nErD aLeRt!

The Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis became most famous at the moment of its demise. The thirty-three high-rise towers built in the 1950’s were supposed to solve the impending population crisis in inner city St. Louis. It was supposed to save the urban poor from the indignities of the downtown slums that lacked natural light, water and fresh air. And for a short while, it worked. It was a housing marvel.

But when conditions started to decline, everything got very bad, very fast. It got so bad, only two decades after it was built; the housing authority blew it up. The image of the first Pruitt-Igoe controlled implosion circled the globe. The implosion footage became the unassailable proof that Modernist architecture and federal housing just didn’t work. Chad Freidrichs is the director of the new documentary The Pruitt-Igoe Myth and in the film he examines all the reasons people cite for the demise of Pruitt-Igoe. (via)

that looks real good.

wtf happened.

fix it.

indisputable proof that bulldogs are completely mizz.

this feature in the new york times proves once and for all what most of us have always known:

In January 2009, Adam Goldfarb of the Humane Society of the United States told The Augusta Chronicle that bulldogs, often referred to as English bulldogs, are the “poster child for breeding gone awry.” The article came in response to a scathing British documentary, “Pedigree Dogs Exposed,” that highlighted the health and welfare problems of purebred dogs and claimed that breeders and the Kennel Club (the British equivalent of the American Kennel Club) were in denial about the extent of the problem.
...
“There is little doubt that the anatomy of the English bulldog has considerable capacity to cause suffering,” Dr. Nicola Rooney and Dr. David Sargan concluded in one of the reports, “Pedigree Dog Breeding in the U.K.: A Major Welfare Concern?” “The breed is noted to have locomotion difficulties, breathing problems, an inability to mate or give birth without assistance. . . . Many would question whether the breed’s quality of life is so compromised that its breeding should be banned.” (via)

it goes on and on and on.

Uga VII didn’t appear to relish his mascot duties. Unlike his father, Uga VI, who was loud and boisterous and enjoyed chasing after the school’s costumed bulldog mascot, Hairy Dawg, Uga VII seemed most comfortable in the back corner of his doghouse — or, better yet, outside the stadium entirely. A few minutes before halftime, Seiler’s adult son, Charles, led the dog off the field by a leash to a waiting golf cart. Uga VII hopped on, and a young woman drove us out the stadium’s back service entrance, up a hill, around some bends to an unspectacular patch of grass that doubles as the dog’s game-day bathroom. When the cart came to a stop, Uga VII bounded off it and spent the next few minutes happily sniffing the grass, urinating on a tree and defecating behind a bush.

When the dog was done, Charles ordered us all back on the cart. “All right, let’s go,” he said, and before I knew it, we were speeding back toward Sanford Stadium, Uga VII’s droppings (Charles didn’t pick up after him) a reminder to all that the world’s most famous mascot was here — and that celebrity dogs, like their human counterparts, get to play by different rules.

But Uga VII’s celebrity life would be short-lived. Six months later, while lounging at home, he died of heart failure. He was 4 years old.

bless his heart. smokey doesn't defecate, jicyww.

thx anonymous tipper (and resident animal expert)!!!

misery bear and i both got jobs

happy misery bear christmas

via

misery bear makes a new friend

misery bear would be a good costume for kismet. just thinking out loud. via.

Misery Bear loves Futbol

some morning grumbling.

2 things:

first thing: snow.

hey. snow. you better melt today. i'm real tired of having to step on you all day long. my irrational fear of black ice is making my walks miserable. it's supposed to be 40-ish today. you better not be here tomorrow, ok? or else.

second thing: vitamin water.

does it really have special powers? i have a hangover, and i want to feel normal again. i don't know why, but i felt like vitamin water might be the right move this morning. i spent a little bit too much time than anyone probably should reading through the various nonsensical labels, and settled on 'energy'.

when i placed it on the counter at hudson news, the lady looked right into my eyes and said 'it's going to be $3.26.", and i immediately began to question my values. in my compromised state, i couldn't stop myself from saying 'really?!!?' and giving her a confused, bitter look. then, of course, i paid her. everything she asked.  

i drank it and i'm feeling a tiny little bit better. or am i? i hate this.