Month: June 2008

Bear necessities

Seattle Times sports columnist and editor Dwight Perry, reading NewMexiKen’s post yesterday about local bear warnings, sent along this helpful guidance from a column published in 2001:

According to an e-mail spoof making the computer rounds, bear activity is on the rise in parts of Montana. It warns hunters and hikers to wear little bells to let bears know they are near and to carry pepper spray just in case.

No macho outdoorsman would heed such advice, but if you insist on following it, you should also know this missive’s other useful bit of information – the importance of knowing the difference between the droppings of black bears and grizzlies. We quote:

“Black bear droppings are smaller and contain berries and possibly squirrel fur.

“Grizzly bear droppings have bells in them and smell like pepper spray.”

Fire his ass this time, too

“So — but my point in telling you this is that there must be real animosity toward the Clintons at high levels of this party. To go with a veritable rookie whose only chance of winning is that he’s black.”

Rush Limbaugh, June 2

When Limbaugh made the same kind of remark about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, he was fired from ESPN’s Sunday Night Countdown. Football, now that’s religion in America. You’re gone if you make a blatantly racist remark.

Who gets elected president, say what you will.

Best line of the day, so far

“I never was moved by a candidate before. Not Ronald Reagan, not Bill Clinton. I never participated. But this guy is a once-in-a-century politician. This guy can change the world. You can’t meet him and walk away untouched.”

Anonymous entrepreneur at fund-raiser quoted by Andrew Tobias.

I’m telling you people, read Obama’s books — the autobiographical Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance and the more issue-oriented The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.

Firefox 3.0

My verdict is that Firefox 3.0 is the best Web browser out there right now, and that it tops the current versions of both IE and Safari in features, speed and security. It is easy to install and easy to use, even for a mainstream, non-technical user. It can be downloaded, free, at mozilla.com by clicking on “Firefox 3 Sneak Peek.”

This situation may change. Microsoft is working on a new version of IE, scheduled to be unveiled later this year, with some impressive new features. And Apple is always working on new iterations of Safari, though it is secretive and hasn’t disclosed its plans. But for now, in my view, Firefox 3.0 rules on both Windows and Mac.

I couldn’t find any significant downsides to Firefox 3.0.

From a review by Walt Mossberg.

NewMexiKen generally relies on Safari on my two Macs, but I have been playing around with the new Firefox and it looks pretty good. (I use IE7 when I run Windows on the Macs.)

Bears watching

NewMexiKen’s homeowners’ association newsletter arrived today complete with a Security Alert:

“There have been an increasing number of bear sightings from the Tram and the animals are getting lower and lower down [the mountains] …

“Security advises folks to use caution when out walking or exercising early mornings and in the evenings …”

New Mexico, how do I love thee, let me count the ways.

Tough Night for Jerry J. Sanchez

How does a thing like this happen? I know that it’s probably something as bland as a ballot misprint, but last night as I watched the election results flash across the bottom of my tv screen, I couldn’t help think about all the bad things that a person would have to do in order to lose an election 1854 to ZERO. As his opponent’s numbers increased, while his remained at ZERO, I started to feel really bad for him.

The Alibi Weblog has more.

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.”

In each of my courses, we discuss thesis statements and topic sentences, the need for precision in vocabulary, why economy of language is desirable, what constitutes a compelling subject. I explain, I give examples, I cheerlead, I cajole, but each evening, when the class is over and I come down from my teaching high, I inevitably lose faith in the task, as I’m sure my students do. I envision the lot of us driving home, solitary scholars in our cars, growing sadder by the mile.

In the Basement of the Ivory Tower

Interesting and somewhat provocative.

35 bottles of wine on the wall, 35 bottles of wine

First, the Good News:

“Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan, researchers say in a new report that is likely to give impetus to the rapidly growing search for longevity drugs.”

Now, the Great News:

“The Wisconsin scientists used a dose on mice equivalent to just 35 bottles a day. But red wine contains many other resveratrol-like compounds that may also be beneficial. Taking these into account, as well as mice’s higher metabolic rate, a mere four, five-ounce glasses of wine ‘starts getting close’ to the amount of resveratrol they found effective, Dr. Weindruch said.”

The New York Times

Heather

NewMexiKen’s very own congress critter, Heather Wilson, lost the primary yesterday for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The far more conservative candidate won, Rep. Steve Pearce. He gets the opportunity to lose in November to the third of our state’s three representatives, Democrat Tom Udall.

My question: What do you think are the chances Heather will stay in New Mexico now that her political career is over?

Team of Rivals

One of my heroes is Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln basically pulled in all the people who had been running against him into his cabinet because whatever personal feelings there were, the issue was “how can we get this country through this time of crisis?” And I think that has to be the approach that one takes.

Senator Barack Obama

So, which job does Kucinich get?

The 19th Amendment

SECTION 1. The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The Congress sent the 19th Amendment to the states for ratification on this date in 1919. By August of 1920, the necessary 36 states (of 48) had ratified the amendment and it went into effect.

It’s interesting to note the 12 states that had not yet ratified, including several that had rejected the amendment.

  • Connecticut ratified in September 1920.
  • Delaware rejected the amendment in 1920, but did ratify in 1923.
  • Maryland rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1941.
  • Virginia rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1952.
  • Alabama rejected the amendment in 1919, but ratified in in 1953.
  • Florida ratified in 1969.
  • South Carolina rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified in 1969.
  • Georgia rejected the amendment in 1919, but ratified it in 1970.
  • Louisiana rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1970.
  • North Carolina ratified in 1971.
  • Mississippi rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1984.

For comparison, the 15th amendment, ratified 50 years earlier.

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

And the 26th, ratified in 1971.

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

June 4th

Angelina Jolie is 33 today.

Michelle Phillips, one of the mamas of The Mamas and the Papas, is 64.

Noah Wyle, Dr. Carter, is 37.

Robert Fulghum is 71.

When he was a Unitarian minister in Washington state in the 1960s, Fulghum began jotting down personal insights to use in sermons and his weekly church newsletter. He worked them up into a statement of personal belief: “Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess…” — which eventually found its way to a Connecticut literary agent when her daughter came home with it tucked in her school bookbag, photocopied by her teacher. The agent asked Fulghum to write more, and the book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, and its follow-up, It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It (1989), ran for a time in first and second positions on bestseller lists.

The Writer’s Almanac

I don’t know what I’m talking about much of the time either, why can’t I get a well-paid gig on cable?

On MSNBC, David Brooks asserted that “less educated” and “downscale” people “look at [Sen. Barack] Obama, and they don’t see anything,” adding: “And so, Obama’s problem is he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who could go into an Applebee’s salad bar, and people think he fits in naturally there.” Applebee’s officials have confirmed to Media Matters that its restaurants do not have salad bars.

Media Matters

How many things can you find wrong with these two dozen words?

It’s like the little kids’ activity, how many things can you find wrong with this picture.

This sentence is in an article by Liz Sidoti of The Associated Press:

“Obama, the lanky son of a Kenyan father and a Kansan mother, was reared in Indonesia and Hawaii. He’s a Harvard University graduate and former Chicago activist …”

Is Obama ungracefully thin and tall? That’s the definition of “lanky.” I’ve seen a video of Obama with a pretty graceful move to the basket.

Obama was born in Hawaii (it was a state by then), and spent 13+ years in Hawaii and four in Indonesia. Is that “reared in Indonesia and Hawaii”? (He was in Hawaii for the fifth grade through high school. He was in Indonesia for ages 6 to 10.)

Obama is a graduate of Columbia University (B.A. 1983). He also attended Occidental College. He did graduate from Harvard Law School, but he is not a graduate of Harvard University.

Isn’t “activist” a charged word? Obama uses the terminology “a community organizer with a church-based group”.

Wally World

At 85 years of age, Wally married Anne, a lovely 25 year old.

Since her new husband is so old, Anne decides that after their wedding she and Wally should have separate bedrooms, because she is concerned that her new, but aged, husband may overexert himself if they spend the entire night together.

After the wedding festivities, Anne prepares herself for bed and the expected “knock” on the door.

Sure enough, the knock comes, the door opens and there is Wally, her 85-year-old groom, ready for action.

They unite as one. All goes well, Wally takes leave of his bride and she prepares to go to sleep. After a few minutes, Anne hears another knock on her bedroom door, and it is Wally. Again, he is ready for more “action.”

Somewhat surprised, Anne consents for more coupling. When the newlyweds are done, Wally kisses his bride, bids her a fond goodnight and leaves. She is set to go to sleep again, but, aha you guessed it….. Wally is back again, rapping on the door, and is as fresh as a 25-year-old, ready for more “action.” And, once again they enjoy each other.

However, as Wally gets set to leave again, his young bride says to him, “I am thoroughly impressed that at your age you can perform so well and so often. I have been with guys less than a third of your age who were only good once. You are truly a great lover, Wally.”

Wally, somewhat embarrassed, turns to Anne and says: …….”You mean I was here already?”

[Thanks to NewMexiKen’s friend Jeanne.]