Top 5 Most Stressful Cities to Live In

1. Chicago, IL
2. New York, NY
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. San Francisco, CA

Leave New York before you get hard, leave LA before you become soft.

Gray Matter

Concept art from Jane Jensen's latest project, which deals with a neuroscientist and magician grad student in New Orleans. I always enjoy the concept art much more than the game itself - my preference for the surreal over realistic detail. Why do all characters have to look the same these days? She looks like she would fit in with the characters from Grand Theft Auto, or any similar shoot-em-up, or a man's idea of what a woman should look like. More realistic female representations, please.

Wonder Girls

Saw them live in concert this weekend. Was one of the better concerts that I'd gone to in quite some time, pretty good for a free one.

Hermes Kelly or Birkin

This is terrible but I want one of these. The purses cost upwards of $7,000 to six figures. On the black market they can sell for about $350. I inspected one today and the quality was horrendous. I then went to Filene's and saw a faint glimmer of a replica (around $150) that was much better quality than the black market Kelly, but not the right size.

I don't care about the object as a status symbol. It's the look that I like - the clean, classic lines, elegant simplicity, and the excellent functionality. It's as organized as my Timbuk2! Personally, I can't stand carrying tote bags or shoulder bags that I have to dump everything into. My notebooks and papers get edge-worn, and then all my other junk gets scrambled up. Short of carrying a boxy, rectangular men's briefcase, this is the ideal bag.

I also saw some cute mini-Kellies on the black market that were about 6" square ($270). I guess I might consider buying the Coach take on the Birkin/Kelly, but it's an entirely different beast.

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On another note, I am planning on preparing an emergency survival kit (something I've been thinking about since 9/11/2001, but never got around to doing). We had several of them at Trip, with most of the stuff in buckets (which doubled as toilets) which made me feel safe most of the time. I'll stuff everything into a backpack so I can just grab it and run if the zombies come.

- 1L water in bottle
- iodine
- first aid kit
- sleeping bag
- rain jacket
- whistle, matches, lighter, flashlight, standard camping stuff...
- emergency heating blanket
- MREs / other food
- radio
- knife/multi-purpose tool
- duct tape
- Zombie repellent
- crucifix, garlic, holy water
- Zithromax
- gas mask
- Kevlar trenchcoat

Dracaenaceae

These trees are really cool. Whenever I see them, I see Yggdrasil.

Socotra Island (Indian Ocean), a UNESCO Heritage site. Dragon Trees.

In my life, I wish to visit as many UNESCO Heritage sites as possible.