not.

( You burn to have your photograph in a tennis magazine. )

It's good to know that through all the rough times, I still have a few guardian angels out there. Thanks, guys!

Anyone want to see Apocalyptica at Slim's in SF on April 16th?  It's 4 cellists playing Metallica covers, if you don't know.

Adjectival is such an awesome sounding word.  Say it with me.  Addddjjeeeectiiiiiival.

Back from Costa Rica!  It was great!  Took a surfing lesson, white water rafted, zip-lined through a forest canopy, soaked up Rasta vibes on the Caribbean Coast, drank with Trust Fund Kids on the Pacfiic Coast, and hung out with the surf/skate white boy locals in Tamarindo while they drank Imperials and skated the halfpipe.

Gotta learn Spanish...

Greetings from Costa Rica!  Just got back from the Caribbean coast where we had some serious R&R by the beach, island vibes, and jerk.

Off rafting tomorrow, then working our way up the Pacific coast to meet up with friends.  Can't believe it's only been 48 hours!

Irish tour guide joke:

Q. "What's the difference between Bono and Jesus?"
A. "Jesus doesn't walk around thinking he's Bono."

Sufjan Steven's quote of "Close To Me" (I *think* that's the right Cure song) on Illnoise still pleases me.

I could write at least one LJ post a day while travelling if I let myself.

I'm in London at the moment, staying over the weekend on my way to Dublin for a week for work.  It's been great to catch up with old friends and ex-coworkers over here.  Friday night is a bit of a blur; I sort of came-to in a McDonalds after having chowed down on a meal, realized I was separated from friends, and ended up taking a black cab about 1 block to their place, from which I departed around 7am Saturday morning.  So much for acclimatizing (tip of the hat to the British variant) to local time!

Last night was a bit more quiet, nummy Indian food and a doomed fight to stay out without going to a club that led us on, ultimately, a wild goose chase through northwestern London.  Even with later opening hours for pubs these days and even on a weekend night, London nightlife is quantized; if you want to keep drinking past midnight or so, you have to step it up and go out to a club, rather than a more relaxed pub.  We didn't find ourselves with quite enough energy to make it to the next level.

Travel always energies me.  Part of it surely is being separated from the idiot box and other comforts of home, but part of it-- especially in this town-- is reconnecting with friends that stimulate parts of me that aren't often exercised these days.  I get thinking about the future, and find myself inspired to be more ambitious-- on all fronts, really.   I tend to direct most of my energy towards work, so it's good for me to see friends who are balancing a demanding job with forays into fashion design, music, sport, and other explorations.

Oh, and I suppose I should find a new userpic.  I'm still smoke free after 14 months.  It was about 24 hours into a visit to London that my first serious attempt to quit smoking fell through at the 3 month mark.  This time, it didn't appeal in the slightest.

SV650 sold, '04 VFR800A purchased.  It is... sweet.  Asphalt black.  Already shopping for accessories..

The Feeling, Twelve Stops And Home.  Wow.  Thanks, Robey!

"They're people, but they don't think they're people.  They're called furries.  And it's really faggotty."

It's the hot new dance mix for 2007!  It'll make you forget to wear sunscreen!

Click here.

... that American Apparel is the new Gap, based on its increasing popularity at my place of employment.

At least they have a wide variety of colors to choose from.

It's come to the point where to clear out the weeds of my iPod/iTunes libraries and general staleness of my listening habits, it was necessary to burn the whole thing down and start from scratch.

Therefore, I command all of you to name the 5-10 artists off the top of your head who you would immediately put in a fresh iPod.  Recommended albums appreciated.   The less I know you, the more I beg you to comply.

In the interests of fairness, here are mine:

1. Grandaddy (The Sophtware Slump, Sumday)
2. Polyphonic Spree (Together We're Heavy)
3. Built To Spill (Ancient Melodies From The Future)
4. Brian Wilson (Smile)
5. Pavement (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Wowee Zowee)
6. A Tribe Called Quest (The Low-End Theory particularly, but all of them)
7. The Streets (Original Pirate Material)
8. Beck (all)
   
9. Cibo Matto (all!)

I am now the very noob owner of a 2003 Suzuki SV650 motorcycle.  I've taken the MSF class and am doing my best not to become a splat on the pavement.  Not only did we take the SV650 off their hands, we were so impressed at how well it was kept that my friend returned the next week to take their VFR 800, ditching his started Bandit 600.

The job has settled down the point where I am no longer in a state of total fear.

Things are good overall, really.  Been taking care of a bunch of little (or not so little) things that have been in need of attention for a long time.  My car stereo is now finally installed properly, which should amuse those who've seen the bare wires pooled in the passenger seat for the last two years.  Maybe I'll even start posting here more often!

Happy holidays to all.  Enjoying it in fine tribal tradition-- on the slopes with bf 'n friends in Park City.  Day 1 of the season was rough, mostly due to dodgy equipment.  Day 2 was a resounding success, including new $25 ski pants w/ bib (score!!), socks, much better conditions, much better mood.  Got the bug back for the season and eager to take advantage of Tahoe being within a 1-day striking range-- for the dedicated, at least.  Thought very hard about getting a season's pass to Kirkwood but figured I'd keep our options open to try the rest of the Tahoe resorts and test our general determination.   Also looking to give snowboarding another shot after the last attempt which yielded a tiny wrist fracture, this time with better protective gear!

Backing up for a minute,  I've forgotten to mention here that I took a new job that involved the bf and I moving to the SF Bay Area.  I'm doing roughly the same thing I was doing before, just at a much larger company with a much larger public presence.  I'm settling into the new job to the point where I can focus more and panic less-- note this is the first really new job, not counting promotions or spinoffs, since I graduated college.  Looking forward to catching up with more friends in the area.

Oh, and it's probably time to update the userpic-- I'm a week short of 4 months of not smoking.  Woohoo!  Quitting in CA has been much, much easier than in NYC.  In New York, I'd walk past at least 40 people smoking in the block from the subway to the office every morning-- here, moving from housebubble to carbubble to officebubble to friendsbubble, I don't have to encounter anyone or anything unexpected, 'natch.

Perhaps more thoughts and ruminations later.