Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Thomas: "There is a proliferation of rights."
I'm reading this article* about an appearance by nobody's favorite Supreme-Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and I notice that I am a bit disturbed by several things. Perhaps not actually surprised, but disturbed. He appeared at an event organized by the Bill of Rights Institute (about which I know nothing) at which he made some remarks […]
In: All, Personal Notebook, Will Rogers Moments
Be My Ombuddy
Arnold Zwicky recently got* something from his institution's "Ombuds Office", and he reflected a bit on the words "Ombudsman", "Ombudswoman", and the apparent modern compromise "Ombuds". It's an odd, ungainly word that I've never cared for but it seems that recent years has seen a rise in popularity of ombudsing and that ombudsers are even […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Such Language!
2M4M (Two Men for Marriage = Marriage Equality)
I love serendipity. This week there was a fair amount of buzz about a new ad campaign started by an organization I don't care to name, the ad featuring really scary actors with a background of dark clouds and lightning making up several feeble excuses why marriage equality will be the end of civilization as […]
In: All, Faaabulosity, Laughing Matters
Autographical Ephemera
The other day I was reading something by someone on the theme of how difficult it is to browse books on the internet, the way one might browse in a library. It's true that there is no comparable experience. I often find the most interesting books at the library because of an accident of shelving, […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Music & Art
Iowa Promotes Families
If it weren’t for Iowa, my family may never have existed, and this gay, biracial New Yorker might never have been born. In 1958, when my mother, who was white, and father, who was black, wanted to get married in Nebraska, it was illegal for them to wed. So they decided to go next door […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity
Our Spotless Sun
Last week (on 4 April 2009, to be precise), this item came from SpaceWeather.com: SPOTLESS SUNS: Yesterday, NASA announced that the sun has plunged into the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Sunspots have all but vanished and consequently the sun has become very quiet. In 2008, the sun had no spots 73% of […]
You Go, Vermont!
Well, this is exciting. We'd been following the progress of legislature in Vermont that would bring marriage equality to the Green Mountain State, first as it easily passed in the Senate, through young James Neiley's testimony in favor of marriage equality in a house hearing, which apparently worked since the house also passed the bill. […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Iowans Believe in Fairness
Last Friday, 3 April 2009, there was a rally in Iowa City, Iowa, to show support for the Iowa Supreme Court's decision in favor of marriage equality. Iowan Alan Light was there and took these photographs, which he is sharing under a Creative Commons license. (Thanks to Joe.My.God.)
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Don't Baste that Lamb!
I will not argue with the point this author is making, because I agree with here that there is just too, too much hysteria on the topic of "child pornography". However, I did have to pause a bit to enjoy this interesting new eggcorn variant on the word "lambaste", for which "lamblast" and "lambash" are […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Such Language!
You Go, Iowa!
I have written before about my time living in Iowa when I was in college, and how much I enjoyed Iowa and felt it became an adopted home. I also wrote ("Iowa, My Iowa") about my pride and excitement when marriage equality arrived in Iowa, and the curious case of the one young couple who […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Beard of the Week LXXV: Two Benfords
This week's beard belongs to physicist and science-fiction author Gregory Benford. His official website, source of the photograph, tells us that Benford [born in Mobile, Alabama, on January 30, 1941] is a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine, where he has been a faculty member since 1971. Benford conducts research in plasma […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, It's Only Rocket Science
James Neiley Supports Marriage Equality in Vermont
As you may know, debate is underway in Vermont on legislation in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples. The bill has already passed in the Senate with a substantial majority: 26 – 4. It is now under consideration in the House. (See, e.g., "Vermont moves closer to equality", Mike Tidmus : Blog, 24 March […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
On Reading Sun in a Bottle
Rather recently I enjoyed reading Charles Seife's Sun in a Bottle : The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking (New York : Viking, 2008; 294 pages). The subtitle is indicative, although I'm not sure just how strange the history of fusion is. Of course, what he means by "the history of […]
In: All, Books, It's Only Rocket Science
Science-Book Grab-Bag
I've been reading lots of good books this year, several that I can count for my own commitment to the Science-Book Challenge, but I am only now catching up on writing about them. Tonight I wanted to mention a trio of top-notch books from three different domains: cosmology, probability & statistics, and history of science […]
In: All, Books, It's Only Rocket Science
Julian Bond: Gay Rights are Human Rights
Julian Bond is the chairman of the NAACP. For decades I have been impressed by his thoughtful deliberation and eloquence. He has never been more impressive than in the speech he gave to the Human Rights Campaign's Los Angeles Dinner on 14 March 2009, recorded in the video below. When I started listening to it, […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Faaabulosity
2009 Lammies: Finalists
The finalists for the Lambda Literary Foundation's 21st Annual Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. As their publicity notes, "this year 105 finalists representing 72 publishers are competing for awards in 22 categories." I wanted to draw your attention to these two finalists: Kinsey Zero through Sixty: Bisexual Perspectives on Kinsey. edited […]
In: All, Books, Faaabulosity, Personal Notebook
"Guys and Dolls" Week
As I mentioned before (goodness, was that in December!) our musical-theatre troupe's current production is "Guys and Dolls". Yours truly appears as Harry the Horse (from Brooklyn) and as a dancer in Havana. (Dancer!) There always comes the time in rehearsal reckoning when the first performance looms and we rehearse every evening. That time has […]
A Worm Moon
This just in from Space Weather News for March 10, 2009 (http://spaceweather.com): WORM MOON: Tonight's full Moon has a special mame–the Worm Moon. It signals the coming of northern spring, a thawing of the soil, and the first stirrings of earthworms in long-dormant gardens. Step outside tonight and behold the wakening landscape. "Worm moonlight" is […]
Attenborough on Creationism
Sir David Attenborough has revealed that he receives hate mail from viewers for failing to credit God in his documentaries. In an interview with this week's Radio Times about his latest documentary, on Charles Darwin and natural selection, the broadcaster said: "They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance." Telling the magazine that […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, It's Only Rocket Science
Saga of the 'Cello Bow
On Sunday, 22 January 2009, Isaac had planned a recital featuring himself playing some organ music, plus a whole array of friends performing a nice variety of music. This is just the latest installment in a recital series that has seen at least two, sometimes three programs a year since about 1993, the year that […]
In: All, Music & Art, Personal Notebook