" 'Thou mayest rule over sin,' Lee. That's it. I do not believe all men are destroyed. I can name you a dozen who were not, and they are the ones the world lives by. It is true of the spirit as it is true of the battles-only the winners are remembered. Surely most men are destroyed, but there are others who like pillars of fire guide frightened men through the darkness. 'Thou mayest, Thou mayest!' What glory! It is true that we are weak and sick and quarrelsome, but if that is all we ever were, we would, milleniums ago, have disappeared from the face of the earth. A few remnants of fossilized jawbone, some broken teeth in strata of limestone, would be the only mark man would have left of his existence in the world. But the choice, Lee, the choice of winning! I had never understood it or accepted it before."

John Steinbeck - East of Eden

Dream House Concepts circa 1959

 

(source: But Does It Float)

 

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

 a
Airbnb is a website that offers the opportunity for people to stay in other people's extra space and pay per night. Basically this is an alternative to staying in a hotel. You can stay in an entire apartment/house or in an extra room that's available. I think this is an AMAZING website/business and I can't wait to try it out sometime. 

The listings in the photos above are the "Top 40 Listings of Airbnb". As you can see, you can stay in some pretty unbelievable places that are so much more fun and interesting than a hotel room ever would be. DO NOT be discouraged by the prices for the Top 40 listings remember, they are the best listings on the entire site). There are plenty of affordable listings that you can find. Currently with rooms in 4860 cities in 141 countries, you really need to check out this site. All listings offer photos, maps, reviews, and lots of other info. Check out the Airbnb Blog to find out more about the company and how it all works.

 

My record player begging for a new needle

Forbes has an interactive map that show migration patterns for counties across the US based on 2008 data. Black lines are people moving to a place and red line are people moving out. This is a map of Cleveland. Looks like a lot of people jumped ship in 2008. Go here to see the full interactive map.

(source: Boing Boing)

Best. Mustache. Ever.

 

Hypocrisy At Its Finest

 

This ridiculously large 65 ft. statue of Jesus that can be seen while driving along 75 in southern Ohio has burnt down. Lightning struck one of the hands and it caught fire. It cost $250,000 to build. What is the church going to do? They are going to rebuild it. A few places come to mind that could use an extra $250,000 (BP oil spill relief, Haiti, New Orleans, the hungry/homeless, etc.), but then again it would be a huge sacrifice to give up seeing a 65 foot Jesus.

(thanks to Lauren for the story - that is Lauren's judgmental face judging you, Solid Rock Church)

a

this is why I could never study at the library...

BP Oil Spill: Daily Dead Wildlife Tally

dailydeadbirds.com and @bpdeadbirds are generated with data from the US Fish and Wildlife reports. It tracks the daily death toll from the BP oil spill.

(source: Boing Boing)

a

So very glad She & Him came to Cleveland last night. This was their setlist.
 a

ghn

aInspired by Iceland is a new project by the Icelandic government that encourages people to travel to Iceland and not be too scared of volcanos. I'm sold. Let's go to Iceland.

Exploding Dog

Exploding Dog is a website that has me completely obsessed. A guy named Sam Brown runs it, and how it works is people e-mail him short phrases and he creates an illustration for the phrases he picks. I have posted some of the pictures already, and I can guarantee that I'll be posting more. Most of the pictures he makes have stick-figure people in them. I know what you're thinking, "Stick figures? Really?", and my answer is yes, really. The drawings are amazingly creative and thoughtful. Usually there are a couple new drawings every few days, which makes for a lot of pictures considering he's been at it for TEN YEARS. I've spent many, many hours perusing through the nearly endless supply of them. The drawings all have a common theme, but a lot of the time his pictures take on a different meaning of the phrase that he gets.

To find out more, check out this interview that Sam Brown did, or head over to the exploding dog website (over in the "sites you should visit" section). Below are a few of my favorites.

                         

                                                             "And I am awesome"

                            

"this is so great I had to share it with you"   

     

                                                             "How come I end up where I begun?"

                

 "good morning, again"

 

I've never been a big fan of the iPhone...until I saw this

 

I would like to know where you can buy these

The Hexed Car(s)

The following is a string of events that occurred within 6 months:

1. The Tow: Car is towed in Columbus. Difficulty retrieving car from tow-company due to lack of proof that car belongs to me.

2. The Deer: Car strikes deer at 5:30 AM. No chance of avoiding the collision.

3. The Theft: Driver-side window shattered in Chicago.  iPod and GPS are stolen. Car is driven back to Cleveland in the rain with saran-wrapped window.

4. The Fix: Car is taken in for routine maintenance. 2 brake pads, 4 tires, and 1 drive shaft later car is fixed.

5. The Window: Replacement car driver-side window collapses into door while my car is getting fixed.

6. The Denial: Brad consumes 7 more alcoholic drinks than he normally averages on a Tuesday

 

Graffiti seen in the Montmartre district of Paris last September

 

It has always been on my to-do list to drive up Route 1 on California's beautiful coast 

to see Big Sur and the Bixby Canyon Bridge from my driver-side window

She and Him w/ The Chapin Sisters

I can't wait for Lauren and I to hear She and Him for the first time on Thursday. I have long been obsessed with Zooey Deschanel, and I have to admit that it's going to be kind of weird to see her in person. It would be like taking my girlfriend to see Ryan Reynolds (her other hunky piece of man-meat besides me, of course).

• Date: 6.10.10
• Time: 8:00pm-11:00pm
• Location: House of Blues

Nazi Crabs

Mother Jones has an interesting post up that shows some venereal disease propaganda posters from World War II. 
You can see all of them here. What do these posters teach us?
1) Boobs spread syphilis and gonorrhea
2) VD is the key to the Axis of Evil's victory
3) ALL men have syphilis (yikes)
4) Loose women are going to shoot you with their vaginas