Year: 2004

Someone mapped out the Cold K mutations on this sticker on Broadway. The word on the sticker is fluxus, an art movement that seems to be defined by its obscure boundaries.

“Fluxus” is followed by a colon and – on the next line – a progression of different Cold K ghosts. The last of the Cold Ks is a question mark. One (overly-?)close reading of the sticker might be that it’s saying that the progress of Cold K is fluxus.

There’s a cartoon character standing on the first Cold K. He might be part of the flow of ghosts. Or he may be the sticker artist standing on a Cold K soapbox and saying, “This is fluxus.” If he represents the latter, is he in on BOTW, or is he an outside observer and commentator?

Cold K is evolving, or devolving…

“May it [The Declaration of Independence] be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.”
-Thomas Jefferson, June 24, 1826

Among the grievances against the King of Great Britain listed in The Declaration of Independence, there are a small number that could be levied against a modern administration:
“For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury”
“For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments.”

It has as many reference to the rights of men as to the rights of people, and there’s at least one passage where one fundamental point is ignored entirely:
“He has . . . endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction, of all ages, sexes and conditions.”

But it’s interesting and relevent, and is entirely readable:

Did I ever tell you about the time I stood outside a friend’s apartment in Paris after a day-long train ride and shouted his name, hoping he’d hear me and let me inside?

I did? Really? But that one was sort of funny. I wanted to make it sad this time.

A sheet of ISO A4 paper, cut in half, forms two sheets of paper that retain the width/length ratio of the original page – two sheets of ISO A5 paper. Quartered, the sheet of A4 becomes four sheets of A6, and those four sheets will also hold the shape of the original. If a sheet of letter size paper is divided into two, you’re left with two sheets of paper whose width/length ratio doesn’t resemble the original, in a size that has no official name. Two undefined scraps of paper… There’s a certain freedom in that; which is why, while others are celebrating their national holidays next month, I’ll be celebrating letter size paper.

There’s a special focus on the national holiday in the July 2004 Beans for Breakfast print calendar. Also, due to popular demand, the small calendars for the next and previous months have returned. Celebrate July and your favorite paper format by printing out the Beans for Breakfast monthly print calendar. It’s available in letter size and A4 format, both files are 135 kb PDFs.

Letter size (Canada and USA)
A4 format (200 other countries)

Early in the spread of the Gmail invitation meme, beta testers were asking people to perform in exchange for a Gmail invitation. Things have changed in the last couple of weeks. Invitations have been spread widely enough that the Ebay value of a Gmail account has dropped to four for a dollar and some bloggers are simply posting the number of invitations they have and handing them out on a first-come first-served basis. I wanted to test whether the proliferation of invitations has grown enough that those who are without Gmail could now demand something from Gmail users who are bogged down with too many invitations. So I created the contest. Readers were asked to submit a limerick and I promised to accept a Gmail invitation from one of the entrants.

The contest received three entries. My absurdist hypothesis was proven correct, at least among webloggers whose names start with “J”. The poets were John Poetzel, Jerry Halsted, and Jeff Schuler. Each of the entries was a tortured rhyme about me, and only one of them was dirty.

On to the winners: First prize goes to Jeff Schuler — mostly because I’ve already accepted a Gmail invitation from him, but also because his name is similar to mine. John and Jerry, the runners-up, won’t be walking away empty-handed yet. They’ll both be receiving copies of Who’s Who in Beans for Breakfast Limerick Challenge Entrants for only $29.95. Of course it costs nothing to have your name listed in this prestigious directory, but to place a picture of you or a pet alongside your listing, I’ll have to charge an additional printing fee of $9.95. (And if John or Jerry risked entering without a Gmail account or a supply of invitations, I can probably arrange an invitation.)

If anyone wants to relieve me of the burden of having to hand out Gmail invitations, let me know. All unreasonable demands will be considered (once I have invitations to give away).

Thank you for playing the Beans for Breakfast Limerick Challenge.

He gets the engine of his pressure washer going with a short tug on the starter chord and unfolds out of his crouch. A yellow butterfly flaps and twists, rising up and away from the puttering engine. Now he tucks himself into the side of the building clutching the trigger on a tensed length of hose and waiting for the passing foot traffic to open up.

Baptist Booth, Fremont Solstice Parade, 6/19

Scientology Tent, Pier 57, 6/21

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I will accept a Gmail invitation from the person who writes the best limerick in this entry’s comments.

Have a good weekend.

“There were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.”
Saddam Hussein was interviewed by Dan Rather for 60 Minutes II.
Dan Rather was on 60 Minutes II with Charles Grodin.
Charles Grodin was in Beethoven with Bonnie Hunt.
Bonnie Hunt was in Jerry Maguire with Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.

Kevin Bacon has close ties to Al Qaeda.