They don't make 'em like this any more:
Jonny Quest - Intro
by aemracerex
(Via Daily Motion, copyright violation and the late, great Alex Toth.)
UPDATE: The took the link away, but you can see the opening here as of June 2009.
3.28.2009
3.27.2009
How soon they forget ...
I remember attending the U of R in the 1980s, when everyone was being collared by social activists, demanding that they stop drinking Carlings beer, South African wines, DeBeers diamonds, anything that could economically benefit the South African economy. Boycotting the economic process that kept a a racist, demagogic government afloat was the only way to bring about social change, the ANC's argument went.
And a generation later ... (New York Times).
And a generation later ... (New York Times).
New Dog!
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The new prairie dog came out yesterday. So what's in this one that makes it worth your valuable time? That's what you want to know, right?
VIANNE TIMMONS Gregory Beatty interviews the U of R's first-year president about the state of the campus and the importance of connecting with the community.
BEST DEFENCE Female circumcision is a tradition in many African cultures. It's a cultural practice where teenagers/girls have their genitals surgically modified as a right of passage. That's a nice way of saying they have their clitorusses (clitorii?) chopped off. The western world generally condemns this as a hienous human rights violation--I sure as hell do--but one academic who's voluntarily experienced the ritual came to Regina to defend it. Vanda Schmockel, who hasn't written for us in a while, checks out the lecture and stays remarkably judgement-free.
TREVOR HARRIOT He's got a beautiful new book about Saskatchewan birds and a bone to pick with conservation efforts (i.e., there needs to be more of them). Stephen LaRose interviews Herriot, and it's a good article.
ALSO: Sugar Ray Leonard, discussed; the Saskatchewan budget, analyzed; The Visitors reviewed; news, insinuations and fears about suburban "parking lagoons"; Gywnne Dyer talks about space aliens; David Suzuki pouts over pesticides; John Conway calls the Saskatchewan Party government a bunch of Darth Vaders (what will Murray Mandryk say?); reviews of new music by Attack In Black, Swan Lake and Willie Nelson; and a strange editorial by a very over-tired yours truly with a couple of glaring boo-boos, including one that kind of wrecks the point of the excercise. Typo-wieners, to your e-mail!
VIANNE TIMMONS Gregory Beatty interviews the U of R's first-year president about the state of the campus and the importance of connecting with the community.
BEST DEFENCE Female circumcision is a tradition in many African cultures. It's a cultural practice where teenagers/girls have their genitals surgically modified as a right of passage. That's a nice way of saying they have their clitorusses (clitorii?) chopped off. The western world generally condemns this as a hienous human rights violation--I sure as hell do--but one academic who's voluntarily experienced the ritual came to Regina to defend it. Vanda Schmockel, who hasn't written for us in a while, checks out the lecture and stays remarkably judgement-free.
TREVOR HARRIOT He's got a beautiful new book about Saskatchewan birds and a bone to pick with conservation efforts (i.e., there needs to be more of them). Stephen LaRose interviews Herriot, and it's a good article.
ALSO: Sugar Ray Leonard, discussed; the Saskatchewan budget, analyzed; The Visitors reviewed; news, insinuations and fears about suburban "parking lagoons"; Gywnne Dyer talks about space aliens; David Suzuki pouts over pesticides; John Conway calls the Saskatchewan Party government a bunch of Darth Vaders (what will Murray Mandryk say?); reviews of new music by Attack In Black, Swan Lake and Willie Nelson; and a strange editorial by a very over-tired yours truly with a couple of glaring boo-boos, including one that kind of wrecks the point of the excercise. Typo-wieners, to your e-mail!
(Cover photo of University of Regina president Vainne Timmons by Darrol Hofmeister/sharpshooter photography)
3.26.2009
Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten in the Afternoon
Because I was feeling a little guilty about not posting anything yesterday, here are four more news items to round out the second half of your day...
7. GEO-ENGINEERING SCHEME DEVOURED BY CRABS: Climate scientists trying to seed a section of ocean with dissolved iron so as to encourage the growth of CO2 devouring plankton succeeded! And then were quickly thwarted as millions (nay, billions!) of microscopic crab-like predators swept in to devour said plankton. Had the scheme paid off, it would have been a step forward for geo-engineering -- a newish, likely star-trek-inspired field that is attempting to find ways to change the planet's climate to cope with the effects of runaway global warming. Yeah... no way something like that could go awry. (AFP via GoogleNews)
8. ANOTHER REASON TO CHEER THE DEMISE OF THE NATIONAL POST: Over at DeSmog Blog, Mitchell Anderson looks at the ironies and hypocrisies in Lorne Gunter's calls for the dismantling of the CBC now that Gunter's own meal ticket is on the verge of financial collapse. I'd be able to wallow in the schadenfreude at the thought of Gunter lining up at soup kitchen or warming his hands over a flaming oil drum in a shantytown except that I know that CanWest is going to get that handout it's panhandling for. Like Anderson points out in his piece, Harper needs good little soldiers like Gunter and his crew at the Post, while he's happy to see the CBC go down the crapper because they generally won't roll over and be a good dog. (DeSmog Blog)
9. WHAT THE CBC IS CUTTING: To cope with its $171 million deficit, the CBC will be scaling back on sports coverage and on the number of episodes for some marquee shows. It's good to see that there are still no plans to add commercials to CBC radio. But, the most disturbing news is that 80 jobs will be cut from CBC News and jobs will also be lost at the Fifth Estate. (Globe and Mail)
10. ADA LOVELACE DAY: March 24 was the first Ada Lovelace Day, a day in which bloggers celebrated the achievments of women in technology. Ada Lovelace was a 19th century countess who, through her work with Charles Babbage, has been creditted as being the first computer programmer. (My daughter is named after her.) Suw Charman-Anderson, the organizer behind Ada Lovelace Day, hoped to get 1,000 bloggers to pledge to write about women who've done inspiring things in science and technology. 1,980 signed up. You can peruse some of the posts people wrote here. (FindingAda.com)
7. GEO-ENGINEERING SCHEME DEVOURED BY CRABS: Climate scientists trying to seed a section of ocean with dissolved iron so as to encourage the growth of CO2 devouring plankton succeeded! And then were quickly thwarted as millions (nay, billions!) of microscopic crab-like predators swept in to devour said plankton. Had the scheme paid off, it would have been a step forward for geo-engineering -- a newish, likely star-trek-inspired field that is attempting to find ways to change the planet's climate to cope with the effects of runaway global warming. Yeah... no way something like that could go awry. (AFP via GoogleNews)
8. ANOTHER REASON TO CHEER THE DEMISE OF THE NATIONAL POST: Over at DeSmog Blog, Mitchell Anderson looks at the ironies and hypocrisies in Lorne Gunter's calls for the dismantling of the CBC now that Gunter's own meal ticket is on the verge of financial collapse. I'd be able to wallow in the schadenfreude at the thought of Gunter lining up at soup kitchen or warming his hands over a flaming oil drum in a shantytown except that I know that CanWest is going to get that handout it's panhandling for. Like Anderson points out in his piece, Harper needs good little soldiers like Gunter and his crew at the Post, while he's happy to see the CBC go down the crapper because they generally won't roll over and be a good dog. (DeSmog Blog)
9. WHAT THE CBC IS CUTTING: To cope with its $171 million deficit, the CBC will be scaling back on sports coverage and on the number of episodes for some marquee shows. It's good to see that there are still no plans to add commercials to CBC radio. But, the most disturbing news is that 80 jobs will be cut from CBC News and jobs will also be lost at the Fifth Estate. (Globe and Mail)
10. ADA LOVELACE DAY: March 24 was the first Ada Lovelace Day, a day in which bloggers celebrated the achievments of women in technology. Ada Lovelace was a 19th century countess who, through her work with Charles Babbage, has been creditted as being the first computer programmer. (My daughter is named after her.) Suw Charman-Anderson, the organizer behind Ada Lovelace Day, hoped to get 1,000 bloggers to pledge to write about women who've done inspiring things in science and technology. 1,980 signed up. You can peruse some of the posts people wrote here. (FindingAda.com)
Sunshine, go away today ...
To paraphrase a song that seemed to be airing constantly for 30 years of CKCK radio ...
Don Morgan can't (CTV) even (CTV) run his own department (Murray Mandryk, L-P), I'll be damned if he thinks he should be running the CBC (Bill Stovin).
The issue whether the tape of the transmissions between RCMP officers on duty at the time of the Curtis Dagenais shooting spree should be played in public is a thorny one. Practically, I see no need to hear those reports. I'm not fascinated by the morbid side. But there's a legal question the CBC is bringing up: if the tape is played in open court, which is supposed to be public forum, then how can the judge turn down a request to have the audio played in public?
Don Morgan didn't think about those things when he opened his mouth. Don Morgan doesn't apparently, feel the need to think about a lot of things.
Don Morgan can't (CTV) even (CTV) run his own department (Murray Mandryk, L-P), I'll be damned if he thinks he should be running the CBC (Bill Stovin).
The issue whether the tape of the transmissions between RCMP officers on duty at the time of the Curtis Dagenais shooting spree should be played in public is a thorny one. Practically, I see no need to hear those reports. I'm not fascinated by the morbid side. But there's a legal question the CBC is bringing up: if the tape is played in open court, which is supposed to be public forum, then how can the judge turn down a request to have the audio played in public?
Don Morgan didn't think about those things when he opened his mouth. Don Morgan doesn't apparently, feel the need to think about a lot of things.
Six in the Morning
Yeah... I know... wasn't this supposed to be done yesterday? What can I say? I was fresh back from Ottawa and killed the day playing with my daughter.
1. AMERICAN CITIES DEAL WITH SHANTYTOWNS: The number of shantytowns in and around major US cities is on the rise. (NY Times)
2. GROUP CALLS FOR PHOSPHOROUS INQUIRY: Human Rights Watch is calling for an inquiry into Israel's alleged use of white phosphorous during its 22-day offensive against Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
3. RED RIVER ON RISE: Flooding of the Red River is much higher than anticipated. Things are very bad for folk in North Dakota, getting very bad for smaller communities in Manitoba, and Winnipeggers are bracing for the worst. (Globe and Mail and CBC)
4. MONTREAL PROTOCOL SAVED PLANET: Scientists have been saying for years now that the Montreal Protocol, by severely limiting CFC, likely saved our planet from death-by-UV. And this week, over at scienceblogs, geologist Chris Rowan lays out the evidence that global regulatory action is the reason we'll have an ozone layer in 2060. (Science Blogs)
5. INTERNET TO PUT TELESCOPE MANUFACTURERS OUT OF BUSINESS: Well... not really. But NASA has agreed to put 100 terabytes of space photos online through Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope project. (TG Daily)
6. MATH MAKES BUSES RUN BETTER: Mathematicians at the University of Burgos, Spain, have come up with a way to use a math strategy called the taboo search to improve bus wait times and travel times by 13%. (Science Daily)
1. AMERICAN CITIES DEAL WITH SHANTYTOWNS: The number of shantytowns in and around major US cities is on the rise. (NY Times)
2. GROUP CALLS FOR PHOSPHOROUS INQUIRY: Human Rights Watch is calling for an inquiry into Israel's alleged use of white phosphorous during its 22-day offensive against Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
3. RED RIVER ON RISE: Flooding of the Red River is much higher than anticipated. Things are very bad for folk in North Dakota, getting very bad for smaller communities in Manitoba, and Winnipeggers are bracing for the worst. (Globe and Mail and CBC)
4. MONTREAL PROTOCOL SAVED PLANET: Scientists have been saying for years now that the Montreal Protocol, by severely limiting CFC, likely saved our planet from death-by-UV. And this week, over at scienceblogs, geologist Chris Rowan lays out the evidence that global regulatory action is the reason we'll have an ozone layer in 2060. (Science Blogs)
5. INTERNET TO PUT TELESCOPE MANUFACTURERS OUT OF BUSINESS: Well... not really. But NASA has agreed to put 100 terabytes of space photos online through Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope project. (TG Daily)
6. MATH MAKES BUSES RUN BETTER: Mathematicians at the University of Burgos, Spain, have come up with a way to use a math strategy called the taboo search to improve bus wait times and travel times by 13%. (Science Daily)
3.25.2009
Another Eruption
Volcanoes have been in the news lately, so I thought I'd share this with you. In our March 26 issue I have a City Life Top Six on infamous April Fool's Day hoaxes. It was a riot to write, as there's been some doozies over the years. One that didn't make the cut occurred in 1974. On the morning of April 1, the residents of Sitka, Alaska awoke to the alarming site of a long dormant volcano on Mount Edgecumbe belching black smoke. Turned out that a local prankster named -- and I kid you not -- Porky Bickar had flown a bunch of tires up to the crater and lit them on fire. Not good for the environment, admittedly, but as a practical joke damn funny. (ImagesSmarter)
On a related note, I'm bracing for a firestorm with my March 26 Ask Greg. (skyrock.net)
Wild In The Afternoon
I'm not sure how long this has been on the Web but here's the trailer for the really weird-looking (in a good way) Spike Jonz adaptation of the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are.
Click on this link, then click on some more links and be bitter that I can't find a quality embed.
If I had kids I'd ban them from drek like Shrek and force-feed this kind of thing down their little throats. Yes, I would be a terrible parent, it's true.
The music, which seems a little out of synch with the trailer's cut, is Arcade Fire, by the way.
UPDATE: I wouldn't really ban my hypotherical kids from watching Shrek. But don't ask me to pretend it's a satisfying, imagination-nourishing film. It is not. It's glib and shallow. Ha! What do you say to that?
UPDATE #2: I've had some complaints about the general ass-ness of that link, so here's another. This video claims to be embed-able, but it lies, lies, lies!
UPDATE #3: Let's try this one:
Better?
Do you really need to send that text?
The increasing boldness of cellphone users inside movie theatres is reaching new highs. It's seems socially accepted to TEXT during the screening. Guess what. The theatre is dark FOR A REASON. The screen glare is impossibly distracting and singlehandily ends with the suspension of belief any half-decent flick requests. My call is for all those annoyed with this inconsiderate behavior: SPEAK UP! Movie etiquette can't defend itself.
3.24.2009
City Hall Update
I know this is usually Paul Dechene's beat, but he was out of town last week on personal business and missed this rivetting exchange (Break) between the mayor and an unidentified city councillor during debate at a planning commission meeting on the topic of architectural day lighting. And who says municipal politics is boring?
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