not much

great.  now how are we going to make insecure preteens feel better about developing faster or slower than their peers…

maybe two snowflakes are alike

it all seemed okay when it seemed like a petrified booger or something, but when it got to “after much seasoning by waves, wind, salt and sun, they may wash up as solid, fragrant chunks” i admit i got a little squeamish.

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apparently we are in the middle of a worldwide helium shortage. this is not a new story, apparently scientists have known about this since 2001 but what have they done to remedy the issue? i just saw on the ticker underneath hall and oates singing some mediocre vaguely christmassy song on a morning show that the balloons in the parade will be fine tomorrow, despite the shortage.

how weird though, i never figured that helium was a resource that could be depleted. i never paid attention to it. now that i know that the majority of helium is used for MRI machines, laser welding (dont really know what it is but it sounds important, doesnt it?) and space shuttle launches, though, birthday balloons dont seem that important.

maybe next year snoopy could be refigured as a hot air balloon?

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alzheimer’s vaccine?

can it possibly be true?

technorati tags:alzheimer’s vaccine

a lot of people are bad at math, myself included. i always just kind of figured i didnt care enough about it to try to be good at it. but somehow i started looking into “dyscalculia” tonight and a lot of these symptoms fit along with the problems ive always had in math. to whatever extent i may have these symptoms, i dont think it is anything that has hindered my life. i just think it’s interesting that i notice these problems more when i am stressed out. i always figured it was brain synapses (or whatever they are) just working on other things, but maybe that’s not all. i looked at a few different sites, and some of the symptoms didnt match at all (i dont really have any trouble sight reading music, i almost never forget a name with a face or even just a name, i dont have any problems telling time and i dont have any trouble counting change) but i feel like i do have more of the symptoms than i dont. it has (thankfully) been a while since i have had to deal with a math class, but i remember only too well looking at the paper and feeling “im never going to get this so why even bother.” one thing they dont mention specifically that i have always had a problem with is that i can look at a bunch of numbers and rewrite them, but if someone dictates them to me i almost always mess up something. and one of the symptoms that they mention that i do have is one that i have always been really embarrassed about, but never would have made the connection to math issues–the problem with directions like left right west and east. just today i was at the airport and said that the city was west of us. i realized i was wrong later on, but i often have to think about it.

UPDATE: it’s an hour later now and i just realized i was right! manhattan is west of jfk. so now i dont know what that means. im bad at it, but i was right? i have no idea.

phew. fucking busy here at work, can barely steal a few moments away to write. but i wouldnt let you down, dear reader. a lot of funny stuff has happened today. i called the waldorf astoria to send a fax to a client, i was sending it to someone in the party, but then the hotel said, oh yeah, the other person in that group is “so-and-so” and proceeded to give me the client’s name. not exactly an a-list celebrity, but i thought hotels were supposed to respect the privacy of their guests? guess not.

i’m pretty sure i ran into former public advocate an future state attorney general candidate mark green this morning on the corner of 5th and 17th. i didnt tell him i voted for him in 2001. im sure he really would have cared.

i think i was too busy still musing on how incongruous having an ipod or any sort of walkman can make you feel. this morning i was on a packed L train (who puts all this shit on the internet?) and managed to be completely transported (no pun intended) by bob dylan’s “sweetheart like you.” i have to say that almost every time i can actually stop and listen to a dylan song from about mid 70s to mid 80s i am completely blown away. not every song i guess, but the good ones are fucking fantastic in that way that makes you feel your organs working and your nerve endings tingling. i was really close to tearing up (but it could have been that dude’s cologne whose messenger bag was digging into my kidney.) see? a “personal music player” can totally influence your mood.

i saw this michael jackson story somewhere on line last night. i wasnt going to mention it because it was so outrageous, and frankly just mean. but the reporting and layout are so unbelievably fabulous that i think everyone should see it.

i watched an old french “horror” movie last week called eyes without a face and the opening credit sequence is probably one of the most nervewracking things i have ever seen in a movie. so anyway, in case you’re too lazy to check the link, it’s all about a french surgeon who is kidnapping girls to perfect a face transplant for his disfigured daughter. so, imagine my surprise when i see this story about french surgeons who have performed the first face transplant! holy shit. these people are amazing (surgeons, not the french. i mean, they’re okay, but…surgeons! face transplant!) can you imagine how intricate the procedure must be? apparently she is supposed to have a good range of muscle activity with her new face. i am absolutely in awe of this. is nothing impossible?

now i dont want to scare you guys, but mercury is about to go into retrograde again. i know what you’re saying “that is such bullshit.” you may be right, but i have to tell you–all of a sudden yesterday my disk drive started bleeping and squeaking and whirring and spinning when i was trying to import a CD and it did it again just now. what a drag.

so naysayers get ready. starting today, the 14th, until december 3rd just you watch. machines, communication, travel, etc. are all gonna go a bit cock-eyed. most likely. probably. seems like it could happen.

hey, at least you’re still supposed to have your health, right?

here’s one myth i’d never heard before:

The trickster planet, Mercury, during it’s time spent in retrograde is mythologically the grand patron of the “Freudian slip.” Here’s one of the reasons why…

Greek mythology relates that “once upon a time,” Hermes (the Greek equivalent of Mercury) became interested in gaining the sexual favors of a certain young and beautiful princess of Crete whose name was Apemosyne. However, there was a problem in that the attraction was not mutual for Apemosyne. In fact, Apemosyne was not in the slighest interested in Hermes’ advances and therefore turned all of his invitations down.

So, one day, the god Hermes strategically placed several wet, slick animal hides on the ground in a place where he knew she’d be walking by. Apemosyne slipped on the animal hides, allowing Hermes to “have his way” with her… Sadly, as a result of this action, Apemosyne’s brother became angry at her and then murdered her…

despite the appalling writing style–DAMN! those old-timers were hardcore.

speaking of old-timers, i saw a movie i’d like to recommend, il decameron it’s not for everyone, it’s an italian movie from the early 70s made by pier paolo pasolinibased on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th century book, Il Decameron (obvs), about a group of people escaping the plague in florence by going into the country and telling stories to each other. this movie skips the frame of the story and just tells some of the stories. i cant say read the book (i spent a whole year on it in college, and it really is a great book, but, i mean, put it this way–it’s two volumes and i spent a whole year on it in college. got it?) but you should really see pasolini’s gorgeous, dare i say sumptous?, version before this one that i just found about comes out. ugh. hayden christensen and mischa barton in the same movie? what, was the dog from frasier busy? couldnt they find two people who could act?

jesus christ. there’s so much to talk about today but im smack in the middle of baking a cake for leah’s birthday (she never thought she’d be as old as me but today is finally the day, welcome to 30, old friend.) and running late for the party, so…you’ll have to take my word for it that these things are worth looking at:

first, here’s an article about how hollywood (specifically warner bros.) is looking at movies and movie marketing in the future. it’s a little disturbing how they keep talking about “delivering content” and the one thing they dont address as a factor in declining ticket sales in theaters is the “content” of movies themelves. from the ny times here’s the article it’s long, but worth it.

second, jack white’s changed his name for the rest of the white stripes’ uk tour. apparently he offers no reason, my thoughts on why? he was fucking high off his head. just a thought.

this book sounds great, and not only because the title is “monkeyluv.”

and in some…”actual” news france is still totally fucked up. specifically paris, i guess, but this isnt good for anyone. it’s bad for the officials, it’s bad for the immigrants, it’s especially bad for the boys who are dead and i dont imagine we’ll ever know what really happened.

here’s another situation that’s bad for everyone. the guy who was in prison for attempting to bomb that mosque in southern california in 2001 was killed in prison. this story couldnt get much more messed up. what do you do when everyone involved is pretty much wrong?

ay ay ay. i guess i’ll just ice this cake and get ready to go spend a lot of cash on a nice dinner in celebration of a great girl’s birthday. but i feel a little guilty…

i am as surprised as you are to find me writing about lemmy’s stance on heroin. ive heard the argument before, that the only way to get rid of drugs is to legalize them. i dont know if ive ever heard lemmy’s point of view, though, to make it available by prescription. it’s not a bad point, actually. but what i want to know is how does one qualify for a prescription to heroin?

i also think it’s funny that everybody just knows who lemmy is.

it turns out that male mice sing when female mice are nearby. i’m sorry, doesnt that make you laugh too? it just makes perfect sense doesnt it? all creatures great and small are alike.

UPDATE: thanks to courtney for sending a link to hear actual mouse flirting i never thought i’d get the privilege.