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.