Express thyself

NewMexiKen has a grandson or two that might need this — Crayola Digi-Color.

Google knows what day it is

The lifeblood of politics

In my zip code, $17,251 has been donated to Republican and $235,042 to Democratic presidential candidates since 2004.

All calculations are based on public records filed with the FEC of contributions by all individuals totaling more than $200 (and some totaling less than $200) to a single Republican or Democratic presidential campaign or national committee for the 2004 and 2008 election cycles.

Try your area at Fundrace 2008 Campaign Donations.

Santa Fe is $74,402 to Republicans and $1,711,320 to Democrats (23:1).

Thanks to Duke City Fix for the pointer.

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

The author Dee Brown was born 100 years ago today. His best known work, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, told the story of Indian removal after the Civil War. The book has sold more than 5 million copies and did much to raise the awareness of Americans to a long overlooked part of their history.

Does Cheney know about this?

In reading a little about the calendar today NewMexiKen learned that Pontifex Maximus, the official that kept the Roman calendar, was so corrupt before Julius Caesar’s reforms in 46 BCE, that he, Maximus, sometimes lengthened the year to keep certain officials in office longer (or shortened it when his enemies were in office).

Best line of the day, so far

“[Obama] needs to give a speech in which he explains this all to a willfully amnesiac country that has grown illiterate of its Constitution, ignorant of its founding principles, and taught by three decades of conservative government and idiot popular culture that its fundamental rights are at best inconveniences and, at worst, loopholes through which criminals escape justice and terrorists infiltrate the country. They are not ‘their’ rights. They are our rights, damn it.”

Charles Pierce, who has more on the speech Obama should give.

Best line of the day on aging, so far

“Prince is having hip replacement surgery.

“That little red Corvette will need to be an automatic cuz my boy can’t work the clutch anymore. Darling Nikki uses Oil of Olay. Purple rain the color of a Prilosec tab.”

Oh Fair New Mexico

The answer is Vermont, Michigan, Oregon, Connecticut and Delaware

The question is: Which five states spend more on prisons than on higher education?

Inside Higher Ed reports the details.

Link via dangerousmeta!.

Mr. Science

Why do we have leap year anyway?

The regular calendar has 365 days, but it takes 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds for the Earth to orbit the sun. That means the calendar falls behind the seasons 348.75 minutes every year.

Who cares if the calendar falls behind the seasons?

The people of Arizona and parts of Indiana.

How does leap year fix it?

Every four years we are 1395 minutes behind (348.75 times four), so we add a day (1440 minutes).

Wait, 1395 doesn’t equal 1440, aren’t we adding 45 too many minutes?

You are wise beyond your years. Every 100 years (25 leap years times 45 minutes) there would be 1,125 minutes too many. Eliminating leap year every 100 years tips the balance back toward even. That’s why there wasn’t a leap day in 1700, 1800 or 1900 and won’t be in 2100. But we did have a leap year in 2000 (and will again in 2400) to tweak it back a bit the other way.

Does that do it?

No, even then the intelligent design is such that the calendar will be off by a day in a few thousand years. Nothing’s perfect.

Quick, answer without thinking (pretend you’re W)

How many February 29ths have there been during your life (counting today)?

Then do the math and see if you got it.

Into Thin Air

Thanks to Avelino, a funny story about a guy and his Macs: How I Spent $5,000 on Air and Made Fifty-Year-Old Women Swoon.

Mac aficionados (if you know any) will appreciate. Windows guys/gals will shake their head.

Leap Babies

Not many birthdays today (one-fourth the norm one assumes).

Alex Rocco is 72 (1936). You know, Moe Greene in The Godfather. Got it right in the eye. Actually Rocco has nearly 150 credits listed at IMDb; much TV and voice-over work.

Update: Functional Ambivalent has a great Alex Rocco Story.

Dennis Farina is 64 (1944). Among his many roles, Farina was Ray “Bones” Barboni in Get Shorty.

Two famous entertainers were leap day babies.

Bandleader Jimmy Dorsey (1904) had 12 number one hits with his own band, and two before that with his brother, Tommy. (The two brothers split in 1935, but reunited in 1953.) Jimmy played saxaphone. He died in 1957.

And singer, radio-TV star Dinah Shore (1916). Miss Shore had four number one hits in the 1940s, including Buttons and Bows, which was at the top for 10 weeks. She had a popular TV variety show and then a talk show, and a fling with Burt Reynolds, 19 years her junior. Dinah Shore died in 1994. Throw us a kiss, Dinah.

And two famous athletes.

Al Rosen (1924), four-time American League All-star and 1953 MVP with the Cleveland Indians (and someone NewMexiKen chatted with once upon a time). Rosen lead the AL in home runs (43), RBIs (145) and was second in batting (.336) in ‘53. He lost the triple crown by one point (Mickey Vernon batted .337).

And Henri Richard (1936), the Pocket Rocket, brother of the even greater NHL player Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. Henri hated the nickname Pocket Rocket (he was 5-foot-7). One supposes that helped drive him to be part of 11 Stanley Cup champion teams, more than any other player.

World’s first eyeball tattoo

Yuck!