News and Commentary: A crazy mix of topics
From yesterday, or the day before, or whenever I started this entry but didn't post it:
Great story (and commentary) at Suicide Girls: Woman Changes My Mind About Public Stoning. The article begins, "...Leigh Robbins is a 35-year-old mother of two from Virginia. She is also a paranoid idiot who should never be allowed near an airplane again for the rest of her life."
Wow.
And, in the category of child actor clichés, It's probation for a former Family Ties star. Those lip rings scare me. Also, check out the neck tattoo. I hate to stereotype but it creeps me out a bit.
Today's:
Labour Day weekend deadliest since 2000. I almost want to cry when I read the details of two of them. In one case a mother lead her daughter to safety before her car was struck a second time, with her in it. In another case a man in Arnprior was killed the day before his wedding. Can you imagine? I don't want to. That one hits close. Two things bother me in distinct ways: 1. I feel sympathetic that it happened. 2. My inner cynic, she who laughs at Darwin Awards realizes that because the car struck a tree it's possible that the death was caused by either his own error in judgment or that of his brother/best man. How does one who is close to the deceased resolve that? I'm asking rhetorically. "He died but it was his own fault." I prefer to think that they were unable to see the tree because the sun was in their eyes.
If you're ever walking in New York City, on your way back to your hotel and take off your hat... This morning Scott Adams blogged on the Odds of Being Shat Upon
In another blog entry, Adams refers to an article on Yahoo news called "Human Family Tree Now a Tangled, Messy Bush". It interests me. I also have Ross Geller's voice in my head, disputing Phoebe's argument against evolution. It's the most simple characters in fiction - and maybe real life - that come up with some of the most interesting ideas because they don't have knowledge to take for granted. They're more "out of the box" thinkers without realizing it because they're not confined to that box.
(Also see Joey from the same show, Joey from Blossom, and Rose from Golden Girls as examples of dumb characters who sometimes say brilliant things. What is it about four-letter character names and the name "Joey"?)
Also science related, from the cover of the Globe and Mail: This human's life, decoded. The Toronto Star also covered it. Chris linked that one in his Torontoist post this morning.
Just in time for the election campaign, premier McGuinty is proposing a long weekend in February. While I agree that a winter long weekend would be great, I agree with the critics. If it was being proposed for a week later I'd insert a joke about it being a holiday to acknowledge my birthday.
I like being a civil servant, and am now glad I don't work in a remote town in Western Siberia. Firstly, it's cold there (so I hear). Secondly, The mayor has banned 27 excuses elected officials and civil servants can use for not doing their jobs.
(How about, "I'm too busy reading my news reader and then typing commentary for selected items and pasting links into Notepad so that I can blog them later"?)
A waste of research dollars:
City News reports,
Rock stars, known for their fast, hard-partying lifestyles, are more likely than other professions to die before they reach retirement age, a British study has found.
Among the artists profiled that died young: Doors singer Jim Morrison, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, T Rex's Marc Bolan and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. More than a quarter of the deaths were linked to drug and alcohol abuse.
No, really? The Arrogant Worms said it first and named Hendrix and Morrison in their song.
Don't go into music, You'll end up dead
And don't go into science, You'll end up dead
Don't go into politics, You'll end up dead
As a local(ish) resident, this interests me:
Train hub hullabaloo. To those who live in Toronto, it's an article about the possibility of using the old rail station in Summerhill as a new GO station. So basically, going back to its old use. For many reasons I like the idea, for many reasons I don't. I agree with Giambrone's opinion.
Today's geeky pop culture reference:
Dragonball Z film to begin shooting soon. In my third year of university I lived with a Dragonball Z (that's "zee", not "zed") fan so I used to watch.
Great story (and commentary) at Suicide Girls: Woman Changes My Mind About Public Stoning. The article begins, "...Leigh Robbins is a 35-year-old mother of two from Virginia. She is also a paranoid idiot who should never be allowed near an airplane again for the rest of her life."
Wow.
And, in the category of child actor clichés, It's probation for a former Family Ties star. Those lip rings scare me. Also, check out the neck tattoo. I hate to stereotype but it creeps me out a bit.
Today's:
Labour Day weekend deadliest since 2000. I almost want to cry when I read the details of two of them. In one case a mother lead her daughter to safety before her car was struck a second time, with her in it. In another case a man in Arnprior was killed the day before his wedding. Can you imagine? I don't want to. That one hits close. Two things bother me in distinct ways: 1. I feel sympathetic that it happened. 2. My inner cynic, she who laughs at Darwin Awards realizes that because the car struck a tree it's possible that the death was caused by either his own error in judgment or that of his brother/best man. How does one who is close to the deceased resolve that? I'm asking rhetorically. "He died but it was his own fault." I prefer to think that they were unable to see the tree because the sun was in their eyes.
If you're ever walking in New York City, on your way back to your hotel and take off your hat... This morning Scott Adams blogged on the Odds of Being Shat Upon
In another blog entry, Adams refers to an article on Yahoo news called "Human Family Tree Now a Tangled, Messy Bush". It interests me. I also have Ross Geller's voice in my head, disputing Phoebe's argument against evolution. It's the most simple characters in fiction - and maybe real life - that come up with some of the most interesting ideas because they don't have knowledge to take for granted. They're more "out of the box" thinkers without realizing it because they're not confined to that box.
(Also see Joey from the same show, Joey from Blossom, and Rose from Golden Girls as examples of dumb characters who sometimes say brilliant things. What is it about four-letter character names and the name "Joey"?)
Also science related, from the cover of the Globe and Mail: This human's life, decoded. The Toronto Star also covered it. Chris linked that one in his Torontoist post this morning.
Just in time for the election campaign, premier McGuinty is proposing a long weekend in February. While I agree that a winter long weekend would be great, I agree with the critics. If it was being proposed for a week later I'd insert a joke about it being a holiday to acknowledge my birthday.
I like being a civil servant, and am now glad I don't work in a remote town in Western Siberia. Firstly, it's cold there (so I hear). Secondly, The mayor has banned 27 excuses elected officials and civil servants can use for not doing their jobs.
(How about, "I'm too busy reading my news reader and then typing commentary for selected items and pasting links into Notepad so that I can blog them later"?)
A waste of research dollars:
City News reports,
Rock stars, known for their fast, hard-partying lifestyles, are more likely than other professions to die before they reach retirement age, a British study has found.
Among the artists profiled that died young: Doors singer Jim Morrison, guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, T Rex's Marc Bolan and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. More than a quarter of the deaths were linked to drug and alcohol abuse.
No, really? The Arrogant Worms said it first and named Hendrix and Morrison in their song.
Don't go into music, You'll end up dead
And don't go into science, You'll end up dead
Don't go into politics, You'll end up dead
As a local(ish) resident, this interests me:
Train hub hullabaloo. To those who live in Toronto, it's an article about the possibility of using the old rail station in Summerhill as a new GO station. So basically, going back to its old use. For many reasons I like the idea, for many reasons I don't. I agree with Giambrone's opinion.
Today's geeky pop culture reference:
Dragonball Z film to begin shooting soon. In my third year of university I lived with a Dragonball Z (that's "zee", not "zed") fan so I used to watch.