Lost in Seattle

Vital Organs

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:43:58 -0800

I had a dentist appointment today, which, because of this experience, always causes me to get a little anxious. But I like my new dentist and she hasn't hurt me (yet) so my psyche wasn't in too bad of shape. It was time for my annual X rays, so the hygienist began by dragging out the lead-lined smock and flopping...

The Universe is Not Designed for Us

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:33:43 -0800

I don't know where astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson has been all my life, but he's teh awesome! Watch "Stupid Design." (via Metafilter)...

Proximity and Productivity

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:26:44 -0800

Members of my new organization at the UW are currently spread out over five different buildings all across the campus. My boss and I are the only ones on central campus, and even we are in separate buildings. A little over 1.5 miles as the crow flies separates the furthermost endpoints of our "empire." As a result, putting together a...

Me and the Reverend

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:09:41 -0800

Ladies and gentlemen, the almost-first African-American U.S. Presidential candidate (1988), the Reverend Jesse Jackson. My leadership program group ran into him at O'Hare in Chicago and he was gracious enough to pose for a picture with my friend Tony and me....

Blog Comment Overload

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:01:10 -0800

I'm sometimes frustrated about the low comment traffic on this blog. Of course, it'd help if I actually posted relevant, interesting stuff. But then I might end up with the huge problem of information overload. Take, for example, one of my favorite lefty political blogs, Daily Kos, whereupon, just this morning, seven blog posts generated over 4,500 comments (as of...

If Music Could Talk

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:07:19 -0800

This one's from my friend Holly over at Self-Portrait As. I got this from McCutcheon's Squishy Thoughts. Here's how it works: you take the questions, get your itunes ready, and hit "next." Each song that comes up is the answer to the question before you. OK, let's try it: 1. How would you describe yourself? Birdie Brain (The Fiery Furnaces)...

Ball Of Fire

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:52:33 -0800

I did a guest lecture gig for an Information School class on Saturday. The topic was "online information delivery." I started out by talking about my film studies background and how my hobby is thinking about ways in which screenwriters have to deal with the problem of "magic" technology (to paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke). I've blogged about this before. The...

Language Acquisition

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:07:30 -0800

Ray's school sometimes hosts "Parent Education Evenings" whereupon the mommies and daddies assemble to discuss topics or listen to lectures about some aspect of child education. Last night's event was fascinating. It featured Dr. Patricia Kuhl who is the Co-Director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, and who studies early language and brain...

Drinkability

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:32:26 -0800

The family ventured downtown the other day to check out the Umi Sake House (happy hour every day!). I spotted a billboard for something like Bud Light, which proclaimed the beer's "drinkability." Me: What does it mean for a beer to be "drinkable"? Does that mean it's close to being water?Amy: Yeah. It means all that pesky "flavor" doesn't get...

Manliness

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:42:51 -0800

I've never been particularly "manly." It's not that I'm feminine; I'm just not what one would call a "man's man." In fact, at various points of my life, I've actively made choices to avoid doing the "masculine thing." I once, for example, opted to go shopping with a group of women rather than watch the Super Bowl, even though I...

Evil Floating Head

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:50:30 -0800

I'm speechless... (via Boing Boing)...

PEHDTSCKJMBA

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:17:04 -0800

Sadly, Tom Waits isn't coming to the Pacific Northwest during his recently-announced summer tour, but here he is at a press conference in which he explains the astronomical and alphabetic significance of his tour schedule. Enjoy, and make sure to watch to the end....

You Can't Do That!

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:49:27 -0800

This has got to be one of the most brain-dead Windows XP error messages I've seen (click to enlarge). It reads: You cannot drop an item onto a button on the taskbar. However, if you drag the item over a button without releasing the mouse button, the window will open after a moment, allowing you to drop the item...

The God Theory

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:03:50 -0800

It wasn't really until years after I rejected the discipline known as "film theory" in graduate school that I recognized the parallel to the other great rejection of my life -- that of god. Fair warning: What follows is a long and rambling post that takes roughly forever to make a point....

Field Office in Detroit

jloter@gmail.com (jloter@gmail.com) — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:36:51 -0800

I just randomly stumbled across this story while I was eating lunch: FBI Searches Office of Special Counsel Building As a Detroit native, one paragraph jumped out at me. One of [Special Counsel Scott J.] Bloch's first official actions was to refuse to investigate any claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation. When the news of his refusal was leaked...