Archive for the ‘Splenetics’ Category
Ukraine & Murry High School
Here we are with yet another silly riddle: What do Ukraine, Ohio, and Murry [Utah] High School have in common? The answer, as revealed in the story Murray school's 'cutest couple' title awarded to lesbian pair (by Jessica Ravitz, in The Salt Lake Tribune), is: voting irregularities. You see, after seniors had voted for "cutest […]
Progress is No Disgrace
I am reading Daniel J. Boorstin's The Seekers. I was fascinated by his chapter on the rise of Christianity (and "The Church" as corporation) in the mid fourth century. Particularly interesting was his observation that St. Augustine's The City of God was written as a Christian apology for the sack of Rome (i.e., that he […]
In: All, Splenetics, The Art of Conversation
The Maple-Syrup Lifestyle
Using words from the article in Digital Spy: Secretary Margaret Spellings criticised PBS for spending public money on an episode of the kids show Postcards From Buster which looked at farm life and how maple syrup is made. It just so happened that one particular farm was run by two women who happened to be […]
Current Affairs with Frank & Kenneth
It was morning again chez Frank & Kenneth, but a little greyer than usual because snow was in the forecast. Nevertheless, both were up and sitting in the breakfast nook, enjoying soft-cooked eggs on toast and coffee. As usual, Ken was reading interesting tidbits from the newspaper to Frank. "I wonder whether the President has […]
In: All, Frank & Kenneth, Splenetics
Pray Together, Get Divorced
A fascinating story from The Financial Times [London] (US – South finds families that pray together may not stay together) begins with these interesting revelations: When Massachusetts became the first and so far only US state to legalise gay marriage last year, the loudest protests came from the south. Bible Belt states such as Georgia […]
Not SpongeBob SquarePants, too!
Demonstrating that those wacky Christian fundamentalists don't learn their lessons, witness the latest comic silliness and breathless concern over the rumor that SpongeBob SquarePants may be gay. Oh my. From a Reuters story about the brouhaha, I particularly liked this turn of phrase as they point out that this isn't the first time, either: Tinky […]
The White House as Barometer
A few nights ago I read an essay by Daniel J. Boorstin called "The Roles of the White House" (from the collection Cleopatra's Nose). His idea was interesting: he looked at the White House as a visible metaphor for the American government. Me marveled at how humble, how much like an American house it looked, […]
Circumcised & Conservative
There are some men who were circumcised as infants, and who are very, very angry about it. They can never forgive their parents for making what they see as an unwise and unwelcome decision without their input. Although having a foreskin is something that was never part of their personal awareness, or which is part […]
The Oxford Comma
Halfway through Lynne Truss' delightful Eats Shoots & Leaves, I was distressed to discover that she abhors the "Oxford", or "serial", comma. Simply put, it's the comma separating the last item in a list from the rest of a list — or, rather, should be the last comma, unless one objects to its use for […]
In: All, Hermeneutics, Splenetics
The ACT-UP Effect
Lynne Truss, in Eats Shoots & Leaves, takes a philosophically curious position in regard to "The Greengrocer's Apostrophe". Said apostrophe is a mechanism for creating plurals from fruit & vegetable names that are "foreign words ending with vowels" (banana, tomato, mango, and the like), that would otherwise lead to awkward eye/mouth coordination problems (how to […]
HRC "Retreat"
This excerpt is from a story (by John M. Broder) in The New York Times (at the beginning of December) called Groups Debate Slower Strategy on Gay Rights. The leadership of the Human Rights Campaign, at a meeting last weekend in Las Vegas, concluded that the group must bow to political reality and moderate its […]
But Are They Wrinkles?
I decided to wear a new shirt today, of the "sport shirt" variety with a button-down collar, so it came packaged with plastic and pins and tissue paper in a pristine plastic bag. Needless to say, it is a modern, no-iron shirt. However, "no iron" is apparently passe, therefore it is a "wrinkle-free" shirt. Of […]
"Staunch" Reactionaries
So, my father is describing to me some character from his past by saying "Now, you've got to remember that he was a staunch Republican…." He paused, and we both wondered why it so frequently happens that Republicans are described as "staunch". "Perhaps," I suggested, "staunchness is required if they are to believe even half […]
Unbeatable Logic
I'm reading an article from The Bedford Minuteman (apparently Massachusetts–why is it that on-line newspapers seem to think we all know where their towns are?) called Gay pink-triangle school sticker stirs debate. It reports on the anguish a few election-emboldened parents feel in Bedford over the fact that they've just noticed "Gay Safe Space" stickers […]
Dirty, Smelly, & Hairy
Behold, a startling statement published by The Independent [UK] newspaper: Smelly, dirty and hairy: why men are still strangers to grooming by Oliver Duff and Nathalie Stahelin One-third of men are strangers to regular deodorant use and 96 per cent care not about excessive body hair. The authors of the article, obviously, think that these […]
Naming Body Parts
In an Advocate interview with the star from the movie "Testosterone" from the 17 August 2004 issue–I've lost the page with his name on it: when asked how he felt about modeling underwear and did it make him uncomfortable, he said I'm not shy about anything. I'm pretty cool with walking around in my underwear. […]
Talking While Musicians Perform
This quotation from Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is for Isaac. Franken's talking about being at a big White House Correspondents Dinner, at which Ray Charles was performing. This is what he reports happening (p. 210): The man [Charles] may be a national treasure, but three thousand Beltway biggies were […]
The Top 1%
Indulge me in just a couple more quotations from Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. First, for later use in writing about epidemic innumeracy and its threat to the public, this alarming but illustrative statistic (p. 302): Are you in the top 1% of earners? 19% of Americans say "yes"! (This […]
In: All, It's Only Rocket Science, Splenetics
Presidential Destiny
I am reading Al Franken's book Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. It's worth reading: informative and even funny at times (or, perhaps, riotously funny for those more in tune with Mr. Franken's sense of humor). In the chapter called "The Blame-America's-Ex-President-First-Crowd", he writes several […]
Building a Majority
In her said-to-be-last essay at Democratic Underground before taking a hiatus, The Fat Lady Sings, the Plaid Adder says: I have never been part of the majority. I don't really know how you go about building one. I claim here to know the answer: strong leadership. The rest is discussion about just what I might […]