Archive for the ‘All’ Category
Becoming the Worst President?
Some time back, I happened to write* that, in my opinion, it is the current president's destiny to be The Worst President Ever. I would claim extraordinary prescience, except that it's such a bloomin' obvious prediction. However, I'm please to discover# that Rolling Stone magazine has jumped on board with "The Worst President in History? […]
Beard of the Week
This past Friday night — Good Friday to Christians — was a busy night for Isaac at the church where he's music director (St. Matthew's United Methodist Church in Bowie, MD) and organist. This Friday evening service is the one during the year that he creates, organizes, and operates. Bringing to bear his years of […]
Farewell, Muriel Spark
I just this evening learned* that Muriel Spark has died at the age of 88. Dame Spark was an author — an uncommonly good author — of novels, most famous for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Although I haven't read a novel of hers in some 13 years#, her writing and my sense of […]
Sex, Sensibility, & Science
This is cool. Most everyone knows that I'm a scientist of some sort — at least I am when I can hold down a paying job. Also, most everyone knows that I'm secretly a pornographer, although it's hardly a big secret given the link to Jay Neal's website that you can see at the top […]
Don't Need No Science Advisor
Sometimes Bob Park, who writes What's New (for physicists and others), is just too funny for words (except his own) — at least to his fellow physicists who, it must be admited, are not reallly noted for their outrageous senses of humor. Anyway, from today's edition (Friday, 14 April 2006): DOE: SECRETARY OF ENERGY BODMAN […]
In: All, Laughing Matters, Speaking of Science
Love the Warrior, Hate the War
Representative John Murtha quotes one of my favorites: As President Theodore Roosevelt said, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." [Rep. John Murtha, "It's Not […]
Ol'-Time Religion
Finally, the new Pope sets about reminding us of all those things we didn't like about the Catholic Church but hadn't thought much about for awhile: THE Pope will deliver a blistering attack on the “satanic” mores of modern society today, warning against an “inane apologia of evil” that is in danger of destroying humanity. […]
Murderers or Not?
Avedon Carol: …I keep waiting for someone to lay it on the line: The anti-choice people have to dissemble about their real goals[*], and down-play the fact that the logical conclusion of a "principled" position for someone who believes abortion really is murder is to treat women who have abortions as murderers. [italics in original] […]
Beard of the Week
About a decade ago, I learned how to crochet. I bought some thread, a crochet hook, and with Isaac's help I began decoding a doily pattern and worked my way quite clumsily through it. I've gotten better at it over time of course. I also learned to discriminate a large number of different crochet threads. […]
The Sun & The Moon
I have a friend upon whom I can rely to send me, with some regularity, unbelievable photos and incredible stories, most of which turn out in the end to be fabricated photos and urban legends. Someplace in the forwarding of these things, someone will often add a wishy-washy "I don't know if this is true, […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science
Feeling Illiterate
In one of those moments when I thought I'd relax a bit and do something useless, I searched alexa.com for this blog. Among several expected or predictable results, I found one that struck me as unusual. It was a reference to an article that began this way: ??????? ? ??????? ?? "????????????? ???????????" ?????? ???????? […]
One Post, Two …
Okay, check out this cosmic confluence. You may — or more likely, will not — remember my post from some time back, "Sequences of Integers", about Neil1 J.A.Sloane's fascinating project, the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences2 with over 100,000 sequences of integers and lots of exceedingly fascinating details. It appeals mightily to my quirky, geeky […]
In: All, Curious Stuff, Eureka!
Fast-Growing Leeches
Why is it that so many continue to believe the propaganda of the oil companies, the drug companies, and the insurance companies when 1) they tell us that times are hard and they can barely make any profit; and 2) they post incredible profits and are the fastest growing industries? BusinessWeek in a recent cover […]
Freedom & Truth
My dad has been visiting us for the last two weeks, using as his primary excuse coming to see us perform "Crazy for You" — all 5 performances and the dress rehearsal, no less. Anyway, we relaxed and entertained ourselves last night by watching "Good Night and Good Luck", which we thoroughly enjoyed and thoroughly […]
A Democratic Motto
A little while back, Shakespeare's Sister asked for some suggestions for what amounted to a campaign motto for the Democrats. Without further comment, I simply wanted to note that I was very fond of Litbrit's exceedingly clever suggestion: Blowjobs are better than no jobs.
Feingold on Marriage Equality
In bits and pieces, I continue to make the case that a political party looking for the support of the liberal majority of American, the Democrats, for example, need to do it not by trying to step carefully around "controversial" issues, hoping to appease everyone (but please no one); but, instead, by standing up and […]
Mystical Time
Not to harp on the innumeracy thing (although — plug time! — it is part of the mission of Ars Hermeneutica), but I'm a little irritated. You see, I keep seeing people for the last few days pointing out, in e-mail and on their blogs*, that on 5 April something unusual is going to happen. […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science
Beard of the Week
Among various blogging traditions one that I've never understood is "Friday Cat Blogging". Iit's not that its origins mystify me, I just don't see the attraction. This may be because I'm not a cat person. Still, the idea of a pointless periodic theme for posting has its attractions. We're more dog people here at Björnslottet, […]
Today's Word: Vaffanculo
As Radical Russ reminds us, with a lovely photo-montage featuring the images of Republican leaders, the Republicans are the Party of Fuck You ("PoFY"?), or — to use our new vocabularly word, taught to us by that black-robed man with gravitas: Justice Scalia — the Vaffanculo Party. The name itself is redolent for its constant […]
Progress in Washington [State]
File under "Occasional Progress Despite Lunatic Religious Extremists": Transgender individuals will now enjoy the same civil-rights protections as other minorities under legislation passed by the Metropolitan King County Council Monday. The council added gender identity to laws already prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, sex, race and religion. The […]