Kudos, Philip Morris International. Your caring spirit—you know, the one in your PSAs—shines again.

I have a hard time expressing how angry/sad/hurt I get when I'm reminded of the purpose of tobacco companies, so I won't even try this time. But here's the culprit in my latest surge of anti-tobacco soapboxing. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120156034185223519.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone

Another reason KEXP is pretty great:

http://www.kexp.org/support/ownapiece07.asp

Ceremonies for the unceremonious

I want to start having ceremonies for normally uncelebrated, even unrecognized, happenings. This is perhaps too much information, but you know those Big Lots underwear I bought that got holes in them the first time i washed them? I'm sure you don't. I'd like to have a throwing-away ceremony for them. It would end with a pledge to never buy undergarments at Big Lots again, followed by snacks. Attendees will always be wecome at my ceremonies, if I happen to announce them. And I'll be open to suggestions for ceremony-deserving mundanities, should you have any.

kexp.org

Every once in a while a station out of Seattle that I listen to, www.kexp.org, enlists listener help to promote the member-supported, commercial-free (at least when streamed) station. So, here I am doing my part to thank them for providing a great mix of interesting music the likes of which I've not found anywhere else. I especially like listening to the 'variety mix' in the a.m. So far today, a sampling of what they've played: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Elliott Smith, The Narrator, Bright Eyes, Dead Can Dance, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, The National ... If you tune in, be sure to pull up the playlist page at the same time so you can find out what you're hearing; it's often new stuff/newer artists. I'd never heard of half of those I just listed, but they were great. KEXP has tons of other cool features too to help educate folks about music, not just play it for them. Check out the 'learn' section of the site for that. Plus, being out of Seattle, you can stir up all those warm (yet very cool) fuzzy feelings you have for '90s music. Has anyone seen my flannel shirt?

Will getting lost become a lost experience?

NPR aired a story this morning about how this holiday season has really ushered GPS technology into the mainstream. 'Millions of people will never get lost again ... ' was one of the first lines of the story. 'Horrible!' I thought. Getting lost can be aggravating, for sure, but think of all the great things it opens up to you. Running into unexpected places, interacting with strange, interesting people when you stop for directions, finding otherwise hidden treasures that necessitate a little non-sheduled recon. I want to continue getting lost once in a while, enjoying the pleasant bi-products of not knowing exactly where I am. And I want other people to too. 'A compass and a map should be plenty for the regular old Joe,' I said to myself.

However ... the reporter then started talking about how you can jog or hike or whatever with the little GPS do-dad and then go home, hook it up with google maps, and see where you ran, what landmarks you were close to that you’d like to venture to next time, etc. And about how there’s a company making tour-guide-like informational commentary for certain areas so that when you drive through these areas, it’ll automatically start up a little educational spiel about it. Drive on a stretch of highway near a civil war battleground, the device will come on and tell you that you're close to this site and describe the historical significance. I'm sure it gives directions on how to get off the highway and visit, too. Cool. Very cool.

Now, my cell phone may be from 2002 and I may watch fuzzy tv picked up by bunny ears, but I wasn't oblivious that GPS technologies go beyond spitting out directions to drivers. However ... it's always sounded annoyingly yuppy-ish to me till today. Like a really, really manicured lawn that kids aren't allowed to play on. Or store-bought, pre-rolled, pre-cut sugar cookies. Something cool, but that takes some of the fun out of life. I didn't really let myself see how it actually opens up opportunities for adventure and exploring. So, my apologies, GPS. You aren't so bad after all.

Donut drosophila

Today I brought in a box of donuts for my coworkers, and as I went to open them I saw a fruit fly trapped inside, flying around under the cellophane. I didn't tell them. It's just a fruit fly. The donuts were delicious.

I finally got my laptop today, to join the rest of the modern world. My nice neighbor Jonah accepted delivery of it today while I was at work. He's from Singapore, and they raise 'em right. After the surprise of such speedy shipment, my evening got even better when I discovered I have a wireless connection for now, something several attempts with university laptops failed to provide. Bad, bad university wireless cards. Shame on you. The only slight downer in this new chapter of Suzanne's personal computing is that in sitting here trying to figure out what I can do online instead of going to bed, I realized ... well ... that I was sitting here thinking really hard trying to come up with something I wanted to do online. Which means I'm probably not too hip when it comes to embracing technology. Oh well. Whatever. I'm sure my web surfer's block will have lifted by the time I get to work tomorrow.