Sharing the profits

Oh no! I just realized we won't have summer together. Better make these popsicles now!

this is the original wife bonus article. and this is similar to my first take on it.

Dan Barber in the news again

because we could all use a pick-me-up

y'know, I don't actually make you read a lot of fashion on here, so here you go.

because money isn't everything
.
responses

1. This is such a heartwarming article where the celebrity is actually working with the women, not just urging for monetary donations or "bringing attention to their plight." Also, I saw The Birds (with you!) so I actually know who Tippi Hedren is! I guess given this, I don't have to worry too much about going to low-priced mani/pedi places, except for the chemicals that we both inhale?

2. Nothing to say but I agree.

3. I don't like the comparison to Shawshank because Andy was innocent! I will say, they wasted way too many resources on this guy. Maybe he's not a model citizen but I don't really feel the need to lock him up when he's in his 70's. I did briefly think "well this would just encourage more prison breaks" but this story won't be what encourages prison breaks.Freedom is.

4. It doesn't seem like anyone is seeing the whole thing as a success - I mean, those 2 shooters could very well have plotted something against people who wouldn't have been protected by a serious police presence. I do agree with this article. It's disappointing that van Sustern went to law school.

5. The lure of low prices is real!

6. I will never look at KK the same way again. She is now a symbol! But what I do like about the Kardashians is that if they are symbols of vanity or consumerism or all manner of ill things, they don't fight it. They're not "oh I'm actually really smart" or "I'm such a righteous person." They just go with it.

7. Was that really in doubt? People aren't getting rid of their SLRs.

r2r
2. It's ok. That's why we had blast from the past for awhile. I don't remember all the lists either.

4. Freeze some zombie cookies for when you return from Frankfurt!

Trying Something New

Now we know why so many nail salons are run by Vietnamese people.

This is an interesting analogy that would (if properly considered) diffuse a bit of the racially charged discussion surrounding places like Baltimore (or Ferguson).

Almost!

Erik Wemple's commentary on the Pam Geller stuff sums up my view of how this is being covered.  I think there is a such thing as responsible speech, but there is rarely such a thing as responsible shooting of other people who say something you don't like, and for some reason people are almost trying to rationalize violence in the name of Islam.

Whole Foods is trying something new to cater to millennials.  Eye rolls at that idea notwithstanding, I'm curious to see what they end up doing.

Leave it to The Atlantic to come up with an interesting take on Kim Kardashian.

Perhaps there is still room for the standalone camera after all.

Responses:

1. I like the first one.  Maybe we'll do some steaks with it when I come to visit!

2. I love all the lists you send me, but I feel bad because there are so many great ideas and I never remember them!  I will remember the buttermilk hack for the cinnamon rolls, though.

3. Oooh...

4. Coming home and having fresh cookies after that first meal home sounds amazing.  That said, that first meal is probably going to be delivery, as I can cook that from the couch. :)

5. They have the cables at my gym, though they're just next to the punching bag.  It's cool that you're going back for more.

6. That's kinda intense.  But I'd watch.

R2R:

2. Hot chicken sounds delicious!

B

Base jump!

this first recipe looks good and is so healthy. i need to incorporate more whole veggies in my diet.

2 great pragmatic lists of tips to help you waste less food and keep you from needing to go to the grocery store as often - two things bunny loves. i realize for at least one of the lists that bear taught bunny most of these tricks already!

easy and sounds delicious. though i wonder how much difference it really makes. maybe just when you've had too many nights of roasted vegetables and want something different?

because we'll be travelling a lot soon

this is trx training

Seems worth watching

Responses

1.i'm going to keep that one in my back pocket for now but will let you know my thoughts when I'm done.

2. i've definitely heard rumors of the same (though isn't that true of everything ever? it's rare for a critic to say, wow this long-running tv show has yet to hit its peak!). i liked the suggestions (though i'm not sure i'd necessarily like them implemented. i just understand where they are coming from). for instance, there are too many people in the beginning but it would seem boring to have the same people for weeks on end without elimination..it's like chopped without the chop. mentors might be good. i mean, what would project runway be without tim gunn? a sad heap of nothing! except for heidi klum and Fashion. eh it'd be fine but we'd be crying less.

i loved the "top scallop" joke. ahh top chef jokes...i'm not sure how i feel about hot chicken

3. that was thrilling.

4. i don't know what to think about this. i mean yes, obama was lying then or is lying now. but then again all politicians lie.

5. i am impressed that someone is defending the guy, on principles. it makes him a bit more human and shows that the author is willing to suggest that not everything the other side things is wrong and that process might be important as well. those facets seem to be sorely missing in most arguments in politics today.

6. sign me up for any place with fast eggs.

7.it's really sad that kim kardashian would be dressing more conservatively and more fashionably than beyonce. and that's by a mile.


Also this is a headline: "Jay-Z’s Stylist Understands Beyoncé Is Too Sexy to Bother With Met Gala Themes" with the line "their bodies are simply too objectively sexy to deny us an opportunity to see them in a naked dress."  I guess that explains it all.if you have a sexy body, you have to be naked. if your'e a woman. is that empowering?

8. not even sure this counts as a problem.

9. yeah but chipotle is so delicious and they haven't done anything else terrible except deprive us of carnitas so i can't even seem to care.

r2r

1. it would be great if nyc could incorporate this. also if they just built more apartments...

2. good for sleeping bear!

3. everything is inspiration for our picnics! i don't want our picnics to be one-note.

4.it's nice that some college students have good, reasoned talks with administrators, as opposed to some of the other stories you've posted.

5. i don't think they were trying to antagonize animal lovers. i'm actually pretty sure they wanted animal lovers to get on board. the commercial is basically just a cute puppy travelling on the road.

6. well it's progress for the lesbian couple? i wonder if they even got married.

7. to be determined... but would you rather be in a converted jail cell or on the streets? actually, i guess that's a hard question... 

r2r2r

2. true. maybe it shouldnt' follow him for his whole life. but then again, it was a terrible thing to do and i don't feel that bad about him not being a police officer or being able to open a restaurant after that record. it would be different if it was just him trying to get a normal 9-to-5 job.

5. i thought they called it "radical islam" to differentiate it from "normal islam."

Don't Call It a Comeback

(I hope these articles aren't too dated.)

This is a very long article, but it's a very interesting read on ISIS and its ultimate goals.

Is Top Chef slipping?

This is justice in the streets, where it's real.

Though it was obvious to many who thought Obama was being cagey in order to win the nomination, it still kinda sucks when these stories come out.

It seems as if gay rights supporters don't care how they win, just as long as they do.  The process is why I even care a little about the issue, so the fact that stories like this are coming out is a bit uplifting, even if the issue isn't improving.

This place will be amazing - at minimum, the concept is great.

This seems like a place where conservatives could push back on social/cultural issues with some credibility.

This feels like a first-world problem.  That said, I'm proud of my buddy Russell Berger, who is one of the main spokesmen for CrossFit but also a high school classmate of mine.

Chipotle is shunning GMO foods, and it's totally ridiculous.

Responses:

1. That is absolutely amazing.  Yes, I'd miss the space, but maybe this should be part of the urban affordable housing discussion (maybe those fixtures are on the expensive side, but you could rent so many of those units compared to conventional apartments to more than make up the money).

2. Which app, the insomnia one?  I think therapy has probably helped more than anything.  That and regular exercise.

3. Was the inspiration for our picnic?  In any case, I will consider it for lunch in the future.  (We have the desk space, that's for sure.)

4. This is a very reasonable discussion being held by reasonable young people about something in which they could have a tremendous about of financial and career interest on the line.  Whatever the ratio that they come up with, where is this in like every other debate going on right now???

5. This sounds like the wrong people (i.e. PETA types) just managed to get involved (very predictably).  Next time we need some free publicity, maybe we should antagonize some feminists?

6. So the lesbian couple got no cake and probably turned a couple into martyrs for their own cause, not to mention ruining their livelihoods.  Someone tell me again why this represents progress.

7. They're not locking all of the doors at night, are they?

R2R:

1. Agreed.  They've more than cooperated with UVA and the university community, and there are no allegations of sexual assault that can currently be pinned on their frat (which is usually enough to say "they aren't rapists").  And they continue to exercise a tremendous amount of self-restraint.  Good for them, and hopefully people are taking notice.

2. He claimed that having such a record can make it difficult to open restaurants that serve liquor.  I haven't heard about the law enforcement thing, but I imagine that the conviction would disqualify him.  It does raise a related question of how long a person's criminal record should follow him, though.

5. As long as it's honest, I'm okay with discussing the narrative in a way that protects the innocent (i.e. otherwise innocent American Muslims).  I think a lot of the people who want to call it "radical Islam" are people who want to influence policy (e.g. conservative journalists) and who think that the Administration's characterization is part of a grander scheme of political correctness (i.e. protection of minorities in this country from any possibility of unfair characterization or discrimination) that they otherwise oppose.  It's just the latest iteration of it.

B

eat, sleep, and protest

the efficiency of it all almost makes this nicer than tiny NYC apartments

do you think this app might help? free to try. although maybe you're already cured?

sad  happy desk park bench lunch

colleges don't just take athletes' rights

this is so outdated now but i had it in my original post. godaddy's marketing arm is a genius - thousands of protests for a superbowl ad a week before the superbowl. then again, i'm not entirely sure that the marketing division would realize this ad was so controversial. i still don't know what's wrong with it. (was the dog hurt while filming? are dogs not really sold online already? is this ad encouraging animal abuse?)

oh god it's starting

the best thing i've heard in awhile. when i toured carpenter's shelter, i found that it was the only shelter of its kind in alexandria or arlington and that they get homeless people even from d.c. with so many homeless people in D.C. it's shocking that there aren't more shelters. but i guess that explains why so many of them are sleeping on the streets.

responses
1. that article made me very sad because it seemed like the frat boys were still under suspicion and if they had said anything too strongly about their innocence, they would have been attacked. it's like instead of defending themselves, they had to defend the rights of sexual assault victims. it's as if someone gets released from wrongfully being convicted of murder and has to give a speech on how the true victims are murder victims (i guess he would not be wrong there but a little "boo-yah i'm so glad to be free" is usually allowed).

2. i heard somewhere that wahlberg wants to join police enforcement or something? in any case, i don't know why he would need a pardon and his crimes have not been in the public eye for decades so there's no good in bringing them up now. i think he did really terrible things and should probably try to make up for it but i never liked him as an actor or model anyway. of course, it would be about time for the victims to let go of their anger. people do change and even if they don't, the anger isn't going to do any good.

3. "If women had more time, they worried, they would simply be tasked with more work." this seems like a weird rationale against women having more time. and what a weird relationship dynamic - as if husbands were actively monitoring their wives' productivity, noticing their extra time and coming up with new tasks for women to do.
4. i feel like i should feel sadder about the demise of skymall than i do.

5. i'm not sure it's entirely necessary to identify the terrorists as radical islamists but it doesn't make sense to say that the charlie hebdo attack had nothing to do with islam. i'm sure identifying the motivations for the terrorists is more important for the administration or the intelligence community but doesn't the public already kinda understand that it's islam and isn't the public already a little anti-muslim? maybe it makes sense for the media to downplay it so long as the administration knows that is has everything to do with islam.

6. i don't think kanye was defending beyonce because he thinks she's helpless. i think he just thinks it's the right thing to do. i think it's kanye's form of respect.

7. well i will eat some eggs to toast that.
r2r
4. that's true. maybe we should stop glorifying ants, those gross dumb but hardworking creatures.

r2r2r
2. that seems like a workable cable strategy. i've heard such good things about espn classic though. they talk about it so fondly on the o.c.

r2r2r2r2r
2. well i think we have to assume the fire isn't moving so quickly as to engulf you before you can come up with a game plan. also i guess it depends if you can just put stuff outside your door and into the hallway and they'll be safe, maybe you'd just move everything out there in a reasonable fashion while bear or penguin kept watch.

do you like any of these designs bear?

You're Wrong

The UVA Rolling Stone scandal appears to be at an end.  We should probably take a moment to think about some of the actual victims.

Mark Wahlberg is seeking a pardon for a crime that he committed many years ago and whose sentence he has already served.  I'm not sure I get why this is so important to him, but I understand even less why this is so important to the victims.  I thought the quote, "If you're a racist, you're always going to be a racist," from the victim was pretty troubling.

Rich Lowry discusses a worsening trend in discussing attacks by radical Islamic terrorists.

It's the end of an era.

Crock-Pots are pretty popular right now, but not without controversy.

I always liked Shirley Manson.

Cholesterol is getting its reputation back.

Responses:

1. I think I'm taking a break from the self-help genre.  Even though those books appear to have meatier ideas than what you find in the grocery store checkout line, I think my issues come down to execution rather than mindset.

2. That seems like a reasonable diet plan.  It's not flashy, and it's doable.  That said, some of the meals were a little meh, but that's true with fancier diet plans too.

3. Those are some great articles.  I liked the cookie breakdown - it reminded me of the Good Eats episode about cookies.

4. The last three paragraphs kinda undermine the entire article...

5. That's a little scary, but less so if you think that this is often how love works generally.  You get to know someone, and no terrible things happen in the interim, and the initial attraction plus knowledge and trust (which comes from revealing personal details about yourself) gets you there.  It also makes the fact of arranged marriages or marriages of economic convenience from earlier in our history a bit more palatable.

6. We've already discussed this.

R2R:

1. In Team America, Kim Jong-Il is portrayed as being killed in rather hilarious fashion.  The funny thing is that many theaters that wanted to show The Interview said that they would show Team America instead after The Interview was pulled, but they were told that they couldn't.

4. Cable companies could lower their prices and put a stop to all (or perhaps most) of this - after all, bundling plus lower prices means savings and ease for consumers.  But it's not all the fault of cable companies.  Take Disney, for example.  They own ESPN (which includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNEWS, and others), Disney Channel, ABC, ABC Family, A&E, and others.  The reason the cable company includes all of these channels is less because they want to make us buy them and charge for it and more because Disney wants to make the cable company buy all those channels and turn around and sell them to us for more money.  This particular innovation (along with HBO's decision to sell HBO GO separately) means that the various TV producers can individually decide what to overcharge me for, thus allowing me to avoid the monopoly rents of the cable companies and just pay fees to the companies whose services I want.  Maybe I still end up with a channel or two I could do without (I've watched ESPN Classic maybe twice), but I'd rather pay $40/month for the ESPN Suite than $100 for 5 million channels, most of which are either dumb, made redundant by Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime, or feature just one show that I can buy on iTunes for $25.

My ideal scenario is to have ESPN (not yet available separately), Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, some mechanism to get network channels for sports, and iTunes for any shows I'm forgetting about.

5. PETA is the worst.

R2R2R2R2R:

2. I'd save my external hard drive (with my computer backups), my wallet and passport, my phone, and not much of anything else.  There are other things I'd like to save, but I wouldn't want to be deliberating as the fire took hold of my possessions and then possibly me.

B