On February 15, I sent you an email regarding your sponsorship of SB 123. My email was sent in good faith. While I am aware that your stance on the issue at hand is in opposition to my own, I felt it was my civic duty to share my concerns with you and others in elected office.
Almost immediately, I received a response. This reply was automatic and instructed me to send an email to a secondary address, one that was less prone to spam and more likely to be read. And so, I sent the same email to this secondary address.
A few days later, I received a response from one of your fellow senators. While he and I did not and still do not agree on the matter at hand, I appreciated sincerely the time he took to write a reply.
This evening, February 26, I received finally an email from your office. But instead of a reply to my own email, what I received was a newsletter telling me all about a new bill you are sponsoring. Evidentally, this newsletter is subscription-based. And though I didn’t request such a subscription, it would appear that I am subscribed.
I believe it will be a simple enough matter for me to remove my email address from this subscription service, but I have to express how incredibly disappointed I am with the way my original email has been misused. Instead of reading my letter, you (or perhaps just a member of your staff) chose to strip out my email address for promotional use and cast aside the actual meat of the letter, presumably unread.
I am still very interested in discussing my concerns about SB 123 with you and your fellow senators, so I hope this misuse of my information was just an oversight.
(North Point Mall. Around noon. A beauty pageant for children aged 1 to I’m just not sure. The kid on stage, he’s a one-year old winner. After I took the photo, I heard the cheery announcer-lady sing-songing in his general direction. “Great job! We look forward to seeing you again at state!” Not sure if little Mr Big Winner share that sentiment, ma’am, as I think I just saw him celebrating his win by bawling plaintively into his mother’s kneecap.)
I saw that other people had made anagram’d versions of their own hometown transit maps and I figured it wouldn’t be long before someone right here in The City Too Busy To Hate picked up on the idea. I thought about this possibility for a couple of days until, finally, I just couldn’t resist the temptation. So here it is.
For the most part, all of the station names are straight-up anagrams. In some cases, however, I had to cheat. Lenox, for instance. There is nothing to be made from just those five letters. Try it. Lenox Mall, however … now that’s something. Also, the station names they keep tacking on the end and beginning of CNN Center aren’t fooling anyone.
So check it out. Maybe with these odd little names, you’ll actually be inspired to use our transit system for more than just the Rap Trio.
Update:I’m not alone. An Athenian named Cody took up the challenge as well. As one might expect and knowing the Boggle-esque limitations of the project, we both picked the same names for several stations: Two Mind, Centric Vice, Rag Tent, Steak Ale, Tiny Vice, Piano Test, Antacid Yolk and Naval Ode.
Jeph Loeb is one of the best writers in comic’s today. Some days, he’s the best, period. No working comic writer does a better job of finding the human element of a superhuman situation than Loeb. And he does it with such class. I’ve mentioned him before, though just in passing. Nikki loved the scripting he did for Catwoman: When In Rome and said so.
Even if you don’t recognize his name, you’ve seen the result of his influence. Did you like Batman Begins? Me too. Most of the plot and almost all of the dialogue bear the distinctive marks of creators steeped in Loeb’s tales of the Caped Crusader. With artist Tim Sale, Loeb pulled Batman into a darkly brilliant setting that combined superheroic determination with film noir realism. Pick up The Long Halloween. See for yourself.
Jeph Loeb had a son. His name was Sam. He wrote comic books, too. Before you seek out more his father’s wonderful work or even before you click away to another website, take a moment and read Sam’s story.
These days, Paul (of IPORI)hangs his hat in Shibuya, Japan. Looks like the set of Blade Runner, only without the replicants. Not entirely sure what he’s doing over there, but the photos are very cool.
Like I said before, what I found on YouTube was incredibly good, but lacked closure. So let’s fix that, shall we?
Overwrought? Maybe. But still so awesome.
For those not nearly so geeky as I, the other heroes are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (the goatee’d version, named John Stewart), Martian Manhunter (red eyes, green skin, telepath) and Hawkgirl (she has wings, you see). Woman at the end? Amanda Waller, bureaucrat from Hell.
(And hey, what better opportunity than this to play with the movie editing software that came with my new DVD-writer?)
They say if you die in your dreams you really die in your bed,
But honey last night I dreamed my eyes rolled straight back in my head.
And God’s light came shinin’ on through,
I woke up in the darkness scared and breathin’ and born anew.
It wasn’t the cold river bottom I felt rushing over me.
It wasn’t the bitterness of a dream that didn’t come true.
It wasn’t the wind in the grey fields I felt rushing through my arms.
No no baby it was you,
So hold me close honey, say you’re forever mine.
And tell me you’ll be my lonely valentine.
“Valentine’s Day” was originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1987 for Tunnel Of Love. Today, you can download it for free from Amazon.com, though not by New Jersey’s Favorite Son. Instead, you get an entirely new version — well, it was new in 2002 — by Hem. And once again, the unspoken rule holds true. If a Springsteen song was already really good, it can be made heartbreakingly great when covered by a talented woman. Need proof? Find Tori Amos’s rendition of “I’m On Fire” … or just download this song.
Jeph Loeb is one of the best writers in comic’s today. Some days, he’s the best, period. No working comic writer does a better job of finding the human element of a superhuman situation than Loeb. And he does it with such class. I’ve mentioned him before, though 
