August 2005 Archives

Why did riding a bike seem so much easier when I was a kid?

What better breakfast than slow cooked oatmeal, with blueberries and cranberries, a splash of buttermilk and a sprinking of cinnamon?

But Is There Intelligent Spaghetti Out There? - New York Times

The New York Times contemplates whether the universe was really created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The Times notes:

The history books show that parody isn't always the smartest strategy when it comes to persuasion. Remember Galileo? Some recent scholars say that it may not have been his science so much as his satire, "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems," that got everyone steamed up. Under threat of death, Galileo ended up recanting his view that the earth revolves around the sun, and had to wait 350 years for vindication.

Perhaps persuasion is not what is at issue here, but rather energizing the faithful.

Thanks to Gayle for the link.

Coretta Scott King to Remain Hospitalized at Least a Week

The doctor treating Coretta Scott King said yesterday that the civil rights icon will remain in an Atlanta hospital for at least another week while recovering from a stroke that immobilized the right side of her body and left her unable to speak.

Left Behind - New York Times

And maybe this is the part I find most distancing about my president, not his fanatic heart - the unassailable sense he projects that God is on his side - we all have that. But that he seems to lack anything like real remorse, here in the third August of Iraq, in the fourth August of Afghanistan, in the fifth August of his presidency - for all of the intemperate speech, for the weapons of mass destruction that were not there, the "Mission Accomplished" that really wasn't, for the funerals he will not attend, the mothers of the dead he will not speak to, the bodies of the dead we are not allowed to see and all of the soldiers and civilians whose lives have been irretrievably lost or irreparably changed by his (and our) "Bring it On" bravado in a world made more perilous by such pronouncements.

Lutherans Affirm Ban on Gay Clergy

ORLANDO, Aug. 12 -- A national meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America rejected a proposal Friday that would have allowed gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy under certain conditions.

It appears that I am not the only one to notice that Dr. Gregory House of the Fox television series is a dead ringer for Sherlock Holmes. House shares Holmes' cool detachment, total absorption in problem solving, musical talent, and even drug addiction. While other doctors fumble or guess at diagnoses, House's relentless application of deductive reasoning invariably produces a satisfying and elegant solution to each successive medical dilemma to the amazement and consternation of his less gifted colleagues. In his rare off hours, House devotes himself to his piano in his spare, impeccably modern apartment. House's intellectual elegance beneath his gruff exterior is mesmerizing.

Rich Liberals Vow to Fund Think Tanks

In addition, the number of liberal bloggers on the Web has been growing at a fast pace, and their blogs have become both central forums for debate over party strategies and hugely successful vehicles for campaign fundraising, including raising through online contributions more than two thirds of the $750,000 used in the surprisingly competitive House campaign of Democrat Paul Hackett in Ohio. Rosenberg has created the New Politics Institute, an organization that works with bloggers.

Democrats are franctically scrambling to match the conservative network of think tanks that has fueled the conservative political resurgence. The million-dollar question is whether all the money that is being raised will actually result in any new ideas.

FDA - Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish

I have been trying to cut down on red meat and lose some weight, and fish seems like a healthy alternative. Not all fish are created equal, however, and swordfish particularly should be eaten in moderation.

• Most useful kitchen implement: cast iron frying pan
• Second most useful kitchen implement: rice cooker
• Third most useful kitchen implement: chef's knife
• Most exciting new kitchen implement: burr coffee grinder
• Favorite ingredient: olive oil
• Most exotic kitchen implement: ibrik or couscousiere (a tie!)
• Most interesting recent cooking show: Alton Brown's Good Eats on making sushi

CNN Suspends Novak After He Walks Off Set

NEW YORK -- CNN suspended commentator Robert Novak indefinitely after he swore and walked off the set Thursday during a debate with Democratic operative James Carville.