"Eat the Kids First"

I don't know if such a plate would even be possible in Massachusetts, but I might actually pay to have it if it is.

This photo came from The Huffington Post & Great Vanity Plates.

30 May 2014

Update:  Well damn.  This seems as close as I can get.

If you can turn that into something suitably snarky for me, let me know!

If the money didn't go to anti-choice non-profits, I'd consider getting "CHOICE" on the following:

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The Relatively-Small Cost of Environmental Change

Paul Krugman has an interesting op-ed in the New York Times about the relatively small monetary cost of major climate change policies in the United States.  Worth a read.

30 May 2014

2 June 2014 Addition:  Additional info from two sources can be found at TPM.

Cat People, Dog People

From the Huffington Post.

29 May 2014

Can't We All Just Get Along?

Because joy.



24 May 2014






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Cold Water on Gay Rights

A reader at TPM sheds light on the march towards gay rights in Idaho and how it likely reflects the the one-step-forward-two-steps-back nature of the battle in many red states.  It is definitely worth your time.

21 May 2014

The Arthur Fonzarelli School of Smooth

This baseball fan obviously attended the Fonzie Finishing School.  Aaaaaaaaaayyyy!



Hilarious.

19 May 2014

21 May 2014 Addition:  I shared this with a colleague today and this is part of the back-and-forth that we had about it.

Her:  Love the reaction of the girl who thought he was giving her the real thing. Wonder what she thinks of him now!
Me:  I’ve been wondering the same thing b/c this thing was everywhere on sports tv this weekend.
Her:  I gotta give the kid credit. It was pretty darn smooth. He didn’t miss a beat.
Me:  Seriously.  I’ve always wondered what 17 year old boy was picking up Joan Jett in the song “I Love Rock n’ Roll.”  Now, I know that it was this kid.  Sheesh.
Her:  A normal kid would have paused for a few seconds to marvel and squeal. This kid did not even waiver for a NANOSECOND.  He’ll be the next Wolf of Wall Street. 

I think that she's on to something.

Tips for Faster Reading

I came across these prepared remarks for a class at Princeton today on The Huffington Post.  The writer, Tim Ferriss, outlines a methodology to increased one's reading speed many times over.

14 May 2014

Meet Cute: Cat and Baby

A colleague sent me a link to a video and description of a cat encountering a human baby for the first time.  I like this for two reasons.  First, this cat looks a bit like our own Finnegan.  (Not as handsome, mind you, but no one is.)  Second, this mirrors my own reaction to human babies to a "T."  (Minor interest combined with increasing apprehension.)



13 May 2014

Madonna: Two Songs

For some reason, two Madonna songs popped into my head today.  They are American Pie and Don't Tell Me.

That weird electronic (guitar?) hook from Don't Tell Me eats into your brain!

12 May 2014

Sam Moves American Sport Forward

The Rams drafting Michael Sam moved American sports forward on Saturday.  So did the way sports television covered the moment.

This was two stories.  The first was the story of a gifted athlete trying to live out his dream of playing a sport professionally and a team giving him that chance in the hope of improving its own odds for success.  "On the field" as folks say.

The "off the field" story was the question as to whether an NFL franchise would use a draft pick on an openly gay player.  We have our answer and the Rams' move will make it an easier call for the next team to do it.

And the reaction to Sam's selection has been largely positive, which should make the next player's decision to come out a bit easier.  This is win-win-win all-around.

Thank you to Jeff Fisher and the Rams organization for making this move.  You helped the country.  I hope that this choice also helps your football team.  I'm sure that Sam will work like crazy to make that happen.

A football player being drafted isn't news.  Well, it isn't news outside of sports journalism.  This pick is news because it is a "first."  It is a move to make a backwards nation a bit less backwards.  These moves will garner fewer headlines as time moves on.  That is the way that it should be.

For now, however, and while remaining a Broncos fan for life, I'll be a Rams fan, too.  Good luck to Sam and his team!



12 May 2014

14 May 2014 Addition:  "Unnecessary Tenderness"

The Colbert Report
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Hamster Take-out

We were introduced to hamsters eating tiny replicas of human foods on last Sunday's Last Week Tonight.  My wife loved the hamster eating a tiny burrito.



Today, it is a tiny pizza.  Enjoy.  (I don't see how you could not!)



8 May 2014

Addition:  Cool fact.  I just learned that the burrito video was made by the friend-of-a-friend of my coworker.  Six degrees of Kevin Bacon Burrito, if you will.

Addition Two:  Okay, I truly hope these little guys don't hurt themselves.  I'm leading with that and it is the most important consideration.  Having said that, this is funny as %$*#&*!!



And yes, I know that hamsters are not rats, but Ratt has fitting theme music for that video.



And it stars Milton Berle... in the 80s!  Pure win.

Wedding Band for the Ages

A friend sent me this now-removed Craig's List ad for a wedding band.  I so very much want to be at this wedding to see what this fellow turns up... or from under what rock he finds his band!

Rock on, Beavis!

8 May 2014

Benghazi Outrage

Jon Stewart provided everything that you need to know about the Right's outrage over the events in Benghazi, Libya and their aftermath.

Clip One

The Daily Show
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Clip Two

The Daily Show
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Damn, he and his writers are good.

7 May 2014

An Open Book: Cats & Kids

The Huffington Post has a great story today about an animal shelter that has a program where grade school kids read to shelter cats.  It helps the cats become more comfortable around humans and seems to help many children read both more and at a higher level.  Win win.

If only the cats could read, too!

7 May 2014

Cartwheeling Spiders

I've seen cartwheeling spiders on nature shows before and marveled at them.  Today comes a report of a newly-discovered species, C. rechenbergi.  What is different about this spider is how it cartwheels.  From the Scientific American report by Bec Crew:

What separates the cartwheeling C. rechenbergi from the golden wheel spider is how much energy is required to perform the behaviour. While the golden wheel spider uses the slope of the hill to propel it away from its predators, C. rechenbergi does all the work to achieve its locomotion. And this can exhaust it so much, reports Jäger, that it can sometimes cartwheel itself to death. “In contrast to the wheeling behaviour inCarparachne aureoflava, it is an active energy-consuming movement, which can lead to the death of the individual when performed some times in succession.”

Video (in German):



Nature is a wonder.

6 May 2014

Moyers, Krugman, & the 1%

From Brandon Weber on Upworthy:

I know it's a lot to ask for 24 minutes of your time, but this one is very much worth it. Paul Krugman and Bill Moyers talk about a new book that is hot, hot, hot: "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" by economist Thomas Piketty.
I know what you're thinking ... a book on economics and inequality is all that? Yep.

6 May 2014

"How The Cliven Bundy Saga Exposes America's Most Enduring Myth"

TPM has a great article about race, the American West, & the Homestead Act by University of Kansas professor Jonathan Earle.  Worth a read.

5 May 2014

TED: The Unseen Universe

This film would be great in IMAX.



2 May 2014

"100 Reasons Not to Have Kids"

I agree with most of her 100 reasons.  Her first in favor of having a child would be acceptable if she was holding a kitten.

2 May 2014

"Episode VII: A New Hip"

Stephen Colbert.  Classic.

The Colbert Report
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1 May 2014