Yup, that’s what the doc says it sounds like Val has and my slightly scratchy throat and slightly achy joints don’t bode well. Today, I had an already scheduled doctor’s visit with my cool new doc — who is an MD with a specialty in integrative medicine — and so I talked to her about […]

At the nexus of history geeks, graphics geeks and politico-geeks there are things like these HistoryShots’ posters, “History of the [American] Political Parties I and II”. Fascinating. Whiggy. See them at historyshots.com.

TPM: GOP Bid to Block Amendments on Surveillance Bill Fails.
Louisiana readers note: Mary Landrieu was one of only four Dems to cross the line to vote in favor of administration secrecy and telcom immunity.

Tomorrow — Monday, January 28 — the Senate will take up the question of cloture on the FISA Amendments Act (S. 2248). Now before your eyes glaze, this is important! Ever say anything on the phone or in an e-mail that you would rather not share with loyal Bushie operatchiks? Believe Bush administration should keep […]

Thanks for visiting us Sharoan, Sam and Zeke! Click the arrows at the bottom of the slideshow to see what we’ve been up to on our family visit. Click “credits” to learn more. Enjoy!

Uncle Val and Auntie Kate took the nephews to the Aquarium of the Pacific today. More pix to come.

Here’s a little local news for our Rome-ward travelers: Romano Prodi resigns and the Italian government collapses. It’s news, still it has happened 61 times since WWII.

I make no claim that these are Rome’s best restaurants — I have had some crazy good meals in Rome at restaurants whose name I can’t even remember. One with Laurie on our last night in Rome, after I was pickpocketed, and she — with her supreme graciousness — picked up the tab for a […]

Did you know that the The Night Note has been involved in an existential struggle with the robot minions of the spamlords? (Odin curse them!) Yes. Thus, the presence on our virgin soil of ads for bogus penis creams and criminal Nigerian gold brokers. The insult! The injury!
So, we’ve had to pull out the big […]

I always say I’m through with Paris. Through with gray and grumpy Paris with its strikes and its cranky nonplused waiters and its universal disdain. The last time I left Paris, during the massive transit/museum strike of May 1999, I was literally in tears. “I have to get out of here. I can’t can’t […]

Wee! Seven free Triple Grande Non-fat Lattes and my fame touted on the blackboard. I guess the benefits of being a crabby regular are becoming clear. Thank you my barista friends!

Recently I had a hankering for something my Mom used to make when I was about 12 or so — fritters made with greens and cornmeal. We don’t outright fry things very much, but it’s good clean food, and tasty:

1 bunch fresh chard (or kale, collard greens, mustard greens, any moderately tough green. Spinach is […]

Michelle whipped up a pot of Red Beans tonight and said it would be interesting to see how other cooks in the M&M universe prepared this traditional New Orleans dish. So, as requested, here’s my recipe (with props to my Auntie Rita Dell):
1 lb. Red Beans (If you can get Camillia brand, that’s where it’s […]

Night Note friend and partner at californiaauthors.com, Donna Wares, has launched a website for her cool new travel book Great Escapes: Southern California. Last Sunday, she had a nice splash in the LA Times travel section (complete with a cool google map and pictures), with another story in the offing for this Sunday. My opinion: […]

A very cool HD broadcast of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Milan. Very sharp! (It was on MTV’s HD channel. Here’s a link to the channel’s incredibly lame web site [don’t bother] [these people really need to talk to Ethan] and here’s a link to a You Tubed bootleg of one of the numbers […]

… to xkcd — a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. It is geek-larious. You should read it! Here’s a sample (click the comics to see them full sized:
Kayak:

Writers’ Strike:

Lisp:

More: The Blog Fractal, Join MySpace, Ninja Turtles, Perspective, Regular Expressions.
Okay, what kind of geek are you?A laughing one? Yeah, me too.

A picture from today’s walk along Alamitos Bay. A pelican settled on a street lamp catches the low winter sun after 3 gray days.

… is that Futurama is in heavy rotation on Comedy Central. Obsessively watching it is great preparation for the series’ triumphant return! Read about it at wired.com. Thanks to a little YouTube bootleggery, here’s a canape for connoisseurs of geek comedy.

Whoa! Writer’s strike guilty pleasures update: American Gladiators returns tonight. P.S: Hey, they just promo-ed […]

Okay, because it is the season, I’ll just come out and say it: I am not ready to turn my body into the fat-burning machine I know it can be. It’s not that I don’t know how. Back in the beautiful day, I was taught The Way by extraordinary trainer (now doctor) Claudio Carvalho and […]

Deadlines, budgets, style conflicts, all kinds of little and big things, can lay a pretty rigid track for creative thought. We use a direct approach and our well-vetted set of strategies to get it done and move on to the next thing. We are especially apt to take our first idea and go with it […]