Graduation 05/12/2011
 That's the grin of shaking hands with Dumbledore himself. My girlfriend is right behind me; ain't that auburn hair beautiful? Add Comment Dare to Look Idiotic 05/04/2011
 I saw this photo and suddenly realized how seriously I sometimes take myself. Why? Aren't we all just black dudes with Coke cans in our mouths, posing earnestly for portraits as if we aren't a laughing matter to begin with? Finals Week 05/03/2011
 I gave it some thought, and this is the only photo I know of that really captures my feelings this week. You can guess who I identify with (hint: it's not the stampede of dinosaurs). Space Cadet 04/04/2011
 “Einstein’s dress and hair were typical of an adult with autistic tendencies…When he worked at the Swiss patent office, he sometimes wore green slippers with flowers on them.” Life Goes On 03/29/2011
Written from Russia to a good friend who's crying on Elizabeth Street: “Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that. It is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself. It will do more than if you paralyze it by encumbering it with remedies.” -Leo Tolstoy.  The African Basenji 03/29/2011
  Down in the dark of ancient Egyptian tombs, your torchlight may flicker onto 5,000 year-old depictions of the ancient basenji! It's not like the Balrog. The African Basenji is a compact canine hunter which is the only dog that does not bark. It does have vocal chords, however, and can snarl or yodel from time to time. Like the wolf, another non-barker, the basenji can only be bred once a year, not twice like most dogs. "While dogs that resemble the basenji in some respects are commonplace over much of Africa, the breed's original foundation stock came from the old growth forest regions of the Congo Basin, where its structure and type were fixed by adaptation to its habitat, as well as use (primarily net hunting in extremely dense old-growth forest vegetation)" (Wikipedia). Guernica 03/28/2011
 I saw this painting in Madrid a couple years ago, but I didn't fully grasp the horror of the Guernica bombings until seeing Alex Resnai's 1950 video. Long story short, Hitler needed to test out his bombs so he dropped them all on a small village in Spain when everyone came to town for market day. Just to test them out. Picasso really captures the dark chaos of Guernica. Sheep or Aliens? 03/25/2011
 Sheep look freakishly like aliens. Imagine aliens zipping out of their sheep costumes at night and scampering off. Think about it. Safe, Odorless, and Unproductive 03/23/2011
 For all you dolled up dames, here's a quote from Steinbeck that's stinging to say the least:"Languid, heat-raddled ladies, small nucleuses about whom revolve a thousand accouterments: creams, ointments to grease themselves, coloring matter in phials- black,pink, red, white, green, silver- to change the color of hair, eyes, lips, nails, brows, lashes, lids. Oils, seeds, and pills to make the bowels move. A bag of bottles, syringes, pills, powders, fluids, jellies to make their sexual intercourse safe, odorless, and unproductive...Lines of weariness around the eyes, lines of discontent down from the corners of their mouth, and breathlessly hating time that rarely makes them beautiful and always makes them old" Parasites, My Sworn Enemies 03/23/2011
 Yep, that little punk and his buddies are wrecking by gall bladder. But I guess I'm not alone, because half of the U.S. population is infected with at least one type of parasite or another. From the battlefield of stomach parasites, I come to you with one word of wisdom: Avoid the confrontation. Here are some more facts to keep you informed: The most common human parasite is the pinworm, which attacks the colon, shows up in "irritation and scratching in the anal area," and transmits by unclean hands, clothes, and bed sheets. The second most common is Giardi lamblia (photo above), which attacks the intestines, shows up in bloating, abdominal cramps, and most notably diarrhea, and transmits commonly by fecal contamination of drinking water. Last is cryptosporidium, which just like giardia except for its trademark "fluish" symptoms. Note: Parasites seldom go away without treatment. So, a quick review: pinworm is anal itch, giardia is diarreah, and cryptosporidium is flu-feeling. Don't mix them up with e.coli, a bacteria that's way more painful and will leave eventually without treatment. |
