Partymode: Replies

party shout

earlier this summer, bill moyers did a show on inequality in america. i just listened to the podcast of it last week and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it since (and i'm far from a commie--just ask eli!). did you know that 1968's minimum wage in today's dollars would be over $9? americans are earning less than their parents did, for the first time in a long while. here's a link to the transcript, and the mp3 of the podcast.
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josh space hit a bee while biking at 70mph and got a large welt. he sent me this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmidt_Sting_Pain_Index. the descriptions are amazing.
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the new eno/byrne album [stream free--it allows skipping to any track] is pretty good, i thought, until i hit the track "poor boy." that track is off-the-charts-killer-whale-moon-smashing awesome (though the effect on byrne's voice is slightly over the top).

best toy ever? that's a koala on the right, right?

onny posted 4 months ago

this is the best article opening i've read in a while:

Angry PUMAs on the prowl in Denver from Salon

Aug. 26, 2008 | DENVER -- "This is where you see the civil war!" burbled Chris Matthews, experiencing near-asphyxiatory pleasure on an outdoor stage in the sweltering Denver heat, while behind him two competing groups, Obama supporters and the PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) backers of Hillary Clinton, chanted "Obama! Obama!" and "Hillary! Hillary!" at each other. Matthews looked as though he might wet himself as a camera panned the crowd, and he declared, "We're at ground zero!"

Actually, he was about six blocks away from the Pepsi Center, the crowd behind him was probably no more than a hundred strong, and at least one of them was dressed as a toilet, (a gesture that seemed to have nothing to do with Clinton or Obama).

onny posted 4 months ago

Haha. That "sting pain index" reads like a masochist's wine list.

1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.

1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.

1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.

2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.

2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.

2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.

3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.
3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.

4.0 Tarantula hawk: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.

4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.

Edit: I didn't know what a tarantula hawk was. Between them and the actual tarantulas, I don't think I would have survived growing up in the south west.

Zach posted 4 months ago