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Friday, May 30, 2008
I Can't Believe It's Church™! 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
I Can't Believe It's Church!

Do they serve bran muffins instead of communion wafers? Is the priest Fabio?

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
"Total Crap." 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 


Fron CNN: classy, very classy.

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Friday, May 23, 2008
Gobbler Gala Set for June 6th, in Johnson Creek WI! 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Gobbler Motel and Restaurant Fans have an exciting date to mark on the calendar - the Gobbler Gala is coming to the one-of-a-kind former restaurant on June 6th! Wisconsin State Journal's Doug Moe give us the details:
...On June 6, The Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin Tourism Program will host "The Gobbler Gala," a dinner and discussion at the building in Johnson Creek, just off Interstate 94, that was once the Gobbler Supper Club.

There will be a catered gourmet turkey dinner and speakers will include Jefferson architect Helmut Ajango, who designed the Gobbler, and Wright historian Sidney Robinson, formerly of the University of Illinois-Chicago, now with the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. As one who rarely missed an opportunity during a Madison-to-Milwaukee run to duck off the highway and seek refreshment at the Gobbler, I am both amused and pleased by this development.

The idea came from Jack Holzhueter, retired after many years with the Wisconsin Historical Society, and a Wright Tourism board member. He enlisted another board member, Margo Melli, a Madison attorney and law professor, and together they persuaded the current owner of the Gobbler property, Jefferson attorney Raymond Krek, to go along. Though the restaurant has been closed for several years, much of the interior is still in place and Holzhueter said there's even a chance they'll get the revolving bar operating.

The only real problem is explaining the uniqueness of the Gobbler, which for most of its years had a motel adjacent to the restaurant, to those who never experienced it... [read the full article at the Wisconsin State Journal]
You can read more about the Gobbler's Motel's history and 2001 demise at our sister site, Requiem for the Gobbler Motel.

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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Watch This: UK Wants to Record All Phone Calls, Emails, Websurfing 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Perhaps the most surprising thing about this news story from the UK is how unsurprising it seems today, in 2008:
A government database holding details of every phone call made, email sent and minute spent on the internet by the public could be created as part of a centralised fight against crime and terrorism, it emerged [May 20th]. News of the proposal prompted alarm about the country's growing surveillance culture and raised fears of "data profiling" of citizens. It follows on from plans for databases for ID cards and NHS electronic patient records.

Telecoms companies and internet service providers would be compelled to hand over their records to the Home Office under proposals that could find their way into the new data communications bill. The information would be stored for at least 12 months and police, security services and other agencies across Europe would be able to access the database with court permission. [Read full article in Guardian UK, and others, via Schneier on Security]
Which brings me to my main point. I've noticed an unsettling trend in the comment sections of blogs and websites reporting on intrusive government proposals like the one above.

I see fewer expressions of outrage at the idea that our private communications could be intercepted, monitored, shared and stored by government agencies - and more "what, are you paranoid?" joking, more "what's the big deal, everyone's doing it, get used to it" dismissals. Why should this be the case? Do we actually value our electronic privacy less today than we once did?

What I suspect is happening is a gradual downward shift of privacy expectations in this less-than-a-decade since 9/11, and public acclimation to pervasive surveillance. Being watched is no longer the exception: it's the norm.

Corporations routinely buy and sell our private personal and financial information amongst themselves, public spaces and private establishments surveil and record activity as a matter of course. Any time we enter a store, a bank, a sports arena, or an airport we expect to have our actions and movements electronically observed and recorded. When we dial a customer service number, the canned preamble more often than not warns us "this call may be recorded."

A friend whom I normally held to be an advocate of individual privacy rights recently offered the apologist's trope, that those who are guilty of nothing have nothing to fear by being watched. I found this surprising and a bit disturbing - after all, if our calls and emails are recorded, then yesterday's innocent act could become tomorrow's documented transgression. It also occurred to me that these days even I rarely notice the increasing number of dark, shiny watchful hemispheres on the ceilings and walls of nearly every store and public place I go. They're just there, like light bulbs and fire sprinklers.

Outside of our homes, we have virtually no expectation of privacy of action to speak of, but this broad proposal is different: it hits us where we communicate, emote, express, think. It's not just surveillance of behavior; it's the closest thing we have today to surveillance of thought.

You know, I think those commenters are right. We're starting to care less and less that we're being watched because we're all being watched.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
In The Bathroom @ Sultan's 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Bathroom @ Sultan's

Very tasty Mediterranean eats (in the restaurant, of course), and a fascinating "pilgrimage" bathroom, to boot. On North Avenue, in Chicago.

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Friday, May 16, 2008
farkleberries Links du Jour 181: the Ants in Your Phone Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Stormdrive 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Stormdrive 1

On Route 264 near Manassas, Virginia, during a pounding rainstorm that eventually flooded highways in the region last weekend. Click to view the full-resolution image, which reveals some interesting things about traffic lighting viewed over time. The 2-second exposure of road lighting was taken while rotating the camera's body clockwise.

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Friday, May 09, 2008
Dendrobium 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Dendrobium Orchid

[Why, yes, I am a fan of Georgia O'Keeffe's work - why do you ask? ;) - L]

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Galena (IL) Staircase 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Galena Stairs

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Tuesday, May 06, 2008
"Price Gouge'n" in Valpo 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
This guy's taken the gas-price blues to a whole new level:
VALPARAISO, Ind. -- A Valparaiso man climbed atop a convenience store with a guitar and megaphone Monday night to sing a song protesting high gasoline prices. Police halted the impromptu 15-minute concert at a Family Express store and took singer Jay Weinberg to jail.

Weinberg's song, called "Price Gouge'n," resonated as he sang from above pumps dispensing fuel at $3.78 per gallon. Dozens of supporters chanted: "I can't afford it. I'm banging on my dashboard. I can't believe they think I'm a fool." Eventually, three Valparaiso police officers arrived and arrested Weinberg on charges of criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Some of the listeners, including his wife, Danielle, drove to Porter County Jail to bail him out. Weinberg left the building around 7:30 p.m. and was greeted with cheers. [via AP/Google]
[With apologies to the creator of the above cartoon; I've seen it several times before but this version lacks a signature. Anyone who knows the name of the artist that should be credited, feel free to leave a comment]

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sodiumflaregranville 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
sodiumflaregranville

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Monday, May 05, 2008
Old Scioto Mills, Lena, IL 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
DSC03382

A treasure from the golden age of the Illinois Central Railroad, seen along the Jane Addams Trail in Lena, IL. From a perfect sunny Sunday hike in the swampy, froggy Pecatonica River basin, accompanied by the loves of my life; camera in hand.

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