Howling Puppy

Belka the 20-day-old Malamute-Husky proves you are never too young to howl.  Almost too cute.  Also, she is not in any way mute.



27 December 2013

The Rainbow March

Following last week's rulings in favor of marriage equality in New Mexico, Ohio, and -- of all places! -- Utah, Josh Marshall of TPM has written a nice piece on why marriage equality in the United States as a whole is almost upon us.  Late to be sure, but most welcome nonetheless it will be.

Then, the world.

Let us hope.

27 December 2013

Merry Christmas

25 December 2013

Mother Cat, Puppy Son

Love knows no bounds.  That is a Christmas message that you can take to the bank.

24 December 2013

Marriage Equality in New Mexico

The Supreme Court of New Mexico has just ruled that the state cannot bar the right to marry on account of sexual orientation.  This is a ringing endorsement of freedom and morality in my former state.

I am, of course, excited because this directly affects so many that I love who still live in New Mexico.  However, I am also very happy that the latest state to affirm this Constitutional right is a western state not on the Pacific coast.  As equality in marriage law takes hold in NM -- and as the sky doesn't fall as a result -- other western states will take notice.  And they won't be able to say, "Well that is just liberal California."

The Land of Enchantment.  Now more enchanting than ever!

19 December 2014

Addition:  More info from The Huffington Post.  Full text of the opinion from the court.

Amazon.com - AmazonSmile

Amazon.com has a program called AmazonSmile where they donate .5% of your purchase total to the charity of your choice.  That may not seem like a large percentage, but every bit helps.  The way to take advantage of this program is to go through the AmazonSmile portal rather than through the basic Amazon.com portal.  Then shop as you normally would.  The first time that you enter the AmazonSmile portal, you will be asked to select a charity to link to your account.  You can search by name.

We selected our local food bank.  My sister is supporting her local animal shelter.  It is great that Amazon is allowing you to support local charities in addition to the larger national and international charities.

Like many today, we shop a lot at Amazon.  This just helps make Amazon a better deal still.

5 December 2013

Bowl of Kittens

I wish that I had a bowl of kittens.



5 December 2013

Marriage Equality: Shabbat Shalom

Amazing Bar Mitzvah speech by an Oregon teen in favor of marriage equality.  Well done, Mr. Sennett.



2 December 2013

Shark Nearly Chokes To Death On Moose, Is Saved By Canadian Bystanders

Okay, this has to be one of the all-time great story headlines.  Nice that it all turned out well, too.

Remember, kids.  Never toss your moose parts in the ocean.

22 November 2013

San Francisco Batkid

This story came across my radar earlier this week.  I mentioned it to my sister, who lives in the Bay Area, and was told that it is pretty much the talk of the town right now.

To back up, the Make-A-Wish foundation is making one little boy's wish of being a super hero come true for a day.  The City of San Francisco -- seemingly from top to bottom -- is helping this boy not just save the city, but to do it in style.  Many victims will be saved, many villains will be vanquished.  See background on Newser.

Generally speaking, misanthropic is my middle name.  Every once in a while, however, human beings seem to rise above our collective nature and do something awesome.  This is one of those things.

My sister just sent me links to a twitter feed featuring images and descriptions from today's festivities.  News and information services are starting to chronicle the day as well.  I'm sure that television news will be all over it tonight, too.

I've snuffled back a tear or three.  Look at this and tell me you are not?

One of those tears may actually be for the fact that this kid has a freaking Lamborghini.  Lucky little hero!

Bravo San Francisco!  Well done, Make-A-Wish.  And most of all, three cheers for San Francisco's Batkid!

15 November 2013

Addition: Local ABC News blog coverage.

Addition 2:  Okay, more news coverage consumed.  Look at the size of the crowds cheering this kid.  So many signs in his honor.  Switched to openly weeping.

Ohio State Univ Marching Band Movie Tribute

You think that Ohio State has a good football team this year?  The school's marching band is better!

Following on their triumphant October tribute to Michael Jackson, the band recently worked its way through movie blockbusters.  Pure win!



OSU will make a quality bowl game this year.  If whatever network televises that bowl doesn't feature the band, it will be a crime against viewing humanity!

13 November 2013

Puppies, Grumpies, and Grouches

First, puppies learning to walk.



The major problem with that is that once they learn to walk, you have to walk them.  That fact makes me grumpy... which makes me a grouch.



13 November 2013

The Burning Crusade 2

Blizzcon starts tomorrow and no doubt they will be announcing the next World of Warcraft expansion.  We can only hope that this gets green-lighted.



7 November 2013

Addition:  I had all of these except Tier 3.  It's been a long walk.

11 November 2013 Addition: Here is what we actually got.


.

Don't Leave Me this Way

Thelma Houston



I honestly found this song via The Communards in the 80s.



Hard to not be happy listening to either version.  And one guy in The Communards' video has my haircut in high school and another has my haircut now.  A life bridged.

5 November 2013

Nancy Wake, WWII Heroine & General Badass

My sister sent me the obituary of a woman who was a genuine war hero, Nancy Wake.  You need to read the obit to get a feel for all that she did, but here are two excerpts that tell of her spirit.

Nancy recalled later in life that her parachute had snagged in a tree. The French resistance fighter who freed her said he wished all trees bore "such beautiful fruit". Nancy retorted: "Don't give me that French shit." 

... 

Ms Wake's relationship with her adopted country was not always simple, however. Australia was one of the few allied countries which declined to decorate her after the war. Nancy refused later Australian honours on principle.

"I told the government they could stick their medals where the monkey puts it nuts," she said.

I do hope that a worthy movie is finally made about this amazing woman.  She sounds like one for the ages.

4 November 2013

Addition:  I just realized that she died in 2011.  How did I miss this at the time?  Here are her obits from The Washington Post and the New York Times.

Rickman-Off

This is why I like Jimmy Fallon & it's a new reason to like Benedict Cumberbatch.



Pretty good Chewbacca, too.



4 November 2013

Why Do Poor People 'Waste' Money On Luxury Goods?

I'm so glad that I read this piece at TPM that was recommended.  Really, really interesting on so many levels.

1 November 2013

Seattle

I miss you.

1 November 2013

Photoshop "Body Evolution"

Really interesting look at how Photoshop is selling society on beauty on The Huffington Post.  When even models are not beautiful enough, how can regular folks "compete?"



31 October 2013

Red Sox Win World Series

This photo sums up their entire season.

It was a fun ride.  See you next year.

BTW, Vegas already has the Dodgers as a 4-1 favorite to win it all in 2014.  Sheesh!

Happy Halloween!

31 October 2013

Kitten Gets Tail End of Dog

Too much cute.



29 October 2013

Addition:  Also, the first 15 seconds of this video is hilarious.


.

Star Wars Blooper Reel

Fun blooper reel from Episode IV on The Huffington Post.



28 October 2013

Baby Wombat

First, I challenge anyone not to like the word "wombat."  See?  Can't be done!

A couple in Australia saved an infant wombat after her mother died.  They nursed her to health and Ruby is now a most-adorable part of the family.  What is more -- and a sure bonus for us -- is that they are documenting the experience is a series of short clips on YouTube.  Here is a sample of Ruby.



25 October 2013

What a win! What a Catch!

Being a Red Sox fan, last night's game was pure win.  The Cardinals, whether because of nerves or not, played poorly.  The Sox were superior in every facet of the game.

One big shout out to the Cardinals is warranted, however.  Carlos Beltran's catch at the wall to rob David Ortis of another grand slam was one for the ages!

Here is hoping for a similar outing from the Sox in Game Two.

24 October 2013

Ohio State Univ Marching Band "Bad" Tribute

Found something really cool on The Huffington Post today.  The Ohio State University marching band did a tribute to Michael Jackson's album Bad at a recent football game.  Their performance is great, making me smile on many occasions while watching the clip.  And the moon walking sequence had me speechless with delight.

My wife was a band geek in both high school and college; her standards are very high.  I hope that this meets with her approval!

The moon walk starts at about the four minute mark, but it is worth watching the entire clip.  And while I'm glad that they used Billie Jean, the song was not on Bad.



And yes, I am the geek of the family in every other way!  LOL

23 October 2013

Six Degrees of Kevin Garnett

My sister turned me on to a variation of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" hosted at Slate.com.  This one is for sports figures.  My sister indicated that it was "endlessly fascinating."  I'll tell you that it can turn into a guilty time sink!

Only three moves between Ryan Langerhans and Bubby Brister.  Who knew?

23 October 2013

Ships of the Geek-verse

Ships of a feather flock together... on the same chart!

18 October 2013

"Baby Bucco Bullpen"

Yes, it does seem to be one of those days when I focus on cute.  The Pirates could have used some cute last night against the Cardinals.  Pitching and hitting wouldn't have hurt either.

4 October 2013

Sam Gordon

What badass looks like.



While I'm not sure that there has ever been an exciting moment in soccer history, if anyone can change that, Miss Gordon might.  The book might have been a bit much though.  :-/

4 October 2013

Bears & Cubs, Bears & Cubs

I had three visitors outside of my work window this week, a mama bear and two cubs.  I hurried down the hallway exclaiming "Bears & Cubs! Bears & Cubs!"  I'm pretty sure my colleagues assumed I was having some sort of Chicago sports-related stroke.

Here is mama.

And here she is with one of the cubs.  The other cub was just inside the trees, tracking his or her family as they ambled along.  Of course, for all I know there were more cubs that I just couldn't see.  I don't think so, but you never know.

No, the bears were not running down a cliff.  No idea why the orientation came out that way.  Oops.

4 October 2013

Colbert Wedding

Too funny.



Mandy Patinkin was awesome, but Audra McDonald was inspired!  LOL

4 October 2013

Update to Tooth Brush

There is a new take on the tooth brush thanks to 3D printing.  Check it out on The Huffington Post.

4 October 2013

Capitol Police Unpaid

The disturbance at the White House and the Capitol yesterday, which lead to a woman being shot to death, highlights one of the more disturbing things about the current government shutdown.  Namely, it is that the police guarding the Capitol and members of Congress are doing so right now without pay.  It is shameful.  Feel the burn.

4 October 2013

Happy Birthday Income Tax

This piece by Issac William Martin at TPM on the 100 year history of the income tax in America is worth the read.

4 October 2013

Animal Practical Jokes

The Huffington Post was trying to make something out of nothing today about a confrontation between an elephant and a hippo.  Not much to see there.  However, the slide show at the bottom of the page titled Animals Tricking Each Other is hilarious.

Oh, and Tiny Puppy.

3 October 2013

GOP: Defining Deviancy Down

Josh Marshall at TPM has a nice piece on the new normal in Washington that has repeatedly rained down destruction on the country.  From that writing:

It has started to feel normal that two or three times a year we have a major state/fiscal crisis and maybe once every 18 months or two years, there is a true breakdown with fairly grave consequences. The last time was in the summer of 2011. We have a very good chance of another next week and something even more catastrophic next month. 

Despite the fact that it hasn't occurred since 1996, at this point, given the possibilities on offer, a government shutdown seems almost prosaic. Countless citizens are inconvenienced in ways large and small. But you can start the thing back up again in a week and apart from a mini-shock to the economy probably everything goes back to working fine. The thing with truly catastrophic potential and permanent damage is defaulting on the national debt - the possibility of which is mind-boggling in the absence of actual state bankruptcy, war or civil disorder. 

I'm not even sure what to say about it because it's the new normal. We know it. We live it. But this is really unprecedented stuff - deep attacks on the state itself inasmuch as the state requires for it to function a penumbra of norms surrounding the formal mechanisms of government. 

Right now you might theorize that 'Obamacare' has somehow become such an idee fixe on the American right that some sort of cataclysmic confrontation is inevitable. But that theory doesn't really hold up because for the previous two years it was austerity and dramatic fiscal retrenchment that merited threatening to default on the federal debt to deal with. 

For all the ubiquity of political polarizing and heightened partisanship, no honest observer can deny that the rise of crisis governance and various forms of legislative hostage taking comes entirely from the GOP. I hesitate to state it so baldly because inevitably it cuts off the discussion with at least a sizable minority of the political nation. But there's no way to grapple with the issue without being clear on this single underlying reality. Sufficient evidence of this comes from 2007 and 2008 when Democrats won resounding majorities in Congress and adopted exactly none of these tactics with an already quite unpopular President Bush. This is the reality that finally brought Thomas Mann and Norm Ornstein, two of DC's most arbiters of political standards and practices, fastidiously sober, even-handed and high-minded, to finally just throw up their hands mid-last-year and say "Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem."

I also read the piece by Mann and Ornstein linked above.  It, too, is worth the read.

As I said last week, default is coming.

30 September 2013

Default is Coming

The fight over keeping the federal government funded is taking place right now.  The battle over the debt ceiling will follow.  Historically, this limit has been raised with little fuss.  Occasionally, raising the limit would be part of some larger bargain, but there was never any real talk of not raising the limit.  All parties knew -- knew -- that it had to be done.  The ramifications of not raising the limit were unthinkable.  They were also unconscionable.

Not this year.

This year we have a very weak Speaker of the House gasping and grasping at anything he can to remain in power and a Minority Leader in the Senate in the same boat.  This year we have loony senators unconcerned with national stability, only focusing on consolidating ideological and geographical power.  And we have a president who knows that he was rolled in the past and seemingly understands that to continue this state of affairs is much worse for the country than would be a default on our obligations, not only in economic terms, but in terms Constitutional.  I hope so because that's correct.

And sadly, I think that it is going to come to default.  The Republicans believe that Obama is weak.  And they believe that they are not just correct, but Right.  The president won't blink.  And they are not right, much less correct.  And so, we will all go over the falls with them.   American promises will mean that much less.  And we as a people are already far more overextended in terms of both will and goodwill than we are in dollars.

Hopefully, I'm wrong.  Hopefully, those historically pulling the nose ring of the Republican party -- big business and Wall Street -- will be able to knock sense into enough trough-feeders to get a deal done.  As I said though, there are enough folks with enough power, but without enough good sense, to pull the house of cards we call Political America down.

So guard your jobs.  Guard your wallets.  Arm yourself with knowledge.  And get ready for a very bumpy ride.

27 September 2013

Exit Sandman

I'm glad that I got to see Mariano Rivera pitch.  It isn't every day you see a legend-in-the-making at work.  Unanimous, first-ballot Hall of Fame selection for sure.  He could have walked off the mound for the last time with head held high in the company of Ruth, Dimaggio, and Mantle.

And it has been fun to see his "Goodbye Tour" as clubs in both leagues have gifted him his "42" number board in each stadium, plus a host of paintings, chairs, and other memorabilia.  It has been a classy sendoff.  Hell, even the Redsox and their fans treated him like royalty.  That says it all.

27 September 2013

PS:  Creating new "sports" tag for the blog.  Probably won't go back an reclassify relevant posts, but will try to tag them henceforth.

PPS: Major League Baseball will only let you embed video if you have an mlb-blog, which is stupid beyond words.  Great sendoff for Rivera, but your business model needs major-league work.  Check out video at the link above or on Fox Sports, which carried his last game.

PPSS:  Here is video that works.  First from Yankee Stadium earlier in the week.



And the official video from Metallica.



Take that, MLB!

California Dreaming

This piece by Bill Maher at The Huffington Post almost makes me miss living in California.  Of course, I live in Massachusetts, so that feeling isn't nearly as strong as if I lived in, say, Mississippi.  He isn't totally spot-on, but close enough to make it a good, fun read.

"NRA" indeed.  LOL

27 September 2013

The Stephentown 300

This, on the other hand, stands in direct opposition to the joy of the muppets from my previous post.  I had not heard of this crime.  And the author Kelly Lynch is definitely correct that I would not have reacted as did the victim of the crimes described, Brian Holloway.  These children -- and especially their parents -- should feel nothing but shame... for a very, very long time.

See The Huffington Post.  I would have done my best to see them all in prison.

26 September 2013

How to Get to Sesame Street

Jimmy Fallon and The Roots singing with muppets.  It will make you happy.

I've been feeling a bit emotional today.  It actually brought a few tears to my eyes, bringing memories of childhood up from the depths of my mind.

Enjoy.

26 September 2013

Nervous Fliers

I am not a good flier.  I understand its relative safety intellectually, but I'm still always fulling conscious of the fact that I'm 35,000 feet in the air in a glorified piece of PVC pipe!  Perhaps it is the result of going skydiving a couple of decades ago.  I now have one more takeoff than landing.  My compass is off!

Anywho, just wanted to flag this piece on The Huffington Post, 10 Tips for Nervous Flyers [sic].

Be safe.

26 September 2013

Addition:  Really?!?  On the same bleeping Huffington Post home page today?  Who thought this was a good idea?

Right Wing: Lose the Battle, Win the War

Sahil Kapur at TPM has a great piece today regarding the current budget battle.  By making the fight about Obamacare -- a fight that the Right will surely lose -- they have actually "forced" the Democrats to accept spending at sequestration levels for another year.  And that means that sequestration-level spending is more and more likely to be seen as the baseline from which all future budget decisions should be made.

Sure that hurts the country and is economically crazy, but it is the new normal.

Lose the battle.  Win the war.

24 September 2013

"Me & Ted"

Josh Marshall at TPM wrote a recap of his -- seemingly forgotten -- past with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.  It is pretty much what I've read elsewhere and assumed from watching Cruz on TV.  However, one line that Marshall writes is the single funniest thing I've read in ages.

As my correspondent notes, Ted managed to distinguish himself as a arrogant a#@hole at Harvard Law School, which is an amazing accomplishment since the competition there for that description is intense.

Trust me.  That's funny.  And true.

23 September 2013

Amazing MLB Plays

The Huffington Post featured two amazing defensive plays from major league baseball player Adeiny Hechavarria. Wow!



19 September 2013

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It is that time of year again.  Three cheers to me if this made you say the word "booty!"

19 September 2013

Where is the Octopus?

Friends just sent this video from Science Friday.  Watch it.  You will be amazed.



14 September 2013

Two Men & The Home Depot

As Josh Marshall said, "Things are changing." Starting a new chapter in life surrounded by both friends and plywood sounds pretty good to me.  By the end, of course, I was weeping.  And I'll be buying something at The Home Depot soon whether I need to do so or not.



Utah?  Utah!

Man, there actually may be hope for us yet.

May your love be a light in this world, Gentlemen.  Good luck!

14 September 2013

Sychronising Discordant Metronomes

A friend sent me the following cool video at io9.com:

From io9.com:

If you place 32 metronomes on a static object and set them rocking out of phase with one another, they will remain that way indefinitely. Place them on a moveable surface, however, and something very interesting (and very mesmerizing) happens. 

The metronomes in this video fall into the latter camp. Energy from the motion of one ticking metronome can affect the motion of every metronome around it, while the motion of every other metronome affects the motion of our original metronome right back. All this inter-metranome "communication" is facilitated by the board, which serves as an energetic intermediary between all the metronomes that rest upon its surface. The metronomes in this video (which are really just pendulums, or, if you want to get really technical, oscillators) are said to be "coupled." 

The math and physics surrounding coupled oscillators are actually relevant to a variety of scientific phenomena, including the transfer of sound and thermal conductivity. 

Cool.

13 September 2013

I Have a Dream: 50 Years & Today

Today, we mark 50 years since Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic I Have a Dream speech.  Celebrations are taking place today on the Mall in Washington DC.  Presidents are speaking and the day will be covered relentlessly by the media.  What has been interesting to me this week is seeing archival footage of media coverage of that day 50 years ago.  How is was covered in print, on the radio, and on television is fascinating.  Some of the news stories bordered on poetry.  People definitely understood that they were seeing something special.

A lot has changed in America since that day.  Much of it is for the better.  Some of it is most definitely not.  And some things at their core haven't changed much at all, at least in parts of our nation.  My heart wars between hope and despair.

One of the saddest legacies of this speech is that it is not itself open and free to the world.  The King estate keeps it under lock and key, seemingly for little beyond power, profit, and prestige.  I would like to think that Dr. King would feel shame at this today, but sadly, it was he who started that ball rolling.  It does not diminish the speech, but it does diminish its legacy.

Today, however, the world will have the chance to watch the speech in its entirety on both CNN and MSNBC.  Broadcasts will happen this afternoon and again tonight.  MSNBC is airing the speech at 8:00 PM eastern time in the United States with limited commercial breaks as part of a special All In with Chris Hayes.  I have listened to the speech;  It was part of a public speaking course that I took at Stanford.  I have seen bits and pieces of the television footage over the years.  I have not, however, ever seen the entire thing.  I find that exceedingly weird and quite sad.  I have my DVR primed.  I hope that you will, too.  And make sure that your children watch it.  It may be their final chance for another 50 years.  (Well, until 2038.)

I hope that we all have a dream.  When we all actually do, the dream may finally be realized.

28 August 2013

The Land of Enchantment...

...is becoming much more enchanting.

22 August 2013

27 August 2013 Addition:  Update on goings-on in New Mexico from TPM.

Slowly-sinking Ears

Yes, apparently I have now joined the rest of the Internet in posting nothing but cat videos.



21 August 

Shark-Duck-In

This year's Shark Week took on new levels of crazy and yet nature still proves that it is THE MAN, mother though it may be.  From The Huffinton Post:

Researchers at the University of Delaware's ORB LAB posted this photo of a shark within a shark on Facebook in late July. The lab memebers were using a small fish called a menhaden as bait to recapture sharks they had previously tagged.

According to the Facebook post, a 3-foot-long shark known as a dogfish swam up and snatched the bait moments before a large female sand tiger shark swallowed the dogfish.

Awesome... unless you are either the dogfish or the menhaden, of course.

16 August 2013

Stop and Frisk... Wall Street

John Oliver explained stop and frisk as well on The Daily Show as it has been anywhere else.  And extending it to Wall Street is a stroke of genius!  Well played.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

15 August 2013

The Olinguito

New mammal discoveries are rare now.  Those as cute as the olinguito are rarer still!

15 August 2013

Addition:   As long as "cute" is one the menu today, I give you Yuan Zai.

16 August 2013 Addition: Some folks are having trouble accessing the movie above in-frame.  You can follow this link to see it.

Catfish Roomba?

While I'm not an advocate of dressing up animals in general, much less cats, this is pretty funny.


8 August 2013

Beautiful day, happy to have been here.

This is a fantastic obituary written by an author from Seattle.  Worth the read.  I first learned of it on The Huffington Post.

God speed, Ms. Lotter.

7 August 2013

House GOP: Truth Behind the Lie

There is a fascinating piece at TPM about the recent GOP failures in the House to push their supposed spending agendas and why these efforts -- or lack thereof -- signal that the emperor has no clothes.  Talk about spending is cheap, it turns out.  One can claim to want to slash spending, even to burn government to the ground.  When push comes to shove, however, the House GOP cannot ever pass bills as negotiating positions with the Senate.

The GOP is splintering.  Their share of the political pie is dwindling in the broader context and there is no voice strong enough within the party to unify behind.  This is going to get more and more ugly and it isn't good for the nation.  Within the context of a two-party system, we need two strong parties bringing their ideas to the table and then hashing out compromises using both party's philosophies.  Right now, we have gridlock in its most dangerous form.

The GOP is burning itself to the ground and there is no one to blame but the party itself.  It may take a decade or more for the party's decline on the national level to be complete, but it is coming.  History may one day decide that this time has already come.  We shall see.  I just hope something better replaces the Grand Old Party.  At this point, pretty much anything would be better.

Certainly, a part of me greets the GOP eating its young with glee.  By and large, their ideas today are reprehensible and grossly immoral.  Yet real live human beings -- my countrymen -- are being hurt economically, spiritually, and in all-too-many-cases physically.  How can anyone cheer that?

1 August 2013

Stars in Your Wedding Band

From Alicia Chang at TPM and the AP:

A strange glow in space has provided fresh evidence that all the gold on Earth was forged from ancient collisions of dead stars, researchers reported Wednesday.

Astronomers have long known that fusion reactions in the cores of stars create lighter elements such as carbon and oxygen, but such reactions can’t produce heavier elements like gold.

Instead, it was long thought that gold was created in a type of stellar explosion known as a supernova. But that doesn’t fully explain the amount of the precious metal in the solar system. 

About a decade ago, a team from Europe using supercomputers suggested that gold, platinum and other heavy metals could be formed when two exotic stars — neutron stars — crash and merge. Neutron stars are essentially stellar relics — collapsed cores of massive stars.

Now telescopes have detected such an explosion, and the observation bolsters the notion that gold in our jewelry was made in such rare and violent collisions long before the birth of the solar system about 4½ billion years ago.

18 July 2013

Zimmerman Verdict Response

John Oliver of The Daily Show has provided what I think is the best response to the acquittal of of George Zimmerman in Florida.



Of course, Stephen Colbert was on top of it, too.



I'm going to tag this under "politics," which is just sad.

16 July 2013

Local News, 80s Style

This is hilarious, but what makes it truly great is that it is real.  It has to be from the early 80s.

It is almost Anchorman worthy.

16 July 2013

"5 Things Parents Need to Stop Saying to Non-Parents"

John Kinnear on The Huffington Post.  Yes, this is true.

16 July 

The Eddie Murphy Rule

From Robert Smith of Planet Money at NPR:

It's been 30 years since Trading Places came out. And, to be honest, I never really understood what happened at the end of that movie. Sure, Louis Winthorpe (Dan Aykroyd) and Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) get rich, and the Duke brothers lose all their money. But what actually happens? How does it work?

I recently talked to Tom Peronis, a guy who has spent years trading OJ options. He walked me through every step of Winthorpe and Valentine's plan.

I loved this movie as a kid.  (I still love it.)  At the time, I didn't have any idea what the heck happened at the end either.  So I read until I understood it.  Some years later, I was having a conversation with one of my grandfathers about wheat futures.  It was this research that allowed me to follow that conversation and better understand the work that he'd been doing in his career.  Thanks, Eddie and Dan!

You can see the entire explanation of the happenings at the end of Trading Places here.  The movie's page at IMDB can be found here.

A big thanks to my sister for the heads up.  Does anything not make me feel old now?

15 July 2013

"Hunger Games, U.S.A."

Op-ed by Paul Krugman on SNAP in the NY Times.

15 July 2013

Living Sculpture

The Montreal Botanical Garden is featuring living sculptures made of plants.  From Houzz.com:

If you wander through the Montreal Botanical Garden this summer, you'll find furrow-browed gorillas peering from the shrubs, a row of ring-tailed lemurs walking down the road and massive red cranes towering over you. 

It's not an invasion from the zoo — it's mosaiculture, a type of horticultural art as wild as it sounds. Mosaiculture designers install carefully selected and pruned plants onto two- and three-dimensional designs, creating massive and surprisingly realistic living sculptures. In this exhibit visitors walk along a 2-kilometer (1¼-mile) path to see the work of 50 participants from more than 20 countries. Each designer worked with a set plant catalog to sculpt something from his or her country's culture. 

The event is on through September 29, open every day.  The photos are amazing!  Check them out.

And see the official site here.

15 July 2013

David Brooks on Immigration Reform

Conservative commentator David Brooks explains his strong support of the Senate's immigration reform bill in the New York Times.  Republicans in the House would do well to mark his warning.

12 July 2013

15 July 2013 Addition:  Interesting reader response at TPM regarding the prospects for immigration reform in the House and why breaking the legislation into smaller bits might actually work.  Key word: might.

Dining Etiquette From Around the World

This is kind of fun on The Huffington Post.  And you can see drinking etiquette and how to order a beer in many countries here.

11 July 2013