Yesterday I drove to Vintage Vinyl in U. City with friends I met at Sacred Grounds coffeehouse. Picked up the newest Burning Airlines and Turning Machine albums; both are quite good. Scientologists' children handed us flyers for "free personality/IQ testing" and orientation films.

We returned to a very dead car battery. I couldn't help but imagine my car as a ball and chain, a huge immovable object keeping us pinned under the noon sun. I longed for the cool winds and public transportation of Chicago. Three jump starts and an hour later, we were on the move.

The future is now: Japanese cubic watermelons and British carbonated fruit. Kids, just say no.

The reason art exists: the struggle to find some way to accurately transmit memories.

If the Internet was as advanced as it should be by now, your eyeballs would pass this point and you'd hear Weezer intone -- in a voice so awkward and honest that you've got to believe it -- "I can, sing and, hear me, know me."

Here's a toast to your inexplicable memories.

Naomi Klein's No Logo is an excellent guide to the growing anti-corporate sentiment, and the evil business practices that are fueling it. Klein discusses branding, labor, and the emerging movement with plenty of humor and data.

Regular readers may have noticed that the background has been changed to a rather angry bunny. Why's he so mad? A few reasons:

1. The laptop I ordered from this place is only days from exceeding the maximum shipping time. At $40 for 2-4 week shipping, I'm going to be rather upset if it's late.

2. I spent a month waiting for a callback to a programming job. No go. Now I'm filling out applications for the same old "big box" stores I've spent so many summers working for.

3. After waiting 4 years for a new Weezer album, it sucks. My friend says "I figure that we should all give Rivers at least two more chances to not write crappy lyrics." Word.

Takashi Murakami mixes traditional Japanese painting with modern anime to form Superflat, an attractive new style of art. Two giant floating eyes and other inflated sculpture make up WINK, a surreal exhibition at Grand Central Terminal. Read Artbyte and JCAonline for interviews.

A search for bitmap fonts has turned up some wonderful sites: 04, Hi-Type, and Miniml.