The Shortest Distance Between Two Points

So last night, I was hailing a cab to go into Hell’s Kitchen to meet a friend at a bar (more on that later). A woman was also hailing a cab on the same street, and even though there was some distance between where we were heading, she suggested we share it. Sounded good to me, as cabs weren’t that easy to find.

Riding uptown, she asked what I did for a living. I told her I was an editor, and asked her the same. She said, and I quote: “I’m in ladies’ intimate apparel.”

“Oh, really?”

Sadly, that was the best I could come up with – “Oh really,” with a little bit of insinuendo spinning on it. Immediately afterward, I thought of better responses:

“Under all that, you mean?”

“Must be chilly in this weather.”

Or, my personal fave,

“What a coincidence – so am I.”

So Barbara, wherever you are, good luck on your trip to Milwaukee to sell lingerie and pajamas to Target. But most of all, thanks for sharing a cab with me. We went a little out of my way, but that was still one hell of a straight line.

Rob

Math/Life

I heard about this blog on the Penn show. Jessica Hagy uses math constructs (graphs, Venn diagrams, and the like) to comment on society, most important, make some very funny jokes. All on index cards, scanned for her blog: Indexed.

It's really clever stuff.

Rob

Sometimes, on message boards...

I'm tempted to argue with people. Particularly on the Newsarama boards, which I try to avoid, but am sometimes drawn to like a moth on crack to an LED crackpipe. I start to fire off a scathing rebuttal about something or other, and then, if I have my wits about me, I pause.

Take a deep breath.

And look at the other user's profile.

Usually, I find that the idiot I wanted to put a rhetorical hurtin' on is just a kid. Twenty-three* seems to be the age of most folks that rile me. And a hard-headed 23-year-old is just not worth arguing with. Talk about a waste of energy.

It's hard to remember, in the age of avatars and internet handles, that not everyone is in your peer group. And even more important than remembering that you don't have all the answers, is this: Even when you do, there's no reason you have to share 'em with halfwits.

Rob
(Making grudging peace with the fact that at my age, a 23-year-old is now "just a kid.")

Let the Good Times Roll

A few hours from now, our Mardi Gras party begins. We've been planning, preparing, and cooking all week (and longer). Not much time for blogging. But in the spirit of the day, I wanted to make sure the Mardi Gras cry was heard by one and all:



Um...?

Rob

Not Safe For Work

In booking a trip to Vegas, I went to type Ballys.com into my browser top check out room rates. But thanks to my typo-prone fingers, I entered Balls.com.

I've no idea where the url leads -- I closed my browser window before any non-work-safe content could register. For all I know it's a sporting-goods website... but I wouldn't count on it.

Rob

Like this.

This just flat-out makes me feel good: The Arrow of Time.

Rob
(like I said, a lot of linkblogging.)

Rejected!

I've just installed Stumbleupon, so expect a lot of linkblogging in the immediate future.

This, I think, is cool as poop.

Rob

Food Fight!

Jim the Bastard turned me on to this: Anthony Bourdain watches the Food Network. And blogs about it. It ain’t pretty.

Rob

Overheard at Hanley's

The comics shop around the corner from work, Jim Hanley's Universe, displays statues and busts of various comics and sci-fi related characters in the windows. A statue of the Flash, the Hammer of Thor, a bust of Luke Skywalker, that sort of thing.

So I was at the register today, buying my comics, when a customer walks in, asking about some of the displayed merchandise: "How much is that Alien in the window?"

The one with the waggily tail?

Rob

Mooninite Invasion

Rob

Pants-Man!

In honor of my nephew T-Bone, who should be starting potty training soon: an instructional video from Japan.



Save us, Pants-Man!

Rob

Horrible News

The Washington Post is reporting that police have found the car Rachel Crites and Rachel Smith left with, in Loudoun County. Two bodies, as yet unidentified, were found within, dead of an apparent suicide.

My heart goes out to the families of both girls, in the face of this devastating news.

Rob

UPDATE: The girls have been identified; it's them. Again, my condolences.

Catwoman Sings!

I haven't posted for a few days, and frankly, don't have much I feel like saying right now. So I'll let this song I'd never heard before, sung by Eartha Kitt, entertain you while I'm keeping mum.



Thanks to Douglas at 52 Pickup for bringing it to my attention.

Rob