Check this out: A Picture a Week, an amateur photographer's attempt to get one good picture a week in his role as "street photographer." While the pictures are good, what really captivated me was his analysis of what he learned in the 52 weeks he spent on the project. When I have time, I look forward to checking out the other Picture-a-Week sites. (link courtesy of Bifurcated Rivets)

Everyone is taking off for Further Confusion this week. Lucky sods. One of these days we'll will actually be able to attend. I'm curious from an anthropological standpoint whether there is actually a difference between "East Coast" and "West Coast" furry conventions. I suspect not. By the way, I see from a recent announcement that Aetobatus and Loran are moving up in the world. Way to go, guys!

A few days after September 11, Doc Searles posted a remarkable commentary that has really stuck with me ever since: What tale are we spinnning? which describes The Fairy Tale of the Just War. Good thinking fodder, and something which only reaffirms my pacificist tendencies and deep and abiding suspicion of the "official story."

More in a bit...

(Re: the music - What can I say? All the radio stations in the labs are tuned to the local 80's station)

So we've begun preparations for our (suddenly) annual Memorial Day party. Last year we had four or five folks over and had a wonderful time just hanging out, grilling, and enjoying the company. takaza and I have toyed with the idea of trying to make it into something bigger - maybe find a hotel, reserve some meeting rooms, something like that, a la the first year of Mephit Furmeet. It's not beyond the realm of possibility, but certainly not for this year. First off, we'd need to get more in touch with the local furry community, but given the difficulty they have even organizing an occasional dinner out (and the fact that the average age of the group is most likely below 20), I'm not sure how well that would work out.

Naturally, not long after we sent the invitations, Mom called to remind me that we might want to come down for the hot-air balloon festival held in their town every Memorial Day weekend. We'll have to pass, though I think it would be fun. Eek - they're expecting 175,000 - 200,000 people? Might be a good reason to avoid it. Last time I attended (when it was in Greenville), it was more like 50,000.