C. Aswath, 1938–2009.

I learned from Wikipedia that Indian composer and singer C. Aswath (ಸಿ. ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥ) died yesterday, and I had never even heard of him. I don’t understand the Kannada language, but this song composed by Upendra Kumar from the 1983 movie musical Kamana Billu (ಕಾಮನ ಬಿಲ್ಲು) is obviously about life in the big city.

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From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 11–17 October 2009.

▴ …had almost forgotten about this video. —17 October (VIDEOBLAST on Dailymotion, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wants to offer an egg roll to Mr. Goldstone. Mr. Goldstone, we love you. —16 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pop singer Ayan is a Mountain Jewess from Azərbaycan, and she is singing here about “Abşeronun üzümü,” grapes from the Abşeron area of the country. I wish I had found this adorable video in the spring as it’s in celebration of the Novruz Bayramı, the new year’s celebration on the Persian calendar. (Note the dish on the table with the eggs, sprouts, desserts etc.) —16 October (Samir Babakishiyev on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ Zohar Argov {זהר ארגוב‎} was a tragic figure from his rise to stardom in the field of Mizrahi music to his drug use, arrest on rape charges and subsequent suicide. —16 October (REVIVOMAN on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ The remainder and majority of my pictures of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association Diwali Mela (دیوالی میلہ), Jackson Heights. —14 October (Facebook, Jackson Heights Life|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks the daughters of gay people can help get the movement’s priorities in order. (Thanks to the group I Still Think Marriage is the Wrong Goal.) —13 October (Queer Kids of Queer Parents Against Gay Marriage!, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ —12 October (RT on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ —12 October (mabuse74 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ The first installment of my pictures of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association Diwali Mela (دیوالی میلہ), Jackson Heights. —12 October (Facebook, Jackson Heights Life|FriendFeed)

▴ …took 280 pictures yesterday. —12 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …daily states he’s gay in his Facebook profile and came out before National Coming Out Day existed, but will nevertheless commemorate it. —11 October (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

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Atheism as opposed to cognitive dissonance.

Photo: Elyaqim Mosheh Adam.Making reasonable choices is an essential part of life. (Trade Fair, 75-07 37th Avenue, Jackson Heights, 14 August 2009.) ────────

Atheism as opposed to cognitive dissonance.

Is atheism a choice? … I’m inclined to say no. While it’s a conscious effort that leads us to seek out the truth through study and reflection, we can’t decide ahead of time what the evidence will say. Evaluating evidence is in the domain of our subconscious. … In my conception of belief—confidence that something is true—it’s very difficult to argue that my atheism is a choice. … ¶ Theists often seem quite capable of talking themselves into belief without evidence. I find this to be delusional. But it explains why religious believers often think that our atheism is a choice: if they put evidence aside to believe, they assume we can, too. …[T]his is begging the question—in essence, I’m simply asserting that I’m incapable of accepting something as true without evidence.

—Jesse Galef, “Is Atheism a Choice?,” Friendly Atheist, 2 December 2009.

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5mOvM1XmV.
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From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 18–24 October 2009.

▴ My video of my friend Peter’s birthday celebration at Caja Musical, Elmhurst. —24 October (I on YouTube, Facebook and Facebook, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of my friend Peter’s birthday celebration at Caja Musical, Elmhurst. —24 October (Facebook)

▴ …isn’t usually concerned with the world of sport, but…. —23 October (explosm.net, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee happy hour at Bar los Recuerdos, Jackson Heights, and subsequent socializing at Friends’ Tavern, Jackson Heights, and Caja Musical, Elmhurst. —23 October (Facebook)

▴ —22 October (Ecomukti on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ More of my pictures of autumn in New York City. —22 October (Facebook)

▴ Sexy Jew. Thanks, Chap. —22 October (SexyManFan on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ Hear the endangered Cypriot Maronite variety of Arabic in this two-part documentary in Greek (with English subtitles). Look for the link to part two when part one is over, and please excuse the religious content. —21 October (gskordis on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed) {Already embedded in a prior article.}

▴ …has a pre-existing condition. —21 October (OK Go!, Facebook|FriendFeed|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ —20 October (davey wavey on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ —20 October (ErialC on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed)

▴ My video of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association Diwali Mela (دیوالی میلہ), Jackson Heights. —19 October (I on YouTube and Facebook, Facebook|FriendFeed)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5mO3WQFNI.
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From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, November 2009.

▴ My pictures of the vigil, Hudson River Park Pier 45, and “optional mass,” the Church of St. Luke in the Fields, in memory of Jorge Steven López Mercado, Greenwich Village, 22 November 2009. —28 November (Facebook)

▴ …thanks Glenn for a sensational meal last night with such traditional Thanksgiving foods as gumbo and kašk u bâdenjân (کشک و بادنجان‎). —27 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …is too old to know or care about the distinctions between the “Pokémon,” “Digimon” and “Kakimon” (קאַק אים אָן‎). —26 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …came to the conclusion, after insufficient research, that the Czech word kavka (jackdaw) is not related to a name for the Caucasus, Kavkaz. —21 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pictures of the Jackson Heights Food Group at 친구네분식 ★ 포차 Friend’s Restaurant and the Cuckoo’s Nest, Woodside. —21 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wonders which animal you are. —19 November (The Onion, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

☠ And another violent attack on a gay youth…. —19 November (khou.com, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

☠ Another outspoken and non-conforming gay youth has been brutally murdered. We’re fighting for our lives here, people. —18 November (The Baltimore Sun, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pictures of “The Fur Ball” at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Greenwich Village. —17 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …finds this song cute but annoyingly repetitive. But who cares? Look at the wigs in the video instead. (Thanks to Bunny’s ’blog.) —17 November (greymanfilms on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks the logo for this snow cone (“gola” گولا) company looks a bit familiar. —16 November (Go·gola India, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ Pictures of Jeff’s (and Laura’s and Chet’s) birthday at Best Fuzhou Restaurant 松柏園福州小吃, Chinatown. —14 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …is glad a télévision series like Nova can teach him about Homo erectus. —14 November (Nova on PBS Video, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …appreciates photography and videography all the more because some art is inherently ephemeral. —13 November (xogml69 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ This is my kind of bar: lots of food and puns available. —12 November (English Whirled Wide on Facebook, Facebook)

▴ My pictures of the premier meeting of the LGBT Equality Coalition of Queens, Bayanihan Filipino Community Center/Philippine Forum, Woodside. —10 November (Facebook)

▴ …envisions a reworking of last year’s hit song into an acoustic Central European–style version called “Polka Face.” —9 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …commemorates the victims of Kristallnacht and thinks something similar could probably happen even nowadays. —9 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wonders how many of his friends noticed the egregious grammatical errors he made in his last two posts. —7 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks this article has some inaccuracies but nevertheless exemplifies some key reasons I [sic] moved to the neighborhood. —7 November (New York Globe, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …dreamed he had a cat painfully clinging to each of his feet that would scratch and claw all the more if their removal was [sic] attempted. —6 November (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …sometimes just needs some fun pop music. —6 November (seeme96 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of New York Bear Den at the Diversity Center of Queens, Alliance Building, Jackson Heights. —4 November (Facebook)

▴ …finds it ironic that brown boobies have white chests. —4 November (Wikipedia, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of Halloween at View Bar, Chelsea, as well as some other costumed folk en route. —2 November (Facebook)

▴ My one hundred ninety-one pictures of signs of autumn in Jackson Heights. —2 November (Facebook)

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From Facebook Wall to Surface Web, 2–12 December 2009.

▴ …is again drawn to thinking about oil on this holiday, but in a different context than usual. —12 December (Tigrzeye516 on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …wishes all an oily Ḥanukkâ. חג חנכה שׂמח!‏ ‎—11 December (yogev cohen on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

☠ Another anti-gay assault in Jackson Heights. —10 December (New York Post, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of New York Bear Den at the Diversity Center and อรุณี Arunee Thai Cuisine, Jackson Heights, 6 Dec. 2009. —9 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …is considering taking this health advice. —9 December (English Whirled Wide on Facebook, Facebook)

▴ My pictures of the Roosevelt Avenue Taco Cart Crawl in Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona. —8 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …had forgotten how both economical and good a meal at a diner can be: main dish, salad, soda, potato, vegetable and dessert for ten dollars. —8 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …didn’t go out dancing tonight because he was still a bit sick, but the pneumonia‐like rales disappeared in time to make him wish he had. —5 December (Facebook, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …thinks linguistics and affected queenliness are a good combination. —5 December (--- M I S T E R D U N CAN---- IN ENGLAND ---- 2009 --- on YouTube, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …appreciates the camaraderie of opponents of religious fanaticism. (Thanks to Andrés.) —4 December (Yale Daily News, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …found a photograph of his used without credit (i.e., stolen) in an article about Jackson Heights. —4 December (কিছু বলার নাই, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ …appears in some pictures in this article about the Roosevelt Avenue Taco Crawl. —3 December (Interactive Journalism, Facebook|FriendFeed, Jaiku|FriendFeed)

▴ My pictures of my friend’s birthday celebration at Kiku (菊) Sushi, 235 Ninth Avenue, Chelsea, 23 November 2009. —2 December (Facebook)

▴ …had an innocuous mooning photograph (with a bare posterior) removed by Facebook. As he has commonly seen much more revealing and erotic pictures on Facebook, he suspects some “friend” reported it. —2 December (Facebook)

• A version of this article is reproduced at webcitation.org/5lyuHCCeo.
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