Archive forMay, 2006
Thank you Mr. McCain
Interesting article about a commencement speech given by John McCain at New School.
Students booed, turned their backs and held up banners saying “Our commencement is not your platform.”
I think it is great for interesting and dynamic people to speak at a commencement ceremony, but it feels so dirty when it is so obviously a campaign stop. Even worse is the fact that he planned to give the same speech at three different schools, so students had time to prepare rebuttals to his remarks before he even made them.
I would love to see someone who had a thorough understanding of student uprising against the Vietnam war compare reactions to today’s students against a government leading a similar campaign in a very unpopular war.
2008 will be an interesting year indeed.
Slapping Machine
Thanks to Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing fame for this link. A bizarre Japanese game show where contestants endure pain and discomfort while trying to keep from laughing, screaming, or talking.
My two favorites are ‘Slapping Machine’ and ‘Bad Smell Air.’
[Edit: I didn’t want to imply that I actually knew Mike, I am just a reader of his blog. Also, Soul Coughing was a great band, but I think Mike’s solo work (especially Skittish) is much better. He came to KC a while ago and it was the best small-venue show I’ve seen for a long time.]
Don’t have sex with clowns
This is an advertisement for Chez MacDo in India. My how cultures differ.
The most dangerous intersection in America
This in my opinion is the most dangerous intersection in the world, er, at least around my house.
The reason it is so dangerous is not high speeds or tricky navigation but simply the unwillingness of people to follow the rules. Either that or they can’t remember how 4-way stops work.
As I recall, when the car in front of you goes, you should then wait until the other cars currently waiting go, and then take your turn meandering through the intersection. The way it actually works in the minds of drivers is this: “I have waited for one other car, so it must be my turn.”
As you may be able to tell from the picture, matters are complicated further by the fact that on the East side there are three oncoming lanes coming into the intersection, and two on the North and South. The West is the ‘training wheels’ portion of the intersection because there is only one lane.
Each and every time I go through here, I see some combination of blue hair / road rage / speeding teen snarled up in the middle, lurching forward and braking in some stupid game of chicken.
I don’t like to present a problem without a solution, so here goes. Calling upon the infinite wisdom of Mr. Mojo Reiser, each car in Kansas will be issued a single use Stinger missle that will be mounted on their car as of their next license renewal. A large red button on the dash will fire this missle into whatever offending car you like. I believe that the ‘threat of force,’ and knowing that Granny could turn you into a briquette as soon as you cut her off will make drivers more courteous. More courteous means more willing to wait your turn at a 4 (8?) way stop.
Problem solved.
