Magellan's Log: Post-Traumatic Bush Syndrome
posted by HL at 11:45 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Smart Kids Are Slower By William Saletan
Smart Kids Are Slower By William Saletan: "Smart Kids Are Slower
Why your child's brain takes longer to develop.
By William Saletan
Updated Thursday, March 30, 2006, at 7:44 AM ET
(For the latest Human Nature columns on polygamy, Social Security, and morning-after pills, click here.)
The brains of smarter kids are slower to develop. The old theory posited that smarter people had bigger frontal lobes or more gray matter, probably due to genes. But a new analysis shows that at age 7, kids with higher IQs actually have thinner cortexes (the most sophisticated brain component) than their peers do. Cortexes thicken, then thin out in all children, but the higher your IQ, the later this happens."
Why your child's brain takes longer to develop.
By William Saletan
Updated Thursday, March 30, 2006, at 7:44 AM ET
(For the latest Human Nature columns on polygamy, Social Security, and morning-after pills, click here.)
The brains of smarter kids are slower to develop. The old theory posited that smarter people had bigger frontal lobes or more gray matter, probably due to genes. But a new analysis shows that at age 7, kids with higher IQs actually have thinner cortexes (the most sophisticated brain component) than their peers do. Cortexes thicken, then thin out in all children, but the higher your IQ, the later this happens."
posted by HL at 6:35 AM
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Philologus Ad Nauseam: Germany's Aged Students - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
posted by HL at 6:28 AM
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Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Take the Fifth By William Saletan
Take the Fifth By William Saletan
But now you've got a scientific, moral, and legal problem. The South Dakota law purports to supersede Roe because "scientific advances since the 1973 decision" show that "life begins at the time of conception." It concludes that unborn children, "from fertilization to full gestation," have an "inalienable right to life." Nobody who seriously believed these things would give you five days to kill an embryo, any more than they'd give you five days to kill a baby. The loophole discredits the law's rationale.
Welcome to world of ambiguity, pro-lifers. Out of compassion for women in tragic but medically non-threatening circumstances, you agree that unborn life, up to a certain stage of development, may be aborted. Now we're just quibbling over the details.
But now you've got a scientific, moral, and legal problem. The South Dakota law purports to supersede Roe because "scientific advances since the 1973 decision" show that "life begins at the time of conception." It concludes that unborn children, "from fertilization to full gestation," have an "inalienable right to life." Nobody who seriously believed these things would give you five days to kill an embryo, any more than they'd give you five days to kill a baby. The loophole discredits the law's rationale.
Welcome to world of ambiguity, pro-lifers. Out of compassion for women in tragic but medically non-threatening circumstances, you agree that unborn life, up to a certain stage of development, may be aborted. Now we're just quibbling over the details.
posted by HL at 9:48 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Michael Schwartz | Does the Media Have It Right on the War?
Michael Schwartz | Does the Media Have It Right on the War?
Bottom line: General Eric Shinseki was right. If the U.S. had deployed the several hundred thousand troops that he insisted were needed to lock down the country (instead of hustling him into retirement), then the war would have been short and sweet, and the U.S. would now be well on its way both to victory and withdrawal.
This, I think, is a fair summary of the thinking on Iraq currently dominant in the mainstream media and, because it ignores the fundamental cause of the war-after-the-war - the American attempt to neo-liberalize Iraq - it is also profoundly wrong.
Bottom line: General Eric Shinseki was right. If the U.S. had deployed the several hundred thousand troops that he insisted were needed to lock down the country (instead of hustling him into retirement), then the war would have been short and sweet, and the U.S. would now be well on its way both to victory and withdrawal.
This, I think, is a fair summary of the thinking on Iraq currently dominant in the mainstream media and, because it ignores the fundamental cause of the war-after-the-war - the American attempt to neo-liberalize Iraq - it is also profoundly wrong.
posted by HL at 9:35 AM
0 comments
TomPaine.com - The South Dakota Curveball
TomPaine.com - The South Dakota Curveball
"This [abortion law] is a delicate situation for the Republicans. It makes a lot of them nervous. It's one thing to just talk about banning abortion - and they do that all the time, because it's a great way to fire up the base and raise money. But it's another thing to actually ban abortion nationwide.
if they (Democrats) were smart, they would make a very prominent, public stand against the law, arguing that criminalizing abortion will not end abortions.
"This [abortion law] is a delicate situation for the Republicans. It makes a lot of them nervous. It's one thing to just talk about banning abortion - and they do that all the time, because it's a great way to fire up the base and raise money. But it's another thing to actually ban abortion nationwide.
if they (Democrats) were smart, they would make a very prominent, public stand against the law, arguing that criminalizing abortion will not end abortions.
posted by HL at 7:15 AM
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Monday, March 27, 2006
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. MARK TWAIN
posted by HL at 6:29 AM
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Oglala Sioux Tribe Plans to Open Planned Parenthood Clinic in South Dakota
posted by HL at 11:20 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Global Exchange : Reality Tours : Educational, Cultural, Socially Responsible
posted by HL at 5:44 PM
0 comments
TomPaine.com - Running From Roe
What does it feel like to have your dick in wringer. Nothing like a watching a fraud sweat.
TomPaine.com - Running From Roe:
"Of course, there were no exceptions for rape and incest in the South Dakota law, making McCain’s position essentially that he would favor banning nearly all abortions as long as it didn’t involve banning nearly all abortions. That’s the waffling of a man caught between fervently anti-choice Republican primary voters and a pro-choice general election majority."
TomPaine.com - Running From Roe:
"Of course, there were no exceptions for rape and incest in the South Dakota law, making McCain’s position essentially that he would favor banning nearly all abortions as long as it didn’t involve banning nearly all abortions. That’s the waffling of a man caught between fervently anti-choice Republican primary voters and a pro-choice general election majority."
posted by HL at 5:17 PM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
TomPaine.com - Bush's Skunktails
2shay Tim Johnson - Let those who have ears to hear...
TomPaine.com - Bush's Skunktails: "Recent polls from the Pew Research Center seem to confirm this. The public's negative feelings toward Congress are high and strikingly nonpartisan. Unfavorable ratings of both parties are at their highest levels since 1992, and the view of Congress as an institution is at its lowest point in over a decade—47 percent viewing it unfavorably and only 44 percent favorable. This marks a major change from as recently as January 2001, when 64 percent of the public expressed a favorable view of Congress.
Anti-incumbent sentiments are running unusually high this year regardless of party affiliation. Forty-nine percent of registered voters say most members should not be returned to office, up from 38 percent in October 2002. Thirty-six percent of independents say they don't want the incumbent in their district reelected. That's as high a level as it was in October of 1994, just before Congress flipped to Republican control. But disgruntlement also runs high in Democratic ranks even within traditionally Democratic districts. Fully 31 percent of Democrats believe their representative should not be reelected, compared to nearly 20 percent in previous midterms. Only 18 percent of Republican voters say their representative should not be reelected."
TomPaine.com - Bush's Skunktails: "Recent polls from the Pew Research Center seem to confirm this. The public's negative feelings toward Congress are high and strikingly nonpartisan. Unfavorable ratings of both parties are at their highest levels since 1992, and the view of Congress as an institution is at its lowest point in over a decade—47 percent viewing it unfavorably and only 44 percent favorable. This marks a major change from as recently as January 2001, when 64 percent of the public expressed a favorable view of Congress.
Anti-incumbent sentiments are running unusually high this year regardless of party affiliation. Forty-nine percent of registered voters say most members should not be returned to office, up from 38 percent in October 2002. Thirty-six percent of independents say they don't want the incumbent in their district reelected. That's as high a level as it was in October of 1994, just before Congress flipped to Republican control. But disgruntlement also runs high in Democratic ranks even within traditionally Democratic districts. Fully 31 percent of Democrats believe their representative should not be reelected, compared to nearly 20 percent in previous midterms. Only 18 percent of Republican voters say their representative should not be reelected."
posted by HL at 10:26 AM
0 comments
TomPaine.com - Bush's Skunktails
2 shay Tim Johnson
TomPaine.com - Bush's Skunktails: "Anti-incumbent sentiments are running unusually high this year regardless of party affiliation. Forty-nine percent of registered voters say most members should not be returned to office, up from 38 percent in October 2002. Thirty-six percent of independents say they don't want the incumbent in their district reelected. That's as high a level as it was in October of 1994, just before Congress flipped to Republican control. But disgruntlement also runs high in Democratic ranks even within traditionally Democratic districts. Fully 31 percent of Democrats believe their representative should not be reelected, compared to nearly 20 percent in previous midterms. Only 18 percent of Republican voters say their representative should not be reelected."
TomPaine.com - Bush's Skunktails: "Anti-incumbent sentiments are running unusually high this year regardless of party affiliation. Forty-nine percent of registered voters say most members should not be returned to office, up from 38 percent in October 2002. Thirty-six percent of independents say they don't want the incumbent in their district reelected. That's as high a level as it was in October of 1994, just before Congress flipped to Republican control. But disgruntlement also runs high in Democratic ranks even within traditionally Democratic districts. Fully 31 percent of Democrats believe their representative should not be reelected, compared to nearly 20 percent in previous midterms. Only 18 percent of Republican voters say their representative should not be reelected."
posted by HL at 10:10 AM
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Monday, March 20, 2006
Tom Engelhardt | Connecting the Dots, Bush-Style
Tom Engelhardt | Connecting the Dots, Bush-Style: " What we face, in fact, are two fundamentalist regimes, American and Iranian - each in the process of overestimating the hand it is playing; each underestimating its enemy; each in the grip of a different kind of irrationality. It's a frighteningly combustible mix. All those people who believe that the administration's Iran approach is just so much saber-rattling and bluster, part of a reasonably rational plan to create bargaining chips, or force the Iranians to the table on more favorable terms, should divest themselves of such fantasies. We are on the path to madness, which also happens to be the path to $100 a barrel oil and possibly some kind of economic meltdown. Then again, dreams of riches have often gone hand-in-hand with madness. Why not now?
[Note to readers: Let me recommend The Global Beat, a website which I mined heavily for this piece (as I often do). A project of Boston University, it is compiled by Tony Karon of Time magazine and bills itself as offering 'resources for the global journalist.' You don't have to be a journalist or even a student of journalism, however, to benefit from its superb once-a-week run-downs of crucial news articles on and analyses of foreign-policy crisis points (with extremely useful links). Check it out and take a look as well at Karon's always fascinating, periodically updated blog, Rootless Cosmopolitan.]
"
[Note to readers: Let me recommend The Global Beat, a website which I mined heavily for this piece (as I often do). A project of Boston University, it is compiled by Tony Karon of Time magazine and bills itself as offering 'resources for the global journalist.' You don't have to be a journalist or even a student of journalism, however, to benefit from its superb once-a-week run-downs of crucial news articles on and analyses of foreign-policy crisis points (with extremely useful links). Check it out and take a look as well at Karon's always fascinating, periodically updated blog, Rootless Cosmopolitan.]
"
posted by HL at 11:34 AM
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Paul Harris | Sky Falls in on Bush the Outcast
Paul Harris | Sky Falls in on Bush the Outcast: " But it did not last. Bush's misfortunes had returned by the end of last week in the sort of spectacular snub late-night comics dream of. The villain was not a rogue Republican but Jessica Simpson, a reality TV star. She declined to appear next to the President at a charity event for fear of 'politicizing' the cause of the disabled. It dismayed Republicans.
'It's never been a problem for Bono,' said Republican spokesman Carl Forti. But the message was clear: when even Jessica Simpson does not want to be seen with you, you know you are in trouble.
"
'It's never been a problem for Bono,' said Republican spokesman Carl Forti. But the message was clear: when even Jessica Simpson does not want to be seen with you, you know you are in trouble.
"
posted by HL at 11:02 AM
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Death squads on the prowl in a nation paralysed by fear
I guess Cheney doesn't read anymore news than his, ahem, boss.
Independent Online Edition > Middle East: "Unseen by the outside world, silent populations are on the move, frightened people fleeing neighbourhoods where their community is in a minority for safer districts.
There is also a growing reliance on militias because of fears that police patrols or checkpoints are in reality death squads hunting for victims."
Independent Online Edition > Middle East: "Unseen by the outside world, silent populations are on the move, frightened people fleeing neighbourhoods where their community is in a minority for safer districts.
There is also a growing reliance on militias because of fears that police patrols or checkpoints are in reality death squads hunting for victims."
posted by HL at 9:48 AM
0 comments
Consortiumnews.com
Consortiumnews.com
Three Options for America's Future
By Robert Parry
March 17, 2006
Great nations must sometimes move expeditiously – and creatively – to avert catastrophe, especially when leaders have proven themselves unfit to lead. Such a moment now confronts the United States as George W. Bush and his inner circle have demonstrated on multiple fronts that they lack the wisdom and competence to protect America’s future.
This articulates themes that clarify what the situation is for the US future. It is time for action and it takes some options for a basis for that action.
Three Options for America's Future
By Robert Parry
March 17, 2006
Great nations must sometimes move expeditiously – and creatively – to avert catastrophe, especially when leaders have proven themselves unfit to lead. Such a moment now confronts the United States as George W. Bush and his inner circle have demonstrated on multiple fronts that they lack the wisdom and competence to protect America’s future.
This articulates themes that clarify what the situation is for the US future. It is time for action and it takes some options for a basis for that action.
posted by HL at 7:12 AM
0 comments
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Snow White, Salemi
Changing Dwarfs To Johns: Making Poetry Interesting Again
by
Dr. Joseph S. Salemi
Department of Classics, Hunter College, C.U.N.Y.
Poetry became self-sequestered and masturbatory. You got that stereotypical icon of the poetry world: the neurotic little nerd at the podium, mumbling something cryptic about his alienation from the universe.
The second thing that happened was even worse. Poetry became prim and proper. Because it had arrogated to itself a self-contained and hieratic aloofness, it all of a sudden stopped being boisterous and funny. That horrible disease that I have elsewhere called "Portentous Hush" began to infect the art, so much so that whenever people hear the word poetry they immediately think of something tediously lugubrious. They don't think of jokes, or spoofs, or parodies, or insults, or just plain old roistering fun. Poets themselves dismiss such comic stuff as "light verse," with a supercilious disdain. Genuine poetry (so the orthodoxy goes) is supposed to be something serious and good for you, like a Sunday School sermon or a laxative. The result was predictable. The general audience for poetry just melted away en masse, like the Russian Army in 1917.
by
Dr. Joseph S. Salemi
Department of Classics, Hunter College, C.U.N.Y.
Poetry became self-sequestered and masturbatory. You got that stereotypical icon of the poetry world: the neurotic little nerd at the podium, mumbling something cryptic about his alienation from the universe.
The second thing that happened was even worse. Poetry became prim and proper. Because it had arrogated to itself a self-contained and hieratic aloofness, it all of a sudden stopped being boisterous and funny. That horrible disease that I have elsewhere called "Portentous Hush" began to infect the art, so much so that whenever people hear the word poetry they immediately think of something tediously lugubrious. They don't think of jokes, or spoofs, or parodies, or insults, or just plain old roistering fun. Poets themselves dismiss such comic stuff as "light verse," with a supercilious disdain. Genuine poetry (so the orthodoxy goes) is supposed to be something serious and good for you, like a Sunday School sermon or a laxative. The result was predictable. The general audience for poetry just melted away en masse, like the Russian Army in 1917.
posted by HL at 5:02 PM
0 comments
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Three year folly of death
Commander in Chief
Our kids--
Stuck in leaders
foolish empire quagmire.
Bush's Iraq war crime: He lies
they die.
Our kids--
Stuck in leaders
foolish empire quagmire.
Bush's Iraq war crime: He lies
they die.
posted by MRS.B at 8:10 PM
0 comments
Friday, March 17, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Towards a Foundation of a Universal Esoteric Science
Towards a Foundation of a Universal Esoteric Science:
"If we are to use as a foundation of inquiry the basic framework already established by the various esoteric teachings, we have to be very careful of one thing. Fixed opinions, which freeze the original fleeting inspiration or process into something stultifying. We need to get away from dogmas. Dogmas in esotericism are as bad as dogmas in science. In science, dogmas become old paradigms that obstruct new ideas, and have to be overthrown, and are only with difficulty. In esotericism, dogmas are far worse, they become fundamentalist and literalist fixations, and blind one to other truths and other possibilities, and destroy even the original truth that was in that teaching in the beginning. This is why dogmatism in esotericism, in religion, and everywhere else, should be completely avoided. Even the ideas presented here should only be taken as hypotheses and suggestions, never as dogmas, and only accepted if one feels in one's own heart that they have value.
"
"If we are to use as a foundation of inquiry the basic framework already established by the various esoteric teachings, we have to be very careful of one thing. Fixed opinions, which freeze the original fleeting inspiration or process into something stultifying. We need to get away from dogmas. Dogmas in esotericism are as bad as dogmas in science. In science, dogmas become old paradigms that obstruct new ideas, and have to be overthrown, and are only with difficulty. In esotericism, dogmas are far worse, they become fundamentalist and literalist fixations, and blind one to other truths and other possibilities, and destroy even the original truth that was in that teaching in the beginning. This is why dogmatism in esotericism, in religion, and everywhere else, should be completely avoided. Even the ideas presented here should only be taken as hypotheses and suggestions, never as dogmas, and only accepted if one feels in one's own heart that they have value.
"
posted by HL at 7:42 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Grading in America (or the fine art of postponing the truth) - Orlando Sentinel : Opinion
Grading in America (or the fine art of postponing the truth) - Orlando Sentinel : Opinion
What is truth and what do grades have to do with it?
What is truth and what do grades have to do with it?
posted by HL at 8:44 AM
0 comments
Carlyle Group Explores Acquisition of Port Operations
Carlyle Group Explores Acquisition of Port Operations
Good ole Sam ready to buy another bridge in the desert
Good ole Sam ready to buy another bridge in the desert
posted by HL at 6:09 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
adultlearnersoftheworld : Adult Learners of the World - Students from Universities all over the world
posted by HL at 9:32 AM
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Globe Theater - Southwark, London, England, UK - Great Buildings Online
posted by HL at 7:12 AM
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Shakespeare Online
Shakespeare Online
Although Romeo and Juliet is classified as a tragedy, it more closely resembles Shakespeare's comedies than his other tragedies.
Although Romeo and Juliet is classified as a tragedy, it more closely resembles Shakespeare's comedies than his other tragedies.
posted by HL at 6:46 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 13, 2006
Green Car Congress: Pivotal Piston Two-Stroke Engine Eyeing Hydrogen ICE Market for Autos
posted by HL at 11:39 AM
0 comments
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Why GOP Leaders Worry About Pro-Life Wins - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com
Why GOP Leaders Worry About Pro-Life Wins - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com
South Dakota Republicans
Incest says it all
posted by HL at 8:22 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Missometrics: Religion researcher's 40-year quest
Religion researcher's 40-year quest to tabulate every believer on earth: "Johnson, who may succeed Barrett as the world's top soul-counter one day, looks ahead. He sees that Christianity started out the past century 81 percent white and ended at 45 percent. And he knows that's not going to stop.
``This is a huge change, not just ethnically but in what Christianity is all about. Christianity is steadily moving from this Caucasian, European-dominated, modern way of life, even beyond Christianity as an institution,'' he says. ``There's no central, unifying narrative.''
"
``This is a huge change, not just ethnically but in what Christianity is all about. Christianity is steadily moving from this Caucasian, European-dominated, modern way of life, even beyond Christianity as an institution,'' he says. ``There's no central, unifying narrative.''
"
posted by HL at 8:13 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
The Observer | Special reports | 'Ex-presidents club' gets fat on conflict
The Observer | Special reports | 'Ex-presidents club' gets fat on conflict
High-flying venture capital firm Carlyle Group cashes in when the tanks roll, writes Jamie Doward
David Sanborn was an executive with CSX and, then, a senior Dubai Ports World executive whom Bush appointed last month to be the new administrator of the Maritime Administration of the Transportation Department. Sanborn worked as Dubai Ports World's director of operations for Europe and Latin America.
Gee, d'ya think Sanborn greased the skids for Dubai Ports World to get Bushite approval to run operations at six of our nation's ports?
Duh what did I tell you weeks ago.
High-flying venture capital firm Carlyle Group cashes in when the tanks roll, writes Jamie Doward
David Sanborn was an executive with CSX and, then, a senior Dubai Ports World executive whom Bush appointed last month to be the new administrator of the Maritime Administration of the Transportation Department. Sanborn worked as Dubai Ports World's director of operations for Europe and Latin America.
Gee, d'ya think Sanborn greased the skids for Dubai Ports World to get Bushite approval to run operations at six of our nation's ports?
Duh what did I tell you weeks ago.
posted by HL at 12:56 PM
0 comments
Reciting poems more than memorizationh Carolina | NC poet laureate
Local News | News for Charlotte, North Carolina | WCNC.com | North Carolina News
02/28/2006
By MARTHA WAGGONER / Associated Press
Anyone who recalls nervously reciting poems in school might question the North Carolina poet laureate's belief that it's the best way to learn verse.
But Kathryn Stripling Byer says that recitation is about more than just memorization. It's actually about performance, much as musicians do with a song.
"You learn about language and sound and how it flows by hearing it aloud," Byer said Tuesday before leading a workshop for teachers at Knightdale High School. "And it takes the emphasis off explaining it, off paraphrasing it. As if you could ever paraphrase a good poem."
Byer was meeting with the teachers to talk about "Poetry Out Loud," a student initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation. Although the NEA is covering all costs, the North Carolina Arts Council is working with the NEA to hold the competition in this state.
Students will compete at the classroom level, then advance to schoolwide and state capital competitions. North Carolina's competition will be April 10, and the national finals are scheduled for May 16 in Washington. State winners will get $200 and a trip to Washington, while the national champion will win a $20,000 college scholarship.
Students from seven Wake County schools will participate in the program, and Byer hopes the program will expand statewide in 2007.
"The message is getting out that poetry is not something to be afraid of," Byer said. "You can pick up the sound, rhythm and images, even if it's a difficult poem. You can look for immediate pleasure, then delve into some of the complicated aspects later."
Byer, 61, is the former poet in residence at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, where she lives. Gov. Mike Easley appointed her the state's poet laureate in February 2005. As poet laureate, she's called on to write poems for various events and mentors other writers, as well as leading various workshops.
She believes that poetry isn't limited to the academic world, where poets tend to focus on their inner selves, but also can be funny. Latin American poetry includes pop culture and folklore, while rap music, a form of poetry, often focuses on politics. Kanye West, for example, sings about children losing their arms in the diamond mines of Sierra Leone.
"You can make a connection between rap and what we call more traditional poetry, the canon of Amerian and English poetry," she said.
Both poetry slams and rap music are encouraging indications that there is again growing interest in reciting, performing and understanding poetry, Byer said.
"We're getting back to a tradition that was unfortunately forgotten about for awhile," Byer said. "But it's a real gift to go into your life with a store of poems to call up when you need them."
___
On the Net:
http://www.ncarts.org
http:/http://www.nea.gov
02/28/2006
By MARTHA WAGGONER / Associated Press
Anyone who recalls nervously reciting poems in school might question the North Carolina poet laureate's belief that it's the best way to learn verse.
But Kathryn Stripling Byer says that recitation is about more than just memorization. It's actually about performance, much as musicians do with a song.
"You learn about language and sound and how it flows by hearing it aloud," Byer said Tuesday before leading a workshop for teachers at Knightdale High School. "And it takes the emphasis off explaining it, off paraphrasing it. As if you could ever paraphrase a good poem."
Byer was meeting with the teachers to talk about "Poetry Out Loud," a student initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation. Although the NEA is covering all costs, the North Carolina Arts Council is working with the NEA to hold the competition in this state.
Students will compete at the classroom level, then advance to schoolwide and state capital competitions. North Carolina's competition will be April 10, and the national finals are scheduled for May 16 in Washington. State winners will get $200 and a trip to Washington, while the national champion will win a $20,000 college scholarship.
Students from seven Wake County schools will participate in the program, and Byer hopes the program will expand statewide in 2007.
"The message is getting out that poetry is not something to be afraid of," Byer said. "You can pick up the sound, rhythm and images, even if it's a difficult poem. You can look for immediate pleasure, then delve into some of the complicated aspects later."
Byer, 61, is the former poet in residence at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, where she lives. Gov. Mike Easley appointed her the state's poet laureate in February 2005. As poet laureate, she's called on to write poems for various events and mentors other writers, as well as leading various workshops.
She believes that poetry isn't limited to the academic world, where poets tend to focus on their inner selves, but also can be funny. Latin American poetry includes pop culture and folklore, while rap music, a form of poetry, often focuses on politics. Kanye West, for example, sings about children losing their arms in the diamond mines of Sierra Leone.
"You can make a connection between rap and what we call more traditional poetry, the canon of Amerian and English poetry," she said.
Both poetry slams and rap music are encouraging indications that there is again growing interest in reciting, performing and understanding poetry, Byer said.
"We're getting back to a tradition that was unfortunately forgotten about for awhile," Byer said. "But it's a real gift to go into your life with a store of poems to call up when you need them."
___
On the Net:
http://www.ncarts.org
http:/http://www.nea.gov
posted by HL at 9:34 AM
0 comments
Bark Plain Traveldog
Good Idea: Reinventing Invention
Innovation used to be easy. Imagine the caveman, forced to move a giant rock, discovering by accident that rolling it on a log made the job easier.
Luckily, the concept of intellectual property wasn't around then. Today, that same caveman would've filed a patent and demanded licensing payments from anyone else who wanted to roll things on logs or other cylindrical objects.
Fortunately, the knowledge-as-asset age has arisen at a time when most obvious inventions -- the wheel, hammer, processed-cheese spread -- are already invented. New innovations, sampling from patent applications published in recent months, have names like Parallel leading bit detection for Exp-Golomb decoding and Method and apparatus for s.i.p./h.323 interworking. They're probably not the sort of things you, too, would have come up with had you the spare time and an empty garage.
As for corporate R&D, von Hippel says companies are finding that more and more innovation is coming not from in-house developers, but from products users who do their own re-engineering.
"People are innovating for themselves," he said. "That's what has happened and economists are really puzzled about it because economists are fosuced on this IP-based system."
Innovation used to be easy. Imagine the caveman, forced to move a giant rock, discovering by accident that rolling it on a log made the job easier.
Luckily, the concept of intellectual property wasn't around then. Today, that same caveman would've filed a patent and demanded licensing payments from anyone else who wanted to roll things on logs or other cylindrical objects.
Fortunately, the knowledge-as-asset age has arisen at a time when most obvious inventions -- the wheel, hammer, processed-cheese spread -- are already invented. New innovations, sampling from patent applications published in recent months, have names like Parallel leading bit detection for Exp-Golomb decoding and Method and apparatus for s.i.p./h.323 interworking. They're probably not the sort of things you, too, would have come up with had you the spare time and an empty garage.
As for corporate R&D, von Hippel says companies are finding that more and more innovation is coming not from in-house developers, but from products users who do their own re-engineering.
"People are innovating for themselves," he said. "That's what has happened and economists are really puzzled about it because economists are fosuced on this IP-based system."
posted by MRS.B at 5:50 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 06, 2006
Defend Teacher Jay Bennish
World Can't Wait | Drive Out the Bush Regime
For this, Bennish has been suspended and could be fired from his teaching position at Overland High. A student who complained about Bennish’s progressive views hid a tape recorder in class and turned it over to the school’s principal. Right-wing bloggers and media pundits have gone on a rampage to put Bennish at the center of a witch-hunt atmosphere for the “crime” of exposing the very real crimes of the Bush regime.
In an act of inspiring defiance and large-mindedness, 150 students walked out of class to protest Bennish’s suspension, demanding that Bennish continue teaching at Overland High and chanting for peace. The students’ demands cannot fall on deaf ears and the persecution of Jay Bennish must not go unchallenged!
For this, Bennish has been suspended and could be fired from his teaching position at Overland High. A student who complained about Bennish’s progressive views hid a tape recorder in class and turned it over to the school’s principal. Right-wing bloggers and media pundits have gone on a rampage to put Bennish at the center of a witch-hunt atmosphere for the “crime” of exposing the very real crimes of the Bush regime.
In an act of inspiring defiance and large-mindedness, 150 students walked out of class to protest Bennish’s suspension, demanding that Bennish continue teaching at Overland High and chanting for peace. The students’ demands cannot fall on deaf ears and the persecution of Jay Bennish must not go unchallenged!
posted by HL at 12:36 PM
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Newhouse A1
Newhouse A1
//something from the CAS newsletter.
//something from the CAS newsletter.
Let us now praise famous clouds.
There's one in Northern Australia called the Morning Glory, and it hangs out in a remote area of Queensland each spring.
posted by HL at 7:50 AM
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Sunday, March 05, 2006
Phalaenopsis care instructions
Phalaenopsis care instructions
These plants are commonly referred to as "Moth Orchids" and are considered among the easiest of the orchid family to care for as well as the most recognizable. The long-lasting flowers bloom perfectly for up to three months
These plants are commonly referred to as "Moth Orchids" and are considered among the easiest of the orchid family to care for as well as the most recognizable. The long-lasting flowers bloom perfectly for up to three months
posted by HL at 6:18 PM
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