COMensarations
Monday, March 13, 2006
Gotta Dance!
A scientist reveals what many of us have known for centuries.
A story on Foxnews.com, Study: Dancers Clearly Made Better Lovers, reviews a study done by Steven J. Mithen on elite dancers and their body chemistry and genes. (BTW, the headline is misleading. Nothing shows they were, or are, better lovers. Only that they were more attractive as mates.) I assume Mithen is a man, so maybe the results of his study were a surprise to him.
It seems his study reveals that the dancers body chemistry reveals a gene that makes them predisposed to social interaction. His hypothesis is that dance was a social activity aimed at attracting mates. Like that’s a surprise to anyone who’s done any dancing or closely observed social dancing.
Dance of any kind is very sensual and a celebration of the human body. Even sacred dance uses the human body to celebrate God and the gift of the body to us. Even social dance is something of a performance, since there are usually non-dancers observing. For centuries, even today, dance is used to show off the human body, it’s gracefulness, strength, endurance and form.
I did a lot of dancing for about 30 years, including folk dancing. Some dances were deliberately choreographed to reveal persons with poor wind, an indicator of the early stages of TB and other respiratory diseases, so they could be eliminated as marriage prospects. Some dances are men only or women only so that members of the opposite sex could observe who was the most graceful, had the best carriage (straight spine, good legs), didn’t make mistakes (probably not a drunkard), etc. Men’s dances emphasize strength and agility. The modern descendant of this tradition is break dancing. Women’s dances emphasize grace and strength. Couple dances allow you to get close enough to smell the breath, check the teeth, feel the grip of the hand, and look for clear eyes. All of these are important for finding a strong, healthy mate who will give you strong healthy children.
However, while these things contribute to sex appeal, they do not guarantee the dancer is a better lover. That conclusion cannot be reached.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Be Prepared
Welcome to the Boy Scouts!
There is an interesting interesting article in the Pueblo Chieftain today. It’s about plans to prepare for the arrival of Avian Flu, a.k.a. bird flu.
Personal preparedness will be a big part of surviving a possible flu pandemic, Dr. Chris Nevin-Woods of the City-County Health Department told a group of community representatives at a breakfast meeting Friday.
Welcome to the Boy Scouts, whose motto has always been “Be Prepared!”
I’ve been wondering about the ‘bird flu’ business and how the county was planning on preparing for its eventual arrival here. It’s good to see someone is paying attention, as I agree with last week’s reports that we’ll have the virus amongst us with this Fall’s southerly migration of all the birds that will confab above the Arctic Circle this Summer. Lots of birds from Europe and North America will mingle up there this Summer and in the course of that, I’m confident that the heretofore unphased North Americans will contract the virus and bring it south on their Fall migration to warmer climes. Then we’ll be in it like the rest of the world. Barring something about inter-species gatherins we’re not familiar with up there. Maybe we’ll be lucky. But I wouldn’t count on it.
I’d rather be prepared....
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Weathering the Phenomena
Phoenix gets ‘rain’!
According to the Phoenix Weather Channel, Phoenix has broken it’s historic 143-day dry spell. Now, according to the weather radar, it’s finally raining in their downtown area.
This might not impress many people who think of the fact that Phoenix is pretty much in a great big desert. However, it’s interesting that this particular event correlates with the latest Master Gardener’s course presentation involving trees.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Attention, Ladies!
Truly, you men won’t have a clue what I’m talking about, so you might as well stop now.
Attention, ladies! I have an announcement. Bubble skirts are back.
I opened up the ad section for JCPenney this morning and there it was, a bubble skirt! Does anything say “cocktail dress” like a bubble skirt, except maybe sequins?
I wanted to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me, so I went to the website and did a search on “bubble skirt” and got hits!
I’ve never actually owned a bubble skirt, but I have a dress pattern with one. If you want to try it at home, you make a basic A-line skirt, except for the waistband. Then you make a dirndl skirt, ditto. Gather the bottom of the dirndl, sew it to the bottom of the A-line, put the seam to the inside, put the tops together, add the waistband and you’re done.
Like I said, bubble skirts connote cocktail dresses to me, so I find the cargo pocket versions incredibly weird, but since there’s no place wear, and hence no point to owning, a cocktail dress anymore, I suppose if you want one you have to do something like this. However, this may signal the end of the cargo pocket trend, since there’s nothing left to put them on.
And forgive me for channeling Sophie Kinsella.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Little Did We Realize
Little known facts about some well known subjects.
So there I was. Sitting in the Master Gardeners’ Program class yesterday. When the instructor from Fort Collins informs us that we who are doing the full program are all working for «HORROR!» Homeland Security.
A hush fell over the room. Eyes squinted. From somewhere came a, “Yeah...sure....” Another uttered a nervous laugh. The professor was deadly serious.
And, after he explained it, it made sense....
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Conduit III
A better idea.
Based on what I’ve read in the Pueblo Chieftain, I think State Representative McFayden (D-Pueblo West) is on the right track.
Her bill, HB1352 on considering water quality in water court decisions, passed a major hurtle, a House committee. This over the obvious objections from our friends in Colorado Springs.
The real test will come on the floors of the House and Senate, where, thanks to the Warren Supreme Court, places like Colorado Springs and Denver, have an inordinate amount of legislative authority.
My money is on the bill dying because the large metropolitan districts do NOT want to have to be held responsible for what they’ve done to water. There’s more to this than most people realized.
More on that later.....
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Conduit II
Additional thoughts on the proposed conduit to give good water to the Lower Arkansas; as if they didn’t have any such stuff at THIS time.
You may have guessed....
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Conduit
Thoughts on the interesting necessity of providing a conduit for good water to get to the lower Arkansas.
According to the Pueblo Chieftain the Salazar boys are suddenly demanding action on the proposed conduit.
And I’m reminded that politics is a lot like a good game of chess....
The Spice of Life
Things are getting interesting....
...at Sams Club.
Tone’s and Sams Club seem to be teaming up on special projects in spice. Over the last several of months I’ve noticed that they’ve been adding an interesting series of mixed spices.
There’ve been things like Louisiana Cajun, Chipotle, Lime Pepper and others. Last weekend I got two new ones; Salmon & Seafood Grill and Asian Stir-Fry Grill. I used the Salmon Grill on some salmon fillets. And the Asian Stir-Fry on some leftover penne pasta. Both were superb.
If you like to cook and you’re not a member of Sams Club, I highly recommend considering finding a friend who IS.
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Friday, March 03, 2006
History Lessons….
...for the educationally challenged.
Some [young] fellow at another blog seems to think that Christianity did nothing for Western civilization except got out of the way after fighting the Age of Enlightenment.
I think I’ll provide some remedial education.....
Thursday, March 02, 2006
A Disappointment, Taranto
He went for the subtle and missed the obvious.
In today’s OpinionJournal.com, James Taranto comments on a speech by Howard Dean, comparing it to a Monty Python routine. It’s a cute comparison.
However, he misses the obvious target. In his speech Dean says,
...and four, the authority and the control of the ports of the United States must be retained by American companies.
He is obviously referring to the ports the U.A.E. company would manage after they buy a British company! Those ports are not now managed by American companies.
I realize Mr. Dean presented a target that was almost too easy, but really, James, you usually don’t hesitate, even if it is easy.
School Problem II
Coming soon....a new Zero-Tolerance policy.
Will the iPod be considered machina non grata?
Seems that some bright kid caught his instructor speaking out of school. Well, certainly out of his perview with respect to the class he was alledgedly ‘teaching’.
This ties in well with a recent report from James ’Best of the Web Today‘ Taranto when he reported an interesting inter-action by some teachers at a presentation.....
An elegant-looking teacher in her 40s wandered up and joined the conversation. The truth, she said conspiratorially, is that when you close your classroom door, you’re in charge and there’s a lot you can get away with. The others nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, the teacher registered with alarm that a reporter’s tape recorder was running. She declared that her comments were off the record and abruptly walked away from the group. Reconsidering their candor, one by one other teachers in the circle requested that their comments, too, be considered off the record. Peace may have a chance in America’s schools. But at least for now, the revolution will not be broadcast.—The New McCarthyism, Best of the Web Today [Tuesday, February 28, 2006 2:50 p.m. EST]
Apparently, with the new technologies available to students, you can’t get away with as much as you thought you could a couple of years ago.
Little pictures. Big ears. You get the idea.....
School Problem I
Another perspective on what’s going ‘weird’.
There have been a lot of articles over the last few days about issues involving the vaunted public education system. I’m getting the idea I should put in my own two-bits. But before I do that, I’d like to lay some ground-work.
Today, an interesting article over at Tech Central Station....
Batman vs. the UN
Guess who plays Bruce Wayne....
Mark Steyn whumps on the UN.
Go back to that [post-Christmas 2004] tsunami. While the UN and its agencies were on television badgering and hectoring the West for its stinginess, the actual relief efforts were being made by a couple of diverted U.S. naval groups and the Royal Australian Navy. The Scandinavians can’t fly in relief supplies, because they don’t have any C-130s. All they can do is wait for the UN to swing by and pick up their check. And it says something for the post-modern decadence of the age that that gives you supposed moral superiority.
There’s a moment in the latest Batman movie in which Bruce Wayne has just bumped into his childhood sweetheart, Rachel Dawes, in the lobby of some Gotham City hotel. Unfortunately he’s sopping wet, having been cavorting in the ornamental fountain with a couple of hot pieces of arm candy. Rachel is a crusading district attorney and Bruce can see she’s a bit disappointed to discover her old pal is now Paris Hilton in drag. So he attempts to assure her that deep down he still cares about all the worthy stuff. Rachel swats this aside. It’s not what you feel inside that counts, she says. “It’s what you do that defines you.”
Bruce wanes, visibly, under her withering riposte. I wouldn’t claim this film has anything as coherent as a philosophy, but its director thought enough of that line to reprise it late in the action. “It’s what you do that defines you,” Batman whispers to Rachel before diving off a rooftop to go whump the bad guys. “Bruce...?” she says, faintly.
It’s an essay. And, as usual, superbly done by Mark. Read the whole thing....