Modern socializing

I just heard a story from a friend about an after-work drinks get-together that went awry.

Two colleagues both agreed to meet at a certain bar in Los Angeles, in a neighborhood where there are several glossy restaurants-and-bars that cater to the executive crowd having power lunches or cocktails.

My friend arrived at the ABC restaurant, sat at the bar and ordered his drink, a martini. His colleague texted him that he was running late, and asked him to order him a Manhattan. My friend ordered a top-shelf Manhattan for his tardy colleague, and waited.

As they texted back and forth, time passed. The top-shelf Manhattan sat, dewy and dripping onto its cocktail napkin, on the bar, untouched.

"What R U having?" texted the colleague. "Martini" my friend answered.

Finally - "Where R U?" and the answer revealed that the colleague was sitting at the XYZ bar, directly across the street, an untouched martini dripping its cool sweat onto a napkin in front of the empty stool beside him.

Beautiful day

Click to "embiggen"

I'm sitting out on our deck, reading a glossy magazine and looking across the canyon. A faint haze from the ocean is in the air.

Our son's flight comes in at LAX in just about an hour.

Cool stuff

I'm working on some cool stuff these days.

 My department, though we're closing soon, and morale has been it, is right now working on a big project that's fun and show-bizzy and highly visible, that tests our capabilities in our profession. And you know what? we're all rising to the occasion like the professionals we are. I am so proud of my co-workers, beaten down and unappreciated as we've felt over the last several months.

In the middle of all this, there are a lot of transitions at the workplace. Good news for people who are moving to new jobs. New assignments and responsibilities for me - interesting yet time consuming and a little pressure-y. New challenges and opportunities.

Also - our son is coming home to visit. He arrives on Saturday, and next week we are going to enjoy spending time with him. I hope to share some of our adventures with you.

Spam, wonderful spam

Like most bloggers, I  have to deal with spam comments. When you start blogging, you check the site frequently, excited, hoping for comments. Sometimes you see an increase in the numbers of comments, and then you open it up with anticipation and - Urgh. A whole bunch of messages from someone named "Anonymous," with either an incomprehensible block of Chinese characters or a bunch of gobbledygook non-sequitors that often include pornographic phrases.

Hit the delete button, now!

I've considered methods to reduce spam, including comment moderation, passwords, and word verification, and, frankly, I don't like them. I'd prefer to make it easy for readers to comment. But I hate the spam, and it's awful to go back into the archives and find tons of spam filling the comments. I've settled on a method that works for me....but that's not what this post is about.

This post is about the content of the spam.

See, my spam-fighting method means that you don't have to see the spam (mostly) until I delete it. And I don't have to see it much - I can delete it globally. But sometimes, I read it, and when I do, I think to myself, WTF? Why do the creators of this stuff think it will work? Why would anyone click on this mess?

Some spam messages are brief and to the point: "Buy cialis" and a link. Others are quite obvious in the attempt to entice. You get a comment that says, "I just found your site and I'm interested in what you have to say. Come visit my website!" There are lots of variations on this, and often they reveal the writer's clumsiness with the English language. Others are, literally, a block of gibberish. Why do they think anyone would click on it?

I got one message that I admire, somewhat, because it had a more creative, almost personal approach:

Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said "You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear." She placed the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone! Also visit my weblog

It was a stand-out among spam, I have to admit. I still deleted it, of course.

But sometimes, you encounter the spam that descends into almost human dysfunctional madness:

I гarely leave a respοnse, however i did a few searching аnd wound up here ______ Аnd I ԁo haѵe a couρlе of questіons foг you іf you don't mind. Could it be simply me or does it look like some of the comments appear like they are left by brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are posting at other sites, I would like to keep up with anything new you have to post. Would you make a list of the complete urls of all your communal sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed? my homepage ... same day loans

Okay, let's unpack this! A spammer, saying "I rarely leave a response." And yet you know there are gajillions of these messages out there. Then, a gratuitous insult to the other commenters. Is this supposed to attract clicks? The emoticon - oh, hah, cute. Then commanding me, the blog-author, to make a list? Whoa! This spam robot is a real passive-aggressive jerk!!

 It's interesting that the creators of spam have populated the world with robots that are as varied in personality as we humans can be.

Cachet

That's what I calls it.

I made an acquaintance at an event over the weekend, and we talked of a program I am interested in participating in. We exchanged cards. I emailed a hello to this person's professional email address, and received a response back promising a later message from the personal account.

I've just received a new message with more info, and it looks quite promising. However, I noticed at the end of the message this legend:

"Envoyé de mon iPhone"

Sent from my iPhone. In French. Here's my question - how do you get your iPhone to send that default message in French? Does it come that way if you are sending from France? Or if you have a French carrier? Or do you just set it up that way, so that even if you are a burger-flipper working out of a Dairy Queen in Davenport, Iowa, your iPhone message can still be delivered in French?

Do you think my new acquaintance is sophisticated? Or just putting on airs?

What say you?

Streets paved with gold

The photo hardly does it justice. The pavement is thick with rich golden filaments - flocked almost, like the fringes of chenille.

My neighbor's acacia tree is in bloom and flowers fall on my driveway as they decay.

It's like a rich carpet.

The streets are paved with gold.

Everything old is new again

Vintage Vivienne Westwood blazer

 They say that popular culture is cyclical - things that are in fashion will soon go out, and become as stale as yesterday's toast. Then some discerning soul will discover, hidden in dusty archive, attic, or passed-on hoarder's estate sale, some forgotten object, garment or artifact that bursts anew onto the scene, fresh again!

Are you old enough to remember the Beatles' re-discovery of Edwardian style in the '60s? "Winchester Cathedral" bo-doh-dee-oh-ing? Remember when we all dressed like Bonnie and Clyde, maxiskirts and berets? The shoulder-padded suits of the '80s, "Blade Runner's" Rachael echoing the Andrews Sisters? How about neo-hippie chic?Neo Marilyn? Retro punk?

BoHo Beyonce

In this digital age, it's even easier to resurrect the ancient archives of lame past fashions. It's why high school kids still listen to music their parents got high to - as if it were still as new and subversive as in 1968, instead of inhabiting some corporate Classic Rock radio playlist. It's why vinyl is cool, why cats-eye eyeliner and beehive hairdos rocked Camden Market, and why TVland is so popular. Why "Mad Men" brought back chartreuse and portrait necklines. The rise of Steam Punk.

Sometimes the trendsetters elevate some past trend to new prominence out of pure unabashed admiration. The raw, proto-sound of Delta Blues or early rockabilly are art forms in their own rights. But sometimes I think today's hipsters elevate certain aged styles or trends with a sense of irony - these hoary artifacts were lame during their heyday, and isn't it all a joke that they've retained their lameness over time?

At least I hope that's the case with one such blast from the past I experienced yesterday evening.

I was at an event, a party celebrating the anniversary of a leading edge arts institute. Everyone was there - leaders, young artists, powerful money, and rebels. There were women in amazing shoes, young men with strange geometric hair. We sipped champagne and nibbled fashionable "comfort food" hors d'ouevres like wee grilled cheese sandwiches.

The place was hopping, lit up with LED blue lights, and in the back by the bar a DJ rocked the joint with smoking tunes that blared from speakers hung all around the event space.

And then I heard it. One of the lamest songs ever to come out of the early 70's. Yes, that entirely too-cute, droll Paul and Linda McCartney jingle "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" where Paul shows the world that without John Lennon, he's as hokey and inane as any teenybopper flash-in-the-pan. If this has been elevated to the newly-hip, I cringed, waiting for the next tune.  "Jeremiah was a bullfrog," maybe?

Everything old is new again. Even crappy music.

Presented without comment

Sarah Palin speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference - “Hey Mr. President, it's time to step away from the teleprompter and do your job.”

From Wonkette.

Spring sky

The sky is amazing tonight.

The other day, I was looking at the wisteria vine growing on our pergola, and thought, it will be blooming soon.

The very next day I came home from work and it had burst into bloom.

March 15 marks the beginning of the Persian New Year, Nowruz. People decorate their tables with symbolic objects, including hyacinths in bloom.

Welcome, spring!