Give a Little Bit

I discovered this site today. You get to improve your vocabulary and feed poor people. What's not to love?

For every word you match to its correct definition, the ad sponsors of the site donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. They add up in a short afternoon of procrastination. Good times!

Hint: habergeon = chain mail coat.

You're welcome

Time Lapse

This is kind of amazing, aside from at the end, where he apparently turns into Jesus:
Living My Life Faster - 8 years of JK's Daily Photo Project from c71123 on Vimeo.

On the Avenue

A note of thanks to the bus driver on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn late last night who saw me sprinting hopelessly towards the bus stop, having had a few too many mojitos, and with no chance of beating the bus to its stop, who actually stopped the bus in the middle of the avenue to let me catch up and hop on.

I panted my thanks, but I'm not sure you could understand me between gasps. I want you know how awesome you are. In 11 years of MTA interactions, that's literally the second nice thing anyone's ever done for me. (A retroactive shout-out to the Israeli guy in '97 who gave me his seat on the subway.)

Mr. Bus Driver, you are a beautiful man and I hope you people the earth with your descendants.

An aside to the makers of mojitos at Bogota: while your beverage tastes like the nectar of the gods, its boozy vengeance is not to be trifled with. My subway ride this morning was not pretty.

I Would Like to Thank

•The owner of the car whose alarm went off this morning at 6:34, and who didn't see fit to crawl out of bed to turn it off until 7:14. May you hit an ice patch on the Verrazano and plummet to your death. You won't be missed.

•The girl at Atlantic Avenue going down the wrong side of the staircase who wouldn't get the hell out of my way. Yes, I did hit you with my bag on purpose, and no, you should not feel obliged to stand clear of the closing doors. I'm sure your big ass will hold them open long after you've left the train.

•My unsanitary co-workers. Wash your damn hands after you use the toilet. If you're out of the bathroom before the flushing is even done, you are unclean (though not in a Terrence Howard way). Don't be fooled, anyone, women are gross and leave all manner of unspeakable things behind when using public and or office bathrooms. Also, don't eat half a bag of chips, decide you don't like them, and leave the half-empty bag sitting next to, but not in, the garbage can. Seriously.

•Three-abreast tourist dawdlers. Yes, New York is a magnificent and exciting city, especially near the holidays. Yes, we're well pleased to take your money, even if you do snarkily refer to the dollar as the peso. Yes, I know exactly where the Chrysler Building is; you're standing directly in front of it, and I will give you accurate directions. No, I will not hesitate to push you into traffic if your sidewalk-blocking gawking impedes my progress in any way. That's just how I roll.

Am I cranky? Hell yes. Two weeks 'til Belize.