Can you Compost a Brick?

I learned San Francisco composts 600 tons each day. I wonder how many bricks that includes?

dinner

i made stir fry and orange chicken... stir fry with olive oil (from Rainbow), onions, garlic, carrots, orange bell pepper, ginger powder, 2 eggs, spinach (at least i think it was - a leafy green from our CSA), soy sauce.... in more or less that order. it turned out well, especially with the Trader Joe's orange chicken, crispy as all heck, after i just about smoked out the whole apt.

dessert: kahlua hot chocolate and mandarins.

brit's away.

updates

skipping the annual auction/party at my law school, and the 40th anniversary of my old jobsite... being a bum, watching jeopardy instead. it happens.

hit the Off the Grid food truck party last night at Stanyan and Waller. i snapped at keith when he started going on about how this is part of a nationwide trend. i should be more accepting of my friends. even when they're pontificating.

baby spud not happy, want num num

baby spud not happy, want num num
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete

i took this, then sliced it. It was happy, then sad.

Peanut Butter Moo'd

Peanut Butter Moo'd
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete

bday/anniversary

had a nice birthday party at the giants game. bleacher seats for 9! so many friends...

then anniversarsy: massages at the olympic club, Ted's sandwiches for lunch, and Chin's sushi for dinner. not too shabby.

Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans live DVD excerpt

what i learned at my internship, part II

From UC-Berkeley Police Department police report form (check boxes):

78. Hair Style
A Unknown
B Afro/Natural
C Braided
D Bushy
E Crew Cut
F Greasy
G Military
H Pony Tail
I Dred Locks
J Straight
K Punk
L Other

82. General Appearance
A Unknown
B Conservative
C Dirty
D Disguised
E Flashy
F Good Looking
G Military
H Unkempt
I Unusual Odor
J Well Groomed
K Casual
L Other

what i learned at my internship

Tickler file: a date-labeled file folder organized in a way that allows time-sensitive documents to be filed according to the future date on which each document needs action. Each day, the folder having the current date is retrieved from the tickler file so that any documents within it may be acted on. Essentially, a tickler file provides a way to send a reminder to oneself in the future—"tickling" one's memory.

Doodle 4 Google

Does anyone else find this a little disturbing?

"Over 33,000 children drew doodles for our homepage."


How would we feel five years ago if Microsoft did this? Or Nike? 


Or is there a Google exception -- they're too big, too good? Then maybe they should be treated like a public utility.

Doc fest: The Buck Stops Here

Finally saw Atomic Cafe and it was all that. It makes me question the current "dirty bomb" scare. The propaganda is truly stunning. I was surprised at how well the US Military propaganda films got the opposition's arguments. Maybe they're more effective than I give them credit for. They present the arguments unadulterated, gaining traction with skeptical viewers like myself, then ending with a pro-nukes punch line, i.e. "If you love communism so much, why don't you move to Russia?" or somesuch nugget. There's a nice moment when Kruschev puts it in Nixon's face: "All [Americans] know about communism is fear of it."

Also, Screamers (2006) was shown in combination with Armenian Genocide remembrance day at my law school. It's got a bunch of System of a Down concert footage, plus some nice Dennis Hastert harassment in favor of genocide recognition. However, Q: If SOAD is really the main vehicle for the recognition movement in the world today, as some Armenian organizers suggest, what does that really say for the movement?

A: Er...that it's really strong, I guess. Right? Guys? RIght?

Either way, I suggest all bone up on the first Genocide. Here are some resources:
Armenian National Institute
New York Times articles published during the Genocide

"OBAMA - Commander and THEIF"

"OBAMA - Commander and THEIF"
Originally uploaded by luna715

Check out the Teabonics gallery in Flickr. I can't resist.

Envious? NVS Rules!

Last night, NVS and Audible Smoke Signals played to an enthusiastic crowd at the House of Shields, an old, wood-paneled bar in the middle of the Financial District. The odd surroundings, with the Palace Hotel across the street, only emphasized the near-naked intensity of frontman Walter Campbell. His vocals gained from the band's move toward more rock and funk than punk-based rhythms. He gets to settle down a bit and explore tonalities. The lyrics are clever as ever. "And the best I could do was the worst you could ever hope for."

The light show was disappointing, as I told Tre. He's set the bar high for himself from his Monster Pete and The Chiefs days, with the foot activated light inside the bass drum, for example. But showiness was not a problem overall, with at least two of the five (six if you include Bunny, who sat on the bass amp, professing that she liked the vibrations) finishing the show topless.

Micah adds a steady beat and helps the funk songs, and Tre added nice textures with his pedals of wonder. The fans went crazy the whole night, even the military dudes in the back. It was a great rock show.

music in my face

i've heard/seen some good shows lately. first off, Marc Flury took us to the Berkeley Art Museum to meet up with CansaFis and see Caroliner. Check out the video: I swear that was the loudest thing I've heard in a while, amplified by the concrete bunker that is the Berkeley Art Museum. The visuals were ecstatic, orgiastic and scary. Then today, we traveled a bit closer to home to hear the wonderful SF Quartet. They played a bunch of cartoon songs, including Under the Sea, The Pink Panther, and Powerhouse, more or less the Elmer Fudd theme. They had some sweet unconventional bowing techniques, i.e. the chicharra and some basic percussive sounds. The songs were technically impressive, jumping genres, and it was disconcerting (so to speak) to hear Disney tunes from a worldly string quartet, but kind of in a good way.

Hakeem Olajuwon NBA Superstars

check out the Dream Shake in action

Def Poetry

Brit has brought the joys of the late Def Poetry slam into the Inn. We had a session this afternoon. Here's my poem:

Left-Handed

Left-handed, branded -- "You always have to be different, don't you Peter?"
Well yes, but I don't blame tame cats for being the same.
Guitars, gloves and notebooks are cheaper,
if you buy ones for right-handed people!
But sometimes my hands don't feel right, stuffed into gloves whose minds are tight!
Lefties unite!

The Great Pillow Fight of 2010

The Great Pillow Fight of 2010
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete

yippee. my face hurt for a while.

long live howard zinn

he died today. i met him when he came to speak at northwestern. we had dinner, and he less than half-jokingly accepted my offer to buy him a drink, just before he was to speak. the crowd was packed into one of the school's bigger auditoriums. he talked about how war breeds terrorism and post-9/11 atmospheres; this was probably in 2002. as we were walking toward the auditorium, I asked if he was fairly busy these days. yes, he said with a laugh, war is good for business.

it's his cheeriness that i remember, as i never read too much of what he wrote. he also loved him some dunkin donuts coffee, like a true man of the people. rip

Great Falls at Paterson, New Jersey

spring break!!! not really

new york. the lights will inspire you.

Pictured: me and britt at Rockafella Center. We had an awesome trip to NYC and Jersey. Didn't see many Jersey Shore types but did see Mikey Sherman. Stayed in Queens (Jackson Heights) in an Uzbek-Bangladeshi household in an Ecuadorian-Colombian neighborhood with great Indian food nearby. I love New York.