Via Brittany Bohnet.

A little exchange I had regarding privacy (which I do not really value as highly as I value transparency). I learned that not everyone shares my values, and that, for many, eschewing Google products is the most appropriate choice:

Thanks for allowing me to learn something new, Steve!

Opinion: Why I’m dropping Google: Google Buzz, blog deletions show the search giant doesn’t respect users’ privacy – Computer World

Was coffee’s introduction into Europe responsible for fomenting the Enlightenment?

“…when coffee originally arrived as a phenomenon in the mid-1600s, it was not seducing a culture of perfect sobriety. It was replacing alcohol as the daytime drug of choice. The historian Tom Standage writes in his ingenious A History of the world in Six Glasses:

The impact of the introduction of coffee into Europe during the seventeenth century was particularly noticeable since the most common beverages of the time, even at breakfast, were weak “small beer” and wine….Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began the day alert and stimulated, rather than relaxed and mildly inebriated, and the quality and quantity of their work improved….Western Europe began to emerge from an alcoholic haze that had lasted for centuries.”

Steven Johnson’s The Invention of Air, pages 59-60.

Chris Brown, hosting classy dinner party: “Ha ha, smashing, Reginald. I, too, enjoy delicious foie gras. But if it’s not served at the proper temperature, I get so angry I just want to punch an exquisite armoire until it shuts it’s skank mouth and admits my sneakers are fly. YOU FUCKING HEAR ME, ARMOIRE?! MY SNEAKS ARE PIMP AS FUCK. I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!

Sherry, anyone?”

Republished from the hilarious folks over at TheSuperficial.com:

Chris Brown hosts dinner parties now – The Superficial

Yitta Schwartz died in January 2010, but she is perhaps the most dangerous woman on the planet. She is dangerous not because of her demeanor or her smile, but rather her unique set of values, and what those values drove her to do: she excessively over-bred, leaving 2,000+ descendants, and consequently quickened the destruction of the biosphere that we call home. Mrs. Schwartz’ individual actions affected us all–she took from all of us, and gave us nothing in return.

Yitta and her husband Yosef had 17 children over the years, living in Antwerp and finally settling in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Those 17 children produced 170 grandchildren. Amazingly, Yitta could name all of them. Two more generations sprang forth from the loins of her grandchildren, and it is believed that she has at least 2,000 descendants, and perhaps 2,500, if they were to counted systematically. It is unlikely that Mrs. Schwartz knew of the outsized negative impact her progeny has had on the planet, and the commensurate setback in human sustainability.

Let’s not mince words; Mrs. Schwartz’ behavior is abhorrent. Her religion (Orthodox Judaism, or more specifically, Satmar Hasidic Judaism) gave her a belief that she should produce a brood as large as her body would allow. Her family planning behavior–that of having no control whatsoever over the number of her offspring–puts her squarely on the same level as wild animals.

The lack of strategy and planning that Mrs. Schwartz employed is an affront to the human intellect, and it also sets a dangerous precedent. Is it okay, in this day and age, to breed uncontrollably, to breed irresponsibly? If we were all to breed like rabbits (as Mrs. Schwartz certainly did), our species would be doomed to perpetually fight over dwindling resources, and our society would crumble. Law and order would vanish. All the work of our species, put in over thousands of years, toward the aim of building a more prosperous human condition, would be wasted.

If such a dystopian future is as detestable as I think it is, why then do we continue to allow humans to breed like wild animals? Why do we sign-off on the atrocious behavior of some solely becausee they subscribe to a particular brand of prehistoric beliefs? Is our desire to avoid offending religious and ideological groups responsible for putting society on a course toward its eventual ruin?

If our planet wasn’t overpopulated, then sure, overbreeding would be A-Okay, at least for a while. But in 2010, with a world population of 6.7 billion stretching the planet’s resources thin, excessive procreation hurts everyone. When anti-social behavior comes about, humans do the right thing–they ban and punish it. Perhaps it’s time that we ban excessive procreation.

God Said Multiply, and Did She Ever – NYTimes.com

“… the open circulation of ideas was practically the founding credo of [...] eighteenth-century coffeehouse culture [...]. With the university system languishing amid archaic conditions, and corporate R&D labs still on the distant horizon, the public space of the coffeehouse served as the central hub of innovation in British society. How much of the Enlightenment do we owe to coffee? Most of the epic developments in England between 1650 and 1800 that still warrant a mention in the history textbooks have a coffeehouse lurking at some crucial juncture in their story. The restoration of Charles II, Newton’s theory of gravity, the South Sea Bubble–they all came about, in part, because England had developed a taste for coffee, and a fondness for the kind of informal networking and shoptalk that the coffeehouse enabled. Lloyd’s of London was once just Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse, until the shipowners and merchants started clustering there, and collectively invented the modern insurance company.”

Steven Johnson’s The Invention of Air, pages 57/58.

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Via Et Musique Pour Tous.

A few days ago, I was chatting with a local music tastemaker, Arianna O’Dell, who was asking me for music recommendations. We got on the subject of British rapper Dizzee Rascal (who I’m hot or cold on, depending on the track). Anyways, right after I recommended a song to her, Dizzee came out and KILLED IT on the track with Florence and the Machine, live, at the 2010 Brit Awards!:

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LIVE MASHUPS ARE THE NEW-NEW THING!

A dear friend of mine, Shyama Rose (prounounced “shawm-ah”), is a nascent-yet-accomplished upcoming fashion designer in Seattle, and (soon) New York City. I’d like to highlight this piece of hers because I cannot fathom how such a striking, quality design could be put-together by hand, and by someone without traditional Fashion School training. Some people just have a knack (and an eye) for good design, and she’s one of them:

This isn’t her first time working with leather, and nowadays, people stop her on the street asking her where she got her unique jacket, and after telling them she made it herself, she gets commissioned to create new bespoke pieces right then and there. It’s really amazing what raw talent, inspiration, and a little perspiration can do for you. It’s worked wonders for her. Shyama Rose, upcoming fashion designer, I commend you.

Not your traditional lab coat – the anti-shazzzam

You can get in touch with Shyama at shyama (at) gmail (dot) com.

I’m proud to announce that I’ll be hosting Seattle’s first Italian Table at Stella Caffè!:

Add to Google Calendar: link
YPIN Event Listing: link
Facebook Event Listing: link

Location:

Stella Caffè
1224 1st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 624-1299

Map:

View Larger Map

Date/Time:

Thursday, March 4th from 6:30-8:30PM

Event Description:

We’ve been starved of speaking Italian for far too long!

Come and join us for an evening of buona conversazione at the very cozy Stella Caffè, downtown Seattle’s only traditional Italian bar/café. Recount stories of your time in Italy with a diverse group of global-minded, inclusive people. If you can converse in Italian and would like to practice and learn, we would love to have you. Bring a friend or two!

Co-sponsors: World Affairs Council – YPIN, Stella Caffè.

Wow, I didn’t know they made crimson hip-waders.

Thanks, Andy!

This track isn’t my taste, but I’m posting it because:

1) an acquaintance from high school (MTV VMA-award winner Josh Caldwell) of Meydenbauer Entertainment directed and shot the music video,

and

2) the little kids in the video are precious.

The band’s name, Tim & The Space Cadets, is right on–the lead singer seems so emphatically happy when he sings that he looks like a deranged space cadet. I cannot say I’ve seen a weirder lead vocal part (is this Christian rock?). This guy must just be high on life or something; there is no other explanation:

Great video, Josh. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.

You can hire Josh by emailing him at joshblog (at) meyd-ent (dot) com.

Via Hollywood Bound and Down.