A while ago I was listening to an NPR segment regarding Marian Anderson. I had never heard her music before. They played a recording of her singing Ave Maria. I'm listening to it now…Something about that recording…simply beautiful.

ahhh...America...

Some photos from Thailand:

Last day in Thailand...been a fantastic trip, and would rather stay for a few months.

I just heard about Paul Wellstone's plane crash...like a punch in the stomach. There are very few politician's I have admired and respected in my life. Paul was one.

quick update from bangkok....wonderful, hot, crazy, hot, jet lagged and hot...fantastic...

capsule 2 is up at weeklydv.com.

My favorite has to be Guerrilla DV

Why is it that I put everything off to the last minute...always?

Leaving for vacation of Friday, Thailand for nine days. Have I prepared at all for the trip? Not in the least.

Note to any Thai persons reading this post: If you see a dumb American lost in Bangkok wearing nothing but a Hawaiian shirt and trying to speak to the locals in Spanish, please help him.

I am, however, very excited…

Patton U2-1487 14-Inch High Velocity Multi-Room Air Circulator. And I thought it was just a fan...only $44.99

quite possibly the best spam subject line I have seen so far:

     Subject: !!!SPAM!!! The Lesbians have taken over!

Run for your lives! The Lesbians have taken over! Ahhhh!!!!!!

The latest weeklydv.com assignment is people.

Here's my hack at it:

    neighbors

While driving to work this morning I was flipping through the radio dial (not really a dial anymore, so I was pushing the scan/tune buttons), and I inevitably came across the city's classic rock station (here in Mpls it's KQRS). Oddly enough, they were playing Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. I thought that the odds of switching to this station, at any random time, and hearing Wish You Were Here were pretty good. If we add Stairway to Heaven and Aerosmith's Walk this Way to the list, I image we'd have a fifty-fifty chance of catching one of those songs on a random try. Throw in all Bob Seager songs, and our odds go way above eighty percent.

Tam has this theory that classic rock radio is a ploy by the powers that be to keep people complacent. As she puts it, "It keeps the common man down." Her theory is that these station's continue to play music from 1972 through 1979 (roughly) to keep people's mind set in that era, and to prevent people from thinking about, and maybe even questioning the events of modern times. New music makes people think, and god forbid, question. Even if some classic rock makes people think, it's about 1975 issues, and more likely about Ventura Highway (no pun towards our illustrious Governor, the Body…err…Mind).

I agree with her intellectually, but emotionally I am on the fence on this issue. I was brought up around two older brothers who reveled in the rock sounds of the seventies. The first music I can recollect is Deep Purple's Made in Japan. Most people are nostalgic about the sesame street theme song. Puff the Magic Dragon brings up child hood memories for most my age. Sadly, for me, Deep Purple's Highway Star reminds me of childhood, the live version, of course…

The orange assignment is up at weeklydv.com.

An example of how Mark's handwriting rivals that of a three year old with a muscular disorder.

Tam says, "Hey, you wrote on the calendar that we are going to see a play tonight."

I reply, "Oh, that's right. What play is it again?"

"You wrote the Monkeys of Navarone?"

I think, Oooo, that sounds good…

"Wait, I think It's The Comedy of Errors."

"ahhh…"

After months of floundering around about a trip we want to take, we have done floundered. Looks like it will be postponed for a while…but do not fret dear reader, there are greater thing on the horizon for yours truly. Can't reveal what just yet, but you probably don't care anyway, so…

Mr. Kottke posted a link the other day regarding Jason Zada'z weeklydv.com.

here is my stab at orange: subliminal door hindge...

Will it ever stop...

Johnny Cash singing Personal Jesus…need I say more…

back by popular demand...

pull

If you don't play, you can't win...

Every day or so I go through the list of spam that has been filtered into a spam folder for me by my very dear friend SpamAssassin. Unfortunately nothing's perfect, and once in a while a valid mail gets filtered into the spam folder. I peruse this list of spam to make sure I'm not deleting any valid mail before I clear out this folder. However, sometimes the spammers win. I'll see a from address with a name like Hannah. I'll think, "That could be from my friend Hannah." The subject will say, "Hey Mark!", and I'll think, "I wonder what Hannah has to say?", so I will open this friendly and exciting email.

HEY BABY,

THEY ARE $%@&#ing HUGE $%@&# YOU GOTTA SEE!!

http://someoffensivedomain.com/$%@&#ing

Oh Hannah!