Mary

@

articles

You can't win it if you're not in it

With memories of the media retreat rapidly, er, retreating from my mind, I thought I'd better provide the answer to the question I posed on Friday. A reader named Xander (hi, Xander!) offered his solution via the comments: People are generally loss-averse so most will choose the guaranteed loss of $3000 to avoid the likely hit of 4 grand. In the case of the winning money, nothing ventured, nothing gained, something cliche: people will roll the dice for the extra cash cause hey, if you don't win,... READ ON

articles

Oh, come on

I adore SEED magazine, but this headline is just waaaay out of bounds for an article that doesn't actually show any hoo-has: PLANTS GO TOPLESS Despite the lamentable lack of nudity, the article's pretty interesting: In a case of Greek mythology gone green, scientists in California have created a double-tailed plant: a mutant with a second root where its stalk would typically reside. ... The scientists determined that a variant of the gene known as TOPLESS can cause the development of a root instead... READ ON

articles

Stranger and stranger

Last week I was all about David Sedaris; this week it's his sister Amy, whose home decor ("a collection of plaster meats, a few stuffed squirrels, books on skin disorders") was recently featured in the New York Times and whose masterwork of a movie, "Strangers with Candy," comes out today in New York and July 7 everywhere else. Amy's character in "SwC" was based on Florrie Fisher, a bizarre B-list star of the 60s and 70s who, according to Wikipedia,   traveled to high schools in the United... READ ON

articles

Somebody call God, 'cause he's missing an angel!

Will, Mangesh, David, John, AJ, Greg: I'm sure all of you are respectful, polite, gentle souls who would never dream of undressing a female stranger with your eyes while making strange hissy/kissy/lip-smacking noises at her. (Actually, I'm not sure about Greg.) But in case I'm wrong, consider yourself warned: Guy walks up behind me, lets out a wolf whistle. Walks around in front of me and says: "Lady, has anyone told you that you have a beautiful a--? It's beautiful, and so big!" ... So I looked him... READ ON

articles

Republicans < Palpatine < Jesus?

The Chronicle of Higher Ed doesn't publish all its material online, but when it does, it chooses doozies like this: Jesus is Not a Republican ... Corporate interests are treated with the kind of reverence and deference once reserved for the deity. The Bible contains something like 2,000 references to the poor and the believer's responsibility for the poor. Sadly, that obligation seems not to have trickled down into public policy. ... I'm sure the author would be horrified, but this reminds me of nothing... READ ON

articles

Junetwentyseventh

Okay, it doesn't have the same ring as "Juneteenth," but today is also a little-known holiday commemorating the freedom of black people historically oppressed by white people, the independence day of my very favorite former French colony, liberated in 1977: Djibouti. How can you not love a country with a name that evokes Lil Jon? Alas, all most people know about Djibouti is its amusing moniker. Let's remedy that: * Djibouti's motto is "Djibouti by Choice."  * Djibouti's capital is called...... READ ON

articles

It all makes sense now

Research on birds has shown that female canaries are more devoted to their young when they hear Al Green -- er, a "sexy" male serenade prior to reproduction: Researchers discovered that certain phrases in a canary's song are "sexier" than other syllables. ... When the researchers played female canaries a recording of males singing sexy syllables, the females laid significantly larger eggs than birds that heard recordings of normal songs. "It may be that this is a difficult kind of vocal... READ ON

articles

Your daily dose of deep thought...

... comes courtesy of the brilliant interactive public radio show Open Source, which is focusing today on a subject it knows all too well: The Limits of Crowds. The hook for the show is an essay by all-around guru Jaron Lanier that's been making the rounds among the digerati (yeesh, what a silly word); it critiques and to a large degree criticizes comprehensive wiki-ish projects like, er, Wikipedia, MySpace, and (for some reason) the New York Times. To try and summarize it would do it a great... READ ON

articles

Grab a grappa

I'm always looking around for something interesting to drink (I think there's a word for that?), particularly in the hot, sticky summer when my beloved Highland Park scotch loses some of its toasty, smoky appeal. As soon as I get some free time I'm going to try out this recipe for "fake grappa," courtesy of the Village Voice: Cherries, which are just coming into season now, are sprinkled with sugar and soaked in vodka for a few months. ... The cherries, which lose their bright color and turn... READ ON

articles

Technology at your fingertips

Lifehacker had some fantastic footage a couple of days ago of a Windows desktop that lets you play with your documents as if they were actual pieces of paper. Combined with the new multi-touch-screen technology that lets you manipulate several different things on your screen at once with just your hands, this could be the key to finally making your virtual desktop look just like your real one -- messy, cluttered, and constantly in flux. Er, I'm sure it's still a good... READ ON

Pages

Subscribe to Author Articles