Hmmm,These Magnets are Strangely Attractive

Calavera Christmas Magnet
Originally uploaded by 7-how-7

A quick announcement !

I've opened a little shop, The House of Sevens, on Etsy, that online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.

Most of what I'm making and selling are cool, unique magnets that you won't find anywhere else: magnets like the bottlecap magnet in the photo, a sort of Day of the Dead / Christmas mash-up magnet: magnets made from old wooden Scrabble pieces: magnets made from old Japanese kanji game pieces: magnets made from vintage Shiner Bock beer bottlecaps: An Asian Map magnet set: Magnets made from old money, like the Greek Drachma magnet: Mexican comics magnets, Chinese Joss Paper magnets, Christmas magnets, and more. I add something new every few days.

I sell some individual magnets, but most of what I sell are magnet sets. My magnets sets make great gifts and stocking stuffers. I also do custom orders, so if you look at my stuff and see something you want, but maybe a little different, let me know and I see what I can do.


So when you're looking for the perfect, unique gift for the person who has it all, or for you, come check out my magnets in The House of Sevens.

Best. Movie. Advisory. Ever.

Corn Palace Motel
Originally uploaded by agilitynut

Some years ago I worked on a film called "Mr. Woodcock" starring Billy Bob Thornton and Susan Sarandon. It never saw the light of day. I had heard that they had to re-shoot lots of the film (like the parts that were supposed to be funny) but it was finally released this week to mediocre reviews.

I laughed pretty hard after seeing in the September 14th, 2007 online edition of the San Francisco Chronicle that Chronicle Arts and Culture Critic Steven Winn had concluded his review of the film "Mr. Woodcock" with the following:

Advisory: This film contains coarse language, a corn-eating contest and footage of Susan Sarandon as a small-town Nebraska beauty queen.

I wish Dennis Kucinich was a cartoon

Dennis Kucinich
Originally uploaded by Jeff Coleman

I was over on Boing Boing this afternoon and followed this link to a page called "Pick Your Candidate".

They have a list of issues (Iraq War, Stem-Cell Research, Guantanamo, Torture, Immigration, Education etc...) you fill in the questions with your opinion - the page does the math and figures out which candidates take positions most similar to yours, as well as most opposite to yours. It's a great way to find out about candidates who may or may not deserve your vote in the upcoming presidential election.

In my case, Dennis "Long Shot" Kucinich was my best match. My second best was Mike "who?" Gravel, followed not-too-closely in third place by Barack Obama.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the candidate with positions the furthest away from mine was Duncan Hunter (He's anti-abortion / pro-death penalty / anti-stem cell research / pro-torture / pro-bomb Iran / anti-Universal Health Care / anti-minimum wage increase etc etc etc...) He scares me, but I'm not too worried about him actually getting anywhere near the nomination, much less the election.

On the other hand, Kucinich thrills me and I'm worried that he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. In what's the Kucinich campaign is calling a "blind taste test" of the American public - Kucinich is the first choice of 53% of the people who fill out the questionnaire at "Pick your Candidate". But according to a recent Newseek poll, Kucinich has the support of about 2% of the electorate.

Given the difference between these two sets of numbers, I can't help but feel that if Kucinich was an actor - or a cartoon character - more people would feel comfortable voting for him.

Pardon me...or, The Case of The Texas Weiners

libby's
Originally uploaded by spychic

Okay - it's late - and I don't know the full story.

But I do know that Bush pardoned Scooter Libby tonight.

Yeah - i know - Bush said that it wasn't actually a full fledged pardon - just that Libby gets to skip the jail time that a jury of United States citizens and a judge had sentenced him to.

Is it genetic?

George Senior, George H.W. Bush, pardoned many of the Iran Contra crooks previously in his employ, including Caspar Weinberger for perjury, and Robert McFarlane for unlawfully withholding information.

I guess that's what we should expect when we continue to elect a bunch of Texas Weiners...

May Is Bike Month

May Is Bike Month
Originally uploaded by 7-how-7.

San Luis Obispo's Tall Bike Posse is having BikeSHIFT - a bike-themed art show. Went down and saw some of the work that is already there tonight and there is some really great stuff.

The opening is Friday May 4th - 6-9 p.m.

848 Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

More info at: www.tallbikeposse.com

Here is a little video of the exhibit being installed:

I am Stanislav Lem

I am: Stanislav Lem This pessimistic Pole has spent a whole career telling ironic stories of futility and frustration. Yet he is also a master of wordplay so witty that it sparkles even when translated into English.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Or at least today...