Johnny Cash's birthday

It's Johnny Cash day

Scuba Diving Cat

Dude, check this out. It's a cat that scuba dives.

The Faith Dog

Ohh, man. When I saw this at the gym I ran, not walked to blog about it.

Robert Reich's controversial opposition to slavery

I know, I know, worrying about international trade is totally 90s, but so is Robert Reich, and for that matter so is this blogger. Thus I will say this: Reich suggested on his blog that 1) slavery should be abolished, and 2) an international minimum wage should attempt to be established and that minimum wage should be set around 1/2 a countries median income. Conservatives are so fanatical about the free market that they jumped on all over part 2) bypassing part 1) entirely. Can't we discuss part 1) before advancing to part 2)? Isn't that at the very core of why one might lay out a proposition in two parts. If so, do conservative really believe that we should be trading with countries that allow slavery? What a bunch of a-holes.

It should also be noted that Robert Reich blogs on blogger. It's really time to move on.

Pre Season Gossip

If Roger Clemens claims to be retired until July and then pops up on a team in playoff contention does that allow him to avoid steroid testing? If so, he'll totally get away with it and that's totally lame, unless Clemens resurfaces with the Red Sox--in which case it's shrewed.

Did you hear Jeter and A-Rod hate each other? I mean they won't admit to a life long brothership, therefore they hate each other. As I've always said: no pledge of life long brothership by Jeter and A-Rod = hate each other.

This Blog Is Your Blog

In the afore-blog regarding my recent creation of a Bruce mix, I should note I include Bruce's versions of the Woody Guthrie classic "this land is your land." The first interesting thing about this song is that according to Guthrie historians, WG made this song as an answer to Irvin Berlin's "God Bless America" which Guthrie found to be elitist and annoying, especially Kate Smith's version. This Kate Smith version is of course the version they play at baseball games post 9/11 along with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". If you are tired of "God Bless America" in the seventh, then you are in good company, or at least you would be if Guthrie was still alive. As of now you just hate America.

The other interesting thing about the song and my mix is that there are multiple versions of "This Land Is Your Land". One is the cleaned up version sung by grade schoolers, while the others include lyrics deemed too commie for Flag day celebrants. Bruce did a version of the school kid one, and then discovered the alternative lyrics version, and of course immediately went to work on the alternative version. Unfortunately, Bruce tried to mix in Guthrie in on the track along with other living celebs. He botched the mixing terribly. Nonetheless and more for historical reasons both versions are included on my Bruce mix.

Springsteen

I recently sent my brother some Bruce Springsteen songs via MP3. I am a life long Springsteen fan and a friend of mine listened to so much Springsteen in High School, I've actually committed his entire catalogue to memory. In fact, I don't even play his music anymore. When I want to hear it I just play it in my head. I believe if aliens discovered me, they'd wonder why a popular recording artist chose my brain to store his music.

The Poopisode

It's pushed out of the pipes and ready for public. We pushed it out: the Poopisode.

Google this!

It's been clear to me for several months that Google now runs Blogger. Typically, I force from my mind any tech industry news I catch on NPR (we don't inflict insider information about our jobs on the entire country); however, it's become clear Googles running the show around here. I notice that I now have to sign into my gmail account before blogging and that blogger spell check works which in my mind points to Google. Initially I accepted this. Like an Italian in the early 1930s, I said, well at least the trains are running on time, fuck it.

But could Google be overrated? Yes, they have integrated my email with my blog I suppose, but let's look at some of their "target advertising". In the right margin of my email I notice a site that intends to teach me how to dance salsa. Over the last 7 or 8 years my feelings about salsa have grown from vague interest, to frustration and disappointment around my attempts at the most basic moves, to a full grown, mature hatred. I literally just encouraged my fiance to go salsa dancing with our downstairs neighbor who openly hits on her just to allow some outlet for her salsa instinct that doesn't involve me. But fair enough that Google doesn't know that. I'm probably in the demographic of the salsa student so I'll let it pass.

On to the next bit of advertising: a site that promises to teach me the secrets of training Karelian bear hunting dogs. I own neither a dog nor have much use for bear hunting partners of any species. Enough said on that one...

Thus I am brought to my favorite bit of advertising, targeted with the precision of a laser guided stealth missile fired by a crazed and drunken Central Asian dictator who thinks he is playing Mario Cart: it's the professional website of a one, Dr. Edmund Kwan. Dr. Kwan offers Thermage, the only none invasive plastic surgery technology that promises to preserve my youthful appearance and my Asian heritage. I of course am white, but maybe I'll give Dr. Kwan a shot. Dr. Kwan's approach is subtle and sensitive. Dr. Kwan knows "preserving ethnicity is the biggest concern of Asians having plastic surgery". Does that mean Asians can age into white people? Will I age into hottie Brazilian chick? Who knows? In a section of the website called ethnic identity, aka classic Kwan, Kwan writes that Asian cosmetic surgery was often done in beauty parlors, then he sights some financial statistics about Asian American buying power (for no particular reason), then he deftly and delicately notes that some Asian Americans want to look more white and some don't thus appealing to the entire spectrum of what he views as his potential clientele. He then emphasizes the subtlety of his work again. I had just wanted to send an email about meeting up for beers later, but now that Goolge has presented me with this, I'm hooked.

Before I go for the full tummy tuck, I better shift the homebase of Blue Fish Canoe to Kyle's job. Stay tunned for the new url.

A quick review

Things that are terrible: movies about relationships. Oooo, we're soo sophisticated. And what's going on with this guy? And what's going on with his hair?

Things that are great: a Worcester boy and Jesse Berkett little league alum, Andy Ross, winning a grammy.