kevin barnett

Some people in college used to give me a hard time and call me “The Count” on the account of my power-brows and pointy nose. Now they’re my best friends. Figures. And so when I read this emotional Cookie Monster editorial on McSweeny’s, I couldn’t stop laughing:

How can they be so callous? Me know there something wrong with me, but who in Sesame Street doesn’t suffer from mental disease or psychological disorder? They don’t call the vampire with math fetish monster, and me pretty sure he undead and drinks blood.

I was just listening to Happy Mondays - W.F.L.

Fig 1. My Valentine of choice by someecards.com which has been unresponsive all day due to high traffic volume

This morning, I read about two guys who wheeled their dead roommate into a check cashing business to cash a $355 social security check in the roommate’s name.

This afternoon, I walked past Andrew McCarthy on the street.

I was just listening to The Rolling Stones - Gimmie Shelter

Kottke has already mentioned this list of extraordinary audio recordings, most notably the only known and authentic recording of a Castrati - a man castrated at an early age to ensure a singing voice unchanged by puberty.

What hit me from this list was #7, a recording of Florence Nightingale from 1890. While listening to the recording, I remembered that a wrote a research paper on Ms. Nightingale in elementary school. How times have changed when I can dial up an almost 120-year-old recording of a notable, historic figure.

Also exceptional was #6, the recording of a ‘Number Station’. The mystery surrounding Number Stations is strange, not to mention it’s obvious influence on Lost.

It’s not me in Scott Meyer’s How To Fake A Smile, although it does look like me, especially in this frame. Also, I’d never use someone’s skin for a poncho, unless of course it rubs the lotion on its skin….it does this whenever it is told.

I was just listening to Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses

City-data.com has compiled a wide bearth of mostly interesting, some random and a few useless statistics on American cities. I can’t get enough. For these examples, I selected lists for cities with populations over 50,000. Yes, it gets that detailed:

Top 101 cities with the largest percentage population decrease from 2000 to 2006:
#1 - New Orleans, LA: -53.9%

Top 101 cities with the most people born in the same U.S. state as the city:
#1 - Cheektowaga, NY: 88.4%

Top 101 cities with the highest average humidity:
#1 - Bellingham, WA: 79.4%

I thought I should include my hometown, seeing that it made the top 20:
#14 - Brazosport, TX: 77.4%

Top 101 cities with the highest average snowfall in a year:
#1 - Syracuse, NY: 115.6 in

Top 101 cities with the highest number of arson incidents in 2006 per 10,000 residents:
#1 - Youngstown, OH: 38.70

Top 101 cities with the highest number of rapes in 2006 per 10,000 residents:
#1 - Galveston, TX: 20.31

Top 101 zip codes with the most alcohol drinking places in 2005:
#1 - 78701 (Austin, TX): 80

My neighborhood makes the top 10:
#7 - 10009 (New York, NY): 53

Top 101 cities with the most people taking a bicycle to work:
#1 - Stanford, CA: 41.7%

Top 101 cities with the most cars per house:
#1 - Milpitas, CA: 16.9% 4 or more vehicles

Top 101 cities with the most people having Doctorate degrees:
#1 - Palo Alto, CA: 8.3%

Top 101 counties with highest percentage of residents voting for Bush (Republican) in the 2004 Presidential Election:
#1 - Cass County, ND (Fargo, West Fargo, Casselton), pop. 123,138: 91.5%

Top 101 counties with highest percentage of residents voting for Kerry (Democrat) in the 2004 Presidential Election:
#1 - Wayne County, MI (Detroit, Livonia, Dearborn), pop. 2,061,162: 94.8%

I could keep going…

I was just listening to Justice - New Jack