…and memories of my youth. Let’s see if we can top the comments over there.
Category Archives: Popular Culture
The Battle For The Moon
Joe Pappalardo target=”_ “deflates Mark Whittington’s favorite space fantasy. Over the past half century, the Pentagon has never found any compelling use for military man in space commensurate with the cost. That could change if the cost comes down dramatically, but there was nothing in NASA’s Constellation plans to make that happen. The new programs offer much more hope in that regard, if they can survive the coming budget tsunami.
Do You Have To Be Mad To Be A Scientist?
No, but it helps.
The Problem With Gun Control
There are lots of them, actually, but right up there is the fact that the ignorami who promote it know nothing about guns. Or rather, they know lots about them that is wrong.
A Much-Discussed Paula Deen Recipe
It’s not for beginners, though. Don’t try it unless you know how to use a can opener.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Be sure to read the comments, which overfloweth with snark.
I Don’t Love Lucy
And I’m gratified to see that Lileks shares my opinion:
It’s not funny. I’m sorry to Lucy fans, but it’s not. When Lucy and Ethel start to wail, when Reeky gets an idea and decides to foool Loocy, and Fred pitches in – gawd, it’s contrived and strained.
I laughed at it when I was a kid, but I got over it by the time I was eight or so. One can only watch shallow, star-worshipping empty-head ditzes so much. She made me embarrassed for womankind.
A Use For All Those Old Ties
Finally. Sartorially eldritch.
It’s Probably Worse
Mitch Daniels says that living next door to Illinois is like living next door to the Simpsons.
A Star Trek Fan Survey
Virginia Postrel needs some data for a book she’s working on.
The Appalling Judgement Of Some Voters
Thoughts on John Edwards’ latest escapades:
There’s a saying that when Republicans pick a presidential candidate, they fall in line; when Democrats pick a presidential candidate, they fall in love. The Edwards saga reminds us that while we may think we know the figures we vote for, support, donate to, and volunteer to help elect, we generally don’t really know them. You know your spouse, your family, and your friends. Beyond that, you know the face that someone presents to the world. There’s probably quite a bit of angst, or regret, or pain, or rage, or zaniness or obsessions or any one of a million quirks and traits and secrets behind your neighbor’s pleasant smile. This doesn’t mean that everyone’s a ticking time bomb; it just means we should be cautious before we put anybody up on a pedestal. This particularly applies to the realm of politics, a field that tends to attract the ambitious, the narcissistic, the power hungry, and those who find it hard to resist the notion that they’re “special” and that the rules don’t really apply to them.
Back when OJ Simpson was first accused of murdering his wife and her friend, I recall how many people were shocked. I wasn’t. That is, I didn’t think of OJ Simpson as a thug, but I didn’t think of him as much of anything except a football player and rental-car salesman, so when I heard that he’d done this, I just said, “Meh.” I was also completely unshocked when Edwards was revealed to be a total sleaze bag (not to insult actual bags of sleaze). And in this case, I would have expected it, because he always came across that way to me.