Cyril's Gleans

gleans at 5:15 PM MT, 03/31

 

Earth population 'exceeds limits'  <== recommended for all you less alert folk out there in Networkland

Recipes for Health

Bruschetta With White Bean Puree

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

A savory, hummus-like topping that also serves as a high-fiber dip.

• See all Recipes for Health »

 

Video: Critics’ Picks

A. O. Scott on John Huston’s 1941 film “The Maltese Falcon.”

 

 

Guards, doctors, chefs and 'The Beast' - President Obama's mobile bubble

 

 

 

 

 Heavens above
Astronomers mark 400 years of Galilean star-gazing

 

 

Costly cuppa
Tea prices to soar as drought hits major producers

 

 

 

 

 

gleans + 1xORA at 2:35 PM MT, 03/31

 

Global trade in freefall, OECD warns G20 leaders Thinktank says world economy shrinking much faster than previously thought

27 comments

• Stop behaving recklessly, Brown tells bankers
• Don't expect G20 miracles, says Barroso
• Sarkozy threatens G20 walkout
• Protesters set up camp on City fringes
• Those key G20 questions answered

Wales in words Audio slideshow: Authors Rachel Trezise and John Williams discuss literature in Cardiff's Vulcan pub

Russia and Ukraine renew rivalry over Nikolai Gogol News: On 200th anniversary of Nikolai Gogol's birth bickering neighbours lay claim to writer and vie for legacy

• Nikolai Gogol: 'Both countries are vying for him

Coffee lessens the pain of exercise, new study suggests LiveScience.com

 

Stocks end higher on last day of quarter AP

 

Iran, in gesture to U.S., promises help on drugs Reuters

 

 

 

today's Ordinary Reading Assignment

 

Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney by Dennis O'Driscoll (Hardcover - Dec 9, 2008)

Buy new: $32.00 $21.12

37 Used & new from $17.85

 (1)

 

The Hidden Adult: Defining Children's Literature by Perry Nodelman (Paperback - Aug 26, 2008)

Buy new: $35.00 $29.47

33 Used & new from $20.07

 (2)

Fame (The Art of Living Series) by Mark Rowlands (Paperback - Sep 2008) Product Description:
One of the most distinctive cultural phenomena of recent years has been the rise and rise of fame. In this book, Mark Rowlands argues that our obsession with fame has transformed it. Fame was once associated with excellence or achievement in some or other field of endeavour. But today we are obsessed with something that is, in effect, quite different: fame unconnected with any discernible distinction, fame that allows a person to be famous simply for being famous. This book shows why this new fame is simultaneously fascinating and worthless. To understand this new form of fame, Rowlands maintains, we have to engage in an extensive philosophical excavation that takes us back to a dispute that began in ancient Greece between Plato and Protagoras, and was carried on in a remarkable philosophical experiment that began in eighteenth-century France. Somewhat like contestants on a reality TV show, today we find ourselves, unwittingly, playing out the consequences of this experiment.

 

 

gleans at 6:15 AM MT, 03/31

 

Vinyl frontier
The seven-inch single marks its 60th birthday

 

 

Security experts eye worm attack Security experts are downplaying the potential impact of a virus which some believe is set to strike on 1 April. Q&A: Conficker protection Microsoft bounty for worm creator

 

 

The Tech Lab: Ken Silva Verisign CTO warns of the dangers that threaten the open internet

Q&A: Protection How to protect yourself from the Conficker worm

2020 vision How the telescope shapes our past and future

 

 

France is threatening G20 walkout France will walk away from this week's G20 summit if its demands for stricter financial regulation are not met, the finance minister has told the BBC. Q&A: The G20 summit G20: Economic snapshot

 

 

 

Expert: NKorea has several nuclear warheads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

gleans at 1:35 AM MT, 03/31

 

Is Second Life's span over?

 

Experts say online world is at its end as businesses and players desert.

Winston Churchill had whisky and a cigar with breakfast

Those key G20 questions answered

Why do US agents always wear shades?

Everything you ever wanted to know about the G20 ... and a little bit more

 

Proof: Time and the Bottle Tim Kreider considers the merits of a “wasted” youth, from the far side of 40.

The Biggest of Puzzles Brought Down to Size By NATALIE ANGIER  With a bit of reasoning (and a cocktail napkin), you too can crack math’s imponderables.

• Quiz: Test Your Estimation Abilities

Wine Market Struggles to Adjust in New Era

By DAVID JOLLY
International Herald Tribune

Regis Duvignau/Reuters

A wine tasting in Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in southwestern France on Monday. The wine trade is presenting and auctioning the first samples of the 2008 harvest to customers this week.

What is a wine worth? That question will dog the connoisseurs gathering in Bordeaux this week to sample the 2008 vintage of the world’s finest wines.

Windows users brace for Conficker's wiggle CNET News - ‎by CNET News staff roundup The Conficker worm is expected to hit the Internet on Wednesday, but experts disagree on how extensive the damage could be.

 

 

gleans + 1xlagniappe at 8:30 PM MT, 03/30

 

World stocks take turn for worse

Stock markets fall worldwide amid worries over the depth of the financial crisis and persistent problems in the US car industry.

Maurice Jarre, Oscar-Winning Composer, Dies at 84 By REUTERS Mr. Jarre wrote the score for “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia”.

Conficker Researchers Counter April 1 Update With Detection Scan ChannelWeb - ‎By Stefanie Hoffman, ChannelWeb Just a few days before the elusive Conficker worm is embarks on its latest evolution April 1, security researchers found a way to positively identify machines infected by seemingly invincible cyber worm.

Springs squeaks into Forbes' top 10

Laser experiment powers up The US completes construction of a huge physics experiment that aims to recreate the blistering conditions at the Sun's core. How to build a star on Earth Europe follows fusion twin track

 

lagniappe

L’Esprit de Geometrie et L’Esprit de Finesse

 

Yes, we are all
By gin or thought
Distraught.
The violence of reason rules
The subtle Schools;
A dependent clause can curl yer cowl.

I know such men
Of strange conclusions.
Martinis
Cold as the serpent and as wise
Have unfocused my eyes.
Their icy depths have moved my pen.

~apologies to J. V. Cunningham

 

 

gleans at 4:10 PM MT, 03/30

 

 

Mystery Flash and Big Boom Rattles Virginia

 

 

 

Stocks tumble as automaker plans are rejected

 

 

Photos: Fargo braces for winter storm as water retreats

 

 

 

Winter storm latest test for Fargo's levees

 

 

In Fargo, goodwill runs as deep as the Red River

 

 

Nearly 7 in 10 major U.S. arms programs over budget

 

 

Mexico rules out joint border patrols with U.S.

 

 

Is violence linked to recession?

 

 

Syria Calling
by Seymour M. Hersh

Barack Obama’s first—and perhaps best—chance for engagement in the Middle East peace process…

 

Middle East: Seymour Hersh: Obama To Spotlight Syria  Mar-30-2009, Fresh Air from WHYY ...Seymour Hersh: Obama To Spotlight Syria. Journalist Seymour Hersh reports that a major change in American policy toward Syria is underway. It's part of a broader strategy to bring peace...

 

 

 

Man fires at McDonald's window over breakfast menu

 

 

 

 

 

gleans at 1:45 PM MT, 03/30

 

Week in Review » Wikipedia: Exploring Fact City

N.Y. / Region »

To Move a Wine Bar in Brooklyn, a Tiny Parade

 

Bottling success
Argentina's wine industry aims to keep profits flowing

 

 

Setbacks in Bay Area Add to Pain for The Chronicle By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA  Geography, demographics and competition in the Bay Area are posing challenges beyond the headwinds facing all newspapers.

 

 

Juarez: Running the Most Dangerous City in the Americas By Tim Padgett / Juarez  An interview with the mayor of the Mexican border city, which saw almost 2,000 drug-related deaths since the beginning of last year

 

 

Are 3-D Movies Ready for Their Closeup? By Josh Quittner  For some of the world's top filmmakers, digital 3-D is the future of movies. Adjust your glasses

 

 

Choosing the right school: 11 sites that'll help

High school students are getting close to deciding which colleges they will want to attend. But making that decision can be difficult, so we've compiled some resources.  Read full story

 

Russia backs return to Gold Standard to solve financial crisis

UFOs seen on Google Street View hovering over East End A group of UFOs has been photographed hovering over London by Google Street View.

Traffic warden performs victory dance

Man foils bank robbery thinking it was April Fool

Rats trained to find landmines

Battle of Britain museum at Bentley Priory under threat amid downturn

 

 

 

gleans at 7:55 AM MT, 03/30

 

Border corruption
US graft fuels the drugs war, Mexico's president tells BBC

 

 

In Drug War, Mexico Fights Cartel and Itself By MARC LACEY  Mexico has launched a war against drugs but it cannot fully rely on the institutions most needed to carry it out.

 

 

Ancient star cluster-sized galaxy shines brightly without dark matter ... [more]

 

 

'Reclaim the hot cross bun' says St Alban's Cathedral

 

 

TS Eliot's damning verdict on George Orwell's Animal Farm

 

 

'Open cloud' plan sparks dissent A plan by IBM to launch an 'open' cloud computing strategy seemingly backfires amid accusations of closed deals. Storm warning for cloud computing Microsoft to battle in the clouds

 

 

Russia's poor 'need crisis help'

Russia's economy will shrink by 4.5% this year and its poor need more help, the World Bank predicts.

 

 

 

 

gleans at 5:15 PM MT, 03/29

 

Country churches: A very English journey

 

Penguin's new countryside books make excellent companions for weekenders and day visitors, as these extracts from 'Country Churches' by Simon Jenkins show.

England's magnificent country churches

 

 

There's more to wine country than 'juice'
Chicago Tribune - Chicago,IL,USA  Forget the chardonnay; gimme an uber-dry Tanqueray gin martini—stirred, and those olives better be packed only with pimento. Stuff The French Laundry in ...

 

 

Obama Worried by Spillover From Mexico Drug Fight WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says the violence spilling over from Mexico's fight against drug cartels has gotten out of hand and is a serious threat to U.S. border communities.

 

 

The ultimate French intellectual? Paul Valéry Paul Gifford TLS Mar 11, 2009 ... The ultimate French intellectual? Paul Valéry Paul Gifford TLS. ... T. S. Eliot hailed Paul Valéry as the representative poet of the first ...

 

 

A Note to Readers Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, the publisher of the International Herald Tribune,
introduces the new Global Edition of NYTimes.com.  <== recommended

 

 

Oxford win 155th Boat Race

 

 

Outrage at lavish new NY baseball stadiums

 

 

Motorist escapes unhurt from 100-foot plunge off cliff in Mini

 

 

FARC guerillas fail in assassination bid after spelling mistake

 

 

Spitfire for sale at £2m

 

 

 

 

 

gleans at 7:00 AM MT, 03/29

 

 

Breach sends water onto school campus in Fargo

 

 

Home schooling: A boom across the US, a bump in Minnesota
Pioneer Press - St. Paul,MN,USA  While home schooling has surged in popularity across the nation, growth in Minnesota has been much more modest. Some attribute the difference to Minnesota's ...

 

 

Nanotechnology may have found its Henry Ford

Tiny DNA robots could be the future of assembly lines.

 

 

 

New online dictionary redefines 'look it up'

 

 

 

Monitor writers celebrate 'unique' moments