I just saw POV on PBS: Waging a Living, and I am ashamed that I am ever in any way discontent with my life or my job or my salary.
Waging a Living follows the lives of 4 individuals who are “working poor.” (More details about them.)
One’s a security guard in downtown San Francisco, making $9-10/hour. […]

This is a “holy mother” moment:

everyday on Vimeo
Six years of a self-portrait every. single. day.
Wow. Mesmerizing.
(And the music is great, too. I want to know where to buy it.)

Well, if there was anydoubt at all, this should lay it to rest:

Visiting Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has denounced Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon as “genocide,” likening its action to war crimes committed by Germany’s Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
“Israel often criticizes Hitler … but they have done the same thing, perhaps even worse,” Chavez told […]

Hrm … sorry, but I don’t really care what astronomers say. I still think Pluto is a planet.
Some astronomers are still sane:

Although yesterday’s decision was reached by a majority vote, some of the most senior scientists involved are dismayed. “We now have dwarf planets which are in fact not planets. I consider this a linguistic […]

Does language mean something? Should you use terms that adequately describe what you’re trying to convey? Should the words you use have some level of equivalence with reality?
I think so. Apparently, Dave Pollard does not. We will not ever all agree. That’s OK. The least that can be expected, however, is that we argue fairly.
Pollard […]

Memories of San Diego this past spring:

(And testing Zoomr!)
Tags: zoomr, flickr, photos, john koetsier

I recently read the Lord of the Rings books for probably the tenth time in about 20 years. And then I watched the movies for the third time in about five years.
Now, a few years after their release, I think I have a pretty good sense of what the highlights - and lowlights - of […]

I just put Aidan to bed. His bedtime story was an impromptu one that Gabrielle and Ethan also sat in for … about Frank. It was the first time I’ve made up an entirely new story for the kids for a long time … perhaps since The Wonderful Colorful House.
After the story, and after our […]

Family in Sechelt

Originally uploaded by johnkoetsier.

A family portrait from about a month ago or so at Gibson’s BC, near Sechelt. We were there for just a couple of days, but it was beautiful.
Teresa’s dad, Sixten, took the picture.

Teresa and I recently took the kids to Osoyoos, BC, where we met up with 3 other families of relatives and spent a few days at a hotel. It was a much-needed break for all of us.
Check out the Flick photoset.
Unfortunately, Teresa broke her foot when we went horseback riding. The stablehands didn’t put the […]

A poster I made with FD’s Flickr tools and one of my recent photos. Click for a larger version.

And yes, I’m still trying to smooth off some of my sharp edges! (Patience is also a challenge.)
Tags: flickr, photos, poster, motivational, flagrantdisregard, john koetsier

… and I hate the English language!
For every question, there is an answer. Just don’t think that you’ll necessarily like that answer. For example, I wanted to know if bi-monthly meant twice a month or every two months.
Unfortunately, it means both. As AskOxford says:

I’m afraid it means both! But in the publishing industry, it […]

OK, so it used to be lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Not any more.
(Reuters, AP, and NY Times photo fraud, explained, demonstrated, and eviscerated, in detail. More details: check out this video.)
Tags: reuters, fake, lie, NYtimes, AP, lebanon, israel, hezbollah, hizbullah, PR