this is super cool, especially if you're a politics junkie

apparently a photographer used a robot to take many high resolution images from the side of the inauguration, then used his mac to stitch them together into a giant picture. his blog lets you look at the picture and then zoom in to remarkably high resolution.

i recommend you zoom in to get a good look at obama (keep zooming until the resolution ceases to improve, but that is pretty far!). Then, cruise around the seats behind him to see all the different politicians who were back there. and help me answer the question: what the heck is laura bush wearing? it looks like a mom sweatshirt. and could dick cheney look more evil (he's got a black cowboy hat on)?

http://www.davidbergman.net/blog/2009/01/22/how-i-made-a-1474-megapixel-photo-during-president-obamas-inaugural-address/

i have to get this off my chest

'slumdog millionaire' is really not that great. a more depressing forrest gump? in india? even more obvious than FG? sold!

two miracles in one week???

ok the 2nd miracle is old news but i didn't know it and it is awesome.

on the heroes

i'm still totally stunned by today's non-fatal plane crash in NYC. There's a lot of horrible stuff going on in the world today but you have to thank God for taking 150 people who should be dead and saving them.

For the record, I think the media are not giving enough credit to the non-captain crew. They got 150 people off a plane, after a crash landing, before it sinks??? Unbelievable. Hire that crew to redesign the regular-life airplane experience, too, so we can all get off a little faster.

Also one of the passengers mentioned that the women and children really did get off first. I've never once thought of that when envisioning a crash in an airplane -- seems to me, no matter who you are, "get out and get out of the way" would be most efficient. and yes, help the weak and the old, etc. But are we really in a world where women are "weak"? Not criticizing, just surprised. And very pleased that they made news with it so if it happens to me now i know to not be the jerk who jumps in front of the women.

this rocks my world, and not in the Rock way

so another story by way of tbtl, a writer for the Boston Globe enunciated the sensitive female chord progression. i knew i really had a soft girly spot for allegedly femalely music, but this was a little frightening. among the songs
one of us by joan osboarne (the originator of the progression, and still among my favorite songs of all time)
building a mystery by sarah mclachlan (weirdly, i liked her more before this song than after, but that's not to say i didn't go buy mirrorball when i heard this on the radio)
tonight and the rest of my life by nina gordon (which i was obsessed with and managed to also get our temporary roomate Charity to be obssessed with, and I still think is pretty great)
holiday by green day (which is probably the best song on one of the best CDs of all time)

those were the ones that shocked me; i had no idea why those songes spoke to me so profoundly, or that any were connected to any of the others. apparently the Offspring has used the chords in three different songs, and various people on the radio these days, TI, Rhianna, Beyonce use it also, but since i don't do radio anymore i had to be told this by a non-music radio show talking about a newspaper column.

i guess i say, own it, love your tastes. obviously this speaks to a lot of us and i say let's not be ashamed. and still i wonder, what would you say if you had just one question?

TJ's tries to sabotage the sandwich blog

You will recall that I highly recommend Trader Joe's Just the Leaves pre-washed green leaf lettuce. I found out today that this has been discontinued, now they are only doing romaine.

This is bullcrap. I can't tell you how much better my sandwich life got when i discovered the pre-washed leaves. Totally worth every extra dollar+ I spent on it.

Maybe its not true in the west. Let's do the math: out here, they don't have my favorite hummus, they don't sell sprouts in a bowl for $0.79, and now they don't even sell the lettuce.

You're on notice, east-coast-Joe. Don't make me move west and leave your ass high-and-dry in Michigan. Who's gonna drink all your Dead Guy Ale?

And by the way, i've been occasionally buying the Meijer pre-washed lettuce. for a few months now. yeah, and i stored 'em in your drawer. who's the lunchwrecker now?