The counties in the southeast that voted for Obama are the counties with the most nutritious soils. Consequently, they’re where cotton was once grown and, also consequently, they’re where the bulk of the region’s slaves were held. I love these interdisciplinary mash-ups. (Via Kottke)
Yesterday I held up Jonathan Coulton -- and the release of his new album -- as one of the prime examples of how artists are using social media to their advantage.
I learned about this one from an ancienthistory.about.com mailing:
Just Perfect for Us: Google Map of Ancient Rome
Wednesday November 12, 2008
Google Earth has made possible a vision of Imperial Rome in 320 A.D. (Constantine's time) showing more than 6000 3-D buildings. If you already have Google Earth you'll know it allows you to zoom around to all corners of the earth and see at least the vision from above of distant lands. This new "gallery layer" goes back further. You need to download Google Earth 4.3 and supposedly find the Rome 3-D within the Gallery layer. Unfortunately, my computer seems to be too old for it, so I can't tell you anything more. If you successfully download it, please post your comments about the Google 3-D map of Rome here.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (via Politico):
Arizona Demcratic Gov. Janet Napolitano has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Barack Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security’s myriad functions.
Napolitano brings law and order experience from her stint as the Grand Canyon State’s first female attorney general. One of the nation’s most prominent female elected officials, she made frequent appearances on behalf of Barack Obama during the campaign. She was reelected to a second four-year term in 2006.
I really have no words.
Well, okay, maybe a few.
Here’s the wall between the kitchen and the living room:
A better view of the wall:
For that last cabinet on the right, it normally would come with only a single door (it’s narrower than the others), but that would ruin the lines of the whole wall (yes, I am that picky), so Jeff the Builder has given two Ikea cabinet doors to a carpenter and asked him to cut them down. And THAT is why you want Jeff the Builder to build your house. (Okay, one of many reasons.)
Moving along, here’s the back wall in two parts:
The gaps are for the stove (left) and the dishwasher (right). Do you see my fancy sink?
Here’s the inside:
Here is the peninsula:
Since the backs of the cabinets are rough, we’ll be covering them with diamond steel later. I know that sounds weird, but trust me, it’s going to kick ass.
Here’s the other side of the peninsula:
The folks at Ikea forgot to give Jeff the Builder the drawer parts. No, I’m not kidding.
Changing subjects…
Someone left a comment yesterday expressing concern over our stairs. No, they’re not completely open — they just look that way. There are risers that come down a bit and then there’s a 4″-ish gap. They’re safe and they completely meet code. Plus, our girls are 8 and 10, so we can trust them (most of the time) not to do stupid stuff.
The stairs are being installed the first week of December, so I’ll post more photos then.
More soon!
Download 01_11.19.2008, Part I.mp3
Frank O'Hara Ψ Having a Coke with You
The Replacements Ψ Unsatisfied
Big Star Ψ Mod Lang
The Replacements Ψ Beer for Breakfast
Dinosaur Jr. Ψ Feel the Pain
Yap
Lambchop Ψ Love TKO (Pendergast cover)
Damon & Naomi Ψ Beautiful Close Double
Arthur Russell Ψ Time Away
Elvis Ψ Flaming Star
The Flamingos Ψ Chick uhm Ba
Link Wray & his Wray Men Ψ Run Chicken Run
The Ruby Suns Ψ Oh Mojave!
Peter & the Wolf Ψ City Birds
Peter Bjorn & John Ψ Paris 2004
Matt & Kim Ψ Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare
Sparklehorse Ψ Dog Door
Erkin Koray Ψ Sur Efem Atini
The Coasters Ψ Love Potion No. 9
Cut Chemist Ψ Superman et al.
Q-Tip Ψ Move
Dj Rupture Ψ Homeboys (cut)
Download 01_11.19.2008, Part II.mp3
Dj Rupture Ψ Homeboys
Angela Davis + RZA Ψ Focus on the Family over Ghostdog tracks
Cab Calloway Ψ Tarzan of Harlem
Estis Purkle Ψ Facts about Tarzan
Sparks Ψ Tarzan and Jane
Yap
Gene Marshall Ψ Shut Up and Quit Talking
Magnetic Fields Ψ Yeah! Oh Yeah!
Carl Perkins Ψ Honey Don't
Corky Jones Ψ Hot Dog
Norma Fraser Ψ The First Cut is the Deepest
Meic Stevens Ψ Y Crawdyn Ein
Eduardo Mateo Ψ Quien
I’m a young Unitarian-Universalist.
So I don’t really know a lot about the theology.
I like the idea of not just comparing religions side by side, but of seeing what happens when you intersect them. (Bahai?)
I was thinking about a person I know who really needs some miracles - or grace, I should say - gifts that he doesn’t earn. I believe in the laws of karma, in that I think if you want a friend, for instance, you have to become a friend; if you want gifts, you have to give. But sometimes people just aren’t capable of making those first inputs into the system; they haven’t been trained, they aren’t aware, they’re so low and down they can hardly move.
But grace is a Christian concept. Can it occur within or with the context of karma? What would that look like?
i lack faith and patience
like waiting for a fish
the one time there’s a bite
and i pull it out, wet and frightened and
it’s grace, and i throw it back to
keep the karma going -
Twelve thousand seven hundred fifty-two. That's the number of the "neediest, most troubled families in St. Louis," as categorized by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to the article "Families' plight stirs aid for thousands," the number of families in this stack is up by 1,000 from last year, and it has been increasing every year for the past four.
During these slow economic times, the cash-flow to many charities is on the decline. However, not everyone is scaling back donations this year. Here are just a few examples of how local businesses and individuals continue to help:
But these generous contributions can't even begin to cover all of the St. Louisans in need this holiday season. For those of you who, like this recent college grad, have not yet accrued millions of dollars to donate to local charities, here are a few of the many options for volunteering your time in the upcoming weeks:
Regardless of how you choose to spend your time and money this holiday season, just remember - twelve thousand seven hundred fifty-two is a large number, and it's only the tip of the iceberg.
You’ll immediately head over to Pensons, a new blog started by “Friend of the Blog” and fellow Pushback blogger Daniel Strauss. He’s good people, whip-smart and a great writer (much better than me, in fact), so - per the title of this post - do yourselves a favor and check it out.
