Yep, she’s a Jailbird. And proud of it. She’s taking part in the 2012 Spokane Lock-Up benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She might not be able to rely on good behavior to get out so that’s why she needs your help…http://www2.mda.org/goto/srobertsdowney
It would have been Jerry Garcia’s 70th birthday today. And even though we listened to some Grateful Dead just the other day, we certainly can’t let the day pass without a nod to Captain Trips.
Here’s the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, live, playing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Seems fitting somehow.
[audio:https://helveticka.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/01-Swing-Low-Sweet-Chariot.mp3|titles=01 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot]No doubt using a series of insanely complicated algorithms engineered by the finest minds of our generation, this meticulously calibrated diagnostic tool has pronounced my writing “fit & trim.” Unlike the rest of me.
Through diligence, grit, and sheer obduracy, I managed to turn a three-hour client presentation into a five-day road trip last week. Ever wanted to know what’s between Spokane and Greeley, Colorado?
The Absarokas.
Sacajawea’s grave (top center).
Arches National Park.
Admittedly, that last one’s a bit of a stretch. But heck—if you’re in the neighborhood, why not stop in for a visit, right?
Both CK and I were out of town much of this past week, presenting to a potential client in Colorado. He flew; I drove. And a road trip—more on this particular one next week—means it’s Grateful Dead time.
Since the missus and I put more than 2,500 miles on the Subaru over the past five days, it seems appropriate that we listen to “Ship of Fools.” Originally appearing on the 1974 album From the Mars Hotel, this version comes to us courtesy of The Persuasions, featuring Jimmy “The Human Subwoofer” Hayes.
[audio:https://helveticka.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/09-Ship-of-Fools.mp3|titles=09 Ship of Fools]And it’s in section A-1 of today’s Los Angeles Times.
Earlier in my career, the sight of something like this would elicit waves of sweet, sweet schadenfreude. Now I’m just thankful. I mean, if a professional newspaper staff can mess up this badly, it ought to be okay for me to slip from time to time. Right, CK?
CK?
Um…guys? Hello?
Clever mnemonics to help you remember the difference between pore and pour.
A brief history of the failed attempts to create a gender-neutral pronoun.
Bill and Ted’s excellent grammar.
“The innate ability to make poor writing sing can’t be taught. But facts about prepositions and infinitives can be easily looked up.” More here.
In an effort to escape the heat last weekend, my son Jake and I headed for North Idaho’s Harrison Lake via the Myrtle Creek-Pack River Divide. The route was treacherous, the rain steady, and the snow deep. And it was awesome.
The headwaters of the Pack River. Photo by Jake Bragg.
Harrison Lake, looking northwest. Photo by Jake Bragg.
Jake surveys the Pack River drainage and the Selkirk Crest as he ponders the descent.
Since the huckleberries aren’t yet ripe, now’s a good time to go if you like to avoid bears. But the black flies are positively relentless. And don’t forget a map: the trail—boggy in some places, completely underwater in others due to the high runoff—disappears into a boulder field about a quarter of a mile from the lake.
Lying eyes? Bunk, it turns out.
Dirty, dirty cabbage.
Need to “take a break from the hustle and bustle of life and focus on the simple restorative pleasure of touch”? Private snuggling sessions, just $60 an hour.
And finally, the answer to a question no one’s asking.
I’ve been spending so much time remodeling my home and rebuilding my yard that I neglected a much-needed home improvement project: iNid’s iMac was in desperate need of repairs and expansion. She spent the last week at home hanging out with the dogs and Charlotte (our Cobalt Blue Tarantula) while we removed unnecessary electronics to add square inches, installed a new floor-to-ceiling window, and designed a new hardscape environment for her to crawl around on. She seems to like it so far.
While it should be obvious to any sentient being that all things were more awesome in the 1980s (on this there can be no debate), Buzzfeed has chosen to focus on the awesomeness of ’80s design.
What with it being hotter than a festered toenail lately, it seems good and proper to listen to some Beach Boys. But let’s not do the obvious. I mean, that’s not why you visit the last word, is it?
Here’s “Our Prayer” from the Smile sessions:
[audio:https://helveticka.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/1-01-Our-Prayer.mp3|titles=1-01 Our Prayer]It’s been a while since we here at the last word recommended a book. We’ll make up for it by giving you a glimpse into what we’re reading these days…
Despite the distraction of the Tour de France, CK Anderson is managing to wrap up Just My Type: A Book about Fonts by Simon Garfield, after which he’ll tackle Ingrid Betancourt’s Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle.
Shirlee Roberts-Downey left early today and wasn’t able to participate in our survey. We’re fairly confident, however, that’s she’s reading Guns & Ammo. Probably even right now.
Newbie Lorri Johnston recently read One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp, is currently re-reading Marty Neumeier’s Zag, and heartily recommends that you pick up a copy of C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters.
The Intern, who was initially reluctant to admit using such outdated technology as a printed and bound book, finally confessed to flipping through Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. She’s also a fan of Psychology Today and the blog typeverything.com.
As for me, I just finished The Swerve, Stephen Greenblatt’s recounting of a 15th-century book hunter who stumbles on a manuscript of Lucretius’s On the Nature of Things. And I’ve finally gotten around to cracking open Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom—a nearly 600-page doorstop of a novel that, so far anyway, is quite promising.
My significant other recently demolished this Barnyard Burger from Waddell’s on Spokane’s South Hill. You’re looking at chipotle mayo, BBQ sauce, chef sauce, and tasty bits on a lamb patty smothered in American cheese, a rancher patty (6 oz. of Angus beef) with cheddar cheese and ham, a chicken strip with bacon and pepper jack cheese, and a split jumbo hotdog. Plus BBQ pork, smoked brisket, and smoked gouda. And a fried egg.
Yum.
Great post by Ben Dolnick. “To use a semicolon properly can be an act of faith,” he writes. “It’s a way of saying to the reader, who is already holding one bag of groceries, here, I know it’s a lot, but can you take another?” Best of all, Dolnick’s epiphany came not from a grammar text or style guide, but from reading.