Wendy

You hear all the stories of complaints about children's books in libraries, and here is another. Or rather, this is the well thought out, pleasant response to one of those complaints. Admittedly, though we don't have the patron's original message to read, it sounds like they were more concerned than abusive. This is beautiful.

http://jaslarue.blogspot.com/2008/07/uncle-bobbys-wedding.html

PC gone WAY TOO FAR!

Found courtesy of gleckia

Racist toddlers, News at 11

Passed on by a sensible person posting in the comments on this article. Note: There are a couple of statements in here that I do not necessarily subscribe to, but I agree with the entire thing in principle. I'm too tired right now to argue about it. I just thought it was clever.

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Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on.

If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Don't forget, part 2 is available now! Here: http://drhorrible.com/act_II.html

I'm now waiting eagerly for part 3. I'm also very glad that I can watch Felicia Day in this and not think about The Guild.

Too much.

Ow.

That post of mine about guns and the UK? That was supposed to be more about the UK and less about guns. They have a *big* problem, and I'm not seeing signs that they're focussing on the right things.

Don't forget! Part 1 starts today here: http://www.drhorrible.com/act_I.html

Part 2 on the 17th and 3 on the 19th, I believe. And free through the 20th. Eventually they will be put on DVD with monumental extras. It's $3.99 on iTunes for all three parts.

Joss Whedon is having fun. :) I approve.

Current Mood: amused

I know that if I posted this in a highly-trafficked area it would be pounced on and flamed all to heck, so I'll put it here and the few of you who read it can ignore it (or comment, or flame, or whatever). But....

Okay, I have heard people say that things like the Columbine shootings would not have happened if the US banned guns like the UK did and technically, yes, that is true. No guns = no shootings. However, recent headlines in the UK seem to be proving out the rallying cry of the pro-gun folks, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

I'm not pro-gun. If I could make them all go away universally, *presto poof!*, I would. However, the recent spate of knife killings as well as the binge drinking issues that were being widely talked about earlier in the year suggests to me that there are serious issues that need to be dealt with in the UK right now. They can't ban knives (well, they can to some extent and do -- here at least. I mourn the fact that people are no longer able to carry penknives in certain situations.), and even if they did, I think that next summer's headlines would be full of "lead-pipe murders" or something similar.

I have no solutions, it's just an observation. But it was a thought, and I figured I'd better put it down to prove to myself I'm still capable of thinking about things outside my immediate world. One of these days I might post about what an incredible cluster**** this summer has turned into.

Anybody want a couple of them? We have two we don't need. (And a probably-dead Nokia phone, for that matter.)

Okay, not sure if running a show called "London Calling" is that appropriate for the 4th of July, but whoever thought to run an 8-hour block of Joe Strummer's late-90's BBC show today is a genius. If you're local, it's on The Current (duh!). If you're not local, they are generously streaming it here:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/

I love my radio station.

Thanks, ribarambles!

Don't ask me why. I was thinking about poetry courtesy of my eldest, and I decided to post one of my favorite poems here. It's not a big dramatic one, like "The Cremation of Sam McGee", or "The Highwayman", or "Richard Cory" or "Jabberwocky" (all favorites), but I found it in tenth grade and fell in love. Take a peaceful moment and give it a try.

"Music", by Amy Lowell

The neighbour sits in his window and plays the flute.
From my bed I can hear him,
And the round notes flutter and tap about the room,
And hit against each other,
Blurring to unexpected chords.
It is very beautiful,
With the little flute-notes all about me,
In the darkness.
In the daytime,
The neighbour eats bread and onions with one hand
And copies music with the other.
He is fat and has a bald head,
So I do not look at him,
But run quickly past his window.
There is always the sky to look at,
Or the water in the well!
But when night comes and he plays his flute,
I think of him as a young man,
With gold seals hanging from his watch,
And a blue coat with silver buttons.
As I lie in my bed
The flute-notes push against my ears and lips,
And I go to sleep, dreaming.

Hulu.com just put a TON of Highlander (the whole series?) online to watch.

Cue up the Methos eps, I'm going in!

Good thing he had a lot of help! *cough*

His "last day video"

Okay, it's three pages online, but it is a good article and a nice choice of clip. :)

Thanks to nagasvoice for pointing this out to me.

57 academics just punched the air.

RTD, OBE

Current Mood: pleased

*giggle*

They knew she could write a speech, and it's a good one.

Thanks to riba_rambles for this link.

J.K. Rowling at Harvard

Current Mood: contemplative

Is anyone out there recording 'Charlie Jade'? And if so, can I borrow it?

Current Mood: hopeful

I still like this. A lot.

The Dollyrots with "Brand New Key". Yes, that one.

The lighter side of spelling bees.