It's about 2/3 the size of my iPod (and 1/3 the price). For details, see my next post.



(Yes, I admit it. I am a major gadget freak!)

I can't believe it has been over two months since I posted here. For me, writing is like exercising. I either do it every day or I end up going months (or longer!) without doing anything at all. I'm pathetic, I know.

So today is Labor Day. To me, that means the Jerry Lewis telethon. I never cared much for his movies (slapstick is just not my thing) but the man is a saint as far as I am concerned because of the work he does to fight muscular dystrophy.

This year the show was dedicated to Mattie Stepanek who lost his battle with that wretched disease in June. Unfortunately, this was the first year that the telethon failed to raise a dollar more than the year before. It didn't help that large portions of Florida are under water or without electricity this weekend due to Hurricane Frances. But whatever the reason, I am feeling very sad tonight that we didn't come through for Jerry.

If you want to do something that will make you feel good about yourself, why not surf over to the MDA web site and donate a few bucks in Mattie's memory.

iTunes is currently playing: The Meaning of the Blues from the album Miles Ahead by Miles Davis.

A guy named Earl Vickers has created a web site called the Museum of Conceptual Art. Among the "art projects" Mr. Vickers claims to have created is the first Pig Latin translation of the Bible. Available for your enlightenment are the Book of Genesis, the Book of Job, and the Gospel according to John.

I hope that the author found a Pig Latin translation program someplace and didn't really "translate" this stuff himself. (The end result would still be "art", wouldn't it?)

iTunes is currently playing: In The Time It Takes from the album You Hold The Key by Beth Nielsen Chapman.

I've discovered the most amazing OS X app -- Konfabulator! It's a javascript "engine" that runs cute little applets called Widgets that do anything and everything. I'm testing a blog posting widget right now. If this post appears, it works!

The L.A.Times published a lovely obituary today that included some of Mattie Stepanek's poetry along with snippets from interviews he has given in the last few years.

"We all have life storms," he told Chris Cuomo on "Prime Time Thursday" in December 2001, "and when we get through them or recover from them, we should celebrate that we got through it. That's what my life's philosophy means: to remember to play after every storm."

iTunes is currently playing: The Sheltering Sky from the album 1996 by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Isn't this the cutest thing?? According to blogger site radio daisy pad, this new Canadian quarter was designed by an 11 year old. We should all be so creative, eh?

iTunes is currently playing: I Can Do That from the album A Chorus Line (1975 Original Broadway Cast) sung by Wayne Cilento.

Writer and Advocate Mattie Stepanek Dies at 13

In his 13 years, Mattie Stepanek became nationally known as a “peacemaker and poet” whose story of living with a rare neuromuscular disorder led to five published books, numerous television appearances and a friendship with former President Jimmy Carter.

Read the story on ABCNews.com.

iTunes is currently playing: Goodbye from the album Lost In Translation by Kevin Shields.

Hanks is great fun as a man "without a country" stuck in a NYC airport. His three airport employee sidekicks are good, too. (The character played by Catherine Zeta Jones is majorly annoying!) It's pretty amazing that they built that entire airport on a soundstage in lovely (HA!) Palmdale. I'd probably rate it 2.5 or 2.75 out of 4, mostly because it was a bit too long. This will be a good rental in a few months.

iTunes is currently playing: All Around the World from the album Affection by Lisa Stansfield.

I stumbled upon this cool blogger site today: Snap Happy. Most of the text is in Swedish (I think) but (interestingly) its single photo album (called "Snap Happy Impressions") is annotated in English. Go figure. Anyway, the single photo album on the site has some great shots. Enjoy!

iTunes is currently playing: I Drove All Night from the album The Essential Cyndi Lauper by Cyndi Lauper.

What broke in a man when he could bring himself to kill another?

- Alan Paton, "Cry, The Beloved Country", 1948

iTunes is currently playing: Belfast to Boston (live version) by James Taylor.