« May 4, 2008 - May 10, 2008 | Main | May 18, 2008 - May 24, 2008 »

May 11, 2008 - May 17, 2008

May 17, 2008

gleans + 1xORA(3xitems) + 1xaddenda at 1:45 PM MT, 5/17

 

 
 
 
Von Trapp house to become hotel
The former Austrian mansion of the von Trapp family made famous by The Sound of Music is being turned into a hotel.
 
 
'Worst poet' outsells boy wizard
Poems by "the world's worst poet" bring in more than signed first editions of Harry Potter at auction.
 
 
 
 

today's Ordinary Reading Assignment (three items - don't miss clickable at the bottom of item three)

1.  The Institution of Intellectual Values (St. Andrews Studies in Philosophy & Public Affairs) (St. Andrews Studies in Philosophy and Public Affairs) (Hardcover)
by
Gordon Graham (Author)

Product Description
This is a revised and expanded version of the much praised short book Universities; The Recovery of an Idea. It contains chapters on the history of the universities; the value of university education; the nature of research; the management and funding of universities plus additional essays on such subjects as human nature and the study of humanities, interdisciplinary versus multidisciplinary study, information systems and the concept of a library, the prospects for e-learning, reforming universities, intellectual integrity and the realities of funding, and spiritual values and the knowledge economy.

2.  Mandeville (Paperback)
by
Matthew Francis (Author)

Synopsis
"The Travels of Sir John Mandeville" was one of the most popular books of the later Middle Ages. Purporting to describe the circumnavigation of an English knight through Africa, India, and the Middle East in 1322, the narrative is a fantastical collection of sights: seas, islands, phoenixes, pyramids, rocks that enchant ships and apes that contain human souls, interwoven with geographical descriptions that are perfectly accurate. Matthew Francis' new collection is a sequence of poems that celebrate and give voice to Mandeville, in his own words, caught as he is between physical and symbolic geographies, between a world that is round and one that has Jerusalem at its centre. And all of it narrated in the terse, solitary, conflicted and strangely passionate voice of this medieval Crusoe whose very existence was disputed.

 

3.  Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis (Hardcover)
by
Kingsley Amis (Author), Christopher Hitchens (Introduction)  

Review

"Among Amis’s literary output the journalism on drinking, recently collected and published with an introduction by (who else?) Christopher Hitchens, is in no way the least achievement because it is a reminder and a record of a culture that is incrementally slipping away….Like a bottle of Laphroaig, this book is full of good things, many of them familiar though others are more intriguing."--New Humanist

Studded with hilarious observations and much good advice.”--Kyle Smith

“Thoroughly worthwhile reading. Amis was incapable of constructing a dull sentence. His writing was consistently clear, lively, and precise (surely the envy of any who pursue this exacting trade) and above all very, very funny. "--Bookforum



Product Description

A gift for anyone who loves good liquor and high-proof prose: a collection of hilarious and deeply informed writings about drink from one of the all-time authorities.
Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject. Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) the book includes Amis’s musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man’s Diet, What to Drink with What, and (presumably as a matter of speculation) How Not to Get Drunk—all leavened with fun quizzes on the making and drinking of alcohol all over the world. Mixing practical know-how and hilarious opinionation, this is a delightful cocktail of wry humor and distilled knowledge, served by one of our great gimlet wits.



About the Author

Kingsley Amis was one of the best-loved British novelists of the twentieth century. He was the author of more than twenty books, including the classic Lucky Jim. He died in 1995 at the age of seventy-three.
 
 
Did US rivals really have a Tallinn vodka contest?

 

addenda <== good one thanks to ElLocoBob

Subject: Window air-conditioner on suburban 'endangered' list
Date: May 17, 2008 9:39 AM

 

gleans at 6:35 AM MT, 5/17

 

Shaken And Stirred

 

May 16, 2008

gleans + 1xaddenda + 1xlagniappe at 7:30 PM MT, 5/16

 

http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2008/01/20/homemade-bacon-vodka/ <== today's moderately mysterious URL

 

http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=12841&IBLOCK_ID=35 <== today's mysterious URL #1

 

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/081kkogx.asp?pg=1 <== today's mysterious URL #2

 

Philip Larkin by Fay Godwin 'Egg with goggles' Larkin's worries about his looks

 

addenda

The education-industrial complex

Gravatar  16 Comments

Paul Peterson, director of Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, is doing something more and more people seem to be doing.  He’s a respected educator with serious academic credentials and clout among the indoctrinated, and he’s blaming much of public education’s problems on public educators: namely the unions and the government offices who conspire with them.  He calls them the “educational-industrial complex.”

Before the education-industrial complex was erected, America led the world in its commitment to education. From the earliest days of our Republic, many small towns each heavily invested in the community’s students, more so than any other nation. Teachers and students were held accountable to community expectations. Local investments contributed to a vibrant educational system that expanded rapidly, helping to propel the nation to the world’s pinnacle by World War II.

Notice the theme here: local control, accountability to the community.

Around 1970 or thereabouts, the educational-industrial complex was hammered into place: School boards gave teachers collective bargaining rights. State governments assumed greater responsibility for financing the schools. The courts instructed schools on the civil liberties of their students. Regulations multiplied. America gained a federal Department of Education. And state and federal dollars poured into the system […] Grades inflated, learning faltered, graduation rates stagnated. The mammoth, expensive, drug-infested, security-obsessed high school was better suited for incarceration than learning.

The only schools that will thrive are those where good teachers can be hired, regardless of “certification”; where bad teachers can be fired, regardless of how long they’ve taught or how nice they are; where students can be held to higher standards, disciplined, rewarded, punished, and pushed; and where administrators can be creative and accountable.  The government won’t be able to do much of that.  Save Western Civilization.  Go private.  Go homeschool.  Go somewhere.  Horace Mann and John Dewey never saw it coming.

 

lagniappe

Artist: Laine Frankie
Song: Cool Water

All day I've faced the barren waste,
Without the taste of water:
Cool water. (Water.)
Old Dan and I, with throats burned dry,
An' souls that cry for water: (Water.)
Cool, (Water.)
Clear, (Water.)
Water. (Water.)

Keep a-movin, Dan,
Don't you listen to him, Dan,
He's the devil, not a man:
Spreads the burning sand with water. (Water.)
Dan, can you see that big, green tree, (Water.)
Where the water's runnin' free? (Water.)
It's waitin' there for me and you? (Water.)

The nights are cool, I'm a fool.
Each star's a pool of water.
Cool water. (Water.)
But with the dawn I'll wake and yawn,
And carry on to water. (Water.)
Water, (Water.)
Water, (Water.)
Water, (Water.)

Keep a-movin, Dan,
Don't you listen to him, Dan,
He's the devil, not a man:
Spreads the burning sand with water. (Water.)
Dan, can you see that big, green tree, (Water.)
Where the water's runnin' free? (Water.)
Waitin' there for me and you?

Cool, (Water.)
Clear, (Water.)
Water. (Water.)

Cool, (Water.)
Clear, (Water.)
Water. (Cool, clear, water.)

 

gleans at 6:10 AM MT, 5/16

 

 
 
 
Discovering Alabama From Its Watery Byway
Discovering Alabama From Its Watery Byway
Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times
SCENERY Kayakers near the Coosa River on the Alabama Scenic River Trail.

Kayaking the new 631-mile Alabama Scenic River Trail is to discover nature and history along the route.

 
 
 
District Puts All the World in Classrooms

A district in Nassau County is taking globalization to the graduate level, integrating international studies into every aspect of its curriculum.

House Approves Tax on Rich to Aid G.I.’s

The bill will provide veterans who enlisted after the Sept. 11 attacks with new education benefits.

Microsoft Joins Effort for Laptops for Children

After years of conflict, Microsoft and the computing and education project One Laptop Per Child have reached an agreement that will put Windows on the organization’s computers.

 
 
 
Words perfect for what they mean: jab or fluffy or sneer, each true beyond mere logic. Verbose is a oddly verbose word, and isn’t puny puny? Peppy has the perky, energetic sound it needs... more»
 
 
 
Seismicity -- rather than invaders or social forces -- caused the fall of ancient civilizations ... [more]
 

May 15, 2008

gleans at 7:40 PM MT, 5/15

 

New View: Universe Suddenly Twice as Bright  The universe is twice as bright as it appears, astronomers now suggest.  <== is this analogous to "Wagner's music is not as good as it sounds"?

Icelandic museum offers long and short of male organ  Sigurdur Hjartarson is missing a human penis. But he's not worried: four men have promised to donate theirs to him when they die.

Australian suburb goes to pot as police raid 'cannabisville'  A Sydney suburb has been dubbed "cannabisville" after police found four apparently normal family homes were actually marijuana hothouses containing vast quantities of the illegal drug. 

Gasoline and food price spikes have had what could be called a 'Miracle-Gro' effect on the backyard garden movement.
 
 
 
Food prices and concerns about commercially grown produce are prompting a 'grow your own' culture.
 
 
 

Academics

In the Basement of the Ivory Tower

The idea that a university education is for everyone is a destructive myth. An instructor at a "college of last resort" explains why.

 

gleans at 7:10 PM MT, 5/15

 

World's smallest helicopter 
This man is determined to fly solo – hovering in the sky in what is believed to be the world's smallest one-man helicopter.
 
 
 
Man straps 8ft jet-powered wing to his back.
 
 
 
Polygamist sect's finances are murky <== today's winner of the Headline Litotes Award
 
 
 
 
05/15/08
Electronics Help Sony Swing to Profit
 
Sony swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as losses from the PlayStation videogame business shrank significantly and the Japanese electronics giant said it expected sales of Cybershot digital cameras and Bravia televisions to increase. Shares climbed.
 
WSJ
05/15/08
Sony PlayStation 3 Revival Lifts Result
 
Sony's videogames business is back in the hunt after a year on the defensive. Sales of the company's PlayStation 3 have been outpacing Microsoft's Xbox 360, and have been helped by improved game selection and a 20% price cut.
 
WSJ
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Opposition in Africa means the new command's headquarters will more likely be in US or Europe.
 
 
 

Stuff.co.nz
Prague bursts with stunning sights
Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - PICTURESQUE PRAGUE: An old-world style Bohemian busker entertains pedestrians on the 600-year-old Charles Bridge, one of Prague's busiest tourist ...
Binge on culture rather than booze during the eight-day Fringe ...
guardian.co.uk, UK - Cypriot puppeteers Open Arts' new multilingual shadow show Prague is not merely a destination for stag or hen parties, nor is it just an alternative locale ...
 

gleans at 12:05 PM MT, 5/15

 

Space Rocks Could Reseed Life on Earth Asteroid and comet impacts on Earth can cause catastrophic extinction events. They can also bring life back, new research shows.

New Idea Could Solve Black Hole Information Mystery Physicists have come up with a way to explain how information could escape from a black hole, an idea that's been debated since the 1970s.

Curious contraptions: Turn-of-the-century gadgets Video


The Associated Press
Robotic suit could usher in super soldier era
The Associated Press - 25 minutes ago
Sarcos also has developed robotic dinosaurs for a Universal Studios' "Jurassic Park" theme park ride. Jack Obusek, a former colonel now with the Army's ...

Scientific American
Real-Life Iron Man: A Robotic Suit that Magnifies Human Strength
Scientific American - Apr 30, 2008
The prospect of slipping into a robotic exoskeleton that could enhance strength, keep the body

Bush Stirs Up U.S. Campaign With "Appeasement" Remark


Albany Democrat Herald
Op-Ed Columnist A Victory Plan for Hillary
New York Times - By GAIL COLLINS Hillary Clinton scored a whopping victory in West Virginia. Trounced Barack Obama, who is consistently described as the inevitable presidential nominee.
Video: Clinton: Still In The Race (CBS News) CBS
What's The Big Deal About West Virginia? Houston Chronicle
Washington Times - MSNBC - Boston Globe - The Register-Guard
all 5,534 news articles »

Obama to Reporter: Sorry I Called You "Sweetie"
ABC News - A little flare-up out of Sen. Barack Obama's Michigan visit: A (female) reporter for ABC's Detroit affiliate, WXYZ-TV, shouted a question in Obama's direction yesterday, inquiring about Obama's plans to help American autoworkers.
Calling reporter 'sweetie' gets on YouTube Detroit Free Press
Obama apologizes to 'sweetie' Baltimore Sun
BBC News - MSNBC - Newsday - USA Today
all 177 news articles »


China Daily
The Victim Card
ABC News - There's an interesting subcurrent developing to the Clinton campaign's efforts to wrest delegates out of the disputed votes in Michigan and Florida.
McCain Aide Trains His Sights on Obama Wall Street Journal
Party’s Rules Committee Has a Crucial Role in Clinton’s Hopes New York Times
MiamiHerald.com - CBS 4 - Seattle Times - CBS News
all 1,054 news articles »

Without 'Answers,' Dictionary.com's parent will become part of Ask.com
BetaNews - By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews While some analysts have already deemed online search to be a territory that Google has already won, there are still competitors looking to assemble the right formula.
Ask.com Tries Again (and Not Just With Women) New York Times
Ask.com Will Acquire Lexico Publishing Group Portal IT
Forbes - VNUNet.com - Digitaltrends.com - Reuters
all 176 news articles »


Salon

Whitney Is 'America's Next Top Model's' Full-Figured Winner
Zap2it.com - By Jordan Hudson Well, ladies (and Gus), the time is nigh. The time when the heavens open up, choirs of angels sing, a plume of white smoke rises and the voice of God -- you thought God would sound more like Charlton Heston than Tyra Banks?
Plus-Size Whitney Thompson Wins 'America's Next Top Model' FOXNews
Role Model? PW-Philadelphia Weekly
Reality TV World - Playfeed - Chicago Tribune - Portsmouth Herald News
all 41 news articles »

 

gleans at 9:50 AM MT, 5/15

 

Music 'can enhance wine taste'
Cabernet most affected by 'powerful and heavy' tunes, chardonnay by 'zingy and refreshing'
--BBC News

 

 
 
Usernames and passwords from voice-over IP accounts are being traded online, a telecoms firm finds.
Nato backs a new cyber defence centre in Estonia, following attacks on its internet structure.
 
 
 
Yahoo sign
A billionaire investor announces he will fight to oust the present board of directors at Yahoo.


 
OTHER TOP STORIES

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DOMESTIC LIVES; A 30,000-Volume Window on the World

DOMESTIC LIVES; A 30,000-Volume Window on the World

...fear that even that seemingly safe place may not be entirely beyond my library’s hungry ambition. Alberto Manguel is the author of The Library at Night, a book that explores the meaning of libraries through history. Domestic Lives

 
 
 
The philosophy of physiognomyM. F. Burnyeat considers hairy thighs, thick feet and other ways in which the Greek and Islamic philosophers judged character. "Black hair announces cowardice and great craftiness, excessively yellow and pale white hair, such as the Scythians and Celts have, reveals ignorance and clumsiness and wildness, and that which is gently yellow points towards an aptitude for learning." But what, asks Burnyeat, can be teased out of this "massive repository of tosh"?
 

gleans at 5:55 AM MT, 5/15

 

School programs like Reading First can't do the job until parents do theirs
 
 
 
Can Wii Fit revolutionize exercise? Testers weigh in.
 
 
 
War is horror, wrote A.J. Liebling, but “you can feel its pull on men’s memories at the maudlin reunions of war divisions. They mourn for their dead, but also for war”... more»
 
 
 
Virgils Aeneid is no stiff antiquarian pageant. It’s immediate and primal, about love, abandonment, death – and ultimate triumph... more»
 
 
 
Does she insist on dragging you to Sex and the City? The agony. No man should have to sit through this movie. Now, a solution... more»
 
 
 
Britain’s nearest neighbor and oldest enemy: No nation stirs such conflicting emotions in the British breast as France... more»
 
 
 

eFluxMedia
Chicago lifts two-year ban on foie gras
Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - Gourmets in Chicago can order foie gras again after the city council on Wednesday repealed a two-year restaurant ban on a delicacy that critics say is produced at cruel expense to geese and ducks.
Chicago council repeals 2006 ban on foie gras Seattle Times
Ban Lifted, Foie Gras Is Back on the Menu in Chicago New York Times
Chicago Tribune - eFluxMedia - The Associated Press - Boston Globe
all 426 news articles »
 
 
 

Free Times
Movie review: 'Narnia' sequel lacks magic
San Francisco Chronicle - It hardly seems possible. The same people who made "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" into one of the best films of 2005 have turned around and made one of this year's biggest disappointments.
Take another trip to Narnia Diamondback Online
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) Entertainment Weekly
Zanesville Times Recorder - Dallas Morning News - USA Today - OCRegister
all 470 news articles »
 
 
 

Hollyscoop
Lindsay Lohan's Fetish For Boyfriend-Stealing Strikes Yet Again
Defamer.com - When it comes to the art of stealing boyfriends, no one does it better than Lindsay Lohan. As Star reports in their current issue, the blood-sucking barer of flesh successfully seduced her former slim fast buddy Nicole Richie’s fiance this weekend.
Are Nicole And Joel Over? Hollyscoop
all 3 news articles »
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

May 14, 2008

gleans + 1xnerdnews + 1xaddenda at 9:45 PM MT, 5/14

 

Asimo US orchestra finds out what it's like to be conducted by a robot

Swift pilot whales are the 'cheetahs of the deep'
 
 
 
Nato backs a new cyber defence centre in Estonia, following attacks on its internet structure.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • The cost of food is rising but for discount supermarkets, it's boom time, writes Jon Henley
  •  
     
     
    Yves Rossy, Rocketman 
    Armed with slightly more than wax and a few feathers, Yves Rossy has shown Icarus how it should be done.