population control

Someone once told me"Katie, people have to die to keep the population under control and for the earth to sustain us." Sure, I get that, sad as it is. But what if rather than not passing stem-cell research laws and letting people suffer from diseases and die, people were just not born?

More and more couples are waiting well into their thirties to have children; the number of single-occupant households has quadrupled in the past few years. The result of such a gap between the gen. Yers and the next generation will create a period of time in which the population decreases. The more people stay single, the less tots we'll have running around in the next ten years.

Who knows maybe china will be able to abolish the one-child law...

high expectations

I am stoked to say that I am about to get an iPhone, but with privilege comes responsibility. The proliferation of phones that allow email access to those beyond the board room creates new social expectations. Once it was only the suits who were constantly burdened by emails through their crackberries, but now those as young 18 will be buying iPhones. Will the expectation to respond asap raise stress? How will this affect personal relationships?

it's official, i'm a celeb stalker

Lindsay and girlfriend were shopping in the high-end store under our office. I couldn't help but grab a camera! She's tiny!!

mr. rogers is the only one you could trust

In 15 years, when those who are now rolling around in strollers are old enough to watch VH1, they will be asked the question "Where is the Yo Gabba Gabba guy now?"

What does it take to become the dancing creepy fool behind childrens' shows? Is there some kind of mandate amongst this crew of child entertainers that you have to wear a funky hat and/or choose a signature color? Imagine for a second what a secret club meeting of these dudes would be like...yeah, I'm weirded out too.

What happened to the Mr. Rogers type? Now there was a dude with whom you could have a sit-down and not feel creeped out or have to inform him of the soft white powder left over under his nose. Conservatives love to blame groups like the gays for perverting our society and killing mortality. Who should our grandfathers really be pointing their fingers at? That's right, the "Yo Gabba Gabba" guy. He and his perverse crew of child entertainers send us our earliest messages on how to dress, dance and have fun. If not the conservatives, the fashion industry must be up in arms. I mean really, the polyester presence makes even my skin itch.

The future is looking dim and horribly orange folks...

band name, un-google-able

Oh yes that's right, more on band names.

What's with the current trend to name your band something utterly un-Goggle-able? How does one Google "Black kids" or "Marching Band" without the fear of racist sites about where to buy uniforms consisting of hats with terrible chin-straps popping up?

Nonetheless, the two bands names I have thrown out are entirely worth the search. Should you not feel like a safari through Google-land....here's where you can find them:

http://www.blackkidsmusic.com/news.html

http://www.marchingband.se/index.php?page=news

testing greek mythology

I love this. Because of Discovery's 'Mythbusters,' science class might actually be one not to play hooky on. In their recent experiment, the guys tried to prove the power of the sun and sink a boat using mirrors. The story behind the experiemnt is the Greek myth about Archimedes sinking a fleet of Roman ships using mirrors to reflect the power of the sun on the boats. Kind of like when you were a kid and burnt ants with a magnifying glass.

The good news - they want to try the experiment again, as you can tell from the picture above, the first one didn't go so hot. So, they are looking for 300 volunteers to be the official mirror holders for the next try. (Grab your compact quick!)

Here's a link to the Wired Mag article about it: http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/07/not-ready-the-m.html

my dreams have come true

I think I've dreamed of this, a small dose of info from all of my favorite websites available to me on one page. I hate having to load multiple pages when my Internet connection is slow. So, as the net has a way of doing, it has answered my call. Netvibes.com is basically a page of widgets that you hook up to your facebook, flickr, mail, etc.,etc.,etc.

get in line

The insanity that is the line in front of the Apple store continues. I passed there twice about two hours apart and a few people I noticed had only moved about 15 feet. That line has to be four hours long easily and this is SIX DAYS after the magical iPhone 3G came out. So my dear friend Alex (aka Frenchie) and I have decided to bet on when the line would finally subside.
Alex says July 28th and I say July 23rd. As long as I'm not standing in that line though...I hope we are both wrong and that the fan-dom continues well into September. Hey, at least Apple is handing out umbrellas for people who don't want to get sunburnt.

too many scooby snacks

Following up from the last post...After tooling around the Architecture in Helsinki site for a bit I wandered to their web designer and artist sites.

Artist: Will Sweeny
http://alakazamlabel.com/prints.html

Good stuff, I love how the artist fills negative spaces with bright colors. His work is like Dali having a dream about celebrating halloween after watching too many episodes of Scooby Doo. Good times.

Web Designers: http://xy-1.com/mathematics/
It seems like this would be a really cool place to work.
Check out their mathlete of the year:

city, band name

I love bands that name themselves after cities they are not from. Some examples include:

Architecture in Helsinki - these guys are from Australia
Of Montreal - are Of Athens, GA
The New Amsterdams - Kansas

I love these folks because their name choice either came from boredum and a lack of creativity or a really good story. For instance, I once read that Of Montreal's lead had his heart broken by a guy from Montreal.

Architecture in Helsinki

run faster jump higher jam harder

As if I didn't love throwing on a pair of canvas chucks before strollin down summer streets enough. Head to their website to get this song for free. I love it when a brand connects with a lifestyle that goes beyond it's product.

Bravo Converse.

reality is cheap

A friend and I are huge followers of the TLC network. From 'Trading Spaces' to 'Jon and Kate Plus 8,' Meghan and I ought to start a club. However, recently our dependable friend, TLC, has changed on us...With new shows like "The Singing Office" and "Ashley Paige Bikini or Bust", TLC seems to be chasing reality guru Bravo and derailing into trash-ville.

They used to be about teaching "lifes' lessons" in a humorous, relatable manner and now...they have become so cheap it feels like they have lost these brand values. Beyond their show line-up something has changed in the delivery of programming. It just seems so...cheap. Even the shows we love like "Jon and Kate" are completely structured by which brand is sponsoring each episode, there is no real story-line. Awww reality, it really is as boring as it looks. I may have to switch to soap operas.

It's my theory though that Meghan and I will not feel deprived of good wholesome reality for too long, I think Lifetime is going to step it up. My former view of the Lifetime network was that it was just ironing board network - in other words for bored stay at home moms to watch while doing their ironing. Not that I could blame them, I'd be right there with them I'm sure. If not though, there is always HGTV.

going postal

I know snail mail has been out since 1995, but regardless of how quickly I can send an email, there is something about a written letter than can never be beat. I practically can’t pass the mailbox without checking to see what could be in it. So recently when I went to send a letter to a family member I realized how scarce good ol’ traditional mailboxes are. This not only made me sad, but frustrated as I marched around the city, letter in hand, resolute that it was going in the mailbox. After 6 blocks of wandering I decided to start a movement to bring back the box. Let’s go grassroots here people, get out your stamps and start sending letters, chain yourself to a mailbox. I’m thinking bumper stickers “ Support your mailman, stick something in his box,” a mailbox locator website/iPhone widget. I am also looking for help in creating a tribute to the mailbox. I’m thinking multi-media or a folk guitarist and a contortionist. If this could somehow be tied to global warming that would be great, please send all ideas.