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It's the clothes. A fashion columnist in The Washington Post blames corporate scandals on business-casual clothes, which lead to casual ethics.
comment posted at 5:33 AM on Jul-5-02
comment posted at 8:31 AM on Jul-5-02

"Boy's walk with upper caste girl led to trial and punishment"
From the newspaper article that is scanned and posted on the blog:

The girl was raped by four men as hundreds of villagers stood outside laughing and cheering, and was then forced to return home naked while dozens of villagers watched.

The sentence was ordered to shame the family after the girl's younger brother was seen walking unchaperoned with a girl from a higher-class tribe.
comment posted at 8:27 AM on Jul-5-02

If You Take A Book With You, You Travel Twice Over This pleasant essay by Alain de Botton had me thinking what the perfect combination of a book, a destination and a way of travelling would be...
comment posted at 7:17 AM on Jul-4-02
comment posted at 8:34 AM on Jul-4-02
comment posted at 12:39 PM on Jul-4-02

you worry me This American Airlines pilot hits the nail on the head for me! Thus far the Muslim voices I hear in America--and they are precious few--always seem to get half way through condemniong this or that and then insert a "BUT" or "HOWEVER." This guy asks for a simple, straight-forward response.
comment posted at 8:18 AM on Jul-3-02

Shoot the Dog, George Michael's latest release, will be accompanied by an animated video which lampoons the relationship between George Bush & Tony Blair. The UK Prime Minister appears as an obedient poodle and the video also features Mr Michael's attempts to get jiggy with the PM's wife, Cherie. Clips viewable via this Sky News report

'It could get slated, it could land me right in the shit, but I hope it just gets people debating because there's never been a more important time to talk than now' says the man who is no stranger to controversy following his dalliance in an LA toilet.

Here are the ABC & Reuters/Yahoo versions of the story but Lileks isn't impressed [scroll down a little] and offers a curmudgeonly run thru the lyrics.

This brings up the old chestnut of pop stars as political commentators and further questions regarding the US-UK-EU-RoW relationships, dissenting voices in these various times and, of course, whether the song is actually any good? And what does Bono think?
comment posted at 6:19 AM on Jul-2-02

are'nt we? i'm no fan of many of the green parties tactical decisions (not tossing the green party votes to the greenest presidential candidate in history for example...) - a very effective ad, never the less - particularly cogent as temperatures reach a sweltering 90 + degrees in northern minnesota today... quicktime required via newstoday
comment posted at 12:48 PM on Jun-30-02
comment posted at 5:40 AM on Jul-2-02

Stranger is as stranger does Lets see, the older I get, the more eccentric I become. Boy, am I in trouble.
comment posted at 1:48 PM on Jun-28-02

"Hunchback of Notre Dame" stage production renamed to "Bellringer." In other news, I hear they'll be reprinting Melville's Moby Dick as "Moby Richard."
comment posted at 1:07 PM on Jun-28-02

"Substantial Doubt" over Salon's Survival (NYT Reg. Req'd) And this from its auditors. Hey, these days, if even your auditors can't cover over your poor financial situation, you know you're screwed. Seriously, though, this and a number of other articles point to the end of the Web's erstwhile leading "independent" publication, still ticking but on the decline for the past year. It should be gone by summer's end, they say. Via The Morning News.
comment posted at 11:08 AM on Jun-28-02

To spank, or not to spank? Some parents - including Presidents and Princesses - seem to believe it's one's duty to administer corporal punishment of some sort, whereas others clearly wouldn't even as a last resort. Some, apparently, would leave it to the Webmaster to decide how many times to raise the paddle! If westerners are confused about child disciplinary methods, what about their kids? Or is consistency of approach more important than which side of the philosophical divide you stand on? More inside>>>
comment posted at 7:05 AM on Jun-26-02
comment posted at 7:30 AM on Jun-26-02

Is your library unpatriotic? The FBI has now started checking library records. According to the USA Patriot Act, the FBI can research library records, all they have to do is prove a diluted form of probable cause to a secret court. Some librarians say they will resist the attempts by the FBI to view the reading histories of their patrons. If you think your local librarian is being unpatriotic or subversive, please send them hate mail, report them to the FBI.....
comment posted at 11:55 AM on Jun-25-02

Now that's more like it. Finally a design for rebuilding the WTC that captures the appropriate spirit. Far better than the other designs I've seen. No doubt some will think it too much, though. What's your opinion?
comment posted at 7:00 AM on Jun-24-02

Apropos of nothing, here's some art for yinz. Too many do not know Arthur Dove's work, the earliest American abstract art.
comment posted at 11:30 AM on Jun-21-02

INXS launches first U.S. tour after death of Michael Hutchence. Doesn't the death of a band's charismatic lead singer and frontman necessarily spell The End for the band? Can the remaining members ever really come Back (in Black)?
comment posted at 1:23 PM on Jun-21-02

more bad news on the global warming front is there any leadership whatsoever from the whitehouse on this issue? oh, thats right... theres a war on terrorism goin on...
comment posted at 5:38 PM on Jun-20-02

An asteroid the size of a football field just missed the Earth last Friday. Coming in fast out of the sun, where we ain't watching, it missed us by an astro-paltry 75,000 miles (a third the distance to the Moon). If it had hit, the impact would have been about 10 megatons -- not a planet-killer, but enough to spoil your picnic.

In related news, Attorney General Ashcroft arrested a box of moon rocks and the entire staff of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA for questioning. The director of the Office of Orbital Security was at a pro-am golf tournament in Fond du Lac, WI and unavailable for a statement.
comment posted at 12:33 PM on Jun-20-02

"Soccer scolds" attack! The Weekly Standard's Jonathan Last has had it with gushing soccer writers like Slate's David Thomson ("[Soccer is] something made out of muscle, speed, grace and the soul") who see American lack of enthusiasm for the sport as a deep-seated national character flaw worthy of dire-sounding pronouncements. Is he right, or, as The San Francisco Chronicle would have it, can soccer really bring world peace?
comment posted at 9:40 AM on Jun-20-02

Seems that public discontent with with the state of radio is finally being heard at some major outlets. The most telling part of the story is this: Those most likely to turn off the radio: teen-agers, long among the medium's mainstays. Along with MTV, the radio practices mentioned in this article are the reason a lot of good music never gets heard. A listener said it best: He longs for the free-form format of his teen years, when you could hear anything from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello, the Supremes to the Sex Pistols. . Are you listening Clear Channel? And more important are we? I'm still of the opinion that (pending legaliteis aside) the internet will be what saves radio, but it's not quite there yet.
comment posted at 8:24 AM on Jun-20-02

Envy of the Literary World, or another Trust-Fund Novelist? Following up on the discussion of J.T. LeRoy a few weeks ago, here's a story from the Observer about Nick McDonell, who's 18, just out of high school and about to publish a major novel (you may have read about him in the New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" section). The catch is, his dad edits SI, his publisher is his godfather, and Hunter S. Thompson, who plugs the book, is a family friend. The book's not out yet, so the quality question is moot at this point. But still ... what gives with all this ridiculously young writers these days?
comment posted at 11:33 AM on Jun-19-02

Fortune Magazine went roadtripping in search of the technological future by trying (and not succeeding) to blend in with college kids. After getting schooled themselves, they came up with a list of cool web companies with lots of sex appeal, in the categories of media, communication, biotech, and international. via Blogger.
comment posted at 7:00 AM on Jun-19-02

British papers seem to be the only place we can find out what goes on in the US these days. Probably has to do with the liberal media, wouldn't you say?
comment posted at 11:12 AM on Jun-18-02
comment posted at 12:39 PM on Jun-18-02

They Might Be Giants have a new album for kids and I can't wait to foist it on mine.
comment posted at 11:27 AM on Jun-18-02
comment posted at 12:12 PM on Jun-18-02

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense From Scientific American..."Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up. Besieged teachers and others may increasingly find themselves on the spot to defend evolution and refute creationism. The arguments that creationists use are typically specious and based on misunderstandings of (or outright lies about) evolution, but the number and diversity of the objections can put even well-informed people at a disadvantage. To help with answering them, the following list rebuts some of the most common "scientific" arguments raised against evolution. It also directs readers to further sources for information and explains why creation science has no place in the classroom." Creation "science?"
comment posted at 1:34 PM on Jun-17-02

The Umbrella Sail at Last a Reality! Technofetishists will love this fabulous collection of Popular Mechanics covers going back to 1902. Who'd have thought a weaving machine could be so beautiful? Futuristic cityscapes, bizarre weapons, new-fangled sports and surprisingly delicate and artful scenes are just a few of the pleasures in the year-by-year archive. The mag's male-dominated world can get kind of, um, gay, but it's hard to imagine a better display of the joys and fears (especially the fears) of our monkey fascination with technology.
comment posted at 11:58 AM on Jun-17-02
comment posted at 12:39 PM on Jun-17-02

All about Tati.
comment posted at 8:52 AM on Jun-17-02
comment posted at 9:28 AM on Jun-17-02

Is Israel rebuilding a Berlin wall ? Some people remember the moment of happiness when the Berlin wall was finally destroyed. Is this new wall a symbol of a new cold war era ?
comment posted at 8:31 AM on Jun-17-02

Why , why, why? Bush vs. Saddam. Prequel to Desert Storm II.
comment posted at 3:52 PM on Jun-16-02

Would you sign your name to this statement? Why doesn't it appear in an American media outlet?
comment posted at 11:59 AM on Jun-14-02

Diggers of the Underground Planet We've had similar links posted before, but this one about the subterranean geography of Moscow really caught my attention. Discoveries include a 3,000 seat bunker under a cathedral, deserted chemical warfare labs, ancient stashes of the skulls, a second ring of metro stations that were never used and possibly a mass grave from the Stalin era.
comment posted at 8:45 AM on Jun-13-02
comment posted at 11:46 AM on Jun-13-02

Broken Saints is a beautifully done flash animation. A little anime in feel with some strange sonic diversions every once in a while. The pacing is a little slow for my highly Americanized tastes, but it's gorgeous all the same.
comment posted at 6:22 AM on Jun-13-02

Chickflicks? The American Film Institute's list of top 100 U.S. screen romances. But the list lacks my three favorite romantic movies: Braveheart, True Romance, and Bull Durham.

I figured out a long time ago if I wanted a guy to take me to a tearjerker I would need to combine romance with machismo like sports, violence, and medieval weaponary. If you like to see tough guys wind up with trembling lips these three movies always get the job done.

Right guys?
comment posted at 10:09 AM on Jun-12-02

"We eat the sweets while the monkeys roam the streets" It is my humble belief that with all of the existing India-Pakistan tension, it would only take the musical talents of two men -- MC Vikram and Luda Krishna -- to bring peace throughout the land and into the hearts of everyone who appreciates down home Indian rap. [QuickTime required for music, but text lyrics are also provided]
comment posted at 9:34 AM on Jun-12-02

Homeland security loophole discovered in 1999: "In the Appalachians of West Virginia, the sun was going down and I was stuck for a place to stay.   I knocked on the door of a private farm house.  Three college-age girls were in the middle of an LSD trip.  They recognized me as Art Garfunkel.  I learned that they were three of thousands (millions?) who are "invisible" - pay no taxes, avoid the census taker; they are not on America's books."
comment posted at 8:14 AM on Jun-12-02

A can of soup defeated a club sandwich in a cage, is what I witnessed Friday Night. Was anyone else at the Kaiju Big Battel, at Warsaw in Greenpoint, Brooklyn? A very funny mix of Japananese monster movie, plus WWF.
comment posted at 11:33 AM on Jun-11-02

Salon spends time with Ted Nugent - love him or hate him, you gotta admit he gives an entertaining interview. Also, the man has apparently yet to meet the word that he couldn't spell more interestingly.
comment posted at 12:59 PM on Jun-11-02

Post-War Jazz: An Arbitrary Road Map In this two-part Village Voice piece, Gary Giddins presents a personal road map to post-war jazz, introducing 57 of his most cherished tracks from 1945 to 2001. Any glaring ommissions? I'd add Witchitai-To by Jim Pepper. In addition to being one of the first jazz-rock fusion proponents, Pepper, a Native American, also blended the music of his people into his compositions.
comment posted at 9:14 AM on Jun-11-02
comment posted at 9:19 AM on Jun-11-02
comment posted at 11:36 AM on Jun-11-02

City as Loser? Iron City was ranked last out of 40 cities in this year's "Best Cities for Singles" in Forbes magazine. Not that Forbes is the ultimate arbiter of the single life (don't they specialize in male readers over 35 with money?), but your best defense of Pittsburgh or your own medium- or small-sized town would be appreciated.
comment posted at 11:47 AM on Jun-11-02

Ahhh...the power of suggestion... The Japanese have proven once again that even the best marketing campaigns are weak compared to a good fad--no matter how ludicrous the claim. But instead of Pokemon and Aibo's, all the Japanese are after now are everyday electrons...or are they?
comment posted at 12:56 PM on Jun-7-02