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Greetings, fans of sport, of theater, and of other things important and trivial. We're in full VEWPRF season, and one of the things that means is there's some new Doctor Who. This time around, there's more buzz than usual, as we know that there will soon be a new Doctor on the scene. For David Tennant, it's been quite a ride, and he seems to have escaped whatever curse may have followed his predecessors about being able to find work outside of Doctor Who. (Plus, mental note, figure out a way to see the Hamlet on BBC2 that has Tennant and Patrick Stewart in the same company.)
Congratulations on making it past another darkest night of the year - I hope that your ceremonies of warmth, light, and seasonal change were all wonderful.
In the gift-giving department, this should seem obvious, but giving gifts that imply someone needs self-improvement, without them requesting those kinds of gifts... well, let's just say it's a bad idea.
A reminder to parents before we begin - please have you child vaccinated. Things like mumps should not be having outbreaks at all, but they will be more likely to, the more people listen to wild claims about vaccination.
Internationally, The Holy See has declared copyright on the Pope, the Papal Seal, and other Pontiff-related phrases. We'll see how well that works out for them.
Much more cruel than this, attempting to revenge himself on his wife, a man drugged and then stuck needles into their two year old son, several times a week. There was also the four year old, beer in hand, who was taking presents from the neighbors and the fetus under the Christmas tree. It's a weird season, the winter. And just because someone is in prison doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to complain about inhumane conditions. The NYT Editorial board pushes for removal of a requirement that says physical injury has to happen for prisoners to be able to bring suit about their condition.
Iraq accuses Iran of invading and occupying an Iraqi oil well right near the disputed border between the two nations. Oh, look, tensions rising. If this were the previous administrator, I would wonder whether that wasn't the opening he would need to invade Iran. It being the current administrator, however, I don't know whether that will be his conclusion.
Following on an earlier story, the sign stolen from the Auschwitz camp has been found, restored, and will be a bit more secure the next time someone wants to try and take it off. According to reports, the suspects are four or five men who evaded the current security set up and cut the sign between the words to dismantle it and carry it off. There are no political leanings thought to be involved in the theft.
Last out, slightly over 50% of the UK self-identifies as Christian, continuing on a 25-year downward trend for that particular monotheism. Most of the population leaving that zone still consider themselves religious/spiritual but do not identify with one specific faith or philosophy. Perhaps this is why the Century of the Fruitbat marches on, with Mexico City joining the list of places where homosexuals can be married and adopt children.
Domestically, the President is trying to positively spin the health care bill and non-bindnig climate change accord in the face of opposition from both left and right about the bill's effectiveness and the accord's non-bindingness. Got to boost the numbers somehow, because they sure aren't improving. (It's like the President enjoys his Rock and a Hard Place position, where he gets assailed for not compromising enough with the opposition tht doesn't like him and assailed for not leaving the opposition in the dust because they won't negotiate in good faith.) Considering what's coming out of what Mr. Reid gave away to achieve the consensus needed to overcome filibusters and the other Democratic senators, the President is probably trying to make a pile of dung look and smell like a dozen pleasant flowers. The whole thing can really be looked at logically if you take the premise that politicians are looking out for corporate interests instead of yours, because they have to court those corporations for the donations they'll need to be re-elected, as true and work from there. At that point, it no longer is a shock that we're getting what we're getting.
a teenager in Wisconsin has been required to pass any potential heterosexual dates past his probation officer for three years after fleeing the state with a young woman. As far as we know, any homosexual dates will not have to go through the officer.
In another story involving a policeman with no apparent sense of humor, after his hummer was pelted by snowballs, a detective drew his gun and got out of the vehicle, threatening the flash mob of revelers.
And one involving orientation, a state Senator for South Dakota threatened to pull funding for the Rapid City school district if they passed a policy that would add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of things the school will not discriminate against students or staff for. The board eventually decided to add sexual orientation, but not gender identity. Still, Gordon Howie, one of the worst persons in the world, for that kind of threat, regardless of what the board was discussing.
Last out, Seattle's new mayor is apparently in favor of legalization and taxation of marijuana. Too bad there are all those pesky federal policies that will make it more difficult for him to achieve his ends.
In technology, what kind of government would we have where most of it was truly on the record, recorded by citizens, either with intent to flatter or to demonize, uploaded and available on YouTube for all to see?
Furthermore, some flap over whether $19,000 USD is too much to pay someone to develop a website and keep it content-updated for a school year, with the response resembling the response to what people say about librarians having advanced degrees. We think the 19,000 was a bargain, especially if the school district is very active in what it does.
Additionally, Yelp walks on the Google deal, HP heads to the drawing board after one of their face-tracking cameras doesn't recognize darker-skinned faces, a research review indicating that the categories of visual learner, auditory learner, and the like are not borne out by the results, meaning, well, back to the blackboard on that, and some suggestions on what kind of propulsion could replace chemical rockets for interstellar travel.
Last out, Lingt, which aims to make learning a new language like playing a game, complete with achievements and tailoring the difficulty level so that the words that give you the most trouble show up more often than those you know. This, if it pulls throuh on the promise, will be AWESOME.
Opinion time, where Mr. Harsanyi accuses he President of inventing unanimous consent and consensus where there is none to try and get his bills passed. Mr. Harsanyi also has disparaging words for those bills, like the "impressive impotence" of the first stimulus bill and his assertion that the health care bill is about insuring the uninsured and getting the federal government to be able to control health insurance markets (first assertion right, second way wrong...), but his point of the habit of creating a situation where "everyone knows" something must be done and will be good is both valid and disturbing...and not just President Obama's, either. Why is it that we need to invent the idea that everyone is going along with it, other than to present the idea of invicibility and inevitability to the opposition?
...oh. Well, here's an example of why we'd need it - the Obama administration and the Supreme Court have firmly stood with their predecessors, letting stand a lower court ruling that declared "suspected enemy combatant" being held outside the United States are unpersons and entitled to no rights or protections other than that which the law will deign to grant them. A ruling that can just as easily be turned on those who are citizens of the United States. This could be the worst of all worlds - Huxley is right, but Orwell is accurate.
And last for tonight, because our profession appreciates and understands many of the jokes, stereotyping readers by their favorite authors, hitting the powerhouses, like Shakespeare, and the other powerhouses, like Rowing and Meyer, and the horde of authors, middling and famous, in between.
Congratulations on making it past another darkest night of the year - I hope that your ceremonies of warmth, light, and seasonal change were all wonderful.
In the gift-giving department, this should seem obvious, but giving gifts that imply someone needs self-improvement, without them requesting those kinds of gifts... well, let's just say it's a bad idea.
A reminder to parents before we begin - please have you child vaccinated. Things like mumps should not be having outbreaks at all, but they will be more likely to, the more people listen to wild claims about vaccination.
Internationally, The Holy See has declared copyright on the Pope, the Papal Seal, and other Pontiff-related phrases. We'll see how well that works out for them.
Much more cruel than this, attempting to revenge himself on his wife, a man drugged and then stuck needles into their two year old son, several times a week. There was also the four year old, beer in hand, who was taking presents from the neighbors and the fetus under the Christmas tree. It's a weird season, the winter. And just because someone is in prison doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to complain about inhumane conditions. The NYT Editorial board pushes for removal of a requirement that says physical injury has to happen for prisoners to be able to bring suit about their condition.
Iraq accuses Iran of invading and occupying an Iraqi oil well right near the disputed border between the two nations. Oh, look, tensions rising. If this were the previous administrator, I would wonder whether that wasn't the opening he would need to invade Iran. It being the current administrator, however, I don't know whether that will be his conclusion.
Following on an earlier story, the sign stolen from the Auschwitz camp has been found, restored, and will be a bit more secure the next time someone wants to try and take it off. According to reports, the suspects are four or five men who evaded the current security set up and cut the sign between the words to dismantle it and carry it off. There are no political leanings thought to be involved in the theft.
Last out, slightly over 50% of the UK self-identifies as Christian, continuing on a 25-year downward trend for that particular monotheism. Most of the population leaving that zone still consider themselves religious/spiritual but do not identify with one specific faith or philosophy. Perhaps this is why the Century of the Fruitbat marches on, with Mexico City joining the list of places where homosexuals can be married and adopt children.
Domestically, the President is trying to positively spin the health care bill and non-bindnig climate change accord in the face of opposition from both left and right about the bill's effectiveness and the accord's non-bindingness. Got to boost the numbers somehow, because they sure aren't improving. (It's like the President enjoys his Rock and a Hard Place position, where he gets assailed for not compromising enough with the opposition tht doesn't like him and assailed for not leaving the opposition in the dust because they won't negotiate in good faith.) Considering what's coming out of what Mr. Reid gave away to achieve the consensus needed to overcome filibusters and the other Democratic senators, the President is probably trying to make a pile of dung look and smell like a dozen pleasant flowers. The whole thing can really be looked at logically if you take the premise that politicians are looking out for corporate interests instead of yours, because they have to court those corporations for the donations they'll need to be re-elected, as true and work from there. At that point, it no longer is a shock that we're getting what we're getting.
a teenager in Wisconsin has been required to pass any potential heterosexual dates past his probation officer for three years after fleeing the state with a young woman. As far as we know, any homosexual dates will not have to go through the officer.
In another story involving a policeman with no apparent sense of humor, after his hummer was pelted by snowballs, a detective drew his gun and got out of the vehicle, threatening the flash mob of revelers.
And one involving orientation, a state Senator for South Dakota threatened to pull funding for the Rapid City school district if they passed a policy that would add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of things the school will not discriminate against students or staff for. The board eventually decided to add sexual orientation, but not gender identity. Still, Gordon Howie, one of the worst persons in the world, for that kind of threat, regardless of what the board was discussing.
Last out, Seattle's new mayor is apparently in favor of legalization and taxation of marijuana. Too bad there are all those pesky federal policies that will make it more difficult for him to achieve his ends.
In technology, what kind of government would we have where most of it was truly on the record, recorded by citizens, either with intent to flatter or to demonize, uploaded and available on YouTube for all to see?
Furthermore, some flap over whether $19,000 USD is too much to pay someone to develop a website and keep it content-updated for a school year, with the response resembling the response to what people say about librarians having advanced degrees. We think the 19,000 was a bargain, especially if the school district is very active in what it does.
Additionally, Yelp walks on the Google deal, HP heads to the drawing board after one of their face-tracking cameras doesn't recognize darker-skinned faces, a research review indicating that the categories of visual learner, auditory learner, and the like are not borne out by the results, meaning, well, back to the blackboard on that, and some suggestions on what kind of propulsion could replace chemical rockets for interstellar travel.
Last out, Lingt, which aims to make learning a new language like playing a game, complete with achievements and tailoring the difficulty level so that the words that give you the most trouble show up more often than those you know. This, if it pulls throuh on the promise, will be AWESOME.
Opinion time, where Mr. Harsanyi accuses he President of inventing unanimous consent and consensus where there is none to try and get his bills passed. Mr. Harsanyi also has disparaging words for those bills, like the "impressive impotence" of the first stimulus bill and his assertion that the health care bill is about insuring the uninsured and getting the federal government to be able to control health insurance markets (first assertion right, second way wrong...), but his point of the habit of creating a situation where "everyone knows" something must be done and will be good is both valid and disturbing...and not just President Obama's, either. Why is it that we need to invent the idea that everyone is going along with it, other than to present the idea of invicibility and inevitability to the opposition?
...oh. Well, here's an example of why we'd need it - the Obama administration and the Supreme Court have firmly stood with their predecessors, letting stand a lower court ruling that declared "suspected enemy combatant" being held outside the United States are unpersons and entitled to no rights or protections other than that which the law will deign to grant them. A ruling that can just as easily be turned on those who are citizens of the United States. This could be the worst of all worlds - Huxley is right, but Orwell is accurate.
And last for tonight, because our profession appreciates and understands many of the jokes, stereotyping readers by their favorite authors, hitting the powerhouses, like Shakespeare, and the other powerhouses, like Rowing and Meyer, and the horde of authors, middling and famous, in between.
