Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts

Monday, May 11, 2009

More thoughts on the morning


Two things. One: the title makes this sound as if there is a piece called "thoughts on the morning" and this is the sequel, but that is not true. Two: This is more like a standard blog post than I'd like to admit. We try to rise above the blogosphere, but sometimes we fall back down. We're human too. -KV


The best time to go through a sketchy area of town is in the morning. Thugs don't choose their line of work because they have to get up early in the morning.

And why are most crimes committed by men, but we don't find it worthwhile to look for something inherently wrong with masculine behavior?

Did I say this was a blog? I meant "think piece."


He got the swag.

-KV

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Los Angeles Metblog featuring Wil Wheaton


If you're not familiar with Metblogs (and stubbornly refuse to click links on websites with "Brothel" in their name) they are one of those multi-blogger sites where a bunch of people chime in on a shared topic. On Metblogs people blog about their city. (In case you couldn't tell by its name)

Sounds boring, right?

Actually, it is. Mostly.

On the Los Angeles site (LA.Metblogs.com) there are a predictable number of postings on traffic, sushi, but other shout outs to things like the LA Auto Show - not what you'd expect from a city filled with hipster bloggers, m-i-rite?

That's because LA Metblogs has so much more than hipsters.

It also has movie stars.

That is, if you consider Wil Wheaton a movie star. Which of course, we here at The Brothel, proudly do. Wesley Crusher? Gordie from Stand by Me? Wheaton - if you've been following him (and I know you have, don't lie) - has truly gone where no man has gone before, transitioning from actor to blogger to author, and consistently dabbling in all three.


Don't believe me? Check Wil Wheaton's Blog that is far more popular than The Brothel or even LA Metblog.*

I know what you're thinking - how much did Wil Wheaton pay you to write this?

Answer: Nothing. Not everyone in LA is friends with a celebrity.

But didn't you say you were friends with that guy from Harold and Kumar?

Yeah, okay, everyone in LA has ONE celebrity friend; but Wil ain't mine.

Unless Kal keeps ignoring my calls. Then you never know.

-KV


* Google Rankings: WilWheaton.net = 6; LA.Metblog.com = 3; TheLiteraryBrothel.com = 4. Seriously...

Friday, September 26, 2008

Blogging while burning Pimsleur's Chinese (Mandarin) The Complete Course - Beginner/Part A


This is a blog entry. I'm not trying to be cute or funny. If you read something "cute" or "funny" into this, great, but uh, it's really about experimenting with this new form known as "the blog." What? It's not a new form, but a diary entry put in a public forum? Two words: Bah Humbug. -KV

Pimsleur should rename their course. These 9 CDs for Beginner/Part A are nowhere near the "Complete Course. This is a little intimidating - in Beginner/Part A there are NINE HOUR LONG CDs. Yes, nine. One can only assume there are the same number in Beginner/Part B, Beginner/Part C, and so on, up through Beginner/Part Z, at which point you finally start Intermediate/Part A... unless it is akin to Tetris the arcade game, on which my friend Cy gets to levels like AA, BB, CC...then I might never get to Intermediate/Part A!

Two thoughts: One: it could take forever to learn Chinese. Two: holy smokes, Cy is good at Tetris.

(Third thought: I should learn how to use colons properly.)

[Pause]

[Resume]

Still burning the 9 CDs. That ain't no hay. Check it out for yourself if you like. I recommend at your local library. So you can take them home and burn them.

Not that I'm doing that. No. I'm playing Tetris. I will beat Cy.

Ha, okay, done dreaming. And my computer says "Lesson 13 - Paul Pimsleur" is done. I'm not sure how much Paul is involved with each individual track. It's mostly a Chinese man and a Chinese woman speaking - who get no credit on the tracks: well done, Paul!. They state a number of phrases for you to repeat, interspersed with a very white voice (VWV) saying things like, "Now say, 'I do not speak Mandarin very well,'" a phrase I now know, and can use to confirm the assumptions of everyone I meet in China. I'm not sure I'll need that phrase as much as "Where is the bathroom?" which I have yet to learn through six lessons.

Ah, just one more CD to go! Oh, the last disk is the "User's Manual." Not sure what is on it. Perhaps I'll give it a listen, before I learn more useful phrases like, "I am American," or "I do not understand."

To be fair, I've learned some useful phrases too, such as "Excuse me, may I ask you a question?" which would go great with phrases like, "where is the bathroom?"

Don't you think?

-KV

ps. I am not pleased that "Tetris" - the most popular video game in history, yeah it is, look it up - was flagged during Blogger's spell-check. Get with the times, Blogger.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I Shadow Box Naked But My Shadow Has Shorts On


I thought of the name of this post while in the shower, NOT while shadow boxing naked.

Or did I?

(Not sure, actually. That's a real question. If you know the answer, well, I have two questions for you. 1. How the hell do you that? 2. You seem to know a lot. Can you help me find my keys? In the drawer, why would they be...oh, you're right. Never mind.)

This post is a return to the form of a true rant. What is a true rant? Specifically, it's when you riff on one topic, land on something that reminds you of something else you hate, at which point you switch to that topic, and go off on that. Generally, it's a bunch of complaining. When that complaining is combined with a lot of grammatical mistakes it is referred to as a blog.

But this is not a blog.

[Transition to rant about blogs]

How is this different from a blog?

Well, a blog can be, "look at my pictures from my weekend!" followed by twenty pictures you did not ask to see (but still enjoy looking at! Seriously, friends, seriously.)

A blog also might also read like a laundry-list of activities, juxtaposed with thoughts from those activities.

"Today I took the dog for a walk, and was thinking that man, I should do this more often! When the dog poops outdoors, it is SO much easier to clean up!"

Yes, cheap joke, but stay with me - we're ranting about blogs.

The complex blogger might go even further, and get a bit post-modern in his or her entry, acknowledging the role of the reader, such as:

"You might be thinking, hey stupid, you should have known about the pooping patterns of dogs BEFORE you purchased that animal. What can I say? I'm from the City."

I have no idea if the "the" in "the City" is supposed to be capitalized, and I refuse to look it up in this context - a reference to San Francisco.

[Transition...]

To this day, I honestly get confused when someone calls Frisco "the city." Since my mid-twenties, I have been a stickler for people using the appropriate or nearly appropriate, or a closely accurate words to describe specific things. I don't know if it's just getting old, or I don't want to assume I know what people mean when they say something vague, like "the city."

You're going where? Oh, SF. Why didn't you just say so? You know, there are lots of cities. In fact, San Jose AND San Diego have more people than San Fran. Look it up. It's true.

The OTHER thing I deplore about San Francisco is the disdain for Los Angeles. I suppose it isn't representative of the entire city, and so I shouldn't characterize it as such. But man, when you're in the city by the bay, and you mention you're from LA, watch out. Here are some things people - who I don't know very well, but have reason to be polite to - ie: they're friends with my friend who lives up in Nor Cal - have said when they find I'm from LA.

"Is it hard to breathe down there?"

"Do you like, drive a lot?"

"How are the movie stars?"

"Do you ever get sick of the superficiality?"

"What's your screenplay about?"

The answers:

No.
No.
Cool.
No.
A romantic comedy between a strict parking enforcement agent and a girl who breaks all the rules.

At least, that's what one of them is about.

-KV

Monday, May 19, 2008

Obama draws record crowd in Oregon, and bloggers spread the word

So, here's an acquaintance's blog that covers the Obama rally this weekend pretty darn well.

http://braintransplantjournal.blogspot.com/2008/05/yes-we-can.html


That's primary source material, with some pictures and news footage. I guess that's what most blogs are: a mix of of your own photos, own thoughts and ideas combined with the "official" story. Kinda cool age were living in...

Alright, enough thinkin', just click the link above.
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