Cast Away

Tsunami seen all around the world (pic)

2011-03-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Incredible how powerful the earthquake that hit Japan was. Here is an infrared image of how far those waves went.

Just makes you wonder when the next big one will hit the US..... Are we ready?

You know what I want?

2011-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

To be a white corporate executive.

You can sink a company, throw jobs out of the US, get a government bailout, get prices of trucks to all time lows, sell a bunch more trucks, and then reap million dollar rewards.

I get the idea of incentive, that we need to pay the best and brightest, but frankly the 'market' is now out of hand. The disparity in earnings between white board member of GM makes 100x more than single mom in the projects.

And no, I do'nt support lowering taxes for the highest 1% of AMericans, that's just dumb......and no, it's not the American Dream to have 2% of the population filthy rich while the rest of us scrap by..

But I ain't bitter.

Check out this insane bonus for GM board members. So swanky.... *sarcasm alert* i'm so thrilled my tax dollars save this company; now off to my yacht for a much deserved vacation!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110211/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gm_bonuses

Obama v Insurance

2011-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

Yea? Kind of like the 'Sputnik moment' comment, this one should be put to bed.

Car insurance is a state matter, so moot point (or at least an easy target).

Sputnik moment was in the SOTU address, and frankly, it was a watershed moment in Russia, but one that bankrupt the entire nation.....

There are great reasons for medical care for all, namely the one that it will cost the same, if not less, if done properly, which means healthcare for all.

Of course angry white conservatives do'nt believe in equality or access to healthcare, especially if you're poor. It's the Christian way you see....

The Rule on Looking Like Me

2008-06-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

Dear People Who Look Like Me:

Will you please stop assuming that everyone who looks like you is an affluent, hetero, practicing Christian American?

When I look at you, I work hard to not assume that you are:

(a) A Christian - which is how I was raised, but I no longer carry the label
(b) Heterosexual - as a fence rider, that would be pretty fucking ridiculous of me, wouldn't it?
(c) Affluent or not affluent - looks can be terribly deceiving
(d) An atheist or agnostic - like I am now
(e) Smart - white does not equal smart
(f) Stupid - though I do have a firm commitment to the 80/20 rule so.......

Social interactions would be so much smoother if we'd all forget these assumptions.

And, yes, it is possible to have social interaction without these assumptions. Pretend that we're all reasonably evolved humans and go from there. If someone isn't reasonably evolved, it will show pretty quickly. At that point just smile, pat the other person on their widdle noggin and walk away. Really, really fast.

Defamed and Threatened Yale Law Students File Lawsuit Against AutoAdmit

2007-06-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

For lack of a blog entry, I recently saw on the news that the two female Yale law students who were the focus of the AutoAdmit controversy have filed a lawsuit against the site's administrators. While that doesn't seem utterly shocking, what may be precedent-setting is the fact part of the lawsuit seeks to gain a court order to reveal IP addresses of the people who made certain remarks. The plot may have thickened!

This is as Close to an Aurora as You're Going to Get, Florida

2007-06-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Space Shuttle Atlantis recently lifted off for its mission to the International Space Station leaving behind rocket plumes reminiscent of aurora borealis.

Blue Moon Tonight

2007-05-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Though a product of folklore, tonight is the second full moon of May and that makes it a "blue moon." The evolution of the meaning of "blue moon" is quite interesting and it is slightly possible for the moon to be blue (though not likely). Be sure to look up tonight!

Forbes' Top-Earning Deceased

2006-10-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

For the first time in at least five years, Elvis Presley did not top Forbes Magazine's annual "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities" list. Kurt Cobain took the honors this year (October 2005-October 2006) earning $50 million. To round out the top 13 list:

2. Elvis Presley ($42 million)
3. Charles M. Schulz ($35 million)
4. John Lennon ($24 million)
5. Albert Einstein ($20 million)
6. Andy Warhol ($19 million)
7. Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) ($10 million)
8. Ray Charles ($10 million)
9. Marilyn Monroe ($8 million)
10. Johnny Cash ($8 million)
11. J.R.R. Tolkien ($7 million)
12. George Harrison ($7 million)
13. Bob Marley ($7 million)

I wonder what role intellectual property laws (i.e. things in the public domain) plays in how much these deceased figures make. After all, this list does not include anyone who played a key role in the 18th or 19th centuries and before (e.g. James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, etc.)

Borat's Legalese

2006-10-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

One car salesman was duped, but paid $150 for his time. Another allowed the star from the Ali G Show to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a major rodeo in western Virginia.

Once Borat took the mike at the rodeo, he saluted President George W. Bush by saying, "May he drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq," then butchered the national anthem so badly that a horse reared up and fell over.

To set up his humorous encounters with unsuspecting Americans, Borat's producers, using fake names, make a phone call and claim to represent a phony company called One America Productions. The producers then claim to be working with "a Belarus TV station." They even give out inactive cell-phone numbers and e-mail addresses, but pay interview subjects between $150 and $400 an hour. But Borat's people are not completely sloppy--they pull out release forms, usually "just before the cameras rolled, at a moment of maximum bustle." The rest is what makes audiences laugh at the expense of the unsuspecting. Is Borat nonetheless subject to lawsuits? Some will definitely attempt to find out.

It's one of the few lessons in American life that Borat doesn't learn on screen: in this country, we sue. "I have a lawyer friend who said, 'Let me represent you! This is fraud!' " says Linda Stein, a New York-based sculptor whom Borat interviewed alongside Welch. Stein says she'll leave it alone, but she has terms. "If he invites me to the screening," she says, laughing. "And if he comes to my next gallery opening." Be careful what you wish for.

Sex Offender Given Ultimatum: Jail or Canada

2006-10-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

A Canadian man, Malcolm Watson, 35, who was convicted of a sex crime for having sex with a 15-year-old student of his, has been sentenced by Cheektowaga Justice Thomas Kolbert to choose either exile in Canada for the next three years or spend as much as a year in jail. Watson, already living in Canada with his wife and three children chose the exile, but many lawyers question the sentence.

But exiling a citizen is unheard of, said Robert Kolken, a Buffalo immigration lawyer. "I don't see how a judge sitting in a criminal court in the U.S. can lawfully banish a citizen as a condition of sentencing," he said. ...

Another immigration lawyer, Robert Berger, warned that Watson could be barred from entering Canada because of his new criminal record. Even Watson's lawyer, Oscar Smukler, said he was surprised by the deal. "We did some research on the question of whether Canada might consider throwing (Watson) out, which would make him a man without a country," Smukler said.

Better Late Than Never? College and Universities Begin Apologizing for Ties to Slavery

2006-10-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Brown University is the latest institution of higher education to address its former ties to slavery and may be doing so the most extensively. A Brown University committee, Committee on Slavery and Justice, has called for the ivy league school to "make amends by building a memorial, creating a center for the study of slavery and injustice and increasing efforts to recruit minority students, particularly from Africa and the West Indies." The committee said in its report that,

"“We cannot change the past. But an institution can hold itself accountable for the past, accepting its burdens and responsibilities along with its benefits and privileges.”

Ruth J. Simmons is the president of Brown University, is the first black president of an ivy league institution and is a great-granddaughter of slaves, but has yet to issue a personal or official university response to the committee's report.

Brown University is certainly not the only university in American to have benefitted from slavery and not even the only ivy league institution to benefit.

Even in the North, a number of universities have ties to slavery. Harvard Law School was endowed by money its founder earned selling slaves for the sugar cane fields of Antigua. And at Yale, three scholars reported in 2001 that the university relied on slave-trading money for its first scholarships, endowed professorship and library endowment.

However, Brown could be the first institution to "apologize" for ties to slavery as extensively as the committee suggests.

The report cites examples of steps taken by other universities: a memorial unveiled last year by the University of North Carolina, a five-year program of workshops and activities at Emory University, and a 2004 vote by the faculty senate of the University of Alabama to apologize for previous faculty members having whipped slaves on campus.

Father Pulls Gun Out on Coach Over Son's Lack of Playing Time

2006-10-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

A father, Wayne Derkotch, 40, of a boy playing in a football game for 6- and 7-year-olds in Philadelphia on Sunday morning, pulled out a gun on the coach of the team because he didn't think his son was getting enough playing time. Derkotch was charged with aggravated assault for the dispute which involved a physical altercation.

An Internet straw poll of nearly 3,000 by the U.S. Web-based Center for Sports Parenting (http://www.internationalsport.com/csp/index.cfm) found that 85 percent of the participants had witnessed parents or coaches becoming verbally abusive during games. Forty percent had seen physical abuse.

Not to condone this sort of violent and confrontational behavior, but when is the last time a gun was drawn on a teacher for not giving better grades or for teaching at a higher quality?