A School Named After Me

A few years back, I first found about Lipson Community College which is located in jolly old England. Tonight, being totally unable to sleep, I decided to google it and man am I weired out. I grew up on Plymouth Place. Lipson Community College is located in Plymouth, England. Here is a description of the school straight from a job posting:

"Lipson is a thriving Specialist Community Arts College on the eastern edge of Plymouth. Ofsted described the College as “an outstanding ethos for learning"

Even though the web site sucks, my sister will happy to know that the school that carries our name is focused on the arts as she is at SUNY New Paltz studying how to harness her talents to become the next Michelangelo, or at least Raphael. I really want to get a college tee shit. I think that would be cool, that is unless they are ugly, which would be a shame for an arts school.

Names and places keep following me around between the US and UK. For instance, when I lived in London in 1998, I lived in an area of North London called Highgate. I loved Highgate and will be back there in less than 3 weeks - I cannot wait! Highgate is located on the right hand side of Hampstead Heath, the huge urban yet untamed park in the northern part of London, which is just about 800 acres in size. After college, when I moved into Manhattan from Long Island, I wound up in the Upper East Side living in a building called "The Highgate." Needless to say, the UES is in the northern part of Manhattan and its on the right hand side of NY's huge urban Central Park, which happens to be 843 acres in size. Double weird.

Wait, it gets better and spookier. The town I grew up in on Long Island, the one where Plymouth Place lays is called East Meadow. The part of Central Park that is closest to my old apartment in "The Highgate" is called, yes, you guessed it, the East Meadow.

Weird, weird, weird!

It's All About The Love, Baby

If you ever saw a romance novel and thought, "Man, what a lame ass title and/or cover," do I have a site full of romance novels for you. Happy Friday.

Thanks Phyll

Dropping a Deuce 211 Meters Up

I've heard from my good friend Mike Perlish for years now about how great, shiny, rich, amazing, etc Dubai is and from the research I've done, in this case he is not embellishing. For instance, take this beautifully designed hotel, the Burj Al Arab, which looks like a giant white sail bursting up out of the sand. I think it's the only 6 or 7 star hotel in the world, I know he stayed there and the cheapest room I could find just now was for $817. It's also got a helipad jutting out from the side:

"Standing 321 meters high on a man made island, the Burj Al Arab has a helipad which is situated 211 meters high, covering a surface area of 415 square meters."

In case the picture above doesn't say 1000 words, it was converted into a tennis court earlier this week for the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Andre Agassi and Roger Federer had a friendly volley on it and neither of them fell almost 900 feet to a grisly death below. The link above takes you to Fox Sports which has a 14 pic slide show. Check them out... they're sick!

Via Chris

Orson Scott Card To Write "Ultimate Iron Man"

One of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, is going to write the first few issues of Ultimate Iron Man, a new Marvel title that is launching early next month. How will the author who wrote the classic Ender's Game (which is actually recommended reading now in a number of high school English classes believe it or not), who has never written for this type of medium before, hold up? I'll let you know next week after it comes out.

3 Words: Lego Death Star

I have already identified 10 months before Channukah the number one item on my wish list: a Lego Death Star.

From the Lego web site: "This incredibly detailed and faithful replica of the Death Star II from Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi will make an awesome addition to any Star Wars collection. The partially constructed Death Star looms in space above the forest moon of Endor, super laser ready to fire. This unique collectable is sure to rank as one of the greatest LEGO Star Wars models ever produced!"

Here are the specs for this coolest of Lego products:
>> Includes display stand and Imperial Star Destroyer to scale.
>> Measures a full 25 inches (65 cm) high and 19 inches (50 cm) wide (including stand).

I have only one word in response: mint! It will be released in the fall of 2005 and the only thing missing at this point is the price. I'm figuring that it will be about $100 and I just don't care. Family and friends, starting pooling your money together and Jessie, make some room on the bookcase.

Lipso Nava is kicking up Winter Heat

I can't believe that someone has the name Lipso Nava. Not only is there a guy with the name Lipso, but this career minor leaguer is one of the leading batters in Venezuela's Winter League. If his email address was his first name, first initial of his last name it would be lipson@weird.com. As it is, his name sounds like a family festival I would go to each December or a genetic condition that may be passed from one generation to the next in my family. He is now also my new favorite baseball player on name alone, suplanting JJ Putz, a relief pitcher in the Mariner's organization.

I first heard of him in an ESPN aritcle about how dangerous Venezuela is for baseball players. "Career minor leaguer Lipso Nava gave himself up for dead when a gun was pressed against his temple by a thief who demanded Nava's new Hyundai Elantra." I feel for him and his family, not just because he is my namesake. I'm hoping to meet him one day - hopefully he'll back in the US soon playing nearby so that I can get a picture, his autograph and who knows, maybe grab a beer with him.

Summer Camp II

On Saturday night, I attended the second Camp Lohikan NYC reunion and experienced for the first time what many other bloggers have experienced: someone came up to me and said, "I loved your post! I found your blog by doing a google search and absolutely loved it!" In this case, it was an entry I wrote last October about camp. Not only did Karen love it, but she sent it to tons of people that I knew from those days who also loved it. It was very interesting to say hello to people and to have them immediately say, "I loved what you wrote!" Not that I minded...

In the spirit of giving the people what they want, my resolution now is to post more entries about camp and my memories from those halcyon days. Not all be mushy like my first and only camp post. In fact, most won't be. But, before I move to far along in life and before I forget even more of what I used to know, I'm going to get some of this stuff down. Stephanie has said in the past to post more memoir-style entries, to write more "I remember..." exercises and then post them and I think that camp is the perfect source of material.

So, my first memory is about Canteen, the Rec Hall and the video game Galaxian. When I was in the inter division, we had Cantenn after dinner. Cantenn was a time when, with all the other campers in our division, we got to go buy candy ($1 a day stipend was provided before you had to pay out of pocket) and play video games in a room that was in the back of the multi-purpose Rec Hall. There were about 20 stand up coin-op video games in that room, some more popular than others. The popular ones always had a line and I hated lines. Canteen lasted for only a finite period of time and I didn't want to waste that time by just standing around. So, for some reason, probably because no one was playing it because it was so damn old, I started to play Galaxian, a Space Invaders sort of game put out by Midway in 1979. This game became MY game, mostly because no one else ever played it. It got to be a joke - "Where is Jeff? He's at Galaxian, duh!" I played it the entire Canteen period most days during my time at Lohikan, year after year. When I became a senior, Canteen switched from after dinner to after evening activity and when a lot of people were off hooking up at the riflery range or down by Arts and Farts, I was alone in the Canteen with Galaxian.

Over time, I got really good and could go many, many levels without ever losing a ship. Others who would see me playing were in awe — I was that good. It was a zen thing, because I knew the exact patterns for the first couple of boards, it was in essence meditation after a long day. I knew exactly where to be, when to fire, how to bob and weave my way through the missles that were fired against me and I almost never faltered. If I died on one of the early boards, I just tanked the game and started over. I became one with the machine, and it seemed that my hands reacted faster than my mind could even process the info that was being presented to me. 17 missles would be coming at me and somehow I would be able to juke them all. It became MY thing - this game was MINE. I would stretch my 3 lives out over 20 - 30 minutes. If I got on the game, basically you were just left waiting. With so many other little things out of my control, whether or not I was popular, whether or not a certain girl liked me, etc this game was one of the few little things in camp I could control and I just didn't control it, I dominated it.

I think it occured during my last summer but eventually the game wasn't just mine anymore. An Austrailian counselor with a pony tail named John (I think he taught music, I seem to remember him travelling about with a guitar) started playing this game as well. It was frustrating to show up and find someone playing - for three years this game usually was empty or if someone was playing, they would die rather fast and I would soon be on it for the remainder of Canteen. He was a different story though for he knew what he was doing. I remember one epic night when we played a 2 player game where we each rung up around 30K - 50K points. We actually attracted a crowd around us because we both were so damn good and this game was such an odd one to feature two video game gunslingers in battle against each other. He would play for 10 minutes, then I would play for 10 minutes, back and forth, past the time when Canteen should have ended. I'm not sure what happened. I like to think that neither of us were defeated, instead we just ran out of time to continue our battle.

Years later, I not only remember the game but the battle and all the other nights that I spent playing it. I remember that when I occasionally found myself in a relationship, I still managed to find time to play it at least once a night. It was my ritual and it needed to be done. I now have Galaxian for the Atari 2600 - yes, I have a working Atari 2600 - but its not the same because you can fire too many missles. One of the features that I liked about the older stand up coin-op version was that if you fired a missle, it either needed to hit an alien ship or it needed to leave the screen before you could fire another one. The Atari 2600 verision allows you to fire missles at will which means you need a lot less skill to excel at it. I've been looking on eBay for a real stand up coin-op version of Galaxian and have seen ones for around $500 - $1000. Once I get a place that is big enough for it, I'm going to thrown down and purchase it. Then it will always be Canteen time in my home. I can't wait.

Secret In-and-Out Burger Menu

For all those headed to the west coast soon, here is a run-down of the items on the secret menu at In-and-Out Burger. This place is quite possiblity the greatest burget joint on the planet. If you didn't know, In-and-Out Burger's menu has only 4 items on it - burgers, fries, beverages and shakes. However, there are a number of items that are off the menu yet known to all employees. Now when you hear someone ask for their burger "animal style" you won't be so confused...

New England's Version Of "The Gates"

Figures...Bean Town has to compete with EVERYTHING that New York does, even the magnificent gates in Central Park.

Check out the gates that were installed by some Masshole in Somerville, MA. Once again, NY is victorious!

Tell Someone What You Really Think

Get it off your chest here...In addition to the specific city, state, and federal agencies detailed below, the city's 311 number is a great routing service for complaints.

Filing a report with the Better Business Bureau can be a) therapeutic and b) useful for other consumers as well as publications such as MUG – we won't knowingly ever recommend a company or service with an unsatisfactory rating.

Airlines
DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. Specific airline Customer Relations Managers.

Cable TV
Dept.of Information Technology & Telecommunications

Charities
Office of the Attorney General

Civil Rights
Office of the Attorney General

Consumer Fraud
Office of the Attorney General

More numbers after the jump

Thanks Chris

Consumer Goods and Services
Department of Consumer Affairs Info, Complaint Form.

Consumer Product Safety
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Do Not Call Violations
FTC

Fake/Toy Gun Sales
Department of Consumer Affairs

Heat and Hot Water
Call 311. More info.

HMO's
Call the NYS Insurance Dept., Consumer Services Bureau at 212.480.6400.

Hospital Care
Call the NYS Dept. of Health at 212.268.6554.

Identity Theft
FTC

Illegal Dumping
Dept. of Sanitation

Investor Protection
Office of the Attorney General

Mobile Phone Dead Spots
nyc.gov

Newsstands
DOT

Noise
Public Advocate for the City of NY

Police Officer Conduct
Civilian Complaint Review Board

Potholes
Call 311 or use the DOT form.

Rent Security Deposit
Office of the Attorney General

Rodents
Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

Smoking Indoors
Bureau of Tobacco Control

Spam
Office of the Attorney General

Street Lights
DOT

Taxi
Taxi and Limousine Commission

Traffic Signals and Signs
Call 311. More info.

Websites or Internet Service Providers
Office of the Attorney General

How Led Zep Got Their Name

In trying to prove my theory that Maroon 5's name is actually a subtle homage to Luke Skywalker's X-Wing's call signal during the Death Star attack stage of "Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope" ("...Red Leader, this is Red 5..."), I came across this simple and well worded explanation as to how Led Zeppelin, aka the greatest rock band eh-VER, got its name:

Keith Moon and John Entwistle of the Who were hanging out with Richard Cole (The Yardbirds road manager) one night at the disco “Salvation” in New York. Moon and Entwistle were burnt out on the whole scene with The Who and were talking about the desire to form a band with Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood. And Entwistle said “Yeah. We’ll call it Lead Zeppelin. Because it will go over like a fucking Lead Balloon.” Laughter followed and Cole told Jimmy about the discussion later. So when the time came to change the band’s name from The New Yardbirds they finally settled on “Led Zeppelin” after short stints as “Mad Dogs” and “Whoopee Cushion”. They changed the spelling of lead to “Led” so that people wouldn’t mispronounce the groups name as “Leed Zeppelin”.

If I ever form a band, I was going to name it Red 5. Now I can't do that because of stupid Maroon 5. Now I have to go with my backup name - Field Order 15. This is the formal name for General Sherman's order to give all freed blacks 40 acres and a mule, which in my opinion, while great sounding (Land to a former slave? Great!) added insult to injury. The mule, a cross between a donkey and a horse, is a sterile animal and can't reproduce. Its used as a work animal and let's face it, freed blacks in 1865 were used to working. So in reality, Sherman would have been much better off giving a plow to the freed slave to push instead of a mule. At least that way the field will get plowed and something might grow instead of just having a sterile animal sitting around, doing nothing except waiting to be fed by a freed slave that probably has no money for food. But that's just my opinion.

T2: Judgement Day...It's Coming Sooner Than You Think

The NY Times has an article today about robotic solidiers. Its yet another case of art imitating life imitating art. This also might be the first time anyone has called any of the "Terminator" movies art.

Ways NOT To Fool A Drug Test

I am NOT making this up: Actor Tom Sizemore has been jailed for violating his probation by failing a drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results, a Los Angeles County prosecutor said on Friday.

According to prosecutors, Sizemore had been caught once before trying to use a similar device, sold over the Internet under the brand name the Whizzinator, and had failed drug tests on at least five occasions.

Read the full article here

Thanks eNos

Puzzle Du Jour

This little flash game called Hapland is fun, irritating and quite puzzling. My co-worker Jason has completed it and printed the end screen as proof so I know it can be done. I'm muddling my way through it - so far, I've played about 30 minutes and I haven't been able to really do a damn thing. Let me know if you beat it.

Via Chris

ROCK/DON'T ROCK

New York Metro reports this week that on the WALK/DON'T WALK sign outside CBGB on the Bowery, the orange DON'T WALK hand has had its middle two fingers and thumb obliterated with black tape, turning it into a devil's horns-the universal hand signal for "Rock!"

The white walking man is now wearing sideburns, a skull-and-bones T-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of Converse. Across the street, the walking man has become a woman, with spiky hairdo, miniskirt, and high-heeled ankle boots. Nearby, at the intersection of Allen and Rivington, the man wears an Adidas tracksuit and Kangol hat, and carries a boom box. In all three cases, holes have been carefully punched in the pasted-on “clothing” (made from vinyl), so that the LED light still shines through.

Who has been doing this? Read the article to find out...

via Republica

Poseidon Undersea Resorts

I love the idea and practice of space exploration because space so vast, so unexplored and so unknown. For the same reasons, I love the ocean. I love aquariams, I love fish tanks (just not cleaning them) and I find the world underwater fascinating, especially since the earth is 75% covered by water and the way global warming is going, that number is probably only going to increase.

So, I found this next idea tres cool. Poseidon Undersea Resorts, currently in the final design stages, will be the world's first sea floor resort complex. The resort will be a unique, intimate and exclusive, five-star destination providing the highest possible levels of luxury and service. Poseidon's guests will experience a marvelous ambiance of comfort and camaraderie that will not soon be forgotten. For those who have dreamt of visiting their imagination's wildest destinations; traveling to the moon, reaching the summit of Everest or exploring the mysteries of the ocean depths, Poseidon will be a reality you will truly appreciate.

Via Republica

Happy Friday

I'm on a posting frenzy right now. Such is life, when it rains, it pours. When it doesn't, its a super duper dust bowl full of drought.

I was sent this link and got halfway down the page before I almost spit up what I was drinking. Its pretty funny how a slice of life action photo, combined with photoshop, can amuse me to no end.

Thanks Michele

I Feel So Safe

From The American Progress Action Fund's daily "Progress Report" email from today, 2/11/05:

Whoops. A 185-pound container of radioactive equipment – the material used in dirty bombs – which was imported by Halliburton Energy Services turned up unexpectedly this week at a shipping facility in Chelsea, MA. The problem: the shipment was falsely registered as having arrived in Newark, NJ, four months ago, and Halliburton only reported the missing container last Tuesday. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan, stating the obvious, said that Halliburton's four-month delay in reporting the loss "did not comply with notification requirements."

FANTASTIC. I really want to work at Halliburton because there you can overbill, denegrate our troops, bilk the government AND lose nuclear material without ever hearing "boo" about it. I forget to send one email to my Client and I get into more trouble than Halliburton does for overcharging the Army billions. If anyone hears of any openings there, let me know.

Of Course It's Unavoidable - There Is A Train Ahead Of Us!

When you travel in the newer subway cars, you are "treated" to hearing an electronic voice talking to you all the time. Like the voicemail woman who welcomes me to Audix (thanks sweetheart). Once in a while you'll hear a conductor break in and correct the computer - "Next stop is City Hall! City Hall next stop! We are nowhere near the Bronx - this is why people drive the trains!" - and I live for those moments.

The one electronic statement that bothers me the most is when, after not moving for a few minutes, transmitWoman breaks in and says "We apologize for the unavoidalbe delay." OF COURSE ITS UNAVOIDABLE!! We are on a track! It's not like we can go around it. What genius thought that one up?

This has always bothered me and guess what, it's going away. The MTA has announced that it is removing "unavoidalbe" from that statement. Yay. One less thing to get aggrevated over.

A Movie I Wish Was Coming To A Theatre Near Me

Once again, I found something cool on Chris's site. This time, its extra special.

The young geniuses at Untamed Cinema have a created a trailer for a movie that will might never be made. But if there is justice in the world, then maybe, just maybe, it will happen.

The high-res Grayson trailer is well worth the download, even if its a huge file (137 MB). If you have the bandwidth, grab it while you can. Otherwise, watch one of the other versions.

Below is Chris's review. Please note that he has berated me for liking comics for the past few years and has for the most part bashed the recent comic book movies that have made it to the big screen or that are in development (the upcoming Batman Beyond is an obvious expection). That being said, here is what he said:

"It tells the story of a time when Batman has been killed, and angst-filled Dick Grayson, AKA Robin, trains himself for revenge. He is older now, married with kids, and as his wife puts it, "is training for war." He also does a little detective work and begins to unravel a conspiracy that runs very deep, through the chief of police, various super villains, and even older heroes. Cameos astound as we see Superman, WonderWoman, Catwoman, Joker, Riddler, and even the Green Lantern. This short film/trailer is spectacular, and is everything superhero movies and comic books should be."

So, I'm hoping for some real comments get posted about this movie. If the movie is gone, email me and I'll burn it to a CD and mail it to you. The movie is THAT good. Enjoy

Thanks Chris

Dance Party Europa

This video has been around for a while now - its a kid lip-syncing and rocking out in front of his web cam. I saw it back in 12/04 when Chris posted it to Blah Blah Blog. Since then, I forgot about it until someone else sent it to me last week when we were looking for the old hit "The Super Bowl Is Gay."

So, please watch and enjoy. It helps if you make you window smaller as the flash file will shrink/expand based on the window size.

If you are wondering, the song is called "Dragsotea Din Tei" and its by a Romanian group called O-Zone. You can even buy it on iTunes if you want to thoroughly annoy your friends and neighbors.

After the jump you can even read the lyrics.

Thanks Chris as the comments to your post provided the extra info

UPDATE (2/26):
Today there is an article in the NY Times about this kid. He's actually from NJ. After the jump, you can read the entire NY Times article. Also, I found a link to the actual music video as well. There are many other versions floating around as well but I don't think they are that good.

Translated Lyrics:

Hello [on a cellphone], greetings, it's me, an outlaw,
I ask you, my love, to accept happiness.
Hello, hello, it's me, Picasso,
I sent you a beep [cellphone signal], and I'm brave [or strong],
But you should know that I'm not asking for anything from you.

You want to leave but you don't want don't want to take me, don't want don't want to take me, don't want don't want don't want to take me.
Your face and the love from the linden trees,
And I remember your eyes.

I call you [over the phone], to tell you what I feel right now,
Hello, my love, it's me, your happiness.
Hello, hello, it's me again, Picasso,
I sent you a beep [cellphone signal] and I'm brave [or strong],
But you should know that I'm not asking for anything from you.

Fool your eyes

Check out this optical illusion and be prepared to be wowed and weirded out at the same time.

The Real Little Mermaid

I thought I had seen it all and then a friend sent me a link. Straight from South America, I present to you a a real live baby "mermaid":

Her name is not Ariel, it is Milagros Cerron and she does not live "under the sea, under the sea, darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from me, up on the shore they work all day, out in the sun they slave away, while we devotin' full time to floatin', under the sea!" She lives in Peru.

After the jump, read the entire story about her from Reuters. It's fascinating.

Thanks Phyll!

Peru's Rare 'Mermaid' Baby to Have Risky Surgery
2/2/2005 by Jude Webber

Nine-month-old Milagros Cerron -- her name means miracles in Spanish -- is one of only a handful of the estimated 1-in-60,000 to 100,000 people born with sirenomelia, or mermaid syndrome, to have lived more than a few hours, experts say.

For Luis Rubio, the doctor leading the Peruvian team that will cut her legs apart in Lima on Feb. 24, the past year has been a crash course in tackling a condition he had read about in textbooks but never expected to have to treat.

Doctors believe there may only be one other surviving "mermaid" -- 16-year-old American Tiffany Yorks, whose legs were separated when she was a few months old.

Experts say sirenomelia is about as rare as conjoined twins but is nearly always fatal because most sufferers lack kidneys or have other complications.

"It is very, very rare," said Prof. Pierpaolo Mastroiacovo, director of the Rome-based International Center of Birth Defects. "The presence of renal agenesis (absence or imperfect development) makes survival very rare and improbable."

From the waist up, Milagros smiles and babbles like any healthy infant. Below the waist, her stomach merges seamlessly into her legs, which are joined all the way to her heels.

With her tiny feet splayed in a 'V', the impression of a mermaid's forked tail is complete.

The bones of both legs are visible and move separately, "as if she wanted to get free of this sack," Rubio said.

He took on Milagros' case when she was two days old and is treating her in a City Hall-funded mobile "solidarity hospital" run out of old buses in a poor northern district of Lima.

'TOTAL DESPAIR'

Milagros' father, Ricardo Cerron, 24, appealed for aid when she was born on April 27, 2004, in the Andean town of Huancayo, around 200 miles east of Lima.

"I thought it was something horrifying" he said, recalling his reaction on seeing his daughter. "I was in total despair."

Her legs have separate cartilage, bones and blood supplies, and she has one good kidney. Her heart and lungs are fine.

Milagros, who weighs 17 lbs (7.5 kg) and is 24 inches (60 cm) long, has a rudimentary anus, urethra and genitalia all located together.

Doctors will insert three silicone bags filled with saline solution between her legs on Feb. 9 and gradually add liquid to stretch the skin to cover exposed wounds once they are cut apart, centimeter by centimeter.

"I have faith it will all go well," said Milagros' mother, Sara Arauco, 19.

But Mutaz Habal, the doctor who began treating Tiffany Yorks when she was one hour old and helped pioneer the separation technique, said it was hugely risky.

"My only desire is to have another survivor," he told Reuters. He said he did not know of any besides Tiffany.

Tiffany, who lives in New Port Richey, Florida, walked for six years after her separation surgery but is currently wheelchair-bound after an accident. "I have the highest hopes that (Milagros) is going to go on for a long time," she said.

"We want to dream that she could one day run or ride a bike," Rubio said. "But if we could just give her the ability to be independent, that's enough."