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Unsupervised children destroy a Buddhist sand mandala. Mandals (which include Western alchemical emblems) are visual compressions of complex spiritual ideas. Today's highly compressed computer technology is now taking them the other way, as in this illusion of a three dimensionalized mandala, from Cornell's computer graphics site.

i heard screamingmedia was written up in the (a) recent wired mag... anyone see a copy?

for those whom like to travel

William M. Gaines wine collection is up at auction this saturday at Morrell & Co. and it is a totally "Mad" collection including old Tokaj back into the 1800's!!

i'd love to go back to amsterdam maybe for thanksgiving???

TRP

my life before grof, from one site jim turned me on to

I don't usually buy into theories that try to prove biblical veracity in material terms, at least not when we're talking about Genesis, but this story is based on responsible science, and keeps getting more interesting. I still think that floods are a pan-human experience, but a big enough one might go down in (pre)history. Then again, maybe Noah was Chinese.

My neighborhood (lower east side) has had a definite shortage of places to eat. 71 Clinton was a great addition, but it's only open for dinner, and how often can you eat there really? If you're thinking lunch, forget about it (The Hat? No thanks.) Until now that is. Barrio is a new restaurant on Stanton St. between Ludlow and Orchard. It's a huge space (2 floors, plus roof garden) that the owners put a lot of money into (they bought the building I believe.) But the atmosphere is defintely casual down town (as opposed to, say, the 71 Clinton St. upper east side on the lower east side craziness.) And not only are they open for lunch, they're open 24 freakin' hours a day. Think 3 star Yaffa cafe (if it's possible to imagine such a beast) and you'll be pretty close. The chef is supposedly (like 71 Clinton) a former Jean-George employee (waiting for definitive confirmation on this.) The food is a joy. Very clean. For instance, the toast that came with my brunch on Sunday, had NO BUTTER on it! There's no butter anywhere in sight. Nothing is being covered up or hidden. The tofu sandwich (eating right now) is great. Fantastic whole grain bread. Interesting little sprouts on top (interesting sprouts and shoots seems to be a Jean-George trained identifying characteristic.) And it comes with home-made tarot chips on the side. Every plate seems to have a nice touch like this. Last night we had the vegetable risotto, and a fish special (Pike.) All very good. Not over thought, or over dressed, or over done. Simple. Clean. Fresh. I'll wait for Mike's word on the wine list, but it seems good to me (mostly in the $25-$60 dollar range; few big one$.) No Kendall Jackson type offerings at all. We had a very nice Valpollicella. It's not going to get 3 stars from the Times, but it's not trying to. Praise the lord. A good, simple, no effort required place to eat in the 'hood. It's been a long time coming.

"I HAVE SEEN THE BEST MINDS OF MY GENERATION BECOME FOOD WRITERS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: An Interview With Jonathan Reynolds"

Now this is pretty funny. Democrats are accusing the Bush campaign of using subliminal messages in their advertising. Seems unlikely to me, but the demographic that believes in such things should not be underestimated. After half a century of semiologists teaching us to read the deep structures in undisguised messages, you'd think we'd know better, but some folks would rather smell a rat than see one.

Plans are being made for a day in the life of weblogging.

mike and i seemed to have made up for the fact that our hotel and airfare were paid for this weekend (thanks to ff miles and vineyard brands for the "groovey room" at the w hotel) by spending a small fortune at restaurant elizabeth daniel. i'll leave it to wheel to post more detail (he took notes, of course). best vietnamese food ever at the slanted door with an old friend of mike's on sunday. p.s. summer is married and very happy. lovely wedding at restaurant 42 degrees - mw and i were the last to leave the party (as per usual) - couldn't get him off the dance floor...

9/9/00 now on a plane to SF after spending 4 hours in Cincinnati due to a delayed departure...i am wondering which SF lunch spot to drop off the list...the Delta Airlines lunch service begins, no veggie lunch for me as i'm not really on this plane, my veggie meal was eaten by a happy hippie whom forgot to call his own in on my missed connection...lets see Land o'Lakes Classic Blend (65% veggie oil and dairy spread), what is polyglycerol esters of fatty acids?? whom made it?? how?? and why?? it really is a good match for the caramal colored sugared up and dough conditioned bun!!! i wanted to add some salt to it but i hate my salt with dextrose carbonate's and silocate's what did all the 80's coke dealers retire to the salt industry??...i move to the salad which is unlabeled and i'm happy cause i dont want to know whats in the tomatoe

just back from SF, walked the Haight at 7:30 am and went through the Golden Gate Park too, its nice to be in city that was once home and have people whom remember your name

I haven't developed the taste myself yet, but I know a few of you (mike, steve, ect...) will be pleased to find The Captain Beefheart Radar Station, where you can download a variety of rare live video's and MP3's. Someone with more knowledge should comment on whether this is really the good stuff.

Anybody notice our pal Jeff Lazar in the Village Voice's Mad on the Street feature? (scroll down) Personally, it's not the going back to school that I miss, it's the two month vacation beforehand.

"Splendid Maya Palace Is Found Hidden in Jungle"

Drinks tonight. 5:30. The Local (on Ludlow.) Be there or be [].

Here's a gallery of burning man photos. We should get something together for next year. (via robotwisdom)

wine sales via the internet gets a legal boost.

One more thing about my vacation: I ate a lot of lame food. My sister had her kids (9 year old Martin was only interested in onion rings, and only in the Burger King style) so we mostly ate at mid-priced "family" restaurants, which my Dad, who's pretty much given up cooking, also frequents. You always hear how overweight Americans are, but in NY you don't see it so much, at least not in our fashionable Manhattan haunts. The Midwest is making up for us. Everything was overdone and overblown. I call it big food, sort of like big hair: everything seems inflated; larger than life. It turns out that there is nothing that cannot be fried, not to mention covered with melted cheese. What really got to me, though, was the incredible amount of food that was wasted. Between the kids and the seniors, it seemed like most of the food went uneaten, and it wasn't like there were more sensible menu options. They kept offering us doggy bags, but it generally seemed like a bad idea. They would only be thrown out a week later, after the grease had eaten through the Styrofoam containers. There was already enough of that going on in the refrigerator. Maybe it's worse that a lot of people actually do finish those enormous portions, hamburgers the sized of grapefruits, french fries the size (and nutritional equivalent) of sticks of butter. No wonder people get mad if they have to park more than 10 feet from the restaurant door. It made me appreciate the range and quality of food available here, not to mention the talents of some of the amateur chefs among us.

Cam had this useful link to the air traffic control system command center where you can check the delay status of flights at any airport in the country.

Summer is a sort of Ocean, but not boundless. A bit of melancholy infects its further shore. We would rather not return to the workaday, but there is nowhere to remain. Only a vagueness that grows chill.

Boy if that doesn't sum it up way beyond my ability to do so. Cheers to Mr. Wilson. I say cheers because I am taking the Wheel's advice concerning my precious sample of cask # 14240, a taste everyday, and what a taste.

And I truly wish I could not relate to you concerning the failing health of your father, but I can, and the eloquence of your grief should not be dismissed as "sophistry." You honor him.

this is a note i sent to all at our wine company "APB for great food*** i have been eating here almost since they opened (less than 1 year) and the wine list really really needs help (drink the one riesling)*** finally last night i had to tell them and i/us may try to help but the food has been and continue's to REALLY ROCK*** KORI 253 Church*** maybe its dont care about the wine drink the one riesling maybe the beer have the plum wine with the recent new dessert chef's treats*** for me KORI and WALLSE are my two best of 2000 so far*** peace"