CheekierMeSly

The dog days are over

2010-12-07T07:42:00.001-05:00

Two years since my last post.

The dog days are over ... no more running away from happiness.

Blog hibernation is over. Watch this space!

Merry Ho Ho

2008-12-25T21:42:00.001-05:00

From Mark Tonra's James

Holidayz at CarolinaMom's this year find Cheek in the happy chaos of toddlers. I wish you all glad tidings of comfort and joy and stuff.

Sarah Maclachlan performing Gordon Lightfoot's "Song for a Winter's Night"

Welcome, Winter

2008-12-22T07:42:00.001-05:00

From Mark Tonra's James

A strange fall. Chock full o' transitions. The fickle weather thwarted my usual April to October sandals / October to April boots pattern. The Merry Ho Ho toes saw sandals this past week.

Happily, a few days of brr Nellie cold will lend themselves to fires and hot cocoa ho-ness. Send some of your winter wonderland stuff down here, Sheena and MontanaMan.

"Feeling tired
By the fire
The long day is over

The wind is gone
Asleep at dawn
The embers burn on

With no reprise
The sun will rise
The long day is over"

Norah Jones, "The Long Day is Over"

e.e.'s words of the day

2008-12-19T07:42:00.000-05:00

To be nobody but myself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
-E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

From A Word A Day's "A Thought for the Day"

Flowchart Explaining Flowcharts

2008-12-18T23:42:00.001-05:00

Way, way too relevant to my work life.

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Boundaries. Latecomers are a b*tch.

2008-12-15T21:42:00.002-05:00

"It is our choices that define us, far more than our abilities."
- J.K. Rowling

You're born to a family that puts the fun in dysfuntional. Let's face it: we all are.

You learn not to need. You learn to please. You succeed to please.

Fast forward decades and you learn at a professional workshop that your key conflict resolution methods are avoidance and accommodation. You are not surprised.

You spend years in a relationship with the kindest person you've ever met. You have needs, but are schooled to subvert them. He has needs, but is schooled to not voice them. You part.

You date. You meet compelling people. You learn. What you want. What you don't. What is compatible. What isn't. That it's a triple-punch of intellectual, physical, and emotional attraction (for you, in that order) that resonates with Clive Staples Lewis' idea: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."

You get distracted. The intellectual attraction is the bite. The physical attraction is the hook. But the emotional attraction? Continues to elude.

You get lost in the first two at the expense of the last. But the cost of the loss of that kindest person is the reminder you need. That if the collapse of that emotional attraction boundary was worth it, for anyone, it would have been for that kindest person.

You have intellectual and emotional chemistry with your peeps. You just don't want to jump their bones. You hope. That finding the attraction trif*ckta is possible. Until then, solace. With the peeps. Whose bones may not be jumpable, but whose hearts are unyieldingly authentic.

"There is good. And there is evil. Right, and wrong. Heroes, and villains. And if we're blessed with wisdom, then there are glimpses between the cracks of each, where light streams through. We wait in silence for these times, when sense can be made; when meaningless existence comes into focus, and our purpose presents itself.

And if we have the strength to be honest, then what we find there, staring back at us, is our own reflection bearing witness to the duality of life. That each one of us is capable of both the dark and the light - good, and evil - of either; of all.

And destiny, while marching ever in our direction, can be re-routed by the choices we make; by the love we hold on to; and the promises we keep." - Heroes, 15-Dec-2008

Thanks, Sheena

2008-12-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

You cannot know how much your post, read today, touched me. Incredibly timely, and very relevant.

So much so that I have to share the same song. And hope its message is heard.

I know your fear, Sheena. I share it. But I also have faith, that we will have that happiness and peacefulness again. In fact, we already have it. If not in the arms of another, then in the hearts of friends.

It's Dentist Time

2008-11-12T07:42:00.001-05:00

From Tony Carillo's F Minus

I Will Remember You

2008-11-11T11:42:00.001-05:00

Sheena's Remembrance post says it all.

Family members and loved ones who served, and who are serving; countrymen and countrywomen who have served, and are serving; I salute you.

CSAK

2008-11-01T11:42:00.001-04:00

From ToothpasteForDinner.com

How to Win at the Game of Jazz

2008-10-21T06:42:00.002-04:00

Special spanks to Pid for alerting me to this - on this, his horse's ass day.

I saw Wynton Marsalis last year in concert with the Lincoln Center orchestra - one of my top 5 concerts of all time. He does not suck.

Update: Apparently, Canuckians aren't worthy to view Comedy Central streaming: try here instead. Spanks to Cap'n Noise for the link.

Holding On

2008-10-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

From Mark Tonra's James

For my favourite liberal blogger

2008-10-19T22:42:00.000-04:00

From Toothpaste for Dinner

She knows who she is.

Don't bugger it again, Florida!

2008-10-17T07:42:00.001-04:00

Caution - potty mouth language in this most excellent video on The Great Schlep. Sarah Silverman rocks!

Sleeping In

2008-10-09T10:42:00.000-04:00

From Tony Carillo's F Minus

Sleeping in sure sounds good right about now. Need to work on that. Leaves starting to fall in Hotlanta, and color kicking in. Still very warm.

Reflux Throated Hurlingbirds

2008-10-05T19:42:00.000-04:00

From Darby Conley's Get Fuzzy

Heh heh.

Tunage. Shows. Youth. Memories.

2008-10-02T05:42:00.003-04:00

Cap'n Noise posted recently on concert attendance for a band from his past. Have not had the same reaction to seeing live music from youthful influences or enthusiasms. For me, these events incur positive nostalgia.

CarolinaMom and I saw Johnny Mathis at Chastain Amphitheater a couple o'years back here in Atlanta. Wow. That man's voice is still buttah: late in "Misty" when he sings "On my own" an octave higher than the rest of the melody gave me goose bumps. I cried a bit with "The Twelfth of Never," as it's one of my Mom's favorites. We sat next to two women my Mom's age, and the 3 of them waxed on about their teenage crushes, other popular music at the time, etc.

I've seen James Taylor many, many times. His music framed my childhood, and I shoved countless quarters into the jukebox at Anna's Pizzeria in Hampton to play "Handyman".

But these music tastes were my parents' and became mine by osmosis. The ones I sought out myself as Noise did, in 'tween and teen years, and seen recently? Many still bring it. But they weren't as frantic or punk or alternative as Noise's B52s. My sister and I saw Peter Frampton, and I heard no tales from her about feelin' old 'n'stuff, or that Frampton was any less intense as a balding older white dood. He still showed the way (just watch Almost Famous - he and Nancy Wilson wrote the original music, and the movie brings that time's feel back in spades.)

Crowded House last fall at The Tabernacle was one of my top 5 concerts, ever, and their musical chops had only improved with time. More subtlety and complexity. Neil Finn's age couldn't have shown more, what with his son opening the show and all. But it didn't have me finding Neil an old fart, nor did it make me feel similarly old-farted with being closer to Neil's age than his son's.

How much NEW live music do you witness, Cap'n? Vampire Weekend at Variety Playhouse in June drew a multi-generational audience vividly engaged to each of the 75 minutes played. Why only 75? Well, they've only the one album, dontcha know. Fans from age 10 to age 60 in the demographic spread, with density in the college-age. Plenty of boozing and dancing in the crowd. I was transported to 1983 and Coyote having me listen to the Violent Femmes.

Feist at Masquerade this Spring blew me away. No Kate or Cindy or alt punk feel, but I felt no age distance between myself and the teenage urchins I chaperoned. Neither did my concert consort, Kimplicated. The sound harkened be effortelessly back to Boone introducing me to "new" chick music during college: The Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, The Innocence Mission, Sarah McLachlan.

Sheena baptized me with The Legendary Shack Shakers in Tallahassee in 2005, and Cap'n, they done did bring zany. And let's not forget my aforementioned serendipitous newish crush.

Speaking of Kimplicated, another of my top 5 concerts is seeing 311 with her at Lakewood Amphitheater. They brung it hard, but my fondness for the event was witnessing Kimplicated's unmitigated joy and thrash dancing so hard that her specs went flying a few rows in front of us (rescued with a mad dash forward). The dancing was contagious. I bounced up and down and happily remembered the ghosts of shows past: A Flock of Seagulls, R.E.M., Oingo Boingo, The Cure, U2.

And then there's Eddie From Ohio. My passion for their music fully integrates my parent's osmossissing, my teenage discoveries, and my adult acoustic penchants. In their harmonies I'm back on a long trip in the station wagon, the 8-track player booming Peter Paul & Mary, The Kingston Trio, John Denver, and my folks and us urchins singing 5 part harmony. In their joy for entertaining I'm transported to meeting Robbie Schaefer in high school at a variety show audition, and seeing his band Knightly Jest whip teenagers into frenzied (albeit mostly sober) dancing to The Stray Cats and The Who. In their wit I'm hanging out with Robbie in college at JMU, meeting Michael Clem, and am in the thick of late night banter and Jellyfish Blues Band gigs. In their soulfulness and Julie's passionate voice, I'm back in Mr. Boren's choir at Cocoa Beach High School, singing 8 part a capella harmony with my brother and Otter and Coyote. And then I'm in The Swede's kitchen after an EFO gig at Variety Playhouse, drinking beers with the band and reading our names on the back of a high school regional chorus competition album: me, Robbie, Julie, Chad of Knightly Jest, and Robbie's peep Vern.

Mayhap it's my frequency of live music worship, but Cap'n my Cap'n, I'm not taken where you go. I lose myself in appreciation of the sound, the shared enjoyment, and a bevvie or two. The experience connects me philotically to youthful show going joy. It's a communion. It's part mind-, part heartf*ck. It's social object enthusiasm enjoyed best when shared, not solo'd, and always connects me with my peep music influencers.

Getting old does not *completely* suck, Cap'n Noise. It may *mostly* suck. But it does not *completely* suck.

Swedish English

2008-09-30T06:42:00.000-04:00

Today's Toothpaste for Dinner can't help but shout out to the Swede as well as to my longer-term Swedish stalking target.

Universe

2008-09-29T08:42:00.002-04:00

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Earworms

2008-09-29T08:42:00.001-04:00

Rumor has it my folks took us urchins to see John Denver at the Hampton Coliseum. His tunage was part of my childhood's soundtrack, so I don't mind these earworms.

If you don't like him, just be happy you weren't RickRolled.

From Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine

How are you celebrating the day?

2008-09-19T07:42:00.000-04:00

Happy holiday, matey!

From Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine

Flip Chart Art

2008-09-16T11:42:00.000-04:00

Many peeps have alerted me to Demitri Martin's Flip Chart Art. Two of his bits shout out to Cheek peeps:

Sheena, does your own FUH2 survey data confirm Demitri's stats?

Coyote, this just screamed your name!

Watch the whole piece here:

Who do I have to . . .

2008-08-29T07:42:00.001-04:00

From NatalieDee.com

Seriously! Not a Burpee Ford nor a Turberville Melon to be found! R.L. would be VERY disappointed.

Give me your cheeky. Your contrary. Your catalytic.

2008-08-26T11:42:00.000-04:00

A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.
-Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988)

(From today's A Word a Day by Anu Garg)

Funny. Some of my best peeps are troublemakers. The good kind. You know who you are.

One More Gold for Team USA

2008-08-25T07:42:00.002-04:00

Michael Phelps hogged the gold medal glory for media attention. Don't get me wrong. This former tyke swimmer is all pro-Phelpsian and just about peed her PANTS when Jason Lezak pulled out the stops in the last leg of the 4X100 free relay in the ultimate assist in Phelp's quest for 8 gold medals.

/rant mode ON
The effing asshats at NBC won't post the footage of the race for our viewing pleasure, and has chased down any vidsters who posted it. Argh! But I digress. As is my wont to do.
/rant mode OFF

In case you missed it, Team USA won a gold medal in basketball yesterday, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. I may be a Carolina Tarheel basketball fan, but there's no dissing Krzyzewski's coaching. He rocks.

Nike's superlative ad fetting the team to the tune of Marvin Gaye's rendering of the national anthem: fantastic, and an unsuck listen.

And now, back to regular sleep cycles.

Desperate Times, eh Cap'n Noise?

2008-08-22T11:42:00.000-04:00

From Toothpaste For Dinner

Sheena, hope they don't come down the aisle with the tin cup on your overseas return!

Luscious Mad Men

2008-08-11T21:42:00.000-04:00

The best show you're likely not watching: AMC's Mad Men. I only fell into watching it in the last few weeks because of its copious 16 Emmy award nominations. Provoked to know what the buzz was about, at least once, I set the DVR.

Wow. Luscious is the best word. The sets, the costumes, the images, the dialogue, the story. It defines, to me, What Is Sexy. From like, before, you know?

What I like best? Scene after scene after scene with what is NOT said. What is left to us to interpret, to noodle, to recognize and go "Yes!".

John Maeda's Laws of Simplicity, Law #10:

"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

Mad Men embodies this law. Check it out.

(Ok. So I'm in lust with Jon Hamm. Sue me!)

Bacchanalia, revisited

2008-08-11T07:42:00.000-04:00

Sheena is returning soon to the kudzu. Many Atlanta institutions are preparing to roll out the red - er, animal print carpet - in her honor. One such establishment - Bacchanalia - was the scene of Cheek's F*ck Forty milestone, celebrated with Kimplicated. Sadly, I didn't do justice back in January to describe the foodgasm that is Bacchanalia. So Sheena, here's a hint of what you're in for. I can't BELIEVE you and the Georgia Peach are going to go without me while I head to setup for the gig that night. B*tch!

I missed capturing the first course, but the amuse bouche served afterwards was a lovely celery soup:

Scallops were my main. Only the third time I've had them since the food revolution of 2006, and these were the best ever. A hint of garlic, and a yummy light cream sauce.

A light salad with yummy stinky cheese was next. Sorry Sheena - it's been too many months for me to remember which kind.

Speaking of cheese, Sheena's like to really dig the storefront of the restaurant, better known as Star Provisions. Absolutely scrumptious finds of cheese, oils, wines, and more, as well as various cooking and kitchen accoutrement.

A warm cider and small cookie served as the taste after the salad, with no hint of the decadence to come:

Dessert was a three course affair. The ladies dining next to us ordered everything on the dessert menu about the time that our mains were served, so Kimplicated and I got the tour and diner feedback as to best selections. My poison was a warm apple-y cake with caramel and ice cream, while Kimplicated's was flourless chocolate goodness.

Next came a dessert course surprise - Bacchanalia's own birthday cake. Absolutely the best I have ever had, with a perfect proportion of icing to cake. It kicked the previous desserts' asses.

But wait! There's more! The final presentation involved tasty sweet bits, all of which were taken home as stuffed silliness was upon us. Delight the next day upon opening the box for breakfast to discover extra bits added by the staff.

Driving home meant light imbibing, so we didn't opt for wine pairings with each course. Our server steered us towards ordering a glass with the main and then the cheese/salad courses, splitting between the two of us each time. We shared a moscato d'Asti with dessert.

Enjoy, Sheena. I can't wait to read your review!

Her energy policy doesn't completely suck

2008-08-07T12:42:00.003-04:00

I wouldn't vote for Paris Hilton for president, but her energy policy does not completely suck. Definitely a Video You Should Know About (V.Y.S.K.A.). Spanks to Pid for sharing!

The XY Games

2008-08-07T12:42:00.001-04:00

A fabulous op-ed piece appeared last week in the NY Times, entitled "The XY Games", by Jennifer Finney Boylan. The article details why the sex tests for Olympic athletes are profoundly flawed.

"The Olympic hosts seem to want to impose a binary order upon the messy continuum of gender. They are searching for concreteness and certainty in a world that contains neither.

Most efforts to rigidly quantify the sexes are bound to fail. For every supposedly unmovable gender marker, there is an exception. There are women with androgen insensitivity, who have Y chromosomes. There are women who have had hysterectomies, women who cannot become pregnant, women who hate makeup, women whose object of affection is other women.

So what makes someone female then? If it’s not chromosomes, or a uterus, or the ability to get pregnant, or femininity, or being attracted to men, then what is it, and how can you possibly test for it?

The only dependable test for gender is the truth of a person’s life, the lives we live each day. Surely the best judge of a person’s gender is not a degrading, questionable examination. The best judge of a person’s gender is what lies within her, or his, heart."

This article brought a great read to mind that I tripped across 2 years ago after listening to an NPR segment: Norah Vincent's Self Made Man.

Her writing about how men interrelate when women aren't around was enlightening and stereotype-busting. Definitely an unsuck read.

Have you been naughty or nice this summer?

2008-08-02T13:42:00.001-04:00

He's always watching!

From Tony Carrillo's F Minus

They should make one of these

2008-08-02T13:42:00.000-04:00

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

It Could Happen to You!

2008-07-29T18:42:00.001-04:00

Don't let this happen:

"Official Energy Drink" from marriedtothesea.com

But it's ok if this happens - really!

From MoveOn.org

And since I'm on the subject of politics, check out Sean Tevis' xkcd-style campaign for a state representative spot in Kansas. Schweet!

Love Leaps

2008-07-18T16:42:00.001-04:00

From Mark Tonra's James

Happy anniversary, CarolinaMom.

Positively Coyote

2008-07-09T09:42:00.000-04:00

Wishing Coyote love today.

'tis the season for flip flops

2008-06-26T07:42:00.001-04:00

From Tony Carrillo's F Minus

Well, Zeke, they ain't got nuttin' on Pid's beer bottle opener flip flops!

Spanks, Pid, for supplying the snap upon request!

Happily Unchaste, and Dreams

2008-06-25T08:42:00.004-04:00

From Hugh MacLeod's gapingvoid.com

Today's What Is Sexy bits (W.I.S.B.s):

Words are, yet again, sexy.

Today's first sexy words came to me by way of my A.W.A.D. missive's thought for the day:

"There are no chaste minds. Minds copulate wherever they meet."
-Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (1902-1983)

Just may have to pick up Hoffer's The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Reading Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point has me all a'twitter about societal cause/effect schtuff. If you haven't read The Tipping Point, RUN!, don't walk, and get a copy today. It's an unsuck read.

But, back to my unchasteyness. I may not have (yet) met Hugh MacLeod's mind in person, but his words have caused much copulation in my mind. Mental masturbation? I digress . . .

Hugh's post yesterday included this copulative nugget:

"It's good to be young and full of dreams. Dreams of one day doing something "insanely great". Dreams of love, beauty, achievement and contribution. But understand they have a life of their own, and they're not very good at following instructions. Love them, revere them, nurture them, respect them, but don't ever become a slave to them. Otherwise you'll kill them off prematurely, before they get the chance to come true."

Rock on, Hugh! Here's to not becoming a slave to your dreams. And, to not forgetting them.

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Duuude: It's okay

2008-06-21T09:42:00.000-04:00

I shore do lurve Stephan Pastis!

From Pearls Before Swine

R.T.L.B.: Don't be an asshole, illustrated

2008-06-18T08:42:00.000-04:00

"It's easier to be an asshole to words than to people" is the hover over text when you view this cartoon on xkcd.com. Ain't it da truf?

Rule To Live By: Don't be an asshole!

Summer Serendipity, Vol. 2

2008-06-16T06:42:00.001-04:00

If you're ever in Brevard County, Florida - also known as the Space Coast - be sure to stop by the Green Turtle Market in Indian Harbor Beach. This place was the shiz when it opened in 2000 - the beach, much less the county, is known for gourmet market options. Great wine selection, with tastings on weekends, and they recently opened up a restaurant. FloridaDad had me pick up some Pinot Noir that's hard to find elsewhere.

Could *not* resist buying a bottle of red based on its packaging, with designs on quaffing it during my next Sheena sojourn.

Alas, dumassedness intervened to thwart shared quaffage. Cannot explain how my brain went so slack as to deliberately put the bottle in my carry-on. TSA asked to inspect my bag at the Orlando security screening, and I didn't bat an eye based on the copious electronics traveled with. Dismay descended when they pulled out the bottle. No! Say it ain't so!

Reached for my camera to at least have a snap of it, but I was thwarted again. Ucking camera has a mind of its own about whether or not it will deign to take a snap in low light. Was not to be.

TSA way cool chick to my rescue! And cute to boot. She wips out her camera phone, takes a snap, and asks me for my e-mail address. I viewed the snap on my phone not 2 minutes later. So Sheena, here's the bottle meant for you:

That's What She Said, Redux

2008-06-13T07:42:00.001-04:00

Can't believe I beat CountryMouse on this!

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Original "That's What She Said":

Happy Horse's Ass Day, CountryMouse!

2008-06-12T07:42:00.001-04:00

So you're starting your forty-second year. Methinks this will be your best, CountryMouse. Everyone knows that 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Will you share your sage wisdom?

Pid is counting down the days of his forty-second. Funny. He doesn't seem all that wise to me, 'ceptin' for the wiseass part.

Summer Serendipity, Vol. 1

2008-06-12T06:42:00.004-04:00

Hawaii was grand. Exploiting the bidness trip for a few days' siesta did not suck, at all. And FloridaDad and SWEJudy's place was swell, beautimous as always. But being back at the daily grind, no matter the lovely latitude, still sucked. Praise Allah for the weekend.

After a great knosh in Melbourne (FL) with Coyote, she allowed as how I had to experience something. Witness, if you will. We made our mosey over Eau Gallie way and strolled around the galleries and antique stores to see the "illegal" art flourishing.

And man, I mean FLOURISHING.

This stuff lifted me out of my descending work funk and slammed me back in the now. To being present. To feeling a high from the energy that this stuff evoked. I'm so glad I didn't stumble on it solo, but had a guided tour from Coyote whose innate artist's eye pointed out the cleverness. The freehand artistry combined with use of stencil and cardboard mad skillz. Equations stenciled atop graffiti - had not ever thunk it.

One of the artists is Clifton Chandler. Shortly after Coyote took me to see it, she ran into the father of a few of the other folks who are working on the piece. There are no coincidences!

Sadly, this ends the great series of snaps captured by the camera so graciously lent by Buckwheat. Dood, how's about I buy it off ya to fund yer SLR purchase?

Get your airboat on!

2008-06-09T12:42:00.005-04:00

Accompanied the 'rents to a shindig put on for an association end of year thang. Am feeling quite stoopid that I never knew you could take an airboat ride in these here parts to traipse around the St. John's River. Yes, you can, at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp.

Here's the ride heading north from SR-520:

Many gators sighted, we stopped to spy one up close and personal.

Last bit of the half hour ride was South of 520 to Lake Poinsett.

Post-ride eats at the fish camp included fried cat fish, baked tilapia, slaw & beans, and yummilicious hush puppies. Seafood *always* comes with hush puppies. Northern climes often uck this up.

News to me in Southern styles is a Bloody Mary served, not with a stalk of celery, but with - ew! - a pickle. Cheek swoonage ensued, and not in a good way.

Head still spinning from the pickle ick factor, upon departure we spied the requisite Southern entreaty to return. Grrr ... Kernan the Grammarian's bile rose. Move that apostrophe, I do dee-clayuh!

From one tropical location to the next

2008-06-09T12:42:00.004-04:00

Took a red eye from Honolulu to Orlando by way of Atlanta, and managed to not sleep a wink. Might have had something to do with sitting in the exit row and freezing my ucking *ss off. My feet were warm, tho.

Tip: even tho' you're visiting a tropical clime in summer, remember to bring socks to don on the plane. Feet properly stockinged, stick 'em inside the plastic bags from the blankets that you're still lucky enough to get on overnight flights. Wrap a blanket around your plasticated feet, and you're set!

Was a tad surreal to arrive at FloridaDad's and bask in the warmth and beauty of his home with his fine bride SWEJudy. A nap soon ensued.

All relaxed 'n' stuff from these pretty Islands in the Sun (Weezer YouTube vid).

This Could Be Trouble

2008-06-07T16:42:00.003-04:00

Apparently, I'm behind the times. All over, self-serve wine bars are popping up. Did a corporate thang in Honolulu at the Honolulu Design Center, and its Amuse wine bar lets folks pick their grape, slip in a credit card to transact, and drink away. Sheena, I could *so* see a Wine Warped Tour of the country, hiring a Lance to escort us in a high falutin', fancified RV hither, thither and yon to quaff at leisure. You in?

I was agog at the way cool lighting next door in the Stage Restaurant. Me likey!

North Shore Mosey

2008-06-07T16:42:00.000-04:00

The fastest way from Kahuku on the North Shore to Waikiki is through the center of Oahu. Screw that. I may not be kamaaina, but I didn't want to miss drinking in all that coastline. As the speed limit on Kamehameha Highway is 35 MPH, there wasn't too much peril in ogling the gorgeousness that is the north and windward Oahu coast line, stopping for last snaps along the way.

Come On, Get Higher

2008-06-04T20:42:00.000-04:00

I haven't been able to get this tune outta my pointy head. I've been singing it as I drove all over Oahu, hummed it as I snorkled, whistled it in the parking garage.

It's taken me over. He's playing in Atlanta this month. May have to check that out.

Matt Nathanson, Come On, Get Higher

Shark's Cove

2008-06-03T14:42:00.002-04:00

Had grand aspirations to get up early and drive east for the day to Hanauma Bay, but a craptastic headache thwarted me. If not for that, would have been f*cktacularly vexed by the closure of the Kamehemeha Highway for eight hours in both directions. So it's just as well that my slack ass didn't get outta bed 'til after noon.

King Kamehameha, you may know, united the Hawaiian islands and was quite the badass. Or perhaps you know him more popularly from the shout out Cartman gives him in "Kyle's Mom is a B*tch in D Minor". But I digress. As is my wont to do.

My cousin's husband is from these here parts - Mililani - and when asked for good snorkel spots listed Shark's Cove as a fave. A quick stop at Foodland for provisions and snorkel gear (resort rental options were stanky) across the street from the park, and I was set.

Kokopelli was gettin' his snorkel on too.

Sun was gettin' its set on, so I moseyed a bit further west to Haleiwa for eats and a table by the sunset at Haleiwa Joe's. Had the baked swordfish and a mai tai in a signature cup. A non-sucky day.

Update: Darby Conley must have known I went snorking!

From Darby Conley's Get Fuzzy

Sunset

2008-06-02T16:52:00.008-04:00

From my lanai.

Soothed and Balmed

2008-06-02T16:42:00.000-04:00

When was the last time you slept to the sound of the ocean? An unsuck listen and a favorite thing.

Mai Hana Ino

2008-06-01T05:42:00.000-04:00

That's Hawaiian for "do not disturb". Just arrived at my respite on the North Shore of Oahu, playing hooky for a few days before a work thang in Honolulu on Wednesday.

Snaps and descriptions to follow.

Bring 'Em Yo' Own Dam Sef!

2008-05-27T10:42:00.001-04:00

From NatalieDee.com

I baptized another Trader Joe virgin this week - people from off seem to really dig it. As I do. The mission was Two Buck Chuck, but alas, thwartation was at hand as they were all out of white from the holiday rush.

Did score some ummy yummies, including the return of the rosemary marcona almonds and raspberry and brie "fillo" rolls. The latter are way second to the Archer Farms Brie and Pear, seemingly discontinued. The effing ucktards! Target is stepping wrongly there.

I'm crossing my fingers to win the drawing for $50 of free Trader Giotto booty - qualified because I brought in my own grocery bags. See, kids! Recycling pays!

No wonder I like Canadians!

2008-05-08T12:42:00.003-04:00

You cheeky monkeys! Keeping your eyes open 'n' stuff!

From Darby Conley's Get Fuzzy

Say it ain't so!

2008-05-07T11:42:00.002-04:00

Sue Johanson is leaving the airwaves. Discovered her watching hotel boobage tube after work when in Canuckland on bidness. Never have caught her show on Oxygen, where she has a show on Sunday nights. This Sunday will be her last. Check it!

Nothing like hearing about good ol' fashioned - and new fangled - sex stuff from a happily raunchy and guilt-free 77 year old chick. In a CNN article, Sue lamented, "I'm going to miss playing with sex toys." Sue, we're going to miss you playing with sex toys! Say it ain't so!

Weezer

Finally! The perfect wedding toast!

2008-05-07T09:42:00.001-04:00

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Randall will never let you down!

It's not easy being green

2008-05-02T09:42:00.000-04:00

From Tony Carrillo's F Minus

As we know, Sheena is enjoying a Roman holiday. I'm so envious, I could just shit. But I'm enjoying reading all about it. You will too.

My health is just fine, thanks

2008-05-02T08:42:00.001-04:00

Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

I augment my bacon intake outside of my own kitchen with bacon cooked by other people (B.C.B.O.P.), and the higher consumption only has positive health impacts.

It's that time again

2008-05-01T11:42:00.000-04:00

Happy May Day.

The year has been most challenging thus far. Too challenging. Looking forward to living in less interesting times, as soon as effing possible.

From Mark Tonra's James

Primary Colors

2008-04-29T10:42:00.001-04:00

From Darby Conley's Get Fuzzy

CarolinaMom got her primary vote in early for next week's Democraptacular drama in the Tar Heel state. Today's NY Times article Demography is King aptly describes the party divide.

April 19th is Record Store Day

2008-04-18T07:42:00.000-04:00

recordstoreday.com

Get your slackass out and support your local record store. Word!

Sheena's Style is Catching

2008-04-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

It already seems too long ago that Sheena visited Hotlanta for Cheek's f*ck forty festivities. Supporting Sheena's thwarted Target fetish (they ain't got no Targets in Canuckland) yielded a Sheena-inspired decorative item now hanging chez Cheek:

Sheena traveled home with Sheena-themed containers scored by Cheek at Ikea; I wonder what's inside them now?

It's "Sheena" style that should be celebrated, never feared:

From Natalie Dee

Sunday's read: Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?

2008-04-13T11:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's a long a**-article from today's New York Times, but it's a fascinating read: Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?

This is when I voiced a careless thought about whether there might be something negative about the lightning spread of technology, whether its convenience was somehow supplanting traditional values or practices. Chipchase raised his eyebrows and laid down his spoon. He sighed, making it clear that responding to me was going to require patience. “People can think, yeah, monks with cellphones, and tsk, tsk, and what is the world coming to?” he said. “But if you wanted to take phones away from anybody in this world who has them, they’d probably say: ‘You’re going to have to fight me for it. Are you going to take my sewer and water away too?’ And maybe you can’t put communication on the same level as running water, but some people would. And I think in some contexts, it’s quite viable as a fundamental right.” He paused a beat to let this sink in, then added, with just a touch of edge, “People once believed that people in other cultures might not benefit from having books either.”

. . .

Some of the drawings were basic pencil sketches; others were strikingly elaborate, with arrows pointing to different dream features, which were really just a way of pointing — I realized then — to the dreams themselves.

Jung and Tulusan said they’d found this everywhere, the phone representing what people are aspiring to. “It’s an easy way to see what’s important to them, what their challenges are,” Jung said. One Liberian refugee wanted to outfit a phone with a land-mine detector so that he could more safely return to his home village. In the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, people sketched phones that could forecast the weather since they had no access to TV or radio. Muslims wanted G.P.S. devices to orient their prayers toward Mecca. Someone else drew a phone shaped like a water bottle, explaining that it could store precious drinking water and also float on the monsoon waters. In Jacarèzinho, a bustling favela in Rio, one designer drew a phone with an air-quality monitor. Several women sketched phones that would monitor cheating boyfriends and husbands. Another designed a “peace button” that would halt gunfire in the neighborhood with a single touch.

- Sara Corbett, contributing writer to the New York Times

My new fave comic crashes into my old fave comic

2008-04-11T18:42:00.000-04:00

Schweet!

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

You know you're a BSG fan when . . .

2008-04-10T22:42:00.000-04:00

You look at the cheese tortellini you've made for dinner and realize they are shaped like a Cylon raider.

Remember your Freegan days?

2008-04-09T06:42:00.001-04:00

From Toothpaste for Dinner

A long-held Cheek-ism is that the best kind of food is *free* food. Learned me that one in my college days. Today's view yields that while it may not be the best, it's not to be scorned.

To wit: free beer is always good beer. If you can't embrace the joy of a free PBR Tallboy because it's not "good enough" for you, then step aside from Cheekdom. If you're paying for it, you can be picky, but free is always welcome.

Today's word of the day: Osmosissing

2008-04-07T12:42:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Bucky Katt:

From Darby Conley's Get Fuzzy

Guess I've been channeling Summer Glau

2008-04-04T21:27:00.003-04:00

Who knew?

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Only recently discovered Joss Whedon's Firefly and Summer's River.

I'm not just some chick

2008-04-01T08:42:00.001-04:00

From Married to the Sea

But I am indeed "just some chick", who happens to blog. I'm not yet struggling with the "why am I here" question as Cap'n Noise is wont to do. It's an occasional ponder, yes.

I read about the couple - Pat and Cat - who shirked the possession thing and biked around the world. What Pat had to say has stuck with me:

"Pat says that, more than anything, biking around the world has changed what he values in life. Pat admits that when he was in his 30s his philosophy could be summed up as, "The one that dies with the most money wins." But, once he started making money, he realized he had to find a way to spend it. By the time he reached his 40s, his philosophy had become, "The one that dies with the most toys wins."

"So, I had the cars and the things," Pat explains, "and then, about that time, I took off out into the world on my own for a bike ride, and decided it was experiences; the one that dies with the most experiences wins."

As Pat was preparing for his trip with Catherine, he turned 60. He calls that birthday, and the change in mindset it brought, "a biggie." His philosophy became, "The one that dies with the most friends wins."

"I'm realizing what it's going to be in my 70s, and that's different. It will be 'The one with the most memories wins.' "

Whoa. Profound and simple stuff, here.

The one that dies with the most money wins.
Have never cottoned to this, nor like those who do.

The one that dies with the most toys wins.
Ok, I may like a few toys, but it's not my idea of "winning".

The one that dies with the most experiences wins.
I know a few who roll this way, and I roll with them occasionally.

The one that dies with the most friends wins.
I've been here for a while. Do I win points for figgering it out way before 60?

The one that dies with the most memories wins.
Too many studies verify this. Do things to keep your brain engaged, and participate in the world, and you're less at risk for many health problems. The friends, the experiences, the toys - they collude to bring the stuff of life.

Hot Cocoa Ho-ness

2008-03-31T07:42:00.000-04:00

Hot cocoa is a Cheek chilly weather ritual recently renewed. Had an "aha" moment when I first scrounged a few years back to whip up a cup from Hershey's cocoa powder, and recognized it as my Grandma's hot chocolate. A strong, provocative memory - as she died when I was six.

I believe I've perfected the ritual of assembling hot cocoa goodness. Follow these steps for a single cup:

1. Select your cocoa with care. I choose a powdered mix for convenience, as I ain't gonna get all Martha Stewart-y and select solid chocolate. Good on ya if that's your druther. Pick a powder of substance. No individual packages. And if you call Swiss Miss good stuff, stop reading now and get a life. Darker is better. Free trade if you can find it. Shown here is Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate.

2. Put a cup of milk (8 ounces, or 1/4 litre for you metric types) in a 2-cup glass measuring cup and nuke on high in the microwave for 2 min 45 sec, or until it bubbles up. Be vigilant until you know your machine's time for boiling milk, as cleaning up the boiled over mess is a pain in the a**. Use at least 1 percent milk - skim milk is not worthy.

3. While the milk is cookin', measure out the recommended powder into an oversized cup. If the 'structions call for less than a cup o' milk, do the math and increase the ratio of powder to balance with 1 cup o' milk. Yes, you may have to deal with fractions for the first time since high school. Build a bridge and get over it.

4. Poor enough of the pipin' hot milk to just cover the powder, then mix thoroughly.

5. Slowly pour the rest of the milk into the cup, stirring constantly.

6. Add copious amounts of whipped cream, and top with your sprinkle of choice (mine is nutmeg).

The goal is to mitigate the hot cocoa suck factor of wasted goodness at the bottom of the cup. When made as directed above, your quaffing will yield no suck factor.

The fickle Atlanta spring has me guessing as to which day will bring the season's last hot cocoa experience, but the blooms about town hint that it will be soon.

Let's Operationalize this Strategy!

2008-03-28T10:19:00.003-04:00

Come on, my Canuckian peeps. Is it viable?

From Toothpaste Before Dinner

T.S.F.U.R.T.M.: Killing Hawks

2008-03-07T07:42:00.001-05:00

An article I read this morning on CNN.com yields the opportunity to add another acronym to things Cheek. That would be:

That Sh*t's F*cked Up Right There, Man (T.S.F.U.R.T.M.)

Article in question describes a pro golfer who whacked a ball, not into a gopher hole, but into the nose of a red-shouldered hawk because it had the brazen audacity to squawk when f*cktard golpher was filming a segment for TV. The hawk died.

Who the f*ck does the golfing f*cktard think he is? Different story if a random distance shot had nailed a bird in flight, but this f*cktard shot over and over to nail this hawk. And the crew and cronies stood around and didn't do sh*t to stop the f*cktard.

I have the unfortunate experience of becoming recently familiar with Antisocial Personality Disorder. This golfing f*cktard is making my a**hole quiver - and not in a good way - over his sense of entitlement and power over the fate of living things. Life is not a game, and it's certainly more valuable than this f*cktard's golf game or TV show. T.S.F.U.R.T.M.

Speak and Write Gooder, all y'all!

2008-03-04T06:42:00.003-05:00

"We owe much to our mother tongue. It is through speech and writing that we understand each other and can attend to our needs and differences. If we don't respect and honor the rules of English, we lose our ability to communicate clearly and well. In short, we invite mayhem, misery, madness, and inevitably even more bad things that start with letters other than M. (Seriously—sort of. But it is true that misplaced commas have cost companies millions of dollars. Murderers have been identified based on idiosyncratic grammar errors. And even the oft-maligned semicolon has changed the outcome of court cases.)"

Read and learn more at NationalGrammarDay.com. I'm *so* tempted to buy the T-shirt!

Kernan the Grammarian also offers you a wonderful verb that you've likely been *doing* for some time, but you didn't know there was a word for it: prepone, brought to you by the wonderful Anu Garg and the folks at A Word a Day (A.W.A.D.).

It Can't Get Any Freer Than This, Baby

2008-02-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

From Toothpaste for Dinner

Time, time, time. What's become of me?

We bitch. We moan. We beg for more time. We bury our cold noses in this hazy shade of winter.

Well, today's the day we get a whole effing extra day of time. One thousand, four hundred and forty minutes of extra time. What are YOU going to do with it? Get over yourself and *do*.

J.K. Rowling counsels, "It is our choices that define us, far more than our abilities."

As Sheena advised us last year, "February is Free Month". This year, I claim this entire day as free. It's in the black. It's a bonus. If time is money, then this much time wins us all the effing contest. Am hoping to report that I've bought myself a new effing car on my free day. Will advise if such is acquired.

For it's not what you get free. It's how you LOOK when you get free stuff. And lovelies? You. look. mahvelous!

Taped on the wall at the Toyota Dealership (sadly, the Toyota RAV4 did not make the cut list):

Attitude, by Charles Swindell

The longer I live
The more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than the past,
Than education,
Than money,
Than circumstances,
Than failures,
Than success,
Than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance,
Giftedness or skill.
It will make or break an organization,
A school, a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day
Regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do
Is play the string we have.
And that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me
And 90 percent how I react to it.
And so it is with you.

Comma Delays Suck

2008-02-27T09:03:00.002-05:00

This tickled Kernan the Grammarian's fancy.

From Tony Carillo's F Minus

Lynne Truss would lurve it!

Cheek Tarts

2008-02-14T18:20:00.002-05:00

Just for you, my sweet, sweet eValentines.

Acme Heartmaker

R.T.L.B.: Love. And Breathe.

2008-02-14T10:34:00.006-05:00

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

Happy Valentine's Day, all y'all. The bleak mid-winter is passing and dearth in posts soon resolving.

Today's Rule to Live By: R.T.L.B:
Keep breathing. Love helps.

From Mark Tonra's James

My valentines to you:

"Where there is love, there is life."
- Mohandas K. Gandhi

"The true beloveds of this world are in their lover's eyes lilacs opening, ship lights, school bells, a landscape, remembered conversations, friends, a child's Sunday, lost voices, one's favorite suit, autumn and all seasons, memory, yes, it being the earth and water of existence, memory."
- Truman Capote, Other Voices, Other Rooms, 1948

"The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love."
- William Sloane Coffin

And as ever, R.L., you're paramount in my thoughts today, and my heart is with CarolinaMom.

Horse's Ass

2008-01-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

Spanks to CountryMouse for this.

F*ck forty!

Capricorn Horrorscope

2008-01-11T12:19:00.000-05:00

A tad late. Happy Horse's Ass Day to Michael Clem, Rogo, and TripleC. And my thoughts can't help but go to Hans and R.L., the latter with whom I share a horse's ass day.

Starting off a New Year

2008-01-11T12:18:00.000-05:00

Whitenoise keeps pestering for nekkid snaps. Does this one of my New Year's toes in FloridaDad's TajMahTub count?

Found a ridiculous calendar that tickles me silly: "Veggies Gone Wild! Produce Behaving Badly". Here's January:

A Country Holiday

2008-01-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

Been busy hithering and thithering throughout the South. Remiss in posting these snaps from my country holiday in Yanceyville.

Cousin Lee set an elegant table. Only after dinner did he note that we looked at reindeer bums throughout the meal.

I really liked Lee's Santa, and Santa's blue ball.

CarolinaMom has guests in her back "yard".

The neighbor's barn at sunset.

How to Recognize a Bad Idea UPDATED

2008-01-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

Between Boone's smoking jacket and Pid's Lucha Libre mask, Scott Meyers is spooking me out. If anyone has a Boone smoking jacket picture lying around, send and I'll post.

From Scott Meyers' Basic Instructions

Updated: Pid in *full* Nacho Libre - um, I mean - Lucha Libre attire.

A new take on transplants

2008-01-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

One person's stuff is another person's sh*t. But when you've got a bug up your ass, another person's sh*t becoming your sh*t is the trick.

Them crazy Canucks!

In the market

2008-01-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

I'm in the market for a new bed at chez Cheek. But this one for almost fitty grand USD? I'm holding out at least until there's a catheter option. And self reliance appliances. And massage. And nutella on toast with bacon every morning.

What are your must haves?

Why are we here?

2008-01-06T23:49:00.000-05:00

"We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary."
- Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid.com

Here ucking here!

Too many mutha uckers ucking with my shi

2008-01-06T23:41:00.000-05:00

Allright, all you mutha uckers ucking with my shi. Stand down. Or I'll be the biggest ucking itch on yo' ss that you've ever ucking seen.

And while I'm at it, stop ucking with my peeps. Cause I'll uck you up big time. No shi.

Flight of the Conchords

A blogger (and soldier's) farewell

2008-01-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

Found this on fark.com, and it blew me away.

A blogger's farewell after his death in Iraq. Read it. Please.

From Mark Tonra's James

I didn't know Andy Olmsted. Or Sheena's Baba. But I know that the lives they touched were forever changed by the love they gave.

My parents raised me in a dangerous household!

2008-01-04T05:42:00.000-05:00

Both of my grandmothers, too! *What* were they thinking?

From Married to the Sea

Bullshit, plain and simple

2008-01-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

UPDATED

I am *still* disgusted that such a decision could have ever been made in this country. Spanks to The Imp, I discovered that I was not the *only* one with knickers in a twist from an issue that happened in 1970. The good news is that the New Jersey Supreme Court *did* overturn the decision in 1971.

This article, as a social object, is causing quite a stir in the wankosphere. As of this moment, it's the most popular item on time.com. Wonder if they will do more to draw attention to the fact that this is OLD news?

Original post:

I'm disgusted.

I just read about the couple who were told by a judge that they couldn't adopt a child because of their religion - or more specifically, their lack of one.

As a rather famous fellow Virginian once wrote:

"[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
- Thomas Jefferson

Color me crazy, but I believe that adopting children falls within the realm of a "civil capacity". This couple had already proven themselves capable of adopting and raising one child. Who does this effing judge think he is to say that they aren't worthy of doing so again because of how they do or don't worship? Is he not familiar with the first amendment?

"The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a national religion by Congress or the preference of one religion over another, or religion over non-religion. Prior to the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment, and for 60 years thereafter, the courts took the position that the substantive protections of the Bill of Rights did not apply to actions by state governments. Subsequently, under the "incorporation doctrine", certain selected provisions were applied to states. It was not, however, until the middle and later years of the twentieth century that the Supreme Court began to interpret the establishment and free exercise clauses in such a manner as to restrict substantially the promotion of religion by state governments. (For example, in the Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994), Justice David Souter, writing for the majority, concluded that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion".) - From Wikipedia

I'm vehemently intolerant of intolerance. And yes, that makes me a hypocrite. But I'm a happy one. This judge failed to do his job, and is foisting his intolerance on others in the face of legal precedent. Here's hoping the New Jersey Supreme Court smells the bullshit for what it is.

/rant mode off

From Hugh MacLeod's gapingvoid.com

Happy New Year, Greg

2008-01-02T00:34:00.001-05:00

From Tony Carrillo's F Minus

Ha! Sorry the Bulls fared unwell.

You Are a Sun Person

2008-01-02T00:23:00.001-05:00

C: And don't you effing forget it!

From Hugh MacLeod's gapingvoid.com

Be Happy. Be New. Be.

2008-01-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

From Mark Tonra's James

I did passing fair with last year's resolution, at least until October or so. For this year, I'll keep it even simpler, and shoot for what is illustrated here.

For 2008, my resolution is to be happy. And to be new. Here's wishing the same for all y'all.

Social Objects

2007-12-31T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hugh MacLeod's post on Social Objects is fantastic. It perfectly describes how human beings start conversations and getting to know, based on things (objects) we mutually cathect.

And speaking of Social Objects, it's no secret that one of my favorites is Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. In the Ender series, OSC posits that we're connected to other people and things in this universe by way of philotic twines: invisible yet tangible connections based on the mutual love we share for each other or for - dare I say it? - social objects. (Read more at Wikipedia under the heading "Philotic Web".)

Rachel Bellow's comment on Hugh's post really spoke to me:

". . . Social objects are the particular manifestation of shared meaning, right? So that suggests there's a drive underlying all these manifestations....that the social object is not, in itself, the drive. The need for meaning...specifically shared meaning...is a deep human impulse that will, invariably, manifest in some form or another. If not this social object, another. Social networks like Facebook are simply evidence of that quest. Aren't they simply forums where the quest for shared meaning can coalesce and result in manifestation (social objects)?

People tend to be conscious of the social object more than they are of the underlying impulse that led them to it. The search for meaning--a purpose that radiates beyond the limited confines of the self--lies at the center of all human interaction. It seems to me that identifying the nature of that impulse, what sort of meaning is in play at any given time, is really important....and helps us create brilliant social objects to express it, specifically. I imagine that what attracts you to Saul Bellow is the way he expresses his own constant, agonizing quest for meaning...a way of expressing that angst that is similar to your own, that allows you to join him, rather than simply watch with admiration. And so the woman who likes Bellow too must want to soak in that particular bath of meaning as well...which is what attracts you to her. It's the underlying taste for that particular form of meaning that being an SB fan indicates, and to which you respond. Henderson the Rain King isn't the point. Neither is Saul Bellow.

What is the point is that you and this woman share a taste for that particular worldview. That shared taste promises more social object creation between you two in the future. What I'm saying is that I think it's worth understanding at all times what form of meaning a social object is indicating....so that future social objects can can be created in its wake."

Summed up, as C.S. Lewis would put it: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."

Rock on, Hugh. Rock on, OSC. And rock on, Rachel. I grok yer concepts muchly.

P.S.: whitenoise? Your FAQ about why you're here and what mark you'll leave? For me, I think it centers around this social object thang. To find meaning and those who share it with you. What's more, to create a social object that resonates meaning with others.

From Hugh MacLeod's gapingvoid.com

Merry Ho Ho

2007-12-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

If Happy Bunny says it with a holiday hat on, then it's officially a holiday greeting and not just a Cheek theme. k?

Merry Ho Ho to all y'all.

Christmas Back Home

2007-12-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

Am spending the week at Carolina Mom's, as is bro Buckwheat. May not be "home" in terms of where I grew up, but it's indeed one of my homes. As home(s) is(are) where the heart is.

From Randall Munroe's xkcd.com

The Human Condition: AirPlaneSeatReclineology

2007-12-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

Can't believe I beat whitenoise to this:

From Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine

Buckwheat featured in Dilbert today!

2007-12-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

Ineffingcredible. My brother Buckwheat's likeness is featured in today's Dilbert strip. Go on. Tell me it doesn't look like him. I dare ya.

(He's the forehead guy, if there's any doubt.)

Misplacing

2007-12-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

From Toothpaste Before Dinner

I'm misplacing myself, these days. Looking forward to downtime next week.

Bite Me, Part One

2007-12-17T18:40:00.001-05:00

From Stephan Pastis' Pearls Before Swine

I have the *perfect* holiday t-shirt. Snap to follow soon. Spanks to Pid for drawing this comic jewel to my immediate attention.

A** Muppet

2007-12-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

Are you feeling the love, whitenoise?

From Partially Clips

CheekierMeSly

The dog days are over

Merry Ho Ho

Welcome, Winter

e.e.'s words of the day

Flowchart Explaining Flowcharts

Boundaries. Latecomers are a b*tch.

Thanks, Sheena

It's Dentist Time

I Will Remember You

CSAK

How to Win at the Game of Jazz

Holding On

For my favourite liberal blogger

Don't bugger it again, Florida!

Sleeping In

Reflux Throated Hurlingbirds

Tunage. Shows. Youth. Memories.

Swedish English

Universe

Earworms

How are you celebrating the day?

Flip Chart Art

Who do I have to . . .

Give me your cheeky. Your contrary. Your catalytic.

One More Gold for Team USA

Desperate Times, eh Cap'n Noise?

Luscious Mad Men

Bacchanalia, revisited

Her energy policy doesn't completely suck

The XY Games

Have you been naughty or nice this summer?

They should make one of these

It Could Happen to You!

Love Leaps

Positively Coyote

'tis the season for flip flops

Happily Unchaste, and Dreams

Duuude: It's okay

R.T.L.B.: Don't be an asshole, illustrated

Summer Serendipity, Vol. 2

That's What She Said, Redux

Happy Horse's Ass Day, CountryMouse!

Summer Serendipity, Vol. 1

Get your airboat on!

From one tropical location to the next

This Could Be Trouble

North Shore Mosey

Come On, Get Higher

Shark's Cove

Sunset

Soothed and Balmed

Mai Hana Ino

Bring 'Em Yo' Own Dam Sef!

No wonder I like Canadians!

Say it ain't so!

Finally! The perfect wedding toast!

It's not easy being green

My health is just fine, thanks

It's that time again

Primary Colors

April 19th is Record Store Day

Sheena's Style is Catching

Sunday's read: Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?

My new fave comic crashes into my old fave comic

You know you're a BSG fan when . . .

Remember your Freegan days?

Today's word of the day: Osmosissing

Guess I've been channeling Summer Glau

I'm not just some chick

Hot Cocoa Ho-ness

Let's Operationalize this Strategy!

T.S.F.U.R.T.M.: Killing Hawks

Speak and Write Gooder, all y'all!

It Can't Get Any Freer Than *This*, Baby

Comma Delays Suck

Cheek Tarts

R.T.L.B.: Love. And Breathe.

Horse's Ass

Capricorn Horrorscope

It Can't Get Any Freer Than This, Baby