Society Archives

From Voice of America:
“In the 21st century, expression and assembly are carried out on the Internet so we are going to continue to support those people who wish to circumvent and be able to communicate without being blocked by their own government,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The U.S. Treasury Department has [...]

“Is it better to live as a monster or die a good man?” ~ Leonardo DiCaprio as “Teddy” at the end of Martin Scorsese’s latest film Shutter Island
That is the question.
I’m glad I’m not the only one still puzzling this one out. There’s an interesting discussion going on at Screen Rant. There are [...]

Poldark quickly became a viewer favorite in America when it first aired on Masterpiece Theatre in 1977, and the longtime unavailability on DVD has kept the legend alive. The series originally aired just after the Bicentennial, when there was renewed interest in the Colonial period. Sure, we had 1776, with glimpses into the [...]

It’s back! I’ve been waiting a while for Marriage Italian Style starting Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni to come out on DVD in a decent copy. Unfortunately it can be hit or miss getting good transfers of older foreign language films, but the one I just bought from Amazon was clear enough to [...]

In commemoration of the Oscar’s tonight, let’s look at children of actors who go on to become actors themselves – or attempt to.
Sometimes it works, case in point Oscar nominee Jeff Bridges, son of actor Lloyd Bridges. Another success was Jane Fonda, daughter of actor Henry Fonda.
Sometimes it doesn’t work though. Case in [...]

Curse you, NBC, for replacing him with Jay Leno. (Look what Conan’s fans have done to Jay Leno’s Hulu site – check out the tags – but where’s the “for me to poop on” tag?)…
Anyway, on to the latest, from the Los Angeles Times:
Ok, Conan, you’re not such a bad guy, after all. We [...]

From NPR:
… it’s not so much what teens are thinking — it’s how.
Jensen says scientists used to think human brain development was pretty complete by age 10. Or as she puts it, that “a teenage brain is just an adult brain with fewer miles on it.”
But it’s not. To begin with, she says, a crucial [...]

Seen in the comments, this is funny – and so true: “Jay is the Microsoft of Late Night.”

Read this article from dog trainer Uncle Matty, too. Kids and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to dog attacks. Dogs are not people and it’s critically important to take any signs of aggression very seriously.
From TMZ (I’m not sure why they are saying the dog that killed the child may not be put down):
The [...]

I just love it when suffragettes smear me with mustard!

Apart from the incredibly silly disrobing scene, with this remake of The 39 Steps, I was reminded of the old Wishbone classics that introduced vastly simplified stories to children, where the dog would play one of the characters. I had to double check to make [...]

Updates from The Hollywood Reporter, Jane is played by the actor who plays Alice in the new version of Alice in Wonderland:
Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Imogen Poots are in negotiations to join the cast of “Jane Eyre,” an adaptation of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel.
Cary Fukunaga is directing…
Mia Wasikowska and Michael [...]

“This stone shows us that all ages and all sects are found to undertake this long, tedious and even dangerous journey for some unknown object never to be realized, even by those the most fortunate. And why? Because the human mind can never be satisfied, never at rest, always on the stretch for something new, [...]

I agree, really, do we need St. Bono or George Clooney or one of the silly spoiled celebrities du jour to instruct us in the ways of the lord? Oh, that’s right, they didn’t quite hear the message right. Jesus said (Matthew 6):
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to [...]

You know, the woman he had sex with while his wife was dying of cancer. Of course, since the “crazy slut” got money for sex, that would technically make her a “ho”. But let’s stick with his term.
Whatever shall we call you, Mr. Edwards? Weren’t you a bit crazy [...]

Maybe I’m having too much fun with these puppet videos, but here goes (I dare you not to laugh when Craig Ferguson as the unicorn sings Julie Andrews’ part in The Sound of Music – or tries to):

This is hilarious, complete with puppets, the video:

From the New York Times:
The Gallup survey asked just one question: “Have there been times in the last month when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” Nearly one in five Americans said they lacked the money to buy the food they needed at some point in [...]

“In our house you will always be THE host of The Tonight Show.” ~ Tom Hanks to Conan O’Brien
Conan O’Brien’s last words on the Tonight Show (Quelle rat Jay Leno!):
“This massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming for me. The rallies, the signs, all this goofy, outrageous creativity on [...]

Our responding to life’s unfairness with sympathy and with righteous indignation, God’s compassion and God’s anger working through us, may be the surest proof of all of God’s reality. From Rabbi Harold Kushner, When Bad Things Happen To Good People:
… This is what it means to be human ‘in the image of God.’ It [...]

From Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu:
A truly good man is not aware of his goodness,
And is therefore good.
A foolish man tries to be good,
And is therefore not good
A truly good man does nothing,
Yet leaves nothing undone.
A foolish man is always doing,
Yet much remains to be done…

From Financial Times:
Franklin Roosevelt built on these ideas when he delivered his Four Freedoms speech in 1941. Now, at the time, Americans faced a cavalcade of crises and a crisis of confidence. But the vision of a world in which all people enjoyed freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from [...]

From Access Hollywood:
…The outspoken former “View” moderator said she hopes if a telethon is put together, celebrities will do more than show up and ask the public to dig deep. She believes the stars asking for money need to dig deep themselves.
“I hope [there’s] not another telethon on the air, and if there is one, [...]

Late night without Conan? Unthinkable. A pox on NBC, and Jay Leno? Quelle rat.
Gawker has been tracking the reaction among late night show hosts – they are Team Conan, too: Late Night Clips…
Jimmy Kimmel skewers Leno on his own show…
Update from Gawker on Conan’s Tonight Show finale…
The Wall Street Journal on [...]

From a wonderfully snarky review by A. O. Scott in the New York Times:
Holmes has never been much for physical violence, and the chief innovation of this new, franchise-ready incarnation, directed by Guy Ritchie and played by Robert Downey Jr., is that he is, in addition to everything else, a brawling, head-butting, fist-in-the-gut, knee-in-the-groin action [...]

It makes me happy that in an entertainment industry mired in vulgarity (Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, and Beyonce are merely the latest in a long line of desperate attention seekers trying to “shock” people but just looking like the pathetic creatures they are, dating back to Madonna), Susan Boyle’s album just went triple platinum. [...]

Such a lovely, strong voice in the early days… for a fine singer to smoke cigarettes, it’s like putting a rare musical instrument out in the rain. Hoping young people today will stay away from this horribly addictive drug…

From the New York Times:
She knew what to do and she had the courage to do it — by doing it she saved countless people’s lives. The police officer who brought down a gunman after he went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base here was on the way to have her [...]

From Raw Story:
Facing the threat of a filibuster by Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CN) over the public option remaining in Democrats’ health reform bill, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) does not seem gravely concerned.
Should Lieberman try to prevent the bill from coming to a vote, “there are other ways that we have to proceed,” Sanders told MSNBC’s [...]

Some interesting quotes on the nature of evil:
“Only an infantile person can pretend that evil is not at work everywhere; the more unconscious he is, the more the devil drives him. It is just because of this inner connection with the black side of things that it is so incredibly easy for the mass [...]

I’ve been watching Masterpiece Theatre on PBS faithfully since I was a child when the series began back in the seventies. Seeing quality dramatizations of some of the finest writing in existence has been a long-cherished pastime. So when Hollywood recognizes a fine Masterpiece Theatre production, I can’t help but get excited.
Little [...]

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield but to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but [...]

Someone named Ray wrote this song for his daughter who was having a tough time with meanies at work:
Whip Somebody’s Ass Song by Ray – mp3
Lately a new version is going around (warning: this can be addictive if you are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore):
Whip Somebody’s Ass, Dancing Chicken Version [...]

You have many enemies, that know not
Why they are so, but, like to village curs,
Bark when their fellows do.
~~~ King Henry VIII
A neighborhood dog (that we all considered “our dog”) saved my life once, from a vicious, barking dog that used to roam the neighborhood. I loved “my” dog dearly – she had the [...]

From Alternet:
The Lobbyist-run Groups “Americans for Prosperity ” and “FreedomWorks/ Dick Armey-Orchestrated Memo:
Here is a leaked excerpt from the folks organizing the intimidation campaign:
– Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: “Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive [...]

New York Times – I’m loving the comments! Here’s one from “Larry”:
The Teacup may not have done harm,
But the Tempest within that did swarm,
Might have frazzled the Mona
And the Louvre, now it’s owner,
Which it didn’t and quelled all alarm.

From the AP:
Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says the health care overhaul bill would set up a “death panel.” Federal bureaucrats would play God, ruling on whether ailing seniors are worth enough to society to deserve life-sustaining medical care. Palin and other critics are wrong.
Nothing in the legislation would carry out such a [...]

From Dr. Peter Breggin:
There are no known biochemical imbalances in the brains of depressed people until they start taking toxic psychiatric drugs and every person who takes one of these drugs end up with a significant biochemical disturbance in the brain. … It’s worth re-emphasizing that used of antidepressants is based more on myth than [...]

From Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times:
Private insurers scrutinize applicants’ medical histories, looking for reasons to turn them down or charge them exorbitant premiums. Even if you’re accepted, your carrier reserves the right to cancel your policy retroactively if it finds that you left even a tiny condition from years back off your application. [...]

I love this quote from Bette Davis:
“I often think that a slightly exposed shoulder emerging from a long satin nightgown packed more sex than two naked bodies in bed.”

Obviously, cigarettes’ toxic chemicals far exceed the “Threshold Limit Values.” Wherefore TTS-caused injuries and deaths are common, foreseeable, “natural and probable consequences.” TTS exposure causes Increased Risk of Death. There is a common law right to “fresh and pure air,” a duty to not endanger people, and, when one does cause [...]

The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.
~ T.S. Eliot
Use Firefox and donate to your own charity. LOL in the comments: “Oh Dear. What?s next? ?Use our browser or we will kill this dog??” From Mac Observer:
Microsoft announced Friday charity drive that will donate US$1.15 [...]

As a buyer -

You are buying something sight unseen from a stranger so only buy from a seller who states in the listing that they accept returns without any strings attached. “No returns” = Gambling. Also know that a seller who adds “only if” conditions to the return details section (some slip the conditions [...]

Greenwald is one of those rare things these days, a liberal of principle – a liberal who dares to hold Obama accountable. From The Economist:
Barack Obama claimed to recognise that when he was seeking the Democratic nomination, constantly vowing that he’d usher in a “new era of transparency”. Since taking office, however, he has [...]

From Glenn Greenwald:
In my interview with her yesterday, Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter — the Chairwoman of the powerful House Rules Committee — explained her vehement opposition to the Graham/Lieberman amendment by making a critical point: the Freedom of Information Act, which Graham/Lieberman is designed to gut, was one of the most significant pieces [...]

It’s only logical. From Bonnie Erbe:
The Wall Street Journal posted a fascinating article offering insight on the rather limited thinking of Madison Avenue executives. It profiles a fashion sales website launched by a former Fox TV executive seeking to target 18-to-34-year-old consumers. The man is asked why he’s targeting this demographic and he [...]

From the Washington Post:
?In the United States,? Dr. Popkin wrote, ?livestock production accounts for 55 percent of the erosion process, 37 percent of pesticides applied, 50 percent of antibiotics consumed, and a third of total discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus to surface water. There was a time when red meat was a luxury for ordinary [...]

Damn, I love the quote about the 58 year old guy getting the 22 year old – yeah, right. From Seeing the Forest:
Right. People don’t want to be able to copy their DVDs onto their computers. We’re dealing with responsive, innovative companies here. (Sort of like how at exactly 25 minutes and 32 seconds [...]

From Health Day:
“We know that active smoking is bad — being a smoker is bad for your health and increases your risk of Alzheimer’s. This study suggests that this is the same for passive smoking. We know that passive smoking is associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease. This is just [...]

Both Greenwald and Tavis Smiley (my earlier post) are being roasted over the coals for merely holding Obama – a woefully inexperienced politician with a history of putting his own self-interest before principle – accountable for his actions. These left wing “nuts” sound just like the right wing “nuts” who defended the indefensible George [...]

From the Miami Herald:
Cole says that in 1914, when the first federal drug law was enacted, the government estimated 1.3 percent of us were addicted to illegal drugs. In 1970, when the War on Drugs began, the government estimated 1.3 percent of us were addicted to illegal drugs. Thirty-nine million arrests later, he says, the [...]

Might I also add that connecting to the world often relates directly to the task at hand (even though seemingly unrelated on the surface). From Wired:
Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It’ll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours [...]

Consumer Reports picked Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Burger, and I can attest to how good a burger this is, because it’s the same one Burger King serves and I’ve had quite a few. There are times when I get it, take a bite, and am afraid they got my order wrong and gave me [...]

I read somewhere that the beauty of his technique was that he didn’t need to use phrasing to get the feeling of a song across – he could sing the straight melody and his voice would express things just right. And he started out as a barber! He was one of those rare [...]

I agree with with the author, who makes a strong case on the basis of Jewish law. I would add, the Christian bible also does not support forgiveness where forgiveness has not been sought (with no repentence). Here Jesus explains, in Luke 17:3: “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and [...]

There are things a person can say and I know I’m going to like them. Like if someone says, hey, isn’t it a drag that we’ve never had a woman president in this country? And that only 17% of Congress is female? And only 11% of the Supreme Court?
Then there are things [...]

He has only a 37% approval rating among Republicans. From US News:
“The only thing worse than having these prayers in the first place is to have them vetted, because it entangles the White House in core theological matters. …In a departure from previous presidents, his public rallies are opening with invocations that have been [...]

The 1st of March is set aside especially for pigs. It was started by Texas art teacher Ellen Stanley in 1972 to honor and give thanks to our most intelligent domesticated creature.
On this day, remember the good things pigs have brought to us; remember that pigs are sociable, intelligent mammals. They are much like us [...]

Responsible pet owners whose dogs don’t bark where I can hear them or poop where I can step in it, who don’t force their dogs on me in public places, who don’t endanger other people with their dogs (and enough with the “I never thought my dog would bite someone!” nonsense – animals bite in [...]

“The bottom line is that people don’t have the right to manipulate or to breed dogs and cats… If people want toys, they should buy inanimate objects. If they want companionship, they should seek it with their own kind.” ~ Ingrid Newkirk, national director, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
But my dog is my [...]

From dog trainer Uncle Matty:
Some may think of their dogs as children, but they are not. They never will be. Let’s recognize that, and then perhaps we can begin to reduce the outrageous number of children and adults as well, who are traumatized, maimed and injured each year by the family dog. Ruby Sharum, [...]

Madison Avenue has a lot to do with encouraging dog ownership, corporations make a ton of money from the dog products industry.
They’ve got it all down to a science. Targets they prey on are not strong as individuals and turn to dogs as surrogate husbands, wives, or children. When the dogs disappoint [...]

ABC News Video
Mountain Dew has more caffeine, acid, and sugar than other soft drinks. The combination of acid and sugar rots the teeth of the kids addicted to the caffeine in Mountain Dew. It took several back and forth appearances for Pepsi to stop blaming the victims and contact the dentist. [...]

Just thought I’d say that. When you miscalculate one time by three minutes only to find a parking ticket (with VIOLATION and OFFENDER all over the place in bold red letters) in an out of the way place with plenty of spots, after always over-feeding the meters out of fear, you have to wonder, [...]

Anchors Away – Gene Kelly & Jerry Mouse dance starts at 4:08

How I would LOVE to use a Mac instead of Windoze at work!!! From the Washington Post:
The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. If the Obama campaign represented a sleek, new iPhone kind of future, the first day of the Obama administration looked more [...]

Breaking an artificially imposed barrier is an occasion to celebrate, but only if the person breaking the barrier has worked hard to truly achieve, through all the lonely hours of dedication that requires, and has behaved with honesty and integrity.
We can pretend such things mean little, I suppose. People can be quite [...]

This was a man who lived his words. Here are some of his words that mean a lot to me:
“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger [...]

Mr. Hope and Change is still voting “present”. From Politico:
President-elect Barack Obama signaled Friday that he might not use his executive authority to reverse Bush-era limits on stem cell research, but instead might wait for Congress to change the policy.
Obama pledged during the campaign to lift the restrictions, and political observers had expected him [...]

One can call anything art, I suppose. But is it genuine? Joe Queenan at the Guardian thinks not, in the case of Woody Allen:
Particularly in light of Allen’s subsequent romantic adventures, Manhattan now seems like a profoundly autobiographical and oddly creepy motion picture. It is basically a story about a neurotic, unattractive middle-aged [...]

The $50 billion a year pet products industry laughing all the way to the bank as it cashes in on the myth of dog as “child”, “soul mate”, everything bad dog owners are too self-absorbed to pull off with humans.
There is a virtual epidemic of what seems like dog worship but the truth is really [...]

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head
‘There is no [...]

So sayeth Linus… From the Gospel of St. Luke:
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyre’ni-us was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his [...]

1944 – Judy Garland, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Soundtrack, Meet Me in St. Louis)
1946 – Perry Como, I’ll Be Home For Christmas
1946 – Andrews Sisters (with Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians), Winter Wonderland
1947 – Bing Crosby, White Christmas
1949 – Gene Autry, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
1951 – Perry Como & the Fontaine Sisters, It’s Beginning [...]

This is common knowledge. Amazing that anyone would not know they should not do this. Yet in a recent case, a bystander recklessly moved an accident victim for no reason (there was not even remotely any imminent danger) and the accident victim is now paralyzed for life. The accident victim clearly should [...]

“At the movies, we are gradually being conditioned to accept violence as a sensual pleasure. The directors used to say they were showing us its real face and how ugly it was in order to sensitize us to its horrors. You don’t have to be very keen to see that they are now in fact [...]

When folk singer Pete Seeger was accosted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in 1955, rather than take the fifth amendment to protect himself from self-incrimination, he took a stand for freedom. He was given a prison sentence for contempt of Congress, although the decision was reversed on appeal years later in [...]

Seen in Funny Times:
“The aim of a festive season is to attain amiability, and perhaps actual joy, which we may find in our private moments but which at Christmas we seek to attain together, thus it is a true test of the power of the community to elevate its members, without which we may as [...]

Just heard a rebroadcast of the 11/27/46 Frank Sinatra radio show on Nancy Sinatra’s show on Siriusly Sinatra (please Siriusly Sinatra, stop playing Barry Manilow and other modern singers, I change the channel every time they come on; play only Frank’s contemporaries). An mp3 clip is here, (seen on The Frank Truth) where he [...]

Some great reasons here that compassionate people concerned about health and the environment will want to read… There is peace of mind as well, knowing you are not contributing to all this… Along with going vegetarian is choosing organic at the grocery store, which is especially important to those concerned with these issues [...]

This passage from Middlemarch by George Elliot (Mary Anne Evans) is, to me, the essence of friendship.
Dr. Lydgate was a doctor who’d gone through a similar situation to what we all go through… being falsely maligned… his spirits are low… he visits his friend Dorothea, and well, read on:
“The presence of a noble nature, [...]

Blind defense of a child even though they did something wrong is what leads the child to do more and more wrong.
Case in point, Cindy Anthony (mother of daughter Casey who lied repeatedly about the disappearance of her two year old daughter Caylee, who she referred to as “the bitch” (and after Caylee was “missing”, [...]

Michelle has some serious issues: “I can see why if I was living out here [Iowa], I?d want a gun.” & “My husband and I know that there is no law that will stop him from becoming the president, just because some American white racists are bringing up the issue of my husband?s adoption [...]

They already use fake vanilla… Time to try Ghirardelli or organic chocolate, with real vanilla and real chocolate!
From Today:
…Oh, milk chocolate. Wherefore art thou?
Apparently not in some Hershey?s products that contained milk chocolate for years, and that has passionate chocolate aficionados fighting mad.
Products such as Whatchamacallit, Milk Duds, Mr. Goodbar and Krackel no [...]

From A.S.H.:
Paul Newman’s death from lung cancer highlights the risk that former smokers who are now senior citizens face from lung cancer and other lung diseases…
Newman, who just died from lung cancer, was once considered a heavy smoker or even a “chain smoker,” but he reportedly quit more than 30 years ago.
Thus he, and [...]

That says it all. And as Frank said, why “use scarce federal resources to arrest people for using or possessing marijuana?” I’m no fan of it, myself, but it seems to me people use it for the same reason they use alcohol, so why not regulate it the same way? From Norml:
“With [...]

“Microsoft has consistently violated United States Antitrust Law.” So said the U.S. Dept. of Justice. That slap on the wrist sure helped matters, didn’t it? And worst of all, we can’t go to BBC or Canadian sites to see the videos in flash, a widely used technology accessible to all – NBC [...]

At first, you never imagine people getting away with treating other people this way right in your own community – then before you know it, you descend into a spiral where you alone are fighting for the survival of your loved one.
What the woman in the audio is describing is both real and [...]

I just read a beautiful passage that I believe is very true. From Beverly Bigtree Murphy, in He Used To Be Somebody:
… the experiences seem to defy the premise that our people are dead long before they die. It also occurs to me that if you believe in the concept of a [...]

This is a really good site for looking up products you use, and trying to find a safer alternative – Cosmetics Database – for instance, check out Safe Sunscreens…
The EU is ahead of the US on matters of consumer safety, however, the article refers to an organization trying to raise awareness in the US – [...]