Litwack.org » current events

My auto mechanic died

geoffrey — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:55:45 +0000

After every repair he would hand me a full page of material and times written out in pencil and explain exactly what he’d done, moving his hands like a surgeon going back over an operation. He had been in the Mossad in the 60s but later repudiated violence, war, religion. He told me that in rural parts of Egypt he visited as a soldier locals thought the voices coming out of his walkie were of angels, and he would stop and explain. He believed in the power of honesty. “You can’t be a little bit pregnant, and you can’t be just a little bit dishonest,” he liked to say. You were a good guy, Zev. Rest in peace.

2011 memories

geoffrey — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:49:10 +0000

I leave a small gold coin in the stomach cavity of a carved wooden bull. Later, this brings me luck.

I am in Virginia working on a defense contract, being driven back to my airport hotel in a friend’s luxury sports car. On the steps of a boarded-up church, a Mennonite girl in a white bonnet cries into her hands. She looks up as we pass, although not at us.

In a store in Beverly Hills, a man in a tailored suit puts on cotton gloves and lays out an assortment of pens for me. One of them has a fingerprint on its resin barrel. He apologizes the way I would if I hit someone with my car.

I shovel the first measure of earth onto our cat, who is lying in her grave.

I am backstage at a television studio, talking to an old man who appeared on one of my favorite sitcoms. I met the star of that show once, I say. He cordially changes the subject.

Wake up before my girlfriend for the first time and stare at her profile. Her breathing is inaudible. Alabaster, I think, pleased, and go back to sleep.

Wake up in agony. Run inside and start vomiting. Incredible pain in my lower left flank. Being born is a misfortune, I think. Later recant.

haaaaapy new year

Merrrrrry X-Men

geoffrey — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:47:47 +0000

I might be wearing a Santa hat

RIP Steve Jobs

geoffrey — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:45:37 +0000

Sorry for the downtime

geoffrey — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:05:11 +0000

My hosting barfed. I’ll post something of substance soon.

Retiring an email address

geoffrey — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 04:12:08 +0000

I have like six email addresses, and I’ve decided to take one offline – gsl@litwack.org. If by some astronomical chance you have that in an address book, change it to litwack@gmail.com!

Litwack.org Lifehack #1

geoffrey — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:34:46 +0000

Submitted by reader Louis G., here’s a handy lifehack for travel. On the road and living rough? Knot the legs of your jeans and stuff with laundry, neatly segregating it from your cleans. Thank you Louis G.!

“Industrial productivity can be achieved on a small scale”

geoffrey — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:58:29 +0000

I’ve been following Marcin Jakubowski’s Open Source Ecology project for some time now – he and his collaborators are trying to do for farming and industrialization what MakerBot is doing for 3D printing – this is my very favorite open source project and it seems to be taking off.

Just go ahead and bookmark

geoffrey — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 02:54:02 +0000

Culture Boner.

I don’t know whaaaaat’s wrong with me

geoffrey — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:24:51 +0000

but I saw the cover of Paul Allen’s book, which I though was so funny:

and spent fifteen minutes on this:

Yes, pretty much all I think about is pork, kitties, and Wu-Tang.

Maybe they can work on a beard filter for Photoshop CS6.

Animal macros: my anti-drug

geoffrey — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 21:52:23 +0000

Goings-on

geoffrey — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 06:51:58 +0000

Saw Enter The Void finally, so much of two minds about it. Blindingly great directing (the perspective for part of it reminded me of Ima Boku wa…) but the plot was dumber than the dumbest Hollywood drama. I wish Gaspar had just put out an hour and a half long series of images he wanted to film without the bullshit “provocation” in need of a frame. This was the Phantom Menace of avant-garde French cinema and someone should do a fan edit.
I did get a MacBook Air 11.6″ with maxed options and have been using it for almost two weeks. It is unreservedly my second favorite Mac ever after the Twentieth Anniversary. You put it in your bag and the load barely registers. Early comparisons to an iPad are all wrong. The iPad is a young, rapidly maturing device whereas the Air is the best expression of a very old way of computing – windowed Unix. The old ways are good; it’s my only machine. Not counting the iPad.
If you’re in LA you should eat at Cube sometime. My partner and I were there this week and had a greaaaaat meal. Honestly the best gnocchi I’ve ever had, I went to the kitchen and interrogated the chef who told me the trick was to rice the potatoes hot and work in flour immediately because it’s more readily absorbed that way. Pillowy and silken, served with a venison ragu. Some of their produce comes from their own microfarm downtown; I swear I heard it’s on a rooftop.
I’m impressed by the new Kanye West record. I listen to modern commercial hip-hop on the radio and it sounds like EURODANCE. (Case in point – jesus christ) Good that there’s a competing strain.