Archives for February, 2003
2003.02.28 (Fri)
The Elementary Particles
23:58 | Comments (6)
I’m currently reading “The Elementary Particles” by Michel Houellebecq. It’s good - I just haven’t figured out how.
SmartyPants 1.2
23:58 | Comments (2)
SmartyPants 1.2 is here, bigger and better than ever.
BBEdit-Not-So-Lite
23:58 | Comments (0)
“BBEdit Junior” didn’t really grab me either, I must say.
2003.02.27 (Thu)
Cat in Window
23:58 | Comments (19)
This cat seemed nervy and kind of unhappy. I got the impression it was an outdoor cat spending its life as an indoor cat - a piece of furniture, to be exact.
Ideal Client
23:58 | Comments (5)
Every now and then (far too rarely) you get to work for an ideal client.
Tokyo Bloggers’ Party
23:58 | Comments (0)
Don’t forget the Tokyo Bloggers’ Party tomorrow night at The Pink Cow in Harajuku.
2003.02.22 (Sat)
Heating Oil - The Chirpy Competitor
23:58 | Comments (6)
The somewhat plaintive heating oil truck I recorded last week has some decidedly chirpy competition. My theory is that the the first one appeals to those who dwell in the introspection of winter, the quiet interiority of it, while this one appeals to those who view heat as a means of fending off the cold beast of the season, those who need help making it through.
Straights vs. Curlies
23:58 | Comments (3)
Grumblings can be heard concerning smart vs. dumb quotes on the web. SmartyPants author John Gruber makes the righteous case for the curlies. Bravo.
2003.02.19 (Wed)
Small Cloud Onigawara
23:58 | Comments (0)
Here’s one of the small tiles from the house that got knocked down.
Farewell Chimera
23:58 | Comments (8)
Someone let the lawyers out and Chimera has to change its name.
2003.02.16 (Sun)
Darklemon Redesign
23:58 | Comments (0)
Been meaning to mention Darklemon’s new look.
2003.02.15 (Sat)
Heating Oil Jingle
23:58 | Comments (14)
Winter, late afternoon, a rainy twilight. The heating oil truck is making its way through the neighbourhood, playing its winsomely melancholy jingle. (228K mp3, 00:00:28)
2003.02.14 (Fri)
Lego Vending Machine
23:58 | Comments (6)
My Interesting Day, Part 3 of 3: The Lego Vending Machine
The Clock Garage
23:58 | Comments (2)
My interesting Day, Part 2 of 3: having visited the client, I stumble upon the truly astounding clock garage. Glad I had the camera with me today.
People in Animal Suits
23:58 | Comments (2)
My Interesting Day, Part 1 of 3: People in Animal Suits.
2003.02.11 (Tue)
Oh, the Irony
23:58 | Comments (16)
Kevin Mitnick has a company now called Defensive Thinking. It’s a security consultancy. Twice in the past two weeks hackers have broken into the site and left messages. Oops.
2003.02.10 (Mon)
Late Afternoon
23:58 | Comments (10)
Still disturbingly prone to this sort of first-year art student abstract texture shot.
Very Very Uchi
23:58 | Comments (3)
What does this old house in Tokyo have in common with John Ford’s The Searchers? Quite a lot, if you enjoy making shit up as I do.
2003.02.09 (Sun)
Big Cloud Onigawara
23:58 | Comments (2)
Another photo of one of the onigawara (demon plates) from an old house that no longer exists.
2003.02.08 (Sat)
SmartyPants 1.1
23:58 | Comments (0)
SmartyPants 1.1 is here and it’s better than ever.
God Gave Me This Vehicle
23:58 | Comments (7)
SUV owners fight the backlash against their inefficient, dangerous, socially irresponsible vehicles. Good luck, suckers.
2003.02.07 (Fri)
Most-photographed Intersection in the World
23:58 | Comments (7)
This intersection, ‘Scramble Crossing’ in Shibuya, must be the most-photographed intersection in the world.
Purple Streak Anomalies
23:58 | Comments (9)
I hate to begin posting again after a brief absence with wild, unsupportable generalisations (although it’s never stopped me before), but are times so tough in newspaper publishing that copy- or sub-editors have been completely eliminated?
2003.02.02 (Sun)
Latest Book Arrivals
23:58 | Comments (6)
The package from Powell’s finally arrives: “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,” George Saunders; “How to Be Alone,” Jonathan Franzen; “The Elementary Particles,” Michel Houellebecq; “Big If,” Mark Costello.
More on Baker
23:58 | Comments (0)
Random House’s publicists have been busy over at The New York Times. In the wake of Michiko Kakutani’s blunted drubbing, the newspaper has published an altogether more enthusiastic review by Walter Kirn along with the first chapter of the novel itself.
Collectibles
23:58 | Comments (3)
Columbia collectibles soar on eBay. Predictable.
Final Sequence
23:58 | Comments (2)
The trail of smoke describes the ecliptic of the unforeseen.
Surfacing
23:58 | Comments (1)
I hadn’t had a cold for a few years but I caught one last week and it sunk its teeth in a couple of days ago and I quickly devolved into something the consistency and speed of slime mold. Time to claw my way back up the evolutionary ladder to something resembling primate.
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