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The Scary Piss

January 5, 2011

You know that moment we’ve all had where you blindly, automatically walk towards some goal? It’s a familiar route that you’ve taken a hundred times before. And, of course, it’s dark. And so you don’t really look, don’t really notice until, just inches away, you look up and are shocked by this large, formidable presence [...]

Jukebox Sabotage

October 6, 2010

What’s the quickest way to set the mood in a place? It’s not the lighting or the decor. It’s not even the crowd. It’s the music. Here’s a neat little trick. Next time you’re in a bar filled with assholes, take charge, musically speaking. (A quick warning that this works best with one of those new, [...]

Alternatives to “Hand/Eye Coordination”

March 15, 2010

Of all types of coordination, Hand/Eye is the most celebrated…and then one thinks, “wait, of all types of coordination? What other types are there?” Of course seeing something and then reacting appropriately with your hands is a terribly important skill and, frankly, probably paramount in a great many deeds. But what about other sense/body-skills? We [...]

The Amber Room, as we know it, Is Closing

December 20, 2009

The Amber Room (some know it as Amber Bar or just Amber) is closing down after new years eve. Its owners will put it under renovations for two weeks where it will emerge as a slightly more accommodating, hipper, smoke-free bar. That’s right. No more smoking at Amber Room. This is a time for mourning. Let’s get right [...]

‘Literally’ As a Figure of Speech

September 13, 2009

In a really excelent post about language and how frustrating and cliche’ some people express themselves, I was reminded of my own ‘literal’ encounter one night out at Amber Room. I would be interested to hear responses from a good many teenagers who would find themselves placed upon the critical chopping block. Awful as I [...]

The Bay Bridge is a Failure?

September 6, 2009

I’d like to talk, for a moment, about a phrase I picked up in this quote, from an article in the SF Chronicle yesterday, regarding a ‘crack’ that was discovered this weekend in a piece of the Bay Bridge. Can you see the phrase? It’s a little one, and pretty innocuous at first glance. That’s right…’bridge failure.’