Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Election Day-After
I am exceedingly pleased that Barack Obama is our president-elect, that so many people voted for him, and that the strident and hysterical appeals to racism, violence, and nationalism fell only on the ears of the most hysterical of the electorate who are now free to crawl back under the rotting compost heaps whence they […]
In: All, Current Events, Reflections
Election Day 2008
I so wanted to say that I late voted, but I guess I pretty much on-time voted, even though I feel so twentieth century voting on election day. One of our ballot questions here in Maryland did, however, address the possibility of early voting in our state, so one day soon we, too, might be […]
In: All, Current Events, Reflections
Beard of the Week LVI: Hand-Made Vacuum Tubes
This week's beard belongs to Claude Paillard, also known since 1959 as F2FO when he apparently received his amateur-radio license. M. Paillard's beard is on view after about 15 minutes in this 17 minute video, although his hands are visible much more frequently. The title of the film, "Fabrication d'une lampe triode" ("Build a triode […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, Curious Stuff, It's Only Rocket Science
To Be Alive and in a Museum
From 8 February to 26 October, 2008, the National Portrait Gallery had an exhibition called "Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture". Seven artists were represented, in photography, film, painting, graffiti, and poetry. The two graffiti artists were Tim Conlon and Dave Hupp, both living in Washington, DC. Alas, I didn't see the show. I will […]
Which Votes Decide?
Yes, I am getting a little impatient during this campaign, but not with the campaign itself, which seems to have been rather well paced. No, I've long ago lost patience with all the bellyaching from people who are so tired of this campaign and just want it to be over. It started (at least) near […]
In: All, Current Events, Feeling Peevish
On Reading The Carbon Age
I recently finished reading The Carbon Age : How Life's Core Element has Become Civilization's Greatest Threat, by Eric Roston (New York : Walker & Company, 2008. 308 pages). I very much enjoyed the act of reading it, but it was only when I was writing about it that I realized that is really an […]
In: All, Books, It's Only Rocket Science
Something Inside of Them
One Stephen Baldwin (a person not really known to me) is quoted (by Andy at Towleroad) as saying: It doesn’t mean that I think personally that making that [gay] lifestyle choice is wrong. The Bible says it's wrong and I believe in the Bible and I stand for that. Misdirection + indirection. Cool! This is […]
In: All, Current Events, Feeling Peevish
Beard of the Week LV: SX-70
This week's beards belongs to an anonymous actor in this film from 1972. The film is 10:47 long; the actor who provides the excuse to include this first-ever video at Beard of the Week appears very, very briefly at the 1:48 mark; or, if you prefer, it's a different actor who appears very, very briefly […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, It's Only Rocket Science, Music & Art
"Yes on 8" Adopts Palin-Zombie Tactics
We've talked a time or two about California's Proposition 8, the proposed state constitutional amendment referendum that wants to deny same-sex couples the established right to marry in that state. There is, of course, an organization advocating in favor of the amendment (largely with money contributed by mormons) with the inspiring name "Yes on 8". […]
In: All, Current Events, Laughing Matters
Greenspan's World Model "Flawed", he admits
For future reference, I wanted to note that Alan Greenspan has detected a flaw in his model of how the world works. Ayn Rand will be spinning in her grave! Accused of contributing to the meltdown, but denying that it was his fault, [former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan] Greenspan told a House panel the crisis […]
In: All, Briefly Noted, Current Events
On Hydrogen (& Physics Humor)
I recently finished reading the book Hydrogen : The Essential Element, by John S. Rigden (Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2002. vii + 280 pages). Here's my book note. It's a book I can recommend. As I mentioned in the book note, the "hydrogen" of this book is the physicist's "hydrogen",* the simple atom […]
In: All, Books, It's Only Rocket Science
Californians to Vote on Ellen's Divorce…
…not to mention George Takai's, not also to mention that of several tens of thousands of same-sex couples now married. You may recall that on the next voting day in California, residents of that state get to vote on "Proposition 8", a proposed constitutional amendment intended to remove the established right of same-sex couples to […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Another Little Palin Song
Thanks to Alex Ross, who writes about music at The New Yorker and in his blog, my attention was drawn to this quirky little "number", a collaboration between Sarah Palin and pianist/composer Henry Hey. I love quirky, as you know by now. Ross described it as "Sarah Palin's magisterial explication of the Wall Street bailout, […]
In: All, Current Events, Music & Art
David Sedaris on Undecided Voters
I look at these people [undecided voters interviewed on TV] and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention? To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events
Beard of the Week LIV: Waters of Thirst
This week's beard belongs to British writer Adam Mars-Jones (b. 1954); I haven't yet identified the terrier (despite the fact that they seem to be always depicted together / photo source). Mars-Jones has a large literary reputation for an author with — until now — a surprisingly small output of fiction. I know him for […]
In: All, Beard of the Week, Books, Faaabulosity
Random Reading
Perhaps I was inspired by the idea of random in our recent discussion (okay, monologue) about random noise, but I thought of one more little bit of random noise to finish it off. Namely, I added a link, which should appear in the top of the right-side column, that, if you click on it, will […]
School-Bus Driver Assaults 10-Year-Old Passenger
I've been hearing bits about this story for a couple of days. Some things simply defy understanding. Here is a summary from the hometown newspaper: A Bourbonnais [Illinois] Elementary School District No. 53 bus driver was arrested Thursday [9 October 2008] for mob action after he allegedly taunted a 10-year-old student and encouraged others on […]
In: All, Current Events, Plus Ca Change...
More About Noise
In my post about noise yesterday I added a rather inscrutable footnote about noise and power spectra. Thoughtfully, Mel asked: I don't quite understand this, though: "Pink noise" has a power spectrum that rolls off as the inverse of the frequency. Could you explain what that would look like, for really elementary level brains like […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science
Hearing Things in Noise
There is a false rumor that snopes.com reported on recently ("Doll Talk", 14 October 2008): an email is circulating, claiming to be from a woman in the Texas panhandle (possibly true) who went to a Wal*Mart store where she listened to the (recorded) sounds made by a Fisher-Price "Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and […]
In: All, Curious Stuff, Personal Notebook
The Hidden Hand as Enabler
If Wall Street got drunk, it is the cult of the hidden hand that held the bottle. [Marty Kaplan, "Alan Shrugged", Huffington Post, 13 October 2008.] I liked the quotable witticism, but I also liked the article (and not only for its title). The subject is our current economic difficulty, free-market cultism, and the role […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, The Art of Conversation