Collisions with Reality

It seems like it’s been all bad news over the last couple of weeks. But there are some interesting and bright spots out there!

• So apparently the iPad 2 is out? Is coming out soon? Whatever. Will no one think of the marginalia?
• The Unnecesarean has a fascinating post sharing the script used by 911 dispatchers for guiding someone through an unassisted birth.
• The Year in Pictures had a great writeup of Pier 24, a private gallery/museum in San Francisco. Admission is free, but you need to schedule your visit. No labels or descriptions: just the photographs. I know what I’m doing the next time I go into the city by myself!

Have a great weekend and Mardi Gras, everyone!

It feels like it’s just been all bad news this week. So here’s a few things that are a little bit lighter:

• Here’s an awesome map of the Mississippi and all its tributaries, rendered as a mass transit map. How had no one done this before? What a great way to look at the geography. (via Strange Maps)
• Here’s a careful and reasonable take on what’s happening in Wisconsin. It’s worth noting that Democrats (and Independents) have been successful in enacting education reforms that are unpopular with teachers. Turns out there’s a difference between reforming public education and naked union-busting. Who knew? (via EMJ)
• I love a behind-the-scenes glimpse of anything, and the Big Picture blog has a great round-up of pictures from behind the scenes at Fashion Week. Seating charts! Run-throughs! Models playing silly games while in hair and makeup!

Have a great weekend, everyone! I’m hoping it eventually stops raining here.

This has been a long week, and here are some highlights!

• This article about Muslims and Christians protesting together in Egypt nearly made me cry. (Related: Muslims in Egypt protecting Coptic churches, and Christians protecting Muslims during Friday prayers during the protests.)
• I didn’t make it to IKEA today, but here are some awesome images from Homemade is Best, a cookbook of Swedish baked goods by IKEA. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Swedish IKEA stores. Can I even pick a favorite? Okay, maybe this one: (via the always awesome Things Organized Neatly tumblr.)
• I’m not entirely sure why the Wall Street Journal keeps writing articles about college hockey. In their latest, they celebrate the low-frills college hockey arenas, and rank them on various qualities. Michigan was ranked as the best crowd, to which I say, “Duh,” and, “You’re welcome.” (via my father-in-law.)

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! I will try not to brag too much about the lovely weather we’re having here.

Another long week, another list of fun things I’ve seen this week!

• There is actually a new library opening in Oakland this weekend. And not just any new library in any part of Oakland — a large, beautiful space in one of the rougher parts of Oakland. It’s so great to see this much enthusiasm and excitement over a library. (Although, while the library is on the site of a school, the article notes, “School Superintendent Troy Flint said that not every school in the district has its own library, though all have access to online resources.”)
• I’ve never played much with Flickr Toys, but after seeing someone’s mosaic of orange photographs, I really want to. Unfortunately, the Flickr Toys do not actually analyze the photos for color — the photos are all selected based on their tags. Many of my photographs are tagged with their predominant color, but I’d still have to go back and manually tag many of my pictures.
• Last night’s 30 Rock had my husband and me in search of an old Saturday Night Live sketch where an anchor is prerecording the news, so that he could go on vacation for the winter. I thought it was a recent sketch, maybe even in an episode hosted by Brian Williams. He thought it was a classic one from the 70′s. Turns out we were both wrong — it was from the 90′s, and it wasn’t even on SNL, but The Dana Carvey Show. It’s still pretty funny (even if I can’t embed it, dang it!). And if you hang on until the closing credits, there is a funny and surprising little bonus for you.

Have a great weekend!

Believe it or not, this week I actually read things that weren’t about the Michigan coaching search!

• This article about the dearth of taxis at 4 p.m. in New York is fascinating. It’s not easy to balance 12-hour shifts, equity of rush hours for the drivers, and skyrocketing rents for the cab companies.
• If you’re feeling a bit bummed about the past decade, Charlie Stross has a post on how the world has gotten better. Lots of medical advances!
• I was poking around the Onion AV Club site, and found their television reviews. And in their classics section, they’re reviewing episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. I absolutely adore that incarnation of Batman, and am so excited to see a serious analysis of it. (I’m not sure it shows up anywhere in syndication nowadays, but the series is available on DVD.)

Three-day-weekend! Yay!

I wasn’t blogging over the holidays, so here are some of the interesting things I’ve seen in the last few weeks:

• I adore this picture of New York City from 1907 (via Shorpy, go there to see larger version).
  It’s such a familiar perspective, looking at Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge. There’s something about the faintness of the buildings — it’s almost as if you could see today’s skyline if you could peer through the haze.

• The A.V. Club has a list of some of the crazy swag they received in 2010, with their recommendations for improvement. I can’t decide what my favorite is — the Russian nesting dolls depicting Kirstie Alley? Or the visor that looks like a brain?
• I was really excited to see this study that shows that treatments can have a placebo effect even if you know it’s a placebo (via @mskyle). I have a cold that is just not going away, and I’ve reached the point of scrubbing the house and doing all the laundry in hopes of thwarting it. Next up today: buying out the entire cold remedy section at CVS in hopes that something kills it.

Happy Friday!

I have to confess that I’ve bought into the hype, and am actually excited about the Big Chill game tomorrow. I wish I could be there (mostly because I think the hockey season ticket holders are getting the best seats). But in the meantime, checking out the webcam on the site is pretty cool — hey, someone’s practicing right now! (I am going to a bar in Berkeley to watch the game with the UM alumni club — yes, really — and someone had better have a cowbell.)

In some related notes:

• I’m amused by this guide to the Big Chill, aimed at the non-hockey fans who will be in attendance. And not just because of the warning about the student section cheers.
• Here’s an article from the WSJ wondering if college hockey is about to hit the big-time. There’s two key points that it misses, though. First, the NCAA hockey tournament is one of the four tournaments that actually makes money. So hockey may be under the radar, but it’s doing well for itself. Secondly, it seems like programs fold as often as new ones form. I’d be surprised if one didn’t fold before Penn State starts in 2012.
• On a sports note, in a survey asking which channels people couldn’t live without, ESPN was the highest cable channel noted. To which I say, DUH. I may be able to wait until this summer to watch the last season of Big Love on DVD, but you cannot replace live sports if you care about sports.
• Finally, you should all check out the recently-launched ESPNW. Over the years, ESPN has taken itself more and more seriously, but I think the ESPNW site makes it fun again.

Have a great weekend, everyone! And Go Blue!

Two posts in a week? What?

• This article about the Cowboys & Aliens trailer cracks me up, because while we were not at a midnight showing, we did see the trailer before seeing the Harry Potter movie in Santa Monica. Our audience was not laughing at the preview, but when the movie title was shown, at the end of the trailer, the entire crowd essentially went, “WTF?” We overheard one person asking her companion, “Is this a joke?”

• After watching Rudolph on Wednesday, and last night’s awesome episode of Community, I am ridiculously excited for next week’s Rankin/Bass-style episode of Community. If Alison Brie (Annie on Community and Trudy on Mad Men) isn’t already a walking, talking Rankin/Bass character, then I don’t know who is.
• Here’s a handy guide to the 2010 TV schedule for Christmas specials. Why the Harry Potter movies count as holiday movies, I do not know, but there you go.
• Speaking of Christmas specials, enjoy this flash back to 2003 with the Peanuts gang dancing to “Hey Ya”:
  

Happy Chanukah to those of you that are celebrating!

It’s been another busy week, but here are a few things that make me very, very happy:

• If you love Michigan, Big Ten football, and/or marching bands, you must watch the Michigan Marching Band’s halftime show [NB: Facebook link] from last week. I laughed so hard I cried. Also, I am glad that people are still referring to Michigan State as “little brother”. Genius. If nothing else, thank Mike Hart for that. (via @hooverstreet)
• I haven’t even finished listening to the Cities episode of Radiolab, but it is so good. There’s such a strong undercurrent of enthusiasm for cities in this episode. I love cities, so it feels like finding kindred spirits on my radio.
• Tom and Lorenzo have a great take on gay characters and gay romances in pop culture — especially for teens — and Glee.

And to top it off, it’s sunny and cold here — my favorite kind of weather. Have a great weekend, everyone!

We’ve survived yet another week here, so here’s what’s been on my mind lately:

• It is a crime that half of the Jersey Shore cast has a book deal, but Fred Clark does not. His in-depth analysis of the Left Behind series is amazing. How in-depth is it? He’s been doing this weekly since 2003, and is only halfway through the second book. But every post is a launching-off point for a discussion of theology, sexism, fiction, and the general evangelical culture in modern America. Here’s a recent post that has a little bit of everything (and somehow the comments on this post devolved into a discussion of tipping), but the whole archives are worth perusing.
• On a much lighter note, while I read most syndicated comics for ironic purposes, Sally Forth genuinely makes me laugh. Here’s a strip from last week, and here is my all-time favorite, from 2007:
  Oh, Ted.

• Finally, having a tough day, and need a pick-me-up to get to the weekend. Look no further than this delightfully crazy video to “Jogi”, which got me through many a thesis draft:
  

Have a great weekend! I am looking forward to being the only person in the state who actually cares about the Michigan-Michigan State game. Helloooo, twitter.