Stranger Fruit
Archives for October, 2006
Scampering away
Posted by John Lynch on October 30, 2006 A red squirrel runs through the Lazienki Park on a crisp autumn morning in Warsaw, Poland. Source: AP. Like this little guy, I’m heading out of here. Later on this week, I’m off to the History of Science Society meeting in Vancouver. The meeting is held with the Philosophy of Science Association so I’ll get…
A Letter from Iraq
Posted by John Lynch on October 29, 2006 Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and “battlefield” tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no effect on their preconceived notions of what’s going on in Iraq. Their trips allow…
Saturday Football
Posted by John Lynch on October 28, 2006 It’s that time of the week again: time for that rollercoaster ride that is ASU football. Today the team (4-3, 1-3 in conference) travel to Washington to take on the Huskies (4-4, 2-3) at home for the first time since 1999. Last year, ASU won 44-20 on a 401-yard 3-TD performance by Rudy Carpenter. Doubt we will…
Saturday morning sillyness
Posted by John Lynch on October 28, 2006 Since everyone is talking about the sequencing of the honeybee genome*, it seems appropriate (isn’t it always?) to post some Monty Python. Ladies & gentlemen, I present, “Eric The Half A Bee”: (Speaks) Half a bee, philosophically,Must, ipso facto, half not be.But half the bee has got to beVis a vis, its entity. D’you see?…
Defining Liberalism in 2006
Posted by John Lynch on October 27, 2006 Bruce Ackerman and Todd Gitlin write: As right-wing politicians and pundits call us stooges for Osama bin Laden, Tony Judt charges, in a widely discussed and heatedly debated essay in the London Review of Books, that American liberals — without distinction — have “acquiesced in President Bush’s catastrophic foreign policy.” Both claims are nonsense on…
Shut Up And Sing
Posted by John Lynch on October 27, 2006 NBC is refusing to show ads for the Dixie Chicks documentary Shut Up and Sing because they feel the the ads are “disparaging to President Bush.” Apparently criticizing the President is un-American especially running up to the mid-term elections. Ironic, considering this is a film about censorship. This, of course, is the same NBC that…
Fun with search engines
Posted by John Lynch on October 27, 2006 I was browsing the search terms that brought people to this site and discovered the following regarding the psyche of my readers: “I apologize”“catfish that swims into penis?”“Will someone please kill me” Somewhat disturbing are the following: asu glory holes“lobster love”drunk hand spankingneeds spanking Most disturbing is: “beheaded girl”
So here’s what I’m thinking …
Posted by John Lynch on October 27, 2006 How come we tax-payers have to pay for the President to fly around and stump for Republican candidates (and get their name wrong)? After all, the cost of security and Air Force One (five gallons of fuel a mile) are fairly substantial. I’m conflicted – I want to imagine that Bush has real work to do, yet…