Archive for 'In the News'
What Are You Eating?
Posted on 08. Apr, 2010 by Deb.
Yes, I submitted my breakfast yesterday to What Are You Eating Right Now? , an interactive experiment from The New York Times. I found the presentation absolutely fascinating.
And yes, this is a typical at home breakfast for me. Yes, that is All Bran/Fiber One in the bowl (with some strawberries). Yes, I LIKE All Bran. Really. I’m also on a berry kick. Strawberries and Blackberries and just beginning to come into season and are enticing and sensual and rich in delicate flavors. (Blueberries, however, are lagging and still taste a little on the dull side).
What about you? What do you like for breakfast?
Continue Reading
The Silent Treatment
Posted on 29. Mar, 2010 by Deb.
“David’s son Absalom turned against him and was killed. Yet David wrote some of the most beautiful psalms, the ones about being lovingly cared for. Also some of the whiniest. I deeply respect that about God, that he chooses anti-heroes, people who have lost much, cynics. It makes me hope he has a place in the palm of his hand for ironists, the immature, the somewhat snide, the ones who can’t help but laugh at bits of religion. Me. He’s brought me to his beautiful place to show me something.”
I read this piece with great interest and it interested me on many levels.
I’ve thought about a retreat in the past and I had plans to attend one with Christine Kane in 2007, but ended up having to cancel due to some family matters. There is also a great appeal to being surrounded by those who have chosen a monastic life since “faith” is my word for 2010. A retreat at home is impossible, as I am always able to fill the quiet time with things and distractions.
Certainly something to consider.
Continue Reading
A Day That Will Live in Infamy
Posted on 07. Dec, 2009 by Deb.
In honor of those who lost their lives sixty-eight years ago today, images from last year’s rehearsals for the Pearl Harbor Memorial Ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington DC…as well as a portion of Franklin D Roosevelt’s speech to congress the day after the attack in 1941.
Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
May we never forget.
(photos are mine, taken December 7, 2008, Washington DC)
PS – for a personal memory from a WWII Vet I met last year, read about Dave.
Continue Reading
T-Rex had a Mini-Me
Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Deb.
Tyrannosaurus rex — the most fearsome predator ever to trod the Earth — had a pint-size precursor, remarkably similar in appearance but no heavier than a human being, according to a new report from a team of scientists. The creature was what Austin Powers might call T. rex’s Mini-Me.
via Smuggled Dinosaur Fossil Scrambles Picture of Tyrannosaurus Rex – washingtonpost.com.
I believe I read recently that the fossils that had been smuggled out of China were being returned to the Chinese Government. But this is fascinating. As the article states, the fossil was sold to a private collector and may have come from inner Mongolia.
This kind of news really brings out the kid in me. And it makes me want to travel to places like China….
Continue Reading
Never Forget.
Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by Deb.
(Pentagon Memorial. Photo is mine, taken September 2008)
Continue Reading
Marijuana Is Gateway Drug for Two Debates
Posted on 19. Jul, 2009 by Deb.
Marijuana, the country’s most widely used illicit drug, is typically not thought to destroy lives. Like alcohol, pot has been romanticized by writers and musicians, from Louis Armstrong to Bob Dylan, and it has been depicted as harmless or silly in movies like “Harold and Kumar.” And addiction experts agree, marijuana does not pose as serious a public health problem as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The drug cannot lead to fatal overdose and its hazards pale in comparison with those of alcohol. But at the same time, marijuana can be up to five times more potent than the cannabis of the 1970s, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
And this new more-potent pot and the growing support for legalization has led to an often angry debate over marijuana addiction. Many public health officials worry that this stronger marijuana has increased addiction rates and is potentially more dangerous to teenagers, whose brains are still developing. And officials say the movement to legalize marijuana — now available by prescription in 13 states — plays down the dangers of habitual use.
“We need to be very mindful of what we are unleashing out of a Pandora’s Box here,” said Dr. Richard N. Rosenthal, chairman of psychiatry at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan and professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University. “The people who become chronic users don’t have the same lives and the same achievements as people who don’t use chronically.”
via Marijuana Is Gateway Drug for Two Debates – NYTimes.com.
I have a million thoughts on this article. Most of my thoughts would make me unpopular with many folks who believe that marijuana is “no big deal”. I understand the medical benefits of use and I wouldn’t want to deny that use by those who medically need it. My issue is with those who choose this as part of their lifestyle.
I hope you take a moment to read the article.
Continue Reading
Thoughts on Journalists
Posted on 18. Jul, 2009 by Deb.
One of the best pieces I’ve read today is Susan Toepfer’s piece in the Wall Street Journal’s “Speakeasy” blog. My degree is in Broadcast Journalism and the foundation of that education is that the reporter should always stay neutral unless it is an opinion piece. I worked at ABC News while Peter Jennings was still there, and the maintenance of that journalistic integrity was key to how the evening newscast was put together.
We’ve entered a time, of course, when objectivity–whatever that is, exactly–is not a sellable product. What we want instead is opinion. Talking points. Or vulnerability. Certainly, there are some who struggle to keep their tone civil, their reports tethered to truth, not to the political tides that crash through MSNBC and Fox News. Old-line network stars like Brian Williams and Charles Gibson gaze solemnly forward, without pausing for personal asides. CNN, despite the challenges of instant, dubiously reliable Internet news flashes (how could TMZ declare Michael Jackson dead before doctors did?), continues to put on a globally neutral face, even as its anchors’ faces become more glamorous by the day.
But the whole Anchor-as-Immobile-God persona started to crumble back in 2001, when Dan Rather-–always the most volatile of the Big Three evening newscasters—dissolved into tears on David Letterman’s show, talking about the 9/11 attacks. A few years later he was gone, along with Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings.
In 2005, Anderson Cooper, overwhelmed by the body count of Hurricane Katrina, broke down on the air. Then, in 2008, came the sudden death of Tim Russert. The loss of this admirably affable newsman, who never showed his hand, may well have marked the end of the politically neutral broadcasting for which Cronkite once stood as stolid symbol.
Not that I personally object to the proliferation of blatantly biased news–I’d rather have journalists flaunting their political preferences than sneakily (or subconsciously) slanting their reports. And I do confess a fondness for the overblown Olbermann, with his boorish cries of “Fascist!” “Liar!” “Treason!,” just as O’Reilly and Rush have their supporters. O’Reilly once threatened to “boot right off this set” that mild-mannered talk show host from another era, Phil Donahue.
If that’s not entertainment, I don’t know what is! And just how does a traditional, trained-to-be-objective newsman compete with this newfangled display of passion and bile? It is, after all, impossible to imagine Cronkite going after John Chancellor or David Brinkley.
Uncle Walter did not engage in such antics. Nor did he brandish his political beliefs, or reveal the full extent of his anguish, joy or grief. He was first and foremost a reporter, a stalwart announcer of the day’s events.
via WSJ.
I honestly don’t watch much Network news any longer. I’d love to say that newspapers are more objective, but I can’t honestly say that, either. It’s a matter of digging through the news from different sources and putting things together.
Continue Reading
Read Worthy News (Saturday, July 18 – New York Times)
Posted on 18. Jul, 2009 by Deb.
Just a few of the stories I’ve read this evening that are worth pointing you to:
- Henry Allingham, one of Britain’s last three surviving veterans of World War I, died on Saturday at a nursing home in the south coast town of Brighton, staff at the home said. Age 113, he was officially recognized as Britain’s oldest man. (via Henry Allingham, British Veteran of World War I, Dies at 113 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com.)
- A disconnect between perception and reality worsens the problem. New studies show that drivers overestimate their own ability to safely multitask, even as they worry about the danger. (via Dismissing the Risks of a Deadly Habit – Multitasking on the Road – NYTimes.com.)
- The seven points proposed by President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica during a second round of negotiations at his house in the capital, San José, would require the political elite of Honduras to recognize Mr. Zelaya as the country’s legitimate president, something they have refused to do until now. But in restoring Mr. Zelaya, Mr. Arias’s plan would also sharply curtail his powers and focus much of the country’s political energy on the next election. (via Plan Would Return Honduran Leader – NYTimes.com.)
Continue Reading
American Moments with Walter Cronkite
Posted on 18. Jul, 2009 by Deb.
Walter Cronkite escorted America through the 1960s and 1970s every night, from his boyish, awestruck enthusiasm for the wonders of space to Vietnam, assassinations and a nuclear scare. See the videos below:
via Speakeasy – WSJ.
For those of you too young to remember, The Wall Street Journal has gathered a set of six Walter Cronkite Videos. Click on the link….
Continue Reading
Korean Taco War?
Posted on 18. Jul, 2009 by Deb.
Baja Fresh filed for trademark protection for the term “kogi” on May 8th, Mr. Rink says. Kogi filed its trademark paperwork for “kogi” on December 4th of last year, but only for narrow use, just on mobile food carts. Baja Fresh is seeking protection for the use of Kogi with everything from tacos and burritos to promotional toys. Kogi co-founder Caroline Shin-Manguera says a steep “learning curve” when starting the business accounts for the wording on the trademark application.
via Kogi and Baja Fresh in a Korean Taco War? – Speakeasy – WSJ.
To me, this is an example of Big Business capitalizing on what a small, independent business has done. It will be interesting to see how it all comes out.
Continue Reading
RIP – Walter Cronkite
Posted on 17. Jul, 2009 by Deb.
Most of you wouldn’t know that I have a degree in Broadcasting. I worked for the NBC Affiliate in Dallas as well as ABC News. I majored in broacasting because of Walter Cronkite. It’s heartbreaking that he is gone.