Father of PFC Bowe Bergdahl Breaks his (public) Silence

Misc. Things about Books

• We're all more than familiar with the stereotype of the socially awkward bookworm (heck, it's practically my whole identity for huge chunks of my life), but some recent research suggests that just might not be so. In fact, those who read a lot of fiction might be more empathetic than others (gotta say, that's long been my theory, glad to see that I was probably right). (h/t:Lifehacker)
• This has been linked like crazy all over, but author extraordinaire Michael Chabon has a great essay out about The Phantom Tollbooth (taken from his introduction to the forthcoming 50^th anniversary edition). Loved, loved, loved that book (and re-re-re-re-re-reread it as a kid). A couple years ago I read it with my kids and fell in love again--thanks to Mr. Chabon, I have to go read it again.
• I'm torn about this. I'm a huge, huge fan of Robert B. Parker, and the thought of not getting new Spenser and Stone volumes each year depresses me, but the news that the Parker estate and his publisher have hired new authors to continue his two main series (thankfully there's no talk about more Cole/Hitch books). If Joan's comfortable with it, it seems wrong for us fans to be naysayers. But, my initial reaction's more like what Andrew Wheeler tweeted, "V.C. Andrews, move over: sharecropping to begin over Robert Parker's barely-cold corpse." (h/t:Harry Connolly's feed). But, hey, it's not like Parker treated his stuff as much more than a commodity anyway lately (and honestly, I liked some of the choices that the new Stone writer made with the movies more than Parker made). I do know I'll be grabbing them up from the library as soon as humanly possible--and hopefully I'll like 'em enough to head to a bookstore after that.

Odds 'n Ends

• The pre-Thanksgiving TSA-induced uproar has died down, but the injustices that caused it continue. You can see Wil Wheaton's entirely justified reaction to his pat down on his twitter feed on Tuesday. Being a bit more composed, but still outraged, yesterday he The very definition of a must read.


• I, like many of you, suffered through Rebecca Black's "Friday" (see how nice I am to not link to it?). But there are great ways to cope with it--like Conan's video "Thursday", or Stephen Colbert's great cover of it on Fallon's show. But this essay, just might take the cake, where Jeffrey Tucker reads way too much into the song and tries to turn it into a Libertarian allegory (I agree with the politics/philosophy, just think it's a bad read of the lyrics/video).


• I'm sure you've seen this as it's showing up everywhere I look (or maybe I just spend too much time in the wrong places on the Net), but in case you haven't, hit play here. Last night, I almost broke my laptop watching this--it was on my lap (is that maybe where they got the name for them?) and I laughed so hard I almost launched it across the room.
  
  When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal


• I put up a video from Lovett a few weeks back, and his album came out recently--one of the most eclectic collections of music I have--and pretty much all good. Grab a free track here:
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

Too Funny to Check

I'm not going to read the story, don't need to, I'm laughing out loud at the headline on the local newspapers' website:

Report: Internet usage transforming news industry

Ohhhh, thank heavens, there's a report on this, 'cuz otherwise, who ever would have known?

Let the Complaining Begin!

As soon as the polls opened today, I went and did my civic duty along with a handful of others (that's not a comment on turnout, btw), many of whom would not qualify for a Senior Citizen discount on anything, so I took heart in that.

One of the nice things about living in the State of Idaho is that I can freely vote my conscience (i.e., not a Republicrat) and be fully certain that the candidate who appears to be the lesser of two evils will make it to office. I'd vote my conscience anyway, but still...

Anyway, according to several T-Shirts and Bumper Stickers that I've seen (if these aren't the true arbiters of what passes for thought in America today, I don't know what is...twitter, I guess), as a voter, I'm now fully qualified to complain. So let me get started:

1. Kids these Days, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that ol' Socrates/Plato/Cicero/someone forever old said,

   "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

   which just goes to show ya that everyone's complained about Kids these Days.
   
   Whatever. It's still true, kids today are manner-less, contemptuous and disrespectful, you know it, I know it and they know it.
   
   Grrr.
2. Two Party System...when are we, the electorate, going to wake up to the fact that this supposed two-party system is just one party masquerading as two, different names for the same stuff? When will we demand actual choices in the forms of multiple parties?
3. Bite-Sized Candy ShrinkageNow this one, I'm really riled up about. Go check out the contents of your kids' plunder from this weekend, or a bag on the shelf of the grocery store if you're not into that--those things are noticeably and significantly smaller than they were even 1 year ago. Now, I'm not one to call for more government interference in our lives/the market, but c'mon, you're telling me the FDA doesn't have an enforceable standard mass for "bite sized" candy bar?

Progress or Something

Children are learning to use profanity — swearing — at an earlier age, according to research presented at the Sociolinguistics Symposium this month. And the researchers found children are also swearing more often than children did just a few decades ago.

First of all, say "Sociolinguistics Symposium" five times fast. Doing it faster and doing more of it, it's the American way.

Just how early?

"By the time kids go to school now, they're saying all the words that we try to protect them from on television," says Jay [who presented the data]. "We find their swearing really takes off between (ages) three and four."

3 and 4. That's Sesame Street ages, right? Maybe Katy Perry wasn't that out of line... But note that he named the favorite bogey man of whatever's wrong with our kids, television. That's gotta be it, right? More and more of it on TV, so more and more of it in kids' mouths. Bzzzt.

Kids aren't learning swearing at an earlier age from the television they watch. The rise in cursing mirrors the rise in cursing among adults in the past thirty years that Jay has been studying the psychology of swearing.

Ooops. In fact, it's monkey-hear, monkey-do:

"As soon as kids can speak, they're using swear words," says Jay. "That doesn't mean they know what adults know, but they do repeat the words they hear."

Eh, what's it matter? Bunch of silly Victorian sensibilities becoming more obsolete is all.

Swearing is not a trivial matter about an occasional profanity slipping past a child's lips. Previous research into swearing has shown it has a significant impact with problems at home, in school, and at the workplace.

...not to mention it's lazy and largely uncreative.

The bit of silver lining on this effen gray cloud? Edited a skosh to keep this sfw.

Children do not appear to be yet using worse swear words than in the past — just common swear words more often, according to the new research. Although there are over 70 different common taboo swear words in the English language (some of which also vary from English-speaking country to country), 10 frequently used words account for over 80 percent of common swearing — fbleepk, sbleept, hbleepl, dbleepn, gbleepn, Jbleeps Cbleept, ableeps, oh my gbleepd, bbleeph and sbleeps.

What, really, that last one counts? Gulp.

The original article is here, and then Jay's very interesting website is here.

The Contemporary Epidemic: the Halfalogue

From Kung Fu Monkey: Here's a handy-dandy scientific explanation for why Cell Phone/Bluetooth Guy is so much more grating than Obnoxiously Loud Couple.

What a way to make a living, examining the whys and wherefores of pet peeves. You know, you just know, that the grant approval process has to be easier for this team.

"All right, we have just one more grant to award today, and let's see here...the applicants include: (sound of papers being shuffled) a new Rational Emotive Behavior treatment for bulimia...a more exact test for determining placement on the Autism Spectrum...relationship between watching semi-celebrities on Reality TV shows and Acts of Violence, that one has promise...and, what's this? 'Why People on Cell Phones are so Annoying'? I think it's clear we don't even have to vote on this one, right?" (sound of gavel banging, grant checks being written)

aaaand...curtain.

Real Health Care Reform

The Idaho Press-Tribune today talks about a new local company doing something to offer real, needed change to the Health Care Industry (and no, I'm not being sarcastic/ironic/snarky/whatever).

An RN and an anesthesiologist^* have developed this little thing they call "Privacy Preferred Hospital Gown" and it offers just that--a hospital gown with privacy, which most people (other than sitcom writers looking for an easy joke) prefer. Y'see, it parts on the side and ties in the front, yet provides all the easy kinds of access people with IVs, needles, stethoscopes, etc need to have.

Simple, straightforward, an idea that who's time has come (decades ago, really). May their tribe increase.


^* yes, I had to copy and paste that word to make sure it was spelled correctly.

Just the Thing for Miniature French Gourmands

Zoologists with Conservation International in Borneo have discovered a new species of frog--the world's tiniest (so far). Just how tiny is tiny? 10-12 mm long--but loud enough to hear, apparently, because that's how the zoologists found them.

io9 has a fuller story and some more cute pictures.

...After all adequacy is the hallmark of great education

The Idaho Press-Tribune calls this "excel"ling.

Those assembled at Caldwell High School for it's announcement deemed it worthy of "spontaneous applause."

The Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction has been "celebrating" this.

What is it?

Adequacy.

That's right, Caldwell High School made "adequate yearly progress" for the first time. I don't want to debate the relative merits (or lack thereof) of No Child Left Behind, because like it or not, that's the mark they're supposed to be hitting, and in 2009 CHS met the mark. Adequately.

Merriam-Webster defines adequate as:

1 : sufficient for a specific requirement ; also : barely sufficient or satisfactory
2 : lawfully and reasonably sufficient

if those aren't words that describe greatness and inspire the hearts and souls of all, I don't know what would.

The state of public education in Idaho (and really, nationwide) is such that we celebrate and applaud schools that are sufficient?!?! Talk about ridiculous.

I can't help but think of the late, great adequate Bill McNeal:

This from the "It's Not Just Us" File

Phew! It's not only our courts that are filled with silly lawsuits (and our school system with a discipline breakdown), Germany's got 'em, too.

From the UK Telegraph:

A teacher with a phobia over rabbits is suing a 14-year-old pupil for compensation after she drew a bunny on the blackboard.

The teacher, from Vechta, Germany, says she was traumatised by the drawing, and claims the girl knew it would terrify her.

She had transferred to the school where a pupil from her former school had just become a pupil and told her new friends about the teacher's fear of rabbits.

"We did it for fun and out of curiosity", one of the girls told a court, adding, "We wanted to see if she would really freak out."

School officials removed her from the class and now the teacher is seeking compensation for her terror and her loss of earnings

I know phobias don't bow to reason--I have an aunt that was so freaked out by a spider pin (a very nice one, I might add) that my sister gave her as a joke that she couldn't touch it and eventually asked my sister to remove it from her home. But to be so freaked out over a drawing on a blackboard that you can't work? And then to turn around and sue a 14 year old? (who'd better have been suspended/expelled/whatever Germans do--which I'm guessing isn't pleasant) How detailed could a drawing on a blackboard be??

I'm trying to have compassion on the poor lady, but come on...

Not to be even more insensitive, but after thinking about this phobia, I just have to post this. Click play only if ye be men of valour, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived. Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair. So, brave knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth.

Thoughts on Earth Day

In an effort to conserve energy and resources (my own), here's a few things I thought were worth reading on the topic of Earth Day.

• from Big Government, an alternative commemoration.
  
• from Big Hollywood, environmentally hypocritical Hollywood
  
• my pal critiques Earth Day
  
• thought I had others, but I guess not, should just preserve electrons, I guess.

A Tale of Two Headlines

I know, I know, IknowIknowIknowIknow there's a lot more to these stories than just the headlines; the Peterson contract is actually pretty darn cheap for what he does, and more power to the guy for making what he can for himself/his family; I actually think that most of what Health & Welfare does shouldn't be handled by the state; and other assorted caveats, uh, provisos. Ah, a couple of quid pro quo....

But at the end of the day (or, for non-graveyard workers, the beginning), don't these two headlines (screencaptured from The Idaho Statesman) tell us a lot about our society?



and what they say ain't pretty.

From the "Truth is Stranger" File (Updated)

from the Ottawa Citizen (emphasis mine):

The European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers' dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips.

Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, proposed a strategy that could cost European taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros a year, The Times of London reports.

"Travelling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life," Mr. Tajani told a group of ministers at The European Tourism Stakeholders Conference in Madrid on April 15. Mr. Tajani was appointed to his post by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The plan -- just who gets to enjoy the travel package has yet to be determined -- would see taxpayers footing some of the vacation bill for seniors, youths between the ages of 18 and 25, disabled people, and families facing "difficult social, financial or personal" circumstances. The disabled and elderly can also be accompanied by one other person. The EU and its taxpayers are slated to fund 30% of the cost of these tours, which could range from youth exploring abandoned factories and power plants in Manchester to retirees taking discount trips to Madrid, all in the name of cultural appreciation.

...so many jokes fighting to get out of my brain, I just might have a stroke...

Upon further reflection, it strikes me that this is really nothing new. Back in the 80's the noted legal scholars The Beastie Boys were already making this point

I am Clearly Not Smart Enough to be a Lawyer

Okay, just thinking about this is giving me a headache...

Beyonce's YouTube channel has been shut down for copyright infringement by her record company, Sony Entertainment.

(read here, and here).
This is just as trippy as one of those pictures of a hand drawing a hand which is drawing that first hand.

Chagall Guevara had it right, we are living in Escher's World.

Unbearable Hardship for Voters

According to the Idaho Press-Tribune

A bill that would require voters to show identification could slow the election process in Canyon County or force the county to hire more poll workers.

No one wants to hear this, we all lead busy lives and having to put up with a new delay to slow our busy lives is a heckuva drag. As that's the lead to a story drawing attention to a significant problem with a bill working its way through the State Legislature, surely we're talking about a major delay, right? So exactly how much longer is it going to take to vote if this thing becomes a law?

Checking voters' identification would take each voter about 20 seconds longer to vote, Canyon County Deputy Clerk Brad Jackson said.

20 seconds? Twenty whole seconds? Intolerable!! Why, I can type 27 words in that time! Who wants to wait that long? It's like a whole third of the time it should take to get a Whopper. And those crazy people we elected (some of us anyway) would put us through such adversity?

Personally, I've always found it impossible to believe that you don't have to do more to prove who you are to vote--I have a harder time getting Chicago Connection to take a check than I do getting a ballot.

How many of our countrymen have died so that we could vote? How much blood, sweat and tears have been spilt to preserve, to protect, and to make use of that right? And we're gonna complain about a lousy 20 seconds?

To get on a plane anymore we stand like sheep waiting to be shorn and slip off our shoes and let them measure our conditioner and shampoo. Before long, without much more than a murmur, we'll subject ourselves to virtual strip searches--and who knows what other indignities are coming next? We roll over for whatever impingement the Federal Government wants to put on our civil liberties in the name of "safety", "security" or the "war on drugs." But something that will slow things down for us at the polls by less than a minute? That's what gets the exclamation points? Really?

Sure, we could end up having to hire more workers to help out, so there's an economic side to this, and today, that's a legitimate concern. But then again...is helping out with 20 seconds worth that?

Jackson said voter fraud is not a problem in Canyon County and he questions whether the voter identification bill passed by the Idaho House Monday is needed. . . .

But Jackson said voter fraud is so rare in Canyon County that requiring identification to vote like the bill does would be unnecessary.

"If voter fraud was a big issue I would say that checking IDs would make a significant difference," Jackson said. "I just don't see voter fraud as being a sufficient issue."

Now I get that he's speaking from his perspective as a Canyon County worker, but is the lack of a problem in our one county enough to call into question the necessity of a law for the whole state? (and that's granting that it isn't a problem here) Who does he think he works for, Ada County?

"There's a lot more concern about fraud then the reality of the situation," he said.

Thank the Lord for that, Mr. Jackson--isn't that the way it's supposed to be? Are you really suggesting we should be blase about voter fraud until the populace of Kohlerlawn vote Tom Dale in for yet another term?

Trailer for the "Health Care Summit"

just had to share...

A Wonderful Idea that Will Just Never Take

The good people (er, person) over at Treasured Valley today have reposted an opinion piece by a local educator, Steve Hauge, "Sports should be considered when cutting education budget. Incisive, thoughtful, practical, and all-around right. Which means the idea will go nowhere.

Now that Gov. Butch Otter has spoken, let the bleeding begin.

He proposed to amputate part of the budget on education. I suggest it be the testosterone, not the brain. Or rather, the weight room, not the classroom. Bleachers, not desks. Playbooks, not textbooks.

Surely we will hear some claim that football and basketball are financially self-supporting and underwrite other sports, save coaches salaries.

But that is misleading. Multiply the number of coaches by the number of sports by the number of schools in any district by the salary amount, and the figure climbs. Though coaches are underpaid, collectively it all adds up. And don’t think for a moment a varsity sport subsidizes feeder programs at the junior high level. No, it’s the taxpayer again.

I suspect public school sports simply eat up a lot more cash than taxpayers assume. At the very least, taxpayers ought to demand that the financial books are opened and proven otherwise.

Go read the whole thing.

I Have No Tolerance for Idiocy

you just know there's a Zero-Tolerance Policy behind the school's administration here.

NEW YORK — A New York City fourth-grader was sent to the principal's office and nearly suspended for bringing a 2-inch toy gun to school.

Nine-year-old Patrick Timoney and a friend were playing with Legos in the cafeteria at Public School 52 in Staten Island on Tuesday when Patrick produced the tiny plastic machine gun and put it in the hands of a plastic police officer.

After Patrick's mother got a call from the school, his parents met with the principal and persuaded her not to discipline him if he agreed to leave the toy gun at home.

the rest of the AP story is here.

"do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done."

Have you seen the story about AC/DC's Brian Johnson criticizing Bono's charity work? I've stumbled across a few versions of it in the last couple of hours--like this one.

the outspoken singer said he and his Grammy-winning band prefer to help in private with no press conferences.

"I do it myself, I don't tell everybody I'm doing it," Johnson said.

"I don't tell everybody they should give money - they can't afford it.

"When I was a working man I didn't want to go to a concert for some bastard to talk down to me that I should be thinking of some kid in Africa.

"I'm sorry mate, do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done. It just makes me angry."

This attitude goes back to LiveAid back in the 80's, which AC/DC didn't take part in.

"Bob Geldof is a canny lad. He did what he thought was right at the time but it didn't work," he said. "The money didn't go to poor people. It makes me mad when people try to use politics or charity for publicity.

"Do a charity gig, fair enough, but not on worldwide television."

It's a good point he's making, 'tho it's not original to him, for example, I remember someone making it 2000 years ago. Now, I know this will get forgotten in a couple of weeks (at best), and the next time Bono or whoever does a big nationwide/international TV charity event this won't even get a second thought, and we'll have more lauds given to people wealthier than Midas because they're telling us how we need to give and give and give.