YouTube - Our God is an Awesome Battlefield (Jordin Sparks Michael W Smith)

YouTube - Our God is an Awesome Battlefield (Jordin Sparks Michael W Smith)

Book Titles, If They Were Written Today

Book Titles, If They Were Written Today: "Then: The Gospel of Matthew
Now: 40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss"

YouTube - David Thompson - Greatest College Basketball Careers

You mean there are no pets in heaven?

Home Page: "You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind."

YouTube - Bruce Lee plays ping pong with nunchuck.flv

Firefox 3.5 consume a lot of memory and CPU usage!

Firefox 3.5 consume a lot of memory and CPU usage!:

I tried the following on one of my personal laptops and it worked. I got this solution in one of the FF blogs.....

Please do it at your own risk

1. Type in about:config in the FF browser
2. You will get a warning! Click on 'I will be carefrul'
3. textIn the filter copy and paste browser.cache.memory.enable;true
4. textChange it to browser.cache.memory.enable;false by double clicking that entry.

I saw a significant change after doing it...try it yourself and let me know.

Mounting a Penny-Farthing

Godfather III

The Evasive Yeoman : OUPblog

The Evasive Yeoman : OUPblog

Related to "yeomath," apparently.

Coding Horror: Don't Reinvent The Wheel, Unless You Plan on Learning More About Wheels

Coding Horror: Don't Reinvent The Wheel, Unless You Plan on Learning More About Wheels: "So, no, you shouldn't reinvent the wheel. Unless you plan on learning more about wheels, that is."

An Early Judge Rienhold Role

Look for the guy in the red hat in this Pat Benatar video from 1982:

'Understand' Etymology

Online Etymology Dictionary:

understand
O.E. understandan "comprehend grasp the idea of," probably lit. "stand in the midst of," from under + standan "to stand" (see stand). If this is the meaning, the under is not the usual word meaning "beneath," but from O.E. under, from PIE *nter- "between, among" (cf. Skt. antar "among, between," L. inter "between, among," Gk. entera "intestines;" see inter-). But the exact notion is unclear. Perhaps the ult. sense is "be close to," cf. Gk. epistamai "I know how, I know," lit. "I stand upon." Similar formations are found in O.Fris. (understonda), M.Dan. (understande), while other Gmc. languages use compounds meaning "stand before" (cf. Ger. verstehen, represented in O.E. by forstanden). For this concept most I.E. languages use fig. extensions of compounds that lit. mean "put together," or "separate," or "take, grasp."

Finds that made Basques proud are fake, say experts | Science | The Guardian

Finds that made Basques proud are fake, say experts | Science | The Guardian

It was hailed as an archeological discovery of global importance showing, among other things, the oldest representation of Christ on the cross and proof that ancient Egyptian influences had survived deep in Roman Spain.

* * *

Now a committee of experts has revealed those jewels to be fakes. "They are either a joke or a fraud," said Martín Almagro, a professor in prehistory from Madrid. "How has something like this been taken seriously for so long?" The hunt is on for an archeological fraudster who defaced fragments of third century pottery with fake graffiti.

* * *

Where there's a will to believe, there's a way to deceive.

Using Javascript to Fix 12 Common Browser Headaches

Using Javascript to Fix 12 Common Browser Headaches

Does alcohol burn off in cooking?

Does alcohol burn off in cooking? Apparently, only after three hours.

Faking Languages

The accent sounds decent, but the words are completely bogus.

UPDATE: Here's Catherine Tate doing it:

What English Sounds Like?

I beg to differ. (I hope.)

A Rhyme Gained

I once knew a man from Blorenge,
Whose surname he said was Gorringe.
I couldn't believe
that I could finally retrieve
two words that do rhyme with "orange."

Help from Language Log.

The Periodic Table of Videos - University of Nottingham

The Periodic Table of Videos - University of Nottingham

Overcoming Bias: Against Disclaimers

Overcoming Bias: Against Disclaimers:

Blog posts are short and have a broad audience. One of the worst things about writing them is having to make disclaimers. Not just legal disclaimers mind you - those are only the tip of an iceberg.

Writing is hard in part because words have many associations that vary among readers. Even when we use carefully choose our words to signal certain associations, we know some readers will instead hear other associations. So in addition to saying what we do mean, we sometimes have to say explicitly what we do not mean.

Note that one of the associations that people should not presume is:

If you quote someone you agree with everything they've said.

Can you name Elements of the Periodic Table? - sporcle

Can you name Elements of the Periodic Table? - sporcle

I got 69 out 118 elements in 15 minutes.

Gary Gygax, RIP

AP: The Associated Press: Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

Don't use Wikipedia ...

... for dumping your girlfriend.

Abba, Dancing Queen

I've been told my knowledge of this supergroup is woefully deficient. I atone with this video of Dancing Queen:

Addicted to Blogging

71%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

NYT: Writer's Strike Fallout: Who's Coming Back?

New York Times: Strike Fallout: A Complete Guide To How Your Favorite Shows Are Affected:

The writers’ strike may be almost over, and many television shows should resume production soon, but viewers will not see new episodes on network schedules immediately.

Click to see which shows are returning, and which are not.

"The Shot"

Hill to Laettner (Duke vs. Kentucky):

Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 (BWV 1047)

Here is a rendition of Bach's second Brandenburg concerto by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, using "historically informed" or period instruments, including a natural trumpet:

1. Allegro Moderato


2. Andante


3. Allegro Assai

I have to admit that I found the physical movements of the players a bit hurky-jerky

Take It On The Run

YouTube - REO Speedwagon - Take It On The Run (live)

For a while I thought that take it on the run meant something like "sleep around" (as here), but now I think it just means to "run away" (so Wikipedia). I cannot find the sexual meaning in Google Books, but there are clear instances where it means "run away" or "escape":

• John Dos Passos, The Shackles of Power (1966), 317: "He ran up so many bills that he had to take it on the run, nevertheless, to escape imprisonment for debt; and retired to Sweden."
  
• Clint Willis, Wise Guys (2003), 132: "I was going to have to testify, and I offered two choices: take it on the run, on my own, or let us relocate you and give you a new identity."
  

In other contexts, take it on the run also refers to eating on the go, taking certain things with you, and certain sports and military maneuvers. It also is a line from a famous WWI song, "Over There."

bereit (ready)

G bereit and E ready stem the same Germanic root, but with different prefixes:

G bereit < MHG bereite (also gereite) < OHG bireiti < Gmc *raidi- > OE geræde, ræde > ME redi > E ready

The G adv bereits means "already."

Hinsicht (respect)

Hinsicht (respect, aspect, regard) is a compound of hin- (to there) and Sicht (= sight). But don't think "insight"; rather, go through a Latin equivalent to reach the best English.

Sicht would correspond to L spectus, and the hin- suggests L ad-, i.e., "aspectus" From here, we get to "aspect," then to "regard" and "respect."

Stimme (voice)

Matt 3:3 reads in part:

Es ist eine Stimme eines Predigers in der Wüste
φωνἢ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
A voice of one crying in the wilderness

Believe it or not, German Stimme has an English dialectal cognate, steven:

G Stimme < OHG stimna < Gmc *stemnō, stiβnō > OE stemn, stefn > E dial. steven.

According to the OED, steven (with a short vowel almost like /stevven/) means "voice," esp. a "loud voice", "outcry," "noise," or "tumult."

Possibly related is Greek στόμα, "mouth."

Buße tun (to repent)

The revised Luther translation renders μετανοεῖτε ("Repent!") in Matt 3:2 with Tut Buße!

Now, Buße means "repentance," "penance," "fine," or "damages." It actually has a direct cognate in English:

G Buße < OHG buoza < Gmc *bōt- > OE bōt > E boot.

No, not the footwear boot but the commercial term:

Cash or other property added to an exchange or a transaction in order to make the value of traded goods equal.

Whence comes phrase "to boot."

taufen (to baptize)

German taufen (to baptize) has no direct reflex in English, though a reflex of it enters English as to dope via Dutch:

G taufen < OHG toufen < Gmc *daupjan *gt; MDu dopen > Du doopen, noun doop (sauce) > E dope.

A relative of Gmc *daupjan, however, has both English and German reflexes:

G tupfen (to dab) < OHB tupfen < Gmc *duppjan > OE dyppan > E dip.

Glaube

The German word Glaube, "faith," is actually a partial cognate of English belief:

G Glaube < OHG giloubo < WGmc *galaubon > OE geleafa > E belief with a different prefix.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Presidential Paintball

What She Said

WATSON v. UNITED STATES:

Justice Ginsburg, concurring in the judgment.

It is better to receive than to give, the Court holds today, at least when the subject is guns. Distinguishing, as the Court does, between trading a gun for drugs and trading drugs for a gun, for purposes of the 18 U. S. C. §924(c)(1) enhancement, makes scant sense to me. I join the Court’s judgment, however, because I am persuaded that the Court took a wrong turn in Smith v. United States, 508 U. S. 223 (1993) , when it held that trading a gun for drugs fits within §924(c)(1)’s compass as “us[e]” of a firearm “during and in relation to any … drug trafficking crime.” For reasons well stated by Justice Scalia in his dissenting opinion in Smith, 508 U. S., at 241, I would read the word “use” in §924(c)(1) to mean use as a weapon, not use in a bartering transaction. Accordingly, I would overrule Smith, and thereby render our precedent both coherent and consistent with normal usage. Cf. Henslee v. Union Planters Nat. Bank & Trust Co., 335 U. S. 595, 600 (1949) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) (“Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.”).

216 - US Annexes Amazon Forest! - strange maps

Turns out to be a forgery.

Just Google!

Historical Amnesia

Aides choose royalties over loyalties - Yahoo! News:

Plenty of press secretaries have written behind-the-scenes views of the West Wing. But such glimpses have traditionally been available only after the president has left office. George Christian, for instance, published "The President Steps Down," about the end of President Johnson's administration, a year after LBJ left the White House.

Others waited even longer. President Kennedy's press secretary, Pierre Salinger, wrote several books about the administration but only after the president's death.

Did this journalist forget when Kennedy died?

YouTube - Moskau with english lyrics!

YouTube - Moskau with english lyrics!:
Actual German lyrics (and English translation) are here.

H/T Language Log

25 or 6 to 4

Apparently, the song is about pulling an all-nighter trying to come up with lyrics around 3:34 or 3:35 in morning, i.e., 25 or (2)6 to 4 (o'clock).

More Cowbell!

Blogthings - What's Your Biblical Name?

Blogthings - What's Your Biblical Name?

Your Biblical Name Is...

Noadiah Beryl You will live to see the end of times.

What's Your Biblical Name?

Beryl?

The Blog Readability Test. What level of education is required to understand your blog?

The Blog Readability Test. What level of education is required to understand your blog?

Hmm, my main blog is "high school level."

Scientists Kill Oldest Living Animal

Clam claims oldest animal record | Science | Guardian Unlimited:

"Its death is an unfortunate aspect of this work, but we hope to derive lots of information from it," said Al Wanamaker, a postdoctoral scientist on the university's Arctica team. "For our work it's a bonus, but it wasn't good for this particular animal."

"The Full Gore"

James Kottke:

Amazingly, Al Gore now has an Emmy, an Oscar, and now a Nobel Prize. All he needs is a Grammy for the full Gore. (thx, brent)

The quoted link takes you to a discussion of the term "the full Ginsburg."

Top 25 U.S. Contemporary Worship Songs (Aug 2007)

From Christian Copyright Licensing, Int'l for the Aug. 2007 reporting period:

1. How Great Is Our God (Tomlin, Chris; Reeves, Jesse; Cash, Ed)
   
2. Here I Am To Worship (Hughes, Tim)
   
3. Blessed Be Your Name (Redman, Beth; Redman, Matt)
   
4. Open The Eyes Of My Heart (Baloche, Paul)
   
5. Forever (Tomlin, Chris)
   
6. Come Now Is The Time To Worship (Doerksen, Brian)
   
7. Holy Is The Lord (Tomlin, Chris; Giglio, Louie)
   
8. You Are My King (Foote, Billy)
   
9. Shout To The Lord (Zschech, Darlene)
   
10. Lord I Lift Your Name On High (Founds, Rick)
    
11. God Of Wonders (Byrd, Marc; Hindalong, Steve)
    
12. We Fall Down (Tomlin, Chris)
    
13. You Are My All In All (Jernigan, Dennis)
    
14. You're Worthy Of My Praise (Ruis, David)
    
15. The Heart Of Worship (Redman, Matt)
    
16. Breathe (Barnett, Marie)
    
17. Trading My Sorrows (Evans, Darrell)
    
18. Beautiful One (Hughes, Tim)
    
19. Friend Of God (Gungor, Michael; Houghton, Israel)
    
20. Better Is One Day (Redman, Matt)
    
21. Draw Me Close (Carpenter, Kelly)
    
22. Indescribable (Story, Laura)
    
23. Days Of Elijah (Mark, Robin)
    
24. Give Thanks (Smith, Henry)
    
25. Lord Reign In Me (Brown, Brenton)
    

Rock Lobster

Librarians under new management - Yahoo! News

Librarians under new management - Yahoo! News:

MEDFORD, Ore. - A big, red 'Closed' sign has been plastered across the front door of the library here since mid-April, when Jackson County ran out of money to keep its 15 branches open.

In a few weeks, though, the sign will come down and the doors will be flung open again, now that the county has come up with an unusual cost-saving solution: outsourcing its libraries.

The county still owns the building and books, though.

Saaremaa

From the Estonian Beer Guide:

MA VAATAN PAADIST KIIKRIGA

Ma vaatan paadist kiikriga,
Kui kaugel on see Saaremaa.
:,: Ei paremat ole kuskil maal,
Kui suisel ajal Saaremaal. :,:

Seal Saaremaal ei kasva muud,
Kui kadakad ja männipuud.
:,:

Mu pruut on valge nagu tui,
Ma nägin teda mullu sui.
:,:

Tal mustad juuksed, valge kael
Ja kaela ümber sametpael.
:,:

Tal roosipôôsas voodi ees
ja ööbik laulab selle sees.
:,:

Ma rüüpan merest soolast vett
Ja räägin armsamale tôtt:
:,:

Kui tahad naiseks tulla sa,
Pead Saaremaale sôudema!
:,:

Some of these verses differ from those I learned.

Medieval Writing

Medieval Writing

Pace

languagehat.com: PACE.:

I have always pronounced the preposition pace ('with due deference to' or 'despite,' from the ablative of Latin pax) in the traditional anglicized way, PAY-see, and assumed that was the universally accepted pronunciation. Now I discover, having seen the casual aside “Pace (that is to say, aloud, pa che)” in this Pepys Diary thread, that the Church Latin version, PAH-chay, is equally acceptable (the OED gives it second place for U.K. usage, first place for U.S.). So it's time for another Languagehat straw poll: if you use this slightly obnoxious Latinism, how do you say it?

You mean the right answer isn't "payss"? Good thing I've never pronounced it!

Civic Literacy Report - Civics Quiz

Yes, I took that Civics Quiz for American college students mentioned in the papers:

You answered 59 out of 60 correctly — 98.33 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 74.1%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 74.1%

You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average.

Yes, I missed the bond question too.

Frankly, I found the test to be pretty hard. It had questions about some matters I didn't learn about until law school.

The Serendipity of a Sauce

I've always wondered how certain delicacies were devised in the first place. Here is the story of one from an article about the Roman garum, "Ancient ketchup":

The India-inspired English Worcestershire sauce is another. Worcestershire was invented quite by mistake in the 1830s, after a barrelful of an attempted anchovy sauce turned out too pungent and was left in a basement and forgotten. When it was finally opened years later, the liquid was discovered to be quite tasty, and Messrs Lea & Perrins (whose basement it was) marketed it very successfully.

WHY DO PEOPlE WRITE lIKE THIS?

The blog lowercase L has all the gory details (and pictures). (via LanguageLog)

Han shot first

From Wikipedia, Han shot first:

In the original version, Solo shoots Greedo under the table after uttering the line 'Yes, I'll bet you have.' In the 1997 Special Edition version, Greedo shoots at Solo from point blank range and misses. Han shoots him in retaliation afterwards. Thus, the phrase 'Han shot first' is a retort to director George Lucas's explicit assertion that 'Greedo shot first.' In the original release of Star Wars, only one shot was fired, and it was fired by Han Solo. The ire of some fans led to an online petition demanding that the changes be retracted.

To put it another way, these fans held the 1977 original release to be canonical but not the 1997 Special Edition.

What American accent do you have?

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Northern. Whether you have the world famous Inland North accent of the Great Lakes area, or the radio-friendly sound of upstate NY and western New England, your accent is what used to set the standard for American English pronunciation (not much anymore now that the Inland North sounds like it does).

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?

Same Different Same, no wait I mean different, maybe, a little bit different...

Unless he ate the last one, that is.

Times Online:

Fears that one of the world’s rarest creatures had been driven to extinction have been allayed by a tribesman who told conservationists he had recently eaten one.

That word is pretty ugly

Laudator Temporis Acti: The World's Ugliest Word Contest

Bogus Chemistry Alert

chem2 activity:

13. Chemical reactions can be written as chemical equations. For example, when mixing vinegar and baking soda, the equation is:
CH₃COOH NaHCO₃ --> CO₂ NaCO₃ H₂O
(vinegar) (baking soda) -> (carbon dioxide) (sodium carbonate) (water)

This equation is not balanced but it can give the students an idea of the reactants and products in the reaction.

Actually, it produces sodium acetate CH₃CO₂Na, not sodium carbonate (whose correct formula is Na₂CO₃ anyway), and, yes, the correct equation does balance.

But will he change his name to Goode?

paskewich.com: Evel Knievel Sparks a Revival

Law School Papers and Law Review Articles

Instapundit says:

Like a lot of the Bush Administration's arguments, this is one that would make an interesting law school paper topic, or law review article, but that is politically idiotic and legally self-defeating.

Did he just call a bunch of law school paper topics and law review articles "politically idiotic and legally self-defeating"?

Famous Celebs I Never Herard Of

Forbes has put out a list of the The Celebrity 100. Others have have listed those they haven't heard. I've heard of 90 on the list, and here are the 10 that didn't ring a bell:

• Michael Schumacher
• Alex Rodriguez
• Ronaldinho
• Kimi Raikkonen
• Gore Verbinski
• Valentino Rossi
• J.J. Abrams
• Dane Cook
• Rhonda Byrne
• Hayden Panettiere

Links for Citation Plagiarism

• Bill Poser, Citation Plagiarism? (Jun. 15, 2007)
  
• Kerim Friedman, Citation Plagiarism (Jun. 15, 2007)
  
• MP Gururajan, Citation Plagiarism (Jun. 15, 2007)
  
• Little Professor [Miriam Burnstein], Is there a citation in this text? (Jun. 18, 2007)
  
• Jeremy Crampton, “Quoted in:” is it plagiarism? (Jun. 19, 2007)
  

Judge aims to have pants suit ironed out next week - CNN.com

Judge aims to have pants suit ironed out next week - CNN.com: The lawsuit is crazy, but the headline is cool.

The Whitespace Programming Language

What is Whitespace?

Most modern programming languages do not consider white space characters (spaces, tabs and newlines) syntax, ignoring them, as if they weren't there. We consider this to be a gross injustice to these perfectly friendly members of the character set. Should they be ignored, just because they are invisible? Whitespace is a language that seeks to redress the balance. Any non whitespace characters are ignored; only spaces, tabs and newlines are considered syntax.

Stealing Ideas

Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias: Choose: Credit or Influence (Jun. 12, 2007) writes:

Some advise academics not to post working papers, as others might steal your ideas. Many fiction writers are afraid editors will steal their ideas. Many are afraid that venture capitalists will steal their business idea instead of funding their team.

Howard Aiken said 'Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.' I don't think it is quite that simple - people can and do steal ideas. But if what you want is influence, instead of credit, the choice should easy: you should want people to steal your ideas. So think about it: how much do you or should you care about credit, versus influence?

Of the three examples in the first paragraph, I think the least to worry about are the academics posting their working papers. First, publishing on the net gives them a provable priority date for any plagiarism dispute. Second, it is already hard enough to persuade others to accept one's original ideas, even when fully argued--"you will have to ram it down their throats."

Quiz: True art, or a fake?

Is the distinction between true art and fakes bogus? Well, here is a quiz that tests your eye, Quiz: True art, or a fake?:

True art, or a fake?

by Mikhail Simkin

Some of the images displayed below are True Masterpieces of Abstract Art, created by Immortal Artists. They carry profound meanings, which are, however, beyond the apprehensions of the vulgar. The rest were produced by the author of the quiz. They mean nothing.

Click on the link to take the test.

For what it's worth, I got a 92% (one wrong), but not because of my eye for art. I used a different criterion.

Non-Canonical Pachelbel

Some people may be sick of Pachelbel's Canon in D, but I love this rendition:
Here's one by the arranger, JerryC:

Skywalkers in Korea cross Han solo

Skywalkers in Korea cross Han solo from Yahoo! News. I just like the headline.

Par-5 Hole in One

Par-5 Hole in One - Aces on Par-5 Holes:

But there's also one hole-in-one known to have occurred on a straightaway par-5. This monster drive was achieved at altitude on the No. 9 hole at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver in 2002. The shot was 517 yards in length, and the golfer who got the ace was Mike Crean. This ace is believed to be the longest ever recorded. (See a diagram of the hole here.)

What is a hole-in-one on a par-5 called? 'Condor' is sometimes recognized as the 'proper' term, but triple-eagle and double-albatross are also correct.

Idol Top 4 Report Card

It was Bee Gees night, with three females and one male, but, since a lot of the songs were originally sung in a falsetto, it didn't turn out too bad for the women.

I have a new favorite, now: Jordin Sparks. She can out-sparkle Melinda Doolittle, but Melinda is more consistent. If Jordin can consistently put in a top performance, she can win. Otherwise, it will be Melinda.

Here are my grades:

1. Melinda Doolittle, A
2. LaKisha Jones, B
3. Blake Lewis, B
4. Jordin Sparks, A

LaKisha and Blake are the most vulnerable. There are two other soul singers but only one guy, so LaKisha will see her votes split, not Blake. My prediction is LaKisha to go even though she's technically better than Blake. (Blake will go the next week unless Jordin has an off night.)

UPDATE: LaKisha and Blake were in the bottom 2, and LaKisha went. I'm having an easier time predicting now that Sanjaya had been voted off...

YouTube - Tony Blair félicite Nicolas Sarkozy (en français)

Tony Blair congratulates the president-elect of France in French:
Yes, he's got an accent, but mine's worse.

Sarkozy 53% -- Royal 47%

According to the French Interior Ministry's results for all of France, France entière (résultats complets), the result was M. Nicolas Sarkozy 53.06% and Mme Ségolène Royal 46.94%.

Boy, that IPSOS poll of a couple of days back was really accurate, within half a percentage point. Much better than American polls.

Intersective and Appositive Modifications

Arnold Zwicky, Droning On (Language Log; Feb. 8, 2007) explains the different between intersective and appositive (e.g. restrictive and non-restrictive adjectives):

Intersective modification: the denotation of an Adj N combination is the intersection of the denotations of the Adj and the N. That is, Adj N has the same denotation as N plus a restrictive relative clause containing Adj: N that/who is/are Adj.

...

Appositive modification: the denotation of an Adj N combination is the same as that of N plus a non-restrictive (a.k.a. appositive) relative clause containing Adj: N, which/who is/are Adj.

Plenty of Adj N combinations are, out of context, ambiguous between intersective and appositive modification; but context, background information, and reasoning about other people's intentions are usually enough for us to decide which reading is the appropriate one.

Note to self: Investigate whether attribute and predicate position in Greek is intersective and appositive (respectively).

Ipsos Poll on French Election

Présidentielle : 53,5%-46,5% pour Nicolas Sarkozy (Ipsos-Dell au 03/05)

The French Presidential Dedate

Apparently the big highlight of the French presidential debate between Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal people are talking about was where, contrary to expectations, he didn't lose his cool but she did. However, my own impression of the scene from this video excerpt via Le Figaro is that she came across as forceful, even indignant, and the talk of her supposedly losing it is overblown:

HandicapRoyal
Uploaded by lefigaro

Move along, there's nothing to see here.

For another American's impression of the debate, see Boz's Thoughts on the Debate.

BONUS: Here's a clip of their previous encounter back in 1993:

An Epidemic of Art?

Here's a passage from an intriguing article from Gene Expression, Toxoplasma gondii's South American origins and its influence on culture:

To return to the theme of genius germs, artists show a stronger bias toward being born during the Winter and Spring than scientists, which is consistent with the hypothesis that an early infection (more likely during the 'flu season') starts the individual's personality off on a more Neurotic groove. So perhaps the flourishing of T. gondii among a virgin European population contributed to the explosion of artistic creativity that we see starting about the 17th Century. Greg Clark's new book, A Farewell to Alms, argues that the Industrial Revolution could not have happened far earlier than it did, in part because the English were simply not genetically prepared for it -- they were predisposed to abandon rather than conscientiousness. Maybe the same is true for artistic revolutions -- a population may have to wait for an outbreak of nuttiness in order to produce a Beethoven or a Goya. As the population adapts defenses against pathogens that affect personality, and as sanitary conditions improve, the frequency of bona fide weirdos diminishes, and what remains are faux iconoclasts like we see in Modern Art. Andy Warhol is a good example: his eccentricity was probably little more than an affectation.

The case of Western Classical music is particularly instructive, and anyone's theory of what produces artistic genius has to contend with this medium and time-frame. Unlike all other art forms, there is almost nothing of impressive value from "Ancient music" or even most Medieval music. There is a hint of sophisticated music during the Renaissance, and then suddenly there is an explosion during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras -- after which there is a figure here or there who you might compare to a "mediocre" Baroque composer, but none you would comfortably rank alongside Bach. The early great works of the Baroque begin about the 1720s, and by the mid-1800s most of the rest of the Greats were dead; Wagner died toward the end of the 19th C., and most of the leading candidates for "Great 20th Century compositions" debuted before 1920. How can the near entirety of an artistic domain have been created within scarcely 200 years, burning out as abruptly as it caught fire?

Since I love Bach, I can excuse whatever excesses of conjecture this blogger is making...

Idol Top 6 Report Card

This was Bon Jovi week, and the soul singers were at a big disadvantage. Luckily, they get to have last week's vote added to their total (from inspirational music week) and I think they'll all survive. Of the three, Jordin had a bad song pick, and Melinda showed how much of a pro she was. Simon liked LaKisha's singing, but I just didn't feel it.

Of the guys, Blake saved up his "fan service" for this week and, as a result, saved his skin for another week. Both Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson however did an inauthentic "karaoke" rendition that sounded too much like the original and not enough like themselves. By the way, I am now officially impressed about how good singer Bon Jovi was.

Here are my grades:

1. Phil Stacey, B
2. Jordin Sparks, C
3. LaKisha Jones, B
4. Blake Lewis, A
5. Chris Richardson, B
6. Melinda Doolittle, A

Jordin will stay on account of last week's performance. Phil and Chris will go, but perhaps LaKisha instead of Phil.

UPDATE: Called it right this time. It's gotten a lot saner now that the Sanjaya factor is not throwing a wrench into my calculations.

Estonian Songbook

2006 Laulik

Narrative Exadaptation

Gene Expression: How the Sabians saved civilization?:

One of the historical myths of our era is that the Arab Muslim saved the Greek achievement for Western civilization. The argument is that there runs a line of tradition starting during the Greek Classical period down to the modern post-Enlightenment era which was preserved by the efforts of the House of Wisdom. This is false insofar as the Byzantines also transmitted Greek works to the West, and the refugees who washed up on the shores of Italy during the late medieval period as Constantinople fell before the Turks helped spark the Italian Renaissance. But the Byzantine role is not sexy because it doesn't serve a multicultural narrative (before the contemporary period the emphasis placed upon Islamic civilization's role in preserving Greek learning was used as a cudgel against Western Christianity).

Razib may be wrong (or right) here, but I find it interesting that some narratives continue to exist long after the relevance of their original purpose has attenuated. Like exadaption in biology.

Gere faces Indian arrest warrant

BBC NEWS:

An Indian court has issued an arrest warrant for Hollywood actor Richard Gere after he kissed Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty in public.

Apparently, three pecks on the cheek might get him an obscenity rap.

Signe Antos, RIP

I miss you, Grandma.

French Election Results

Résultats de l'élection présidentielle

Disney's Robin Hood and the Dukes of Hazzard

Just good ol' boys,
Wouldn't change if they could,
Fightin' the system like a true modern day Robin Hood.

(Theme song lyrics sung by Waylon Jennings)

Recently, I've been watching Disney's Robin Hood (1973) because of my kids, and I was struck by the parallels with the TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985). Both of these feature a minstrel / balladeer and a bumbling Southern-accented sheriff, with two brotherly countryfolk fightin' the system (Robin Hood and Little John / Bo and Luke Duke). The correspondences continue: Maid Marion morphs into Daisy Duke, King John into Boss Hogg, and Friar Tuck into Uncle Jesse. Of course, there are differences. Peter Ustinov's portrayal of an effete King John (a lion) is miles from Sorrell Booke's gluttonous Hogg. Nevertheless, the similarities impress me more than the differences.

Homage, rip-off, or coincidence?

Conclusory

Mark Liberman of Language Log looks at what that legal profession's term of art of means: Language Log: Conclusive = good; Conclusory = bad.

That very word, "conclusory," is what you learn quickly your first year in law school when you find out that your first attempt at legal writing is no good.

The Way of the Fathers: Which Church Father are you?

Which Church Father are you?

You’re St. Melito of Sardis!

You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins.

Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

Fundamentalist Scientists

Razib of Gene Expression discusses the presence of scientists and engineers among fundamentalist movements in "Nerds are nuts".

Idol Top 9 Report Card

I was on vacation so I skipped last week, but booting Gina Glocksen from the competition while retaining both Sanjaya and Haley was a travesty. I read that the producers were warning her that she risked losing middle America with her tongue stud, which is a shame since she had been growing the most in the competition.

Laptops in Class?

Thoughts on banning laptops in class.

Idol Top 10 Report Card

Gwen Stefani was the musical guest this week and the idolists had to pick her songs from her band, No Doubt, or from those who inspired her.

For the gospel singers, this meant Donna Summer, with Melinda Doolittle pulling it off, but LaKisha Jones not so much.

For two of the guys (Chris Sligh and Phil Stacey), this meant The Police, which reminds me how great of a singer Sting has been. Actually, Phil did pretty well and picked up some fans, as did Gina Glocksen.

Only three attempted No Doubt songs, resulting in the good (Chris Richardson), the bad (Jordin Sparks), and the ugly (Sanjaya Malakhar). Only Chris picked up fans with his effort, I think. Jordin is facing the difficulty of changing directions with her niche, and she may have alienated what fans she had.

The beatboxer Blake Lewis picked "Love Song" from The Cure, which was OK but he should have done some fan service (i.e. beatboxing) to make it interesting. Haley's problem is that she doesn't have a fan base and her rendition of "True Colors" did nothing to build it.

Here, then, is the report card:

1. LaKisha Jones, B
2. Chris Sligh, B
3. Gina Glocksen, A
4. Sanjaya Malakhar, C
5. Haley Scarnato, B
6. Phil Stacey, A
7. Melinda Doolittle, A
8. Blake Lewis, B
9. Jordin Sparks, B
10. Chris Richardson, B

My bottom three would be Sanjaya, Haley, and Jordin. If there's any justice, Sanjaya and his po(ny)-hawk hair finally goes.

RESULTS: 1/3. That's pretty poor. Of the bottom three, I only called Haley. The other two were Phil Stacey and Chris Sligh. Phil was safe and Chris was outta here.

Chris's problem, though he had the nicest of the male voices, was that his lurching from one obscure song to another never managed to define a niche that could build a fan base. When he finally picked a song that people knew, it was the last straw.

Biblical, Jewish, and Early Christian Book Search

Biblical, Jewish, and Early Christian Book Search Has links to the scanned Migne volumes on Google Books.

So You Want to Write a Book With MS Word

So You Want to Write a Book With MS Word:

If you intend to assemble and manipulate large amounts of text in Word and would like to minimize the time you spend fighting Word, it’s a good idea to have an understanding of how Word works.

I wrote a book with MS Word, but it's always a good idea to get more advice about this finicky program.

The Top 10 of the OCLC Top 1001

The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) has amassed a Top 1001 list of the most widely held titles (books, music, etc.) throughout the world's libraries. Here is their top 10:

1. The Holy Bible
2. The Census
3. Mother Goose
4. The Divine Comedy (Dante)
5. The Odyssey
6. The Iliad
7. Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
8. The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)
9. Hamlet (Shakespeare)
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

Number 1001, by the way, is Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History.

(via Kottke)

Idol Top 11 Report Card

This week was 60s British invasion putting the gospel singers at a disadvantage. This turned out to be the first time LaKisha Jones had an off-performance, but one still better than most of the others. Overall, the performances have been getting better, with only Sanjaya being painful to watch.

At any rate, here is the report card:

1. Haley Scarnato, A
2. Chris Richardson, B
3. Stephanie Edwards, A
4. Blake Lewis, B
5. LaKisha Jones, B
6. Phil Stacey, B
7. Jordin Sparks, A
8. Sanjaya Malakhar, C
9. Gina Glocksen, B
10. Chris Sligh, A
11. Melinda Doolittle, A

I'm guessing that the bottom three would be Sanjaya, Phil, and Gina, with Sanjaya getting the boot.

RESULTS: I was completely wrong. The bottom two were Stephanie Edwards and Chris Richardson, with poor Stephanie getting the boot. She was a great talent, but perhaps there were too many great singers in her niche (LaKisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle, even Jordin Sparks) to stand out.

Conglomerate: Bluebook Pet Peeves

Christine Hurt has some Bluebook Pet Peeves on citing blogs in legal scholarship. I too don't like the idea of omitting the name of the author from single-authored blogs.

Beware the Ides of March

From Plutarch, Caesar 63.5-6:

οὐ γὰρ ἂν φύσει γε συστῆναι ζῷον ἀκάρδιον. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ταῦτα πολλῶν ἀκοῦσαι διεξιόντων, ὥς τις αὐτῷ μάντις ἡμέρᾳ Μαρτίου μηνὸς ἣν Εἰδοὺς Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦσι προείποι μέγαν φυλάττεσθαι κίνδυνον, ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας προϊὼν ὁ Καῖσαρ εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον ἀσπασάμενος προσπαίξειε τῷ μάντει φάμενος· „αἱ μὲν δὴ Μάρτιαι Εἰδοὶ πάρεισιν“, ὁ δ’ ἡσυχῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν εἴποι· „ναί, πάρεισιν, ἀλλ’ οὐ παρεληλύθασι.“

Or, in North's translation:

Furthermore there was a certain soothsayer that had given Caesar warning long time afore, to take heed of the day of the Ides of March, (which is the fifteenth of the month), for on that day he should be in great danger. That day being come, Caesar going unto the Senate-house, and speaking merrily unto the soothsayer, told him, "the Ides of March be come :" " so they be," softly answered the soothsayer, " but yet are they not past."

Idol Top 12 Report Card

It was Diana Ross night for the American Idol contestants, putting the already lackluster boys at a disadvantage. Their goal is survival with the least damage. Perhaps the shrewdest tactic was by Blake "Beatboxer" Lewis, who, knowing that he will pale by comparison to the original, did some fan service by funking it up with an electronic beat.

At any rate, here's my report card for the twelve perfomances:

1. Brandon Rogers, C
2. Melinda Doolittle, A
3. Chris Sligh, B
4. Gina Glocksen, B
5. Sanjaya Malakhar, C
6. Haley Scarnato, B
7. Phil Stacey, B
8. LaKisha Jones, A
9. Blake Lewis, B
10. Stephanie Edwards, A
11. Chris Richardson, B
12. Jordin Sparks, A

Either Brandon or Sanjaya should go; the other will be lucky to survive the next week.

UPDATE (3/14): Bottom three was Brandon, Sanjaya, and Phil. Phil was safe, so I called the bottom two. Brandon was eliminated.

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Cal.): first openly nontheistic member of Congress

The Secular Coalition for America has put out a press release with the following information: Rep. Pete Stark (D-Cal.): first openly nontheistic member of Congress:

There is only one member of Congress who is on record as not holding a god-belief.

Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), a member of Congress since 1973, acknowledged his nontheism in response to an inquiry by the Secular Coalition for America. Rep. Stark is a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and is Chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Interestingly, the press release did not describe Rep. Stark using his own preferred self-description, as Friendly Atheist explains:

When the Secular Coalition for America wrote to him, he filled in the choice that read:

“I am a nontheist* and describe myself as: _________________. I also agree to allow the Secular Coalition for America to release this information to the general public.”

In the blank, he filled in “Unitarian.”

I had known that Rep. Stark was a Unitarian and, given their diversity of beliefs, not particularly surprised to find out that he is one of them who consider himself a "nontheist." I am annoyed, however, that the Secular Coalition for America did not think that his own self-designation was important enough to put into their press release.