83 posts from 2009

I am worthless and inarticulate.  I have nothing worth sharing, but in my own attention-whorish way I feel the need to post.

Let's see... I've been playing around with photoshop.  I'm obesessed with the concept of incorrect. That's a tumblr link so. M-----l whatever you do, DO NOT CLICK IT.

Here are a couple the muses moved me to create:

I just dropped in to see what condition my neighborhood's in. On this last Sunday evening of summer I'd like to say

hello and share a tribute to the music to The Big Lebowski. I watched this last night for the first time in years, perhaps 6 or 7 years.  TBL is like a fine wine.  It may go sour some day, but so far it has maintained an upward trajectory in quality as accessed by this humble viewer.

But back to the music.  At first I could only recall a hand-full of songs. Kenny Rogers and the Creedence mostly. ("Wouldn't hold out much hope for the tape deck though.  Or the Creedence.")  But as I sat there in the darkened living room sipping a white Russian, I filled up another hand. And another.  This is not even half of the songs.  I left out some excellent material: Booker T. and Bob Dylan. Santana, Simone and Sumac.  Mozart and Massorgsky.  And The Eagles... I tend to agree with The Dude in regard to The Eagles.

I won't drone on here about the songs I selected for this post.  Nothing too obscure here except this song by Elvis Costello and Cait O'Riordan.  As far as I know TBL OST is the only place to find it. If you have any info on this please share it with me.

In conclusion, if you have a copy of TBL pop it in the player and get comfortable on the couch.  If you don't have the film on hand, then please enjoy this musical tribute to The Dude.

The Palio degli Asini is an annual donkey race in Alba, Italy. 

The race traces its origin to the 13th century. For years, Alba and its neighboring town, Asti, had been engaged in a turf war. On Aug. 10, 1275, the feast day of Alba’s patron saint, San Lorenzo, soldiers from Asti launched an attack, devastating orchards and vineyards around Alba’s city walls. Following a hometown tradition, the Asti warriors raced their horses around the town walls. According to legend, inside the walls the citizens of Alba raced their donkeys in response — an indication, one Web site claims, of what they thought of the conquerors and their ritual.

Through the years Asti conducted a horse race and pageant, like Siena’s world-famous palio. But, Alba’s jockeys won the Asti race so often that the hosts stopped issuing invitations to its rival. So in 1932, Alba decided to stage its own palio — with donkeys. _*_

The nine historical districts of Alba compete to packed bleachers.  The victor gets the palio, a prized tissue painted by a known artist. Then they all get down to the serious business of parading in historical costumes and synchronized flag waving (sbandieratori). Italians certainly know how to conduct festive occasions. 

 

They have these races all over Italy it seems: Turin, Camari, Navelli, Calliano, Montafia, etc…

 

According to the article at Stars & Stripes Asti's Palio degli Asini is always held on the first Sunday in October, but I’m pretty sure that they mean September.  Other places I looked also said the first Sunday in October. However they state that this year’s winner is Acciuga ( "Anchovy" in English) but it isn’t October yet.  If any of you world travelers can clear this up for me, I’d appreciate it.

 

They go on to point out that he teams used to prank each other but that now there are veteranerians on site to protect the well-being of the donks.  No doping the donks.

This image is from a great flickr stream of the race.

Alba is also Italy’s truffle capital.

Also, I'd pay money to do this:

 

 

 

 

I found a new game called Time Donkey.  The player gets to control a donkey who travels through time and eats tacos.  Now if I weren't already sold on the very concept of a time-traveling taco-eating donkey game these recommendations at the Blurst site would have cinched it for me:

"Better than all those other donkey games."

"The donkey travels through time against his will, but the tacos are delicious."

In the game you steer the donkey around to eat floaty tacos.  When the time runs out the donkey is returned to the starting point (some sort of transporter pad?).  The clock starts again and you steer the donkey around to get tacos while his past-donkey-self repeats his previous actions.  Pretty soon you have a whole herd of donkeys, existing at various points on the time continuum, running all over looking for donkeys.  It's like The Falconer, except the donkey is the Falconer and the tacos are Donald.  But you eat the tacos rather than saving them from destruction.

I'm certain that this version of this DW post will not be as happy and humorous as the last two posts, which Vox kindly ate. 

The only thing I learned from Livestock guardians : using dogs, donkeys, and llamas to protect your herd by Janet Vorwald Dohner (other than that you can use a donkey to protect your herd) is this:

Other burros don't know how to act.

Actually, I got nuthin.  But here is a lovely donkey who has a MySpace page.  He is an avid supporter of the ethical treatment and rescue of donkeys. And who can't get behind that?

Barold the MySpace donkey.

I happened on this page containing 38 pictures of people with dogs. 

You deserve a few minutes of feel-good.  Check it out.

We must interrupt Donkey Wednesday to report:
Bear Problem On The Moon Base.