I’ve been slowly making my way through Madlax as it comes out. I’m still a few episodes behind but I just watched episode 13 and I’m amazed at how this show has evolved. The first episode was a little cheesy, but they’ve done a nice job of slowly layering mysteries and pulling a number of different storylines together in ways I didn’t quite expect. I still don’t know what exactly is going on, but it has become quite a fun ride.

Hodding Carter
“Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone.”
[Quotes of the Day]

Sir Arthur Eddington
“Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.”
[Quotes of the Day]

Looking at my referrer logs this morning I noticed that I had a link or two from Feedster’s Feed of the Day Page. When researching more I discovered that my site had been the feed of the day back on December 15, 2003. Pretty cool, I wish I’d noticed it before that. I’ve added the little Feed of the Day button to this page in celebration.

Alton Brown saw “Supersize Me” and had some interesting things to say about the movie and eating out in general.

Here’s what it comes down to kids. Ronald McDonald doesn’t give a damn about you. Neither does that little minx Wendy or any of the other icons of drivethroughdom. And you know what, they’re not supposed to. They’re businesses doing what businesses do. They don’t love you. They are not going to laugh with you on your birthdays, or hold you when you’re sick and sad. They won’t be with you when you graduate, when your children are born or when you die. You will be with you and your family and friends will be with you. And, if you’re any kind of human being, you will be there for them. And you know what, you and your family and friends are supposed to provide you with nourishment too. That’s right folks, feeding someone is an act of caring. We will always be fed best by those that care, be it ourselves or the aforementioned friends and family.

We are fat and sick and dying because we have handed a basic, fundamental and intimate function of life over to corporations. We choose to value our nourishment so little that we entrust it to strangers. We hand our lives over to big companies and then drag them to court when the deal goes bad. This is insanity. [Alton Brown’s Rants & Raves]

Robert Morley
“Anyone who works is a fool. I don’t work – I merely inflict myself upon the public.”
[Quotes of the Day]

#!/usr/bin/girl links to a very cool site that has a list of restaurants that offer free food on your birthday. I think I’m going to have to make note for my next birthday and eat as much free food as I can:

Free Meal(s) on Your Birthday!
Everyone loves something for free. I’m sure most people have experienced the “free dessert on your birthday” at a restaurant before. Let’s take that a step further. It’s your birthday, after all! You should get more than just a free dessert!

Check out the Cheap Stingy Bastard’s List of Free Birthday Meals. (And desserts. And coupons. And a few other things.) Yum. You could eat all day!

(Seattle residents: there at least a few Seattle specific places on the list!) [#!/usr/bin/girl]

nihilistic_kid links to an article about how Martha Stewart is comparing herself to Nelson Mandela. He also offers a song for the occasion:

Free ol’ Martha Stewart
Free, Free, Free, ol’ Martha Stewart
Free ol’ Martha Stewart
Nearly six months in captivity
Her shoes too gauche to fit her feet
Her body still hot but her mind is crazy
She is so blind that she cannot see

I say Free ol’ Martha Stewart
I’m begging you
Free ol’ Martha Stewart

Fourteen new tips to decorate Christmas trees
Suburban housewives are her army
She is so blind that she cannot see
She’s like Mandela; takes it seriously

Free ol’ Martha Stewart
I’m begging you Free ol’ Martha Stweart
[the rest here]
[via Nick Mamatas’ Journal]

Disneyland opened on this day in 1955 (according to my computer). And according to about.com my computer is correct.

I normally avoid talking about politics here, since I’m too afraid of sounding like a complete idiot. But this quote from over on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire just had to be shared.

Quote of the Day

“I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.”

— President Bush, quoted in the Lancaster New Era, during a private meeting with an Amish group. [Political Wire]

Delusions of Grandeur maybe?