| Library Empathy |
[May. 15th, 2008|07:28 pm] |
You hold a book that unknown hands
have held before. The pages fall
open at certain poems. One lands
under your eye. You read. That's all?
Some person loved this verse, but why?
You read again. A glimmer grows
as if dawn peeked across the sky,
and something in you feels it knows. |
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| State of Fatigue |
[May. 14th, 2008|06:03 pm] |
Over at the No Quarter blog, they're tracking Obama's recent history of embarrassing gaffes.
The best was when he spoke of having visited 57 of these United States.
The latest is complaining that we don't have enough Arabic translators to assist in our Afghanistan efforts. But... they don't speak Arabic there.
Of course, these gaffes
are good for laughs.
Some people think he's mentally fatigued. Perhaps. But can we find a solution? Yes we can!
Even a brain
that's sharp as a tack
starts fading fast
when it's time for the sack.
It's a brutal campaign.
Is the man overstressed?
Somebody, please,
get him some rest! |
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| Who Are The Libertarians Running? |
[May. 13th, 2008|10:22 pm] |
It was reported yesterday that Huckabee is at the top of McCain's short list of VP picks.
Economic conservatives and supply-siders may balk, but the threat of four years of Obamanomics and higher investment, income, and corporate taxes might be enough to keep them on board.
Oh, Lord,
count me as balking,
running not walking,
yelling not talking,
and jumping overboard. |
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| The Legend Speaks |
[May. 13th, 2008|10:02 pm] |
Reena Kapoor picks up a story about Barbra Streisand, who wants us all to save the planet... by doing things like not running the dishwasher until it's fully loaded. But she doesn't seem to be living that way herself.
I am shocked, I tell you, shocked.
It's almost as if Barbra didn't mean what she said,
but was simply spreading it on for the rubes, instead. |
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| That Pensive Rascal, Pascal |
[May. 12th, 2008|09:52 pm] |
I'm reading Pascal's Pensées for book club.
The man is obviously brilliant, but he's obsessed with making the best case for his own somewhat contradictory religious beliefs. For me it's not a pleasant journey so far, because he spend so much time talking about the misery of human life.
The founder of probability theory, he put forward the "Wager" argument for believing in God. Super simplified version:
1. If you believe Christianity, and it's true, you win.
2. If you believe Christianity, and it's not true, you're none the worse off.
3. So, believe!
This argument has a variety of logical problems, but I think it accurately describes a lot of people's decision-making processes.
They never really see the holy light,
but they bet on the chance the preacher might be right. |
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| Congratulations, Graduate |
[May. 11th, 2008|04:41 pm] |
My son is named John, but my daughter, Felicia, for the past 4 years, has been a "johnnie," i.e., a student at St.John's College.
They're an unusual school, focused on the direct study of key works of Western civilization. Felicia took to the program like a fish to water.
Today, she graduated.
It was a pleasant outdoor ceremony, cloudy, but no rain to speak of. Well, I did feel a drop or two, but I won't speak of it.
She gobbled up gobs of Great Books,
Homer to to Hobbes to Heidegger,
sifting for sense through centuries
of the world's weighty words. |
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| The Case of the Too-Small Gloves |
[May. 10th, 2008|02:57 pm] |
One legal case in recent history seemed to turn on a rhyme: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
As for me, I thought the man guilty, but I have always been curious as to why the gloves seemed small.
Now, one of OJ's buddies offers a possible explanation:
Gilbert also claims that he counseled the jailed Simpson during his murder trial to stop taking his arthritis medicine so his hands would swell up and not fit the bloody gloves in court.
What do you think?
Can you believe
he got out of the clink
by not taking Aleve? |
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| Push Presents |
[May. 9th, 2008|10:07 pm] |
There's a new trend called "push presents". Women get them from their mates for pushing babies out of their bodies.
Helen Smith isn't sure she likes the idea:
...it is the expectation that one is to be reimbursed for the act of child-birth that is troubling here. I do wonder if Michelle Duggar has been cashing in on this trend. She's pregnant with her 18th child.
With two sets of twins, Michelle, 41, has gone through 15 pregnancies that ended in 13 natural deliveries and two Caesarean sections. Speaking of C-sections, there's no real pushing involved when they are of the scheduled variety. So do you still get a "push present"? Or would it be better to call it an "operation donation"?
Due to the size of the human infant's brain,
pushing out babies can be a giant pain. |
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| Math Gaffe |
[May. 9th, 2008|09:32 pm] |
Obama says he has visited every corner of the U.S., hitting 57 states as part of his campaign, with just "one left to go".
Video and other links here.
I guess the 57 with 1 to go refers to the 58 contiguous states. When you throw in Alaska and Hawaii that's 60. You didn't know about the 10 new states?
The funny thing is that he's in the Senate. You know - the legislative body with 100 members because there are 2 for each state? Of course, it's his first term in the Senate, so maybe he hasn't gotten around to counting all the seats yet.
If there's more contiguous states than we already had,
Mexico and/or Canada will really be mad!
But the people who sell American flags will surely be glad. |
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| Extreme Monotreme |
[May. 8th, 2008|08:54 pm] |
They've run through the DNA code for the Platypus.
You know, that comical critter from the land down under.
It's furry and duck-billed and lays leather eggs
and keeps deadly poison in claws on its legs.
Update: it's only the male who has the poison on a spur on each of his back legs, and it's not deadly to humans, just very painful.
Of course, it's only the female who lays eggs, so I could try redoing it like this:
They're furry and duck-billed.
She lays leather eggs.
He has spurs - poison-filled
upon his hind legs. |
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| ThomJeffBlog.Com |
[May. 8th, 2008|06:29 pm] |
If Thomas Jefferson came back to blog,
he'd stare at our technology, agog,
and post some words of happiness and praise.
Then to our politics he would turn his gaze,
That's where I'm worried he might choose to write
words that border on the impolite. |
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| That Second Spot On The Ticket |
[May. 7th, 2008|10:01 pm] |
I've idly wondered if Hillary is trying to get the vice-presidential slot under Obama.
But apparently, Jon Stewart was trying to talk McCain into having her as his running mate:
"If you choose Sen. Clinton, you would win this election."
"That’s one I never contemplated," McCain said of the New York senator who is running for the nomination of the Democratic party.
"Do you want to say into the camera right now that you would do that?" Stewart asked the candidate.
"No," McCain said. "I don’t want to look in the camera and say that I would ever do that." If Mrs. C
joined the GOP
and asked real nice if she could be
McCain's VP,
I'd hope that he
wouldn't agree. |
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| Academic Boom |
[May. 7th, 2008|06:14 pm] |
Could higher education be in trouble?
Will it pop in the next market bubble? |
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| Victory? |
[May. 6th, 2008|10:57 pm] |
Do I have to go to bed without a full consensus on whether Hillary really edged out Obama in Indiana?
She sounded victorious, but I also thought I heard the first signs that she is facing reality. She said something about Democrats coming together to support whoever the candidate is. It kind of sounded like she wasn't so sure it would be her.
The delegate count
continues to mount
in Barrack's column.
For Hillary, the moment must be solemn. |
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| Bird Business |
[May. 6th, 2008|05:26 pm] |
The birds go about their business,
flying, mating, making nests,
and singing in the spring.
Eggs can soon be expected,
young who must be protected
until their lives take wing. |
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| Crash and Burn and Get Rescued |
[May. 5th, 2008|11:30 pm] |
This morning a guy crashed his car on the North side of Chicago.
The car caught on fire.
Fortunately, Mike Gunia, 56, lived across the street, and responded immediately, pulling the man from the burning car.
Gunia's been a firefighter for 22 years.
After pulling the man out of the car, Gunia went back home. Figures. If I pulled a man from a burning car, I'd be really excited. I'd be standing around telling everyone I met... till the buzz wore off, anyway, which would probably be 48 hours later. This guy... it's what he does for a living. So he just goes home.
Pulling people out of harm's way
for him is just a normal day. |
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| Ironman the Sequel |
[May. 5th, 2008|08:58 pm] |
The Ironman movie did so well at the box office, on its first weekend, that a sequel is already being announced.
And I haven't even seen the first one yet!
You know, just to carbon-date myself, I remember when Ironman didn't have any red in his suit. (See the Tales of Suspense cover at the Wikipedia site.)
Back then he was a metal tsunami
knocking over meddling commies. |
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| Singlemindedness |
[May. 5th, 2008|07:04 pm] |
To focus on one purpose for the hour,
and drive toward that goal with all one's power,
kicking in some hunger as a boost,
can leave one stunned at what has been produced. |
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