Strange?

This is the strangest video I've seen in some time. Poodles know best?

Best weekend ever! My climate change paper is being published!

I just got an e-mail letting me know that my paper is going to be published in The Independent Review (a peer reviewed journal)! One of my philosophy professors told me that he's never worked with an undergraduate who "has managed such a publication." So...YES!

And this, by the way, is on top of getting into pretty much the ideal grad school on Friday. Life is pretty good right now.

I am a fountain of manliness

Arizona. Done.

Of present things and future plans

It's been a while, so I thought I'd give you all a bit of an update on my doings.

I'm working a lot more than I ever have before. One of my bosses is leaving, and so, I'm taking over a lot her responsibilities. Something about actually being busy makes this feel all too permanent, and it has spurred me to think about what to do next.

So, I've decided that I'm going to take the GRE this summer/fall in preparation for applying to grad schools to study History. After forever of not knowing exactly what to do, I've decided simply to follow the path that is most interesting to me. I have no idea what I'll do with a Masters or Ph.D. in History, but that didn't stop me from jumping into a History major as an undergrad. Why should that stop me now? Madison is the #11 school for History graduate study in the country, but I don't want to go here. The weather here drains my soul. Southward I will go.

Until then, I am biding my time in Madison. I will be here for one more year, and I signed a lease on Monday to live with my friend Alex. I'm really excited for the place, location, and opportunity to have a roommate again.

I have found, in the past few months, that one of the very best things I have ever done with my time is volunteer. I spend time at the Dane County Humane Society as an adoption counselor. I help people find a pet that suits their family, and when it's not busy I get to play with animals. Not many other things could make me as happy as that.

I've also started playing the guitar, and I've surprised myself as to how well I can play sometimes. I'm definitely no phenom, and maybe some day I won't have to play softly so the neighbors can't hear me.

Other than that, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym, playing with my super-awesome kitty Steve, and watching as much Law & Order as I can handle. There's something about getting so much drama and resolution in only one hour that is completely satisfying.

I miss you all a ton, and I look forward to the next time we can all chill (in the desert?).

Top 5 Rolling Stones songs that people don't listen to enough

Consider this a public service announcement.

1) Salt of the Earth - Beggars Banquet (1968)

An anthem much in the style of The Band, basically making fun of working class people for being utterly powerless to change anything, and for being completely incomprehensible to the Stones.

2) Monkey Man - Let It Bleed (1969)

If the Red Hot Chili Peppers didn't listen to this song, it seems like they might have been able to avoid making everyone listen to Freaky Styley altogether. If they did, we can only be grateful that they took it to heart in the end. The slide guitar about 2/3 of the way through is super tight.

3) Street Fighting Man - Beggars Banquet (1968)

This song is not only amazing, but it was on their greatest hits CD, Hot Rocks. For some reason, though, I never hear anyone listening to it. Does everyone know this song? If not, then I just don't get it.

4) Sway - Sticky Fingers (1971)

This song is good for all the reasons that the Stones are good. I have no idea how this song is not popular, and Wild Horses is. The world is sometimes a cruel and arbitrary place.

5) Sing This All Together - Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)

For some reason, I get the impression that indie hipsters haven't heard of this song. This is surprising, as it is not only right in the vein of some of the most paradigmatic indie music ever (i.e., Danielson), but also came way before a lot of the early heroes of the genre. This would suggest to me that they would be all over this shit. Go figure.

Also Ran:

Out Of Control - Bridges to Babylon (1997)

I can accept that people don't listen to this, since really, who listens to stuff that the Rolling Stones made after Tattoo You? That being said, this song is really good, somehow reminding me of Black Magic Woman while still being clearly a Stones song.

Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) - Goats Head Soup (1973)

This song combines Rolling Stones with an absurd disco horn line and somehow emerges sounding good. For that alone it deserves mention.

Polar bears are prey

Ah, yes, another polar bear falls into a clever Korean-generated trap. Notice the furs, undoubtedly collected from some ancestor of this godforsaken soul, next to the Korean's leg.

This bear has a snowball's chance in hell of escaping this death bus with his life.

You're just mad cuz they're losing all their ice and stuff

The polar bear is obviously inferior to the Grizzly. No bear that can't hunt in globally warmed conditions deserves a vote in such a monumentally important poll.

Alas, the Grizzly will simply have to leave, grow a beard, gain some weight, and win an Oscar, Emmy, and Nobel.

"Peace, salmonheads" - Grizz

...in which things are animated.

That is quite amazing. I have watched it twice already...

It reminds me vaguely of this, I think only because they're both animated. But I find this amazing as well:

Muto

Yo check out what John found.

If you succeed in watching this video only once, I'll be amazed.

How can I make this case more convincingly?

Listen. Apparently you God damned people don't understand. So here we go again.

1) Kodiak bears are triumphant.



2) Panda bears are awesome.



3) Spectacled bears are a powerful contender.



4) Even polar bears are tight.



5) Grizzly bears, however, are soft. They are clearly inferior in every way.



That grizzlies are tied for the lead in this poll is an atrocity. You people are a shame.

The Vanishing Monks

I took this picture of abandoned novice's habits outside a temple in Chiang Mai, which is in the north-west of Thailand. Take a look at a draft post I've written (entitled "Make Life Art") about my time in the south of Thailand and let me know what you think. I would click on "preview" for optimal viewing pleasure.

Kodiak bears are clearly the best kind of bear

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "But Danny, you're being unreasonable. Clearly Kodiak bears are a subspecies of Brown Bear, which is listed as an option on the poll. Stop nitpicking." But nitpick I must! Grizzly bears are also brown bears, and they get their own category. If that's true, then why not their larger and obviously more baddass cousins, the Kodiaks? THERE IS NO REASON.

Further, nearly all of the coherent alternatives to voting for the Kodiak bear as the best bear are not available as options (though clearly they are all incorrect choices in light of the obvious superiority of the mighty Kodiak). The first contender is the venerable Spectacled Bear:



The exclusion of this South American rock star from the poll is a blatant travesty. But where at least one might claim ignorance of the Spectacled Bear's existence, the same cannot be maintained with regards to the beloved Panda:



In light of these egregious omissions, and in light of the inclusion of the obviously inferior Black Bear (as well as the wholly unnecessary inclusion of the Brown Bear, whose best subspecies are undoubtedly the Grizzly and Kodiak), I am forced to declare this latest poll a sham. I can only conclude that it was designed to promote the Polar and Grizzly bears, which are the only legitimate contenders on that list, as they would likely fail to garner top votes in a fair poll:

A) Kodiak Bear
B) Spectacled Bear
C) Panda Bear
D) Polar Bear
E) Grizzly Bear

BATS AREN'T BUGS!!!

Know what I hate? When you try to search for a genius Calvin and Hobbes cartoon and it's not immediately available in one place. Remedied:

Cisco apparently does not understand how gears work

I hate this more than anything

This has gone on long enough, and I require an outlet for my rage. There is this rather out of shape person (to put it mildly) in my office, and every so often, she decides to criticize what I'm eating for it's nutritional content (or lack thereof).

This just seems to be one of the most obvious of modern day cultural rules to me. If you are fatter than somebody, you cannot criticize them for eating unhealthy food. You are especially not allowed to criticize the reason for being able to eat an unhealthy meal occasionally (namely, that I run at least 5 miles per day). If you care that much about nutrition and health, learn to apply it to yourself.

Get yo shit out my business!