Chaput calls Catholics servile toward Obama - Denver Post

Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput, on a book tour in Canada this week, stirred controversy with remarks about U.S. Catholics, who he says exhibit "a spirit of adulation bordering on servility" toward President Barack Obama, an abortion-rights advocate.

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Northern Lights Are Quieter Than They've Been in Decades

The Interior’s normal wintertime light show has been noticeably absent this winter. “I talk to people in town and everybody asks me, ‘Where is the aurora? What’s happening?’"

Of course this would happen the year I move up to Fairbanks :(

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Dying 9-Year-Old Girl 'Weds' Friend

Jayla Cooper's dying wish came true as she married her friend in a dream wedding ...just 9 years old, likely has only weeks to live after having battled leukemia for the last two years...In the symbolic ceremony, put together in less than a week, Jayla wore a white dress and walked down the aisle on her father's arm.

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How Much Water Does Pasta Really Need?

The Curious Cook

By HAROLD McGEE

Published: February 25, 2009

The nation can save the equivalent of half a million gallons of oil a year by cooking pasta with less water and energy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25curi.html

And as some Swiss informed me, Americans regularly overcook their pasta anyway.

Tibetans Greet New Year in Opposition

International / Asia Pacific

By EDWARD WONG

Published: February 26, 2009

Tibetans are marking the normally joyous Losar holiday with an informal boycott and vigils.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/world/asia/26tibet.html

Olivia Judson: Guest Column: The Crumbling Ivory Tower

New York Times
OPINION

By Stephen Quake

Published: February 24, 2009

Peer review is the best way to deal with potential conflicts of interest in faculty research.

http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/guest-column-the-crumbling-ivory-tower/

An interesting read, especially following some of the ridiculous academic shenanigans in the past few years. Including, CU Boulder's very own Ward Churchill controversy.

Obama to Seek Higher Tax on Affluent to Pay for Health Care

New York Times
U.S. / Politics

By JACKIE CALMES and ROBERT PEAR

Published: February 26, 2009

President Obama’s budget will call for stricter limits on the benefits of itemized deductions, introducing a politically volatile edge to the Congressional debate over his domestic priorities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/politics/26budget.html

Mrs. Obama

For months it had been rumored that our new first lady would grace the cover of the incomparable Vogue magazine. This weekend at the news stand I found her on not one but two major magazine covers. As soon as I flipped on MSNBC is was straight from Senator Burris debates to Michelle's style and star power. Mrs. Obama is certainly becoming a force in American pop culture.

And You Thought Orientalism Was Uncomfortable...

I have to give Jay Chou credit. I mean sure his music is repetitive pop slop at best, but he has succeeded in turning the tables on hundreds of years of Orientalism. In the following video a wide array of unrelated American culture, historical figures, costumes and perceived cultural practices are mashed together to form hilarity. Thanks to my beloved friend Miss Phoebe Jiang for the tip off.

Intro

As a means of keeping far strewn friends and family updated on the insane (or is that inane?) details of my life I am going to keep this blog. So coming daily from Fairbanks, Alaska I will be posting news stories, the latest you tube finds, personal anecdotes, weather reports and random curiosities of all kinds. Enjoy.