Monday, May 4
Guess I shouldn't be surprised that Universities are cutting sports teams that cost rather than make money. Fencing programs and pistol shooting makes sense, but even golf and gymnastics are going at MIT.
Obviously, I've only touched the sports section today -- but is it really meaningful to have an 8-year-old girl driving a race car with a headset on listening to instructions from her coach? Is that prodigious?
Wednesday, May 6
I think the Germans have it right. In "High Court in Germany Pops Names that Balloon," Nicholasa Kulish reports that Germany considers it cruel to give a kid a ridiculous name. I agree. Oponents say it prevents freedom of expression; but then again a lot of cruel things would be allowed if it were just a matter of someone expressing themselves.
Thursday, May 7
Enjoyed the story on platic surgeons who can fix a sagging derriere but can't fix a sagging economy. So amusing. But also seriously interesting, because what they do is study facial harmony, like Winkelman or any romantic German, just with an extra dose of crazy, Mary Shelley style. Particularly fascinating is the proposition that fat stem cells can be used to enlarge breasts with regenerating tissue. Maybe folks'll be able to convincingly pretend that thier cosmetic augmentation --chin, breast, whatever -- is all natural, with interesting results for engendering children.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Thursday, April 30
When I read about Silvio Berlusconi’s “roving eye” I was a little disappointed in Italy. The article says that Italians would rather have the appearance of cheerfulness and opulence that the prime minister “gallantly” acts out than a better country. I read a little more about Berlusconi online afterward and was a little frightened by the way he gilds his policy by exploiting the conventions of operatic Italian culture.
Another Italianate story – doping horses for the Kentucky Derby. It’s kind of sad that the official way of looking at trainers and horses in racing is that millions go into a horse and the investment is protected by taking a horse out of a race if he is likely to sustain injury. The NYTs article paints a different picture, one where pumping horses full of painkillers and performance enhancers like steroids is the norm.
Wednesday, April 29
Surprisingly reassuring stories about the swine flu and shocking stories about the NYPD and NY charity. Nice research into the first cases of the new influenza. Liked having the 5-year-old kid’s cute persona contrasted against the widespread fear. NYTs also did a nice job of showing how meat shoppers incorrectly fear eating well-cooked pork by giving them full quotes and then parenthetically noting that they are incorrect.
The case of Officers Moreno and Mata raping a drunken women that they had been called to escort home was a little shocking. I would like to hear more about the specifics of what happened – a full profile of Moreno including his reasoning behind the rape (would he have raped any drunken women that he thought he could or was there a reason he felt ok with this one? It wouldn’t change the facts of the case but it would be interesting to know how he thinks).
Monday, April 27
Though the swine flu stories were in the back of the A section, it seemed to be a nice, related touch to put the piece on a growing atheist community on the front.
The Hungarian Gypsies, or Roma seem to have the reverse treatment one would not too seriously expect from literature – instead of them stealing babies and killing in the middle of night, it is the right-wingers in their country who do that to them. Very image rich story – the picture of the murdered father and son buried in the same coffin is indelible.
When I read about Silvio Berlusconi’s “roving eye” I was a little disappointed in Italy. The article says that Italians would rather have the appearance of cheerfulness and opulence that the prime minister “gallantly” acts out than a better country. I read a little more about Berlusconi online afterward and was a little frightened by the way he gilds his policy by exploiting the conventions of operatic Italian culture.
Another Italianate story – doping horses for the Kentucky Derby. It’s kind of sad that the official way of looking at trainers and horses in racing is that millions go into a horse and the investment is protected by taking a horse out of a race if he is likely to sustain injury. The NYTs article paints a different picture, one where pumping horses full of painkillers and performance enhancers like steroids is the norm.
Wednesday, April 29
Surprisingly reassuring stories about the swine flu and shocking stories about the NYPD and NY charity. Nice research into the first cases of the new influenza. Liked having the 5-year-old kid’s cute persona contrasted against the widespread fear. NYTs also did a nice job of showing how meat shoppers incorrectly fear eating well-cooked pork by giving them full quotes and then parenthetically noting that they are incorrect.
The case of Officers Moreno and Mata raping a drunken women that they had been called to escort home was a little shocking. I would like to hear more about the specifics of what happened – a full profile of Moreno including his reasoning behind the rape (would he have raped any drunken women that he thought he could or was there a reason he felt ok with this one? It wouldn’t change the facts of the case but it would be interesting to know how he thinks).
Monday, April 27
Though the swine flu stories were in the back of the A section, it seemed to be a nice, related touch to put the piece on a growing atheist community on the front.
The Hungarian Gypsies, or Roma seem to have the reverse treatment one would not too seriously expect from literature – instead of them stealing babies and killing in the middle of night, it is the right-wingers in their country who do that to them. Very image rich story – the picture of the murdered father and son buried in the same coffin is indelible.
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