There was apparently a bit of a kerfuffle last week when Kellita Smith, the actress who stars in SyFy’s Z Nation, told an interviewer that Spokane is “almost apocalyptic ready.”

You see, Z Nation—a zombie series so gloriously campy that it could only appear on the same network that gave us Sharknado, Sharknado 2: The Second One, and Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!—is filmed in Spokane. Smith was simply pointing out the benefits of working in an area in which you’re never lacking in post-apocalyptic settings.

That was how I took her comment, anyway. After all, I shot the above photo just a mile east of Gonzaga University—a 20-minute walk, fer cryin’ out loud. Others, however, took umbrage, predictably using social media to scold Smith for being, among other things, a “terrible person.” Yawn.

Here’s the thing, folks: Smith is not only babe-a-licious, she’s also right. And you know what? That’s not a bad thing.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

I recently found out that what I’ve been calling a “black” iPhone all these years has a much more absurd title: “Space Gray.” In an age where parents name their kids things like Sandman and Ruckus, it’s no surprise that Apple would reach into the great celestial beyond in order to secure their place in the history of technology and color naming. What really got to me, aside from the clear dilemma between “space” and “gray,” was the air of mystique about the name, inspiring me to get to the bottom of just what Space Gray is anyway. A quick google search made the answer pretty clear: no one really knows.

I was specifically looking for a hexcode, something concrete to which I could tie my understanding of “Space Gray,” but what I found was inconclusive. My initial search turned up #a5adb0, #858487, #b4b5b9, #666666, and #CCCCCC. Unsatisfied, I tried the pull-an-image-into-photoshop-and-use-the-eyedropper approach which was, of course, useless.

From the evidence, I can only conclude that “Space Gray,” like crop circles and the source of many of Ripley’s problems, is extraterrestrial in origin, most likely gifted to Steve Jobs during a secret diplomatic mission to the Andromeda Galaxy. Thanks, aliens. I guess…

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment

At this year’s Spokane County Interstate Fair, visitors can check out beef and dairy cattle (including a particularly impressive display of Texas Longhorns), goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits…the usual stuff. There are also some “exotic” animals, like a pair of Patagonian cavies and a newborn zebra. A number of Boer goats—first introduced to the U.S. in 1993—are on hand, as well as a handful of Dexter cattle, once considered a rarity but now, according to the Livestock Conservancy, a “recovering breed.”

But perhaps the most endangered species on display (one whose habitat is decreasing at an alarming rate) is the Great American Smoker, seen above. Unlike the other animals at the fair, no physical enclosure is necessary for a group of G.A.S.—the collective noun is “cloud”—since the individuals naturally congregate in those areas designated for them.

Biologists have observed that both the population and the demographics can shift at a moment’s notice, indicating that the cloud forms out of expediency rather than a shared familial bond. This effect has been likened to a snowflake or fingerprint: no two G.A.S. clouds are alike. Moreover, migratory patterns are impossible to predict, even with computer modeling.

Thankfully for attendees, though, fair officials have thoughtfully set aside several spaces to encourage nesting. Called “smoking areas,” they’re nearly invisible to the untrained eye—but their approximate locations have been marked on this map.

Happy hunting!

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

This may be the dumbest thing in the history of dumb things. It’s an app that promises to help you “find gender favouring, polarising, race related, religion inconsiderate, or other unequal phrasing” in your writing. No, seriously.

Just for fun, I plugged in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”—and guess what? Dr. King’s missive contains no fewer than 123 microaggressions. Number 81 is my favorite: “Lord may be insensitive, use Official, Owner, Expert, Superior, Chief, Ruler instead.” How in the world did the good reverend manage to pray without the benefit of this powerful tool?

I just hope to God (sorry!) Chief it’s a hoax.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the writing life  |  make a comment

From the diary of A. C. Benson, September 8, 1904:

“A verger took a party round [York Minster], and talked so pleasantly and gently; I did not listen to much he said, but just crept about in the holy gloom, and felt the awe of the huge solemn place, so filled with tradition and splendour, creep into my mind. That feeling is worth ten thousand cicerones telling you what everything is. I don’t want to know; indeed, I want not to know; it is enough that I am deeply moved. A foolish antiquarian was with the party, asking silly questions and contradicting everything. Such a goose, and so proud of being learned! The wealth and air of use pleased me. Yet the spirit which built it is all gone, I think. Religion—by which I mean services and dogmas—what is it? I sometimes think it is like tobacco, chewed by hungry men to stay the famished stomach. And perhaps the real food for which we starve is death.”

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

Jim Knipfel over at Den of Geek! takes a look at “The High Strangeness of the Original Walking Tall Trilogy”—and it’s every bit as bizarre as it sounds. Without giving anything away, here’s how he sums it all up:

“So in short the Walking Tall films become a franchise about not Buford Pusser so much, but the Walking Tall trilogy itself. I’m hard pressed to think of another film franchise quite this self-referential,  in which the creation and building of the franchise becomes part of the story. The closest I can think of is Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, but at least there it made perfect sense.”

Guess I know what I’m watching this weekend.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

Is this a thing? I mean, that’s cool and all—we certainly won’t judge. Back in the 70s and 80s, though, attracting men with scented hair was a whole lot easier:

Wait a sec. Maybe the sign originally read “Let us put some pizzazz into your hair.” That makes a little more sense, I suppose.

pizzazz n. Informal 1. Dazzling style; flamboyance; flair. 2. Vigorous spirit; energy or excitement. [Origin unkown.]

There was a windstorm on Saturday—the day I took the photo—which may have randomly blown a couple of Zs off the sign. Or perhaps some neighborhood miscreants are having a little fun at Georgie Girls’ expense.

On the other hand, Wikipedia tells us that Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo had a “strong floral scent,” which further raises the question as to what sort of 1970s man, raised on John Wayne movies and still stinging from his morning splash of Hai Karate, would find the fragrance of flowers “terrific.”

After all, given a choice between that and a woman whose untamed mane smelled of pepperoni and anchovies, well…I think the answer is pretty obvious.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment