So I’m back from vacation, and it was fun even though the weather was not particularly cooperative (by which I mean it rained for four straight days. Fact: there is nothing to do in Cape Cod when it is raining). Anyway, welcome back, me. Thanks to Poplicola for posting the great Edna St. Vincent Millay poem and keeping the V&V poetry tradition alive this week. Today I have some bonus poetry, courtesy of this freaking adorable video of a three year old kid reciting the Billy Collins poem “Litany” that I posted here a few weeks back. ...
Continue reading...Archives
New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Paul \”The Little Professor\” Krugman, who in his column \”This Is Not a Recovery,\”...
Continue reading...There are reasons nobody is trying to build a community center where you live.
Perhaps I’m treading on already trod ground, but the I have to wonder how much of the controversy over the not exactly Ground Zero, not exactly Mosque is really just another proxy battle of misunderstanding between urban Americans and suburban/rural types. The distance of a few blocks is too far to walk on a 100 degree day during my lunch hour, and I love walking. It is also billions of dollars away. If I really want a morning cup of coffee, I’ll go to the coffee shop next door, not 2 1/2 blocks away. For suburbanites, however,...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Friday, 27 August 2010
Good morning, everybody. With little fanfare, Will Forte\’s leaving SNL. Now, your morning constitutional: Former President Jimmy Carter has left North Korea with Aijalon Mahli Gomes, whose release he had successfully gone to North Korea to secure. An increasing number of congressional Democrats are backing an extension of the Bush tax cuts, even those just for the wealthy, while some former Republican lawmakers are backing new taxes to reduce the budget deficit. Military trainers shocked how bad Afghans are at driving. Katrina recovery efforts seem to have unevenly favored the rich and affluent in Louisiana and Mississippi....
Continue reading...Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin clearly doesn't want you to know which party she's in
Seriously, if you didn’t know already, after watching this ad, you’d have no idea that Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is a Democrat. “No matter which party is in charge, I do what’s right for South Dakota.” That’s the sound of selling out.
Continue reading...New York Times Columnist Line of the Day
If you’re one of the four-or-so frequent readers of this here blog, chances are you also occasionally check out the New York Times op-ed page. You may even know the names: Thomas “Friedman’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose” Friedman, Gail “The Colander” Collins, Nicholas “The Dark Crystal” Kristof, &c. This is a daily feature dedicated to these folks: one line that is either awesome, funny, insightful, intelligent, ridiculous, or utterly divorced from reality. I hope you enjoy. Today\’s is from Gail \”The Colander\” Collins, who in her column \”The Trends of August,\” writes: This...
Continue reading...Sounds familiar…
There was a cool story in the Times yesterday celebrating the history of women’s suffrage. Definitely recommend reading it. One part of the story really speaks to my 2010 self. Doesn’t this sound familiar? That year (1918) the 19th Amendment passed the House. It stalled in the Senate — blocked by conservative Southerners — but Wilson muscled it through in 1919.
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Good morning, folks. Unfrozen Caveman Center-Fielder will stay in Detroit. Now, your morning constitutional: John McCain fends off a challenge from the right, Ben \”Obama\’s the Worst President Ever\” Quayle wins his crowded primary, and Lisa Murkowski might need to find a new job. Also, nobody\’s quite sure what happened in Vermont. Jimmy Carter is in North Korea on a mission to secure the release of an American prisoner and, quite possibly, break an impasse in U.S.-North Korean relations. The Mexican Navy has discovered 72 dead bodies on a ranch in Tamaulipas, the largest discovery of dead...
Continue reading...What it would be like in your backyard
Sometimes I find it hard to know exactly how large a country is without looking at a globe (When I was a kid, I was convinced Germany was the size of New York. Oops.). Sometimes, even after looking at a globe, it isn’t so clear. So, when big events happen, it’s really hard to know how big the event is, exactly. Dimensions, a new project from the BBC, looks at helping with that problem. Above, you can see how big that major flooding in Pakistan (where there are reports of 8,000-10,000 victims sleeping in mud in 118-degree...
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