Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Modernist Breakfast at Nathan Myhrvold's Kitchen Laboratory

I don’t think I’m going to be eating a lot off of the items (or drinking I should say) from this so-called Modernist diet. Here’s one example:
A Bagel In a Glass

Broth made from an everything bagel, with tidbits of dill, lox, chives, and all the rest of a complete breakfast.The photo below is a look at the kitchen lab where they come up with concoctions that will amaze – and disgust – some people. Read the whole story here.

Monday, January 31, 2011

New WWF Report warns that Earth 'will expire by 2050'

Our planet is running out of room and resources. Modern man has plundered so much, a damning report claims this week, that outer space will have to be colonized

“Earth's population will be forced to colonize two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week.

A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to be released on Tuesday, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life.

In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are exhausted.”

Full Story

Want to improve the quality of your life? Here’s 50 Secrets and Tips

50 Life Secrets and Tips

  1. Memorize something everyday. Not only will this leave your brain sharp and your memory functioning, you will also have a huge library of quotes to bust out at any moment. Poetry, sayings and philosophies are your best options.

GO HERE FOR THE REST

Miracle Surgery: Surgeons removed half her brain to save her life

Toddler suffered from rare condition that caused constant seizures

Katie Verdecchia was born healthy -- a beautiful baby girl.

“But when she was just a month old, she started having seizures. Soon the Vancouver, Wash., girl was seizing every day, up to 50 times a day. The diagnosis: Aicardi Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the right and left sides of the brain don't connect. Doctors told her parents, Maryalicia and Brian Verdecchia, that their daughter might live to be 8.”

Sunday, January 30, 2011

As It Stands: 'Huckleberry Finn': Another attempt at compromising a classic

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 01/30/2011 01:24:10 AM PST

There's no good excuse for rewriting “Huckleberry Finn” to make it politically correct. We might as well say all of our historical literature is fair game then. The Nazis took a shot at re-writing Germanic history. I think we can all agree that vile attempt resulted in the loss of millions of innocent lives.

When people like Alan Gribben, a professor of English at Auburn University at Montgomery, rewrites a classic like “Huckleberry Finn” I get concerned. His sanitized version is coming out in February.

I say sanitized because he replaced the word “nigger” with “slave” 219 times and substituted “Indian” for “injun.” Amazingly, professor Gribben was quoted by AP as saying, “I'm by no means sanitizing Mark Twain.”

The initial print run is reported to be 7,500 copies. So far, no school districts have snatched up this revised edition to spoonfeed to their students. That's a good thing. Still, it starts the year off with a racial controversy. Like Kai Wright, the editorial director for “Colorlines,” recently said, “We've got our first official race flap of 2011 -- and it involves something published in 1884.”

There's no doubt there is racist content in Huckleberry Finn. People have argued for years that Jim's subservient role as a stupid character and some of the language are offensive and should be banned. In September 1957, the New York Times reported the first time “Huckleberry Finn” was banned from the approved textbook lists of elementary and junior highs. It was still taught at the high school level, however.

In 1963, the Philadelphia Board of Education replaced “Huckleberry Finn” with a doctored version that toned down the violence and deleted all derogatory references to Negroes. They also “simplified” the Southern dialect. The administration of the New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, removed “Huckleberry Finn” from the shelves in 1976 after student protests.

In an excellent article titled “Controversy over N-word in 'Huckleberry Finn' is example of ongoing confusion in American culture” by Stanley Crouch, he challenges those who are concerned with the demeaning and dehumanizing effects of the N-word to look at black culture today.

He contends that the 1980s emergence of gangster rap took away the desire for black youth to study and read. As an example, he points out Thomas Chatterton Williams' memoir of growing up in the black middle class of New Jersey. “Losing My Cool” is Williams' harsh critique of the so-called “Hip Hop” culture.

Crouch contends that Twain's novel, “... N-word and all doesn't shock or even offend those black kids who are trying to connect themselves to the black lower class by carrying themselves like thugs or prostitutes in training.”

His main point is that people should leave “Huckleberry Finn” alone and turn their attention towards the lack of interest in learning among black youth today. He feels the book is a classic and “should not be mottled by well-intentioned stupidity.”

Millie Davis, the anti-censorship representative for the National Council of Teachers of English, said, “Yeah, it's a tough book. Which is an excellent reason for teaching it.”

Michaela Angela Davis, a former fashion editor for Essence magazine, weighed in on the subject during a recent interview: “If a teacher is not prepared to have a social and historical conversation, and place that masterpiece in context, is she prepared to teach that text? Should it be to those students? So, when we get into changing words, un-writing history, rearranging art, we start to put democracy in danger.”

Since “Huckleberry Finn” was first published, controversy has followed it like a faithful dog. It's been criticized, censored, and banned for an array of perceived failings. People have called it obscene and full of coarse manners. It's been slammed for bad grammar and atheism. Critics have claimed it has a low moral tone and is anti-Southern.

Perhaps Mark Twain himself best summed up his use of the controversial N-word. “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is really a large matter -- it's the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

For those interested in this subject, go to www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/teachers/huck/index.html and read “Huck Finn in Context -- A Teaching Guide.”

As It Stands, “Huckleberry Finn” is a revealing slice of life from another century, and there's not one good reason to change it in any way.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

So how do you shut off a whole nation's Internet?

MIT experts say it depends on ISP ownership, and doubt it'd happen in U.S.

“To silence dissidents, the Egyptian government made a move Thursday that has no precedent: It turned off the internet nationwide. How did they do it — and could the same thing happen here?

According to David Clark, an MIT computer scientist whose research focuses on Internet architecture and development, a government's ability to control the Internet depends on its control of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the private sector companies that grant Internet access to customers.”

STORY HERE

Friday, January 28, 2011

Keebler Fudge Shoppe Jumbo Sticks recalled due to mislabeling

If you don’t have a peanut butter allergy this recall won’t adversely affect you, other than to give you a flavor you didn’t want. Because peanut allergies are serious I wanted to pass this along to you. Especially if you’re a Keebler fan.   

“17,000 eight-count cartons of Keebler Fudge Shoppe jumbo fudge sticks because the mislabeled cartons contain individually wrapped jumbo peanut butter sticks. The company says consumers with peanut allergies the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they eat the fudge sticks. More information: 888-746-3679; www.Keebler.com.”

Live and Learn Department: a ‘fantasist’ is nothing more than a liar

Greg Lance-Watkins... The man who duped Robert Green!

 Greg Lance-Watkins (photo right) is accused of being a “fantasist.”

Posted by Clydeside TV. Guardian Agents

AND THEN THERE’S THE STORY OF ANOTHER FANTASIST, STEPHEN WILCE…

Spy, Olympian, musician? Top official exposed as fantasist

New Zealand's prime minister admits situation is 'a little embarrassing'

“Stephen Wilce, the former director of defense technology, resigned in September and the following month a military court found he had embellished his career in the military, education and life in general, The New Zealand Herald reported

Smugglers with "medieval catapult" nabbed at border

A seized catapult that Mexican smugglers tried to use to hurl drugs north over the U.S. Border is seen in this undated handout photo

Just when you thought you heard it all…there’s this “new” method of smuggling! You have to hand it to the bastards, they sure try hard don’t they?

“In a brazen attempt reminiscent of a medieval siege, Mexican smugglers tried to use a hefty catapult to hurl drugs north over the U.S. Border, authorities said..

The Mexican military seized 45 pounds of marijuana, a sports utility vehicle and a metal-framed catapult just south of the Arizona border near the small town of Naco last Friday, following a tip-off from the U.S. Border Patrol.”

Story Here.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Somewhere there’s a sunset more spectacular than you’ve ever seen

west-virgina-purple-mountain-sunset

West Virginia Purple Mountain Sunset

unknown photographer

Hole-y cow! Guts could lead to holy grail for cheap biofuels

Image: Cow with hole cut into it to allow placing switchgrass inside to incubate

Researchers report breakthrough in search for cleaner energy

“It may not be glamorous, but the holy grail for efficient biofuels — the kind that don't compete with our food supply — could end up being found inside the guts of cows.”

Story Here

From Russia with Love: Marjorie Taylor Greene and GOP Right-Wingers Praised for Not Funding Ukraine

Russian State media can't get enough of Marjorie Taylor Greene.  She's proven to be a superstar for actively stopping aid to Ukrai...