The beloved children’s book, set here in Boston, has a real-life counterpart across the country.
And truth be told, I know a lot of police officers who would do the exact same thing.
-Geoff
Tag: news
Come on. We’re better than this.
Honestly, I wish I knew why some people have such a problem with anyone different than them. American culture is one of the most heterogenous imaginable. And yet there are still so many people afraid of “them”, whether it be gays, foreigners, or in this case, Muslims.
A U.S. Army veteran, who served in Iraq and is still in the Army Reserve, was apparently attacked by his fare last week. And the guy was screaming about terrorists and the Boston bombing and whatnot.
You know, from a certain point of view, the group that has created the overwhelming majority of the problems I have had in my life is angry, bigoted white meathead rednecks. Does that mean we should start profiling white rednecks? Or start reporting “suspicious” white rednecks to the police? Does that mean all white rednecks are the same? No, they aren’t. It’s absurd. And so is blaming all 1 billion plus Muslims for the acts of a small minority. It’s not like Christians have been free of committing horrific violence in the name of their religious views. So get over yourselves, people. Try learning a little, opening your mind, maybe cracking open a book or two. And for God’s sake, turn off the TV and the talk radio. It’s only making things worse.
-Geoff
Now this is really feeling surreal
[ETA to make some additions and corrections – Geoff]
I honestly am just in shock now.
As if the events in Boston have not brought enough insanity to our world, now the last 12 hours have taken the crazy to whole new levels.
The two bombers lived in our neighborhood here in Cambridge. And that is just for starters.
There be WHALES here!
Or at least dolphins. Cetaceans of some kind for sure.
Yeah, I love me some whales. Cetaceans of any kind, really, because porpoises and dolphins are also pretty cool. On the rare occasions that I get out on the water, especially someplace like the Stellwagen Bank, I usually see at least a few. Nothing spectacular, but still pretty cool to see stuff in the wild. But I have never in my life seen anything like this mega-pod of dolphins spotted near San Diego. It stretched across seven miles of ocean. They think there may have been as many as 100,000 altogether. Can you imagine?
Makes me want to go whale watching. Or fishing. Or both. Just to be out on the water.
-Geoff
Objects in Space
I have had an interest in astronomy for much of my life, and for much of the past 15 years or so that interest has focused on comets and asteroids. I even own a fragment of a meteorite that I keep on a shelf with my science books (along with my jar of ash from Mt. St. Helens – that’s another story). Years ago I wrote a paper on the Impact Theory as the cause of the dinosaur extinction and have been fascinated by the subject ever since, even going as far as to visit several impact crater sites in the Southeastern United States: Wetumpka; Flynn Creek; and Wells Creek. And I even managed to have an e-mail discussion with the Dr. Walter Alvarez that I was able to incorporate into my paper. I dare say that was one of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my life.
This week, two distinctive events have brought the subject of cosmic impacts on the Earth back to the forefront of my mind: the spectacularly close passing of Asteroid 2012 DA14 tonight; and the equally spectacular destruction of a slightly smaller meteorite (about 1/3 the size of 2012 DA14) over the Ural Mountains that actually caused damage to buildings and injuries to bystanders.
Good research and archaeology pay off
One of the great things about history and archaeology is when things that are known in the historic record can be verified by actual physical evidence. But often the evidence simply cannot be found for historic events, even as historians and archaeologists have searched for years.
But sometimes, careful research (with a bit of luck) pays off.
Researchers in Britain have found the long-lost grave of King Richard III, the Plantagenet monarch long slandered by his Tudor successors (and by none other than William Shakespeare as well).
Firearm safety and assumptions
In my life I have spent a fair amount of time around firearms of one type or another. I have learned how to safely handle them from a fairly young age, and won my first shooting trophy when I was nine. I still own several. I have hunted deer and done various kinds of target shooting. I am not a “gun nut” in that I have fetishized my firearms the way so many American men have. I do not feel the need to carry everywhere, and I would never, ever call one of my firearms a “toy”. I think I have a healthy amount of fear and respect for firearms in general. And that is why when I see stories like this I am just astounded. And angry.
How cool is this?
JCPenney has issued a new Father’s Day ad campaign that really makes me smile. It features a family with two dads. And it turns out this is an actual family, not just actors portraying a gay couple with children.
News of the undead
No, this isn’t Geoff posting.
To continue on our slightly macabre thread from yesterday, I’m following up with this story that popped up on Boston.com the other day. I am hoping that this one won’t generate the Google hits that yesterday’s post did. Traffic we like, really disturbing search terms bringing people here, not so much.
A sign of our technological brilliance… and our general social ignorance.
Kelly found an article on Boston.com recently about the new application for smart phones that allows people to report a complaint if they feel they have been treated unfairly by the TSA. It was created by the Sikh Coalition, who saw the need for it probably because so many Americans, including many of those who should know better, can’t tell the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim.
Continue reading “A sign of our technological brilliance… and our general social ignorance.”
