Flag purchaser

I get a lot of the we-don't-know-what-to-do-with-this mail at work. The latest.

Start Seeing Motorcyclists

Very clever ad that drives home a point (no pun intended). True for bicyclists, too.

It's a bright, scary morning

This ad has been popping up on my Pandora window.

The cat looks mad. "She makes mornings brighter. Every time ... she scratches me in the face, demanding breakfast."

Not as bad as it looks

My top desk drawer at work.

Toaster Towel

I wish this was called iToast. From Neatorama.

Toaster Towel:

"Tired of the old, ugly toaster in your kitchen? Here’s a new concept design that will make your metal toaster throw in the towel. Burcu Bag, Amalia Monica and Vinay Raj Somashekar has created a super-flexible toasting device called "Halo" that uses a sheet of heating element to do its job.

Weird? Well, if you think about it, electric sleeping blanket works pretty much the same way, right? Link"

Our legend basket love

I love this song by Alejandro Sanz, Nuestro amor sera leyenda. I used freetranslation.com to see what the song title means. It's not quite on target: our legend basket love. Google translator did what I think is a better job: Our Love Will Be Legend. No matter, really. It could be called I Fear the Phonebook and I'd still like his voice the music.

A Logo for a New Kind of Clinic

Your Logo Makes Me Barf gives me such joy. Schadenfreude on steroids. Caution! The posts sometimes aren't family friendly.

The image below looks like a logo for a cult. Disguising itself as mind opening and all 'everyone there is so nice!' The partially obscured "expect success" is quite creepy. Why would a clinic have to bring this up?

Official write up from YLMMB:

A Logo for a New Kind of Clinic:
The kind of clinic that exclusively serves quadruple-headed people with octopus bodies.

"

Pooh pooh the blues -- matches made not in heaven

This reminds me of a couple of weddings I've been to. You just knew that it was going to be a big 'ol mess.

 

from The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn

Great. Another thing to worry about.

From the brilliant Toothpaste for Dinner.

Pooh pooh the blues - Basil Fawlty

Basil Fawlty's long legs just add to the humor.

The most dangerous podcast

I started listening to the NPR Books podcast. It's a mish mash of book reviews and author interviews.

I love books. Love reading them, acquiring them, displaying them (the only room in my house without books is the bathroom). They make every room more cozy.

I've had to practice quite a bit of restraint while listening to this podcast, holding myself back from going straight to Amazon and ordering them all.


Books: Book Reviews, Book News, and Author Interviews : NPR

Terry Tate Office Linebacker

Everyone and their brother might have seen this but it's brand new to me. I wonder if there's a video where he mows over people who stay and talk tooooo long at your cube or office door? Or those who give me papers that are paperclipped instead of stapled. ;)

Dressed for dinner

Amazing dishes via Design*Sponge.Although I bet getting things like spaghetti sauce off them could be quite time intensive. I'd almost hate to use them with anything that would cover up the great design!

Funny things I wrote down

From my list of funny stuff I heard and want to remember. Much to the "delight" of my co-workers.

The Bugle

• That is a huge assumption based on sand.
• Talks as if [something relatively easy] is roughly the equivalent of invading Russia in the middle of winter.
• May as well spend all day at the zoo barking at antelope.
• [In reference to opera] I don't like the noise of it.
• Personal anger gym by Hissyfit.
• 5 Steps to Fury Guide.
• Unappetizing dessert tray of choices.
• It was the kind of room where you can imagine if Britain ever goes the wrong way, people are going to be reading forced statements criticizing American foreign policy.

 The Nerdist podcast

• In conversation there are icebreakers. And that would be an icecreator.

 Bones

• Children enjoy bad smells and loud noises.

The poster above is from despair.com.

T-Shirt Gatling Cannon

I love the idea of a t-shirt cannon. A multi-firing t-shirt cannon hadn't crossed my mind as a possibility. I can't express how much I want to use this. Via Neatorama.

T-Shirt Gatling Cannon:
The robot-building team at Bellarmine College Prepatory School in San Jose, California built a t-shirt cannon that can fire 200 t-shirts before reloading. It can spit them out as fast as three shirts per second.

Link via Make | Photo: Team 254

"

Going Through a Rough Patch

A horrifying look at Halloween cakes. Via Cake Wrecks.

Going Through a Rough Patch: "It's the quintessential symbol of Halloween: the Jack-O-Lantern. Fortunately, it's also one of the easiest designs for a baker to make. Just take one round cake, ice it in orange, add a cartoony face, and...voilá!

AAAEEIII!!

Er. Heh, sorry. Let's try that again.

Voila!

That's...not a cake.


[rolling up sleeves] Voila!

Is that...plastic?

Cheater.



Voila!

A Pumpkin Poo-nicorn. Well. That's a first.


[through gritted teeth] Voi-la.

What the...what IS that? Come on, seriously, there's no way you could make this thing look less like a pumpkin!

Allow me to retract that last statement.


Knock, knock.

Well? Orange you glad I didn't say 'voila?'

Hm. Maybe the problem lies in trying to make the whole cake look like a pumpkin. Maybe if the baker just drew a pumpkin ON the cake...

[blinking]

Um...

[more blinking]

Voila!

Dorota, Carra M., Melody N., Shanna T., Andrew M., Ted, Donny & Amanda, Kaitlin K., & T.A., don't ask me; I'm going with "abstract jack-o-lantern."

"

Pooh Pooh the Blues -- zombies

I still miss Stu's Pooh Poohs the Blues (R.I.P. 2006). Wieden + Kennedy London used to publish this feature Mondays on its Welcome to Optimism blog. (I hope they don't mind that I hijacked the "Pooh Pooh the Blues" tag.)

In homage to Stu, and mostly because I want a Monday Pooh Pooh the Blues myself, I shall henceforth commit to posting something entertaining on Mondays.

Silly yet delightful from Sears.

Ceramic Autopsies - PSFK

So intriguing and lovely! (Pics) Ceramic Autopsies - PSFK

What I want for Christmas

I've been in love with Flair markers as long as I can remember. I lust after this set. If there was a bigger set, with more colors including brown, I would take it!

It's kind of like the grown-up version of the 64-crayon box. I bought one a while back and brought it to my parents' house for my nieces and nephews. Big fans of the coloring they are. I'm a little embarrassed to admit the joy that filled my heart as I put the box into my shopping cart.

Wednesday audio treat: Eros R.

A sure fire way to get me in a good mood, get the happy feet moving: Lo spirito degli alberi. I first heard Eros Ramazzotti on a German pop radio station in the '80s. Just as energetic as I remember. The song title translation, via www.freetranslation.com so extremely literal, is The Spirit of the Trees. Just can't see how trees would garner this amount of enthusiasm.

Pit bull love

A lovely video that debunks 'all pit bulls are bad.'

Happy Birthday Desmond Tutu!

A bit of wisdom from Archbishop Tutu who turns 79 today. He never fails to give me goosebumps.

Strategic bachelor reserve

I love The Onion. (And the Newcastle Brown Ale spot that opens the clip is brilliant.)


Obama Releases 500,000 Men From U.S. Strategic Bachelor Reserve

Social Media Summit -- sign up!

How do faith communities use the power of social media? If you're within a driveable distance of Des Moines, IA, on Oct. 23, check out the Social Media Summit! 

The Summit is going to be a great combo of education, innovation and networking.

The Summit will educate ministry professionals about the social web and empower them to use it in their specific contexts.

Based on the three pillars of Education, Innovation and Networking, the Social Media Summit will be a day of learning the “why’s” of social media while digging into the “how-to’s”. We want people to walk away not just knowing, but doing, as well.

The event is the brain child of Justin Wise, the man beyond the curtain at bedeviant.com. It's not the "deviant" you may think of. Instead,

• Deviant exists to challenge the status quo.
• Deviant exists because we believe there is more to life than the “American Dream.”
• Deviant exists as a graceful reminder that God calls us to “think differently.

Queen via slide whistle

Bohemian Rhapsody, mostly on slide whistle + one clever, off-center guy = pure delight. (via Boing Boing)



MysteryGuitarMan

If you have to tell me...

The name of this company makes me laugh.

Monday treat, mostly from The Bugle

A Monday treat. A collection of bits from my favorite podcasts.

  The Bugle

• Fantastically satisfactory.
• Congratulations! You just made things worse.
• Henry VIII to his wives. "I thought we should spend some time apart. When I said 'we,' I mean your head and your body."
• You're coming down with a nasty case of shut your mouth.
• It's a YP (your problem) not a MP (my problem).
• There is a time and a place for poetry. And it's in the 19th century in an opium den.
• Gone spoon loony.
• He's the genius that no one claims he is.
• He puts the 'moron' into human species.
• He puts the 'violations' into ethics violations.
• Looking at Putin and Ahmadinejad together, you really have two world-class cartoon baddies there ... They couldn't be more threatening if they were meeting in a lair on top of a volcano.

BBC News Quiz:

• It looks like you put on your makeup while riding your bike along a canal.

The Dinner Party Download:

• I'll have two plates of not that.
• That is hardcore crazy from the get go. 

Week 3 -- these picks are taking a lot of time

My picks for week 3 of the Pixie League. I found all of the following on the web so the information must be true.

Tennesee at NY Giants -- Giants. The Giants play in New Jersey, home of Newark. However, New Jersey is the diner capital of the world.

Pittsburgh at Tampa -- Tampa. Florida has a state butterfly, a zebra longwing. Pittsburgh was very close. Pennsylvania has a state dog, the Great Dane.

Cinncinati at Carolina -- Cinncinati. Cinncinati had the first ambulance service (1865).

Cleveland at Baltimore -- Baltimore. No contest. John Waters. (Before movies at the Uptown he used to come on the screen. He'd tell everyone that smoking is not allowed, while alluringly enjoying a cigarette.)

Dallas at Houston -- Houston. A suprisingly easy choice. Houston is the home of the Johnson Space Center, location of NASA's Mission Control Center. And Dallas has the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. [eye roll]

San Francisco at Kansas City -- Kansas City. The Missouri state reptile is the three-toed box turtle.

Detroit at Minnesota -- Minnesota. I'm a bit suprised at this pick. But the facts speak for themselves. Detroit is the most stressful city in the U.S. Minnesota has more miles of paved trails than any other state.

Buffalo at New England -- New England. I wasn't inspired by either of these but eventually chose New England, home of the world's smallest suspension bridge.

Atlanta at New Orleans -- New Orleans. On a Sunday morning I saw a palm reader on Jackson Square, right outside the cathedral. 

Washington at St. Louis -- Washington. The team has a player named Clinton Portis.

Philadelphia at Jacksonville -- Jacksonville. This must be the week of going against type. I chose another Florida team due to the fact that Jacksonville is the 15th least stressful city in the U.S. Pittsburgh is the 12th most stressful.

Oakland at Arizona -- Arizona. The state is home to these cities:  Bagdad, Boneyard, Surprise, Why and Tuba City.

San Diego at Seattle -- Seattle. Our book club pick for this month, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, takes place in Seattle. The book is quite good.

Indianapolis at Denver -- Indianapolis. Indiana was the first state to include free public schools in its constitution. Also, tomato juice was first served as a beverage at French Lick Springs Hotel (1917). 

New York Jets at Miami (MIA) -- Miami. It's the biggest melting pot in the U.S. Also, hanging over from last week, I love the idea of a competition between football players and art hounds (MIA is short for Miami and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts).

Green Bay at Chicago -- Green Bay. Middleton, also in Wisconsin, is home to the National Mustard Museum.

Pixie League, week 2 of caring about the NFL

I'm in a football pool at work. I couldn't care less about football but I enjoy making picks using my own criteria. And no, I don't base my picks on colors or logos. Jenni does but she's a designer and has the cred to do this.

We nicknamed the pool the Pixie League due to a mis-hear on the part another pooler. "Picks league" does sound a lot like "Pixie League."

The first week I didn't get my picks in on time. I wasn't thinking and thus thought my picks had to be in by 5 p.m. on Sunday. But I'm an American, conscious and do know that Sunday afternoon is full of football. I was ridiculed, rightly, for this.

Week two pick criteria is below. I was in the top 3. I sincerely hope that that unnerves those who are taking this seriously.

• Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee -- Pittsburgh. For a number of factors but it boiled down to MONEY magazine's top cities list. Pennsylvania has two cities in the top 100. Tennessee has just one.
  
• Miami vs. Minnesota -- Miami. On the pick form Miami is abbreviated MIA which is the abbreviation for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The idea that the MIA (arts one) would play against the MN Vikings delighted me to no end. Also, I can't stand the Vikings. Pay for your own stupid stadium!
• Arizona vs. Atlanta -- Two friends live in Atlanta. And I really like the city. It's quite beautiful. In Arizona it's hot, it's a desert landscape (not too cozy).
• Baltimore vs. Cincinnati -- Cincinnati. The football league overlord wrote Cincinnati as Cincy. I chose it despite this black mark on the city. We were on a family trip in D.C. and in traffic. A woman pulled up next to us, crying, and asked, "Do you know how to get to Baltimore?" Also, there was a huge oil spill in Cincinnati in the 1970s. Marathon Oil handled it so well that no one remembers it. Unlike the Exxon Valdez fiasco. Both companies' actions are frequently used as ueber-examples in crisis communication courses.
  
• Kansas City vs. Cleveland -- Cleveland. Our weather in MN is becoming like that of Kansas City. And that is not a good thing. Granted, it's not their fault. I do give in to one 'girlie' pick this week and it's Cleveland. In the 1980s their quarterback was Brian Sipe. Easy on the eyes.
  
• Chicago vs. Dallas -- Chicago. It would be tough for any city to win against Chicago. Museums, great walking city, friends Paul & David used to live there, great eats. Dallas is in Texas. Their separatist state of mind is a mystery to me.
  
• Philadelphia vs. Detroit -- Detroit. Detroit is the city with the big reputation here. One the one hand its nickname is Detroilet. On the other, Jude's husband, Bill, is from there. So it can't be all bad.
• Buffalo vs. Green Bay -- Green Bay. I love that the team is owned by their fans. And one of our student workers is from there. And he's a spectacular writer.
  
• Tampa vs. Carolina -- Tampa. Whenever I think of Florida I think of the northern part. There it's scrubby and blah. No deciduous trees and I get a bit fidgety. However, Tampa does have Busch Gardens. It was close though. Charleston is one lovely city.
  
• Seattle vs. Denver -- Seattle. This was a toughie. Two of my favorite people in the world have lived in either Denver or Seattle. Seattle does have the advantage for its culture. And, it is the home of the first Trader Joe's I visited. Took a taxi across town to a go to a grocery store.
  
• St. Louis vs. Oakland -- Oakland. I didn't have strong feelings, or facts, on this one. I picked Oakland because of its proximity to San Francisco. And St. Louis has the hot, humid weather that now seems to be our lot in Minnesota.
• Houston vs. Washington -- Houston. I'm taking a politically correct stance on this one. Even though it means choosing a Texas team. The Redskins is just a terrible name.
• New England vs. NY Jets -- New England. New England contains Boston. New York is neighbor to Newark, NJ.
  
• Jacksonville vs. San Diego -- San Diego. Again, Florida just doesn't do it for me. San Diego has a great zoo. Although we did lose my brother, Steve, there when he was 5 years old.
  
• NY Giants vs. Indianapolis -- NY Giants. Although NY is in proximity to Newark, Indiana includes the city of Gary. Enough said.
  
• New Orleans vs. San Francisco -- New Orleans. Although the crime rate is higher and the summers can be oppressive, New Orleans still wins based on its architecture and Cafe du Monde. And the city could really use another break.

Thursday treat with pants

Thanks to bedeviant.com for the recommendation. This is the silliest song and I love it. Apparently it's availalbe as a ringtone. That sounds like a very good idea!

Maria -- quit whining!

Today's Note from the Universe is a good kick in the pants for me. I've been whining a lot lately. That's annoying and I want to switch back to "glass half full" thinking.

You know, almost anything you feel you "have to" do, like cleaning and washing, can become a chore, even a drudgery; while those things that remain optional, like Disney World and Twister, can seem far more inviting, even fun.

So, Maria, as you go down the path of life, particularly when it seems you must force yourself through the motions, it just may help if you pause and give thought to the countless souls who'd give most anything for the option of even your "chores."

Life... it can sometimes be like one of those really, really "good problems," huh?

More than good prices: steepandcheap.com

I'm not usually in the market for things on the steepandcheap.com e-mails. But I still read them. Every day. The latest deal on climbing or camping equipment -- or whatever -- is accompanied by a clever commentary about something unrelated. Today's commentary:

I met a guy last weekend who talked a lot about martial arts. Wouldn't drop the topic. It started to weird me out a bit, but I smiled through it. He said that martial arts trains you to get in tune with your senses. During training, he'd close his eyes and hold his arm against his partner, and then the guy would ask him which leg he moved, and he'd know -- based on his senses. He argued that when you meet someone, you get an impression and know if you like them -- this is based on senses, we've just been trained to repress them. His martial arts was helping him tune them back in. The entire time I sat there nodding and thinking, "Man, what are you getting from me right now, because I think you're insane." Perhaps in time, his martial arts skills will tell him these things.

Michael Vick's dog now doing therapy

Dogs are so good for the soul. And snaps to people who help dogs find the perfect jobs!





Thank you, thank you, thank you to these great people!

Dogs of 9/11

Dogs -- unconditional love in action.

Creative thinking via John Oliver

Another reason to love the mind of John Oliver. I've watched this probably 100s of times. It's still funny.

The second day of John Oliver video. Oh dear. I'm becoming a stalker.

Jokes.com
John Oliver - Creative Thinking
comedians.comedycentral.com
Big Lake A New Comedy from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Monday treat: bad things to say on a first date

From Mock the Week (BBC), things you should avoid saying on a first date. From the brilliant Hugh Dennis (also of The Now Show). Bonus points if you guess the reference.

"My dating history? Divorced, beheaded, died... divorced, beheaded, survived."

Another treat. John Oliver from The Bugle on Bob Geldof's hair and owls. Glad to see that Bob still has an interesting coiffure. (BTW, now you can only access The Bugle via iTunes.)

10 days seems crazy fast, but...

One of the sweetest love stories via StoryCorps.

Hello, bug friend

I found this cute little guy while tending the flowers.

Online gaming can change the world!

This is one of the most inspiring TED talks I've heard. The whole idea of online gaming was irrelevant to me. Not anymore! Goes to show that positive change can come from the most unexpected places!

Cute=happy

Who can't use a bit of day-brightening cuteness? And what's cuter than a hedgehog eating a carrot or a puppy and a duckling palling around? (Thanks to NTEN for the links!)




Duckling And Puppy - The best bloopers are a click away

Food 2.0

The word "Web 2.0" makes me crazy. As a colleague said, "I've found that people who talk about 'Web 2.0' have no idea what it is."

This is clever however. Per Rory Sutherland, the photo at right is food 2.0 -- food you order and share with others.

Shopping for Dad made easier

The header on today's e-letter from the Onion.

Sometimes the pet videos are really good

This is just the sweetest. The dog reminds me sooo much of Pele. I couldn't resist.

2012 The Crapture

Oh Toothpaste how I love you so.


www.toothpastefordinner.com

People watching at Caribou

I'm at Caribou this afternoon. Working. It forces me to focus. That isn't to say I'm not a little distracted by people watching now and again.

There's a woman in here who has constantly been on the phone (she has puffy hair so I can't tell if she has an ear thingie) for a couple of hours. Or, she's talking to herself. Every half hour or so she goes outside for a smoke. There are three empty Caribou cups and an empty soda bottle on her table. She's not reading, writing or working on a laptop. Pretty much what all the people in here are doing. There's got to be a story there but I don't think I'll ask.

More than "I like that font!"

Very cool article in Fast Company about how to choose the best typeface. Follow this handy-dandy flowchart! (Link to a readable flowchart in the article.)

This is kind of indicative of my week

This is kind of indicative of my week. Except for the substance abuse. Or the goofy hair. The crazy eyes? Yes.

A different take on Earth Day

Special today at the Onion store. I'd like to work at the Onion but I don't think I'm near clever enough.

Signs of Spring. Hooray!

My favorite signs of Spring. Best appreciated on a dog walk!

Smell: grilling. Particularly the smell of lighter fluid.

Sound: kitchen noises. The windows are open and as we walk around the neighborhood I hear clinking dishes and silverware. Just the normal noises but I love them.

What's better than Spring? Nothing I can think of.

No excuse for panflutes

A t-shirt design from Sharing Machine (by the creator of the Toothpaste for Dinner). Many other strange t-shirts on Sharing Machine. I cannot express how much I love this.

I highly recommend following Toothpaste for Dinner on Twitter. A sample:

MY SISTER SAID IF I GET ONE HUNDRED FANS SHE WILL NAME HER BABY SOMETHING REGULAR

Not quite as funny as Badbanana but no slouch in the funny department.

Why I love John Oliver

John Oliver delivering the funniest story I've heard in months. Nice to hear that he doesn't use all of his good material on The Bugle.

Jokes.com
John Oliver - Creative Thinking
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Morning meals

Posting second-hand content is rather lame but oh well. This one reminds me of my brother, Mike. In reference to brunch says, "Finally! A meal between breakfast and lunch."


www.toothpastefordinner.com

Internal sunblock

I just love Toothpaste for Dinner. Such a strange look at the world.


www.toothpastefordinner.com