December 2011
Royal Navy vessel HMS Racoon departs the Columbia... →
So the ship that Great Britain sent to claim the Columbia RIver Drainage and “destroy” any American vessels encountered was named the Racoon? I have a beef with that.
WatchSecret Santa Conan Blows His Staffer’s Mind
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A List of Every RKCNDY Show Ever (1996 - 1999) →
Wow! A trip back to high school for me. Bands I obsessed over for months yet but have since totally forgotten about, like Super Deluxe. A lot of ska in there too, but I wasn’t into that.
City Dozen: Yehudit Mam's Mexico City - Saveur.com →
Cacahuates Japoneses Mexican Japanese peanuts happen to be the number one query on my blog. People ask for the recipe to make them at home. I believe that they are achieved by nuclear fission and should not be attempted in a regular kitchen. They are covered in a crunchy shell made of wheat flour and soy sauce. The very best and classic brand is Nishikawa. Squeeze a fresh lime inside the bag....
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NOW IT CAN BE TOLD →
Local writer Clark Humphrey was an elf at Amazon’s Kindle hyperlink workshop. He gives us a behind-the-scenes peek into the mechanical turk that makes it all happen. I wonder why he’s “surprised” that ladyporn exists in eBook form when it’s a obviously big genre in dead tree form.
the understatement: Android Orphans: Visualizing a... →
understatementblog:
The announcement that Nexus One users won’t be getting upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich led some to justifiably question Google’s support of their devices. I look at it a little differently: Nexus One owners are lucky. I’ve been researching the history of OS updates on Android phones…
Flickr: Shinya Arimoto's Photostream →
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Longreads →
Chris Jones on the body-shot knockout →
A head shot puts a man to sleep. A body shot makes him wish for it.
Grab your camera: King Tides begin arriving... →
Photogs, contribute to the documentation of impact of high water on Washington shorelines.
Their War at Home: Iraqi War Photographers -... →
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1Q84 progress report #2
Volume 2 finished. Soon after I mentioned them in my last update, talking cats appeared. I must remind myself that Murakami books leave far more questions than answers, and not to expect neat and tidy resolutions. I feel like I should go back and read the exchange between Aomame and Leader again. I’m immersed in the book’s world now, I miss it when I’m away from it.
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Two Mitt Romneys - Wealthy Man, Thrifty Habits -... →
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1Q84 progress report
I finished volume 1 last night. This is turning into quite the hardboiled detective novel, and no talking cats in sight. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the (300-page) setup—I did. A funny coincidence: immediately prior to starting this book I read a volume of Chekov’s short stories and had Wiki-educated myself on Chekov’s life. I was pleasently surprised to see several...
Eames: The Architect and the Painter < Films <... →
I saw this last week and loved it. I only knew of the Eames chairs. Highly recommended, especially for design geeks.
The Economist | Macau’s gambling industry: A window on China
http://www.economist.com/node/21541417?frsc=dg%7Cb via @theeconomist
Do the needful
If you work in IT you eventually interact with people who work India. In the back-and-forth of emails an Indian engineer will describe a suggested course of action and sometimes end it with the phrase “please do the needful.” This phrase sounds silly or British or archaic and often comes up in office banter. For example, an IM status of doing the needful. The Wikipedia says it actually...
Does NASA use the metric system? →
According to this internal assessment: sometimes.
A Mexico City taquería, in pictures | The Mija... →
I am going to eat approximately a trillion tacos in Mexico.
Bonds 絆 chosen as 2011 Kanji of the year... →
Neglected Links
Articles from 2011 that I enjoyed but neglected to share.
Art of the Steal: On the Trail of World’s Most Ingenious Thief
Should We Clone Neanderthals?
Amy Wallace survives a rare sparring session with Garry Shandling: Humor: GQ
Logistics, Territory and Walmart: All Those Numbers: Places: Design Observer
Zach Galifianakis Hates to Be Loved — Printout — TIME
Jeff Garlin:...
Zombies in ‘Juan of the Dead’ Chomp on Cuba’s... →
“Cuban reality is so incredible that there are things in the movie that seem like you made them up, but in fact they are based on truth,” said Alejandro Brugués, the 35-year-old director, who was born in Argentina but grew up in Cuba. “I just put zombies in the scenario, instead of real people.”
520 tolls start Dec. 29 →
neighborhoodr-seattle:
Get your across-the-water trips in before the New Year!
WatchJackson Landers hunts Canada Geese
Sir, may we trade lives please?
Thai Curry Simple to Open in South Lake Union →
Yes, YES! I’m a fan of their I.D. location. A suggestion: charge MORE in SLU.