MSF-USA: Ways to Make a Donation

Sorry about the lack of posts - travel and apathetic compulsive disorder have rendered me sans energy to post.

Just made a donation to Doctors without borders (Medecins sans fronteras).

You could celebrate the new year by doing the same.

MSF-USA: Ways to Make a Donation: "Every day, we are able to save lives because of the generosity of our supporters. Please make your tax-deductible gift today ? thank you for any support you can give us.
There are many ways to help Doctors Without Borders. To donate now using our secure online form, please click on a link below. For other ways to donate, please see the bottom of this page"

Guest posts

As a Christmas gift to you, my friends, for being such loyal readers, and as a way of making this blog less about drugs and/or self-loathing and/or liberal politics, i'd really like it if you would send me a story I could post on the blog.

It can be funny, horrifying, catchphrasable, feature the 2 Corey's, a music or movie review, a funny story about your new city (joel) or whatever.

And the genius editors took time away from the, ahem, recent snowstorm to even figure out how to post pictures.

All you need to do is write out a story/blogpost with or without a picture, and send it to my email ideaXtelXler@hotXmail.com without the Xs. include the picture if you'd like. if you dont know how to send an html link, just write it out, and our interns will put in the final editing touches.

We're especially looking for posts about parent Holiday/dinner horror-stories, best/worst gifts, best/worst new years eves, and really anything that can amuse the hundreds, AND HUNDREDS, of blog readers out there.

You can even post anonymously.

Seriously though, I'm about to spend 6 days with my folks in Orlando. If there's no posting love from ya'll I might just go insane. There's only so long you can eat at Olive Garden.

NYTimes.com Article: No Saints in Sight as These Santas Get Their Jollies

This is how I spent Saturday in NYC. Santacon. Truth be told, it was more fun than the PDX one the previous year.

Big up to White Heat (pictured) for getting me out there.

No Saints in Sight as These Santas Get Their Jollies

December 12, 2004
By ALAN FEUER

Santa broke out the sour mash at 10 a.m. Christmas was
coming. Why not have a drink?

He raised his glass to another Santa, who was sucking back
some Colt 45.

"Pace yourself," the second Santa said. "I started with
beer this year, not Jim Beam like last year."

Santa got drunk yesterday. He cursed. He smoked. He took
off his clothes in public. It was Santacon, an annual
gathering of nasty Santas, in which some 500 naughty
Clauses marched through the city, shouting, drinking,
raising gentle mayhem.

Santacon began 10 years ago in San Francisco, where 30
friends, disheartened by the happiness of Christmas, got
together in their Santa suits and set out to have some fun.
They crashed a dinner dance and stole people's drinks. Went
to a strip club. Drank themselves silly. Some made it home.
Others slept in the streets.

This year, Santacon was - or will be - celebrated from New
York to Tokyo and places in between. Its schedule and
history can be found online at href=http://www.santarchy.com>www.santarchy.com.

The brains behind Santacon are something of a mystery, its
organizers remaining underground. A reporter in the crowd
set out yesterday to find the Claus-in-Charge but was told
there was no main Claus, only subordinate Clauses.

There are four cardinal rules at Santacon. Don't mess with
the police. Don't mess with kids. Don't mess with store
security. And don't mess with Santa. These rules were
printed on the backs of vomit bags. The bags were passed
among the crowd.

New York's Santacon began with dim sum at the Triple 8
Palace, a Chinese joint on East Broadway under the
Manhattan Bridge.

"In the North Pole, we don't get a chance to eat often
Chinese very often," one Santa said. "So when we come to
the city, we like to hit the Asian places."

This Santa, like most, asked to use his working name for
reasons of professional privacy. So, Santa it was - all
around.

"Santa's hungry!" Santa called out to the waiter.

"Santa's taking his pants off!" Santa hollered in the
Triple 8. And he did. At the dim sum cart.

After fueling up, Santa headed for the F train. "Have you
been nice or naughty?" one lovely Santa in a pair of
fishnet stockings asked a police officer.

The officer said he'd been naughty.

"Well, you get two
candy canes for being naughty," lovely Santa said.

When the F train started, 200 Santas lurched and shouted,
"Ho!"

It was a sea of hats and beards and bellies. There were so
many Santas, one began to wonder how they got the day off.
It was, after all, the holidays - Santa's busiest time of
year.

"Wal-Mart took my job," said Santa Lamar.

Santa Kevin had a different answer. "Santa got outsourced
to India," he said.

In the West 34th Street station, Santa broke the escalator.
"Ho! Ho! Ho!" the crowd of Santas yelled.

Then Santa stopped in Herald Square to sing some variations
on carols - "Frosty the Cokehead" and "Chipmunks Roasting
on an Open Fire."

It was on to the New York Public Library, where several
hundred Santas gathered on the front steps shouting: "Santa
wants a beer! Santa wants a beer!"

One woman turned to her husband with a frown. "This," she
said, "is really going to mess up the kids."

There was a dicey moment when two traffic officers gave
Santa Claus the eye as he and 300 pals crossed 42nd Street
at the Avenue of the Americas. A Santa in the vanguard told
the officers a few more Santas would be coming in their
wake.

"Whose streets?" one Claus chanted. "Santa's streets!" the
crowd called back.

Now Santa headed for that beer. "Belly up to the bar!" one
Santa shouted as Santas, by the hundreds, wandered into an
Italian place on West 44th Street.

They ordered drinks and staged a belching competition. It
was 2 p.m. The day was young.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/nyregion/12claus.html?ex=1104073323&ei=1&en=63
c98172836a2631

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Together We're Heavy

Together We're Heavy somebody might be more enthused about the Spree than me. I wish every single one of you could've been there last night.

Together We're Geeky

Together We're Heavy

Fan blog site.

i like the enthusiasm. they may be dorkier than me about this. probably not.

interested to see how the 'immovable cool apathy of Seattle shows' runs into the Polyphonic Juggernaut of Joy tonight.

Together We're Geeky

Together We're Heavy

Fan blog site.

i like the enthusiasm. they may be dorkier than me about this. probably not.

interested to see how the 'immovable cool apathy of Seattle shows' runs into the Polyphonic Juggernaut of Joy tonight.

it's a beautiful day

crashing until i leave to go see them in Seattle with KWatts and Trika Van Hurmselspreckensiedutch. no mention of The Crush in this post.

Ashley might go too.

Polyphonic Spree

Much love to cp from good records for putting me on the guest list.

Big love to Ben Carter for staying until 1am and having a 6:15 call in the morning.

And much love to Sage for letting me crash on his bunk bed.

Updates ? Word Dabbles

ohmigod. now the BloomKings have a blog.

Updates ? Word Dabbles: "BACK to NYC to REALITY:
?Movers came a day late after getting an 18 wheeler stuck only 8 blocks from our apartment. 18 wheeler had to be towed. Oops.
?Cell phone doesn't work in my own apartment. (New home #: 718.857.2204) I shiver in the cold and talk fast outside.
?Movers arrive at 7:30 am. Thank god Joel didn't wear my lingerie the night before.
(New address: 154 8th Ave #1R Brookly NY 11215)
?We unpack sans coffee, heroine, cereal, and all the other things normal people do to wake up.
?I rush to work, look busy for 3 hours, then take NJ Transit to Linden, NJ--the official hair on the armpit called Elizabeth, NJ.
(How depressing, a major city named after me and one need not be proud.)
?I arrive in Linden, and pick up our precious Nissan Sentra which has been shipped. It's nice to see an old friend.
?I make it across Staten Island. Nissan makes it across pocked highways. Everything in tact.
FAST FORWARD
?Thanksgiving: Me in Connecticut (Joel in Atlanta, he got to escape): My insane family...Aunt Sandy is reading my aura. Within first 5 minutes of the meal, there's talk of Aryan Samigidian ancestors, how much we need Bush to finish the war he started, homosexuality (nature or nurture), and how Mom thinks I should run for president. Somehow in this diverse gene pool that belongs to me (really?), we have fun.
? Joel and I unpack. To test any relationship, skip the road trip...move together and unpack together. If you can get through this, you can survive anything.
? Joel and I love Park Slope. The park and it's rolling hills will be perfect for sledding and cross country skiing (anyone know where I can get some used ones?) I love the fact that I can go for a quick run before work. We love the restaurants close by on 5th Ave. We l"

Gatorsports.com

Sweet. We stole Notre Dame's soulmate.

Gatorsports.com: "tah's Urban Meyer agreed Friday afternoon to become Florida's 21st head football coach, sources told The Sun.

Meyer, 40, agreed to a seven-year, $14 million contract, which was finalized Friday.

UF athletic director Jeremy Foley has been in Salt Lake City meeting with Meyer since Wednesday. Meyer also met with Notre Dame officials on Thursday.

Meyer turned down his 'dream job,' a chance to coach at Notre Dame. Meyer was the wide receivers coach for the Irish for five years (1996-2000) and many thought he would accept Notre Dame's offer, which was made Thursday.

Meyer is widely considered the hottest young coaching prospect in college football. In his two years at Utah, he's taken a downtrodden program and taken it to heights the school had never achieved before. The No. 5 Utes are 11-0 this season and will be playing in a BCS Bowl. His overall record at Utah is 21-2."

BBC NEWS | Europe | Series of explosions rock Madrid

BBC NEWS | Europe | Series of explosions rock Madrid: "Series of explosions rock Madrid

A series of blasts has rocked the Spanish capital, Madrid, following a bomb warning from armed Basque separatist group Eta.
Five explosions occurred at petrol stations on the outskirts of the city as many people were leaving for a bank holiday weekend.
Police said the blasts, which followed an anonymous phone call, were minor, and no injuries have been reported.
The attacks were the first in many months to be launched by Eta. "

Gatorsports.com

Sweet. We stole Notre Dame's soulmate.

Gatorsports.com: "tah's Urban Meyer agreed Friday afternoon to become Florida's 21st head football coach, sources told The Sun.

Meyer, 40, agreed to a seven-year, $14 million contract, which was finalized Friday.

UF athletic director Jeremy Foley has been in Salt Lake City meeting with Meyer since Wednesday. Meyer also met with Notre Dame officials on Thursday.

Meyer turned down his 'dream job,' a chance to coach at Notre Dame. Meyer was the wide receivers coach for the Irish for five years (1996-2000) and many thought he would accept Notre Dame's offer, which was made Thursday.

Meyer is widely considered the hottest young coaching prospect in college football. In his two years at Utah, he's taken a downtrodden program and taken it to heights the school had never achieved before. The No. 5 Utes are 11-0 this season and will be playing in a BCS Bowl. His overall record at Utah is 21-2."

BBC NEWS | Europe | Series of explosions rock Madrid

Fuckers.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Series of explosions rock Madrid: "Series of explosions rock Madrid

A series of blasts has rocked the Spanish capital, Madrid, following a bomb warning from armed Basque separatist group Eta.
Five explosions occurred at petrol stations on the outskirts of the city as many people were leaving for a bank holiday weekend.
Police said the blasts, which followed an anonymous phone call, were minor, and no injuries have been reported.
The attacks were the first in many months to be launched by Eta. "

Gatorsports.com

Sweet. We stole Notre Dame's soulmate.

Gatorsports.com: "tah's Urban Meyer agreed Friday afternoon to become Florida's 21st head football coach, sources told The Sun.

Meyer, 40, agreed to a seven-year, $14 million contract, which was finalized Friday.

UF athletic director Jeremy Foley has been in Salt Lake City meeting with Meyer since Wednesday. Meyer also met with Notre Dame officials on Thursday.

Meyer turned down his 'dream job,' a chance to coach at Notre Dame. Meyer was the wide receivers coach for the Irish for five years (1996-2000) and many thought he would accept Notre Dame's offer, which was made Thursday.

Meyer is widely considered the hottest young coaching prospect in college football. In his two years at Utah, he's taken a downtrodden program and taken it to heights the school had never achieved before. The No. 5 Utes are 11-0 this season and will be playing in a BCS Bowl. His overall record at Utah is 21-2."

Ah, the morning

So, this is what 7:20 am feels like. Fascinating...

The sun is already up. Check that. The light gray clouds are already up. It's not nearly as brutally cold as yesterday, and the light-skinned Uzbeki of German/Russian descent was happy to answer questions.

Spent $15 on the cab ride to save an $18 parking ticket.

Plus, I got to see this Quote Morning Unquote thing people keep talking about. And got to see my roommie in a blue bathrobe (Ginger: You've got a (uncapitlized) crush on her!!!). Um, actually, no, I don't.

My roommie works for Americorps, is smart, fun, intelligent and has a great laugh, but I can honestly say that I don't have a crush on her. The defenese rests, your honor.

Anyhow she was doing her stuff in her bathroom with boyfriend Adnan stowed away in his room. To wit: he is, like me, a bum in tihs scenario. Actually, I think the to wit is, he is leaving the house to go somewhere where he looks just like he looked last night. Where can a man go after spending the night at his 'Seeing each other's friend's house' look? In most case in Portland, it involves going home for a bit and making yourself look predictable. Some other cities, you might have specially reserved clothing stashed which will probably allow you to work without returning home.

But honestly, I don't think there was a lot of showering going around.

Which with a couple of small leaps and bounds, leads me to today's question: After you've begun regularly seeing a man/woman and spending the night, how often do you spend the night and not have sex? Actually more specifically, when is the average first time that, without very special circumstances, you spend the night and don't have any sex at all.

Curious.

Please post your asnwer anonymously.

Google Search: calling drunk setting up dates

So, sometime in the post-WII election, I made a drunken call, set up a date and then flaked the next day.

I just got called out on it tonight.

She's clearly annoyed and amused and looking to me to make it up to her.

Including a semi-formal (frat term) event on Saturday night which I won't link to, but if you're free on Saturday and in Portland, it should be fun. I think I'm going to rent a tux again, which will lead to a post on bonus night 98.

Which will all end up leading to the question: can you play Texas Hold 'em well while wearing a blue suit?

She let me off the hook easy, and i'm grateful.

Shout out to Steve Hawley's 30th birthday, and a shout down to Pizza Italia and their surly staff and overpriced dinner. Jesus Christ.

Google Search: calling drunk setting up dates

Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death

I'm starting to think of the medicinal profession the way Yossarian thought of just about everyone. Yahoo! News - Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death: "Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death

Thu Dec 2,10:44 AM ET Health - Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men and women who've ever dealt with unemployment may have a heightened risk of dying early, particularly from suicide and injuries, a Swedish study suggests. "

Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death

I'm starting to think of the medicinal profession the way Yossarian thought of just about everyone. Yahoo! News - Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death: "Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death

Thu Dec 2,10:44 AM ET Health - Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men and women who've ever dealt with unemployment may have a heightened risk of dying early, particularly from suicide and injuries, a Swedish study suggests. "

FDA Advisers Vote Against Female Sex Drug

Well, this is what happens when you have a red-state administration.

Yahoo! News - FDA Advisers Vote Against Female Sex Drug: "FDA Advisers Vote Against Female Sex Drug

By DIEDTRA HENDERSON, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON - A hormone patch that works to restore a woman's sex drive should not be approved until more studies are completed to determine the drug's risks, federal health advisers said Thursday.

The advisers voted not to recommend approval, with several of them saying they were not satisfied with the number of women studied so far, the length of the studies and the possible benefit of the drug.

Additionally, they did not add, doing it missionary style on Tuesday nights with the lights off was just enough work for them, thank you very much."

Stats

again! again!: again! again!: "Location: Portland
Work prospects: Low ¹
Drinks: 2
Drugs: none for a couple weeks.
Back: Kinda stiff lately.
Effort: 4. Started doing Morning Pages again. Blogged at Sean.Keener.Org. Made some calls, cleaned my room, paid the bills. Gym. And just a little Halo2 to reward myself.
Engagement: ranging from a 1 to a 6. ²
Loneliness: 2 (1 being alone in a fundamentalist city)
Newness: 1.
Percentage of self that believes that next year at this time I will be happy:
Morning: 32%
Afternoon: 18% ³
Current: 27%
Brutally truthful answer to 'How you doin?': Full of deep downs and moderate ups
The only even prime number of medical professionals I am seeing tomorrow: 2.

Today's extras
Items knocked off to-do list - 4.
Current read: number9dream ⁴
Approx. # of receipts categorized: 38.
# of comments left on blogs today: 8
Approx # of different times I sang bits of One Man Show today: 43
Thing I'm most excited about tomorrow: Steve's 30th Birthday. But truth be told, I'm most excited to tell Donna & Miika about the Polyphonic Spree thing.
New medication I'm thinking of switching to: 1. (Paxil) ⁵

"It means a lot to find it so easy. It takes a lot to find yourself way down.
It means a lot to find it so easy. It takes a lot to find yourself way down."

1 - It's getting to be around Christmas time.
2 - I love Halo2. I'm sure it's not healthy, but it's also not just killing time. (See NHL '94, later stage Diablo II)
3 - From the moment I left and got a salad at New Seasons to the time I got back from the gym, went to New Seasons again, ate some Chicken Vesuvius or something and then started cleaning. Maybe it's not the meds I need to change, but my grocery store. Or something.
4 - Also a Lennon song. The author also wrote Cloud Atlas, which I blogged and loved.
5 - I'm on a tiny bit of Prozac and a lot of Welbutrin (aka Zyban - the help you stop smoking pill.) Prozac helps keep me afloat, and Welbutrin is a little like a kick in the ass. Except that quite obviously, I haven't been responding to the ass-kicking for most of this year. It's kinda like the stern Dad. And I'm not responding. So I think maybe my combination of anxiety and depression (quicksand analogy to follow tomorrow) might need some mothering, which is what Paxil seems to be about. Maybe I need to stop reading articles about children and anti-depressants, and instead look at articles about meds and extended adolescence.

AUBERNICA WIZZNUTZZ.COM

without having to go and find it yourself now.

game_axis2

The graphic from Sean's blog. This is a test of flickr.

F.D.A. to Review Drug to Increase Women?s Sex Drive

Flip the switch from 'Not caring' to 'Caring' for the ladies.

The New York Times > AP > Health > F.D.A. to Review Drug to Increase Women?s Sex Drive: "F.D.A. to Review Drug to Increase Women?s Sex Drive"

Sean.Keener.org

Sean drew up a table of The caring/ Not caring, Game/Not game. Kinda like a product lifecycle thing, except there's no cows or money bags shown.

Note Jen Leo's responses. I'm contemplating mine.

Sean.Keener.org: "Game/Caring vs No Game/No Caring Axis of Evil
I got a lot of great feedback on the caring vs. no caring post. A lot if it in e-mail and offline. I thought Mig's response clarified it for me. So I made a picture...if there is a graphic designer that actually has some skillz and wants to redo it for me, that would be gr8. "