When pandemics and social networks collide

I give you Hot Guys in Flu Masks.

Really, what can I say about this except BRAVO to the creator. I wish I had thought of it.

What other global crisis fetishes can you think of?

In memoriam

My Grandma Louanna died today. Her son found her at home. They think she passed in her sleep. It was a graceful exit for a strong woman.

An homage to "Acting Class"

If you've seen SNL's "Best of Phil Hartman" or "Best of Will Farrell" or others, you may have seen the skit "Acting Class." Among my friends, it has become legend.

Here is our take on "Acting Class" as filmed in Tahoe in January. It was a great birthday.


No, I just walked in the door. Why? An homage to "Acting Class" from Todd X. on Vimeo.

A Gaythering Storm

I heart Funny or Die.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo

This is why I'm a hundred and fat! A bunch of us took Lee out for an early birthday dinner. You see, his 42nd isn't really until Monday. J/K he's really turning 33. Ah to be in my early 30s again. He chose Beppo's for its family-style ambiance and muted décor. That and the creative writing majors posing as servers.

Even though I was surrounded by tomato and cream drenched carbs, I managed to be quite self-controlled with my eating. Just a little bread, some eggplant parmagiana, and something called Pasta San Remo or something like that. Oh and a little salad. I was saving my strength for the post-dinner bowling. Oh yes. There was bowling. Out of four games, I even pulled a win out of my monogrammed Gucci bowling bag. That's right. 156 points, boys and girls. But, don't feel bad. It's all genetics.

All in all, it was a good night. Now I'm just icing my arm and waxing my balls (what?! Get your mind out of the gutter), getting ready for a re-match.

Frjtz is expensive, yo

Two crepes, one order of frjtz, a beer and a diet Coke: $35.31

It's a recession!

Reluctant Activism: My Specialty

The fine folks at Chronicle Books have published a great new book called Change the World for Ten Bucks. As part of their quirky marketing campaign, they asked me to write some entries for their company blog. Never one to do things half-assed, I decided to do a little video or two. It was fun and goofy. Basically, a star was born today. I do come off as a little fey, though. Alas, you can't fight genetics.

Found at work

And this was the men's bathroom, mind you.

Warehouse Sale at Chronicle Books

Amazon Rank: A Definition

Amazon Rank

amazon rank
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked

1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.

Etymology: from 12 April 2009 removal of sales rank figures from books on Amazon.com containing sexual, erotic, romantic, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer content, rendering them impossible to find through basic search functions at the top of Amazon.com's website. Titles stripped of their sales rankings include "Bastard Out of Carolina," "Lady Chatterley's Lover," prominent romance novels, GLBTQ fiction novels, YA books, and narratives about gay people.

Example of usage: "I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterley's Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene."

Alternate usage: "My girlfriend wanted to preserve her virginity, and I was happy to respect that, then she amazon ranked and decided anal sex was okay."

Are you ready for cuteness overload?

Your business card is crap

Want to make it even more unwieldy and crappy? Listen to this guy.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (and PR)

I think P&P&Z is a great fun book with an amusing premise (and it's even intellectually stimulating in terms of mashup culture and the refashioning of cultural and intellectual capital and property). But, this may not have been the best approach to selling it to the new world of blogger/reviewers: Flavorwire: How to Alienate Bloggers

I'll leave it to you to make up your own mind. Was it a colossal fail, an attempt at humor gone awry, or a case of an overly-sensitive blogging community?

Besides, who cares? It's still a fun book that is generating a lot of press (and sales, one would hope). I'm sure it will lead to a new kind of book for a while. And that's never a bad thing.

Iowa State Senator Mike Gronstal Rocks

His words say it all.

It may not be the Platonic Ideal

But, as God is my witness, it's a CHAIR!!



Okay, I know this chair has taken up way (and I mean WAAAAAAAAY) too much of my time and psycho-social energy for the past 2 1/2 years, but I hope you will all understand my curious but charming psychosis: I needed a chair that fit, that worked, that understood me and wanted to be part of my little sanctum sanctorum that I call my humble abode--Chez Todd. And I couldn't really have anyone visit me (save Rand and the occasional Brazilian) until this hole in my apartment's heart could be filled.

Today, it was filled. Thank you to Rand, Renee, Beth, and Yasu for being ultra-patient with me. (Egan is lucky that he's been spared the brunt of this lunacy.) Thank you Room and Board for letting me shop many many times at your store. And thank you for having the chair that I finally selected. And thank you to the cow(s) who gave their poor little hides so that I could sit in leather-bound comfort. Really, it was worth your sacrifice. Moo.

So, the next time you're in town and don't mind covering yourself in bubblewrap, be sure to pop by and have a seat. (Are those keys in your pocket? Do you WANT to scratch the leather?!!! Are you an uncaring savage who has never had NICE THINGS!!??!! Why do I let these people in my house?)

Autopilot for your Gmail

Very cute, Google.