Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Power of De (nytimes.com)
The attempt to contain the fallout from the financial crisis is a fight the feds seem to be losing.
THOMAS H. BENTON: On Stupidity (chronicle.com)
A cartload of recent books suggests that it's time to reverse the customer-service mentality plaguing academe.
THOMAS H. BENTON: On Stupidity, Part 2 (chronicle.com)
Exactly how should we teach the 'digital natives'?
Maggie Wendell: Freshman recalls fear and trepidation of first class
I had already been awake for a half an hour before my alarm clock went off at 6:30 a.m. The alarm was on my cell phone, and for some reason, instead of just turning it off beforehand, I had been holding it in my hand in a state of nervous anticipation so I could quickly hit the button before waking up my new roommate. It was the first day of my college career, and I wasn't about to make the stranger I was sharing a bunk bed with despise her over-anxious roommate already.
Drake Bennett: The secret benefits of fandom (boston.com)
It's not just psychological: When your favorite team wins a game, you may actually profit.
META WAGNER: I Miss When Artists Were Artists Instead of Marketing Machines (popmatters.com)
Art has always had an uneasy relationship with commercialism. But that's the point: it's supposed to be uneasy.
20 QUESTIONS: Chuck Klosterman (popmatters.com)
Prolific pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman knows as well as PopMatters that, well, pop matters. He discusses with PopMatters 20 Questions some of the things in this world that influence, sway, and affect.
Dara Nai: Interview With Jessica Clark (afterellen.com)
The fashion model and out lesbian will change your opinion about models.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Good Deeds (athensnews.com)
Celebrity photographer Richard Young likes motorcycles, and he has attended a few meetings of Harley riders. A Brit, he once rode by himself to Brighton, and of course other motorcyclists were on the road. He pulled over a few times to answer the call of nature, and he says, "Every time I stopped, at least two or three bikes pulled over to ask if I was OK. You would never get that with car drivers."
Commentoon: McCain Picks V.P. (womensenews.org)
Simpsonize Me
The Weekly Poll
Results
The current question:
Who should have McCain have picked for VP instead of the 'Hockey Mom'?
The Devil's Advocate Edition...
Ok, Pollfans, it's time to think contrary wise... It's time to pretend yer back in high school debate class. Remember when ya had to argue a position ya didn't agree with?
Huh? do ya? Remember how that irritated the bejabbers out of ya? Well, guess what?
It's that time again... Because the question is...
Ya got the cojones to answer this, eh? Do ya? Bring it on, I'm sayin'!
Send your response to BadtotheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
Reader Comment
Drip3
Marty,
RE: Mad Cat, JD Selected Readings for Sept 9th, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP
In the blog, "I Love Bonnie.net", the first article is titled "Is Governor Palin Hiding an Affair With Her Husband's Business Partner?" There is no affair. There are enough things about Sarah Palin (Sarah the Barracuda) that ARE true to make her an improbable choice for Vice President, that made up ones just aren't needed.
From the Smoking Gun :
As followers of the Palin feeding frenzy know, the National Enquirer this week reported the "incredible allegation" that Palin had an extramarital affair with an unnamed former "business partner" of her husband.
Once the politician's husband Todd learned of the purported affair, an Enquirer source claimed, he "quickly dissolved his friendship and his business associations with the guy." So when the blogosphere discovered today (via an online court docket) that Scott Richter, a Palin associate, personally filed a sealing motion in Alaska Superior Court, well, conclusions were jumped to. Was Sarah Palin named as the other woman in a messy divorce action? Well, since Richter's September 3 motion, a copy of which you'll find below, was denied yesterday, his divorce filings remain open to the public. And a TSG review of the 98-page file shows that the Palins are only mentioned in Richter's sealing request. According to the filing, Richter wanted the documents deemed confidential in a bid to cloak details about his home, workplace, and phone numbers because "reporters and news agencies" were using that information to contact him. Richter, a 39-year-old contractor, noted that he is "friends and land owners in a remote cabin" with the Palins and, as a result, journalists were intruding on the "cabin life and private life" of him and his 11-year-old son.
MAM
Thanks, Marianne!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Nice end-of-summer day.
If you live in the viewing area of WPSU, Thurday night's 'Our Town' at 8pm features my old hometown, Johnsonburg, PA.
Dear old Dad is interviewed, talking about the local fishing - something he knows a bit about.
As an added bonus, he and the Babe were asked to drive down to State College and help man the phones during the telecast's pledge drive.
Class Of 2008
Kennedy Honorees
Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, Twyla Tharp, George Jones and Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who are the 2008 recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors.
The 31st annual honors will be bestowed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on December 6, and CBS will broadcast the event the following night.
The Kennedy Center honorees are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts -- whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television -- and are selected by the center's board of trustees.
Kennedy Honorees
Stephen Hawking
Renowned British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has bet 100 dollars (70 euros) that a mega-experiment this week will not find an elusive particle seen as a holy grail of cosmic science, he said Tuesday.
In the most complex scientific experiment ever undertaken, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be switched on Wednesday, accelerating sub-atomic particles to nearly the speed of light before smashing them together.
"The LHC will increase the energy at which we can study particle interactions by a factor of four. According to present thinking, this should be enough to discover the Higgs particle," Hawking told BBC radio.
"I think it will be much more exciting if we don't find the Higgs. That will show something is wrong, and we need to think again. I have a bet of 100 dollars that we won't find the Higgs," added Hawking, whose books including "A Brief History of Time" have sought to popularise study of stellar physics.
Stephen Hawking
Career Before Politics
Alec Baldwin
If actor Alec Baldwin ever ran for public office, he says he might have to think about changing his name to something more ethnic.
"I'm going to change my name into a Muslim-sounding name," he jokes.
More seriously, Baldwin, in Toronto this week for his new movie "Lymelife," said the U.S. government has long been run by men with an Anglo-Saxon heritage and to prove his point, he rattled the names of off recent U.S. presidents such as Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.
The actor, who in the past has talked openly about his political aspirations, said U.S. voters seem ready for fresh ideas this election year, but he's not sure how he fits in.
Alec Baldwin
No Pink Floyd Reunion
David Gilmour
David Gilmour is sorry to disappoint, but there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. He's having too much fun on his own.
The British rock icon raised fans' hopes when the band performed at the Live 8 charity concert in London in 2005. It was the first time in almost a quarter of a century that Gilmour and estranged bandmate Roger Waters had appeared onstage together, and the atmosphere was electric.
The gig itself was "excellent, really enjoyable," said the 62-year-old guitarist and singer.
"The rehearsals were less enjoyable. The rehearsals convinced me it wasn't something I wanted to be doing a lot of," Gilmour said, speaking from the Astoria, his houseboat-cum-recording studio on the River Thames.
David Gilmour
Visits Old High School
John Oates
Students at Pennsylvania's North Penn High School got a lunch hour diversion with acoustic performances, autographs and stories from alumnus John Oates.
Half the pop singing and songwriting duo Hall and Oates and a member of the Class of 1966, Oates says he is "living proof that you can go to North Penn High School and go somewhere after that."
He entertained an assembly of about 1,000 Monday at the school in Lansdale, 20 miles north of Philadelphia.
Oates says he grew up there so long ago he remembers when jeans weren't allowed in school and "when the first McDonald's came."
John Oates
Baby News
Henry Story Driver
Minnie Driver, 38, has given birth to a not-so-little one.
Henry Story Driver was born in Los Angeles on Friday and weighed in at a hearty 9 lbs., 12 oz, her publicist Jessica Kolstad told People magazine.
She has not revealed the name of the father.
Henry Story Driver
Profiled By Israeli Security
Abdur-Rahim Jackson
A performer with the famed Alvin Ailey dance troupe on Tuesday said he was twice forced to perform steps for Israeli airport security officers to prove his identity before he was permitted to enter the country.
Abdur-Rahim Jackson, an eight-year veteran of the dance ensemble, said he was singled out by Israel's renowned airport security because he has a Muslim name. He called the experience embarrassing and said at one point, one of the officers even suggested he change his name.
Israel is the first stop on a six-nation tour celebrating the New York-based dance company's 50th anniversary. Earlier this year, Congress passed a resolution calling the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater a "vital American cultural ambassador to the world."
Jackson said he received his name because his father was a convert to Islam. Jackson said he was not raised a Muslim, does not consider himself religious and is engaged to a Jewish woman in the troupe who has relatives in Israel.
Abdur-Rahim Jackson
Personal Data Storage
Google
Google Inc has halved the amount of time it stores personal data gathered from its users' Web surfing habits, a move aimed at improving its privacy policies, a company official said.
Google used to store such data for 18 months, but has now trimmed that duration to nine months.
Nicole Wong, Google's deputy general counsel, told a meeting of computer industry privacy experts at Microsoft Corp's Silicon Valley offices that her company planned to "anonymize" the computer addresses of its users more quickly.
Peter Cullen, chief privacy strategist for Microsoft Corp, said Google's move was done in response to pressure from European regulators and by industry rivals.
Google
Bishops Criticize Abortion Statements
Joe Biden
Two prominent U.S. Catholic bishops said Tuesday that Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden contradicted church teaching by saying in a weekend interview that determining when human life begins is a "personal and private" matter of religious faith he would not impose on others.
The statement from Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop William Lori said Biden, who appeared Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," is the latest case of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy correcting a Catholic politician.
Rigali, of Philadelphia, is chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Lori, of Bridgeport, Conn., is chairman of the bishops' Committee on Doctrine.
Joe Biden
Glorious NYC Lawsuit Ruling
'Borat'
A New York judge has tossed out lawsuits brought by a driving instructor and two etiquette school teachers who said the makers of the movie "Borat" deceived them.
Judge Loretta Preska says all three accepted money and signed agreements releasing the filmmakers from liability. She noted in a Sept. 3 ruling the agreements said the plaintiffs consented to appear in a "documentary-style" movie.
In the 2006 film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen plays an uncouth and anti-Semitic journalist traveling the United States in pursuit of Pamela Anderson. Cohen often fools people with his gag interviews.
'Borat'
The Colonel's Recipe
KFC
Colonel Harland Sanders' handwritten recipe of 11 herbs and spices was removed Tuesday from safekeeping at KFC's corporate offices for the first time in decades. The temporary relocation is allowing KFC to revamp security around a yellowing sheet of paper that contains one of the country's most famous corporate secrets.
The brand's top executive admitted his nerves were aflutter despite the tight security he lined up for the operation.
The recipe that launched the chicken chain was placed in a lock box that was handcuffed to security expert Bo Dietl, who climbed aboard an armored car that whisked away with an escort from off-duty police officers.
So important is the 68-year-old concoction that coats the chain's Original Recipe chicken that only two company executives at any time have access to it. The company refuses to release their names or titles, and it uses multiple suppliers who produce and blend the ingredients but know only a part of the entire contents.
KFC
Algae Dyed Them Green
Polar Bears
Green polar bears are drawing questions from puzzled visitors at a Japanese zoo.
Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan changed their color in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae.
High temperatures in July and August and less-frequent water changes because of the zoo's conservation efforts caused an algae growth in the bear pond and safety moat..
The bears are expected to return to their natural color when the algae growth subsides in November.
Polar Bears
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Sept. 1-7. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (7) "NBC Sunday Night Football (Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts)," NBC, 18.35 million viewers.
2. (X) "NBC NFL Thursday Special (Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants)," NBC, 13.53 million viewers.
3. (29) "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick Show," NBC, 13.34 million viewers.
4. (X) "Fox NFL Sunday-Post Game Show," Fox, 12.91 million viewers.
5. (21) "Deal or No Deal," NBC, 10.96 million viewers.
6. (14) "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 10.77 million viewers.
7. (38) "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 10.25 million viewers.
8. (21) "60 Minutes," CBS, 10.08 million viewers.
9. (65) "Football Night in America," NBC, 10.03 million viewers.
10. (57) "Bones," Fox, 9.74 million viewers.
11. (29) "The OT," Fox, 8.99 million viewers.
12. (X) Republican Convention Coverage (Thursday), NBC, 8.66 million viewers.
13. (X) "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?," Fox, 8.57 million viewers.
14. (14) "NCIS," CBS, 8.17 million viewers.
15. (X) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 7.83 million viewers.
16. (9) "House," Fox, 7.75 million viewers.
17. (10) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.27 million viewers.
18. (124) "Big Brother 10" (Sunday), CBS, 7.20 million viewers.
19. (X) "Hole in the Wall" (Preview), Fox, 7.15 million viewers.
20. (96) "America's Toughest Jobs," NBC, 7.14 million viewers.
Ratings
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