Month: February 2007

Good riddance to February. Brutal month of weather, and it began and ended with challenging weekends. March will be better. It’s my birthday month, so at a minimum I’ll get some presents.

I knew it! Meetings make us dumber, study shows. I hate meetings, unless they’re at a bar and we’re discussing who’s buying the next round. I don’t volunteer nearly as much as I used to, but when I’m considering a project, my first question is, “Are there any night meetings?” If so, I decline. I’ll agree to attend one lunch meeting, and that’s it. In light of this study, it’s no wonder I’m so freakin’ smart (chuckle).

I was excited when I saw the headline that said a man’s fertility clock tends to run out like a woman’s (NYT Link), but the article was a bummer:

Several recent studies are starting to persuade many doctors that men should not be too cavalier about postponing marriage and children.

Until now, the problems known to occur more often with advanced paternal age were so rare they received scant public attention. The newer studies were alarming because they found higher rates of more common conditions — including autism and schizophrenia — in offspring born to men in their middle and late 40s.

But there is one good thing: “A number of studies also suggest that male fertility may diminish with age.”

The von Mises Institute has released a new intellectual biography of Murray Rothbard. I read it over the weekend (actually, just finished it last night). If you’re interested in that Rothbard guy, you might want to check it out.

Pretty wild: 23 facts about the number 23. (via Rockwell) Excerpt:

Although the Old Testament is unspecific, it is widely held that Adam and Eve

A documentary film reveals the tomb of Christ . . . and his wife and child. It’ll air March 4th on the Discovery Channel. It’s bunk, of course.

In 1996, when the British Broadcasting Corp. aired a short documentary on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television. ‘They just want to get money for it,’ Kloner said.

That doesn’t deter the film maker, though: “Cameron said his critics should withhold comment until they see his film.”

Yeah right. Film is about as reliable as a kindergartner recounting last week’s events. Content-wise, a half-hour documentary contains about the equivalent of a few minutes of reading, so that’s hopelessly slanted (there’s not enough word space to give balance to various angles or opinions). The film maker then uses visuals to fill-in the rest of the content, and the visuals are slanted to evoke the desired result, while the film maker declares, “Pictures don’t lie,” which, of course, they do.

From Britain: Authorities are considering taking an 8-year-old boy who weighs 218 pounds into protective custody unless his mother improves his diet, officials said Monday. Wow, the nanny state keeps getting bolder. It’s now explicitly acting like a nanny.

The Ayatollah is a compassionate guy: Iranian tourism authorities are planning to create a holiday island solely for women so they can wear swim suits. Persian women have long been known for their beauty (they’re not pure Arabic stock, but a mix of Aryan and Arabic and maybe other stock–but I’m getting a little outside my knowledge base here). I smell a new video series: “Muslim Girls Gone Wild.”… Read the rest

Yes, and bring on all those things I gave up for Lent:

Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!

Nehemiah 8: 9-10… Read the rest

Some good late night stuff this week:

Leno

How many people have been watching the Anna Nicole Smith legal proceedings? I would call it a circus, but I don’t want to insult the good people at Ringling Brothers.

There were so many witnesses at the Anna Nicole Smith hearing, Jerry Springer couldn’t find guests for his show.

Kimmel

The judge in the Anna Nicole Smith case got surprisingly emotional when he read his decision. He wept through the whole decision because he realized that after almost two weeks, this would be the last time he would be appearing on television.

The only thing missing from this case was Bo and Luke Duke driving the General Lee through courtroom. … Read the rest

First Friday of Lent, and the Catholic blogosphere has quieted down a bit. Every year, more than a handful of Catholic bloggers give up blogging for Lent. It’s interesting. I figure blogging is (i) art (akin to literature), (ii) recreation (akin to video games), or (iii) self-indulgent (akin to gossiping). If bloggers are giving it up for Lent, I’m guessing their pursuit of it is more self-indulging, possibly recreational, but definitely not art. People typically don’t give up things that are good for them during Lent.

Or maybe they just think blogging is a hassle and they want to get away from it for awhile. There are some days I don’t feel like posting, but I think the exercise is good for me. I recently jumped back into writing regular pieces and noticed that my prose had grown sharper yet relaxed, “effortless” was the word my surprised wife used. Maybe blog writing is like the Arena Football of writers: it gets you used to throwing laser-like passes on a small field, and those skills give you an advantage when you move to the big NFL fields. Heck if I know for sure, but I think this self-indulgent blogging thing has been good for me.

Alright, this is blasphemous, but I can see why some jokers who don’t appreciate the gravity of it would think it’s funny:

The Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was evacuated during noon Mass on Ash Wednesday when three CD players duct-taped to the bottom of pews began blaring sexually explicit language.

The players were set to turn on at 12:22 p.m. as parishioners were in the middle of Mass, police Capt. Gary Johnson said.

Sounds like the scene got a little surreal:

Church staff personnel removed the CD players, took them to

“They Won’t Know What Hit Them.” That’s the title of a scary piece at The Atlantic Monthly. Summary: Led by wealthy homosexual Tim Gill, some very rich homosexuals and homosexual sympathizers have come up with a new plan to push the homosexual political agenda and it’s proving highly effective. The thrust: Get behind candidates in small races (e.g., state house of representatives) and tip political power in pro-gay directions throughout the states. Small amounts of money can make big differences in these little races. Especially targeted: emerging anti-gay politicians. The hope is to knock them out of the political arena before they get strong.

Interesting excerpt, in case you thought it might be safe to vote Democrat again:

“[T]he new Democratic Congress may soon consider a long-desired national employment nondiscrimination bill [that prohibits discrimination against homosexuals in the work place].”

If you don’t think that type of legislation would be a real legal mess, you’ve never dealt with the law. Moreover, if sexuality is a “continuum,” as cutting-edge perverts want us to believe, who is gay and who isn’t? Yet further: I don’t want to be told that I have to hang out with a gay guy in my office. Finally: This isn’t a continuation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This is about civil rights about as much as Pee Wee Herman’s conduct in the theater was about freedom of expression.

Another good excerpt (emphasis added):

As I arrived in Denver a week before the election, Haggard’s life became a national sensation. He first denied, but later resigned because of, a report that for years he had paid for sex with a gay prostitute through whom he had also bought crystal meth. The story exploded across the state, yielding full-banner headlines for four days running in