Are they "lion"?

Fascinating news article about a young Ethiopian girl being rescued by lions.
Anyone bought the movie rights yet?

My tattoo

Or, "tat" if you're down with the jive. This is how it appears to other people.


And how it looks from my angle.

One interesting coincidence: My tattoo guy, "Nate" (a nice young guy who did an excellent job - no bruising and practically no redness), went skydiving the weekend before I did at the same place I went and had the same instructor I did. Small world.

Downloading

"Although you are still running ahead, new information now encourages you to change your mind -- and maybe even your direction. What you learn, however, may not arrive through normal communication channels. It's as if you are downloading the information directly from the cosmos, but it's really coming from your own subconscious mind. Pay attention to your dreams, for they carry an important message."
- My horoscope for the day

The wierd thing?

This morning I woke up not remembering my dreams, but with a wierd sense of a new understanding of something (I don't know what). A sort of settled feeling like a puzzle piece had shifted into place in the night and my future direction has been shifted a degree or two.

Odd.

Sad news, but not as sad as I thought...

I nearly swallowed my gum when I read the following headline:
"MacGyver Actor Dies at 77". Now logic would have told me that Richard Dean Anderson is not 77 yet, but by the time that thought occurred to me, I had already clicked the link and found out that it was Dana Elcar, the actor who played MacGyver's boss and friend Peter Thornton, who had passed away.
For those who know my love for MacGyver, you know how worried I was for that milisecond.
Dana, you enriched our lives. Thank you.

Another Quote

"Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!"
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Quote of the Day

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage." -Lao-Tzu

Camping in the clouds

We were rained on during last weekend's camping trip to Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It was really fun, though, since I camp with some resourceful people who put up a big canopy and tarps. 

An Eeeevil Architect?

Yesterday I went to a talk given by a well-known architect, Daniel Libeskind. I have some friends who don't really like his work, and one of them asked me beforehand to see if he was like Saruman (from Lord of the Rings), able to sway people's minds simply with the power of his voice.
I have to say, it was a pretty darn good analogy. I asked him about it later, and it turns out he's heard Libeskind speak before. "He could sell pants to a snake," is how he put it.
It's not only his compelling turns of phrase - light in the skies of Colorado and light in the eyes of its people was one example (he was at his best flattering the Coloradoans) - but also his manner of speaking. The tone of his voice and his facial expressions. Very personable and charming.
So when I was thinking of my friend's allusion to him being like Saruman, I started thinking "What if he were evil? We'd never know it. We'd be swayed by how natural it all sounded."
Presentation skills are often overlooked in architectural school, but I bet evil genius school has a minor in it.