Marathon Doping

I'm not plugged into the running news like Don is with cycling, but I read this today and thought it would be good to share.

The Confessions of Eddy Hellebuyck

It's a very well-written editorial; I'm so used to Runners' World publishing new diet and training fads.  I was pretty sad when The Penguin left Runners' World and it felt like the quality of writing there declined dramatically.  So this piece was very refreshing to me.

President Obama Speaks at USC

I got to hear President Obama speak at USC on Friday.  Unfortunately I didn't get to see him because of the way the stage was set up and the size of the crowd.

I really hoped he would have a very inspirational, motivating speech, but it was just a pro-Democratic stump speech.  I thought he sounded a bit desperate. I was really sad and disappointed as President Obama is known for his uplifting and inspirational speeches and I hoped I could hear something I could take away from the experience.

I've been trying to find a place to upload his speech (around 20 min, 521 MB).  If anyone knows of a good free video hosting site, please let me know so I can get the video out.

And hey Trojans. . . . .Fight On!

I Feel Like I Must Be A Racist. . . .

Because I think the "good" dancer must be a black man. . . . and the "bad" dancer is a white engineer.

Psychologists Identify Killer Dance Moves For Men

Rolling My Eyes

Mormons throw support behind gay-rights cause

I thought that it was already illegal to discriminate against homosexual people in housing and employment. . . .talk about being over a year late and many millions of dollars short. . . .

Women Are Tough Too, You Know

Associated Press: Civilian officer shot gunman, ended rampage

What the hell Lt. General Cone? Women are just as capable as men, and you're just figuring this out?

Women in Space

Right Stuff, Wrong Sex

This makes me want to simultaneously roll my eyes and shake my fist in anger.

Of course they weren't going to put women in space. Because we're all weak and stuff. Can't handle the stress.

I remember a Navy recruiter who once tried to recruit at my high school. He told me that women weren't allowed on submarines because they couldn't take the physical and psychological stress.

An aside: the other night I was a passenger on a flight and I saw the cities below encrusted in lights. I thought they looked just like photos of nebulas sent back from Hubble.

I <3 Dan Savage

Dan Savage is a smart and witty journalist who authors Savage Love for Seattle's The Stranger.

In response to this New York Times' article Grievous Choice on Risky Path to Parenthood, Dan wrote this scathing post, whose sentiments I share exactly.

The Stansels keep a blog here. In the editorial, there is a photo of one of their babies' feet. The child's foot is so tiny the Stansels were able to slip their wedding rings on the foot. And then take a photo. You've got to be kidding me. Human depravity knows no bounds.

A couple videos from interviews Dan Savage has done with Steven Colbert, from last year:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Gay Roundup - Dan Savage
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Proposition 8 Protests - Dan Savage
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

Polanski Media Circus

Polanski defenders lose sight of true victim

(Steve Lopez is the journalist who wrote the book that inspired the film "The Soloist". I blogged about the film earlier this year.)

This whole Roman Polanski extradition thing is really a media circus I do not want to watch.

I think this issue will last until Polanski dies, or until he is extradited and faces trial. No matter what the victim's wishes are, he still committed a crime. One which I don't feel was fairly served in the 42 days he spent in jail before bailing.

I don't feel the outcome of this case will cause more sex assaults to go unreported, as I think getting law enforcement officials to believe a crime has even taken place is hard enough.

If Polanski truly wanted this thing to be over, he wouldn't fight extradition and would just go pay his debt to society. But I guess it's easier to be a martyr.

Michael Jackson is Dead

LA Times Article

I think this comes as a shock to everyone.

I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson, but I think Los Angeles has always had a love affair for the star. When I moved here three years ago, you could still listen to his 20-year-old songs on the radio next to the top-ten of the week. Even now I'll hear "Billie Jean" or "Beat It" on the radio every now and then.

Sacrificing Democracy In The Name Of Religion

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Goes On Trial

This has been in the news for a few days. Do religious zealots get any stupider?

I first read about Suu Kyi when I was in college, and thought she was a pretty brave woman (or at least in some way knew what she was doing) to undergo house arrest in the name of democracy and freedom, even after she had been given the option to leave Burma.

I hope something good comes out of all of this.

Elevation

A few months ago, Roger Ebert wrote about the emotion Elevation - the feeling of having witnessed something good. He cited a Slate article that described President Obama's success in evoking elevation in people who watch his speeches.

The internet has been buzzing about Susan Boyle's performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" on Britain's Got Talent auditions. It does not surprise me in the least that her rendition is soul stirring and uplifting. She goes on stage, and she's not much to look at. Her dress is unflattering and her hair is unkempt. She sasses the judges with a working-woman's accent. It's obvious the audience thinks she's a joke.

Until she sings. And then the joke is on everyone else. Everyone realizes they just saw something remarkable. I think Simon lied, but that's just me. :)

For the record, I doubt a story like this would happen in the United States. I think our entertainment industry is much too shallow.

Susan could not have picked a better song to invoke elevation in her audience. It's a song of a broken dream, and still wanting it even though it will not come to pass. The 10th Anniversary Les Miserables version always makes me feel. . . something. The anguish and frustration in Fantine's voice always invokes so many feelings in me. Yet she still sounds defiant; indomitable.

Susan took this song of a broken dream and made it hers. She made Fantine's anguish her own, and proved to Great Britain that she deserved her spot in Britain's Got Talent more than her competitors.

I could go on and say something about how we only expect conventionally pretty people to be good at stuff, but I think that's for a different post.

Speaking of Les Miserables, the best example of a song from that musical that invokes elevation in me every time is Do You Hear The People Sing? Wow. The encore arrangement is more powerful in terms of impact, but I prefer the original lyrics.

Time To Develop The Deflector Dish!

Space Junk Barely Misses ISS

Come on, you knew this was coming. It's time to start developing deflectors so we can go to Mars. Or something. I'm still in my Star Trek headspace.

Next up will be the warp drive. You know it.

I Wanted To Be A Paleontologist Once

Then it was archeologist, and then I realized that I needed to have a way to feed myself on more than $30K a year.

Major cache of fossils unearthed in L.A.

Someone Please Explain To Me

What right Utah voters have to interfere with California politics?

At least they called the whole idea off.

I got a phone call from an old dude a couple weeks ago. He asked me if I had made up my mind about Proposition 8. I said yes, I had, and he asked me what way I was going to vote. I said I was going to vote no (I should have told him it was none of his business!!!) and he asked me if I was 100% certain.

Why? If I wasn't would he have tried to convince me otherwise? I should have asked him questions that would really show his prejudices.

I have no idea if the old dude was calling me from Utah or not, but it sure was annoying.

I was originally not going to blog about this, but I'm starting to get sick of reading about this issue and dealing with it everywhere I go.

Mission To Mars

Buzz Aldrin thinks Mars pioneers should just stay there permanently.

I have to admit I like his idea. The effort and resources that would be expended figuring out how to get people off of the planet and back home could be better spent on ensuring colonists' survival.

However, I think we're a long ways from sending off colonists to the great wild unknown. At least 50 years. Unless someone discovered a way to commercialize space, and there was a resource on Mars that we absolutely needed to have.

If the political climate here gets bad enough, I think a lot of people would want to move to Mars and start their own Martian colony, complete with their own laws and way of life.

Hellman Article on Nuclear Weapons

Hellman is one of the inventors of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol, used in public-key cryptography. He wrote an down-to-earth article about nuclear warfare that's straight-forward and easy to read. Then posted it on Slashdot.

I have to admit I skimmed the article.

Nick Reynolds Dies

Kingston Trio's Nick Reynolds Dies At 75

The Kingston Trio is one of my dad's favorite bands. When I was growing up I listened to a lot of their music.

Something To Think About

Money As Debt Video

I don't know what to think about this. It'd be better to have a simpler currency system. But how to get from what we currently have to something better? I don't know how to go about doing that.

This Is Really Beautiful

The last days of David Foster Wallace

I have a lot of sympathy for those who choose suicide. There is no tougher decision to make than that final one.

People who are not sympathetic, who think it's a selfish act, just don't "get it".

This tribute article is poignant. Read it.

This Made My Jaw Drop

Sarah Palin and the victims-pay-for-rape-kits story

What?! I'm shocked and angered by this. If a rape victim has insurance that will cover the cost of a rape kit, then OK. If she has the financial means to pay for the kit herself, that's OK too. But if a women has no way to pay for the kit, that's just too bad? Wow. That really just blows my mind.

If a woman can't pay for a rape kit, having the community foot the bill for her just seems like the right thing to do in terms of justice and being a "good community".

According to the Salon article, Wasilla police chief Charlie Fannon said the rape kits would cost the city's police department between $5,000 and $14,000 a year. For a city the size of Wasilla (7,000? 10,000?), and depending on the cost of the kit and forensic medical exam (between $300 and $1,200, according to Salon, and $800 according to this Officer.com article), it sounds like Wasilla has bigger problems than funding a hockey rink and its legal woes.

Even more interesting, the Violence Against Women Act was pushed through by none other than Joe Biden.

The Strange Slience on Biden's Signature Accomplishment

While I personally like Obama more than McCain, I was willing to set that aside and consider McCain for president. I've definitely been on the fence when the vice presidential candidates were announced. But this really pushes me into Obama's camp.