No posts for a while, I expect. I am Burning Man bound.

U.C. Berkeley Linguistics Professor George Lakoff has been arguing for years that conservatives are better at using language to frame debates in such a way as to give them a distinct advantage. He's got a new book coming out on the subject, and this interview is fascinating.

Why do conservatives like to use the phrase "liberal elite" as an epithet?

Conservatives have branded liberals, and the liberals let them get away with it: the "liberal elite," the "latte liberals," the "limousine liberals." The funny thing is that conservatives are the elite. The whole idea of conservative doctrine is that some people are better than others, that some people deserve more. To conservatives, if you're poor it's because you deserve it, you're not disciplined enough to get ahead. Conservative doctrine requires that there be an elite: the people who thrive in the free market have more money, and they should. Progressives say, "No, that's not fair. Maybe some should have more money, but no one should live in poverty. Everybody who works deserves to have a reasonable standard of living for their work." These are ideas that are progressive or liberal ideas, and progressives aren't getting them out there enough.

[spotted on Boing Boing]

E! Online reports:

The state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the Dave Matthews Band for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of liquid human waste from its tour bus into the Chicago River earlier this month. . . . Chicago's First Lady, a passing tour boat filled with 100 people on an architecture sightseeing cruise . . . was doused by the falling excrement.

[spotted at The Morning News]

It has taken me a few days to decide exactly what it is I have to say about Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, a pair of films by Richard Linklater that absolutely blew my mind this past weekend and immediately landed on my "all-time favorites" list.

Before Sunrise was made in 1995, and may be the best date movie of all time. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy star as Jesse and Celine, two beautiful early-twentysomethings who meet on a European train. Jesse is headed to Vienna; Celine is traveling onward to Paris, where she is a student. But Jesse persuades Celine to disembark in Vienna and while the night away with him before he catches a morning flight home to the States. They kill time mostly by wandering around the city, talking. And falling in love. more...

There is an abandoned train station in Oakland, near the 980, that I have been meaning to surreptitiously enter and photograph for more than a year now. But I haven't, because I don't have any experience with trespassing, and a few drive-bys seemed to show that getting into the place would be a colossal pain. Perhaps it is, but apparently it's doable, because pics of the place showed up at Satan's Laundromat this morning. Color me terribly jealous.

From News.com:

A Spanish-language version of Windows XP, destined for Latin American markets, asked users to select their gender between "not specified," "male," or "bitch," because of an unfortunate error in translation.

It was overcast and windy and gloomy and grey today at Ocean Beach. But there was ocean and sand and much to see. And a lovely beachwalk to be had.


more...

"When state wildlife agents recently found a black bear passed out on the lawn of Baker Lake Resort, there were some clues scattered nearby — dozens of empty beer cans." The full details reveal that this bear has some taste: "Fish and Wildlife enforcement Sgt. Bill Heinck said the bear did try one can of Busch, but ignored the rest. The beast then consumed about 36 cans of Rainier."

[previous Bears in the News is here; thanks to Spike for the scoop]

There has been a lot of online coverage about eBay now owning 25% of Craigslist, the Web site and indispensable tool (for Bayareans, anyway) where I found my current job, my current apartment, and even a couple of dates. But in this piece in the Chron, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark says something that makes my Pine-lovin' heart sing:

I sometimes use an Apple PowerBook, but for my purposes the Linux systems are snappier. Frankly, I do most of my work in e-mail, and I use a fairly old e-mail tool called Pine (a free e-mail program administered by the University of Washington).

So now I am aware of two other people who use Pine. Neat!

[Thanks to Spike for the link.]

This is apparently making the rounds today, as I spotted it at both the J-Walk Blog and Kottke.org this morning. Shopsin's is a New York City diner that has the most extensive, all-inclusive, wacky, eleven-page menu you've ever seen. I am so definitely stopping in the next time I'm in New York. Looks like a Downtown 1 or 9 to Houston St. will get me there...

The Associated Press sez here that Koko, the famous gorilla who "speaks" in sign language, recently told her handlers that she had a toothache, and even went so far as to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten. The part they're not reporting: After having her tooth fixed, Koko ordered Lobster Thermidor and a baked potato for dinner, along with a bottle of claret, which she tasted before spitting a mouthful on the carpet, signing, "This tastes like my armpit."

(Can't help but notice that when you need someone to help give an ape a check-up, you call a prof from the med school at Stanfurd. Sounds right.)