20090429   

PhotObama

Michael considered fate at 22:05   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Beyond excellent photography of Obama, up close and personal, by Pete Souza:

The White House Blog - Delivering on change, an inside look.

(be sure to click the 'full screen' button in the lower right hand corner, it's worth it)

Book of the Dead @ The Big Easy, Metal Monday, April 27th, 2009

Michael considered fate at 16:23   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

KC (er, Candy):



Adam:



Doug:

Little Adults

Michael considered fate at 11:31   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Worth posting if only for the fact that you don't see a gold-plated AK-47 lamp every day, Anna Skladmann photographs the children of uber-rich Russians.

        20090423   

moments ago in the men's room

Michael considered fate at 10:00   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Updated: sorry folks, I didn't realize the whole setup was missing in the first place - damn html tags.

Two men at adjacent urinals had the following exchange:

man 1: *sneezes*
man 2: jesus. the fire hose *and* the cannon?
man 1: yeah. i'm multi-tasking.

        20090422   

Cassini

Michael considered fate at 00:20   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

The Boston Globe's Big Picture photo blog does Cassini, shit yeah.

        20090420   

Break dancing till the break .. of .. dawn

Michael considered fate at 20:40   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Okay, not till dawn.




Just in between the music at the Phoenix Best Of show.




I don't know how they do it.




But they sure look like they're having fun.



Somehow I doubt my wrists would hold up to that kind of abuse.



What with all the tendinitis I put up with.



At least I can still take photos.

Portland Phoenix' Best Of Awards show

Michael considered fate at 20:29   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Last Wednesday, over at the excellent Port City Music Hall, I caught Lady Lamb again..





.. and then Jacob Augustine and his huge band, which I'd never seen before.



They were excellent.



And full of energy.



It was my first time in the joint and I have to say I was quite impressed! If you haven't caught a show there yet, I highly recommend it.

Boat Prep #1

Michael considered fate at 20:20   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Got the boat uncovered last Sunday in anticipation of the spring launch preparation.



Proud new owner of the Dremel Multi-Max. So far so swell, and it's already making things easier.



Cracked open the Dewalt orbital sander as well, which proved powerful against all that heavy brightwork.



It's still the sweat that gets it done, though, and Sunday was another beautiful and practically cloudless day.



Hopefully one of many.

        20090416   

Dead Trees

Michael considered fate at 01:59   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

How many publications are dying on the vine? A lot. What comes of it? I don't know. But you can check out a map of papers that have closed or stopped publishing a print edition. It's particularly depressing for the east coast. I have to be honest here and admit I get a majority of my media from the internet now. I don't think that's a shame, really, and I don't think it needs to mean the death of an industry.. though it most certainly indicates a sea change.

I still enjoy all of the publications I once read in print, and while some people might disagree, I still enjoy them as much as I did in print. Certainly, I may never experience the joy of a new WIRED on my doorstep (this, nostalgia, from the early days) but I think most of these outlets still have pertinence if they choose to try.

At the end of the day, the human condition is resistance to change, and yet the human condition is dealing with change. I say get over yourselves.

        20090414   

Michael considered fate at 12:01   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

There is a great post over at Emptywheel with a number of links outlining some of the evils perpetrated by JP Morgan Chase in Michigan. Among the you-can't-be-serious realizations:

• JP Morgan Chase is reportedly pushing Chrysler into bankruptcy.
• About 300,000 people will lose their jobs.
• JP Morgan Chase will profit off the unemployed it helped to unemploy by providing unemployment insurance debit cards under a state contract.

Great, but.. no biggy, right? Because the free market will be more efficient than the government, right? Well, not if you give the free market carte-blanche to abuse the consumer. In this case, while it is no payday-loan bologna, it is still a bit head-scratching. This is what JP Morgan Chase charges for use of their debit card:

• More than two withdrawals in a 2-week pay period: $1.50 each
• Non-Chase withdrawals: $1.50 each
• More than one bank teller withdrawal in a pay period: $4.00 each
• Transaction denied for insufficient funds at POS, ATM, or teller: $1.50 each
• More than one ATM balance inquiry in a pay period: $1.00 for each
• Statement delivered by regular mail: 95¢ per statement

So, a simple catch-22 is already obvious, above and beyond the obviously extreme fees: if you don't know your balance you may get a fee for trying to withdraw money that you don't have, but if you want to find out your balance, you'll have to pay a fee to see it. Brilliant!

        20090404   

Book of the Dead's first ever live show

Michael considered fate at 15:44   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Candy on Politics

Michael considered fate at 15:30   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Geno's

Michael considered fate at 02:08   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

        20090403   

BA$EBALL

Michael considered fate at 11:42   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Despite the inability of government to do things like complete public works projects on time or fund public services, they nevertheless manage to finance part of the new baseball stadiums in New York, which are magically built in less than a year.

So far, the Yankees have gotten $900+ million in tax-free bonds, and $200 million in subsidies.. and they're still asking for more. Meanwhile, the city has built new parking garages, parkland, and more to the tune of $300+ million. I love me some baseball as much as the next guy, but come on.

This New York Times article from last year explains how these teams have benefited from the tax-free bond scheme.

If, however, you just don't care and you'd rather drool over the new digs, the New York Times has some great panoramic shots of both the new Yankee Stadium and the Met's Citi Field

        20090401   

Schwartz's

Michael considered fate at 20:18   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment