Sexy And Deadly

The young women of the Israeli Army as photographed by Rachel Papo.

I LOL'D

Over at Fark today folks brought out their best examples of FAIL:

Demand is Kicking Supply's Ass

Many of you know that I'm pretty fond of Trader Joe's. They're much cheaper than Whole Foods and offer lots of products that are made without the harmful processed ingredients that lurk in so many national brands. Not everyone loves them though and some of the criticisms I hear are definitely warranted; namely low inventory and long checkout lines. With only one location serving the entire city I find the only way to avoid these hassles is to go during off peak hours. Sometimes peak hours are the only time you can make it which is how I found myself in crunchy hell tonight. The 25 minute check out lines and empty shelves throughout the store made it feel like Florida before a hurricane - dude, storm's coming, load up on those unprocessed high fiber oats! A Brooklyn location will be opening soon but I have a feeling the lines will be just as bad. Scenes from the carnage below:

It Sucks Redux?

Riding around Sunday I found myself passing by the Brooklyn Flea and decided to give it a second look. As some of you may remember, my first impression was pretty bad, but with no hangover to slow me down and only low expectations I found the second visit a lot more enjoyable. The selection of vendors and food merchants seemed more interesting; plenty of reasonably priced clothing and art, and tempting food from Blue Marble ice cream and vendors from the Red Hook Ball Fields. Just as important as the seemingly improved merchandise mix, the energy and vibe felt better. The mix of people seemed less contrived, more representative of the neighborhood, new and old, than when I first went. Overall it was a nice experience, a pleasant way to spend time on a nice Sunday afternoon. It would certainly be a great way to work up an appetite before hitting the Fort Greene restaurant scene.

Exxon Will Probably Take Credit ...

Seeing the air quality in Beijing really brings home how lucky we are to have mostly clean, smog free air. The right loves to mock environmentalism and dismiss concern about the environment as some sort of irrational touchy feely nonsense. Yet if it wasn't for the efforts of hippies and environmentalists pushing for low emission vehicles, lead free gas, caps on coal plant emissions, and expanded public transportation, among other things, our air wouldn't be so different from the poisonous brew that clouds Beijing.

Photo In Search Of A Caption

From Neatorama:

I Can't Read But I Can Do The Superman

According to Forbes, Buffalo is one of America's fastest dying cities. Perhaps the high school graduation rate has something to do with it. From the Buffalo News:

Buffalo Public Schools’ reform effort took a hit Monday when state data showed the city’s already alarming high school graduation rate dropped last year by 5 percentage points, to 46 percent.

What a disaster. To be a high school dropout in a place with a job market like Buffalo is just a horrific thought. The cost of living may be low but salaries are even lower. For qualified folks, places like Wal Mart and Fridays are the good options. Even call centers, one of the big industries in Buffalo, can be picky. The sad part is that there is plentiful cheap education in the area. The local community colleges are cheap for state residents and you can be something less than a scholar and still graduate.

One by product of Buffalo's affordability and educational resources is that a lot of folks drawn to the area for the colleges have ended up staying over the last decade. Pockets of artists, hipsters, recent grads and young professionals have revived city neighborhoods. Unlike my youth, there are pockets of nightlight in Buffalo now. These new residents have taken advantage of the low cost of living, the architectural gems that remain from Buffalo's grander past, the natural resources, and have settled down. They may not have tons of money but still enjoy a rich quality of life. Too bad so many locals are missing out.

I Think I'm Done (for now)

After publishing briosolaw a couple of weeks ago, I've spent quite a few hours tweaking it; rewriting text, finding new stock photography, and redesigning certain graphics. With time the flaws of what looks and sounds good one day tends to be revealed. As digital media, web sites benefit from an ease of revision that you don't find in traditional media. Colors, shapes, placement of items can all be changed with a few clicks of the mouse. That same ease can be a bit of curse though because cycling through so many options can take deceptively long. Often ideas take several iterations before they look as you imagined. And when you're an amateur like myself, getting things to look like you imagined is no small feat. Another factor that has to be accounted for and that is only revealed after you "finish" is the fact that websites display differently on different browsers (explorer, firefox, safari), and on different monitors. Skilled designers have tools to make sites look consistent; I have to wing it. In connection with the new site I've developed new letterhead and mailing labels; the development of one led naturally to the development of the others. I feel pretty good about it all; no longer a kid in this business, it was time to look the part. I'm sure the clients will be rolling in any day now ...