analogDARWIN [ story ]

Eckhartt Tolle TV

noreply@blogger.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Kinda Naughty

noreply@blogger.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:44:00 +0000

In my small, humble home town of Livermore we have one of those quaint downtown streets that are lined with those kind of stores that only a small town can support. You know when you've got two music stores on the same street and no Gap in sight that you're in a small town. Seriously, how many saxophones do you have to sell to pay the rent?

And in an interesting turn of events, there are three stores that have grown up around one another that attract a lot of attention:

Panama Red Coffee - this is a hot spot in Livermore for it isn't a huge chain, has a really friendly staff and has been "the hangout" for Livermore's youth for quite some time. From artists to teenagers, almost everyone hangs out at Panama.
Not Too Naughty - if there were ever a quaint porn store in your downtown, this would be it.
1st Street Yogurt - the recent addition to downtown, here is where you can mix your own soft serve yogurt with an array of toppings.

When we first heard that the new yogurt store chose to open up next door to the porn store we were a bit perplexed. Porn and yogurt don't really go together (at least not in the retail sense) and there were other available locations on the street. But being an open minded kinda guy I decided that the owners of the yogurt shop we're either big fans of porn or not put off by their neighbor.

Upon walking out of Panama Red this morning I was struck by the signage in the front window of Not Too Naughty. So the yogurt shop naturally is a draw for young families and the porn store is advertising "new toys" in their front window. We adults know the kind of toys they're talking about and I'm surprised that there could suddenly be hundreds of new toys (oh my, what type of toy break through has occured in the world of bedroom devices?).

Can't you just hear little Johnny walking down the street calling up to his parents, "Hundreds of new toys, can we go in and check them out?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm really not offended by their marketing efforts at Not Too Naughty. But it does seem that these two forces are really bringing the duality of their location into our consciousness.

Attention Deficit Disorder

noreply@blogger.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Hey look, we're not focused on the economy anymore!

We all need a story to tell and this last weekend the story that most people we're propagating was about a new strain of swine flu instead of what's wrong with our economy. Over breakfast my family started spinning the pandemic fear and by the time our order arrived no one would dare eat bacon. Oh well, bacon isn't a very healthy food to eat anyway.

But it got me thinking. Do these stories that we pre-occupy ourselves with become top of mind because of the frenzied discussions of those around us or is there real meaning in what we choose to talk about? Of course, this blog post might be read someday as a pre-story to the end of the human race (presumably the pigs got the best of us in this story) but if this doesn't turn out to be a true pandemic then what can we learn from this experience?

Once the story is over it will be easy to dismiss it as a distraction. But in the heat of the moment, we find ourselves scrambling for survival, plotting how we are going to be the ones to make it out alive and pitting our survival as more important than that of our fellow man. My brother-in-law is wearing a mask to the Laker game tonight but I wonder how many people didn't eat processed food today? Seriously, if we're supposed to limit our exposure to this virus wouldn't it be best if we didn't go outside?

And that is exactly what health officials are advising...if you're sick. If you're not sick, then their counsel is to use common sense: wash your hands and stop picking your nose!

Until we call out the National Guard to assassinate all the pigs across the country I think I'll go along with life as if there were no such thing as a swine flu. And I won't snicker at you if you wear a surgical mask to the grocery store. I understand.

The Mysterious Mustache

noreply@blogger.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:23:00 +0000

I took the opportunity on our recent road trip to Wyoming to stop shaving. By the time we finished camping I had a full beard in play. However upon getting to my first post camping shower I emerged, much to my wife's dismay, with a funky mustache. Of course, she was horrified and this made me resist shaving it all the more.

When she expressed her disgust with my mustache to a friend of hers she asked for me to send her a MMS photo using my cell phone camera. And this gave me an opportunity to engage her in a cat and mouse game of, "Did he really grow a mustache?"

Starting in the hotel before we hit the road each photo below marks a stopping point in route from Utah back to San Francisco:

Hmmm, is there a mustache there?

A cup of morning coffee.

Drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Creative use of errr. Never mind.

Hey, ya gotta love those bread sticks at Olive Garden!

In the end, I relented and shared the mustache. Kind of.

Gas Station Won't Fill My Tank (update)

noreply@blogger.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:29:00 +0000

Safeway has answered my protest about the restrictive authorization amount they submit for gas purchases at their gas stations. They've now increased the amount to $100. I still can't fill up my tank all the way but it is much better than before! Thanks for being responsive to my posting Safeway.

Gas Station Won't Fill My Tank

noreply@blogger.com (Darwin Stephenson) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:20:00 +0000