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November 2013

Fire Brand Pops Culture in The Kisser!

Soapbox Saturday: Now here’s my kind of celebrity/addict turned traitor-to-the-one-percent. An entertainer touring Russel Brand calls for a revolution against greed and pop culture, helps morning pundits self-demonstrate their daft and shallow pablum as in this video,  and brings humor to his sadly well-informed economic critique when asked to edit an issue of the New Statesman.Read the rest

St. Pete Police Batmobiles?

Techie Tuesday: St. Pete cops have tracking device launchers on their cars now! No speed chase needed when GPS will tell the Eye in The Sky where the criminals fly!  After 39 recent chases resulting in 21 crashes local law wants alternatives.  … Read the rest

Is a Global Green Revolution Coming?

Worldwide Wednesday: Could energy-oriented environmental protests in the U.S. and elsewhere expand into something far greater? Some countries are demanding that climate deniers pay for damages like the hurricane in the Philippines and the “airpocalypse” afflicting China. And as the United States experiences genuine damage from climate change we may see that Americans are not, for the most part, passive people.… Read the rest

The Big Male Nose

Techie Tuesday: Why are men’s noses bigger than women’s? I smell an anthropological mystery!

A new study from the University of Iowa concludes that men’s noses are about 10 percent larger than female noses, on average, in populations of European descent.… Read the rest

Arrows Affect Aardvark Effectively

Thirsty Thursday: If you are like me, this trick will help you keep affect and effect sorted in your writings. Simply remember “aardvark is a very easy noun” and you’ll always remember that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun.… Read the rest

American Indians Abandon Faith in UN on Climate

Worldwide Wednesday: As United Nations delegates gather in Warsaw in the 19th annual effort to craft a global climate treaty, indigenous leaders from across North America met half a world away and offered a prophecy: The solution to climate change will never come via the UN talks.… Read the rest

Rally for Internet Freedom in D.C.

Techie Tuesday: The internet is a major battleground for free speech in the 21st century. Protecting internet freedom is essential to safeguarding principles embodied in the Bill of Rights and the “Declaration of Internet Freedom: freedom of expression, access, openness, innovation and privacy.”… Read the rest

Language Reveals the Invisible

Do you see a boat in this picture? It is natural to imagine that the sense of sight takes in the world as it is — simply passing on what the eyes collect from light reflected by the objects around us.  … Read the rest

A “Royals” Clown

Wow. I don’t know who is more impressive, the 16 year old girl Lorde who made this song popular or the amazing cover by Puddles Pity Party and The Postmodern Jukebox. But you definitely don’t want to miss this.   Follow the related links to see Puddles and his Monkey Girl assistant make mayhem and knock sad songs right out of the park.… Read the rest

Beggars Really Do Need Your Help

I remember Sacramento had as many people begging on the street as Tampa Bay does,and despite pithy homilies to the contrary “pan-handlers” probably really do need your help. Those progressive folks in San Francisco actually took time to find out.

The Union Square Business Improvement District, a collection of 500 property owners in downtown San Francisco, hired GLS Research to survey panhandlers over a two-day period in March.They… Read the rest

Understanding Fukushima

Two days after the disaster at Fukushima I noted to my pre-dawn jogging partner that we were traipsing through radioactive drizzle. Pish tosh came the reply, but the news reporters had it right: radiation affects us all! Learn the details, dangers and what you can do about it at FukushimaResponse.orgRead the rest

Flotsam and Jetsam and Duckies, Oh My!

An animated map of drifting ocean debris shows “How the Ocean Works, As Demonstrated by Rubber Ducks and Radioactive Debris.”  Cute and terrifying at the same time, “the website uses a scientific method that is based on observed tracks revealed by buoys in the Global Drifter Program and other scientific research.… Read the rest

Tim Minchin to Graduates

Geoff introduced me to Tim Minchin, the Australian comedian’s delightful address to graduates and notes “I looked Minchin up on Wikipedia and near the end of the article found this.  Wonderful!”

In his beat poem Storm, which centres on Minchin having an argument with a “hippie” who believes in various New Age alternatives in lieu of actual medicine, he states: “Science adjusts its views based on what’s observed.

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The Honey Jar Magic Spell

Stay With Me Honey jar SpellHalloween was so yesterday, but since it is Wild Friday I think we can include a few HooDoo spells.  What’s HooDoo? I call it Black Magic but only in light hearted spirit, for these spells and potions are from African American traditions and intended to conjure sweetness in others and plain old good luck.… Read the rest