I guess it's more benign than some of my addictions...

I never heard of this frigid predilection before. Just reading about it gives me a toothache!

Chew This Over: He orders ice from drive-thru windows and dips into the office ice machine. Sometimes, his tongue gets so numb he can barely talk to clients.
Still, he munches on.

Via Metafilter

The horrific ravages of political life...

Holy Juan knows what the 2008 presidential candidates will look like in four years. But then Holy Juan knows everything.

See all the scary photos.

Simpsons Van Gogh

Thieved from Blame It On The Voices

The Art of Graffiti

Toronto graffiti photo gallery by Michael Shpuntov
Via Rashomon

Canadian Blog Awards Voting Ends At Midnight!

This is absolutely your last chance to vote for me here for Best Humour Blog and here for Best Entertainment Blog.

The Other Son

The Last Calligraphers

The Last Calligraphers (2008) - A film by Premjit Ramachandran




The Musalman is the only handwritten newspaper in Asia and has been operational since 1927. Here is their story.

Via Design Observer

Meet The Fringe Candidates

Big Fat Whale introduces us to some lesser known candidates who raise some issues that just may be important to some voters. Me, I'm waiting for the guy who campaigns on the "More Beer and Wider Sidewalks" platform.

I suspect this puppy has a ghost writer

Tayside Police - Puppy Diary

One of a litter of seven pups bred especially for police work by Lothian and Borders Police, you can follow our new recruit's progress over the coming months on this special diary page.

Manifold Destiny

Ladies, gentlemen, start your engines. But only after you've loaded them up with sausages, chicken, crabs, Cajun shrimp and plenty of vegetables.

Read all about cooking great meals with your car engine.
I have a friend who spent an amazing amount of time in her mini van when her three kids were small. Mr Nag used to joke that it woudn't surprise him to find out one day that she had no legs. I bought this book for her birthday one year.

William Shatner Is Canadian!

"I Am Canadian" parody.


Via Canucklehead

Painted by a simian or not?

An artist or an ape?:

Some of the images displayed are masterpieces of abstract art, created by great artists. The rest were painted by an ape. Can you tell which is which?

I scored 100% on this one. Monkey art is my area of expertise.

White Whine

A new white person complaint every day of the week.

Complaint #135

“Why does all my spam that gets filtered out of my office Outlook inbox still get pushed to my BlackBerry? I must get like 5 a day.”

-Whine by Jon Feldman

Via Linkbunnies

Rot In Hell, Pachelbel

plime.com : Pachelbel's rant

The Bear Who Went To War

I love a good animal story, especially one about bears that drink and smoke.

Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear':
A campaign has been launched to build a permanent memorial to a bear which spent much of its life in Scotland - after fighting in World War II.

Huckabee was right

Gay marriage leads to beastiality!

Via Dog Art Today

For all you puctuation fetishists - you know who you are

Punctuation can be soooo important!


Via:: about:blank ::

Worth a second look

I recently watched Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece Barry Lyndon. On Demand is featuring a whole slew of Kubrick films as well as a documentary on the director. I'd seen Barry Lyndon before, likely on a 14 inch black and white tv, and totally missed out on the beauty of the film. Watching it on a big screen hd tv made me realize that each shot resembled a painting by an Old Master as opposed to a colourless postage stamp.
I watched the Kubrick doc first and learned that the cinematographer used lenses developed for NASA which Kubrick discovered in his search for a lens that could film in low-light situations. The super-fast lens allowed him to shoot scenes lit with actual candlelight. It was the largest lens aperture in film history. The scenes below show the film's dream-like quality:

Dan Liebert, Verbal Cartoonist

Dan Liebert's blog page is very funny.
Via Presurfer

The Power of Advertising

This ad for Vitae Shelters is one of 19 Best Ads I Have Ever Seen
Via Kottke

Show Me The Money!

Presidential Money Race Widget


Via Information Junk

Humane Dog Fighting

Michael Vick could take a lesson from this:


Via growabrain

Babies should come with a manual like this

I could have used these instructions when Nag Jr. and Baby Nag were babies. I have a feeling things would have turned out a whole lot better.

Baby do's and don'ts
via Reddit

16 of the Most Creative Hotel Rooms in the World

Some very interesting hotel rooms at WebUrbanist.
Some, like the one below, will never get my business - or at least not yet.

This room with two cages might have come in handy when I used to travel with the two little nags:


Having managed to keep one step ahead of the law (so far), the simulated jail cell theme holds little appeal for me.

Best Places For Art and a Nosh

Best Museum Restaurants Slideshow

I've eaten at just one of these: Georges at the Pompidou Centre (pictured above). You can read about my visit here.

While we're on the topic, another of my favourite museum restaurants is the Jacquemart Andre, also in Paris (photo, left, from ExGuy). It's like having tea with Tiepolo.

Slideshow via Coudal

Charming Doggy Art

Bonhams Dog Art Sale

Auction house Bonhams is holding its next Dog Sale to coincide with the Westminster Dog Show on February 12, 2008 in NYC. See more lovely examples here.

Vote Nag and Nobody Gets Hurt

Through pure brute force and intimidation I've made it to the final round of the Canadian Blog Awards!
You can vote for me here for Best Humour Blog and here for Best Entertainment Blog.

My friend, political blogger Uncorrected Proofs is still in the race as well. You can vote for him here, here , here and here if you're inclined and you don't have voting finger fatigue.

Booze Bottle/Fire Extinguisher

2 functions in 1 easy package. Made me laugh.

Via Blame It On The Voices

Dons de vêtements

The message is powerful:

Donating your coat won't stop people from sleeping on the streets but it may stop them from dying on them.

Saw this ad at Marketing Alternatif

Who'll scab?

Nominees react to Oscar announcement

Amy Ryan, Tony Gilroy and the object of my virtual affection, Viggo Mortenson are unequivocal in their support of striking writers and will not cross a picket line.

"That's a no-brainer. Actors need writers. You know scripts don't write themselves. I'm here because this part is so well-written." — Supporting actress nominee Amy Ryan, on why she won't attend the Oscars ceremony if writers are still on strike.

"I would never cross a picket line ever. I couldn't. I'm a 20-year member of the Writers Guild. I think whatever they work out is going to be one way or the other but, no, I could never cross a picket line. I think there's a lot of people who feel that way." — Tony Gilroy, nominated for best director for "Michael Clayton."

"No, if there's a strike I will not go but I have a feeling they'll solve it. I hope they do. I'm sure my mom would like to see me on TV and so forth, but if there's a strike I'm not crossing the line." — Viggo Mortensen, nominated for best actor for "Eastern Promises."

Would I be allowed to kill them first?

Gee, I scored pretty high - must be because I like my steak a little bloody.

30%

I'd be more comfortable travelling to a remote location with Presurfer who is only 13% likely to gobble me up than with J-Walk who scored 43% and might, even as I blog this, be eyeing my tasty bits and drooling.

"Elementary, my dear Watson" and other Famous Misquotations

I could have sworn this one was true. I would have been wrong.

"Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains." - Winston Churchill. Neither this nor any of its common variations were ever said by Winston Churchill

More interesting misquotes here

An Atlas of Radical Cartography

The contributions to An Atlas of Radical Cartography wear their politics on their sleeve. This publication includes ten pairs of politically engaged maps and texts from within the growing movement of cultural producers who have parallel or integrated activist practices.

The map above shows Trevor Paglen & John Emerson's Rendition Flights 2001-2006

via Coudal

Chuck Norris Top 10 Facts

Via Dark Roasted Blend

Datamancer's Steampunk Victorian Laptop

This fully functional Victorian Laptop would have been perfect for me when I worked at a National Historic Site. Luddites and geeks alike would have appreciated it. Inside this intricately hand-crafted wooden case lives a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop that runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. Awesome!

Via Neatorama

Vision, ideas and Imagination

Beautiful images. Click on the photo for the slideshow:


Southeast Asia Photography - Scott Stulberg

Going once, going twice...

Last chance to vote for me in each of these two categories in the Canadian Blog Awards:
Best Humour Blog and Best Entertainment/Cultural Blog.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!

You're probably familiar with the I Drink Your Milkshake scene from There Will Be Blood. If so you'll appreciate these hysterical Presidential milkshakes:

I drink your milkshake, even though I opposed drinking your milkshake four years ago. -Mitt Romney

I drink your milkshake, but only if the Bible says it's allowed. -Mike Huckabee

I may drink your milkshake for another 100 years, if that's what it takes. -John McCain

I drank a milkshake on 9/11. -Rudy Giuliani

I'll drink your milkshake a few months after everyone else does. -Fred Thompson

I drink your milkshake, but I'm paying for it with gold. -Ron Paul

America deserves a new milkshake. -Barack Obama

I will fight the corporations so that you can drink your own milkshake. -John Edwards

I have 35 years of milkshake-drinking experience. *sob* -Hillary Clinton

I peacefully drink your milkshake. -Dennis Kucinich

It depends on what your definition of "milkshake" is. -Bill Clinton

I voted for drinking your milkshake before I voted against it. -John Kerry

Global warming is melting your milkshake. -Al Gore

We're making good progress in the war on milkshakes, and make no mistake: we will prevail. -George W. Bush

Chad Vader, Day Shift Manager

Via List of the Day

Have too much time on your hands?

Try this DIY Hello Kitty bong project:

Since two-twenty does not really, uh, indulge (save for the rare experiment), we brought in a panel of experts who we felt were more up to the task of providing our readers with only the most comprehensive and scientific information relating to trademark infringement and illegal drug use. They did not hesitate to take the high road, and as choruses of 'Helllooooooooooo, kitty! Helllloooooo!' echoed about our halls, the true scope of our accomplishment was made clear: on the sixth day we had built it, they had come, and we all could see that it was good. Very, very good.

Via Blame It On The Voices

They find filth so you won't have to waste valuable time looking for it.

Does it offend you? Yeah!

Scared to take your kids to the flicks in case they have to sit through naked cartoon animals and rude words like 'ass'? Fear not! A variety of parental and religious websites have sprung up, telling you exactly what offensive material you will encounter.

Can you guess which orgy of filth this is:

Some wooden puppets wear plumber's pants, exposing painted bottom cleavage. A female dragon falls in love with a donkey. We see a gingerbread cookie shaped like a man being tortured by being dunked into a glass of milk. An ogre showers with mud, jumps into a pond and passes gas (we see bubbles emerging from the water, and we see his relieved look and dead fish float to the surface). www.kids-in-mind.com

(It's Shrek)

Happy Blogiversary To Me

I've made it through the terrible twos! Nag on the Lake is three years old today. Thanks to everyone who has stopped in for a look and especially to those who return regularly to see what's happening Chez Nag. Below is a sampling of some of the folderol my unfortunate readers have been exposed to over the years.

Casino de Paris

Casino de Paris a collection of hand-painted photographs of some performers in extraordinary costumes
Via Blort

100 things to do with a Meyer lemon

Meyer lemons are in season

IF Cézanne had lived not in France but in Southern California, his still lifes would have overflowed with Meyer lemons. Plump, smooth-skinned, colored an unmistakable dark yellow -- canary yellow, the color of egg yolks or the sun at noon -- they're sweeter than other lemons, with an intoxicating aroma that has hints of honey and thyme.

In December I preserved some Meyer lemons and recently used them in a Moroccan chicken recipe - no one complained so it must have been good. I used the leftover lemony broth as a soup stock with rice and greens. There are some great ideas in this article among them letting the dog use a lemon as a chew toy to improve Alpo breath.

Link via Grow a Brain

Health and Safety Posters 1936-1943

More Posters from the WPA
Via Plep

Oh God

Church strips saucy sign:
The sign in front of Heart Lake United Church on Sandalwood Parkway East usually has inspirational messages on it, according to resident Nicole Cedrone.

So she did a double take when she saw the most recent message: 'Lying in bed shouting Oh God doesn't constitute going to church.'

Is it true blondes have more fun?

Is anyone else out there old enough to remember that retro Clairol ad? The answer is, "Why not be a blonde and see." I thought I'd check it out:

I think I look like someone who who has more fun than a barrel of monkeys - not the good clean kind either.
Done with HairMixer via Presurfer

They're ever so romantic

Saw these cool Nerd Rings at :: about:blank ::

Top 11 Annoying Restaurant Trends

The offer of freshly ground pepper doesn't irritate me at all, nor does overpouring (I say bring it on!) . The tini drink suffix, on the other hand, makes me apoplectic.

Top 11 Annoying Restaurant Trends

Via Blog On AToothpick

What odds?

What are the chances that two fabulous women who met on a train in France and later became blogger friends would both have their Paris photos chosen out of 3,121,524 photos for the Schmap guide to Paris? Read Lori's post.

Every Rule Of Thumb In One Place!

All manner of useful stuff here such as:

HOW TO WRITE WELL
Use semicolons freely; most readers will credit your erudition.

PLANNING A PARTY
One toilet per keg of beer.

COMPARING A DOG'S AGE TO A HUMAN'S AGE
The old rule--multiplying a dog's age by 7 to find the equivalent human age--is fallacious. A dog is able to reproduce at 1 year and has reached full growth by 2 years. To calculate a dog's age in human terms, count the first year as 15, the second year as 10, and each year after that as 5.

The advice on semi-colons seems sound. I remember changing my opinion of someone I'd considered illiterate when I saw him use a semi-colon. Yes, the way to a Nag's heart is through fancy punctuation.

Read more at RulesofThumb.org
Via Dooce

Go Jane!

I've been trying to refrain from posting about the American Democratic and Republican races but my resolve was clearly weak. This back and forth in The Huffington Post interested me:

Lawrence O'Donnell writes :

If John Edwards stays in the race, he might, in the end, become nothing other than the Southern white man who stood in the way of the black man. And for that, he would deserve a lifetime of liberal condemnation.

To which Jane Smiley, one of my favourite novelists, responds:

O'Donnell attacks the only candidate in the race with explicitly progressive policy positions, and the only candidate in the race who hasn't accepted corporate money, and the only candidate in the race who understands how corporations are poisoning American politics and American life with their unrestrained power and influence.
But I thank him for one thing -- he persuaded me to send a nice fat donation to John Edwards.

Being Canadian, my endorsement of a candidate in a US race is not on the radar but, if it weren't for Edwards' unfortunate support of the death penalty, he'd be my choice.

Many people seem to be writing Edwards off but J-Walk posted this chart showing poll results for various Dem/Rep election match-ups.
Since Giuliani's chances of winning the nomination are getting slimmer all the time, perhaps it's time the Democrats gave Edwards a more serious look.

(I found O'Donnell's piece on Grow a Brain.)

He needs to do a few more

In today's St. Catharines Standard:

“We did some learnings this year,” said Ken Weir, president of the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival.

I think he's been taking grammar lessons from George W. This quote reminds me of "Is our children learning?"

*** I just had to add this one - also from the Standard Classifieds:

New & Used Salespeople Wanted

American Industry Upskills to Knowledge Economy

A very clever parody.

Via BB-Blog

Soldier Portraits

The photographs are made using the 150 year old collodion wet plate process - the same process that was used to document much of the period (and many of the soldiers) of the Civil War.

Find out more about the Soldier Portraits Project
via Coudal

Late Night Talk Show Quiz

I know way too much for someone who goes to bed before these shows air. Is it possible I get this information through some sort of electromagnetic absorption? Take the quiz.

I Has a Hotdog

I should have seen this blog coming but I would have called it I Can Haz Hotdog ?
Loldogs site found at Beancounters.

I Wanna Be Sedated

I am definitely going to audition for this band - it's a natural fit - I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain.



via Blort

I've been Schmapped!

I am thrilled to learn that one of my Paris photos - the Lapin Agile above- has been selected for inclusion in the newly released edition of the Flickr Schmap Paris Guide .
I was surprised to receive an email from Flickr before Christmas saying that my photo had been shortlisted and asking for permission to use it if it were chosen. I'm not sure how they came upon one of my photos among the millions of really excellent photos they had to choose from, but I'm pleased they did.

Vote For Pedro - Not

Quel surprise! Nag On The Lake has been announced as a finalist for The 2007 Canadian Blog Awards in the Best Humour Blog and Best Entertainment/Cultural Blog categories. Voting has begun and I hope you'll take a moment to vote for me here and here.


It was Nag On The Lake's good buddy, Uncorrected Proofs, who nominated me for these awards - thanks Larry. He has been nominated in Best Political, Best Progressive, Best New Blog and
Best Blog Post Series categories. Since we're not in direct competition I encourage you to vote for him as well, otherwise I'd say screw him.

The Baby Primary

Can I get my 5-month-old daughter photographed with every presidential candidate?

A sucker for political kitsch, I set out to photograph my 5-month-old daughter, Dahlia, in the arms of every candidate with a prayer of making it to the White House.

An entertaining slideshow of politicians with a baby.

Deep fried body of Christ - yum

National Public Radio skit blasphemes Eucharist, apology made

The offensive segment was part of a show called “Fair Game with Faith Salie,” broadcast on Utah National Public radio station KCPW.

In the skit, a woman’s voice announces a “Huckabee family recipe” supposedly leaked by his opponents.

A man’s voice then says:
“Tired of bland unsatisfying Eucharists? Try this Huckabee family favorite. Deep-Fried Body of Christ--boring holy wafers no more. Take one Eucharist. Preferably post transubstantiation. Deep-fry in fat, not vegetable oil, ladies, until crispy. Serve piping hot. Mike likes to top his Christ with whipped cream and sprinkles. But his wife Janet and the boys like theirs with heavy gravy and cream puffs. It goes great with red wine.”

The woman’s voice responds: “Now that is just ridiculous. Everyone knows evangelicals don’t believe in transubstantiation.”

Being an irreverent blasphemer myself, I laughed so hard at this that I nearly choked on my breakfast of Crispy Christ Cereal.

Via J-Walk

Does your chihuahua need a bullet proof vest?

You can find it here along with a wide variety of other Safety Gear for Small Animals. In my view though, if your tiny pet requires a bullet proof vest for his neighbourhood walks, it might be wise to move.

Via Dark Roasted Blend

The Puzzled Fox

I fancy foxes and liked the picture on its own; the puzzle is a bonus.

This 1872 Currier and Ives print is titled The Puzzled Fox: Find the Horse, Lamb, Wild Boar, Men's and Women's Faces. There are eight human and animal faces hidden in the scene. Can you find them?

Ironically, the birds in the upper left have now disappeared — they're passenger pigeons.

Menagerie via Futility Closet where you can find all sorts of puzzles and other neat stuff.

Guns For Girls

Antonio Riello's Ladies Weapons:

In 1998 I decided to focus my artistic research mainly about a 'fashion-fiction' visual story regarding an old passion of mine: weapons - objects full of symbolic senses. I want to mix, in an artistic way, traditional 'female stuff' like fashion with very traditional 'male stuff' like guns. It consists in a restyling of real military weapons into fashion items for ladies'.

Via Metafilter

Trippin' Tunes

Looking to smooth the jagged edges on your next acid trip?
George Petros has compiled druggy and/or exotic Pop songs reinterpreted by contemporaneous Easy Listening artists, from 1966 through 1971. Download music by The Soulful Strings, Herbie Mann, Percy Faith and all your favourite performers of elevator music. I've never been fond of that genre but perhaps I might be if my mind were altered...
Here's a selection from Petros' comprehensive list:

Via 3 Quarks Daily

Ten dogs that changed the world

We know how our dogs change our lives (for the better in most cases). Here are ten dogs that changed the world ,
Via Presurfer

Chef Tatts

Left: Alice Waters On Nino Mancari's arm, Alice Waters trumps Mom. ''I wanted to do a tribute to American food,'' said the chef at Fish On! in Lewes, Del. ''Eventually I'll get James and Julia, and with Alice it'll be the holy trinity.''

See the Slide Show
Via Blort

An expat's xmas in Paris

Bonne Année by Rosecrans Baldwin

Prior to Christmas, there was advertising up in the subways for a new video game designed for girls. The posters showed a girl training and riding a horse, with the caption, “Your horse. Your friend. Your champion.” During a meeting in a senior partner’s office, I tried explaining in French why I was sure it would be a successful campaign, but my translation of the selling points was a little off: “Your horse. Your boyfriend. Your mushroom.” more

Via Coudal

Which Book Are You?

I don't think I'd read this book, much less be it.


You're Anarchy, State, and Utopia!

by Robert Nozick

If it were up to you, there would probably be no government at all.
But then you'd have to deal with there being no government, and nobody likes that. So
you've decided that hiring a few security guards is okay. Getting rid of that nasty
tax collector would sure be nice, though. He keeps getting in the way of you making
the money you so richly deserve! Everyone who believes in you happens to be fairly
well off.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Calling Rob Nicholson. Do you hear me? Come in, Rob

It’s the only tender fruit-canning operation in Canada east of the Rocky mountains. It's down the road from me and it's closing, throwing 149 plant employees out of work.
Why? Because canned fruit from countries like China with lax environmental standards and non-existent labour laws is cheaper. We don't want our kids playing with lead-laced toys or our dogs and cats eating lethal pet food made in China. I don't want to eat their toxic pear halves either. Would you trust products from a country where lax regulation and a weak legal system have allowed unscrupulous manufacturers to blend industrial fluids into alcoholic beverages and to sell fake baby formula?
Bear in mind that this closure is taking place in one of the best growing zones in Canada.
What is the federal government prepared to do? The St. Catharines Standard reports that Rob Nicholson, MP for the area, has been incommunicado on the issue.

"I just had some bacon. Anybody ever had bacon?

Here's Looking At You

Can you judge a book by its cover? I think we're all guilty of forming instant first impressions. I don't think I'd have liked to participate in this video.
via Metafilter