| But it's nice to know this little project is worth something in hard currency. Coincidentally, that amount is close to what I need for the remainder of the downpayment on my new house. Could I trade my blog for a house? Hmmm... the mind boggles. |
A Houston protester argues that proficiency in English should be a condition for citizenship. Excellent point. May I just point out something about your sign then?
The above video shows the spread of...
a) Kudzu
b) Walmart
c) Wendy's
d) Krispee Kreme
I was just reading about how Sarah Jane Olson (aka Kathleen Soliah, formerly of the SLA) was released from prison yesterday only to be put back in custody today. Something about someone counting wrong and releasing her from prison a year early. (Huh?)
But what caught my eye was this detail about the Symbionese Liberation Army:
The SLA started in 1973 when no more than a dozen white, college-educated children from middle-class families adopted a seven-headed snake as their symbol and an ex-convict as their leader. Their slogan: "Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people."
Clearly none of these college-educated white kids did much with composition or creative writing 'cause that sucks as a slogan. I'm glad they never wrote a jingle.
Just when you thought the Republicans couldn't get any more Orwellian, the Minneapolis task force formed to ensure the free speech rights of protesters at the upcoming Republican National Convention silenced attendees at their meeting today. The attendees resorted to holding up handwritten signs. You can read the full story as reported by Minnesota Public Radio which didn't miss the irony of this.
Or you can just read 1984.
In a startling study, giving all of us non-French reason to smirk, results show that the French can't agree on what the gender of nouns are, even though the language is highly standardized. Dalila Ayoun, Professor of French Linguistics at the University of Arizona, simply asked 56 native French speakers to assign a gender to some sample nouns. Of the 93 masculine nouns they only unanimously agreed on 17 of them. Of the 50 feminine nouns, only 1 of them!
The disparity increases when you factor in age. Teenagers agreed on far fewer than the adult participants. Language Log has more on the study.
All I can say is, Viva la difference! Or is that le difference?
I've been putting my new computer through its paces today and made this little video based on this post.
So I got these cheap peanuts to make a pad thai the other night...
and Emma noticed something interesting in the allergy information...
because if you're allergic to peanuts you might pick up a tin of peanuts thinking that there may be no peanuts inside the tin of peanuts... yeah... right...
and started a firestorm.
About five days ago I put up this post on Perfect Duluth Day about comments made by a local meteorologist on a local radio show. In the wake of Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize this meteorologist said that he wouldn't pay a dime to go see An Inconvenient Truth because Al Gore was a "left wing nut." Here is the whole conversation that was originally aired on KUWS.
I thought that dismissing Al Gore as a "nut" was a silly ad hominem attack and beneath someone who was a public figure and a scientist, so I said so.
What have I wrought? The discussion got heated fast and even made the local paper, which only added fuel to the fire after that.
For a post that was supposed to be about civility in dialogue I sure brought out the worst in some people. Over 100 comments later the sniping continues even after the meteorologist himself posted to the blog apologizing for his choice of words and, having watched the film (he wouldn't have given a dime to see), he posted what I thought was a reasoned review of it from his perspective.
While I'm elated that the blogosphere can bring some accountability to public figures, I'm more downhearted by the tone of discussion.
Yep, I've been summoned for Federal Jury Duty. I'm in the jury pool for November and December and while that's not an ideal time framework for a man of the cloth, I'm kinda looking forward to it.
I've always been a civics nerd in my own way. Most people I've talked to who have served on a jury have found the experience to be a positive one, overall.
So, anyone want to disabuse me of my delusion? Anyone have any jury stories to tell? Good, bad, or ugly, I'd like to hear them.
Charlie Brown gone manga? There's a genre-bender for you. Found this on a gallery by the artist, gNAW. What would Charles Schultz think?
My Little Golden Book about ZOGG is a parody of an insipid children's book about God that I actually remember from my childhood.
As I remember it, it was pretty creepy then. The rewrite is even creepier.
Prepare yourself for the "powder scented Final Solution of our enemies from beyond..."
Free Spirit Spheres are free-hanging spherical habitats custom-made in British Columbia. Go visit the site just to see the fantastic photos. It's RV living meets Jacques Cousteau submersible meets Wookiee tree dwelling.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra!
I'm an art project. Go fig.
Jenn Johnson did this portrait of me for a class.
