March 2, 2011 archive

Mar 02 2011

Me versus McClatchy

As I wrote in this article, I have a long-standing feud with The State newspaper in South Carolina. I have now written to McClatchy Holdings CEO Gary Pruitt twice stating my concerns over how The State newspaper functions. The first letter I sent to Mr. Pruitt was forwarded to the President of The State and I had a meeting with him and two of his Vice President’s. Nothing changed. So, I sent a second letter to Mr. Pruitt. In it, I basically told him not to even bother sending the letter to Mr. Haitz (President of The State) for action since nothing changed after the first meeting and there was little indication a second meeting would yield different results.

It has been about a month since I mailed the second letter to Mr. Pruitt. I didn’t include my phone number in the letter nor my address, although the envelope had my address for postal reasons. Given the tone of my letter and lack of included information I didn’t expect a response.

Well, I didn’t expect one, but, I got one. My phone rang and it was the McClatchy Washington Bureau.

Mar 02 2011

Queen Jane Approximately

When your mother sends back all your invitations,

And your father to your sister he explains,

That you’re tired of yourself, and all of your creations,

Won’t you come see me, Queen Jane ?

Jane Hamsher Pictures, Images and Photos

Mar 02 2011

from firefly-dreaming 2.3.11

Regular Daily Features:

  • Depeche Mode are in the spotlight at Late Night Karaoke, mishima DJs
  • Six Brilliant Articles! from Six Different Places!! on Six Different Topics!!!

                    Six Days a Week!!!    at Six in the Morning!!!!

Essays Featured Wednesday, March 2nd:

Mar 02 2011

Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette

Our regular featured content-

And these articles-

The Stars Hollow Gazette

Mar 02 2011

Open Thead: Facts Are Stubborn Things

Rachel Maddow spoke about correcting errors, “Department of Corrections”. She also spoke about “facts”, not necessarily liking them because they make us uncomfortable and being factual, debunking news that is widely believed as true. More importantly, Rachel discussed being magnanimous enough to correct a mistake, because “it’s a responsible and useful thing to do.”

Facts are Stubborn Things

Rachel Maddow discusses the shows policy of correcting its errors and demonstrates why she is owed one by Politifact.com

It is a neat idea to be able to call balls and strikes in facts and news, to fact check things you hear in the news and fact-check things you hear politicians and political figures say.  People do get stuff wrong and it should be pointed out.  When I confused the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in terms of which one had a preamble, you may recall that I not only apologized for that.  I sung and danced my apology to that.

When you get something wrong, it is both good practice and I find satisfying to own up to it.  Say you got it wrong, learn something about it, and move on.  But that should apply to everybody. . . . . .

Calling somebody a liar when they are not lying is not the same as fact-checking.  That is just bullpuckey, too.

Entire transcript can be read at the her blog. It was the last segment from February 24.

Mar 02 2011

Liberated Libyans Reject US Intervention



Real News Network – March 1, 2011

TRNN EXCLUSIVE: Liberated Libya Rejects US Intervention

On the streets of liberated Benghazi people say no to McCain, Lieberman and any US intervention

…transcript follows…

Mar 02 2011

“I’ll walk on that picket line with you as President of the USA.”

Remember these fine words from the Liar-in-Chief?

“If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain, when I’m in the White House I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself – I’ll walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America.”

“If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain…”

It’s happening right now Wisconsin!

“I’ll walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America.”

And it’s really just more of the same, from the sociopathic con-man Barack Obama.

Mar 02 2011

Health and Fitness News

Welcome to the Health and Fitness weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Do You Know When NOT to Call 911?

Survey Suggests Many People Call an Ambulance for Minor Medical Emergencies

Feb. 22, 2011 — One in three people don’t understand when an ambulance is not necessary to deal with common medical situations, a survey indicates.

The survey shows most people know when to call an ambulance for life-threatening medical emergencies like a heart attack, but many don’t understand when an ambulance is not needed for less urgent situations like a woman going into the early stages of labor.

Put Away the White Rice

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Here’s a quick look at this week’s selection of grains:

LUNDBERG WEHANI This reddish-brown whole-grain rice has a slightly chewy texture and a nutty, savory flavor. To cook, combine 1 part rice with 2 parts water and salt to taste ( ½ to ¾ teaspoon per cup of rice). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 50 to 60 minutes until the rice has absorbed all the water. Turn off the heat, remove the lid, place a towel over the pot and return the lid to the pot. Let sit 10 minutes, and then serve.

For a nuttier taste, before adding the water sauté the rice in 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil until the rice smells toasty. A cup of raw rice yields about 3 1/3 cups of cooked rice.

LUNDBERG BLACK JAPONICA RICE A combination of medium-grain mahogany rice and short-grain black rice. Cook it like Wehani rice, above. A cup of raw rice yields about 3 ¾ cups cooked rice.

RUBY RED JASMINE RICE This red long-grain rice is distributed by a company that specializes in fair-trade products. The package says to cook 1 part rice in 2 ½ parts water, but I found a ratio of 1 to 2 worked better. Cook like the Wehani rice, above. A cup of raw rice yields about 3 cups of cooked rice.

PURPLE PRAIRIE BARLEY This hearty dark purple barley originated in Tibet. It takes 1 ½ hours to cook – 1 hour if you soak it overnight, which I recommend. Cook 1 part grain in 2 ½ parts water with salt to taste. Place a strainer over a bowl, and drain the soaked rice. Combine the soaking water (you don’t want to lose the pigment in it) with more water to make 2 ½ parts. Add salt to taste ( ½ to ¾ teaspoon per cup of grain), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour or until the barley is tender and beginning to splay. A cup of cup raw rice yields just under 4 cups of cooked rice.

AMARANTH Amaranth is the tiny seed of a green native to the Americas. In Mexico, both the seeds and the greens are eaten. It’s very nutritious: high in protein, and very rich in the amino acid lysine, which most grains lack. Cook 1 part amaranth in 3 parts water, and stir often.

Amaranth Porridge

Black Rice and Soy Salad With Asian Dressing

Purple Barley Risotto With Cauliflower

Fried Red Thai Jasmine Rice With Shrimp

Red and Black Rice With Leeks and Pea Tendrils

Mar 02 2011

Muse in the Morning

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Muse in the Morning

Time for a break from poetry…in order to create some art.

If being sane is thinking there’s something wrong with being different, I’d rather be completely fucking mental.

–Angelina Jolie


Links

Mar 02 2011

What are you reading? Mar 2 2011

For those who are new … we discuss books.  I list what I’m reading, and people comment with what they’re reading.  Sometimes, on Sundays, I post a special edition on a particular genre or topic.

If you like to trade books, try bookmooch

Just finished

Started and finished Split Image by Robert Parker.  This is the last in the Jesse Stone series.  It’s not bad, but it’s not the top of Parker’s form.  full review

Now reading

The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the dark ages by Chris Wickham.  A really good history of Europe and western Asia, from 400 to 1000 AD.

This one is more or less on hold.  I need to pay more attention to it to keep track of all the unfamiliar names.  Right now, I am not in the mood for this sort of book.

The Great SF stories volume 1: 1939 ed. by Isaac Asimov and Martin Greenberg.  I have this whole series on my shelf and I think I will re-read them

Best Writing on Mathematics 2010 by Mircea Picci.  A collection of articles about mathematics.  Most of them are really great.  Math lovers will want this one.  (This book has disappeared on my shelves; I gotta find it)

Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases ed. by Kahneman, Slovic and Tversky.  A collection of now classic works on how people reason under uncertainty.

Washington: A life which I am reading on my new Kindle 2 (my old Kindle broke).  So far, it’s living up to the hugely favorable reviews, although the beginning was a bit repetitive about some aspects of Washington’s personality.

A re-read of Quicksilver, the first in the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.  A huge novel (3,000 pages altogether) about all sorts of things related to the era of Newton and Leibniz.  Definitely worth a re-read.

Dark Fire by CJ Sansom. The second in the Matthew Shardlake series.  I like this one too.  (spoiler alert).  In Dissolution, Shardlake has been disillusioned with Cromwell (that’s Thomas, not Oliver), having learned that he did a lot of foul things.  But now he is drafted by Cromwell again.  

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks.  Subtitle is “tales of music and the brain” and that describes it well.  Written with Sacks’ typical clarity and humanity.

Charming Proofs.  A book of beautiful (or charming) proofs in mathematics, nearly all of which require no advanced math.

Just started

see above

Mar 02 2011

Late Night Karaoke

Mar 02 2011

A Tourist Photo from Takhar Province

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Kuchi caravan in Takhar Province, Afghanistan

I cropped and rebalanced this image out of yet another idiotic snapshot from yet another tourist in Afghanistan, white balance set to flourescent with a hideous yellow cast all over these Kuchi nomads, and you might think that out of hundreds of thousands of tourist photos from Afghanistan at least a few would escape the mind-mangling combination of idle curiosity and pitiful “artistic” ambition which defines “tourist photo,” just as you might think that after nine long years of slaughter and corruption, the US occupation of Afghanistan would eventually get something right, even by accident, by the law of averages or the law of large numbers or some other brute-force statistical anomaly, like winning five bets in a row at roulette, but the wheel of Afghanistan is infinite, all the tourist photos are junk, and everything about the US occupation is inevitably fucked up.

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