...but I'd say it's getting put to good use. Scroll down the page for a classic Angry Pat moment...and a little further for a couple of Jerry's greatest hits...those crazy kids...and whatever you do, don't forget to check where the Rapture Index stands today!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Don't know how this domain was still available...
And Thereby Fox News Is Explained
Several studies lately casting doubt on, well, the intelligence of conservative types. Here's another, with some more depth. Actually, while it affirms that "[p]olitical conservatism is associated with less openness to experience . . . , and highly positively correlated with fear of uncertainty," it's more about the average conservative's lack of creativity. The correlations between three measures of creativity and conservatism were between -.15 and -.21, not large but highly significant statistically in the study (meaning that the two variables were inversely related). What was especially interesting was that the gap between the two widened as aging was taken into account--the older conservatives were even less creative.
Now, for an organized system to balance on that creative edge of chaos, conservatives are needed to pull back on the levels of creativity that threaten to push the system over that edge. But the danger for that system comes when they have too much influence and pull the system toward inertia. The balance is the key, and we're clearing tipping too far the other way right now in a world of US economic precariousness, foreign adventures, and global warming (water, energy). Right now we need more creativity, not less, less conservatism, not more. This study helps to explain why, and, frankly, why conservatives produce such mindless crap (although the Gibsons, Limbaughs, and Stallones certainly haven't impoverished themselves selling to those folks). And it explains why Fox News and its copiers are so relentlessly one note and incapable of taking on Stewart, Colbert, and Mahers.
Sorry, have to go compose a few symphanies, finish that novel, and invent something now.
Weather, Water, Energy 5-31-07
On the same day that we get the “global warming and cutting forests for biofuels may wipe out the great apes” story, word that AK (Alaska, not Arkansas) alone is looking at $10b. in infrastructure loss from the warming, and the story that even Germany’s biggest power producer plans to cut its carbon emissions to half its 1990 amounts to slow the warming, we get this moron running NASA:
Michael Griffin NASA Administrator has told America's National Public Radio that while he has no doubt a trend of global warming exists "I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with."
Here's the relevant part of the entire interview:
INSKEEP: And I just wanted to make sure that I'm clear. Do you have any doubt that this is a problem that mankind has to wrestle with?
GRIFFIN: I have no doubt that global -- that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change.
First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown, and second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings - where and when - are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take.
INSKEEP: Is that thinking that informs you as you put together the budget? That something is happening, that it's worth studying, but you're not sure that you want to be battling it as an army might battle an enemy.
GRIFFIN: Nowhere in NASA's authorization, which of course governs what we do, is there anything at all telling us that we should take actions to affect climate change in either one way or another. We study global climate change, that is in our authorization, we think we do it rather well. I'm proud of that, but NASA is not an agency chartered to quote "battle climate change."
Like they always say, never argue with fools.
Ad of the Week
I think changing the Photo of the Week to Ad of the Week is a little more up my alley. So this week's winner is for the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships.
More info here
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
An SNL Note...
...I read Bill Simmons' day-long chats (so you don't have to), and I found a quote I wanted to pass along...
Davs (Washington, DC): Hey Bill, doesn't Kristen Wiig have to go down as the hottest female cast member in SNL history? i mean, seriously, who else is even in the running?I think I've actually made the "ultimate TiVo show" comment before...why yes, yes I have (I knew you read GN, Simmons!)...but beyond that, I want to echo that Hader and Samberg are finding their niche, Jason Sudeikis is a solid-never-spectacular guy who is always useful in a cast, Keenan Thompson isn't asked to do too much, and the 3-female cast has really come up huge. The season finale was a letdown (they tried to reprise every funny moment or character from the season, only they didn't bother doing much more with the characters than bringing them out and reminding you they're funny. If the season had ended with the Molly Shannon episode, it would have been a much nicer final note. Oh well. A second season with basically the same cast could be very nice...
Bill Simmons: Hmmmm... that's a great point. I always thought Victoria Jackson was kinda cute. Nancy Walls looked good during her one season. There was a British female cast member named Pamela Stephenson during the Crystal-Short-Guest season who was cute. It's not a long list.
Bill Simmons: PS: Not a bad SNL season this year. Every time they have a smaller cast, it's always a decent season. I continue to enjoy Bill Hader's work. And Samberg had some funny moments. It's really the ultimate TiVo show, you can blow through it in about 10 minutes.
And yes, Kristen Wiits not only has a lot of talent and potential, but she is indeed the hottest SNL cast member since...I dunno...ever? A young Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Chris Farley in the Gap Girls skit? I mean, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph are both attractive, and Tina Fey had the 'hot nerd' thing going on, but...Wiits has them beat.
Only 524 days to go...
...all I can say is, RUN, TOM, RUN. Holy crap, would this be awesome. We've already got a Law & Order actor who thought being Senator was too much work (though being President apparently wouldn't) jumping into the fray...the only thing we're missing is a low-IQ fanatic. And Newt, one of the most disliked politicians in decades. Then the field would be complete. I'm giddy.
Music Bullets, 5-30-07
- Well...the DRM-less iTunes files are ready for download...the price for the individual DRM-less songs are $1.29...which is a TON for a single song...however, entire albums are still $9.99. Considering I only buy full albums, that makes me very happy.
- A couple of interesting notes from Salon...if you’re not a subscriber, you’ll have to sit through an ad...but if I’m linking to it, it must be fantastically wonderful and worth it, right? First, whoever convinced 50 Cent to take 10% stake in the vitamin water company (and convinced them to give him 10%) instead of a set amount should, honestly, run the music industry. Good god, that’s a lot of money. Let's spell it out in all caps to see if it seems like even more. FOUR HUNDRED TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Yup, that makes it seem like even more.
- Next, an interview with Rufus Wainwright, one of the most interesting and unique (for better or worse) people in music. As good as Want One was, I’ll probably end up with this album at some point.
- And finally, not from Salon...looks like Amy Winehouse has officially made it big... we take all kind of pills to give us all kind of thrills, but the thrill we’ve never known...is the thrill that’ll getcha when you get your picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone...
Weather, Water, Energy 5-30-07
Too much for detail, just hit the links and learn:
From Terra Daily, days of snow melt rising in Greenland, Moscow recording record heat, circulations changing in Indian Ocean due to weakening winds caused by warming, China (knowing the US will jerk the world around, too) refusing to work with Europe on greenhouse gas emissions targets as usual, US and Australia refusing to work with Asia on carbon trading system, India making Gandhi proud by refusing to cut greenhouse emissions because they might hurt its economy, the CA Public Employees Retirement System (one of the biggest in the country) calls out Exxon-Mobil on their evil regarding global warming, and Pelosi proving Dem leadership just as worthless on global warming as on Iraq, economy, race relations, edu . . . well, everything.
From Grist, David Roberts noting the enormous subsidies already on the table for coal liquefication here and here (while demonstrating the superiority of conservation) and lauding CA for its recent crimping of coal-fired plants.
From Christian Science Monitor, more on the “tipping point” in our warming future and how that temp may be less than current models have been predicting, yet another indication that, yes, the models are wrong—reality will be worse, and a thoughtful review of Bill McKibben’s latest book on “deep economy.”
From the Environmental News Network, word from Oxfam that it will cost $50b. yearly to fight global warming and that the Oxfammers believe the wealthy nations should pick up the tab, including 44% of that coming from the US. I’m generally one who believes it’s better to confront problems rather than stay silent and hope they work out, but this is one time when these do-good groups would do the most good by shutting up and not generating these kinds of headlines. Just plays into the Busheviks and their “hurts our economy” crap.
And from state news sites, an interesting and hopefully precedent-setting partnership between the U of AK (Alaska, not Arkansas) and the gov’s subcabinet on climate change as the state probably most immediately affected by global warming takes it seriously while the rest of us vote multiple times on “American Idol,” other states “getting it” including several Western states which are seeing growing populations and dwindling water from rivers like the Colorado, a FL article encouraging people to start that hurricane protection planning NOW and another one on Lake Okeechobee’s lowest levels on record and the effect on south FL’s water supply (not good), and finally, going solar (at least partly) in all state buildings in OR.
See why I didn't do individual comments on each?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Waitress
Saw two movies over the weekend. One was "Waitress," a sweet, well-done story of a young wife with an abusive husband and a talent for making pies who discovers forlornly that she is pregnant but, by the end, she has reversed her life and welcomed her beloved daughter into the world. The other was "Waitress," an unforgettable love letter from a mother, who wrote, directed, and co-starred in the movie just before being murdered by a construction worker she argued with over his noise downstairs, to her just-born daughter, who is star Keri Russell's daughter in the final shots. The first might make you think of "Alice," with the acerbic cook and two loved girlfriends and the not-to-be romance with an off-limits guy, but "Alice" wishes she were "Waitress." The second is one of the saddest movies I've ever seen, knowing that Adrienne Shelly had written it while pregnant and intended it in part to show her daughter her thoughts and growing love but that, instead, it will stand as the most perfect, most tragic legacy of pure love that a mother can leave a daughter. As I watched the final scenes, I couldn't help but wonder at what age the girl's father will let her see this movie. Is he already? At what age will the girl shift from a vague understanding that this movie has her dead mother in it to a realization that she was the intended audience for this emphatic "I love you so much" from a woman she will never know? How will that girl respond? Being a man, of course, I didn't cry. But I didn't talk much during the walk from the theater to our car. It was truly a unique experience, watching one movie that was really two, enjoying them each, recommending the first, never forgetting the second.
Brain vs iPod: Wilco Edition
In addition to my ongoing Primer Series, I thought I’d look a bit into how the iPod has made its way into my life and how it has affected my tastes and habits. Being that Wilco just released a pretty strong album, I’ll use them as the guinea pig for this experiment.
Wilco has released six albums (not including the lovely Kicking Television live album or their Mermaid Avenue releases with Billy Bragg). Below are how I would rank them completely off the top of my head, with no regard to anything but the regard in which I hold each release:
1. A Ghost Is Born (2004). For reasons unbeknownst to me, this album brings out a lot of emotion in me. As I’ve said about other things before (“Desolation Row”, Huff), this is like listening to an anxiety attack. It’s tense, it’s technically proficient, it’s emotional, and “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” is my favorite Wilco song.
Weather, Water, Energy 5-29-07
When Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report both run major stories in the same week on the water crisis we are in the early stages of right now, you know that we're not just blowing smoke here. And keep in mind how many of the "solutions" to the weather and energy problems you hear depend on the unlimited availability of water that we're used to.
Fix those leaks.
The Tree Is Rotten
You've probably already read that Cindy Sheehan has quit her protest of our Iraq policies but not before issuing the truest critique of not just the Busheviks or the Dems but of this entire country that anyone has put out in a while. The problem isn't Georgi or feckless, gutless Dems. It's us. Her words apply to all of us:
"I have tried ever since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful. Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives. It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most."
If the US were a tree, with all its dead parts (Repubs) and disease (Dems, media, us), every tree surgeon would advise cutting it down. We tool along thinking that, even with Iraq, global warming and its water and energy brothers, the declining economy, sharpening divides by race and class, and anything else you want to add, we only need to trim the status quo here and prop it up there. Meanwhile, the rot proceeds. Through a grief that made her look at this nation through the lens of reality, Cindy Sheehan discovered a painful truth, much as, say, Mark Twain did in another time. Yes, something called the United States may exist after the flood of the next few decades recedes.
But it won't be the "United States."
Monday, May 28, 2007
Weather, Water, Energy, Memorial Day Edition
Just links today, but follow them through. Lots of good stuff.
At Climate Progress, permafrost melt and crooked buildings in AK (Alaska, not Arkansas), turkey poop for fuel, Prisoner's Dilemma issues in getting climate action started (but also "first-mover" advantages), and James Hansen quotes and why linearity in warming events is bad enough but the future is likely to be nonlinear (and worse).
At RealClimate, why climate models are good globally but harder put locally and whether glacier melt will level off or go all the way to zero.
At Grist, praise for the latest National Geographic catching our glacial world before and as it disappears, proof that airlines (especially the odiously happy and self-impressed Southwest) are immoral, Schwarzenegger blowing smoke on warming as he promotes sprawl and cuts mass transit, Australia as a role model of what not to do and will we in the US pay attention (short answer: no), and the definition of "greenwash" (BS from corporations claiming now to be "green"--the dictionary actually has a more formal version).
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)
We’ve all been there. We did something wrong (incorrectly, evil, whatever, take your pick). But we’re capable, we’re good, so this can’t be true. There has to be another explanation. Somebody else’s fault. Not wrong, just not right yet. This is what I actually intended. This is even better. As I’ve said here before, Jeff Goldblum nailed it in “The Big Chill”—we can go a long time without sex but we can’t go a day without a rationalization.
Social psychologists have long had a term for it—cognitive dissonance, when two realities collide in our belief systems and force us to either make them fit (however bizarrely) or jettison or deform one or both of them. Cognitive dissonance is the theme of Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson’s Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts.Tavris and Aronson are two of the best known social psych folks, and this book should be required reading for anyone laying claim to intelligence. It’s extremely easy to read, except for all the dogearring, margin-writing, and quoting you’ll be doing to anyone close by. And it’s applicable to every reader and everyone they know. Except you and me. Here’s their thesis in a nutshell:As fallible human beings, all of us share the impulse to justify ourselves and avoid taking responsibility for any actions that turn out to be harmful, immoral, or stupid. . . . The higher the stakes—emotional, financial, moral—the greater the difficulty.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
It's too bad...
...stem cell research is all, like, evil and stuff...it sure does seem to hold the most potential for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and now diabetes...but whaddo I know...
Stem cells taken from the umbilical cords of newborns can be engineered to produce insulin and may someday be used to treat diabetes, U.S. and British researchers reported on Friday.Snowflake babies! SNOWFLAKE BABIES!!!! MICHAEL J. FOX WAS FAKING IT!!!!!!
They said they were able to first grow large numbers of the stem cells and then direct them to resemble the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas that are damaged in diabetes.
“This discovery tells us that we have the potential to produce insulin from adult stem cells to help people with diabetes,” said Dr. Randall Urban of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, who directed the study.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Weather, Water, Energy 5-25-07
- Sorta losing any respect I had for Australia, not just because of its idiot PM. Now they've gotten a poor Aborginal tribe with some open land to give up land for nuclear waste for what sounds like $21 in beads. OTOH, it does set a precedent for the rest of the world to consider. As one opposing Senator said, "This is the first step to making Australia a global nuclear waste dump." I think I can go for that.
- Warm spring in Britain. Nature getting confused. Not funny. "We are concerned because the change seems to be so rapid. And we know there is a mismatch of timing, so, for example, when insects would pollinate flowers, the flowers are coming out earlier than the insects are available, and we know this is happening. It is very difficult to tell what that means, but certainly we know that wildlife is under pressure."
- Shape of things to come. Czechs don't like their emissions allotment, going to court. Politics sure to follow. Multiply this by every other country and every company and corporation that will protest their allotments under cap-and-trade systems and multiply again by the money and power the politics will involve and tell me again how cap-and-trade will be better than carbon taxes.
- Indonesia's hopping on board Japan's train toward 50% reduction of emissions by 2050. That's the good news. The bad? These are the same people cutting down forests for palm oil and claiming nothing bad is going on. The proper response? Yes, indeed, “stop p—sing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.”
- State news. AZ is letting rural counties set limits on development unless the developer shows adequate water supply. And MD has reversed the Repub gov's favors to utilities in the state (including naming some of their officials as his own regulators) and is starting to enforce regulations to get emissions down. Imagine that.
- Speaking of MD, my 6 years living there gave me great appreciation for mass transit, despite its status as poor stepchild in the whole "what do we do for energy?" debate. Well, with these improvements in efficiency, maybe it'll be back on the table. Learn these words: "Please step away from the doors."
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