Fact

Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

Medical Supply Shops Make Me Sad

Sometimes when I'm walking, I see something that takes my mind someplace else. Like when I see a medical supply shop. The objects displayed in the shop's window conjure up thoughts of the sick, the frail, and the infirm - and I am suddenly consumed with sadness for the people these items are meant to help. This item is always particularly discouraging:



The fact that there are folks out there that can't move far enough away from where they are to take care of their personal requirements just brings me down. At least this particular model has a little built-in shelf to help pass the time - I imagine that's a place to set down your martini or keep a bowl of pretzels.

For some reason it reminds me of my friend, Bob:


He doesn't have a colon.

Another aspect of these items that distresses me is so many of them seem downright medieval, as if no progress has been made in the scientific area of medicine these devices are at the service of.
I'm not sure what this is meant to cure, but I think Mozart made his wife wear one so other men couldn't have sex with her.



And how can you not feel sorry for this guy:



I don't know if this is for someone with an injured leg or no leg at all:



Whoever he is, he needs new shoes.
But then I realize that all these products are made to help people - to ease their pain and make them more comfortable so their lives can be better. That's a good thing, and I think maybe it's not all that bad.
As I move away from the shop and continue down the street, I start to feel better. A sense of comfort comes over me. Then I see this:


And I get sad again.

Weight Loss Made Easy

Check out these unappetizing Weight Watcher recipe cards from 1974. I am tempted to throw a party and serve all of them!
Courtesy of gigglesugar.

Mazoltov!

A man in Canada finally gets justice for his grandson's bar mitzvah that was sabotaged by a janitor. A real fiasco. Story here.

Fact

Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world's largest zipper manufacturer.

Past View Of The Future

Here is a great site called Paleo-Future that shows past views of the future that never came to be. But here is one clip from 1967 that got it almost entirely right!
As an adult exposed to these images during childhood, I often feel we have been cheated out of all these great devices we were supposed to have. I mean, airplane travel is basically the same as it was when I was a kid. Still five hours from New York to L.A. in 2007? You gotta be kidding! And where's my friggin' flying car?

Fashion Advice

Hey, all you gals who live in the West! Be glad you don't have to deal with this.

Hundred Years. Still No Time.

This from the Harper's Index:

Percentage change since 1900 in Americans' average amount of leisure time: 0

The Right Honorable Men And Women Of Government

Why is there something perversely entertaining about brawls breaking out in halls of government?
It seems to happen in Asian countries for some reason. And the women are right in the middle of it - sometimes pounding on the heads of their male adversaries. Well, here's another one.

Blog Launch

Go check out Night Swim, an entertaining new blog with insight, humor, and general brilliance. Here is a great first post.

Obama In Detroit

From Obama today:
"Here in Detroit, three giants of American industry are hemorrhaging jobs and profits as foreign competitors answer the rising global demand for fuel-efficient cars. The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time."

Glad to hear somebody stating the obvious here. Of course we can't get off oil quickly and completely, but the fact that we haven't begun detoxing from it already is ridiculous.
Full story here.

Spare Time

One has to have some extra time to create this.

Photos

Dramatic photos of a sand storm. Photographed in Iraq 2005.

Graphic

Photos

This is a wonderful site called Shorpy, where people submit hundred year old photos for viewing. The site is named after a turn-of-the-century coal mining boy from Alabama - Shorpy Higginbotham

Flotsam

It's amazing what scientists can learn from a cargo container full of bathtub toys that falls overboard. This from Science News.

Professional Professionals

Lou Lesko of infiniteblue rightly raises the red flag on the new "faux authorities" in the blogosphere - folks who are trying to make rules about something that shouldn't be ruled. Read the full post here.

Courage

A reader sent this link today.
This clip of Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan aired on Al-Jazeera last year, but it is worth watching again. I admire her for having the courage to say these things, and I also think she is entirely correct. Interesting how her adversary in the debate labels her a heretic and would probably approve of her stoning. This is a battle between ancient narrow thinking and modernism, and she gets it right.

Children Of Men

Finally saw Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron's excellent film Children Of Men - a harrowing look at the future based on much of what's happening today. The film's visceral depiction of a world of violence, terror, and frightening politics is all too familiar.
The film is both compelling and disturbing at the same time. Several of the it's images are pulled directly from the graphic images we saw coming out of the prison at Abu Ghraib - huddled masses of nude prisoners, bags on heads, etc.
I find it profoundly disturbing as an American now to watch a film that depicts a world gone haywire by reenacting the violence and degradation that really occurred at the hands of my countrymen. America's move toward torture and abuse, and the lies about it, is disgraceful. It betrays everything we stand for. It doesn't represent the America I grew up in, and I hope to see our reputation restored. I hope to watch Children Of Men someday, and think, "Yes, that's a reality of the past, not of the future." I'm worried, and not so sure.

(Not So) Forward Thinking

Chrysler announces they will create more fuel efficient vehicles. Improve from 15 mpg to 19 mpg! No wonder Toyota is kicking their ass. Read this ridiculous headline.