I first watched the Olympics on TV in 1976, when I was in the US as a graduate student, and quickly became fed up. The inane chatter of the anchors and commentators, the frequent long breaks for commercials, and the excessive focus on only showing events in which Americans had hopes of winning medals, were all annoying. [Read more…]
Via Jerry Coyne, I came across this story about a New Mexico couple Tom and Shirley Schenk who came to the rescue of some bear cubs who had fallen into a dumpster and couldn’t get out. The cries of the cubs and of their mother who had waited by the dumpster all night touched the couple who came up with a clever plan to get the cubs out while minimizing the danger to themselves. [Read more…]
The first American woman in space let it be known in her obituary that she was a lesbian who had been in a relationship with her childhood friend that spanned nearly three decades, although she had been married at one time to a fellow astronaut. Andrew Sullivan criticizes this reticence on her part. [Read more…]
Those of us who were appalled by the Jerry Sandusky affair tend to feel that no punishment, from whatever quarter, is sufficient to make amends. But Dave Zirin argues that while what Penn State allowed to happen with Sandusky was terrible, the NCAA should not be the body that exacts monetary punishments for things that lie outside its jurisdiction, and that this represents a dangerous over-reach by a purely private and unaccountable and process-free body into the financial affairs of a public university. [Read more…]
I am extremely conservative in my food tastes, tending to favor a few favorite things and eating them over and over again, rather than experimenting with new items. I am not particularly fond of sweet foods but once in a while I get the desire for them and on those occasions my selection has always been for Breyers cherry vanilla ice cream and Cadbury’s chocolate. [Read more…]
One of the organizers sent me an email about it:
I’d like to ask you to plug or mention our conference on your blog. The Midwest Freethought Conference is coming up (all too quickly) on August 3-5 in Omaha, NE. We have a GREAT lineup of speakers, and, due to the OmahaCoR’s billboard invitation to non-believers (the first atheistic billboard in Nebraska), a huge amount of publicity. The speakers are, in (more or less) order of appearance: Brian Dunning, Adam Brown, Dave Muscato, Amanda Knief, PZ Myers, Amanda Brown, Hemant Mehta, Jerry deWitt, Sarah Morehead, AJ Johnson, Dan Barker, and Fred Edwords. [Read more…]
A couple of days go, I received the following email from a college friend of mine who lives in Sri Lanka. It read:
I Hope you get this on time ?
Am sorry I didn’t inform you about my trip to Spain for a Program, I’m presently in Spain and I’m having some difficulties here because i was robbed on my way to the hotel and the thieves made away with all my cash, cell, passport and other document, presently i have limited access to internet, I will like you to assist me with a loan of ($4,100) to sort-out my hotel bills and to get myself back home,or any amount you can lend so i can make arrangements and return back. I have spoken to the embassy here but they are not responding to the matter effectively, I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me with, I’ll Refund the money back to you as soon as I return, let me know if you can be of any help. I don’t have a phone where I can be reached. Please let me know immediately.Regard
(Signed with my friend’s name)
This video shows what looks like a small bus plowing at high speed into the back of a line of stationary cars waiting at a highway off-ramp. Amazingly, there are said to be no serious injuries, which is what makes the accident watchable, as otherwise it would be too tragic for words. [Read more…]
Suppose you are a top athlete who has just won a major international track event. A 14-year old girl in a mascot costume comes up and tries to give you a little gift bag. How should you respond? Here’s how French steeplechase winner Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad reacted. [Read more…]