Harvesting items, newsworthy or not

 
By popular demand (well, if one request from Miz Kitty can be considered a demand), I've added a few notes to the left over there to allow those few of you who are curious enough to find out more about me. Be kind, y'all!
posted by Link Meister at 6:39 PM

 
Ok, so we've all heard about the cloned cat. Whatever the merits, I have to give high marks for marketing to the private company which funded it; a cute firm name and an irresistable subject. Today's privacy news: military members can now sue the Feds under the Privacy Act. That is amazing to me; the mindset in the military has always been "your ass belongs to us;" this may have unexpected consequences for the US Armed Forces.

Enron, UK version: there's apparently a 6.4 Billion GBP difference between projected payouts to creditors and the estimated asset value of the European branch. And if accounting puts you to sleep, rest easy. 6-7 hours is sufficent. Now if my dog would allow me that much, I'd be happy. Heck, I'd tolerate the early wake-up call, if Tigger would just use Warm Cream!

As a proud owner of that breakout album, I thought this appreciation of Waylon Jennings quite well done. In less somber news (unless you're a Naked Chef fan), Jamie Oliver's contract has been allowed to lapse by the BBC.

On to Saturday.
posted by Link Meister at 4:31 PM

 
On Valentine's Day, I give you a story about soft centers. However, rather than chocolate, it's the Moon!

NPR's All Things Considered had a commentary yesterday about blogging. Hear it here. More hearing: would you believe cardboard speakers? On the cyberlaw front, British Telecom is in court attempting to enforce a patent on hyperlinks!?! Oy vey! Think of the royalties! But then, imagine something equally unlikely: the inadvertent loss of E-mail as emancipator.

There are certain people who refuse to be pleased, no matter what. To hell with Bush falling in line with their agenda, the Family Research Council is offended by Powell's condom remarks to his MTV audience today. And the other knee, Gary Bauer, jerks equally quickly. By golly, you get off message with the abstinence-only crowd, and they are quick to throw stones, aren't they? The one thing you can say is that they continue to try to legislate morality, despite the evidence before them that it's impossible (see Taliban, Afghanistan, c. 1996-2000 A.D.). However, the other side of the debate is wheeling out the really big guns. Planned Parenthood of LA hosts its annual Food Fare, with the help of Julia Child! Given the choice of people to hobnob with, I'll take Julia over Mr. Bauer, any day of the week.
posted by Link Meister at 5:07 PM

 
As usual, talk is cheap. More fodder for frustration: remember Adm. Poindexter, of Iran-Contra fame? Well, he's Ba-ack, and he's now in charge of DARPA's new office in charge of government surveillance and information gathering. In other privacy news (or non-news) the VP apparently thinks the press would be a hindrance on his upcoming Middle East trip. Cue Billie Holiday (Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do).

Why stop at Hallmark? Now you (gents?) can buy diamonds for almost sensible prices. I had no idea the diamond market had changed so much; DeBeers must be howling. Then, to pay for the diamond, how about putting the charge on your phone bill? Or sending your Valentine a text message? That story, by the way, offers this remark: "Texting is the new foreplay, says the director of the UK Flirting Academy Peta Heskell." Which begs the question: Why is there a need for a Flirting Academy in the UK?

JAMA published some current poetry which has a whiff of Cavafy's "Waiting for the Barbarians." I first ran across Cavafy in a (don't laugh) Helen MacInnes novel about thirty years ago; he wrote some thought-provoking poems in the first half of the last century. This one is one of the best, I think. The last line always stuns me.

Oh dear, now I'm really stunned: the evil Batgrl has put up a link to a Life Expectancy calculator. Results below:

Your average life span is: 85 Years Old
By modifying your Health, Lifestyle, Diet and Environment you can live to be: 97 Years Old
You have lived 18,729 days and have 12,223 days left to live.
Statistically you should die on Thursday August 02, 2035 at 7:35:17 PM.

I can't die on a Thursday! That's the best TV night of the week! No, No! Who do I negotiate with, here??
posted by Link Meister at 4:28 PM

 
Egad! Call the romantic police! Cupid as "the very avatar of Western culture," threatening Indian culture! Perhaps such grouchiness has an explanation? But then why does a story about 4-year-olds being treated for depression make me cranky? I suppose being disturbed means the brain cells are stimulated, though, which is a good thing, according to no less an authority than the National Institues of Health.

Here is the opening text of Carla del Ponte's opening statement at the Milosevic trial in The Hague; described in legal language, it still manages to convey horror. Meanwhile South Africa's President Mbeki seems to bend a little in his government's approach to AIDS, although not enough to satisfy the critics.
posted by Link Meister at 5:19 PM

 
Dilemma: You are the elderly Chinese leadership; you see statistics like these; now what? Another dilemma: you are the recording industry, and you see the results of this survey; again, now what? Yet a third dilemma: You are a citizen of Serbia, and this recap of crimes committed in your name is made fully public. Denial, admission, regret, rage, or what? And finally, some advice for VP Cheney from John Dean, one of the Watergate drama actors.

Michael Kinsley steps down from Slate; that may not be all that big a deal, but the method of finding his successor seems mildly odd. Two editors will run the place for consecutive six-week terms, as a tryout. That just seems strange to me. More media tidbits: here's a short list of Washington-area pundits and their websites. And here's a review of a forthcoming campaign bio of the most prominent Washingtonian of all, Mr. Bush (aka Shrub).

Ok, just in time for Valentine's Day: here's some chocolate news which sounds wonderful!
posted by Link Meister at 5:39 PM