Melting.

I know it's a wonderful cliche, but the New Yorker is my favorite magazine. I started reading it a few years ago, but it wasn't until I was on an island in the middle of nowhere that I really started to read them cover to cover. Every week there is at least one story that's fascinating or strange or simply contains a bit of trivia that I can dredge up for later.

This last week in particular had a great piece by one of the staff writers, Nick Paumgarten. He wrote an incredible 16 page article called The Death of Kings about the recent financial crisis. It contained this quote,

"...there must be an endorphin that's triggered by the call-and-response recapitulation of a giant variegated clusterfuck,"

and this one,

"...he welcomes a ritual repricing with the relish of Colonel Kilgore smelling napalm at dawn."

Even if you don't happen to like economics as much as I do you have to admit; that is a fairly entertaining way to discuss a modern economic meltdown.

Boardin'

We were walking down the street when a guy walked out of his house carrying a surfboard under his arm. Not more than 30 seconds later a different guy walked out of the same house carrying a snowboard.

My first reaction was confusion followed immediately by this thought: I really want to go wherever they're going.

Crowded.

I was walking down towards Union Station the other day and as I approached the Heritage Foundation building I saw a big crowd of people out front. I was really excited because I thought they were protesting Heritage for some reason and I love to see a good protest, especially as I strongly dislike the Heritage Foundation.

As I got closer I realized that the crowd of people out front weren't protesting anything, rather they were all waiting in line for pizza next door at Armand's.

For Miles and Miles.

While on the Metro today:

A young guy, probably a teenager, sitting by himself. His headphones are turned up so loud that everyone on the train can hear the music he is listening too. He closes his eyes and raps along out loud to the song.

I really feel that if we tune it, it just might get picked on
Or will it give a fuck about what others say and get gone
The alienators cause we different keep your hands to the sky
Like Sounds of Blackness when I practice what a preach ain't no lie
I'll be the baker and the maker of the piece of my pie
Now breaker, breaker 10-4 can I get some reply?

Strapped to his chest in a BabyBjorn carrier is a small infant dressed in a pink fleece jacket. As he raps, she giggles and they both smile at each other.

I see all this on the Metro today and I know that it will make me smile every time I think about it for the rest of the week.

In the Desert.

Just a few pictures from the hotel we stayed at last weekend while in Palm Springs for a really fun wedding.

The weather was perfect, the wedding was beautiful and the hotel was hip and fun without being too overly obnoxious. (Although you should have seen the beards, tattoos, vintage cameras, weird sunglasses and dogs out at the pool.)

And even when the airlines threatened to complicate things by canceling our return flight to DC while we sat on the runway, we turned bad luck around and made it a chance to meet up with friends in the area for dinner.

A very nice weekend away.

Unsure.

It it seemed like an ominous start to the day. While walking from the Metro to my office I looked up and saw a man wearing only a towel, standing in his hotel window and staring straight down at me. I stopped and stared back at him, unsure of whether this was a good or bad omen.

Clouds swept in and rain started to fall. Still the man stood there staring at me and I stood on the street, my head tilted back with crowds of people walking around me, staring back at him.

Then, the man in the towel waved at me. I waved back. I turned away from the hotel and continued walking down the street.

Maybe today was going to be a good day after all.

They're Just Like Us.

While walking by a group of TSA officers in the Chicago airport on Monday:

"Well you know what, she had better watch her back if she thinks she's gonna tell me to shut up in the break room again."