Sounds more like the title to a bad movie, or something rather than a real headline, but there it is in Philly:

Catholic High School Girls Pummel Man Who Flashed Them and then of course the same story from the Philly Inquirer

A Poetry by Nichita Stanescu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another Kind of Mathematics

We know that one times one is one,
but an unicorn times a pear
have no idea what it is.
We know that five minus four is one
but a cloud minus a sailboat
have no idea what it is.
We know that eight
divided by eight is one,
but a mountain divided by a goat
have no idea what it is.
We know that one plus one is two,
but me and you, oh,
we have no idea what it is.

Oh, but a comforter
times a rabbit
is a red-headed one of course,
a cabbage divided by a flag
is a pig,
a horse minus a street-car
is an angel,
a cauliflower plus an egg
is an astragalus.

Only you and me
multiplied and divided
added and substracted
remain the same...

Vanish from my mind!
Come back in my heart!


english translation by George Mustea.

For those of you who like creepy stories about people from long long ago . . .

Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian Prince also known as Dracula
And if that doesn't slake your thirst, here's even more on Vlad Tsepesh

Finally, the accounts of blood baths taken by Elizabeth Bathory are thought to account for part of Bram Stoker's tales of horror. This lady was pretty gakked up . . .

this is some pretty cool schtuff . . . i think i want my first album to look something like this stuff.

Congratulations to Josh and Jessie Seybert on their new life together! The wedding was fun, and it was cool to wear a tux again. i spent hours walking around and standing with my hands clasped in front of me . . .

for those of you who know why stick people went extinct, and who maybe like Jackie CHan or the movie Kill Bill, go check out this kung fu movie

Ok, I always thought Elliot Smith's songs are way cool in their sadness, honesty and just all around good sounds... I didn't know he was really that suicidal. Dang, Elliott . . . we'll miss you.
Steven Paul (Elliott) Smith. August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003.

manuel ocampo, a dude whose art appeared in beck's album art . . .

Here's a scary story about the future . . . and then a joke:

Concerned about her relationship, a woman approaches her doctor
and says "Doc, I'm getting married this weekend and my fiancee
thinks I'm a virgin, is there anything you can do to help me"?

After the doctor stopped laughing, he says, "Medically, no, but
here's something you can try...on the wedding night, when you're
getting ready for bed, take an elastic band and slide it to your
upper thigh, when your husband puts it in, snap the elastic band
and tell him it's your virginity snapping."

The woman loves this idea, and knows her hubby-to-be will fall
for this. They have a beautiful wedding and retire to the
honeymoon suite. The wife gets ready for bed in the bathroom,
slips the elastic band up her leg, finishes preparing and climbs
into bed with her man.

Things begin to progress, her hubby "slips it in", she snaps the
elastic band, and the hubby asks, "what the *@#% was that?
The wife explains, "oh nothing honey, that was just my virginity
snapping".

The husband cries out, "Well snap it again, it's got my
balls!!!!"

These come courtesy of Jenn Hartz:

GOOD
A policeman had a perfect spot to watch for speeders, but wasn't getting many. Then he discovered the problem - a 12-year-old boy was standing up the road with a hand painted sign, which read "RADAR TRAP AHEAD". The officer then found a young accomplice down the road with a sign reading "TIPS" and a bucket full of money. (And we used to just sell lemonade!)

BETTER
A motorist was mailed a picture of his car speeding through an automated radar post. A $40 speeding ticket was included. Being cute, he sent the police department a picture of $40. The police responded with another mailed photo of handcuffs.

BEST
A young woman was pulled over for speeding. As the motorcycle Officer walked to her car window, flipping open his ticket book, she said, "I bet you are going to sell me a ticket to the Highway Patrolmen's Ball. "He replied, "Highway Patrolmen don't have balls" There was a moment of silence while she smiled, and he realized what he'd just said. He then closed his book, got back on his motorcycle and left. She was laughing too hard to start her car.

Quentin Tarantino's new flick Kill Bill (Vol. 1) is pretty good. You can anticipate sword fighting, split screen shots, and some typical Tarantino moments where you find yourself laughing at something really really violent and then wondering, what's up with that? My favorite moment: the bottle-being-uncorked sound effect when a mosquito bites Uma Thurman. It made me laugh so hard, and the rest of the theater was silent. Apparently I was the only one who either heard it or thought the joke was funny.

Oh yeah, and before your movie, I recommend you go to the Rock Bottom at the Waterfront and order either the Lumpy Dog Ale or the North Star Ale. Sit at the bar, and rest your beer on the chiller to keep it cool. What a great invention! Every bar should have one!

What's on top of your tree? Found Magazine is pretty cool, and this is their web page.

So Beck will be in a movie called Southlander . . . doubt if it will screen here, but it may become available on DVD, VHS. I wonder if anybody involved inthe movie/film biz who digs beck may have any kinda scoop on getting that a screening or something? Yeah, and the soundtrack looks like it might be pretty cool, what with Elliot Smith and Beth Orton (who also appears in the movie) on there.

Rufus Wainwright has his new album out now, go give a listen to the first two tracks. The second one I've heard on the radio a coupla times.

Rufus will also appear in an upcoming Martin Scorsese film, where he plays a club/lounge singer and although he doesn't have any lines, he does sing . . . go figure.

This weekend i got fitted for a tuxedo for josh and jessies wedding in two weeks. Then i went with josh his dad and jim to see Intolerable Cruelty. it was a good flick by the Coen brothers, but not quite "The Big Lebowski" or 'O Brother! Where art thou?'

Rich Engel's brief post from Oct 9 lead's to a site for the artist Zoe Beloff. She will be in town the 17th to discuss some of her stuff. On her webpage, Zoe talks about Baudelaire, and her mention of his ideas in turn makes me think of and even earlier modernist, Edgar Allen Poe and his short story, the Man of the Crowd (1840). The man was pretty far ahead of his time . . . if at least in some of his perception and vision.

OK, I don't kow how many of you have seen or sampled the new Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Inside Out (Peanut butter on the outside, chocolate on the inside ... ) but my officemate and I have done a comparison with the new and regular Peanut butter cups and have conclusively said that there is no discernible differnece in taste or texture, and that the visual aesthetic is all that's different. These are not the only new products apparently that they have had out on the market., but the last in a series of Limted Edition candy treats. Give 'em a try and let me know what you think . . . !

I saw the movie Lost in Translation last night at the Forward Ave theater with my friend Karen, who looks a little like Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray was funny, the Japanese are so very different from and yet so like us, Scarlett Johansson is a Scandinavian blooded hottie who plays opposite Murray, and there weren't too many hackneyed Hollywood bits or too many arty film bits. There is some beautiful scenes of Japanese gardens. I recommend checking it out. My favorite phrases: "Lip my stocking" and "Have a nice fright."

This article from The Atlantic about torture may be a bit disconcerting for some to read, but I find it somewhat relieving that they admit "legalized coercion, even when strictly regulated, is the ultimate slippery slope . . . ", and that someone had the courage/gumption/chutzpah to investigate this highly sensitive topic.

Much thanks to Ed Finney, who called yesterday asking if I knew anybody who could use a pair of tickets to see the Steelers play the Browns at Heinz Field. Thanks much, Ed!!! It was a good time, even if the Steelers got whooped...


The drunken wino was stumbling down the street with one foot on the
curb and one foot in the gutter. A cop pulled up and said, "I've
got to take you in, sir. You're obviously drunk"
The wasted wino asked, "Ociffer, are ya absolutely sure I'm drunk?"
"Yeah, buddy, I'm sure," said the copper. "Let's go."
Obviously relieved, the wino said "That's a relief - I thought I was a cripple."

> > > > > >

The man was in no shape to drive, so he wisely left his car parked and walked home. As he was walking unsteadily along, he was stopped by a policeman.
"What are you doing out here at 2 A.M.?" said the officer.
"I'm going to a lecture," the man said.
"And who is going to give a lecture at this hour? "the cop asked.
"My wife," said the man.

A pompous minister was seated next to a cowboy on a flight to Oklahoma. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The cowboy asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by a brazen whore than let liquor touch my lips."

The cowboy then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, " I didn't know we had a choice."

For you who are interested in numbers, computers, money, or historical fiction, Neal Stephenson has a book out just last week called Quicksilver.