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monday haiku

confederation
cup loss not all bad to brazil
u.s. room to grow


read full review over
at wide world of fresno sports
cross promotion works

fresno bee ad takeover

so, i happened to sit down with the actual morning paper today. the "a" section was pretty hefty, and i was sorta impressed. that's a lot of news. 22 pages long. then, i opened it up, and fifteen and a half of those 22 pages were ads. fifteen full page ads and a half pager (okay, one of the fifteen was like 4/5 ad, and the half pager was a little more than half and i rounded those together). now i know that selling ads keeps the paper printed, and affordable, but that seems a bit excessive to me. at least the local section was a little better, with only four of ten being full page ads.

detail of the sistine chapel - God and adam touching hands

i saw an interesting take on michelangelo's piece from the sistine chapel

debunking canadian health care myths

i know that many people out there don't believe in socialized medicine. and, if you talk about it, they're throw out a bunch of tired lines about slower care, higher taxes, and more. i came across a great article about the issue, focusing on canada and the myths that persist about their health care system from the denver post.

i suggest you read the article, but here are some key points gleaned out:
"It is becoming increasingly more difficult to dispute the fact that Canada spends less money on health care to get better outcomes."

"Myth: Taxes in Canada are extremely high, mostly because of national health care.

In actuality, taxes are nearly equal on both sides of the border. Overall, Canada's taxes are slightly higher than those in the U.S. However, Canadians are afforded many benefits for their tax dollars, even beyond health care (e.g., tax credits, family allowance, cheaper higher education), so the end result is a wash. At the end of the day, the average after-tax income of Canadian workers is equal to about 82 percent of their gross pay. In the U.S., that average is 81.9 percent."

"Myth: Canada's government decides who gets health care and when they get it.While HMOs and other private medical insurers in the U.S. do indeed make such decisions, the only people in Canada to do so are physicians. In Canada, the government has absolutely no say in who gets care or how they get it. Medical decisions are left entirely up to doctors, as they should be.

There are no requirements for pre-authorization whatsoever. If your family doctor says you need an MRI, you get one. In the U.S., if an insurance administrator says you are not getting an MRI, you don't get one no matter what your doctor thinks — unless, of course, you have the money to cover the cost."

"Myth: There are long waits for care, which compromise access to care.There are no waits for urgent or primary care in Canada. There are reasonable waits for most specialists' care, and much longer waits for elective surgery."

"It is not a perfect system, but it has its merits. For people like my 55-year-old Aunt Betty, who has been waiting for 14 months for knee-replacement surgery due to a long history of arthritis, it is the superior system. Her $35,000-plus surgery is finally scheduled for next month. She has been in pain, and her quality of life has been compromised. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Aunt Betty — who lives on a fixed income and could never afford private health insurance, much less the cost of the surgery and requisite follow-up care — will soon sport a new, high-tech knee. Waiting 14 months for the procedure is easy when the alternative is living in pain for the rest of your life"


if people are going to just throw out their pre-scripted talking points, let's hit them back with knowledge. socialized medicine isn't the bogey man. it's not evil. it is about providing health care for all our citizens in a humane manner.

steak and broccoli lunch

some days when i'm home for lunch i think, "i just don't want another quesadilla or sandwich. i think i'll make something different and better." today was one of those days.

so, as i did things this morning, i decided to thaw out a steak i had in the freezer and to grill it up. i had recently heard adam perry lang on both the adam carolla podcast and the b.s. report talking about bbq so i had some ideas and techniques i wanted to try out. i also had recently been to lowes and bought some grill prep pads that you use after cleaning the grill but before you put the meat on.

after thawing the meat, i rubbed in salt, pepper and a little garlic powder on both sides. i then took the meat to the grill and put it on. in the past, i've stuck to the idea that steaks you don't want to turn a ton of times. in fact, i usually would turn a steak like this once. adam perry lang disagrees, and does it more than i do, and did today. i seared one side of the meat for 30ish seconds, then flipped it to let it cook on the other side. in the mean time, i went back inside and grabbed a few things to put on after the next flip. when i came back, it had been a minute or two and was ready to flip. i turned the meat, and on the up side gave it some more salt and pepper, and a few slices of butter. i let the meat cook a short while, and repeated this process once more on the next flip.

as the meat progressed, i wondered what in my fridge would go well with this and still not be an overly big lunch? i looked and saw a bit of leftover broccoli that we had steamed for dinner two nights ago. i popped it into the microwave and let it heat back up. as that finished i went out and pulled the meat off the grill and onto a plate to rest. i then came back inside and paired the steak with the broccoli florets.

i felt it needed one last thing, and remembered some blue cheese crumbles that we bought for use with salad. admittedly, i am not really a big fan of blue cheese, but often enjoy it on steak. and, this particular cheese has ended up being pretty mild, which is good for me, not so good if you like it sharp. so, i took a handful of blue cheese crumbles and applied it liberally to the steak and broccoli. see here:



wow. this ended up being a really flavorful and enjoyable lunch. the one drawback was that the steak ended up being cooked a little longer than i generally prefer, but that could be remedied by having all my ingredients ready before and not doing minor prep work during the cooking. whatever. it was still good. and now i'm full, but not too full, and ready to get on with the rest of the affairs of my day.

alcoholic monkeys of st. kitts

check out this funny/strange/sad piece the bbc did about monkeys stealing alcohol and drinking in the little island of st. kitts.



i wonder if this sort of behavior is found elsewhere?


for more funny monkey behavior, here's a link to a monkey that peed on the president of zambia during recent press conference.

twitter

ugh. i feel so dirty right now.


i signed up for a twitter account.


@edwardstewart for those who might wish to follow.

metric fail

i saw this sign at work today, and it started to trouble me. i don't know who made, or what purpose it exactly is for, but it's not right.

you see, those top few things, not metric. they should be talking about millimeters, centimeters and meters. and i'm pretty sure liters is the metric measure you'd use instead of pints and quarts.

rottweiler vs cat

this cat just jacked up your rot. and, yes, i know, the rot is on a leash and might have behaved differently if it wasn't, but it still took some abuse from a cat that's probably 1 10th it's size.



and yes, i'm posting vids i saw elsewhere.

billie jean officer

get some, officer

80's toys movie trailers

i love movies made about things i loved growing up. wait, no i don't. i thought transformers was alright, but g.i. joe looks like crap. these trailers look a little better:

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

care bears vs my little pony, cabbage patch, smurfs were interesting, but wes anderson doing teddy ruxspin looked hilarious.
play doh looks as boring as ever.
david lynch's koosh ball speaks for itself.
the best: john carpenter's alf.

atom films.

a post for my math nerd friends

i'll be honest, i have no idea what this comic is about, but i have some friends that i know will find it humorous.


toothpastefordinner.com

also, there's a new episode of the podcast up. go and enjoy.

yawn

so, i've been on "vacation" for a week but today i'm doing some sub work. man i wish i was asleep right now.

61 year old man killed over bicycle

i don't have much commentary to bring to this story, but you're a real piece of crap if you kill a 61 year old over a bicycle.

cowards.

monday haiku

u.s. advances
confederations semis
spain on wednesday




podcast recording
tonight featuring cyclists
any questions from you?

momo doves, rademacher & david dondero @ tokyo garden

if you aren't already planning on being at this show, you should be.



special shout out to kaylee benwa for putting this flyer together.

the queers @ audie's olympic

june 17, 2000

happy anniversary

han solo p.i.

this has been around for a few weeks, but i'm just finally getting around to publishing this very well cut spoof of magnum p.i.'s opening.



get'em han.

monday haiku

thought father's day was
yesterday but it's next week
sheesh i'm a moron.


lulu has a nice
house on a quiet street, we
congratulate her

the undercurrent 3rd anniversary show review

ah, the undercurrent, fresno's own independent newspaper for arts, entertainment, news, and politics. for those that don't know, i do contribute to a column for the paper. so, i knew i'd be going and supporting the undercurrent at their anniversary show on saturday.

i showed up, and saw the revised line up.



son de valle had to cancel for personal reasons, and that actually worked out alright for me because i was running late. the show kicked off later than planned so i got to see about half of it's an icicle's set, which i thought i'd miss. i enjoy this young band, although they're still a bit rough around the edges. i'm sure with time and shows they'll gain the experience needed to be a solid band. or, they'll break up. unfortunately, i didn't get any video of the band.

i did, however, get this snazzy bracelet . it cracks me up because the undercurrent is definitely a left leaning paper. i'm sure commenters on the fresno bee or many of those that write letters to the editor would call the undercurrent a communist rag or unamerican. nope, we've got flag bracelets for our party.



the first band i did record was the fay wrays:



i'm definitely a fan of the fay wrays, and have seen them on several times. they're almost done with their album, and i'm eagerly awaiting that. they've recently added a bass player that is playing on most dates. he lives in l.a., so he's not at every show. i met him, but forget his name. he is a great addition to the fay wray sound. the bottom end really allows benji to play a little cleaner which sounds great. and, dude is quite a presence on stage, swinging his bass, kicking about, and thrashing around. benji does a bit of that as well, so it might be a little dangerous on that stage.

the next act was shon j and dj bumsun. i'd never seen shon j, but enjoyed his flow and may check him out june 30th @ the starline.



3 bags full got a late start and a shorter set because their drummer was running a little late. but they still kicked out the jams.



patrick contreras, fresno's own american rock violinist was in full form with his band. his music is really starting to grow on me. i mean, they're not going to replace my fresno favorites, but i'm enjoying it more and more each time. i've always thought that patrick was talented and a great performer, but i'm finally coming around on his instrumental rock.



after patrick's set, this sweet ride was raffled off by the fresno bicycle coalition. the bike is a limited edition fat tire amber ale bike, donated (i think) by new belgium brewing.



tickets were $3, or 2 for $5. i went in for $15 and thought i had a good chance because not a lot of people were buying tickets. sadly, i did not win. the winner was in for $20, which is still a great investment for that ride.

the sleepover disaster was there early to watch the fay wrays, but had some other engagements in between that and their set. they all returned in time to drop great music on the crowd.



last on the bill was destructo bunny. i have seen destructo in quite some time, and he has really honed his craft. solid, solid hip hop and beats. and, he's pretty impressive as a one man, complete hip hop act.



overall, i really enjoyed the show. but, it had some issues. the main issue was the attendance which was terrible. seriously, it was damn near vacant for large stretches of the night. by the time the headliner came on, there was around 15 people left in the house. that totally sucks. so, why was the show so poorly attended? was it the $15 price tag? maybe. i mean, i know it's a slow economy and what not, but people still go to shows. and, $15 for 7 bands is nothing, especially considering that these are 7 of fresno's finest.

but, last's year's show had more bands alongside of several of this year's acts, and was only $10. maybe it was more of a value. or maybe last year's show was a little better. either way, last year had much better attendance.

it shouldn't have been so poorly attended. i mean, they went from being 21 & over @ the first two parties to an 18& older event. that should have brought in some more folks. and, it was at a better spot than last year. the starline is one of the better music venues in fresno.

i think when it's all said and done, a lot of it comes down to promotion. it seemed to me that a lot of the promotion was a bit late coming. i'm not blaming anyone, it just seems like the previous two shows were a promoted a little more, and were a tad more organized at the event. and the bands themselves lagged on this as well. i'm not myspace or facebook friends with all the bands, but i am with many. in fact, i think shon j may be the only one i'm not linked up with online. and i pretty much only saw bulletins for the show from destructo bunny and the undercurrent over the last ten days. it's an icicle put out a flyer post the day of. the rest: silent. that sucks. i know the bands all did the show for free, to support the undercurrent, but promote yourselves and the show dammit. the undercurrent promotes your shows for free, take a few minutes and repost the undercurrent flyer.

when it's all said and done, it was a good show and i'm glad i went. i just wish more of fresno had joined me.

undercurrent 3rd anniversary show

i hope i see you there.

horseback sheriffs represent

not exactly sure what is going on in this photo i took, but i saw a motorcycle cop, a sheriff's car, and two horseback sheriffs today.

Of bicycles and homelessness

(this is a repost of something written by 1pedicabdriver over @ fresno famous. i thought it was important, thoughtful, and am reposting it here. it deals with this story from the bee.)

I love to pedal, be it a bicycle or a pedicab. I don't ride as much as some, and a little more than others. And today I learned about the death of a fellow cyclist whom I have never met but feel the camaraderie that bicyclists feel when passing one another on the road.

A mutual friend was telling me of the cyclists death. He conveyed to me his final moments and the sense of loss he felt for a friend, having tried to resuscitate him through CPR. As I listened to the story I thought of my own mortality as a cyclist and the what-if's of dying from a heart attack.

I was told that the cyclist's obituary was in Tuesday's paper and that I should check it out. I don't get the paper except on the weekends so I asked a friend for the "local and state" section of the paper because I wanted to read the obit.

Upon looking through the "local and state" section I came across one of those often overlooked stories on page B2 titled: Driver sought in hit-run death in Tower District." I was thinking that I spend a lot of time in the Tower and I don't recall hearing of anyone dying.

So I started reading the brief summary of events. On May 31st I was heading home from a night of pedicabbing in the Tower and remember seeing what seemed to be a dozen black and whites parked in the south-bound lanes of Palm Ave, just south of Olive. I pondered what could possibly require so many police cars?

Well, nearly 10 days later I now have the answer. The homeless man known to me only as Matthew (Matthew Victor according to the report) was involved in a hit and run accident and killed. I suppose that to many the death of a homeless man isn't really important.

I saw Matthew as much as I saw some of my regular fares. I always saw him together with his black and white dog Lefty on Olive between the vacant lot (now a garden) behind and the Brass Unicorn and taking up a spot by the Circle K. I gave him a dollar here and a dollar there. I along with others gave him food for his dog.

On Wednesday I learned about the death of two men from opposite ends of the spectrum. I had something in common with both men. One I shared a love of cycling, the other I shared a neighborhood. One man is remembered in death, the other forgotten.

gangsta chain

guess who's rockin this fresh gangsta chain




none other the prez obama. dude is straight gangsta with it.


okay, not really. it was a honor from saudi arabia's king abdullah. wev. i like gawker's take on it better.

simpsons stamps!

adam wall's pecha kucha presentation

for those of you that missed it, here's adam's presentation from last night's pecha kucha night @ the starline



feel free to repost.

five star day

the trailer for the movie five star day is now up, giving us a greater glimpse of what is to come.

what i do know:
it's about a guy trying to disprove astrology
the trailer features rademacher's 'today is different'
the movie looks interesting in a disenchanted with life sort of way

how to fake art appreciation

here's a little help for you all when you come to my next art opening on july 2 @ milano:

pecha kucha 3 - three's a crowd

the place to be tonight is @ the starline. pecha kucha is a really fun event, the line up for tonight is looking pretty good.



show up early, you don't want to be standing in the back.

checking my hits

i was looking @ my sitemeter today, tracking my traffic, and i've risen to #13 for a certain search of images. frankly, i'm shocked. this post about the flashback feature showing of pulp fiction gets hits like crazy.

also, five of the top ten results for the image search 'heather flower tattoos' are my blog.

it's like i'm some sort of reference book. okay, not really, but i get a fairly steady amount of hits from those two image searches.

undercurrent anniversary party

it's just under a week away...

the undercurrent's third anniversary party



so many good bands.

happy caturday

ah, the end of another good caturday.

cat workout

thinking about going to the gym?

forget about it. you can do it all at home. here's how:

bench press



twists



curls (biceps)



triceps



lunges



there are a few more exercise suggestions at my new favorite workout site, cat workout.

hyefest 2009

who wants to get hye with me this weekend? that's right, we're going downtown, to the fulton mall and getting hye.




hyefest 2009 looks to be a pretty good time. armenian food, dance, and more.

reeva perez

a couple of weeks ago i was reminded of one of the best practical jokes i've heard of/been a part of. it was orchestrated through email, and i thought i'd share it with you all, with commentary mixed in

Sat, 1 Apr 2000 16:55:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Reeva Perez
To:

Ed,

I'm not sure if you remember me--I was two years
behind you at Edison. I was at a party the other
night and my friend started talking about wanting to
hook up with you. I always thought you were pretty
cool, so I thought I'd try to be a little matchmaker.

Jasper said he used to see you all the time last year
in the Tower District with this androgynous looking
guy and used to think you two were a couple. But then
someone told him a few months ago that that guy's like
a total loner. So he figured you were available. Are
you?

Jasper is really nice and pretty cute, if you like the
boyish type (I figure you do judging from your past
boyfriend). We hang out at Livingstones every Monday
night if you're interested. He's kinda shy, but
really funny if you get to know him.

Hopefully I'll be seeing you soon. Oh, and wear a
button down shirt--Jasper loves chest hair!

Love, Reeva


so, at this point i figured it was a practical joke, having been sent april 1. but, it could have been real. so, i decided to flush it out by throwing everyone i thought who could have done it under the bus.

***************************************************

From: "Edward Stewart"
To: reeva_perez@yahoo.com
Subject: Re:
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2000 22:05:28 PST

I don't remeber you, but me and my friend Jay think
that we would be
interested in some fun. You're right about the
androgynous guy, he is
a loner. But this new guy, Jay, is quite different.
We're both rarin'
to go.
See you soon.
ed

*******************************************************

From: "Edward Stewart"
To: reeva_perez@yahoo.com
Subject: Re:
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2000 22:10:35 PST

oh, by the way, both Jay and I have very hairy chests.
Jay will be wearing this yellow number that really accentuates his
hair and nipples. I'll wear this tight, see through white shirt. It'll be
great to meet someone new, as my life has been rather bland lately. My
ex-ditched me after a serious relationship, but my friend Jay has been great through
all of this. My roommate seriously needs to come out of the closet,
especially since he is in love with the lonely guy. The lonely guy
continues to pine for some lost englishman. plus, i've really missed a
lover that is in law
school.
I hope jasper is something great!
ed


JAY, do you remember that shirt? it was a yellow button up, i think it sorta was striped. at the time, i was living with my friend scott, and the lonely guy is our friend justin.

****************************************************

From: Reeva Perez
To: Edward Stewart
Subject: Re:
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 10:06:27 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Ed.

Jasper is so excited! He was a little concerned about
your friend Jay coming along too, but then he thought
he could watch while Jay rode you like a bronco, then
join you in a threesome (you in the middle).

Could you bring a friend along for me too? How about
your friend in law school? Is he cute?

See you Monday, Reeva

at this point i was pretty sure it was my friend brian, who was in law school @ the time. so, i sent the following response to the original sender, as well as to my friend brian.
*******************************************************

From: "Edward Stewart"
To: reeva_perez@yahoo.com
CC:
Subject: Re:
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2000 17:22:22 PDT

sorry, but we won't be able to make it monday. i've
got to go to a
business dinner. I must confess, i don't remember you
from edison, and neither
does my yearbook. but you do remind me of someone
that went to Bullard. go
to go.ed
oh yeah, and my friend from law school is cute, but he
frequently
questions his sexuality.

*******************************************************

From: "Edward Stewart"
To: "brian"
Subject: wassup
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2000 17:28:03 PDT

hey homes, what is up with you? how is law school
treating you now? and
the lady? it was good to talk to you on the phone,
whenever that was.
anyway, just thinking of you reeva.

ed


well played my friend, well played. and yes, i've kept this in a folder of my email for the last 9 years.

strange

(i posted this through the blogger email server, but it didn't include the text. so, i'll add it in now.)

so, i received this l.e.d. flashlight today @ a staff meeting. what i can't quite figure out is what i'm supposed to do with it. it's 2"x3". am i supposed to put it on a key chain? in my pocket?

willie mays day @ the grizzlies

hey, on sunday the grizzlies are having a special event



anyone interested in coming along? i'll be honest, i've got four tickets and am willing to hook a few people up, but i'd love for a bunch of us to get seats together and enjoy a nice day at the ballpark. the projected high on sunday is only 83 so that shouldn't be a problem at all. and, the grizzlies are playing pretty well right now so there's a good chance they'll win, for those that only want to see winners.

who wants to go?

here are some details from the grizzlies
Say Hey Kid Pack
Get 2 Super View Tickets for $22 and enter yourself for a chance to meet Willie Mays*** on June 7th.

Click Here To Purchase Your "Say Hey Kid Pack"

*Willie Mays will be in attendance at Chukchansi Park on June 7th. He will NOT be signing autographs for the general public or appearing on the concourse or 600 Club. Only a very select group of randomly chosen fans will win the opportunity for a private meet & greet with Willie Mays on June 7th. These winners will be randomly selected from the following groups:

**Fifteen (15) winners will be randomly selected from Grizzlies Sponsors, Premium Seat, Season Ticket, and Mini Plan package holders. Each winner will be allowed to bring one (1) guest with them for the meet & greet. All Grizzlies Sponsors, Premium Seat, Season Ticket, and Mini Plan package holders will be automatically entered into the drawing. These winners will be notified prior to the event on June 7th with further instructions concerning the meet & greet.

***Five (5) winners will be selected from the pool of "Say Hey Kid Pack" purchasers for a private meet & greet with Willie Mays. Each winner will be allowed to bring one (1) guest with them for the meet & greet. "Say Hey Kid Pack" will be on sale through Saturday, June 6th at 12:00 PST. These winners will be notified prior to the event on June 7th with further instructions concerning the meet & greet.

****Five (5) additional ticket stubs will be pulled randomly during the June 7th game for a private meet & greet with Willie Mays. Each of those winners will be allowed to bring one (1) guest with them for the meet & greet. All fans in attendance on June 7th will be eligible for inclusion in this drawing during Willie Mays Tribute Day.

mc cafe commercial and race

do me a favor, watch this commercial:



i've seen this commercial a lot lately, and somewhere in there i started to really think about the commercial and what i was seeing. the subtle things. the little things. maybe it's because i teach sociology. maybe it's something else. i don't know. maybe i'm seeing things that aren't there, or blowing things out of proportion. what i see in this commercial is a common theme in a lot of movies.

let me throw this out there: we see an african american woman waiting at the bus stop, dissatisfied. next, we see a caucasian male show up with the mc cafe and it's all good for him. cut scene, now we have the african american woman on the bus, all disjointed. who's satisfied? it's a white woman with a mc cafe. scene three, we again have the african american woman toiling away in her cubicle. thankfully, the caucasians arrive, bringing her a mc cafe, saving her day.

it's not overt racism. i don't think the makers of the commercial intended it. but, in some ways it's the same message that gets put out into the media. it's an especially common plot in movies: the lives of minorities are messed up and the whites bring the answer to the problem.

it's very subtle in the commercial. and maybe that makes it worse.

or maybe it really isn't there and i'm reading too much into a commercial.

dmc & afra freestyle "my adidas"

a couple of my favorite things come all together here:
adidas
beatboxing
dmc from run dmc



dope, but i wish that we had just a bit more of the freestyle & beatbox.

seen over @ formatmag.

axe body detailer tool

i saw this linked over @ boing boing, and so i jumped to it's source (which, btw, will be a new regular read for me).



if you can't read the small print, one line points to the part of the tool where you will wash "jessica's perfume of your ear," and the other line points to the part of the tool that you will use to "scrub[s] jessica's mom's perfume off your knees."

they've hit it right on the head: if you think it's cool/manly/acceptable to have a mother/daughter threesome, you're a tool. and, you probably already wear are swimming in axe.

(okay, it's conceivable that they're saying you're just involved with both, and perhaps not at the same time, but close enough that you haven't showered in between. still not good.)

michael moore on gm

michael moore has some interesting thoughts on how the government could use general motors. check it out.

creative fresno bartender challenge at the landmark

anyone interested in a cocktail? maybe 7ish?

undercurrent anniversary show

monday haiku

fresno state baseball
could not make it all the way
fresno off the map



sweet weather today
it looks better tomorrow
june in the eighties