Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Prettige Paasdag
Or: Happy Easter. I've always had a fondness for Easter as a holiday - mainly because of its proximity to my birthday - but have always been confused about its status as a "moveable feast" (which means that it falls on a different calendar day each year). Turns out that it always falls on "the first Sunday after the first Ecclesiastical full moon after the first day of spring (March 21).". Duh. : )
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I get it now.
Hello, all.
I just read the following two articles, and they really affected me, so I thought I'd share.
New York Times article from 1999 about financial deregulation.
Representative quote: "The concerns that we will have a meltdown like 1929 are dramatically overblown."
Rolling Stone article from the current issue.
Representative quote: "The worst part about it is that we're still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream."
Please don't let the colorful language in the Rolling Stone article turn you away. I agree that the author goes overboard with it, and indulges in needless ad hominem attacks (which Aristotle will tell you never win an argument), but it is the most concise and easy-to-understand summary of the current situation that I have read. I really didn't understand credit default swaps until tonight.
I am not going to leave you with a moment of Zen. I feel sick to my stomach after reading these articles, and have no calm to offer.
I just read the following two articles, and they really affected me, so I thought I'd share.
New York Times article from 1999 about financial deregulation.
Representative quote: "The concerns that we will have a meltdown like 1929 are dramatically overblown."
Rolling Stone article from the current issue.
Representative quote: "The worst part about it is that we're still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream."
Please don't let the colorful language in the Rolling Stone article turn you away. I agree that the author goes overboard with it, and indulges in needless ad hominem attacks (which Aristotle will tell you never win an argument), but it is the most concise and easy-to-understand summary of the current situation that I have read. I really didn't understand credit default swaps until tonight.
I am not going to leave you with a moment of Zen. I feel sick to my stomach after reading these articles, and have no calm to offer.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Siege of Leiden.
From Wikipedia:
"In 1572, the city of Leiden sided with the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule and played an important part in the Eighty Years' War. Besieged from May until October 1574 by the Spanish, Leiden was relieved by the cutting of the dikes, thus enabling ships to carry provisions to the flooded town. As a reward for the heroic defense of the previous year, the University of Leiden was founded by William I of Orange in 1575. Yearly on October 3, the end of the siege is still celebrated in Leiden. Tradition tells that the citizens were offered the choice between the university and a certain exemption from taxes."
Ah, for the days when people would choose knowledge over money!
And now, here it is - your Moment of Leiden Zen:
"In 1572, the city of Leiden sided with the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule and played an important part in the Eighty Years' War. Besieged from May until October 1574 by the Spanish, Leiden was relieved by the cutting of the dikes, thus enabling ships to carry provisions to the flooded town. As a reward for the heroic defense of the previous year, the University of Leiden was founded by William I of Orange in 1575. Yearly on October 3, the end of the siege is still celebrated in Leiden. Tradition tells that the citizens were offered the choice between the university and a certain exemption from taxes."
Ah, for the days when people would choose knowledge over money!
And now, here it is - your Moment of Leiden Zen:
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Cigars cont.
Please note that both of the previous stories are apocryphal and likely neither of them ever ocurred. I just like the stories.
Sometimes a cigar...
Two stories about cigars:
Groucho Marx once had a woman on his talk show with 16 children. He asked her why she had so many and she replied, "Because I love my husband very much." "Well," Groucho replied, "I love my cigars very much, but I take them out of my mouth sometimes!"
Then there's the story about Clarence Darrow defending a client that he knew was guilty, so he put a wire into his cigar and smoked it all through the prosecution's arguments. The jury was so distracted waiting for his ash to fall that they didn't listen to the evidence and his client got off scot free.
Groucho Marx once had a woman on his talk show with 16 children. He asked her why she had so many and she replied, "Because I love my husband very much." "Well," Groucho replied, "I love my cigars very much, but I take them out of my mouth sometimes!"
Then there's the story about Clarence Darrow defending a client that he knew was guilty, so he put a wire into his cigar and smoked it all through the prosecution's arguments. The jury was so distracted waiting for his ash to fall that they didn't listen to the evidence and his client got off scot free.
Mobile
Here I am, chilling at Gary's Muffins and seeing how it feels to write a blog post on the iPhone. It feels okay for a short piece, but I'm not good enough with the touch keyboard yet to be doing long ones this way. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Ketchup
A couple of nights ago in the show, a British patron shouted the suggestion of "tomato ketchup." The actress hosting the improvisation responded, "Oh, yeah, as opposed to all those other kinds of ketchup." She didn't get a laugh, but what she likely didn't know is that the word "ketchup" comes from a Chinese word meaning any vinegar based sauce, and that mushroom ketchup is quite popular in England, so they usually refer to tomato ketchup to distinguish it, that's right, from other kinds of ketchup.
On a side note, the spelling catsup has largely disappeared in the United States, because under the Reagan administration, at one point there was a big scandal about the government considering ketchup to be a vegetable in school lunches. They later rescinded that, but when the law was originally written, they spelled it ketchup in the legislation, so schools that bought catsup didn't get credit for having served a vegetable. Consequently, all major ketchup suppliers started spelling it ketchup so they could continue selling to public schools, and no one's bothered to change it back since the law went off the books.
And now, here it is - your Moment of Ketchup Zen:
On a side note, the spelling catsup has largely disappeared in the United States, because under the Reagan administration, at one point there was a big scandal about the government considering ketchup to be a vegetable in school lunches. They later rescinded that, but when the law was originally written, they spelled it ketchup in the legislation, so schools that bought catsup didn't get credit for having served a vegetable. Consequently, all major ketchup suppliers started spelling it ketchup so they could continue selling to public schools, and no one's bothered to change it back since the law went off the books.
And now, here it is - your Moment of Ketchup Zen:
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