love this quote

In an AP story on a proposed Civil Union bill in New Jersey:

But Republican Asseblyman Ronald S. Dancer said: "It's my personal belief, faith and religious practice that marriage has been defined in the Bible. And this is one time that I cannot compromise my personal beliefs and faiths."

(italics mine)

ID, please

I hadn't been carded in the 16 months I was away from the States. I'm well past the time when I expect to be carded, even here. But every time I've purchased alcohol since my return, I've been asked to produce my ID (I've always had one on me, although I've been lucky. I'm not back in the habit of always carrying my license).

Obviously, this points out the fact the USA has a older requirement for alcohol purchasing than most of the world. But it also is representative of something else I haven't missed about this country: being overly cautious about covering your ass.

flickr has done it again

I just discovered Flickr´s new Geotagging feature. It allows you to use the Yahoo maps interface (I assume it´s Yahoo maps, since that´s who owns the site. I haven´t used Yahoo maps with satellite images, but the interface is exactly like Google Maps.
The idea is simple - you can drag any photo you have on Flickr to the map, and the location data is included with the photo. You can also search anywhere in the world to see if anyone has tagged a photo with the location. My only problem so far is the lack of street map data for places such as New Zealand, which means I can´t place the photos exactly (and when even slightly zoomed out to get the satellite detail on Wellington, photos a few blocks apart get lumped together). But it´s still pretty cool. I´ve spent hours playing around on Google Earth and the satellite maps online. This adds an extra layer.

fun with translations

My Chinese cigarettes tell me they have "Scavenging Free Radical Tech." Yesterday on a German beer menu I was offered "Lager Hell."

The first one is just nonsense. The second is a word existing in two languages with two different meanings. Both make the product seem vaguely sinister to English speakers.

on the news...

Caught this Bush quote on the BBC the other day:

"North Korea has defied the will of the international community and the international community will respond."

It's been fun to watch how the administration has started to care about the will of the international community when it suits them.

mobile frustration

I bought an Orange cell phone in London so we'd have a phone as we traveled across Europe (our NZ phone won't work outside NZ). You'd think they`d want to make it easy for me to give them money. You would be wrong. I'm in help-line hell just trying to get them to let me use a credit card to add credit to my account, since there`s no other way to do it in Germany.

Overheard during a drinking session

"There, the outfit has tough street cred. Here, it just marks you as a bottom gay."

post-its would be better

I make mental notes to myself. Then I find as soon as I get up and walk around, shake a bit, perhaps, the note is completely gone. Even my memory of making the note is gone.
It's like my brain is putting the notes on a Magna-Doodle, then wiping the slate clean.

bangkok

this city is cheap. i'm going to be a smoker again - i just bought my cheapest pack of cigarettes ever - about a buck and half US. dinner cost $4 or thereabouts, a little less than our room for the night. after a month of paying too much for accomodation in Australia, the cheap sleep is all right.

what?

Seen at the Auckland airport McDonald's:

Man is wearing a T-shirt advertising nutrient supplements with the slogan "If you want your body to perform don't eat shit."

Man orders, and eats, cheeseburger combo.

perhaps I screwed it up

In the past year my iBook battery life has fallen dramatically. When we got to NZ it had already eroded, but we could get about 3-4 hours on a charge. A few months ago, that was down to 2 hours. Now, the gauge tells me it has about one hour on a full charge, but when it runs down to zero the computer actually has about 15 minutes left, another new aspect to the battery problem.
I just assumed it was a case of a poor battery combined with poor battery management - we tend to charge it up at any time rather than letting it run down all the way. However, I realized there might be something else to it. We don't have a transformer so we're just letting the 220 volts of power they have everywhere else than the US flow into the battery.

The documentation says the computer can handle the voltage. But I'm not sure it has.

why?

I could never understand the amount of coverage Jon Benet got when I was back in the States.

I really can't understand the amount of coverage the confession has gotten here in Australia. I'm assuming I don't have to explain what I'm talking about. It's been the lead story in every paper and newscast here the last week or so. I can't imagine what it's been like on Fox News.

what makes a dive bar?

Over on Leaping Point I talked about finding a good dive bar in Melbourne, something I hadn't even realized I missed in New Zealand. A bar in a small city building, with dirt on the floor and tacked up decorations on the walls, with a pool table and a few old couches along with the bar stools. A bar with grit rather than seediness, a bar where the young and aimless can mix with the older working class without any thought to the matter.

It helps the atmosphere that Australia, or at least Victoria, still allows smoking in bars. You can't have a real dive bar without smoke hanging in the air.

this has actually come up in conversation recently...

Does the word "phallic" have a twin referring to those objects that resemble female genetalia? I don't know.

--- wait for a quick trip to webster.com ---



Webster didn't help, actually, since "phallic" isn't in the thesaurus. However, after a few Google attempts, I have found my answer.
"Yonic" is the term I was looking for. It just doesn't have the same ring to it, however.

(and as a side note, I got some interesting results before I figured out how to properly word my Google search. Searching for "opposite of phallic" worked. Before that, I somehow ended up here.

And the reason I was asking - this is a photo of a rock formation on the coast near Dunedin called The Chasm. You tell me what it looks like.

smaller version

possibly

Quote of the day, from an Australian morning TV show that is also broadcast over here:

"Scientists say the earth is as warm as it's been in at least 400 centuries, or possibly even thousands of years."

golden years

The last few days I've had a temp job on campus at Otago University here in Dunedin.
The job was just helping move books and boxes around the law school offices, although I ended up being conscripted into supervising a final exam as well when a professor went AWOL.
Being on campus brings nostalgia. There are many things I miss about being a student, but in my mind what I associate with college more than anything are empty afternoons.
Afternoons with nothing in particular to do, or afternoons with something to do but doing something else anyway (or doing nothing at all).
In nice weather, afternoons meant soaking in the sun on the grassy expanses on campus, or finding some pointless activity to revel in.
On gray or rainy days held their own attraction, when time really did seem to stretch. There was contentment in simply staying in, or walking around a nearly empty campus in the late afternoon hours, before the activity of the evening.
Even now, during my times of unemployment in New Zealand, the afternoons don't have the same feeling. College is special because you aren't expected to have anything else to do, and so you can not do anything with a free mind.
I haven't been able to capture the same feeling since.

world cup fun

One of my favorite moments as a sports spectator came four years ago in a New Orleans Irish bar filled with Brazilians.
It was the final game of the 2002 World Cup, between Germany and Brazil. The game was being played in Japan or South Korea (I don't remember which country hosted the title game) and so kicked off at 5 a.m. New Orleans time.
My buddy Wright and I started the night before, with the goal of ended up in the Quarter at a bar we were told had been adopted by the local Brazilian community for the tournament.
We showed up an hour before game time, and the bar was nearly empty. But in the next half hour or so, every square foot in the bar was packed and everyone was rooting for Brazil.
Fans hung flags and banners, chanted throughout the game and there was even an air horn among the crowd.
It was all of the best aspects of watching sports: a roomful of strangers turned into best friends, united in every Brazil attack, euphoric at each Brazil goal. I would have barely cared about the result if I'd watched the game at home, but in the midst of the revelry, I could share in the euphoria of the contest and eventual victory. The fact it all happened between 5 and 7 in the morning just added to the atmosphere of the whole event.

I'm reminded of that World Cup fairly often during this one. Not because I've had any experience similar so far this time around, but simply because the games are once again at an impossible time.
Four years ago, it was impossible to casually watch any of the World Cup, because all the games kicked off sometime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Four years later, it is impossible to casually watch any of the World Cup, because all the games kick off sometime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Yes, somehow I've managed to once again end up on the opposite side of the globe from the World's Biggest Sporting Event. It takes dedication to watch sports at times like those. You either have to stay awake until the game finishes or force yourself to wake up at strange times.
Unusually for me, I've actually had more luck waking up at odd hours. Last night, for example, I dragged myself out of bed at 2:45 a.m., after about three hours of sleep, to head out and find a pub showing the US/Ghana game. (The first-round games are only showing on cable, which the hostel doesn't have).
I wandered downtown to my first choice, only to find the bar was only showing Italy playing the Czech Republic. I headed to another pub rumored to be open, to find the US game on a big screen in a back room.
There were about 15 fans watching, most of whom appeared to be displaced Americans (I'd guess most were studying abroad at the University here). I didn't arrive until halftime, however.
There was no opportunity for bonding through sport here. With the States down 2-1 and needing two goals to advance, the mood wasn't celebratory. I watched a mostly desultory half of soccer before heading home for another four hours of sleep.
Regardless, I'm glad I headed out. I feel like I've achieved something each time I say I'm going to watch a game and actually manage to do so. And even when there isn't a celebration, there's something about wandering the deserted early-morning streets, opening the door to a bar open specifically for World Cup fans, and finding a group of people who are just as idiotic as you are to be up at a time rarely seen simply to watch a game of soccer.

(One of the best single moments of watching that game with the Brazilians: There were two constant chants from the crowd. One was easy to pick up: Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Bra-zil, Bra-zil.
The other I couldn't make out, After about 30 minutes, I turned to the fan sitting on my right.
"What are you chanting?"
"Oh, that's 'Fuck the Germans,' in Portuguese."
I think that's a phrase that should be in the guidebook for every country. It seems like a sentiment most of the world is united behind.)

photo madness

I'm addicted to flickr. I can't stop checking my photos to see how many people have seen them, waiting for someone to leave a comment. Or browsing the site, trying to think of obscure tags or seeing what the site thinks is interesting.

If you're on flickr, leave a comment and your photostream address.

the longest short story in the world ... Ever!

Finally read Infinite Jest. It was the first 1,100-page short story I've ever read.
At least, that's what it felt like, more than a novel. Obviously David Foster Wallace was trying to avoid a conventional ending. A lack of real resolution was at first jarring, but after some time to digest the book, it simply felt more like finishing a short story (albeit one that took a month to read). Rather than telling an expansive story with characters woven in, Infinite Jest is more a study of characters (lots of them) with a story woven between them.

shout-out

Through one of the many random connections we've had since arriving in New Zealand, I've become friends with a Wellington stand-up comic. This means I've become aquainted with just about all the comics in Wellington since it's not exactly a huge scene.
Now that I've left Wellington, no more late-night poker sessions with the comics. But I will be watching their new sketch comedy site rhinoradar.com. I'll also be watching Cori this weekend.

the best sign in the world, ever

amsterdam sign
Originally uploaded by slack13.

I needed to put this up - seen in Amsterdam a couple of years ago.

like Easter Eggs

like Easter Eggs
Originally uploaded by slack13.

Here we go. A test of a flickr feature, as well as plug for my flickr photos.

quote of the week

From some guy named Paul Walker, who was apparently in a movie called Into the Blue with Jessica Alba, on Jessica Alba:

"I couldn't take my eyes off that ass. I'm sorry. She's beautiful. And she's such a pain in my ass, too.

"But that's what I love about her. She's the kind of girl you just want to have angry sex with for the rest of your life because it's just that good."

logging off?

It'll likely be a long time before I post here again, not that anyone is actually reading. I'm off on a month-long (give or take a few weeks) road trip around New Zealand, that may end up being well extended (and hopefully give me enough time to to finish "Infite Jest").
If you want to see what I'm up to, read about my travels in New Zealand here.

If you're looking for something half-way interesting to read, here's a few other blogs:
Ryan in Kazakhstan
Stephen in South Korea
Gavin in South Korea
Dave in D.C.

dialed in

My last post, of course, is no longer true. I didn't get to watch George Mason win its way into the Final Four - I didn't see a single game by the green-clad Masonites in my online tournament viewing. But I'll be damn sure to watch them this weekend, although when I put my bets down at the local sports book, I didn't pick George Mason to win it all.
The GMU-UConn game was Monday morning here, and I didn't realize how early. I thought I'd get out to watch it (at an Internet cafe, most likely) at around noon. But at 9 a.m. I was awakened by my phone alerting me to a text message from a friend back in the states cheering on George Mason.
I'm on dial-up here at the house, and the service is spotty at best. I realized the game was nearly over, there weren't any bars open which were likely to have the game on (and I wasn't sure it was even broadcast here - they only show about half the games of any American sporting event I want to watch) and I didn't have time to get to an Internet cafe to watch the webcast.
So I was left with the most tenuous link - getting text updates on my cell phone's internet browser.
I had the score and a two-word description of the last three shots taken. I hit refresh like crazy, and only got an update about every fourth time. I cheered on the number next to GMU's name, even though I (for reasons unknown even to me) had rooted for UConn since I was a young kid in Montana.
I watched George Mason, inprobably, hold on to their lead. There were seconds left. I had no idea what was happening on the court. Then a refresh told me - the game was going into overtime.
I considered my options again. Still no chance of getting to see the game on TV. Possibly time to get to the Internet. But there's no chance a small-time team like GMU could keep it going against a big-time team like UConn in overtime. I've seen it happen. Connecticut made the last shot, took George Mason's best shot and survived, and now the Huskies were going to cruise in overtime.
So I wasn't in a crazed rush when I threw on some clothes to see if I could get to a 'Net terminal in time. As I was walking out the door, I hit refresh on the phone again and saw the OT was already half over. No chance of seeing any of it, I figured, but the display told me GMU was still, improbably, holding a slim lead.
So I "watched" the biggest upset since I've been following the tournament in my empty apartment over a bowl of cereal on a 1' text-only screen.
I did get to the 'Net cafe later that afternoon and watched the game's highlights. Even watching on digital delay, the emotion of the game still got to me.

how does this happen?

I can't believe the finishes of the late games today. Crazy. And neither team I was rooting for won.
Texas won a shot that no one should make. Gonzaga lost on some plays no one should make. How do you let that happen? UCLA scored the final 11 points, and the 'Zags lose the ball going for the final shot.
I don't pick Gonzaga to go far anymore, after being burned the last few years, but at the half I was looking forward to the Memphis/Gonzaga matchup.
I'm glad Duke lost, but there aren't a lot of teams left I want to watch.

what are they trying to say?

Very near my house is a car mechanic shop. The shop has a company car, which is usually parked on the street outside.
The car, like company cars everywhere, has the name of the shop written on the side. But it also has decals simulating bullet holes all along the side of the car.
I don't know what message this is trying to send. Are they implying their service is so good, competitors try to gun them down? Are they trying to make me think the shop is a front for a shady criminal organization? Are they simply gun enthusiasts?
And would any of these possibilities make me more likely to take my car to this shop, rather than a shop which doesn't want me to think they are often dodging bullets on the street?

that charming kiwi slang

It's not exactly the most lyrical of sayings - more of brute force irreverance. But possibly my favorite piece of slang here in New Zealand that doesn't exist back home is the verb "to root," meaning "to have sexual intercourse" but really more aligned with the old standard "fuck."
I went to a comedy show the other night - a musical act managed to rhyme "root" with "trouser flute".

i'm torn

Twice this week, on back to back nights, I was out sampling Wellington's nightlife until 5 a.m.
This certainly isn't the first time I've been out on a town until the early hours, but I'm trying to decide how to feel about the fact that it's easy for me to lose track of the time and just keep going until the night is gone and I'm into the next day.
I know how I feel about the next day though - my brain may think it can stay up as late as it likes, but my body always has different ideas afterward.

olympics

I love the Winter Olympics. I haven't had a chance to watch much here, but I've discovered the New Zealand coverage has advantages and disadvantages compared to the U.S. coverage.
For one, no sappy features about the athletes. It's just sporting action on the tube here. That's good.
Unfortunately, there's only about three to five hours of coverage a day - two hours starting at 7 a.m., then about three hours starting at 9:30 p.m. Obviously, this isn't a big deal to New Zealanders - although they do give it more coverage than the country's nine Olympic athletes may warrent.
The biggest problem comes from trying to pack all the coverage into these small windows (especially when they occassionally run the same coverage in the morning and at night). The events, especially the long ones such as cross-country races and hockey games, become edited down to a continuous highlight reel. This would be fine, except they pretend they're showing you a full event. They keep the commentary and edit it to flow as though there were no breaks in the action. This is amusing when the clock on screen suddenly jumps 10 minutes, or 30 minutes, ahead.
It's particularly egregious in hockey coverage. I saw a game where a shot went into the stands. They cut to a faceoff, with the commentary implying the faceoff was a result of the last shot. Only problem was, the on-screen clock showed the game was in the next period.

Also, why do the medals look like CDs?

he was having more fun than me

Today on my way to work I found myself walking next to a man with
three bright green balloons tied to his backpack who also happened to
be talking to himself.
It wasn't under-your-breath muttering. It was the conversation of
someone who was actually angry with the responses he was getting,
even though he was contributing both sides of the conversation. It
was a bit much to take at 8:30 in the morning, but it was still a
little surprising to see the going-to-work pedestrian crowd just flow
around him without an apparent thought.

timeshift me

I'm nearly over my TiVo withdrawal after five months on broadcast
television. Now I've found a new fascination - this new-fangled
Podcastin' thing.
I never bothered with audio downloads before. No. 1, I had TV. No. 2,
the early podcasts available seemed like computer geeks with a
microphone rambling about the things computer geeks talk about. I
could get that just hanging out with my friends.
Now that I'm TV deprived and listening to my iPod as I wander around the city, I decided to see what was on tap. I found the NPR podcasts (if only they threw everything up, it'd be easier). Then the Ricky Gervais podcast, and started to catch up to the whole audio time-shifting phenomenon.
It can't touch TiVo. But it's still a damn fine way to go about the
day, listening to things I never would listen to because: No. 1, I'm
in New Zealand, and those things aren't actually on the radio here;
and No. 2, because even if they were on, I'd never make the time to
actually sit and listen.