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| From Drop Box |
2 months ago
Friday, March 6, 2009
Spring is coming! Spring is coming!
Spring means the good produce comes back to the stores- and this asparagus was perfect.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Selling the Soul
We saw this commercial last night during the previews before Waltz With Bashir. It's a great commercial, with an unexpected twist at the end. Behold:
My reaction to this was twofold: I loved the commercial, right up to the point where the word "KIA" was involved. The car though? Blatant Scion rip-off.
I admit, I am biased against Kia, as the first car I bought brand new was a Rio that liked to shut itself off randomly driving down the road. That car was a ticking time bomb and I can't believe I managed to sell the piece of shit. I hear they've gotten better, but personal experience still haunts me.
When the car first appeared in the commercial, I thought it was a Scion. I drive one and love it, so yeah- I am a little partial. Maybe that's why it outrages me that the Soul is such an obvious copycat, right down to the "breadth of accessory options". Come up with your own ideas, Kia! While you are in good company- Ford, Dodge, and Nissan have all jumped on the square bandwagon- the Soul looks too much like Scion. These days, it's hip to be square. Just be square in your own way, not someone else's.
Ranting aside, the commercial is brilliant. Kudos to whatever agency has the Kia account- they're doing a great job.
David & Goliath out of LA did this one. Check them out at www.dng.com.
My reaction to this was twofold: I loved the commercial, right up to the point where the word "KIA" was involved. The car though? Blatant Scion rip-off.
I admit, I am biased against Kia, as the first car I bought brand new was a Rio that liked to shut itself off randomly driving down the road. That car was a ticking time bomb and I can't believe I managed to sell the piece of shit. I hear they've gotten better, but personal experience still haunts me.
When the car first appeared in the commercial, I thought it was a Scion. I drive one and love it, so yeah- I am a little partial. Maybe that's why it outrages me that the Soul is such an obvious copycat, right down to the "breadth of accessory options". Come up with your own ideas, Kia! While you are in good company- Ford, Dodge, and Nissan have all jumped on the square bandwagon- the Soul looks too much like Scion. These days, it's hip to be square. Just be square in your own way, not someone else's.
Ranting aside, the commercial is brilliant. Kudos to whatever agency has the Kia account- they're doing a great job.
David & Goliath out of LA did this one. Check them out at www.dng.com.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
2.11
Nothing of note has been happening lately, so I would rather not bore you with the minutiae of urban life. Instead, for your enjoyment, a few pictures of my niece from last Saturday. She really loves her bubble machine!
Bubbles, you say?
Come on, turn that thing on!
Bubbles!
Conducting her very own bubble symphony
Bubbles, you say?
Come on, turn that thing on!
Bubbles!
Conducting her very own bubble symphony
Sunday, January 25, 2009
1-25
After the hell that was 2008, I swore 2009 would be better. And so far, I have no complaints.
The weekend before the big inauguration, I flew to Tennessee to spend the weekend with my Bitches. We met years and years ago through a message board on a website (and NO it wasn't match.com), ventured out on our own when said message board became ridiculous, and we've been lowering our productivity at work ever since. This was the first official get together, and we had a blast. Hanging out in person is so much better than a message board!
The bike is dead. It will be disassembled shortly and stored for....well, I really don't know yet. Maybe one of these days i'll restore the damn thing, or maybe i'll get tired of looking at the big box it will be in and sell the parts. I'm just not ready to let go yet. We had a good run.
Last Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of my mom being diagnosed with cancer. Most people remember birthdays, death days, anniversaries- and I remember sitting in a hospital while mom had surgery to remove the tumor, waiting for the doctor to tell me she'd be fine. Of course she didn't, and the rest is history, but that day is burned into my mind in a way I never thought it would be. I can't remember the day she died, but I remember this. I remember because it changed my life. That day was the first day of the hideous roller coaster ride that would become synonymous with the year 2008. That day was complete, utter shit.
I found our unfinished passport applications on the bookshelf today, squeezed between two old textbooks and forgotten. It was February of last year when I picked those up- determined that I was going to find a way to take mom back to Italy before she died. Looking back, I realize how naive that was- thinking that I had any control, any say in the matter- that she was clearly getting worse and would not get any better, let alone well enough to travel overseas. It still makes me sad that I never got to take her back there, but I find it a happy coincidence that her previous five years had taken her to Europe twice.
I'll be 28 tomorrow, and I wish like hell she were here to see that. Not that there is anything remarkable about 28, or any age for that matter, but just because the void is incredible.
The weekend before the big inauguration, I flew to Tennessee to spend the weekend with my Bitches. We met years and years ago through a message board on a website (and NO it wasn't match.com), ventured out on our own when said message board became ridiculous, and we've been lowering our productivity at work ever since. This was the first official get together, and we had a blast. Hanging out in person is so much better than a message board!
The bike is dead. It will be disassembled shortly and stored for....well, I really don't know yet. Maybe one of these days i'll restore the damn thing, or maybe i'll get tired of looking at the big box it will be in and sell the parts. I'm just not ready to let go yet. We had a good run.
Last Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of my mom being diagnosed with cancer. Most people remember birthdays, death days, anniversaries- and I remember sitting in a hospital while mom had surgery to remove the tumor, waiting for the doctor to tell me she'd be fine. Of course she didn't, and the rest is history, but that day is burned into my mind in a way I never thought it would be. I can't remember the day she died, but I remember this. I remember because it changed my life. That day was the first day of the hideous roller coaster ride that would become synonymous with the year 2008. That day was complete, utter shit.
I found our unfinished passport applications on the bookshelf today, squeezed between two old textbooks and forgotten. It was February of last year when I picked those up- determined that I was going to find a way to take mom back to Italy before she died. Looking back, I realize how naive that was- thinking that I had any control, any say in the matter- that she was clearly getting worse and would not get any better, let alone well enough to travel overseas. It still makes me sad that I never got to take her back there, but I find it a happy coincidence that her previous five years had taken her to Europe twice.
I'll be 28 tomorrow, and I wish like hell she were here to see that. Not that there is anything remarkable about 28, or any age for that matter, but just because the void is incredible.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Requiem for my two wheeled friend
I have this bike- a 1956 Schwinn Corvette- I love this bike. I've been trying to restore it for a couple of years now- nothing like a show piece, just so it looks like a Corvette again. The bike has many period-incorrect parts on it, so i've been trying to find the right parts to put it all together again.
In the meantime, I ride it just about every day- or, I did until last weekend when the derailleur (the cog assembly on the back wheel) fell off. Can't get it back on, because it wasn't supposed to be there in the first place.
In order to fix the bike, I have to replace the wheels and the hub (to get rid of the derailleur). Trouble is, the wheels for this bike are about $60 each, I'd have to find the spokes and the hub, all of which are no longer made and an odd size (24" vs 26'), so they're hard to find. Add to that, taking it to the shop to get the work done, and i'm looking at almost $300!
I am really sad about having to decide what to do here. I love that bike, and I'd love to restore it, but I also want it to be functional and not just a giant money pit. So far, it's been both functional and a money pit, but now that the functionality has disappeared, I don't know what to do.
In the meantime, I ride it just about every day- or, I did until last weekend when the derailleur (the cog assembly on the back wheel) fell off. Can't get it back on, because it wasn't supposed to be there in the first place.
In order to fix the bike, I have to replace the wheels and the hub (to get rid of the derailleur). Trouble is, the wheels for this bike are about $60 each, I'd have to find the spokes and the hub, all of which are no longer made and an odd size (24" vs 26'), so they're hard to find. Add to that, taking it to the shop to get the work done, and i'm looking at almost $300!
I am really sad about having to decide what to do here. I love that bike, and I'd love to restore it, but I also want it to be functional and not just a giant money pit. So far, it's been both functional and a money pit, but now that the functionality has disappeared, I don't know what to do.
Monday, December 22, 2008
12-22
I love my neighborhood, but I do bitch about it quite a bit. It's mostly a select few who give the whole 'hood a bad rep, but the bitching still ensues. So in the spirit of the season, you know- all of that "be nice and forgive people" stuff- I thought I would share a positive story about my neighborhood.
At the end of the street, an elderly woman, V, lived alone. She had lived there for many years- first with her husband, and then by herself after he passed. She never asked for, nor would she accept, anyone's help after her husband died. Despite her obvious limitations as a frail 80-something year old woman, she did her own yard work, took out the trash, and everything else that comes with maintaining a house. She wasn't completely alone, however; she had adopted a large dog soon after she became a widow. The dog was her best friend, her protector, and her constant companion.
V passed away last weekend. She had no family, so the police took her trusty companion to the pound. V's neighbor, having come home Sunday night from a weekend away, sprung into action. She located the dog and went down to the pound to rescue her, intending on fostering the dog until she could be given a permanent home. Unfortunately, the pound would not release the dog to her, as a rescue group had already placed a hold on her.
This is clearly not one of those fuzzy feel good stories that Hollywood makes movies out of, but the fact that V's neighbor cared enough to spare the dog its demise at the pound- even though she already has three dogs of her own- reminds me why I love this neighborhood so much. Every neighborhood has a collection of token assholes, but they don't all have the generous, kind-hearted people to balance it out. We do, and that makes me happy.
At the end of the street, an elderly woman, V, lived alone. She had lived there for many years- first with her husband, and then by herself after he passed. She never asked for, nor would she accept, anyone's help after her husband died. Despite her obvious limitations as a frail 80-something year old woman, she did her own yard work, took out the trash, and everything else that comes with maintaining a house. She wasn't completely alone, however; she had adopted a large dog soon after she became a widow. The dog was her best friend, her protector, and her constant companion.
V passed away last weekend. She had no family, so the police took her trusty companion to the pound. V's neighbor, having come home Sunday night from a weekend away, sprung into action. She located the dog and went down to the pound to rescue her, intending on fostering the dog until she could be given a permanent home. Unfortunately, the pound would not release the dog to her, as a rescue group had already placed a hold on her.
This is clearly not one of those fuzzy feel good stories that Hollywood makes movies out of, but the fact that V's neighbor cared enough to spare the dog its demise at the pound- even though she already has three dogs of her own- reminds me why I love this neighborhood so much. Every neighborhood has a collection of token assholes, but they don't all have the generous, kind-hearted people to balance it out. We do, and that makes me happy.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Mad rush drive by
Ahhh! I am way behind on posting, but i've been busy. I'll be back soon, but in the meantime, here are some more lovely pics from the SF trip....
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