Idol Predictions for Final Round of 12

Of the boys, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Chris Sligh, and Phil Stacey should make through it to the final round of 12. Of the four remaining, the weakest are Sanjaya Malakar and Sundance Head, though neither Brandon Rogers nor Jared Cotter are completely out of danger. Predictions: Sanjaya and Sundance out.

Of the girls, Antonella Barba and Haley Scarnato are the two weakest and should go. All the remaining girls are very strong, the most vulnerable of which are Gina Glocksen and Jordin Sparks, and they're still better than the boys.

((Wrench in the works: Vote for the Worst is plugging for Sundance and Antonella. If this campaign is able to spoil the voting, I'd expect to see Brandon take Sundance's rightful place, and Jordin Sparks to take Antonella's.))

RESULTS: 2 out of 4. I was right about Sundance and Antonella; both of them sang their swan songs better than earlier in the week, indicating that they were actually decent singers but yet unable to handle the pressure of competition. The big shocker was Sabrina Sloan's going instead of Haley Scarnato. I didn't see that one coming. Less shocking, but still disappointing, was the survival of Sanjaya, with Jared (not Brandon) being the guy to go home.

Oh well, next week the people most in danger remain Sanjaya and Haley, but we'll see how the singing changes it. So far, the best singers looks like LaKisha Smith and Melinda Doolittle. It's hard to imagine at this point one of the guys making it to the final two.

Bradley Wright's Weblog: Blogging as American Idol for columnists

Bradley Wright's Weblog: Blogging as American Idol for columnists:

I would imagine that in the coming years, newspapers and magazines will routinely turn to successful bloggers for columnists. Blogging is a proving ground for essay-writing in which anyone can participate. This makes blogging like the American Idol for essayists--many sign up at the auditions and a few make it to the big-time, and those few are arguably the most talented.

Brad nails it.

Tim Lewis on Reoralization

Tim Lewis's category on Reoralization at Source Theory.

Wikipedia to seek proof of credentials - Yahoo! News

Wikipedia to seek proof of credentials - Yahoo! News:

Following revelations that a high-ranking member of
Wikipedia's bureaucracy used his cloak of anonymity to lie about being a professor of religion, the free Internet encyclopedia plans to ask contributors who claim such credentials to identify themselves.
ADVERTISEMENT

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said in interviews by phone and instant message Wednesday from Japan that contributors still would be able to remain anonymous. But he said they should only be allowed to cite some professional expertise in a subject if those credentials have been verified.

Growing pains.

Business Opportunities Weblog | How Much Is My Blog Worth

Business Opportunities Weblog | How Much Is My Blog Worth:

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Jury Instructions on Circumstantial Evidence

The jury instruction in the Lewis Libby lying trial includes a boilerplate instruction on the legal (in)difference between direct and circumstantial evidence:

DIRECT AND CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
There are two types of evidence from which you may find the truth as to the facts of a case -- direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. When a witness states that he or she has actual knowledge of a fact, such as an eyewitness, that witness’s testimony is direct evidence. A chain of facts and circumstances indicating the guilt or innocence of the defendant is circumstantial evidence. The law makes no distinction between the weight you should give to either kind of evidence, nor does circumstantial evidence require a greater degree of certainty than direct evidence. In reaching a verdict in this case, you should weigh all of the evidence presented, both direct and circumstantial.

Generally, people who exclaim "It's all just circumstantial evidence" don't know what they are talking about.

The Magic Roundabout (Swindon)

As an American used to traffic signals, I'm already wary of driving through a roundabout, but the Magic Roundabout of Swindon looks positively intimidating.

Etymology of "Foo"

RFC 3092 (rfc3092) - Etymology of "Foo"

headsup: the blog: While you're at it? Spell his name wrong

headsup: the blog: While you're at it? Spell his name wrong:

Mm-hmm. For those who don't recall the flap over the 'James Ossuary,' let's just point out that there are some inherent risks in inferring a relationship between inscriptions found in the 20th century and events of the Second Temple era. (The 'Bush/Cheney MMIV' sticker is not a reliable or valid indicator of how the Holy Family voted.) But let's get back the claim in the lede: What about those 'sound statistics'?

Estonia to hold first national Internet election | CNET News.com

Estonia to hold first national Internet election | CNET News.com:

The Baltic state of Estonia plans to become the world's first country to allow voting in a national parliamentary election via the Internet next month--with a little help from the forest king.

Overcoming Bias: Think Frequencies, Not Probabilities

Overcoming Bias: Think Frequencies, Not Probabilities: Apparently Bayesian reasoning is easier for a lot of people (including me) to do if the numbers are expressed as frequencies (8 out of 10 women) instead of probabilities (80% chance).

Bradley Wright's Weblog: Why my papers gets stuck at revision

Bradley Wright's Weblog: Why my papers gets stuck at revision: Includes a nice little chart too.

Strange Maps: East Germany Lives On - As A Tiny Carribean Island

According to Strange Maps, East Germany Lives On - As A Tiny Carribean Island:

Most people think East Germany ceased to exist in 1990, when the (East) German Democratic Republic was absorbed by the Federal Republic of (West) Germany. So did I. Turns out I was wrong: the GDR lives on, and in a very comfortable climate to boot: a small island off Cuba is the last official territory of the good old Deutsche Demokratische Republik.

On the Importance of French

BBC NEWS | Africa | Mauritania pilot outwits hijacker:

The pilot of a hijacked Air Mauritania plane deliberately made a rough landing so passengers and crew could tackle the gunman, Spanish officials say.

He tipped off passengers about the plan after realising the hijacker spoke no French, one official told AP agency.

DNA Evidence Now Links Etruscan Cattle to Anatolia

More support for the Anatolian hypothesis for the origin of the Etruscan comes in the form of DNA studies on Tuscan cattle. According to a NewScientist.com article, On the origin of the Etruscan civilisation (Feb. 14, 2007):

The team found that almost 60% of the mitochondrial DNA in cows in the central Tuscan region of the country - where the Etruscan civilisation is thought to have arisen - was the same as that in cows from Anatolia and the Middle East. There was little or no genetic convergence between cows from the north and south of Italy and those from Turkey and the Middle East, the researchers say.

This corroborates the human DNA evidence I discussed earlier, Lydia Origin of the Etruscans has new DNA Support (Feb. 7, 2007).

(via rogueclassicism)

More on DC Vote Proposal

Following up on my post, D.C. residents may get vote in Congress - Yahoo! News (Jan. 2, 2007), the Volokh Conspiracy has a post mentioning that a recent report by the Congressional Research Service held that D.C. Vote is probably unconstitutional. So much for the claim in the now gone news article that "Most — but by no means all — scholars say an amendment is unnecessary."

Cats or Dogs

Cats or Dogs is a website that asks people to select among various either-or choices, cross-tabulate them, and indicate how much one choice is a predictor of the other.

Some of the predictions are pretty obvious. For example, one of the crosstabs (party vs. politician) concludes (χ² = 38.8, “extremely significant”):

People who prefer Republicans to Democrats are 4.3 times more likely to prefer Bush to Hillary.

People who prefer Democrats to Republicans are 46.0 times more likely to prefer Hillary to Bush.

Other results are interesting. For example, beer and wine drinkers have different preferences for their color of wine (χ² = 7.9, “very significant”):

People who prefer wine to beer are 7.5 times more likely to prefer red wine to white wine.

People who prefer beer to wine are 50% more likely to prefer white wine to red wine.

Finally, some results are just bizarre. For example, comparing one’s choice of Star Trek character with one’s preferred byte-order layout yields the following (χ² = 4.6, “significant”):

People who prefer big endian to little endian are 6.0 times more likely to prefer Tribbles to Klingons.

People who prefer little endian to big endian are 6.0 times more likely to prefer Klingons to Tribbles.

As for the last, PCs are little endian and MACs are big endian, so perhaps this is saying that MAC owners prefer warm and fuzzy things (tribbles), while the PC owners are stuck with the cold pricklies (Klingons)!.

The Real Blogger Status

The Real Blogger Status: What Blogger Won't Tell You!

Lydia Origin of the Etruscans has new DNA Support

Alessandro Achilli et al, Mitochondrial DNA Variation of Modern Tuscans Supports the Near Eastern Origin of Etruscans, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 80 (2007):

The origin of the Etruscan people has been a source of major controversy for the past 2,500 years, and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain their language and sophisticated culture, including an Aegean/Anatolian origin. To address this issue, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 322 subjects from three well-defined areas of Tuscany and compared their sequence variation with that of 55 western Eurasian populations. Interpopulation comparisons reveal that the modern population of Murlo, a small town of Etruscan origin, is characterized by an unusually high frequency (17.5%) of Near Eastern mtDNA haplogroups. Each of these haplogroups is represented by different haplotypes, thus dismissing the possibility that the genetic allocation of the Murlo people is due to drift. Other Tuscan populations do not show the same striking feature; however, overall, ∼5% of mtDNA haplotypes in Tuscany are shared exclusively between Tuscans and Near Easterners and occupy terminal positions in the phylogeny. These findings support a direct and rather recent genetic input from the Near East—a scenario in agreement with the Lydian origin of Etruscans. Such a genetic contribution has been extensively diluted by admixture, but it appears that there are still locations in Tuscany, such as Murlo, where traces of its arrival are easily detectable.

Note that this is mitochondrial DNA, which is only passed from mother to child, not from the father.

Other evidence connecting the Etruscans to the Anatolian region includes the Lemnian stele and the hearsay of Herodotus.

(via About Ancient History)

Daniel Elechukwu

The pastor who was raised from the dead in Nigeria-God only knows!

A List Apart: Articles: Multi-Column Layouts Climb Out of the Box

A List Apart: Articles: Multi-Column Layouts Climb Out of the Box

Language Log: The theme of this year's superbowl ads

Language Log: The theme of this year's superbowl ads:

As far as I can tell, what's lingering just below the surface of this year's superbowl ads is Americans' too-long-supressed desire for more linguistics in their life.

He's got the examples to prove (?!) it.

D&D as Religion?

Kay v. Friel, 2007 WL 295556 (D. Utah Jan. 26), has this (unsuccessful) claim for a prisoner's religious freedom:

More importantly, however, Plaintiff has not alleged any facts showing that the items being withheld from him--tarot cards, Dungeons and Dragons game, and metal religious symbol--are necessary to the practice of the Wicca religion.

Someone uses a D&D set to practice their religion???

Yahoo! UI Library: YUI Theater

Yahoo! UI Library: YUI Theater

Carolina On Your Mind?

North Carolinian 79%

 

Wow!! You are quite knowledgeable about the splendid state of North Carolina!! You have experienced and seen a lot!! You have an appreciation for everything North Carolinian from the spectacular mountain regions to the breath-taking Outer Banks! You are a Tarheel at heart!

Carolina On Your Mind?
Create MySpace Quizzes

I'm actually a Virginian.

Quiz: Do you know the Bible?

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

This quiz has been going around.

Coptic Comprehensive Unicode Test Page

Coptic Comprehensive Unicode Test Page: Even lists the names of some fonts that support Coptic.

Religion Clause: NFL Says Church Super Bowl Parties Violate Copyright Laws

Howard Friedman of Religion Clause notes this article: NFL Says Church Super Bowl Parties Violate Copyright Laws:

Yesterday's Indianapolis Star reports that the NFL is telling churches-- even through demand letters sent by overnight express-- that they will be violating the copyright laws if they host Super Bowl parties on large-screen TV's.

YouTube - Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth

I love math. In a couple of years, I'll have to be on the watch out for this issue in elementary school mathematics education:


Here's a (supportive) response by an infuriated mathematician:

Wikipedia Brown

Wikipedia Brown and the Case of the Captured Koala

Rolling Estonia

Rolling Estonia:

'The stuff you see in the press about Estonia,' Diel told me, 'about the Miracle Republic--most of it really is true. Estonia's unofficial goal is to become one of the five richest nations in Europe.' Could that happen? 'They'll never be richer than Switzerland, but it's not impossible to imagine that they'll come close. Estonia is still pretty homogeneous, with a government that agrees on the core issues. That's Estonia's secret. It's not that divided. Estonia wants to be Western.' Diel's biggest impetus for staying in Estonia, he told me, other than his predictably lovely Estonian wife, was 'lifestyle.' But, when I expressed some curiosity about possibly moving with my girlfriend to Tallinn, Diel advised: 'Make sure she comes in the summer.'

Who I Want to Win the Superbowl

Email Blog Interface

This is a test of the emergency broadcast blogging system.

Had this been a real emergency you have been given instructions how to blog.

Sitemeter Flaky

Sitemeter for me has been getting more and more behind:

The statistics for visitors from the last 2195 minutes are not yet available.

Yeah, eventually no statistics will be available because I will have switched to someone else.

UPDATE: Looks like it caught up today (Jan. 27).

The virus that ate the Dulles Hilton - Yahoo! News

I think the bug I had was the virus that ate the Dulles Hilton. Not fun. Not fun at all.

Extraordinary Claims ARE Extraordinary Evidence

A new take on a old saying at Overcoming Bias.

See also the disagreeing post on the same blog: Some Claims Are Just Too Extraordinary.

Down the Rabbit Hole

I'm testing a YouTube embed. Let's see if this works:

Half are Below Average?

Charles Murray, Intelligence in the Classroom:

Today's simple truth: Half of all children are below average in intelligence. We do not live in Lake Wobegon.

Somebody please tell Mr. Murray the difference between the median and the average.

Dihydrogen Monoxide - The Truth

Dihydrogen Monoxide - The Truth:

Dihydrogen Monoxide Facts
Dihydrogen monoxide:

* is also known as hydric acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
* contributes to the Greenhouse Effect.
* may cause severe burns.
* contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
* accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
* may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
* has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

And yet I just can't stop using it.

Fnord

RIP

Muffin Top?

"Lynneguist," who runs the delightful separated by a common language blog, announces her Words of the Year 2006. Pretty interesting, but I have a problem with "the winner of best AmE import to BrE":

muffin top
the roll of fat that bulges over the waistband of (BrE) trousers/(AmE) pants that are too tight and too low

I think it is a wonderfully descriptive term, but my problem is that I don't think I've ever heard the term in America (or anywhere else) before. So it just doesn't feel to me like an export for the Brits to import.

But maybe the problem I have is with me....

My Local Library System Responds

Classic Literature at the Fairfax County Public Library by Edwin S. Clay, III:

You may have recently read an article -- or comments generated by an article -- about classic literature in the Fairfax County Public Library. I would like to correct the misleading impression given in the article and by others about this issue.

There are classic texts that are widely regarded as some of the most important literature in western culture. These include works by Aristotle, Hemingway, Proust, Faulkner, Bronte, Fitzgerald, Angelou and many others. We are committed to offering classic texts by important writers like these in our library system.

Recent media reports have misled readers to believe that we’ve eliminated all copies of classic titles from our branches. This could not be further from the truth. Although we occasionally have to trim the number of copies we offer in a particular branch, we definitely keep multiple copies of these works in the Fairfax County Public Library. In some cases, we’re even able to offer the text in multiple formats: in large print, on CD, as an e-book, or in languages other than English.

Because there’s a growing demand for more and more books in more and more formats, we have to balance the need to offer classic literature, and satisfy public demand, with the physical limitations of our finite shelf space. We are physically unable to warehouse every book that every resident may want to read. Therefore we have to make difficult decisions about what items to keep in our collection.

These decisions are based on standard industry practices refined by library professionals over many years. We use complex formulas, computer data and the expertise of librarians with decades of professional experience to decide which items to offer to the public. If you’re interested in understanding this very complex process, feel free to ask any of our branch managers.

In the meantime, as the director of the Fairfax County Public Library, I want to assure you that we take our stewardship of public property very seriously. We make every effort to manage the public’s investment in library materials in a prudent, reasonable and rational way.

Sample classic literature available in the Fairfax County Public Library:

Works of Aristotle by Aristotle -- 107 copies of various titles
Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner -- 99 copies on CD, cassette, large print and regular print
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway -- 108 copies on VHS, cassette and regular print
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- 359 copies on CD, cassette, DVD, VHS, large print, e-book and regular print
Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams -- 116 copies on VHS and regular print (including in some volumes of collected plays)
Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak -- 50 copies on CD, cassettes and regular print

I was afraid the article was misleading. It was, but even in ways I could not predict.

Unofficial Qur'an for an Unofficial Swearing-In

First Muslim in U.S. Congress to use historic Koran - washingtonpost.com: "

Representative-elect Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, requested the 18th century copy of the Koran for the unofficial part of his swearing in on Thursday, according to Mark Dimunation, chief of rare books and special collections at the Library of Congress in Washington.

. . .

Members are sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives as a group with no Bibles or other books involved; but in a country where three out of every four people consider themselves Christians, the Bible has traditionally been used in ensuing unofficial ceremonies.

These unofficial events among other things provide each member with a photo opportunity for themselves and their constituents.

. . .

The English translation of the Koran from Jefferson's collection dates to the 1750s. Jefferson sold his collection to the U.S. Congress after its library was lost when the British burned the Capitol during the War of 1812. Much of his collection was destroyed in an ensuing fire in 1851 but the Koran that Ellison will use survived, Dimunation said.

My understanding is that "translations" of the Qur'an lose their inspired character, so we're looking at an unofficial Qur'an being used for an unofficial swearing-in.

Douglas Crockford Videos on JavaScript

Yahoo! Video - Results tagged as douglascrockford

D.C. residents may get vote in Congress - Yahoo! News

D.C. residents may get vote in Congress - Yahoo! News:

Most — but by no means all — scholars say an amendment is unnecessary. The Constitution says that the House shall be composed of members chosen by 'the people of the several states.' But it also gives Congress the power 'to exercise exclusive legislation' over the seat of the federal government, interpreted by some to mean that Congress can, if it wants, give D.C. voting rights.

I doubt "most ... scholars" is correct, but this argument has been mooted by former judges Kenneth Starr and Patricia Wald in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post:

Finally, and equally important, the most analogous legal precedent addressing Congress's authority over the District confirms that Congress can act now to give the vote to D.C. residents. That precedent concerned the fact that Article III of the Constitution confers on federal courts jurisdiction to hear suits brought by citizens of different states against each other. But the Constitution did not give any such express jurisdiction over suits brought by or against citizens of the District of Columbia. As a result, Congress, relying on its broad Article I power over the District of Columbia, remedied that unfairness through legislation that extended the right to District residents. In a 1949 case called National Mutual Insurance Co. v. Tidewater, the Supreme Court upheld that extension and also said that Congress was entitled to great deference in its determination that it had power to address this inequity. The logic of this case applies here, and supports Congress's determination to give the right to vote for a representative to citizens of the District of Columbia, even though the Constitution itself gives that right only to citizens of states.

Hello, Grisham -- So Long, Hemingway? - washingtonpost.com

Hello, Grisham -- So Long, Hemingway? - washingtonpost.com:

The weight of the new choices falls on the local librarian. That's especially hard at the Woodrow Wilson branch in Falls Church, one of the smallest in the Fairfax system. It's a vibrant place popular with Latino and Middle Eastern immigrants, the elderly and young professionals. Branch manager Linda Schlekau, who has 20 years of experience, says she discards about 700 books a month.

When I was growing up, Woodrow Wilson library was the local branch of the public library for me. I remember when it was expanded and doubled its floor space. Now it's not enough.

What the article does not tell us, however, is how many new books and other media the library gets a month. That should put the discard rate of 700 books a month into some perspective.

First Swede in Space

2006, the year that was - Robert’s talk:

If you’re Swedish, there’s no chance that you’ve missed that we have now had the first Swede in space. Christer Fuglesang went on a NASA trip to the International Space Station, ISS, and successfully performed his missions. No doubt, the media coverage here has gotten overwhelming and a bit too much for some people, but please don’t blame poor Christer for that.

ETP - Etruscan Texts Project

ETP - Etruscan Texts Project Looks pretty good if you're into the Etruscan language.

The Passive: Problem or Symptom?

Language Log: Two ways to look at the passive:

It is true that some writers seem to be overfond of the passive, and can use some encouragement to re-word. My impression, from working with students, is that the problem is rarely a simple fondness for passives, but usually involves a more complex set of difficulties in organizing discourses for an audience. The ineffective passives are just a symptom of a larger problem.

fissiparous

fissiparous. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.:

ADJECTIVE: 1. Reproducing by biological fission. 2. Tending to break up into parts or break away from a main body; factious.

This term seems to be a pet word of Christopher Tyerman’s. My sense of its stylistic appropriateness, however, is a bit different.

I'm so jealous

AKMA’s Random Thoughts:

I know it’s inappropriate to boast, but . . . today I have an “I’m blogging this” t-shirt on.

PrawfsBlawg: Thoughts on the Ethical Practice of Legal Scholarship

PrawfsBlawg: Thoughts on the Ethical Practice of Legal Scholarship. Good advice for scholarship in general, not just legal.

The Archive of Misheard Lyrics :: Rush - Freewill

The Archive of Misheard Lyrics :: Rush - Freewill:

I will choose a bathosphere.

Heavy snow falls in Jerusalem

Heavy snow falls in Jerusalem; dozens injured due to bad weather - Haaretz - Israel News. I remembered once it snowed in Rome. Chaos everywhere.

The Rush Forum

The Rush Forum (h/t Loren)

rogueclassicism: Archimedes Palimpsest

David Meadows @ rogueclassicism excerpts and links to a recent L.A. Times feature on the Archimedes Palimpsest.

Merry Christmas, unless ...

... you're British. Then, it's Happy Christmas!

Jingle Bells

James Lord Pierpont:

The colorful James Pierpont was the author of 'One Horse Open Sleigh' which was first published in 1857. In 1859, he reissued the song under a new name: 'Jingle Bells.' It was a 'sleighing song' which was a popular topic of the time and had nothing to do with Christmas, or for that matter, Thanksgiving.

Even more surprising is that the original chorus had a different melody.

Eggnog Ice Cream

Naturally, this time of year we have eggnog to drink. I was looking at the ingredient list on a container and it looked very much like the same ingredients for ice cream, except in liquid form. So I poured some into an ice cream maker, and, voilà, eggnog ice cream.

It now occurs to me that, with all the nutmeg in eggnog, it would make a good base for pumpkin ice cream. But this will require figuring the right amount of pumpkin to add (and whether to compensate with more sugar). Another possibility is adding chocolate syrup to eggnog to make chocolate ice cream.

Recipes : City Ham (Good Eats)

This past weekend we had my wife's side of the family over for an early Christmas celebration. I was in charge of the ham, and Alton Brown's city ham recipe from Good Eats turned out to be a huge hit. Recommended!

(Warning: clean up is a pain.)

UPDATE: I made it a second time and forgot to tent the ham during the first baking period. It makes a difference, so be sure to remember it.

Punk Rock Version of Hava Nagila?

MyJewishLearning.com - Culture: Hava Nagila's Long Strange Trip:

The popularity of Hava Nagila only continued to grow in the 1960s and 1970s, as it came to be featured in Israeli films and American Jewish celebrations of all sorts. . . . In recent years, the number of new interpretations have multiplied exponentially to include avant-garde jazz, punk rock (to listen to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' version, click here), and reggae recordings.

Apparently so.

A Guide to Grading Exams

Concurring Opinions: A Guide to Grading Exams:

It's that time of year again. Students have taken their finals, and now it is time to grade them. It is something professors have been looking forward to all semester. Exactness in grading is a well-honed skill, taking considerable expertise and years of practice to master. The purpose of this post is to serve as a guide to young professors about how to perfect their grading skills and as a way for students to learn the mysterious science of how their grades are determined.

OK, so it's an old joke, but the pictures make it priceless.

A Dead Indian Language Is Brought Back to Life - washingtonpost.com

A Dead Indian Language Is Brought Back to Life - washingtonpost.com:

But now, in a story with starring roles for a university linguist, sloppy 17th-century scribes and a perfectionist Hollywood director making a movie about Jamestown, the language that scholars call Virginia Algonquian has come back from the dead.

The audience's desire for realism in movies is turning up in unexpected ways, including employment for linguists.

kata ton biblon: In over my head?

kata ton biblon: In over my head?:

It is the first time that I've seen a New Testament scholar use the words 'dog doo' in their work.

What American accent do you have?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The South
North Central
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Actually, I call carbonated drinks "soda."

What Kind of Reader Are You?

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Book Snob You like to think you're one of the literati, but actually you're just a snob who can read. You read mostly for the social credit you can get out of it.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

via Idle musings of a bookseller

Wizz RSS News Reader

Bloglines is getting flaky sometimes; I need to check this out: Wizz RSS News Reader.

The Future of Journalism?

The Washington Post has an article about an experiment in journalism, A Newspaper Chain Sees Its Future, And It's Online and Hyper-Local:

Myron, 27, is a reporter for the Fort Myers News-Press and one of its fleet of mobile journalists, or "mojos." The mojos have high-tech tools -- ThinkPads, digital audio recorders, digital still and video cameras -- but no desk, no chair, no nameplate, no land line, no office. They spend their time on the road looking for stories, filing several a day for the newspaper's Web site, and often for the print edition, too. Their guiding principle: A constantly updated stream of intensely local, fresh Web content -- regardless of its traditional news value -- is key to building online and newspaper readership.

It seems to me that traditional journalism has an advantage over the web and the blogosphere in paying people to specialize in reporting. The media will survive when it figures that reporting new and worthwhile information, not opinion, is its actual competitive advantage over all the web-based amateurs.

Language Log: art, arts, arting, arted

Language Log: art, arts, arting, arted:

When I was a kid in Newfoundland, we said the Lord's Prayer every morning at school. (It was a secular public school, but derived from the Protestant half of a historically denominationally organized school system; old habits die hard.) I knew 'art' was a verb, in 'Our Father, who art in heaven', but I understood it as some verbal counterpart of the noun 'art', as in skill, work, magic, the opposite of the 'dark arts' -- you know, arcane, mysterious art. 'To art' in this sense would mean something like, 'to work (magic)'. So I thought we were intended to be addressing 'Our Father, who works (magic) in heaven...' It wasn't until much later that it occurred to me that this was in fact just an arcane, mysterious form of the verb 'to be'.

Sometimes, kids comprehend the darndest things.

A similar example is in mishearing that portion of the Pledge of Allegiance as "and to the Republic, where witches stand, ..."

Noah Webster's Spelling Reform

Merriam-Webster Online explains what reforms worked (e.g. defense, traveler, color, and public) and which ones were not adopted (e.g. ake, soop, tung, and wimmen).

That's the way the cookie crumbles - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

That's the way the cookie crumbles - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

Ethics of Book Buying

On buying used (or new?) books: Scott McKnight has his thoughts. This is depressing though:

Third, here’s the truth: very few writers (and I’m not one of them) can make a living by writing. Very very few can.

RICARDO'S DIFFICULT IDEA by Paul Krugman

RICARDO'S DIFFICULT IDEA. Paul Krugman explains the principle of comparative advantage or why it is not so easy to explain.

Logic Problems Page

Logic Problems Page

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs: Lots of different kinds too.

Photo for my profile

The Odds of Plagiarism

Google Book Search is a plagiarist's nightmare. - By Paul Collins - Slate Magazine:

But wait, you might ask, don't people accidentally repeat each other's sentences all the time? It seems to me that this should not be unusual. Yet try plugging that last sentence word by word into Google Book Search, and watch what happens.

It: Rejected—too many hits to count
It seems: 11,160,000 matches
It seems to: 3,050,000
It seems to me: 1,580,000
It seems to me that: 844,000
It seems to me that this: 29,700
It seems to me that this should: 237
It seems to me that this should not: 20
It seems to me that this should not be: 9
It seems to me that this should not be unusual: 0

It seems to me that this should not be unusual is itself ... unusual.

(via Classics-L)

Peter Junger, RIP

Cleveland Plain Dealer (Nov. 24, 2006):

Peter Junger, president and religious chairman of the Cleveland Buddhist Temple and professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law, died at his Cleveland home last week.

Junger, 73, was a computer law expert who sued the U.S. government in 1996, claiming his free-speech rights were denied because a federal law forbid him from teaching a computer encryption program to students from Canada or publishing it in a textbook.

. . .

Just before he died, Junger completed an article on the patentability of computer software, Leatherberry said. Colleagues hope to get it published for Junger posthumously.

Peter was also a denizen of Cyberia-l, where I learned of his passing.

Snopes: Does turkey make you especially sleepy?

Urban Legends Reference Pages: The Big Sleep:

Claim: Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy.

Status: False.

From Geek Press:

The most likely excuse for drowsiness? Oh, I don't know. It's a mystery. Could have something to do with the 6 pounds of protein and carbs sitting in your belly, and the fact that your body has to rush all available blood to the region to deal with the holiday wad. Add some wine to the mix, and it's a miracle you're not face down in the yams before the pie comes.

As for me, I'm almost face down on the keyboard.

OUPblog: A Traditional American Thanksgiving

OUPblog: A Traditional American Thanksgiving

Top 25 Contemporary Worship Songs

Christian Copyright Licensing International has a list of the Top 25 Songs by region.

In the US, the current top five are:

1 "Here I Am To Worship" Hughes, Tim
2 "How Great Is Our God" Tomlin, Chris \ Reeves, Jesse \ Cash, Ed
3 "Blessed Be Your Name" Redman, Beth \ Redman, Matt
4 "Open The Eyes Of My Heart" Baloche, Paul
5 "Come Now Is The Time To Worship" Doerksen, Brian

In the UK it is:

1 "Shout To The Lord" Zschech, Darlene
2 "Be Still" Evans, David J.
3 "In Christ Alone" Townend, Stuart \ Getty, Keith
4 "Come Now Is The Time To Worship" Doerksen, Brian
5 "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" Founds, Rick

Australia:

1 "Here I Am To Worship" Hughes, Tim
2 "Shout To The Lord" Zschech, Darlene
3 "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" Founds, Rick
4 "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" Townend, Stuart
5 "In Christ Alone" Townend, Stuart \ Getty, Keith

They also track Canada, South Africa, and Sweden (!).

Singing In The Reign: Pope Benedict: A True Star

Asteroid, in this case

2 + 2 = 22

headsup: the blog: Son of 'do the math':

Leading, of course, to today's lesson:

During World War II, he served in the Army in Okinawa, Japan, from April 1943 until 1945, said his sister, Willamina Laughner.

Neat trick for a lad from Pennsylvania. The rest of the Army didn't get to Okinawa until April 1945.

What this looks like (this is a hypothesis; I wasn't there) is the sort of error known as a 2+2=22. Reporter asks when decedent served. Sister says 'April 1943 to 1945.' Reporter asks where. Sister says 'Okinawa.' Reporter puts two and two together and gets 22.

Pair Use The Force For Jedi Religion - Yahoo! News UK

Pair Use The Force For Jedi Religion - Yahoo! News UK:

Two self-styled Jedi Knights are stepping up an intergalactic campaign for formal recognition. Umada and Yunyun, also known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law, want the UN to acknowledge 'The Force' is worthy of being called a religion. The couple claim to be part of the UK's fourth largest religious group, after 400,000 people recorded their faith as 'Jedi' in the 2001 Census.

Hat tip: PhDiva

Translating temperatures in your head : Lingamish

Lingamish has a nice way for Translating temperatures in your head:

However, thanks to yours truly, you can now convert Celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit with this simple method:

1. Double the Celsius temperature.
2. Subtract 10%.
3. Add 32.

I'll try to remember that.

Sherbet or Sherbert?

Nancy Hall, Assimilatory /r/ insertion, at phonoloblog has the story.

Is a burrito a sandwich? Judge says no - Yahoo! News

This from Yahoo! News:

The Panera Bread Co. bakery-and-cafe chain says yes. But a judge said no, ruling against Panera in its bid to prevent a Mexican restaurant from moving into the same shopping mall.

Whenever you read about a judge defining words, you have to ask "for purposes of what?" And here's the answer:

Panera has a clause in its lease that prevents the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury from renting to another sandwich shop. Panera tried to invoke that clause to stop the opening of an Qdoba Mexican Grill.

There it is: for purposes of the exclusivity clause in Panera's lease agreement. These anti-competitive clause tend to get construed narrowly so it is little surprise that a burrito would be consider an exception to the sandwich clause.

A Neuroscientific Look at Speaking in Tongues - New York Times

A Neuroscientific Look at Speaking in Tongues - New York Times:

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes — the thinking, willful part of the brain through which people control what they do — were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. The regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active. The women were not in blind trances, and it was unclear which region was driving the behavior.
...
Contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not. Researchers have identified at least two forms of the practice, one ecstatic and frenzied, the other subdued and nearly silent.

Schenck Thoughts: How much does Acts shuffle events?

Schenck Thoughts: How much does Acts shuffle events? Mostly examines theological issues (e.g. inspiration).

A Mention of Jeffery's Book

Dyneslines, , has a mention of Peter Jeffery's books on Secret Mark: Imitatio Christi, or Getting naked for Jesus' sake!:

The whole matter has been reopened in a book that has just appeared: Peter Jeffery, The Secret Gospel of Mark Unveiled: Imagined Rituals of Sex, Death, and Madness in a Biblical Forgery (Yale University Press). This book discusses many interesting aspects of the cultural construction of homosexuality, both ancient and modern. Jeffery strongly inclines to the view that the text was a hoax perpetrated by Morton Smith. But he cannot prove this. The likelihood, then, is that, like certain disputed art objects, the text will continue to have its defenders. It also seems to have enjoyed some circulation in counterculture circles.

Since the book is just about to be published, I'm not sure how well he knows it, apart from press releases and publisher's blurbs. In any case, the analogy to disputed art objects is intriguing.

The JESUS Film

The JESUS Film dubbed into more languages than you can shake at stick at. I checked out the English, French, Italian, Greek, and Estonian versions, and listening along is a real test of one's listening competence. As far as I can tell, the accents of all but the English sounded authentic or at least what I expected.

Wallace v. IBM (Antitrust Implications of the GPL.

The antitrust implications of the GNU Public License are explored in a 7th circuit opinion by Judge Easterbrook, excerpted at The Patry Copyright Blog: Gnu Gnu.

Recycled Knowledge: Typographical variety

Recycled Knowledge: Typographical variety -- includes an enumeration of different quotations marks.

Richard Carrier Blogs

Richard Carrier Blogs: Indeed he does.

In the Voting Booth, Bias Starts at the Top - New York Times

The New York Times has an interesting article toay, In the Voting Booth, Bias Starts at the Top:

Candidates listed first on the ballot get about two percentage points more votes on average than they would have if they had been listed later (flipping a 49 to 51 defeat into a 51 to 49 victory). In fact, in about half the races I have studied, the advantage of first place is even bigger — certainly big enough to win some elections these days.

I wonder to what extent the pundits and prognosticators have factoring in the ballot order into their predictions? If the races are as close as they say they are, then it could make a significant difference.

free radical rightings: THE DEPARTED / INFERNAL AFFAIRS

A comparison between THE DEPARTED and INFERNAL AFFAIRS films.

YouTube - Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 6 years.

Pretty neat: YouTube - Noah takes a photo of himself every day for 6 years.

Believe it or not, I had not heard about this concept until today, and it has already spawned a must-see parody, Ben takes a photo of himself.

ALSO, this guy here has been doing it for longer, he's better at striking a consistent pose, and his facial/hair styles have more variety.

Recreation of a Medieval Market

See the slideshow.

Zotero - The Next-Generation Research Tool

Zotero - The Next-Generation Research Tool

Is this any good?

The Volokh Conspiracy - How Embarrassing:

The Volokh Conspiracy - How Embarrassing: This is actually a claim from a patent application:

9. The method of providing user interface displays in an image forming apparatus which is really a bogus claim included amongst real claims, and which should be removed before filing; wherein the claim is included to determine if the inventor actually read the claims and the inventor should instruct the attorneys to remove the claim.

I think someone is going to get fired -- and it is not the inventor.