Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Colbert and Carell debate Christianity vs. Islam
A classic Even Stephven debate from the Daily Show.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Man's Family Tree (as told by South Park)
Mr/Mrs Garrison's lesson to the South Park 4th graders on evolution. Who knew that we are descended from mutant monkey fish frogs?
Sunday, January 14, 2007
A Shot Across The Bow of the Arms Race in College Athletics
In a letter to the editor in the Eugene Register-Guard, 92 faculty members of the University of Oregon excoriate the University for putting the needs of athletic department above the academic mission of the school.
Ducking education: The UO administration allows out-of-control spending in the athletic department while the downhill slide of academics hurts faculty and students alike
The strongest part of the letter is the evidence the authors cite:
Ducking education: The UO administration allows out-of-control spending in the athletic department while the downhill slide of academics hurts faculty and students alike
The strongest part of the letter is the evidence the authors cite:
"Our academic reputation is declining. The UO's 2004 four- and five-year
graduation rates, at 36.4 percent and 56.7 percent respectively, are significantly below our academic peers and near the bottom of the Pac-10. Oregon is the only Pac-10 school to be recently downgraded by the Carnegie Trust from the top tier to the second tier of national research universities. The 2007 US News and World Report college ratings rank us 120th in the country, the best among Oregon public universities but still mediocre. Our overall graduate program ratings are lower than 20 years ago. It is worse than ironic that our academic rankings are dropping as our
football rankings rise. "
Talk Talk TV Ad
You will think that Busby Berkeley directed this tv ad for a British phone company. Very impressive and very enjoyable.
Elmo the Muppet Is A Drug Mule?
I just noticed this story about meth being smuggled into the US in Elmo dolls - http://tinyurl.com/yxfvne
The best part is the look on Elmo's face in this picture. It seems to be saying, "Oops. I was not expecting this kind of perp walk."
Coming to your theaters in 2007 - "The French Muppet Connection" and "Traffic 2, the Waldorf Statler Cartel."
Remembering Helga Hung
On January 14, 2006 a beautiful life ended much too soon. Helga Hung died in a car accident. I have spoken of and written about her elsewhere. She was a rare person, a truth-seeking pure-hearted soul whom I cared about a lot. Today on the one year anniversary since I last saw Helga, I'll let the words of a poet say more than I ever could on my own.
Jackson Browne - For A Dancer
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you'd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found
I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it as hard as I try
It's like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can't sing
I can't help listening
And I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Crying as they ease you down'
Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away(Right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(There's nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone
Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don't let the uncertainty turn you around
(The world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you'll never know
Jackson Browne - For A Dancer
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don't remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you'd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you're nowhere to be found
I don't know what happens when people die
Can't seem to grasp it as hard as I try
It's like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can't sing
I can't help listening
And I can't help feeling stupid standing 'round
Crying as they ease you down'
Cause I know that you'd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away(Right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(There's nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that you've been shown
By everyone you've ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another's steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you'll do alone
Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don't let the uncertainty turn you around
(The world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you'll never know
