Stephen Mack

happiness :D - Richelle Mirambil

:) - Eivind

(Image from a blog post by a woman named Wendy Lawton with her own recollections of visiting Santa's Village.) - Stephen Mack

Anika: That's awesome. - Stephen Mack

The post is just the chart, and it says the source is: "Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). All figures in millions, and US-based." - Stephen Mack

Don't call it a comeback / It's been low for years - Stephen Mack

I mean it's clear it's going up and has doubled or tripled in recent years, but, yeah. - Stephen Mack

From the article by Jeremy C. Owens, published at 1:33 today: "A PayPal spinoff isn't enough for eBay -- the company now plans to lay off thousands of workers and split off yet another independent company as its auction site suffers. eBay announced Wednesday afternoon that it would slash 2,400 jobs, about 7 percent of its global work force, as it struggles to bounce back from a cyberattack that forced all users to reset their passwords. The e-commerce giant will also split off its eBay Enterprise business, which manages online sales efforts for other businesses." - Stephen Mack

every christmas i spend way too much on ebay for whatever wade's latest retro passion is ... thunderbirds, pokemon, etc. - Laura Norvig

(Image is from Google's etymology, https://www.google.com/... ) - Stephen Mack

From the post: "The former classmate of Adnan Syed’s who could hold the key to unraveling his conviction in the murder of Hae Min Lee has written a new affidavit reasserting that she was with Syed at the exact time the state argued that he killed his ex-girlfriend in 1999, and alleging that the original prosecutor in the case essentially convinced her not to participate in the appeals process." - Stephen Mack

Jennifer, yeah -- he's such a slime ball. Even in this brief excerpt of his interview with the blaze, he's contradicting himself. He says she told him it was to get the family off her back: "She definitely told me that she wrote what she wrote, was to appease the family, to get them off her back … that’s what I recall, the gist of the conversation, that she wrote something to get the family off her back, which can be interpreted that she was getting pressure.” Infuriating! There's a HUGE difference between what McClain probably told him ("I'm finally getting around to writing this affidavit so that the family will stop calling me") versus how he spun it as, "Oh, she made up the whole thing because Syed's family was pressuring her." SLIME. BALL. - Stephen Mack

From the article: "In 1995, the Olympian monolith that is Sleater-Kinney rose and went on to wreak blissful havoc on rock fans' eardrums (and hearts) for the next ten years. The trio's raw (but never undercooked) early albums received that rare combination of attention that was both early and earned. And once they found the perfect drummer, they carved new crevices in their own unmistakable punk sound, from bubblegum pop to psychedelic metal. Then they stopped. But in another triumph that defies typical careerist narrative — just like making seven straight great albums does — they returned this week, after a nearly nine-year hiatus, with No Cities to Love: an album with no loss of quality, instrumental facility, or even volume. Greatness and longevity in tandem are somewhat of a rare combination. The Who came back, sort of. The Clash, the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin did not." - Stephen Mack

There's zero point in arguing over personal preference, but my own top 12 would be: 12. Off With Your Head (Future Soundtrack compilation) 11. Oh! (One Beat) 10. By The Time You're Twenty-Five (Get Up single b-side) / 9. What If I Was Right (off "Jackson's Jukebox" compilation) / 8. A Quarter To Three (The Hot Rock) / 7. Everything (The Woods) / 6. Little Babies (Dig Me Out) / 5. Tapping (Get Up single b-side) / 4. Dig Me Out / 3. Hot Rock / 2. Words And Guitar (Dig Me Out) / 1. Get Up (The Hot Rock) - Stephen Mack

Hmm, actually -- I need to rearrange my list to get "Burn, Don't Freeze" in the top 5. - Stephen Mack

Relistening to all the albums, setting aside song-by-song list, my album preferences are currently: The Hot Rock > Dig Me Out > No Cities To Love > One Beat > Call The Doctor > Sleater-Kinney [self-titled debut] > The Woods -- BUT, there really isn't much separation between them. Sometimes Dig Me Out is on top and sometimes No Cities To Love is on top. - Stephen Mack

Glad you didn't twist an ankle! - Anne Bouey

Lookin' good, Mr. Mack! - Anne Bouey

I second Anne! - Jenny H.

Thanks! That was really fun. - Stephen Mack

She was surprised and asked me how I was able to read it. I admitted I had just guessed because the word started with a w and there was a picture of a window nearby. - Stephen Mack

C'est tout. - Stephen Mack

Jennifer Dittrich http://friendfeed.com/jenn2d2, Spidra Webster http://friendfeed.com/spidra, Jenny H. http://friendfeed.com/kellih, Louis Gray http://friendfeed.com/louisgr..., Eivind http://friendfeed.com/eivindn, Tamara J. B. http://friendfeed.com/express..., Yvonne Renee http://friendfeed.com/ychache..., imabonehead http://friendfeed.com/imabone..., Hookuh Tinypants http://friendfeed.com/tinypan..., NOT THE CRICKET http://friendfeed.com/jimminy, Stephan http://friendfeed.com/stplank..., MoTO: #TeamMarina http://friendfeed.com/barrywy..., Micah http://friendfeed.com/micahwi..., John (bird whisperer) http://friendfeed.com/dendroi..., Anne Bouey http://friendfeed.com/abouey, vicster http://friendfeed.com/vicster, Steven Perez http://friendfeed.com/silas216, Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart http://friendfeed.com/zoblue, Corinne L http://friendfeed.com/corinnel, Janet http://friendfeed.com/jltrdms - Stephen Mack

Yay me! - Louis Gray

Aw, I'm sorry hun. That's total ass. We had people doing that last week, spreading their disease. I'm still shocked that I haven't come down with anything yet. Famous last words, eh? Keep taking it easy and get better soon! - Hookuh Tinypants

Thanks all, back at work today and I do feel a lot better (especially after the analgesic and coffee kicked in). - Stephen Mack

Nobody expets that. - Stephen Mack

shoor they do. - MoTO Boychick Devil

Would! No wouldn't! Wait, what? Is this a rhetorical question? <Fry squint> - Jaclyn aka spamgirl

Your honor, please direct spamgirl to answer the question. - Stephen Mack

I plead the seventh. - Jennifer Dittrich

*drinks a fifth* - Big Joe Silenced

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Stephen Mack

I remember the 1996 Life article. The picture that struck me was one of them at a swimming pool, clearly nervous, and hugging each other for reassurance it would be okay. - Stephen Mack

The BBC episode of "Extraordinary People" from when they were 16 is a much better documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch... - Stephen Mack

Can't stop listening to this. - Stephen Mack

When my friend Kyrie invited me to her graduation from a five-day BAMM class, I didn't know what to expect. That first class I observed was taught by a woman named Cori and a man named Stu. When I later became an instructor, those same two led the instructor training. - Stephen Mack

Thank you, everyone. - Stephen Mack

Even the indie stuff? Some of these might be out there: http://www.indiewire.com/article... There's a live webcast of talks with some of the foreign language film Oscar nominees tomorrow at 1pm Pacific time http://americancinematheque.com/globes_... - Spidra Webster

(Bump.) Chappie is out today, but sadly reviews are not kind. 31% on RT. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m... - Stephen Mack

I vaguely remember exercising, a long time ago. Now I can only live vicariously through you. Please tell me the trees are still green and the birds still sing, out there in the "outside" place I remember. - Brian Johns

Oh you are so ready for a Mudder. If you don't feel you are up to a Tough Mudder, there's always Mudderella. It's a good middle-ground. :) And as soon as Electric Run posts their 2015 NorCal schedule, I'M HOLDING YOU TO IT. - Hookuh Tinypants

From the article: "PARIS—Following the fatal terrorist attack Wednesday at the offices of French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, sources confirmed this afternoon that it is sadly not yet clear whether this very article will ultimately put human lives at risk. According to totally and utterly depressing early reports, given the tragic deaths of 12 people, it is impossible to say with absolute certainty that this 500-word article will not make those involved in its writing—and potentially even those not involved—the targets of brutal and unconscionable violence." - Stephen Mack

Well, that's not very funny. :-| - Brian Johns

Can I ask you a rhetorical question? - Jason Huebel

HAHA, great minds... - Jason Huebel

(whoops, deleted my comment by accident -- recreating:) - Stephen Mack

(Hah, Jason: http://friendfeed.com/zeigen...) - Stephen Mack

It came out well. Uses corn starch for the coating. I'm not much of a cook but I'm resolved to branch out a bit more this year. - Stephen Mack

*Is now craving (PF) Chang's Spicy Chicken* - Adam B

The recipe I used was this one: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking... - Stephen Mack

I could so go that right now... - Melly #FForever

Happy New Year! - Jenny H.

Happy new year, Stephen :) - Eivind

From the Wonkblog post by Christopher Ingraham (Dec. 29, 2014): "With yet another airliner gone missing over Southeast Asian airspace, there's no question that 2014 has been a year beset by mysterious air tragedies. But there's a surprising fact hiding behind this year's high-profile air tragedies: 2014 has been the safest year for flying since, well, ever." - Stephen Mack

More: "2014 has seen something of a spike in fatalities, however. ASN's numbers show 1,007 deaths for 2014 so far, a figure which includes only major commercial airliner accidents. The AirAsia flight and the two Malaysia Air flights earlier in the year account for over half of those fatalities -- 699." - Stephen Mack

It's interesting data. And to be fair, the media can accurately say this is the worst year for air fatalities since 2005 (if you go by the second chart, which is the total number of fatalities) AND the safest year on record for flying ever (if you go by the first chart, which is the total number of accidents). - Stephen Mack

Rawr! - Eivind

How can you not? - Micah

O Wind / If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? - Stephen Mack

Merry Christmas! - Rodfather - Amir

Merry Christmas! - Son of Groucho