Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Sigurdardóttir Elected to be Iceland's PM
Three months ago I was very pleased with the news that Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, a social democrat, had been tapped to become Prime Minister of Iceland following the collapse of the previous government over Iceland's severe financial crisis. Sigurdardóttir formed a coalition government with the Left Green Party (as best I can piece together). Scanty reports […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
GRB 090423
This luminous blob is a "gamma-ray burster", and exceedingly distant from us: slightly over 13 billion light-years. In fact, it is the current record-holder in the "most distant object seen" category. It was spotted recently by NASA's Swift spacecraft (about the spacecraft; and about the Swift mission). Just how a gamma-ray burst happens is still […]
New Hampshire Verges on Marriage Equality
The New Hampshire House this afternoon passed a bill to bring marriage equality to that state. According to the brief report I heard on NPR news, the Senate had earlier easily passed the legislation. The Governor of New Hampshire, John Lynch, has not indicated whether he will sign, veto, or ignore the bill. In a […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
On the Death of Mr. Handel
George Frideric Handel died 250 years ago, as Alex Ross ("For the Late Mr Handel") reminded me.* Mr. Ross suggested the video below as a tribute and I thought it was a swell idea. Perhaps because I am an instrumental musician, my education in the vocal arts lagged by decades and it's only in my […]
Equality Advances, Pie Charts Decline
Via Joe.My.God I learn that a new CBS News / New York Times poll shows an amazing 42% of those polled in favor of legal marriage for same-sex couples. That's amazing because the previous poll by the same group only one month ago found only 33% in favor of legal marriage. This increase of 9 […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, It's Only Rocket Science
Endangered Species Act Less Endangered
More signs today of a return to policy supported by science rather than science perverted to the will of policy. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the two departments are revoking an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Their decision requires […]
In: All, Current Events, It's Only Rocket Science, Speaking of Science
Happy Weddings in Iowa
Marriage equality arrived in fact for couples in Iowa on Monday, 27 April 2009. Just one snippet: As television cameras surrounded dozens of couples in line [for marriage licenses] in Des Moines [Iowa], Lori Blachford talked about how life with her partner of 25 years, Karen Utke, was about to change. Blachford first introduced Utke […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
The Eleventh Commandment
[Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville, who leads a panel of U.S. Catholic bishops set up to fight marriage equality: ] "With regard to marriage [equality], this implicates the right of Catholics to practice our beliefs. Here we are talking about the bedrock of society, it's not just a belief, it's written on the hearts […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
Beard of the Week LXXVI: Barbe en Château
This week's stylishly modern-looking beard belongs to the unidentified subject of a painting, known as "Portrait of a Red-Bearded Man", attributed to Dutch painter Jan Anthonisz van Ravensteyn (c. 1570–1657), a man for whom I can find virtually no biographical information. Judging from dates painted on the canvas (outside the frame of my cropped image […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, Music & Art
Leaning Towards Equality
From yet another article trying to "understand" how Iowa could go for marriage equality: This month, the Iowa Supreme Court found a state law banning same-sex marriage to be a violation of the state Constitution, in essence deeming the practice legal, as of this week. […] In Des Moines, the state capital, observers of the […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
For Dummies Only
Yesterday in the check-out line at the supermarket I saw a small-format book with the title Numerology for Dummies. It promised to explain the important and mysterious effects that numbers have in one's daily life. "How singularly appropriate!" I thought. How likely is it that Numerology for Really Smart People who Know what a Crock […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Raised Eyebrows Dept.
What Gentlemen Fought Over
Yes, a woman. Gentlemen didn't fight over men in those days. –Cary Grant as Victor, explaining the immediate cause of an historic duel, from the 1961 movie "The Grass is Greener".
Sound Enhancements
I was watching some video today, a presentation about something that had cute little graphics animations to go along with it. Every few seconds something would plop onto the screen or shoot across it. Inevitably, I suppose, each plop was accompanied by an unlikely "thump" sound, and each dash across the screen was indicated audioly […]
In: All, Feeling Peevish, Laughing Matters
Cheney: Giving 'Dick' a Bad Name
Some of the news this week concerned former Vice President Cheney's speaking here and there trying to convince people that he should not be prosecuted for torturing prisoners, called "enemy combatants" as an escape clause, detained without recourse to habeas corpus. Obama keeps talking about his desire to "move forward", but I hasten to point […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
It's the Law, Actually
Some years ago I frequently drove past a road sign in College Park [MD] that said "State Law: Obey All Traffic Signs". I thought it very odd that there was, apparently, a law stating that one must obey other laws; furthermore, it was expressed in a sign stating that one must obey all signs. How […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
God Couldn't Make It
Legislative hearings are going on in Maine on the question of a bill that would create marriage equality in that state. Apparently the hearings are very, very well attended with many, many supporters. There are, of course, also some detractors reportedly foaming at the mouth. Andy Towle described* one woman as saying that "she was […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
In the World of Linguistic Peevery
In the world of linguistic peevery, there are several levels of hell. [Arnold Zwicky, "Prejudices, egocentrism, impositions, and intransigence", Language Log, 21 April 2009.] I don't really feel the need to explain, beyond saying that I found the sentence great fun to read and I thought I'd like to read it again sometime.
In: All, Common-Place Book, Such Language!
Domestic Right-Wing Terrorism Threat
In case you missed it despite the sounds of patriot hearts a-flutter and conservative jaws a-jawin, we've recently learned (via The Raw Story; they have a link to the report) that the Department of Homeland Security has released a report saying that right-wing extremist groups are the "most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United […]
The Cubby House & "A Bedtime Story"
In February I was happy to report ("The Cubby House & 'A Returning Appetite' ") on a presentation in The Cubby House (their Facebook profile) podcast of an excellent reading of my earliest published story "A Returning Appetite" (by Jay Neal, my nom de porn). Well, I have more happiness to report. The cubs from […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Writing
New York State vies to be Next in Marriage-Equality Race
New York Governor Paterson gave a press conference this morning at which he made a remarkable announcement: he is introducing legislation in the New York Assembly to recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry in New York. I am watching the video (seen here). He announced his decision in a notably direct manner: I […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity