I have the sense that my big news story is going to have to wait for a later post. I started including it as the headliner for the MoBlo and then realized that it required video. And so many words. So many, many words...What's it gonna be about? Robots, 'natch. Anyways, until I get it up, please enjoy your daily feast of newsworthy snippets. Now with extra snark!
Evidently, there's a raging debate in the so called "New Age" community concerning the Hindu provenance of yoga. Some Hindu organizations are arguing that the practice is inherently an exercise of faith and should be taught as such. The feeling seems to be that doing otherwise, is some sort of religious intellectual theft. Personally, I think if you can manage the mind boggling contortions demanded by yogic practice, I don't particularly care what your faith background is. You have my respect. And also, were I a Hindu, I think I'd be more concerned about my ancient faith being lumped into the "New Age" category rather than whether or not Baptists are learning to put their legs behind their heads. Just saying..
According to the New York Times, these are the 100 books you should have read this year. I'm embarrassed to admit that at this point in my life, I have precious little time for reading actual books. Between my Economist subscription and the gajillion things I read and write about each day, I simply haven't the time to sit down with an actual book. I'm not entirely sure that that's necessarily a shame...I am definitely reading an awful lot. Just not the sort of stuff that comes between two covers. That said, I did read "World War Z" on the flight back from Seattle. It's helped me prepare for the coming zombie apocalypse.
Huh...Pretty fascinating article: One way to run a successful internet business is to encourage negative reviews and online complaints.
It’s all part of a sales strategy, he said. Online chatter about DecorMyEyes, even furious online chatter, pushed the site higher in Google search results, which led to greater sales. He closed with a sardonic expression of gratitude: “I never had the amount of traffic I have now since my 1st complaint. I am in heaven.”
It is eight pages of the most profoundly perverse business model for internet commerce ever. And apparently, it's a rather successful one.
It's amazing to me that South Korea can still have any sort of ambivalence about North Korea considering the endless litanies of provocation. It seems as though some of it ties to a Korean sense of racial purity on both sides of the demarcation line. South Koreans can't imagine an attack against "....people of the same race." That said, they're pretty sick and tired of feeding the North at this point. The conflict is summed up nicely here:
“They’re evil, they’re millipedes that should be crushed,” she said of the North Koreans. “No, we can’t fight them. But we shouldn’t help them anymore, either.”
In related news, millipedes have filed a defamation suit...
Some vetoes from outgoing Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell. I have to say that the article is a bit sparse on details. He's vetoed an expansion of the so-called "Castle Doctrine" which allows the use of deadly force within someone's home. However, the article doesn't seem to detail what the expansions would be. Would it expand the doctrine to someone's place of business? What precisely is Rendell opposing? Rendell also vetoed a bill that would have limited public access to coroners reports. I'm very much in favor of that. I can't imagine any justifiable reason why the methods used by coroners shouldn't be open to public scrutiny. If you happen to live in Mississippi, you may understand why.
Interesting thing to ponder: Why is it that with the exception of "The Godfather II" and "The Empire Strikes Back", movie sequels are infamous for their profound suck while video games almost always bring the awesome? I think it's too simple to say that it's just a question of improved technology. I think video games have reached the point where they're attracting a higher caliber of creative people.
Unfortunately, it appears as though the Swiss are doubling down on their recent trends towards xenophobia and isolationism. Granted, Swiss isolationism really isn't new. It's a necessary condition of being staunchly neutral. However, this new bill aimed specifically at foreigners, coupled with their ludicrous ban on the construction of minarets seems to reveal something ugly lurking beneath the chocolate and yodeling.
Ok, the Steeler game is starting. So I'm not going to discuss the falling price of gold and what it means for the dollar, the insane price of truffles or the fact that Wales is apparently being terrified by some sort of lion monster thing.
My apologies.
UPDATE: I forgot that blogger does the time stamp on blogs based on when you start, rather than finish them. To see the robot post, see below.
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