10 Months Later - September 30, 2008

On December 14th of last year I posted about how ridiculous Facebook's "tagline" was ("Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you"). Here's a picture for reference:
I then went on in my post about how the phrase was entirely to vague and complicated to describe what Facebook actually is/does. Long story short, Facebook has now changed their homepage's tagline:
Wow! Did they listen to me? I think this is a vast improvement from their previous homepage, and it makes it much easier for non-Facebookies to quickly "get" what Facebook is all about. For once I can actually say, congrats Facebook on doing something right.

Shasta Life - September 29, 2008

I spent 3 days on a house boat, and these are the only pictures I have to show for it. Long live Lake Shasta!

Everyday - September 25, 2008

(photo source : Slap Upside the Head)

As I was having my teeth cleaned the other day (FYI I had zero cavities!), my dental hygienist offered me a bit of advice about how she lives her life day to day. The core of what she was conveying to me was that everyday we should do something different or exciting...something that makes the blood boil in anticipation, excitement, or fear. Her exact quote was:

"Do something everyday that scares you a little bit"

While I'm not confident that the phrase's word choice is by any means perfect, I totally agree with the sentiment. Sorry if this post is coming off as cliche and somewhat trite, but I think that it is incredibly important to not remain complacent with the rituals of life. Take what you will from my story, but know I only offered this to my readers because I firmly believe that creativity is a direct result of exploration and submersing one self into elements, societies, situations, etc of the unknown.

Cyndi Lauper, Yes I Know - September 19, 2008

Cyndi Lauper launched a new album a month or so ago. For someone who has been all over the place with her career, her single isn't too bad. It's catchy enough that most of the Castro bars should have it on their jukeboxes by now.

I'm writing this post, and linking to this video, because I literally just found out that Cyndi Lauper was involved with the very first Wrestlemania with the WWF. WHAT!!! Here's the quality programming, which was a joint venture between MTV and the WWF.

Also worth mentioning, the big old fat guy has rubber bands glued to his face. Once again, WHAT!!! Man....to have been the writer for that whole fiasco.

Video Fun - September 18, 2008

A video that goes from this:
To this:
To this:
And back to this:

Man in the Maze - September 16, 2008

Iʼitoi is the michievous creator god who resides in a cave just below the peak of Baboquivari Mountain. Visitors to the cave are asked to bring a gift to ensure their safe return from the depths. I'itoi is said to have brought the Hohokam people to this earth from the underworld. He is also responsible for the gift of the Himdag, a series of commandments guiding people to remain in balance with the world and interact with it as intended.

He is most often referred to as the Man in the Maze, a reference to a design appearing on native basketry and petroglyphs which positions him at the entry to a labyrinth. The labyrinth design depicts experiences and choices we make in our journey through life. In the middle of the "maze", a person finds their dreams and goals. When one reaches the center, we have one final opportunity (the last turn in the design) to look back upon our choices and path, before the Sun God greets us, blesses us and passes us into the next world.

Charlie Leaves SF Tommorrow - September 12, 2008

For those of you that regularly subject yourself to my blog, you might have noticed that I've been heavily promoting Charlie Engle's Run Across America. Besides the fact that I'm an athlete, and I'm very intrigued by his determination and goals, I helped Charlie set-up his Twitter feed that he is using to document his journey (www.twitter.com/charlieengle).

I finally got a chance to meet Charlie and do some interviews with him, which are being edited as I write this. I'll post them once they're done. For now, you'll have to settle for this TV interview with a local SF new station from this morning.

And a nice little pic of me and Charlie.

Skull Chairs - September 11, 2008

The Sensory Deprivation Skull, created in 2007 by Joep van Lieshout, is a seat with doors that you can shut to submerse yourself in total darkness. The skull is constructed of reinforced fiberglass, measures 59 inches tall by 43 inches long and 53 cm wide. I know for certain I couldn’t fit inside, but perhaps someone with dwarfism might be able to.

It is very cool though, and I would certainly have one if my apartment if it wasn’t for the annoying little price tag.

The artist, Joep van Lieshout, was born in 1963 in the city of Ravenstein in the Netherlands, but now resides in Rotterdam. You can check out his personal website at Atelier Van Lieshout.