Thursday, September 28, 2006

 

It's Banned Books Week!

I wish I had known this sooner (and posted it sooner as well), but here it is. September 23-30 is Banned Books Week, sponsored by several organizations concerned with books and libraries. One of those sponsors, the American Library Association, offers loads of information about censorship, the First Amendment, and books that have been challenged.

The site also presents lists of the most challenged books and authors of the 20th Century, 21st Century, 1990s and 2005. One would expect the lists to primarily include truly controversial books, such as Catcher in the Rye, Heather Has Two Mommies, or Sex by Madonna. Actually, many of the books are incredibly tame: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and James and the Giant Peach are both on the list. Perhaps the oddest entry of all: Where's Waldo?


Tuesday, September 26, 2006

 

The REAL King of All Media

So guess who has a new book out? Hint: He had solid career as a stand-up comedian. He's been in movies. He was wildly successful on television, not once but twice. No? OK...he was responsible for the greatest final episode in the history of series television.

Bob Newhart was once described by someone (me, actually) as the only comedian who is his own straight man. His new book is called I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This, a memoir that also contains comic bits and observations on various subjects. I haven't read it yet, so I don't know how well it works without, uh, well, his very...distinctive way...of delivering lines.

A couple of things about Newhart:

Monday, September 25, 2006

 

Farewell to the F-14

Last week the Navy retired the last American F-14 Tomcats. Most people know of the Tomcat from the movie "Top Gun" -- Tom Cruise, navy pilot, yadda, yadda, yadda. Now if you know about my family background, you know that I from from a solid Air Force family. My father retired with 28 years, my brother and sister are both active duty, and my stepfather was in the USAF before my mother met him.

So why would I be writing about a Navy plane? Because I grew up in Stuart, Florida.

When I was a kid, Grumman Aerospace had a facility in Stuart where, I believe, some work was done on the F-14s. Not too far away, between Stuart and West Palm Beach, Pratt & Whitney had a huge plant, and I think the engines on the early F-14s were made there. (Later versions of the F-14 used engines made by General Electric.) And those two companies employed a lot of people whose kids were my schoolmates. In short, the F-14 supported a lot of the families in my hometown.

Many of my schoolmates had stickers on their notebooks depicting the F-14 Tomcat mascot -- a pudgy Tomcat wearing an armed holster, leaning over a table, proclaiming, "Anytime, baby."

A bit of research turned up an interesting tidbit: While the U.S. Navy has retired the F-14, there are Tomcats still in service, as the Iranian Air Force still uses it. However, they probably have difficulty obtaining spare parts, which went out of production even for the U.S. Navy some time ago.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

 

Terrorism, Forgiveness, Online Polls, and Funny Medicine

I don’t usually get into politics and religion here. I didn’t start this blog to create arguments and bad feelings. But I always knew there would be some exceptions, and this is one case in point.

A friend of mine alerted me to a website that features a bogus poll. Let’s face it, any poll on a website where you can vote over and over again is bogus. In this case, the question is: “Would you support a Garden of Forgiveness at Ground Zero.”

The purpose of the site is to publicize an upcoming film promoting the idea of such a garden. Personally, I’m not in favor of the idea, although I support other people’s right to express other opinion. According to my friend, the group behind the idea of the Garden of Forgiveness doesn’t seem so receptive to differing viewpoints. When people object, their standard response is that “many aren’t ready to forgive.” As I said, it’s not the would-be forgivers who aren’t ready, it’s the would-be forgiven, as they are still working hard at finding ways to kill more people."

But what bothers me is what I’ve found out about the people making the film. First, it appears they are trying to capitalize on the tragedy rather than offering genuine help, as none of the profits are earmarked to benefit any 9/11 charities or ministries.

Meanwhile, another film is being produced, supposedly about the plight of Ground Zero workers who have been affected by respiratory ailments, and a treatment which, according to the filmmakers, provides relief from this affliction. This treatment is “neither medically safe nor scientifically verified.” The chief medical officer of the FDNY is aware of the "treatment," but does not endorse it. But…guess what group does endorse it? Here's a clue: several people involved in the making of the documentary belong to this group, as do a number of well-known actors. Of course, the film doesn't mention this group's heavy involvement. Know who this is?.




Wednesday, September 06, 2006

 

My Personal (Would-Be) Stingray Encounter

How dangerous are stingrays? Well, as someone noted at BLTB, Steve Irwin is only the third person known to have been killed by one.

But I could easily have had my own stingray encounter as an adolescent. When I was in middle school, one thing we got to do every year was spend a week at the Environmental Studies Center. I think this is unique to Florida, and maybe even to our county. We would go to the center (each school sent kids during a different week) and learn about how the local ecosystem worked. There were a few days where we would actually take a field trip to the Indian River lagoon (to any former teachers reading this: see, I still remember that the "Indian River" is actually a lagoon, and not a river!) with seine nets and try to catch some of organisms we had studied.

There are two things I still remember about those trips:

1) We never caught anything, and
2) They always drilled into us that when wading in the lagoon, we were supposed to drag our feet to avoid being stung by stingrays.

So if stingrays are normally that dangerous, would schools really take sixth- and seventh-graders into an area where they are known to live?

One other thing: Three recorded deaths from stingrays. Ever. I'll bet more people are killed by dogs other than pit bulls in any given year.

Monday, September 04, 2006

 

It's the Most Wonderful Time....

Two things I really enjoy:

1) Daylight savings time
2) College football

And now we are at the time of year where I can enjoy both simultaneously!

If you have any doubt as to what my team is, check the picture on the left. The Gators once again got off to a winning start. Already around the country we have had odd plays (a punt returner doing his best Leon Lett impression, and the fact that it was a Georgia player makes it that much better), a huge upset (Montana State beating Colorado, which even Dave may find interesting), and a game that will have a big impact on the BCS (FSU at Miami, which just reached halftime).

I love this.

Friday, September 01, 2006

 

Baby Snakes on a Plate?


Good chance you know the basic design of Florida's standard license plate, shown at right. It's not unusual, however, for people to add their own touches to the plate, especially in the center where the orange is. Some folks will put in a logo of their college of choice, or occasionally initials.

But tonight, on my way home from work, I saw a really unusual plate. In the center, covering the orange, was a face. And not just any face, either. It was Frank Zappa!

To the best of my knowledge, there is no particular connection between Frank Zappa and Florida -- he wasn't born here, didn't live here, and didn't die here. I guess this was just a very devoted fan. I really wish I could have gotten a picture to share with you.

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