thanks to tien for pointing me to this altogether funny, yet slightly sad and pathetic ebay item. a person has begrudgingly (assumption) put up his college diploma for sale on ebay in order to pay off the mounting loan payments that hes fallen behind on. the diploma in question? a bachelors of architecture diploma from rensselaer. gosh if this isnt a shot in an already wounded arm. granted not all aspiring architects are as dire as his situation. he was just unlucky enough to have excessive school loans alongside a shite-paying job. that being said however, i wouldnt exactly be promoting the jetsetting profession of the suave architect anytime soon. because what his guidance counselor…and mine too, failed to mention was just how unappreciated and over-worked architects are in america. those that are lucky enough are paid overtime for all their excessive work. the rest just work excessively anyway.

me personally, i never really fully invested myself in the architecture profession. thats probably why during the 5 years i spent whittling away little basswood models, i was teaching myself photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, and any other programs i could use in other design fields. this dude tho…shit do i feel sorry for him. anything but architecture. speaking of which tho, i wonder where my diploma is…

> help this dude out somehow (via tien)

speaking of chess, the ny times has a coo article today on the book “birth of the chess queen’: power play” and how the female came to be the most powerful piece on the chess board. for anyone even remotely familiar with western chess, or “queen’s chess“, the queen is the most powerful piece on the board, and the central piece of many strategies. the queen can traverse the field taking down knights, bishops, or whoever it is she feels like girl-slapping. while not as sneaky as say the knight and his tricky movements, the queen gets by with raw mobility.

so how was it that the only female piece came to be the most powerful piece in the game, while the impotent king gets to piddle around one square at a time? according to marilyn yalom, the author of the new book, the emergence of the modern incarnation of western chess coincided with the rising status of women in europe at the end of the 10th century. prior to the emergence of the queen, it was actually the vizier that stood next to the king, viciously smacking aside potential assassins with his piddly one square move…and diagonally too. pussy. as chess spread throughout europe tho…and the likes of toda of navarre, urraca of galicia, and queen isabella of castile marked the rise of women in power, the vizier was tossed in favor of the queen. and with the introduction and subsequent evolution of the queen, chess got decidedly faster and more complex. and for gods sake this was a good thing. chess would be rather boring with a sucky little vizier wheel-chairing his way around the board.

the article also happens to mention another centuries-old game with persian roots and european evolution…backgammon. but backgammon eats, so whatever.

> birth of the chess queen: power play (via ny times)

i generally keep these airways clear of political rot, but i felt a high inclination to point out this interesting (albeit tepid) ny times article on the political hypocrisy of the bush administration. no i dont particularly like bush. in fact, i think he has the intelligence quotient of a chicken parm sandwich. but still, me and politics…we dont mix. while the article is technically about mixing political and official travel (whatever), it also describes how during the campaign trail, the bush administration touts certain policies and programs that bush himself either tried to pare down or get rid of altogether.

for example, as the justice dept announced the awarding of $47 million to local law enforcement programs for hiring police officers, bush was concurrently proposing to cut the budget by 87%. as tom thompson, secretary of health and human services, announced $11.7 million in grants to help people without health insurance, bush had actually proposed ending the program for the last 3 years. thompson also announced how the administration had awarded $3.1 million to improve health care in rural areas…while the same administration was in fact trying to cut the program by 72%.

the examples just go on and on. being a widely recognized news source, of course the ny times has to remain for the most part unbiased. but i wish the article could just scream out blatant hypocrisy…two-facing the population as one hand pats your back while the other is winding up to smack you upside the head. its because of this duplicitous nature (amongst a myriad of other reasons) that i can never respect bush.

> white house hypocrisy (via ny times)

i cant say im much of an apple fan, but this is too funny. from the pages of engadget…an ebay seller, thisisjeff, had put up his powerbook for sale when he realized that he was being scammed by a buyer in europe with a stolen account. so in retaliation, he decided to scam the scammer. instead of sending the powerbook as the scammer was hoping, he sent him a p-p-p-powerbook…a souped-up 3-ring binder with a super-flat screen, ultra light-weight construction, and a bluetooth laser-mouse…shweeet. he also marked the value of the p-p-p-powerbook at full cost, so the scammer would have to pay full duties (£350) to have the package released before it was even delivered. thisisjeff posted the prank to a the awful forums…and a member from the area subsequently staked out the place of delivery as the package was delivered and took pics. heee-larious. so check out the photos, and follow the thread as tension builds up to the moment when, upon delivery, one of the guys asks…”is it broken?“

> p-p-p-powerbook scam (via engadget)
> the awful forums thread
> pictures of the p-p-p-powerbook

wrong wrong wrong. the american museum of natural history kicked off its adventures in the global kitchen program tuesday with insect cuisine. bill yosses, the famed chef at citarella, was asked to prepare the insects for foodage. amongst the plethora of slightly stomach-turning faire were sauted crickets, deep-fried grubs, ants, and sushi rolls topped with scorpions. good thing i just ate, because that sounds absolutely disgusting! and its not, as they suggested, “cultural biases“. it just nasty. if my mom tried to feed me fried scorpions while i was growing up, i would still probably think it disgusting. just like the oysters, tomatos, mushrooms, and that taiwanese oh-a ji crap they tried feeding me when i was younger. its not so much the taste of it…some of which is reportedly similar to crab meat (tarantula)…but more what kind of images the insects conjure. creepy, crawling, scurrying around. cows just stand there, chickens do whatever, fish swim around. insects…they pester.

> adventures in the global kitchen (via wired)

and now for some variety. if anyones been even remotedly near a subway platform lately, theyve probably seen the new posters for the upcoming iron chef america special everywhere. while the posters themselves actually suck (hello lighting?) the idea of a new iron chef is still coo…especially since mario batali, wolfgang puck, and bobby flay are set to compete. word. an article today on zap2it looks into the upcoming iron chef america: battle of the masters, to be shown on the food network this weekend starting friday. the first iron chef america incarnation in 2001 with william shatner apparently sucked and sunk pretty fast. this time around tho theyve revived the concept more akin to the original iron chef…with mark dacascos as the new chairman and iron chefs japan and france (morimoto and sakai) set to take on batali, puck, and flay. iron chef china chen kenichi was set to appear also, but had to drop out due to his declining health. so without kenichi around, im going to be rooting for batali and sakai. cant wait…

SORORITIES
and on a complete tangent…over on flat tire, greg had a post on an interesting article about the new book pledged: the secret life of sororities by alexandra robbins. the book takes a look into the greek world of college sororities, with robbins actually “infiltrating” a sorority incognito and shadowing four other girls (who participated in the book). while a pledge, she discovered that many of the stereotypical sorority-type behaviour were for the most part true. binge drinking, hooking up, eating disorders…were all prevalent at the sorority she pledged and many that she had visited. robbins also witnessed some crazy shit in the sororities too…such as boob ranking (pledges have to order themselves according to breast size in a given time limit) and naked parties (everybody gets naked and runs around making out…before the guys actually arrive). word.

one specific section of the article is also worth mentioning…the issue of racial diversity in the prominently white sorority system. “when one sister at State U. was asked if there was diversity in the house, she responded: “Oh sure, we’re di­verse, we have blonde, red and a lot of brown-haired girls. I think we also have a Spanish girl.” rock…intelligence apparently runs rampant alongside drinking, sex, and eating disorders in sororities. did i really miss out on a world of crazy shit when i declined my frat bid? questions that seem to burn in my mind…

> iron chef special (via zap2it)
> crazy sorority shit (via flat tire)

thanks to greg and marisol for pointing out this slightly freaky article on a new product that looks and acts like water, but isnt. produced by tyco and dubbed “sapphire“, the clear liquid was shown on good morning america last week. developed as a fire suppressant, sapphire shares alot of the same traits as water, but doesnt damage products the way normal water would. on the show, they tossed books and electronics into a tank of sapphire, all of which emerged undamaged and dry within seconds. freaky. and even tho they call sapphire water-like, chances are its composition is nothing even remotely like water. they got rid of, amongst other properties…solubility (things dont stay wet) and conductivity (doesnt fuck with electronics), while ideally (?) being inert so that if you accidentally suck down sapphire, your ass doesnt erupt.

> sapphire water

wired has an interesting article today on the onion and how too many people take them seriously. for anyone who actively reads the onion, its satire is all too readily apparent. for people scouring the net for news tho…especially people overseas, the wit might pass right over their heads. the most infamous case of this was when huang ke, a journalist for the beijing evening news, cited americas capitalist greed, highlighted by the congress’ threat to leave washington unless it got a new capitol building with a retractable dome. yesh…the only problem tho was that he had cribbed an onion article, replete with an artists depiction of said retractable dome. even after realizing they were suckered, they still stated that “Some small American newspapers frequently fabricate offbeat news to trick people into noticing them with the aim of making money.” ah you crazy chinese nutters. the problem is tho that more and more people have been duped by onion articles lately. given their straight-faced nature and potential for being read out of context, people werent always aware that they were reading an onion article. most people take what they read on the internet at face value, never second-guessing their authenticity. i suppose its complacency to just accept whats dished out, or maybe as the article suggested, “Some people are so desperate for proof of their point of view, they’ll seize upon any old e-mail forward that floats by…” word. the landover church and creationist science fair for instance…too good to be true.

favorite quote from the article…”“Chinese Woman Gives Birth to Septuplets: Has One Week to Choose” provoked prayer vigils on behalf of the six babies who would be tossed off a mountaintop…” bwahaha…

SUBWAY REMNANTS
and on a completely different note, i thought this article from the ny times was coo too. 2004 is the 100th anniversary of the ny subway system, and the ny times has featured a number of subway-related articles for the past month or so. today, they took a look at some of the remnants of the older stations that still linger in a number of stations. two transit buffs, joseph brennan and joseph cunningham, took a small group around the subway stations…from the brooklyn bridge station (thats right next to the grand old city hall station), to the preserved walls at the union square station, to the old archway into the times building at 42nd st. they point out alot of coo historical details (especially the smaller less-noticeable ones) that still exist amidst the modern renovations. i think its pretty coo that such obscure remnants of the past still linger amongst your daily routines. not so much as artifacts on display in a museum, or expansive ruins smack in the middle of the city (like the ones throughout rome), but more like finding hidden ruins on your way to work one day. i think ill go track down some of the highlights the article pointed out this weekend. check out the interactive feature highlighting the 42nd st. times square station renovations too. swishy…

> onion is satire, people (via wired)
> original news about beijing evening news
> subway remnants (via ny times)

thanks to tien for sending over this utter piece of garbage. the april issue of details magazine apparently has this absolutely fascinating piece entitled gay or asian?, which seeks to break down the subtle details of your average asian guy, along with their inherently gay qualities. details such as “delicate features: refreshed by a cup of hot tea or a hot night of teabagging” and “ladyboy fingers: soft and long. perfect for both waxing on and waxing off, plucking the koto, or gripping the kendo stick.” my only question then is…what the fuck is this shit? while the piece in and of itself is unintelligible drivel, the stupid little chinoiserie-esque and oriental references denote a pathetic exoticization (yellow fever maybe?) of asians. when the hell did we regress back to the xenophobic days of asians as the exotic foreigner? or did we ever progress pass that point? after looking at this cock and balls, im inclined to say no.

im not usually one to get puffy over asian stereotypes and whatnot, since i have cited them in the past…and especially if theyre true. but this…i dont even know where this asscrap came from. ryan seacrest hair? evisu jeans? metallic sneakers? these are all descriptions that seem to cover a broad number of urban genres and metrosexual ware. how did asians get singled out for this? or was it all just to make possible such quotes as “a bonsai ass requires delicate tending“? the whole piece is just ripe with stupidity and novel oriental quips that the writer thought up while chasing around little asian schoolgirls boys in sailor-suits (apparently its a she). whitney mcnally, you are a boner. you are evidently in need of a bamboo-beating, pelted with moo goo gai pan, have chopsticks stuffed up your nose, and a panda stuffed up your ass.

> details mag | gay or asian? (via tien)
> tiens take
> petition to take down details

ha…funny shit. american express is doing a new web promo with seinfeld, featuring a 5-minute webisode with seinfeld and superman. yea…superman yo. thats listed under “man of steel”. in the first episode, “uniform“, superman…voiced by patrick warburton, and seinfeld dick around new york trying to figure out what to do. theres some seinfeld-ian remarks, a robbery, and a musical called “oh, wyoming“. im out of other descriptive terms and pithy observations…so just check out the webisode damnit.

> amex seinfeld and superman (via gothamist)