posted by meg @ 10:17 AM

New York
L.A.
San Francisco
Seattle
Miami

Denver
Portland
D.C.
Chicago
Boston
Atlanta
Minneapolis
Austin
Philadelphia

Pittsburgh
New Orleans
Baltimore
Cincinnati
Dallas
Houston
Detroit
Indianapolis
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
Cleveland

Okay, so here is a list of cities grouped into three categories. Cities listed in red are cities which think they are so cool that they become annoying and aren't cool anymore. Cities listed in yellow aren't "too cool for school," but present some risk. However, it's still okay to live there. Cities listed in green present no risk of being pretentious at all.

Please help add to the list! Rules:

1. Only cities with a population of over 100,000 can play. We have to keep some length restrictions on the list, and about 40 sounds good. So Goshen is disqualified, but Nashville is in.
2. We don't count cities that are part of the same urban area as another city. So Oakland is out, but Nashville again would be in.

Please disagree with my rankings, too, if you feel they're wrong. Some rankings are admittedly really close, such as Atlanta being over Minneapolis. However, if you think that Philly is at a greater risk of attracting a dangerous level of Von Dutch apparel than, say, Boston, please let me know.

(Oh, and for chrissake, this is all just a joke.)
posted by weiss @ 7:16 PM

Following that I parked in motorcycle parking over by the EEOC office. I crossed the street, and realized I hadn't plugged the meter. I hurried back and who should I find there but a city employee lazily writing out a ticket. But it wasn't for me! It was for the person next to me. Amazingly, she hadn't gotten to my bike yet. I asked her if I'd really beaten her. She laughed. She hadn't even noticed my meter yet. I slammed in a quarter and headed off to the EEOC. I suppose I could have gotten away with less than a quarter, that giving me a whole hour, but I was too happy to care.

I also saw three people I know today: (1) Dan Smith from the National Lawyers Guild; (2) Ian from school; and (3) Joel Kravetz from the Employment Justice Center. Dan and Ian I saw while I was on my bike, so I didn't say anything. Joel I met in the lobby of the EEOC office building. We shook hands briefly. He's an administrative law judge there and kind of an intimidating guy.
posted by weiss @ 1:30 PM

To date we have gotten few (or no) recipes featuring these foods: favas or lima beans, soybeans, leeks, kohlrabi, corn, Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes, fennel, okra, broccoli, cauliflower, figs, melons, nectarines, peaches, plums, and apricots. We were pleased to receive a few tofu and seitan recipes but are still seeking favorite recipes for tempeh.

At the moment we also would particularly like to receive recipes for stirfry sauces and breads (yeast or quick) that use at least some whole wheat (or other whole grain) flour. Anyone have a scone recipe you particularly love? How about focaccia?

posted by joel @ 9:40 AM 0 comments

posted by Unknown @ 1:05 PM 0 comments

posted by kate @ 12:00 AM

Oh Kate, don't you see? Leaving your wallet on the metro is a sign, a sign that you're supposed to stay here. It's so clear, it could scarcely be clearer if it were written in the heavens.
posted by weiss @ 8:13 PM

posted by kate @ 9:33 PM

posted by meg @ 8:59 PM

So I was on my way home from church yesterday evening (we have church in the evenings in July and since everyone else seems to already know why this is so it never gets explained and I never find out) I decided I needed some Chardonnay. So I was looking around at the Super Save and was trying to decide between the 750 of Yellowtail and the 1.5L of Concha y Toro. I went with the Concha y Toro because it was only a dollar more. Hey, it felt like old times. But then I got home and realized that we have two bottles of wine already opened, and how the hell am I going to drink a liter and a half before it gets vinegary? And it takes up so much space in the fridge because now that it's opened the cork leaks. So, invite yourselves over. I need you.






posted by weiss @ 12:10 PM

Get lemons, ginger root, water, strainer, and a big pot. Put a lot of water in the pot and boil it. Peel the ginger, chop it, mash it. Put it in the pot. Juice the lemons, reserve the juice, put the rinds in the pot. Put the lid on the pot and wait for a while. Turn off the heat and wait for it to cool. Strain the tea into a container. Stir in the lemon juice. Drink it.

That's what I did today. Also I fixed up my writing sample, references, resume, and transcript and applied for a job for summer of 2005. Yes, I have to apply for some jobs already. Applications need to be upload by this Wednesday and if I get an interview it'll be on August 12.
posted by weiss @ 10:14 PM

posted by kate @ 2:22 PM

On the way home I stopped in at Kate's and Jules's workplace but they weren't there, at least according to a woman who looked like an even shorter version of Emily Holman. Too bad. I was going to invite them to the movie tomorrow, but they're probably working anyway.

But what was most interesting was what I found on TV. They were showing a documentary about Angola and AIDS. They followed this one man who had been in the Angolan army and had contracted AIDS, possibly from sharing razors in the jungle. They showed actors doing short plays about AIDS for sex workers and soldiers. I kept wishing that they wouldn't translate. I swear some of the people were speaking French, though the official language is Portuguese. (Other people were definitely speaking Portuguese, though.) The French was spoken with a slow, flat accent, sort as though it was being spoken by Nebraskans.

The documentary appealed to me immediately, though it took me a while to catch on why. I think it's because it wasn't racist. I won't congratulate it for this; that's an obligation on all of us. But it was a relief.

After the documentary portion ended Mishal Hussein interviewed Stephen Lewis. At first I was skeptical: what is a white man doing with this position? But when Mishal asked him about the AIDS sufferers he'd met tears came to his eyes as he talked about meeting people in June who were under the ground when he returned in December. Mishal asked about him why we see western leaders travel to Africa, promise relief for AIDS, but then nothing appears. Stephen suggested that these leadesr must be made from a different molecular structure to have such lack of compassion. How else could we explain a projected expenditure of $200 billion on war in Iraq and Afghanistan by 2005 when $10 billion a year would save three million African lives?

He's right of course, though I'll be harsher. Those people are not human beings. They are monsters wearing human skins. There is no other explanation.
posted by weiss @ 10:13 PM

posted by Erini CS @ 10:00 AM

posted by Unknown @ 8:08 AM

And by gum we can help her! We'll find her a lawyer who will take her on contingency and off she goes.

Actually, it was kind of inspiring. Maybe I'd like to do that some day. Just hang out the shingle and take little employment cases like that. Employers do so much bad stuff, I should be able to find enough plaintiffs to put bread on the table. Work for the government or a small employment firm for a while, then go on my own. Hey, if Zak did it, why can't I?
posted by weiss @ 8:33 PM

"U.S. House Rejects Plea For New Nuclear Arms"
Defense News - July 12, 2004 - By William Matthews

Support for building a nuclear “bunker buster” and other new nuclear weapons appears to be waning in the U.S. Congress, even among Republican lawmakers who have a record of supporting President George W. Bush on most issues.

By a 370-16 vote on June 25, the House of Representatives approved an Energy Department spending bill that pointedly omits funding for new nuclear weapons the Bush administration has been touting. The House vote cut:

** $27.5 million the administration wanted for a nuclear bunker buster.
** $9 million sought for work on a new generation of low-yield weapons, or “mini nukes.”
** $30 million to begin building a new factory to make the “pits” that are the heart of nuclear weapons.

Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, led the opposition to the nuclear initiatives. A conservative who votes with Bush more often than not, Hobson said the National Nuclear Security Administration that manages U.S. nuclear weapons “needs to take a time-out” on new weapons until it reviews U.S. security needs, budget constraints and a nuclear stockpile plan just completed by the Bush administration.

posted by Unknown @ 8:07 AM

posted by kate @ 10:32 AM

posted by joel @ 8:27 AM

posted by julia @ 1:36 PM

posted by meg @ 12:12 PM

posted by celestial @ 8:30 AM

I'm half-dreading this weekend. I mostly hate weddings. The ceremonies can be okay, even cute in some cases. The receptions at least involve eating. But there's something strange and disconcerting about them.

I bought my cousin a wrench. Goodness knows why she put it on the gift registry, but it's her own fault for doing so. She's getting a wrench for her wedding gift. That's my small vengeance.
posted by weiss @ 4:42 PM

I stopped by Linway Cinema over lunch today, and spoke with the manager

about showing Fahrenheit 911. He indicated that I was only the fifth person

to contact him about this film...



I went in expecting it to be a quick conversation, but he wanted to engage

me in conversation. He honestly seemed surprised that so few people have

contacted him. He's received one e-mail, three phone calls, and my visit. He

indicated that he's not certain he could make a profit or even break-even

showing Fahrenheit 911 since virtually no one is asking him to show it. He

had someone offer to help subsidize the film, but they weren't willing to

offer enough cash up-front.



If you want the citizens of Goshen and Elkhart County to be able to view

Fahrenheit 911 in our community, please call Linway Cinema at 534-6132 and



ask them to run this movie. Thanks!

posted by Unknown @ 4:45 AM

I had to go down to the Camp Springs District Office to pick up some papers for our client, so I had to use the company Zipcar. Since all the vehicles in my area were the same price per hour($8) I thought, hey, let's get the pickup. So I cruised down the Suitland Parkway sitting pretty. Oh yeah.

And I got to get to know our client a little better, too. He's had a really rough time. He told me that he has custody of his nephew because the boy's parents are in no shape to take care of him. The kid has a heart problem. He can't get a transplant because his body rejects it too strongly. He's had six valve replacements so far in his life. He's seven.

The other, brighter news is that I realized that there is a third week in August. I'd totally forgotten about it. The first week I work. The second week I finish up work and catch some awesome concerts. Fourth week I ride to Goshen and back. But I'd forgotten that I have a third week! How cool is that? I'll have to come up with something to do.
posted by weiss @ 6:12 PM

posted by Unknown @ 11:10 AM

posted by kate @ 3:13 PM

However, the Hong Kong government is currently rushing to legislate by July this year national security laws on treason, subversion, secession, sedition and the theft of state secrets under Article 23 of the Basic Law. A group of academics criticised the government for not doing justice to public opinion in the three-month consultation on the Article 23 legislation that ended in December 2002 in order to present an impression of positive public support to the government's proposals. With all these questions, we worry that the law will then become a means to deny, rather than to protect, the rights of Hong Kong's people.

One major threat is that the Article 23 legislation will criminalise free speech, especially the proposals regarding sedition and the theft of state secrets. For example, in the bill, the government has not provided a rationale for protecting information relating to Hong Kong's affairs which are within the purview of the central authorities. From the manner in which government officials in China initially handled the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis, it is very clear that their lack of transparency and accountability has seriously harmed people's health on the mainland as well as that of the global community. This should be an important lesson for the Hong Kong government as well.

I don't think the heat has been taken out of the debate by the improved economy and lower unemployment rate as people in Hong Kong are fighting for more autonomy and democracy. They are fighting for their in-born right. In both demonstrations, if you listen to what the demonstrators shouted most loudly, it's "Mr Tung - resign!"
YS Lau, Hong Kong

posted by joel @ 7:54 AM

US officials cite the important strategic and logistical role that the key state in the Caucasus, on the border with Iran, can play in the "war on terror". They are also open about the need to protect the £2bn oil pipeline set to carry a million barrels of Caspian oil daily to Turkey and the American market by late next year.

posted by Unknown @ 4:33 AM

Today I was running in my new shoes I saw a mouse. It looked dead. It was on the path, which is frequently traveled by bicyclists so to spare it a rather undignified squishing I tried to push it into the grass with a bike tire lever thingie that happened to be there on the ground.

But then the mouse moved a little. It wasn't dead! This was very troubling. It was obviously very badly injured and near death, but not dead. I felt like I should kill it and put it out of its rodent misery, but I couldn't really bring myself to do this. I think I could have stomached stepping on it, but I was wearing new shoes. "I wish Celeste or Tim Godshall was here," I thought. "They are the kind of people who know how to deal with difficult moral questions like this. Difficult moral questions that involve small dying animals." But they weren't. A bicyclists whizzed by, barely having time to catch a glimpse of my confused, torn expression. "I wish he would have stopped and given me advice," I thought.

I wimped out. I pushed the mouse into the grass with a stick. It squirmed a little. Maybe its spine was broken.

In 419 news: When I insisted that they send me money, they threatened to cut me off. So I begged them to let me back in on the deal. I wrote them today to let them know that I've sent the US$12,500. When they tell me that they haven't gotten it, I'm going to accuse them of lying to me and taking my money.

posted by weiss @ 9:43 PM

posted by meg @ 9:45 AM