The Poignant FrogThe Poignant FrogPolitical Cartoons, Environmental Concerns, Live from New York Articles
Deep Sea Love
2008-04-09 17:29:00 I?d like to introduce you to one of my favorite animals: the shrimp goby. These pretty little fish lead lives of enviable indolence. As their name suggests, they live with shrimp (often, a pair). The shrimp build and maintain a burrow, which the goby and shrimp live in together. Each shrimp works hard, shoveling sand out of the front entrance like a miniature bulldozer. As soon as it?s delivered the rubble to a suitable distance, it shoots back into the burrow.These animals are dependent on each other. Remove the fish, and the shrimp stops burrowing; the shrimp forage while burrowing, so without a fish, they grow more slowly, too. The shrimp need their guard goby. And the guard goby needs its shrimp: deny the goby shelter in a burrow, and it will promptly be killed by predators (yes, someone did the experiment). The shrimp keep the goby clean, too: they groom it.http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/ More About: Love , Deep
"Live your life with passion and energy and candor.?
2008-04-09 05:55:00 artbox by margueritaMuch of his talk is about tenacity and how he managed to scale the ?brick walls? that stood in the way of achieving some of his dreams. Other lessons are those that all parents hope to teach their children ? show gratitude, tell the truth, no job is beneath you.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/hea lth/08well.html?ref=health More About: Life , Energy , Passion , Live
“The fearsome battle between spirit and matter”
2008-04-07 04:53:00 artwork by Marguerita previously published as cover for Reinaldo Arenas - The Palace of the White Skunks."Sometimes what keeps me going is the hope that there's another hell,another inferno someplace" "Now I see that hell is always what you can't reject.What's just simply there." " Now I see tha hell is not circular,not on fire,but just the fleeting,instantaneous present,taking up all the width and breadth of our heartbroken,wounded memory"."Now I see that hell is not annihilating fire- such wondrous good fortune if it were!- but rather an invariable glare which condemns us to see,to eternally see that which,by reason of that very glare, we call our hell.""That which,by reason of that very glare, is unbearable.""And real."" Hell is the price which must be paid for asking ourselves intelligent,logical questions."" You run, and when you finally stop you discover that you're in the very same place you were running from.""Hell is us always looking at the horror,unable to join it,o... More About: Spirit , Battle
Jean Nouvel:“What I like is the poétique of the situation,”
2008-04-07 04:01:00 I am a hedonist, and I want to give pleasure to other people.”“Of course, you can find a lot of contradictions between all my buildings,” Nouvel told me. “I have no global reasons; I have particular reasons.” Other critically praised architectural firms, like Herzog & de Meuron and Rem Koolhaas’s Office for Metropolitan Architecture, make similar claims. Nouvel’s projects, however, lack not only a recurring formal vocabulary but even a readily apparent common sensibility.Nouvel is, at 62, a bulky man with an enormous shaved head, an intense gaze, bushy black eyebrows and anall-black wardrobe that he often complements with a broad-brimmed black hat. He makes an unmistakable impression, yet despite his powerful personality, he is exceptionally good at allowing a building to take on a personality of its own. With some of his projects, that personality is coolly and irresistibly seductive, and with others, it is brassy, even cheesy.“He’s precarious,” ... More About: Jean , Situation
Of Nice Mice and Men, a variation:Strip by Marguerita
2008-04-04 02:16:00 and here,as my old Alfred (Hitchcock) would say, the beguining of a thrilling atory full of twists and turns, in betwixt and surprising.Unconventional mysteries,shattered dreams and phenomenal cauchemars.Serendipity at its quintessence,the pedestrian tale avoided.Memories revealed and obscured, reality removed.The mind , tired of the banal same song , flying away into distant levels of imagination and in search of Lucifuga. More About: Mice , Nice , Strip
The Mind is a Garden of Earthly Delights.......
2008-04-02 19:37:00 No one knows why willpower can grow with practice but it must reflect some biological change in the brain. Perhaps neurons in the frontal cortex, which is responsible for planning behavior, or in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is associated with cognitive control, use blood sugar more efficiently after repeated challenges. Or maybe one of the chemical messengers that neurons use to communicate with one another is produced in larger quantities after it has been used up repeatedly, thereby improving the brain’s willpower capacity.Whatever the explanation, consistently doing any activity that requires self-control seems to increase willpower — and the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification is highly associated with success in life.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/op inion/02aamodt.html?em&ex=1207281600& amp;en=93063bbf6c0470e8&ei=5087%0A More About: Garden , Mind , The Mind
Modern Melody: Tinnitus non Cantabile
2008-04-01 19:44:00 Often caused by prolonged or sudden exposure to loud noises, tinnitus (pronounced tin-NIGHT-us or TIN-nit-us) is becoming an increasingly common complaint, particularly among soldiers returning from combat, users of portable music players, and aging baby boomers reared on rock ’n’ roll.Although there is no cure, researchers say they have never had a better understanding of the cascade of physiological and psychological mechanisms responsible for tinnitus. As a result, new treatments under investigation — some of them already on the market — show promise in helping patients manage the ringing, pinging and hissing that otherwise drives them to distraction.(Other causes include stress,some kinds of chemotherapy,head and neck trauma, sinus infections,and multiple sclerosis.) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ... More About: Modern , Melody
Sex, Politicos,Global Warming,etc:Voulez vous Viagra avec moi?
2008-04-01 06:03:00 It is not often that City Hall reporters dare to ask visiting dignitaries about their sex lives. But these are the days of Viagra , when frank discussions of impotence can seem as natural as talking about fiscal conservatism.So when Elizabeth Dole, president of the American Red Cross, graced a City Hall news conference with her meticulous presence yesterday, everyone in the room knew for certain that one question would be asked — a rather indelicate question that had nothing to do with her organization ....Mrs. Dole accepted a proclamation from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. After talking passionately about how important the Red Cross’s efforts are in places like Rwanda and Bosnia, she invited questions. There was a brief inquiry about mudslides in Italy, and then The Question was posed.“In a normal time, I would ask you what would be your view of the Presidential candidacy of Mayor Giuliani,” the reporter said. “But there are more pressing matters of national importance. And i... More About: Global Warming , Global
Simon Doonan:rising porno-chic epidemic
2008-03-31 20:28:00 Faced with the current stateof red-carpet blandness and rising porno-chic epidemic (bleach-blond hair, pneumatic breasts, butt-crack jeans), Doonan penned his new tome as a humorous how-to for gals who believe looking "interesting and alluring" is better than simply appearing "sexually available.""They are two horribly worrying trends!" says Doonan, 55, perched in his E. Ninth St. apartment. "Celebrities are becoming so gun-shy that there is no diversity, no sense of fun on the red carpet. There's no experimentation - which is incredibly important to fashion."And then there's the embrace of porno chic. "Imagine if you said to people 20 years ago that in 2008 a significant number of women would be going around dressing like porno stars with fake hoot-ers and butt cracks showing? No one would have believed you," says Doonan."What fashion and style are real-ly about is personal expression and individuality, eccentricity, idiosyncrasy and, of course, fun," he says. More About: Simon , Epidemic
The Pope:“He is not a man of blah, blah, blah,” the archbishop said.
2008-03-31 06:19:00 “The image of Benedict XVI is not only not well known, but it is badly known,” said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who, as apostolic nuncio, is the Vatican’s top diplomat in the UniteStates.Benedict, a former professor, is a pope who cultivates words more than dramatic gestures — in contrast to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. The key to this trip, Archbishop Sambi said, will be to listen to Benedict’s speeches in their entirety.Although the pope is arriving in the midst of a presidential election, Archbishop Sambi said: “I can assure you that the pope will not at all interfere with the electoral process. He will not meet with any of the candidates.”“The Pope will speak about the doctrine of the Church, which has been established 2,000 years ago, much before there was any Democratic or Republican Party of the United States,” Archbishop Sambi said.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/us /31papal.html?hp Can you imagine what Jesus would say after a v... More About: Blah Blah Blah , Blah , Blah Blah
Umberto Eco:Hay una maldición china que dice: ““Espero que vivas en un
2008-03-31 01:23:00 Ése es uno de nuestros problemas contemporáneos. La abundancia de información irrelevante y la dificultad de seleccionarla, y la pérdida de memoria del pasado, no digo ya la histórica. La memoria es nuestra identidad, nuestra alma. Si tú pierdes hoy la memoria, ya no hay alma, eres una bestia. Si sufres un golpe en la cabeza y pierdes la memoria, te conviertes en un vegetal. Si la memoria es el alma, disminuir mucho la memoria es disminuir mucho el alma. For any AVM, the biggest problem or most dangerous consequence (i.e., "complication") is that it may rupture. However, many unrupturd AVMs present with seizures too, and the development of a seizure disorder (epilepsy) can certainly occur after rupture of an AVM. So, seizure disorder is regarded a second major problem associated with AVMs, be they unruptured or ruptured. In fact, the younger the patient at the time of AVM diagnosis, the higher the risk of developing a seizure disorder. Overall, this the seizure risk lie... More About: China , Dice , Umberto Eco
Jean Nouvel:“Generally, when you say context, people think you want to co
2008-03-30 23:51:00 “The wind, the color of the sky, the trees around — the building is not done only to be the most beautiful,” he said. “It’s done to give advantage to the surroundings. It’s a dialogue.”“I realized it was possible to create visual compositions” that, he said, “you can put directly in the street, in the city, in public spaces.”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/ 31/arts/design/31prit.html?_r=1&hp&am p;oref=slogin More About: People , Context , Jean
Pains and Sensations: Pinched !
2008-03-30 01:36:00 "Everything and everywhere hurts,but my conscience.....". A Pinched nerveis the term for pain or impaired function of a nerve that is under pressure. It happens to nerves that control muscle movements or relay sensations to the brain.The initial symptoms of a pinched nerve may be tingling, numbness, burning sensation or shooting pains down the buttocks and legs or in the neck, shoulders, arms and fingers.Sometimes the pains and sensations are distant from the point of pressure. For instance, a pinched nerve in the low back may cause pain in the calf as the only symptom. When there is nerve damage from constant pressure, pain and weakness may increase. There may be a loss of reflexes, movement skills, sensation in the affected area, and withering (atrophy) of the affected muscles can occur.Nerves are extensions from the brain that reach out into the arms or legs to go to the muscles or skin. A nerve is a cell that is microscopic in size, and fi...
McCain vis a vis History,Geography : the Human Race
2008-03-29 22:20:00 McCain had even had to be corrected by Joe Lieberman when he described Purim as sort of like the Jewish Halloween (really) Queen Esther Queen Esther saved the Jews from annihilation in Persia. The Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Esther) relates how Esther became the Jewish Queen of Persia and the heroine of the Purim story.A Jewish orphan named Hadassah, she was raised by her cousin Mordechai. She later assumed the name Esther. When the King of Persia, Ahasuerus sends his wife Vashi away for disobeying him, he chooses Esther to be his new wife. Esther, without revealing her Jewish identity, became queen of Persia. Haman, the king's prime minister, decides to kill all Jews because he is angered when Mordechai refuses to bow down to him. Haman manages to get the king to agree to his plan by telling him that there is a scattered people in the land who refuse to obey the king's laws. Haman casts lots (purim) to decide in which... More About: History , Human , Race , Geography , Human Race
Sarko : Entente Royale
2008-03-28 02:00:00 Nicolas Sarkozy’s seduction of the British started yesterday at 11:26 a.m. when his plane landed at Heathrow,” Andrew Gimson wrote for Thursday’s Daily Telegraph. “He brought with him his latest conquest, Carla Bruni, and many of us decided at once that if we were going to be seduced by anyone, we would rather be seduced by her.” If her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, had come here to woo his British hosts with a flattering speech to Parliament — compared by one writer to a “torrent of crème Chantilly sprayed from a high-pressure hose” — then his wife’s slender frame and twinkling eyes upstaged his effort to achieve gravitas. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/world/e urope/28bruniweb.html?hpCarla was perfect. Sarko was, despite his best efforts, Sarko. That was the considered view of the French press on the presidential state visit to Britain.The cardinal rule, when talking to the Queen, Libération said, was that Her Majesty must... More About: Royale
Matt Bai:: Hey! Look over there
2008-03-28 01:25:00 If, you do something completely idiotic that is tangential to what voters most hope or fear about you, then you tend to get a pass.This idea is especially relevant now because, over the last week or so, all three remaining contenders for the presidency have stumbled into controversies that are not only fodder for reporters but that are also potentially sticky. They are, all of them, central to the arguments on which the candidates have staked their fortunes.http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.c om/2008/03/27/krazy-glue-moments/index.ht ml?hp More About: Matt
Gail Collins: Suggestions for Hill and Oba
2008-03-27 22:28:00 The participants did not necessarily enjoy the experience.“I cried for hours,” said my sister-in-law, Laura.We should have known this was coming when people started talking about how exciting the Clinton-Obama race is. We live, after all, in a country where the Christmas shopping season begins in October. We have a sports calendar in which basketball leaches into baseball, which leaches into football. Too much of a good thing is our middle name. Now, the Democratic primary has become the McMansion of politics.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/2 7/opinion/27collins.html?hpKing Solomon and the DilemmaUpon succeeding to the throne, Solomon had been filled with awe at the mightiness of the task before him, and in the humility of his heart, prayed for the wisdom to govern justly.“For,” he said, “I am but a little child, and how should I discern between right and wrong?His wish was granted and, above and beyond his wealth and honour, Solomon was famed for his wisdom.One day two wome... More About: Collins , Hill
Sarkozys chez les Windsors: Tete a Tete
2008-03-27 05:04:00 drawing by marguerita L ucy Yeomans, Editor of Harper’s Bazaar, said: “It was very elegant, but very, very safe, with all the accessories, like the gloves.My first impression was that it was kind of Jackie Kennedy meets Madeleine, the little French schoolgirl. I also thought it was eerily reminiscent of the young Lady Diana when she was trying to do everything correctly.”She added: “It was very beautifully tailored and in its way, very on trend, but it was also a little bit nun-like. I don’t know whether it was because she knows that there is this naked picture of her around.”Carla Bruni Sarkozy who demonstrated the greatest transformation, abandoning her usual hippy-infused style for a vintage look that was part Jackie O, part district nurse.Mrs Sarkozy also showed an unlikely taste in handbags, sporting a vintage number that was striking in its similarity to the classic style that has become the Queen’s signature accessory.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/to l/news/world... More About: Tete
Hillary:“Proves I’m human.”
2008-03-26 06:21:00 “I made a mistake and, you know, I had a different memory,” she said at a news conference after a rally here. “It proves I’m human, which for some people is a revelation.”Yet Mrs. Clinton quickly found herself explaining a new comment, that it was the first time in 12 years she had told the story wrong.Strategists in both parties said few candidates were innocent of exaggerating. They also said Mrs. Clinton had to be especially careful because of a belief among many Americans, unfair or not, but detected in opinion polling, that the Clintons have a mixed and sometimes tortured history with being honest and giving direct answers.“I was joking — I mean, you know, gosh, lighten up guys,” she told reporters. “Obviously I say millions of words every week. There is a lot more room for error when you are talking as much as I am talking.”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03 /26/us/politics/26clinton.html More About: Human , Hillary
Donkeys: Where do Democrats come From ?
2008-03-26 02:42:00 When archaeologists excavated brick tombs outside a ceremonial site for an early king of Egypt, they expected to find the remains of high officials who had been sacrificed to accompany the king in his posthumous travels.But at this funerary complex, overlooking the ancient town of Abydos on the Nile about 300 miles south of Cairo, the archaeologists discovered the skeletons of 10 donkeys that had been buried as if they were high-ranking human officials.The bones of the Abydos donkeys, dating from around 3000 B.C., clearly showed wear from their burdens. At the major joints like shoulders and hips, the bone surfaces were roughened where the cartilage had worn down. Signs of arthritis were seen in areas where the heavy loads would have been carried.There were no signs of feet or teeth problems. And the beasts were revered.Donkeys were well suited for the task, requiring little water and able to subsist on meager vegetation.Kind of reminds me of Jimmy Carter,no? So here an answer for w... More About: Democrats
America: The Confused Fuse Ersatz
2008-03-25 22:45:00 The United States government is one of the most relentless advocates of halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, their components and the ballistic missiles to carry them, and has made public cases against potential adversaries like North Korea and Iran. It has even criticized partners like Russia for not sufficiently safeguarding its stockpile of weapons.WASHINGTON — Instead of sending helicopter batteries, the United States shipped four electrical fuses for Minuteman nuclear missile warheads to Taiwan, a mistake that was discovered only last week — a year and a half after the erroneous shipment, Pentagon officials disclosed on Tuesday.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26 /world/asia/25cnd-military.html?hp The U.S. Air Force mistakenly shipped fuses that are used in nuclear weapons to Taiwan in 2006, believing the crates contained helicopter batteries, officials at the Pentagon announced this morning.The error -- undetected by the United States until last week, despite repeate... More About: America
McCain: Common Knowledge
2008-03-25 20:18:00 For those who were too busy watching Rev. Jeremiah Wright damn America for the 10,000th time to hear about McCain, let's review: at a stop in Jordan last week, McCain made the ludicrous claim that Al Qaeda insurgents were being trained in Iran*.Asked again about it, he dug in deeper, claiming it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known."A few moments later, McCain's chief lady in waiting, Joe Lieberman, leaned forward and whispered in his ear. McCain promptly offered a quick rewrite: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."Now, it's been widely reported that, heading into the Iraq war, George Bush had no clue about the differences between Sunni and Shia. But that was 2003, and it was George Bush. This is five years later and we're talking about John McCain. But it turns out this acclaimed foreign policy expert doesn't ... More About: Knowledge , Common
Oscar Wilde:No crime is vulgar, but all vulgarity is crime”.
2008-03-25 19:56:00 Kefauver spoke up. He pointed to one of the covers, from an issue of “Crime SuspenStories,” on display in the hearing room. KEFAUVER: Here is your May 22 issue. This seems to be a man with a bloody axe holding a woman’s head up which has been severed from her body. Do you think that is in good taste? GAINES: Yes, sir, I do, for the cover of a horror comic. A cover in bad taste, for example, might be defined as holding the head a little higher so that the neck could be seen dripping blood from it, and moving the body over a little further so that the neck of the body could be seen to be bloody. KEFAUVER: You have blood coming out of her mouth.GAINES: A little. As Gaines must have realized too late, it was absurd to defend comic-book art by a standard of good taste. Disrespect for good taste was one of the chief attractions comic books had for pre-adolescents. Grossness is a hot commodity in the ten-to-fourteen demographic. Gaines, Feldstein, and Kurtzman were jus... More About: Oscar , Oscar Wilde , Wilde , Vulgar
Sarko, Le Monsieur Finesse: Chacun à son Goût
2008-03-25 06:06:00 The President is off today to Chad and South Africa, taking Bruni for her first foreign trip as première dame. He will be glad to escape after a rough week. But the gaffe-prone team at the Elysée Palace will no doubt keep us entertained in his absence. To follow up on our debate this week on bad language, here's another taste of Sarko's rough tongue. According to today's Canard Enchaîné, which is usually well informed, the president blew his top with his staff after a string of goofs last Wednesday. He was, he told them, surrounded by a bunch of cons et de branleurs. The latter word in British English translates directly as wankers. Con, as we noted earlier has lost its sexual sense and just means fool, idiot or clown.http://timescorrespondents.typepad. com/charles_bremner/2008/02/sarkozy-bags- a.html
Hill and Oba : Call me Unstoppable....
2008-03-10 05:05:00 ?She?s tough,? Christopher Doherty, Scranton?s mayor, said in an interview. ?That?s a real Scranton trait. That?s an anthracite trait.?her character and especially her perseverance.He added: ?People here, we don?t live by home runs, we live by singles. And we take it day to day. We watch our pocketbook. We care about small-town things.? He said people know each other going back three generations; Mr. Corbett said they are bound by ?tribalism.?Writer(s):Cahn/Van HeusenCall me irresponsible - call me unreliableThrow in undependable tooDo my foolish alibis bore youWell I'm not too clever - I just adore youCall me unpredictable - tell me I'm impracticalRainbows I'm inclined to pursueCall me irresponsible - yes I'm unreliableBut it's undeniably true - I'm irresponsibly mad for youWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hill ary and Bill Clinton are again teaming up on Barack Obama -- this time saying the first-term U.S. lawmaker, whom they have derided as inexperienced, would be a strong running ...
Drink Water,Keep Drinking....Keep Thinking:
2008-03-09 22:35:00 A vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/ AP-PharmaWater -I.html More About: Drink , Drinking , Thinking
To the Voluntary Blind
2008-03-09 01:32:00 ChroniqueLes yeux ferms, par Robert Sol LE MONDE | 08.03.08 | 13h32 ? Mis jour le 08.03.08 | 13h3 Spectacle insolite, vendredi aprs-midi, dans les rues de Paris : quelques personnes aux yeux bands se laissaient guider par des aveugles, munis de leur canne blanche et parfois accompagns de leur chien. Cette initiative voulait attirer l'attention sur le sort des handicaps. Dommage qu'elle soit passe "largement inaperue" selon la formule consacre... OAS_AD('Frame1') OAS_AD('Top2') if (provenance_elt !=-1) {OAS_AD('x40')} else {OAS_AD('Middle')} if ( undefined !== MIA.Pub.OAS.events ) { MIA.Pub.OAS.events["pubOAS_middle"] = "pubOAS_middle"; } Il faut dire que nous sommes volontiers non-voyants quand les choses nous drangent. L'aveuglement est une maladie trs courante, avec des variantes et des complications : la passion aveugle, l'obissance aveugle, l'orgueil ou la haine aveugles... Mais il en est ... More About: Voluntary , Blind
The Audacity of Hope
2008-03-08 23:33:00 I believe for everyone who goes astray, someone will comeTo show the wayI believe, I believeI believe above a storm the smallest prayerCan still be heardI believe that someone in the great somewhereHears every wordEverytime I hear a new born baby cry,Or touch a leaf or see the skyThen I know why, I believeEverytime I hear a new born baby cry,Or touch a leaf or see the skyThen I know why, I believe I BELIEVE Song LyricsMAHALIA JACKSON More About: Hope , Audacity
Black :all changing
2008-03-08 14:59:00 ?There are a lot of things that are going to have to change, that are changing, a lot of things we haven?t seen and aren?t going to see, a lot of things that will happen but not overnight, and some things that should but haven?t been highlighted yet" yet.?http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2008 /03/07/paris-back-to-black/index.html?hp More About: Black , Changing
Amino in Scherzo , words by Umberto Eco
More articles from this author:2008-03-08 10:36:00 In the begining was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.This was begining with God and the duty of every faithful monk would be to repeat every day with chanting humility the one never-changing event whose incontrovertible truth can be asserted.But we see now through a glass darkly, and the truth , before it is revealed to all, face to face, we see in fragments ( alas, how illegible) in the error of the world, so we must spell out its faithful signals even when they seem obscure to us and as if amalgamated with a will wholly bent on evil. from The Name of the Rose- by Umberto Eco More About: Words 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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