First Looks category archive

Off to drink liberally.

Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.

When: 6 p., Wednesday, January 11.

Where:
The Public House
1112 Colley Avenue (map)

Details here.

I gave up New Year’s Resolutions years ago, not that I ever took them all too seriously in any case. The resolutions I have found that I keep are the ones I make because the time is right, not because the calendar flips.

I may reconsider after reading Charlie Booker’s list of suggested resolutions at the Guardian. Here’s a sample:

Stop pretending Lady Gaga and Beyoncé are endlessly fascinating.

Look, it’s not that I don’t see their appeal. I just can’t fathom the apparently infinite depth of it. I appreciate they’re both polished entertainers with a neat line in music videos and some very catchy songs, but beyond that – what are you all seeing, precisely? I mean, it’s nice that the openly kooky Lady Gaga inspires her fans not to give in to bullies and the suchlike, but she also inspires them to “put their paws up” and be a bit annoying, which kind of balances it out, really. They’re not Mayan gods.

From the website: Author Elizabeth Dowling Taylor tells the story of Paul Jennings, who served as one of James Madison’s slaves and ultimately purchased his own freedom.

And, I add, that of his wife and children.

A collection of local TV news bloopers.

Via Andrew Sullivan.

It’s a holy day of obligation.

Fall on your knees.

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, 8 p. m. EDT.

I will skip this particular service.

At Science 2 dot O, Kimberly Crandell considers the merits of artificial vs. natural Christmas trees. Among other things, she points out that many artificial trees (brand names are not mentioned) contain lead. So here are a few safety tips for your artificial Christmas trees:

Richard Maas, the director of the Environmental Studies program at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, offers some tips for people who suspect that their artificial tree may contain lead:

• Keep children away from the tree. Do not allow them to touch the tree.
• If you touch the tree, was your hands thoroughly before touching your face or handling food.
• Do not vacuum dust from under the tree, especially with a vacuum that does not have a HEPA filter. Vacuuming could spread lead dust through the air in tiny particles, creating an inhalation danger.

Follow the link for the the rest of the argument.

Afterthought:

Have yourself a merry leaden Christmas tree.

Objection sustained.

It’s unlikely Arturo Ramirez of Sacramento knew one of his Facebook posts written in 2008 would jar legal scholars and inspire a state law that goes into effect Jan. 1.

Ramirez, who served as a foreman on a gang trial, posted updates during the case, including one that reported he found testimony about cell phone bills “so boring.”

(snip)

Come January, everyone will know the consequences. Before trials, California judges will admonish jurors to forgo any online research or chatter on Facebook or Twitter. The penalty for ignoring the instruction will be contempt of court charges, punishable by jail.

Nothing fun ever happened to me at the Denver Airport.

Karen H/T Karen for the link.

Radio Time takes a look at the NTSB’s recommendation to ban cell phones. From the website:

Today, we look at the issue of distracted driving and the problems of enforcement with DAVID TEATER, the National Safety Council’s senior director of Transportation Initiatives. We’ll also discuss the cultural history of drunk driving with BARRON LERNER, a professor of medicine and public health professor at Columbia University who has written a new book on the subject, One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900. And finally, CHRISTIAN GERDES, Director of Stanford University’s Center for Automotive Research, tells Marty about self-driving cars. Is hands-free driving in our near future?

Any one who pays attention knows the pros and cons. Having been nearly killed by a cell phone wielding driver who went straight ahead (at 65 mph) at a spot where the road went left, I sympathize with efforts to limit cell phone usage by drivers.

The reason I’m recommending this is because of the last third, starting at the 35 minute make, in which Mr. Gerdes describes what’s happening and not happening in experiments to automate driving. It is a plain-English description of what’s been accomplished, what appears possible with today’s science, and what appears to be a Jetsonian pipe dream with today’s science.

Follow the link to listen or listen here (MP3).

For another take, check out this episode of the Diane Rehm show. The antics of the anti-cell-phone ban guy are quite amusing. His arguments against a ban seem to boil down to, “Don’t take my toy away from me. Waaaa waaaa waaaa.”

Cheese straws and lemon chess pies are on today’s agenda.

Addendum:

Mr. Sore Throat has put out my pilot light for the day and was I looking forward to those cheese straws! I even grated up a pound of cheese yesterday.

The Great and Glorious Patriotic War for a Lie in Iraq seems to be actually limping to an end, just as it began: with a lie (emphasis added).

After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

Yeah, right.

As is typical of such stories, there is no mention of the thousands of Iraqis sacrificed to President George the Worst’s lies and perfidy or of whether this was worth their price.

Researchers believe that the signals bounced off an object or mass of objects. The shows were not named in the story.

While searching deep space for extra-terrestrial signals, scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have stumbled across signals broadcast from Earth nearly half a century ago.

My first question was, “What show was it?” but the story didn’t mention that.

Via GNC.

Off to drink liberally.