May 3, 2005
Tales from the northern service.
Once upon a time, in the early eighties, one of the northern CBC Radio stations was vacated due to a strike. Vacated, except for one Inuit janitor and his friends...
oh the past, the past
The Filibuster and Fortas The republicans have been saying for weeks (or is it months?) that the "nuclear option" is justified because democrats did the unprecedented and threatened to filibuster judicial nominees. For weeks (or is it months?) many journalists and bloggers and average folks like myself have accepted the premise of this argument, while disaggreeing with its conclusion. Trouble is, it's just not true. (And there's video too, if I you want it...) Here's the wiki on Abe Fortas, a man I personally knew too little about before this. A man who resigned from the Supreme Court in scandal. He was also the same man who picked up Gideon's Trumpet.
It's a basic irony, folks...
I'm amused by today's Editorial in The Sun. It starts off with how a protest vote against Labour may mean 'you could be signing a young person's death warrant' due to the Liberal Democrat party's drugs policy.
The second half of the newspaper's editorial is a tribute to Anthony Wakefield... whose death came, of course, as part of the Blair government's war in Iraq... a basic irony that the newspaper has failed to pick up on. [via Bloggerheads]
For those who don't know, The Sun - which backs Blair, though not like this - is the UK's biggest selling newspaper and is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
The second half of the newspaper's editorial is a tribute to Anthony Wakefield... whose death came, of course, as part of the Blair government's war in Iraq... a basic irony that the newspaper has failed to pick up on. [via Bloggerheads]
For those who don't know, The Sun - which backs Blair, though not like this - is the UK's biggest selling newspaper and is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Cellphedia
Cellphedia is a thesis project created by Limor Garcia (NYU). It's a cell phone application that allows to send and receive encyclopedia-type inquiries through Text messaging. A user will be able to get all the information they need – from “how old is the queen of England?” to “how many miles is the Brooklyn Bridge?” – through a real-time social network, while walking in the street.
The women's petition against coffee
The women's petition against coffee "the Excessive use of that Newfangled, Abominable, Heathenish
Liquor called COFFEE, which Riffling Nature
of her Choicest Treasures, and Drying up the Radical
Moisture, has so Eunucht our Husbands, and Crippled
our more kind Gallants, that they are become as Impotent,
as Age, and as unfruitful as those Desarts whence that
unhappy Berry is said to be brought." (via)
If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants
Human Towers. An old custom of Catalan, Castellers build human towers several stories tall. Via the Cellar's IOTD. Site is in spanish, click on links with foto and video.
Gender Based Brain Research
A review of the current state of gender based brain research shows that women and men differ both in the way their brains are constructed and in how they function.
..correlation between brain region size in adults and sex steroid action in utero suggests that at least some sex differences in cognitive function do not result from cultural influences or the hormonal changes associated with puberty--they are there from birth.Treatment for such things as schizophrenia and depression will likely have gender specific variations in the future. Previously, brain research that examined gender differences was considered controversial because it was argued that the results might give rise to more sex discrimination against women. That view may be changing.
...nor hell a fury like a woman scorned
"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." (by way of William Congreve) [via MoFi]
annoyed grunt
Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show, 1987-1989. [(Low-quality RealMedia I'm afraid.]
The Da Vinci Code - real malarkey or plagiarised malarkey?
Page 35 - a Da Vinci scholar finds himself the victim of a dastardly murder (the fourth of his kind to do so). Before he dies, he leaves a message in his own blood on his own body for our hero to find, leading our protagonist (and his heroine, complete with "flashing green eyes" and cleverly hidden links to previously wronged goddess figures) on a quest to find an explosive secret that could shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Paintings, puzzles, keys that aren't keys, safe-deposit boxes in Zurich, stalking assassins and parchments that should be linen abound. Sound familiar? You bet your sweet bippy it does.
The Vepsa
The Vepsa are a distinct ethnic people who live in the Russian territory of Karelia, on the border with Finland. They are also scattered throughout the Leningrad and Vologda regions of Russia. Before many were assimiliated to Russian, the Vepsa spoke their own distinct variant of Finno-Ugric. [See more inside]
See no evil
"Censorship does not keep us from doing evil—it just blocks us from seeing it." A (to many, probably surprising) Christian perspective on smut-removing DVD players and other forms of censorship.
webby
Big Big Big Burger
Hungry? A restaraunt in Pennsylvania is offering a 15-pound burger for only $30
Uncle Sam Wants You!
"Recruiting has always been a difficult job, and some say the scandals that have periodically surfaced are inevitable. But the temptation to cut corners is particularly strong today..."
We Salute You, O Dark Master
Not just for hard rockers, apparently . . . They're everywhere, damn worshippers of satan. Some you'd figure right away, some you wouldn't. Ever been to a rock concert? Yep, you're probably damned, too.
Smoking
Conversation about Smoking: a skit for three actors
"Did you hear they banned smoking in restaurants? Next thing you know, they'll ban smoking in your car." "I don't care if they ban smoking." "I think smoking bans hurt business." "Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." "Did someone say smoke, dude?" "Shut up, you crazy pothead." "You shouldn't smoke, especially around the children." "I'll smoke where and when I want!"
Exeunt.
"Did you hear they banned smoking in restaurants? Next thing you know, they'll ban smoking in your car." "I don't care if they ban smoking." "I think smoking bans hurt business." "Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." "Did someone say smoke, dude?" "Shut up, you crazy pothead." "You shouldn't smoke, especially around the children." "I'll smoke where and when I want!"
Exeunt.
the boy from Sheepshead Bay
Where I'm Likely To Find It
Where I'm Likely To Find It is a new short story by Japanese author Haruki Murakami (previously discussed here and here). The story is similar in feel to his latest novel, Kafka on the Shore which was released in English this year.
"Kal-El, I am your godfather."
Phoning It In From 30 Years Ago. Parts of Marlon Brando's "Jor-El" scenes, cut from the old Superman II, may be resurrected in Superman Returns. (possible spoilers)
SinCity in less than 80 seconds
Illicit downloading is now tantamount to domestic terrorism. I wonder if "CleanPlay" will still censor my illegally downloaded DVDs.
Anhui Fujian Guangdong Hunan Jiangsu Shangdong Shanghai Sichuan Zhejiang
What the hell is 'foo-fooey?
Joe Valentine has Two Mommies --..."It's no different than having a mother and father," he said. "These are the two women who raised me, and they are wonderful people. It's just not a big deal to me. Why should it be?"
In an enlightened world, it shouldn't. But major league baseball is to enlightenment what Pauly Shore is to career longevity. ...
Meet the Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher--"...a baseball player who was raised by two wonderful, loving mothers. How can anyone criticize that?"
A manly, manly beard!
Being the tale of a lad, and his quest for a beard. I've got visible vellus hair on my back (I got a couple of mirrors and checked). I've got shoulder hair. I've got bizarre hair high up on my cheeks. I've got some chest hair. I've got increased @#%$ hair (growing farther upward than it used to).
I had no idea some guys took facial hair this seriously. And then, while I was "combing" Metafilter for a duplicate post, I found this.
I had no idea some guys took facial hair this seriously. And then, while I was "combing" Metafilter for a duplicate post, I found this.
Just a Ruse?
Are evolution's advocates giving fire to creationists? So says Michael Ruse, "philosopher of biology (especially Darwinism)", who claims that outspoken evolutionists (e.g. Richard Dawkins) should do more to make evolution compatible with religion, rather than touting it as a worldview of its own.
Tell that to Nosson Slifkin (NYTimes, login required), an Orthodox rabbi whose books were banned by a number of eminent rabbis for "seek[ing] to reconcile, rather than to contrast, sacred texts with modern knowledge of the natural world."
That said, will those like Slifkin and Rev. Dr. Arthur Peacocke be able to make a difference, or will they be ignored and scorned?
Tell that to Nosson Slifkin (NYTimes, login required), an Orthodox rabbi whose books were banned by a number of eminent rabbis for "seek[ing] to reconcile, rather than to contrast, sacred texts with modern knowledge of the natural world."
That said, will those like Slifkin and Rev. Dr. Arthur Peacocke be able to make a difference, or will they be ignored and scorned?
Request-a-Song
Got a title but no song? Like an Exploding Dog for music, Request-a-Song.com takes submitted titles and composes songs around them, with some surprisingly good results.
Stem cell research guidelines
The National Academies have finally released suggested guidelines for research with embryonic stem cells and chimeras.
Addiction Study, Plastics & Ocean Mixing
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