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26 March 2010

Just Biding My Time

I've got several posts working, but not quite ready for primetime. And baseball season's in full swing. BDR's complaining (so what's new?) about lack of activity in blogosphere, so here's some random cool stuff that's caught my eye recently:

For some of us, this is pretty big f'ing deal. You only had to grow up with 'duck and cover' and the threat of nuclear annihilation to appreciate that serious people are still trying—albeit excruciatingly slowly—to rid the planet of these damned satanic engines of death. It's not a complete solution, but it is a step in the right direction.

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Speaking of Armageddon*, I was recently contacted by the Feds who have inquired—discreetly, to be sure—as to my availability to serve on a 'death panel'. Anybody got a granny they need to off?

Yeah, I think the passage of a health insurance reform bill is a major f'ing deal. I don't think it's near sufficient yet, though.

Seems like we could save some money by cutting back on, say, the militarism budget. Maybe then we could afford a public option or even a single-payer system.

*BTW: 'Armageddon' is dog-whistle code for the christers involving the last battle with the 'Anti-Christ'. Anybody think Mr. Boehner, House minority leader, knew what he was saying when he called this weak-tea health insurance reform bill this? I certainly do. Demonizing your opponents is uncivil and provocative.

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Speaking of health care, do something nice for yourself: cut this stuff out of your diet completely. As I pointed out recently, high fructose corn syrup sucks. Dont' believe me? Princeton scientists think so, too. It's bad for your health and your weight, individually. But it's an epidemiological thing:
"In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults are considered obese, the CDC reported. High-fructose corn syrup is found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. On average, Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year. "

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See this? Seems we've got some new, long lost cousins. One wonders how many different types of hominins were roaming around the earth at one time, how many there ever were? Amazing pics here. Recognize anyone? UPDATE: They call her X-woman.

Our descent is simply not simple.

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In case you mislaid your galactic clusters.

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Does plot matter? (h/t BDR) D.F. Myers, in his usual mien, says "Absolutely".

Daniel Green disagrees without being disagreeable.

Myers gets defensive (yawn!) here.

LitNow weighs in, too.

Funny thing that: I just made the argument w/r/t Coetzee's Summertime that the writer may dispense with plot and still achieve thematic unity and emotional depth, though it is necessarily a trade-off w/r/t one's readers and their competence and desire, i.e., to some, the readability of the text.

UPDATE: Named Tomorrow lends a new voice to the issue, (h/t to Richard of The Existence Machine in the various Comments for bringing this new blog to my attn.)

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By the way, did anyone notice it's SPRING! YIPPEE!

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