Friday Fun!

It's been a long week and I am happier than usual that it's finally Friday! I found this gem over at Daily Kos:



I found these over at Daryl Cagle's MSNBC site:







Finally, I had another go at the Album Meme:



Enjoy your weekend!

Bragging Rights

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. (I know, I really need to get a life!) I am pleased to present this production that was created at what is indisputably the best of the Big Ten universities.

"This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa ... Amazingly, 97% of the machines components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft, Iowa, yes farm equipment!

It took the team a combined 13,029 hours of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort. It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian."

Album Meme

If you have blogger's block, try out this fun meme. The idea is to create an album cover by gathering components from three stops on the Internet.

1 - Go to this Wiki page. The title of the first random article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to this quotations page. The last four words of the last quote on the page will be the title of your album.
3 - Go to Flickr. The third picture will be your album art.

Put it all together and you've created your new album cover.

(WARNING: This activity may be addictive!)

Lady Book Notes: Book Review: Soldier's Heart

I'm not a military history buff (that's David's thing), but some of you may be interested in reading this book, written by a female, civilian professor at the US Military Academy in West Point:

Lady Book Notes: Book Review: Soldier's Heart

Book Meme

There's an interesting meme going around the Internet these days. The rules are simple:

1. Grab the nearest book (that is at least 123 pages long).
2. Open to p. 123.
3. Go down to the 5th sentence.
4. Type in the following 3 sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The passage below, which raises an interesting question for discussion, is taken from Soldier's Heart, by Elizabeth D. Samet.

The story opens in the middle of an argument between two Union officers, General Cameron and Captain Ransome, the commander of an artillery battery, as they prepare for battle: "Captain Ransome," Cameron declares, "it is not permitted to you to know anything. It is sufficient for you to obey my order."

The longer I teach at West Point, the more fascinated I become by parables of obedience such as this one, for they illuminate the inescapable tension between "knowing" and "obeying" within military culture and the fear of commanders that subordinates who know too much might choose not to obey.

Having never attended West Point, I don't feel bound to follow rules with military precision. Therefore, I will not tag anyone. If you are reading this and want to participate in this meme, consider yourself tagged.

Homophobic Censorship

This story appeared in the Loudoun County (which shares a border with Fairfax County, home of yours truly) regional newspaper this week:

An award-winning children's book was recently removed from general circulation at Loudoun County public elementary school libraries.

And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson is based on the true story of two male penguins who took turns sitting on an orphaned egg at the Central Park Zoo. In the story, the penguins, Roy and Silo, start their family when the chick, Tango, is hatched.

A parent at Sugarland Elementary in Sterling filed a request with the school principal that the book be reviewed. The principal and several staff members deemed the book appropriate for general circulation.

The parent appealed the school's decision with the Loudoun County Public Schools administration. According to David Jones, the LCPS library media supervisor, a district-level committee was formed with teacher, parent, school librarian and administrative representatives who reviewed the book and offered a recommendation to Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III, who ultimately decided on the book's status.

Dr. Hatrick determined that And Tango Makes Three should be taken out of general circulation at the elementary level and placed in each school's professional library. Teachers may reference and share the book with students at their own discretion. Children and parents may not check the book out of the library.

The American Library Association cites And Tango Makes Three as one of 2006's most challenged books.

David Weintraub, president of Equality Loudoun, a gay advocacy group, said that the rights of the parent who challenged this book trumped the rights of parents who may support it. "Loudoun County Public Schools serve children from all kinds of families, including families with two moms or two dads. The administration and school board need to remember that when confronted with this sort of book challenge."

I'm just speculating here, but I'm pretty sure that this children's book does not discuss the ins and outs of homosexual lovemaking techniques. Moreover, while it probably is illustrated, I doubt that the pictures are pornographic. And I know it's not even about humans, homosexual or otherwise! It simply depicts a penguin family that has two dads instead of a mom and a dad. What is the matter with the right-wing, family values crowd? Would it have been better for the two males to have left the egg unattended, so that the baby inside would never have hatched? If so, then maybe right-to-lifers can tell me some more about the sanctity of life before birth (or hatching)! Good Grief! The USA has innocent people wasting their lives on death row, has wrongfully executed dozens of others only to discover later, "Oops, wrong guy - sorry about that," has tortured prisoners with skin colors and accents that their captors don't like, is illegally occupying a country and making threatening noises at that country's neighbors - and people are concerned about a book which they presume is about gay penguins!

I'd be doubled over in laughter if the situation weren't so pathetic. Instead, I think I'm going to be ill. Excuse me.

Dear Tide...

A friend sent me a hilarious email this morning. Since I'm in a generous mood (and have nothing else to write about), I'll share it with you.

**********************************************************

Dear Tide,
I am writing to say what an excellent product you have! I've used it all of my married life, as my mom always told me it was the best. Now that I am in my fifties, I find it even better!

In fact, about a month ago, I spilled some red wine on my new white blouse. My rude, inconsiderate and uncaring husband started belittling me about how clumsy I was and generally started being a pain in the neck. One thing led to another and somehow I ended up with his blood on my blouse! I grabbed my bottle of Tide with bleach alternative and, to my surprise and satisfaction, all of the stains came out! In fact, the stains came out so well that the detectives who came by yesterday told me that the DNA tests on my blouse were negative. Shortly afterwards, my attorney called and said that I was no longer considered to be a suspect in my husband's disappearance.

What a relief. Going through menopause is bad enough without being a murder suspect! I thank you, once again, for having such a great product.

Well, gotta go now. I have to write a letter to the Hefty bag people.

The Big Freeze

This is cool. An improv group visited New York's Grand Central Station and created quite a stir with this prank.

NFL Greed

Oh, boo-hoo! The poor NFL! They don't like it when the big, mean churches host Super Bowl parties at which they - horror of horrors - show the game on big screen TVs. They think that mass viewings of the game may cut into ratings and cause reductions in advertising revenue.

NEWS FLASH DIRECTED TOWARD THE NFL: Your advertising rates for the Super Bowl are grossly inflated. Two weeks ago, buyers seeking to purchase the last few available slots were being pressured to pay nearly $3 million per 30-second commercial. My heart bleeds deep red, no make that hot pink, no make that white - oh forget it. My heart does not bleed at all for you poor, sniveling, overpaid babies. Grow up, get real jobs and live in the real world. You know, the world in which people are losing their homes, losing their jobs, drowning in debt, have no health insurance....

I'm so ticked off that I'm considering not watching the game at all. Losers.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Bad news, gang! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. That means we have to look forward to another six weeks of winter. There may be some hope, though. General Beauregard, down in Georgia, did not see his shadow. This raises some questions regarding the reliability of these obviously well-fed, furry prognosticators.

Which one of them should we believe? Why did they derive two different answers to the same question? Were the testing conditions identical in both cases? Has one been more reliable than the other in past trials? We really need the answers to these and many other questions before we can make plans for the remainder of the winter. (Notice the built-in assumption in that last statement: I'm assuming that there will be more winter for us. I've known Phil all of my life, whereas I never heard of Beau before today. Past history counts for a lot in an important matter like this. Therefore, I'm going with Phil's answer. Sorry, Beau. Keep in touch in case I change my mind in the future. You know where to find me.)

This is a significant dilemma. If Beau is right, then it's already too late to plan a winter vacation. If you haven't taken one yet, you've missed your chance. On the other hand, if Phil is right, you've still got time to book a flight to someplace sunny and warm. I suggest that you diligently ponder these prophecies with due seriousness and adapt your behavior accordingly. Let me just say that, if I were you, I wouldn't put away that snow shovel yet.



P.S.: Do any of you Canadians know what Wiarton Willie predicted? Was he able to burrow out of his hole into the snowdrift? Did he even want to?