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I have an iPod, and I’m still working on ripping all of my CDs to it.

I often edit the Artist name (to last name first format when applicable) and Compilation status for a CD. And I’ve been doing it track by track. Today I discovered it’s possible to simultaneously edit info for multiple tracks: select multiple tunes in an iTunes library (SHIFT + CLICK; i.e., press the shift key and left mouse button at the same time), then RIGHT CLICK (press the right mouse button), then click on “Get Info” in the popup menu. When the “are you sure you want to edit multiple items?” message displays, click “Yes.” A “Multiple Item Information” window comes up and you can then edit the Artist, Album, Genre, Compilation, and more.

Pretty cool!

June 25, 2007

About two weeks ago, an unpleasant smell greeted me in the lobby of my apartment building: the smell of vomit mostly covered up with an air freshener or a cleaning solution. And a black doormat on the floor had a few obvious, whitish stains.

The night before, I’d seen a couple of apparently drunk girls (age 20 or so) going into the elevator. I didn’t think too much about it, other than, “I hope those damn kids don’t make a bunch of noise and play obnoxious, loud music.” (Obnoxious music, of course, meaning anything I don’t like.)

So, my guess is that one of the drunk kids puked on her way out of the building.

A couple of days ago, I saw a typed notice on the lobby bulletin board. The notice addressed a few topics, including a missing “recycling” bag that used to sit under the mailboxes. (Residents would put junk mail in it and someone would eventually dump it in the recycle bin and return it to the lobby.)

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“ … damaged by body fluids.“ My first thought was, “Must’ve been those drunk girls.” My second thought was, “Wait, puke isn’t the only body fluid.”

Too much information; “damaged” would have been sufficient. On the other hand, not enough information. “Body fluids” made me wonder if someone had tried to kill and dismember someone and drag the parts out in the bag. Or maybe someone had sex on it. Or used it for a toilet. “Damaged by vomit” or “puked on” actually would have been better, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Regardless — thankfully, the elevator was unscathed in the incident.

PS: Somehow it seems appropriate to follow posts about various kinds of haggis with a post about puke.

June 25, 2007

Just in case regular haggis (traditionally made from sheep heart, liver, and lungs with oatmeal, spices, and other ingredients, boiled in the sheep’s stomach) and vegan haggis (mixed vegetables, beans, nuts, spices, etc.) don’t do it for you:

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(Note: Probably not vegan or even vegetarian. Many gummy products contain gelatin, which is made from “the collagen inside animals’ connective tissue.” )

Gummy haggis will be available “soon” at Archie McPhee in Ballard (2438 NW Market St.).

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Vegan haggis. I don’t know why. Traditional haggis? I don’t know why that, either. And I don’t want to know whether anybody makes vegan tripe.

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Go outside on a sunny day.

May 9, 2007

In the news today: Vegans sentenced for starving their baby.

A little sensationalism and bias, anyone? Why not, “Vegans kill babies, not animals” for the headline?

According to the article I read (by Greg Bluestein, Associated Press), an Atlanta, GA couple were sentenced to life in prison for starving their baby to death. The parents fed the boy “a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.” The baby weighed less than four pounds when he died on April 25, 2004.

Prosecutors accused the parents of neglecting the baby by not only starving him, but also by refusing to take him to the doctor after he became obviously ill. The defense stated that the parents did the best they could. The parents insisted they did not starve their son.

While this is a tragedy, the parents’ veganism is not the issue. I have no idea what a 6-week-old infant should eat. However, if meat is appropriate, and the parents made a conscious choice not to feed their baby meat … did they not notice the jars of fruits and vegetables in the baby food aisle at the grocery store?

Perhaps these parents were tragically unprepared to care for a child. And would have been unprepared regardless of their dietary and lifestyle choices.

Perhaps the child had a medical condition that manifests as starvation. Don’t the officials involved in this case watch House? House is a fictional TV show where things are usually not what they seem. The doctors analyze a patient’s symptoms and history, make a diagnosis, and then inevitably re-analyze after the patient gets worse. Sometimes they start with a simple, common diagnosis … and the patient ends up having a rare, obscure disease. Sometimes they start with a more exotic diagnosis … and the patient’s condition ends up being caused by something relatively simple.

Maybe these parents did intentionally starve their baby to death.

But maybe they didn’t.

Was a full autopsy performed in this case? The article doesn’t say. In 2005, a Miami couple was accused of killing their five-month-old daughter with a vegan diet, feeding her “only wheat grass, coconut water and almond milk.” Turns out, the baby’s low weight was actually due to an “almost nonexistent” thymus gland and she probably died of an infection. Oops.

By the way, the diets in these two cases are liquid diets. Why didn’t the headlines trumpet, “Parents starve baby with liquid diet” or “Liquid diet baby death”?

PS: I searched Google for the term “vegan baby death” and it returned over 1 million results—many cases in addition to the two above.

“UnSuggester takes ‘people who like this also like that’ and turns it on its head.” You know how some online retailers take search or order information you enter to “helpfully” suggest other things you might like? (Helpful in that it helps the retailer get more of your money!) UnSuggester does the opposite. You enter the name of a book you’ve read, and it will supply you with an impressive list of books you will probably not be interested in.

I hope somebody comes up with UnSuggesters for movies and music.

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(Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood)

April 24, 2007

The Boyfriend (TB) and I went to Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley tonight to see and hear PineTop Perkins, a legendary blues musician.

Surprisingly, at my age (41) and with as long as I’ve lived in Seattle (15 years), I’ve never been to Jazz Alley before.

The entrance to Jazz Alley is, in fact, in an alley which is framed by some cool murals.

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The interior is sophisticated, yet comfortable. Walls painted in muted colors, showcasing paintings of music greats. Ceiling-to-floor curtains covering the street-facing windows. The club has a small, adequate selection of wines and cocktails plus a dinner menu that includes a couple of vegetarian and vegan choices. TB and I dined elsewhere but did partake of a couple of drinks each at the club. I had some wine. TB had two cocktails featuring watermelon liqueur—they tasted kind of like Slurpees with a kick.

I’ll post pictures of Jazz Alley’s interior and the musicians who performed tonight if: 1) I can find my USB cable to connect my cell phone camera to my computer; [done] 2) I can figure out how to transfer photos from my phone to my computer [done] I can transfer photos from my phone to my laptop without the connection dropping; and 3) any of the pictures are worth posting. (The camera on my cell phone is … well, not state-of-the-art.)