The numbers of arrests and amount of damage done at this year's UConn Spring Weekend is nothing compared to what can happen at a really good soccer match, so what's the big deal?
Well, these are our children (the boomer generation's children anyway) who are behaving dangerously, imbibing large quantities of that sinful malt beverage (Keystone Light), and generally acting like idiots. No one wants children to get hurt, so the concern is warranted, even if the media coverage isn't.
Why doesn't the UConn and Storrs community come up with a less costly, safer alternative, rather than just letting the students morph into alcoholic cavemen for a weekend?
Hold a big concert or other event where the alcohol is limited to a particular area of the stadium and costs too much for the students to buy in large quantities. Students can dance, drink a bit, and laugh. There's nothing wrong with blowing off a bit of steam before finals.
The cost of police, fire, ambulance and clean up crews for a controlled event would be far less than letting the students regress into beasts and run loose.
Of course, the students could stand to show a bit of restraint and self-respect in their celebration. College students are supposed to be the best and brightest, not the drunkest and dumbest.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
New Spaceplane Goes into Orbit
I'm going to be sitting at my desk Monday morning with four computers surrounding me in an attempt to buy space shuttle launch viewing tickets for the mission going up May 14. This is one of the last shuttle missions, so if I miss this one, I really won't have another chance.
As I mentioned last week, the U.S. space program is going through some big changes, what with the cancellation of the Constellation project, and a call for NASA to work with private industry to come up with replacements for the space shuttles that stop flying this year.
But the government has already spent a lot of money on a potential shuttle replacement that launched into orbit Thursday.
As I mentioned last week, the U.S. space program is going through some big changes, what with the cancellation of the Constellation project, and a call for NASA to work with private industry to come up with replacements for the space shuttles that stop flying this year.
But the government has already spent a lot of money on a potential shuttle replacement that launched into orbit Thursday.
Automated YouTube Censorship
Technology has yet to catch up with the new forms of entertainment that it has itself enabled.
Parodies using excerpts from Oliver Herschbiegel's 2004 film, "Downfall" have been removed from YouTube on orders from the movie's copyright owners, Constantin Films. The dialogue for the movie is in German, and enterprising satirists have used short portions of the movie, replacing the English subtitles with their own. The results are usually scenes of Hitler ranting in anger at his staff, with the translations indicating he is furious over, say, Kanye West's behavior at the MTV awards, or that the iPad can't multitask.
The problem lies in the way that Constantin Films had the clips removed.
Parodies using excerpts from Oliver Herschbiegel's 2004 film, "Downfall" have been removed from YouTube on orders from the movie's copyright owners, Constantin Films. The dialogue for the movie is in German, and enterprising satirists have used short portions of the movie, replacing the English subtitles with their own. The results are usually scenes of Hitler ranting in anger at his staff, with the translations indicating he is furious over, say, Kanye West's behavior at the MTV awards, or that the iPad can't multitask.
The problem lies in the way that Constantin Films had the clips removed.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Religion, Power, and Sex
What is it with political and religious standing that sends folks over the libidinous precipice?
The House Ethics committee is looking into alleged sexual harassment charges against Democratic Representative Eric Massa from New York.
Hindu holy man Nithyananda Swami has been arrested on charges of obscenity surrounding the release of a video showing him having a menage-a-trois.
Though old news, Mark Sanford contributed a new colloquialism to the vernacular. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" no longer means what it used to.
Pope Benedict is busy figuring out ways to apologize and seem genuinely concerned about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church while avoiding actually doing something about it.
And federal prosecutors are going after Doug Perlitz, a Fairfield, Conn. resident who is charged with having sex with underage boys enrolled in the schools that he is working to establish in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Perlitz is not a priest or politician, but apparently the Rev. Paul Carrier is somehow involved in a potential cover-up. Also, Perlitz established his educational programs with help from the Order of Malta, a Catholic charity group that happens to share its name with the island that Pope Benedict just recently visited.
This is all getting pretty ridiculous.
The House Ethics committee is looking into alleged sexual harassment charges against Democratic Representative Eric Massa from New York.
Hindu holy man Nithyananda Swami has been arrested on charges of obscenity surrounding the release of a video showing him having a menage-a-trois.
Though old news, Mark Sanford contributed a new colloquialism to the vernacular. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" no longer means what it used to.
Pope Benedict is busy figuring out ways to apologize and seem genuinely concerned about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church while avoiding actually doing something about it.
And federal prosecutors are going after Doug Perlitz, a Fairfield, Conn. resident who is charged with having sex with underage boys enrolled in the schools that he is working to establish in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Perlitz is not a priest or politician, but apparently the Rev. Paul Carrier is somehow involved in a potential cover-up. Also, Perlitz established his educational programs with help from the Order of Malta, a Catholic charity group that happens to share its name with the island that Pope Benedict just recently visited.
This is all getting pretty ridiculous.
Monday, April 19, 2010
No Limits on Child Sexual Abuse
“Memories fade.” That is what the Hartford Archdiocese has said in its opposition to extending the statute of limitations in civil cases involving child sexual abuse.
It is a sure bet that the victims’ memories have not faded. Not one bit.
Child molestation victims who look for evidence that would help them bring a civil suit against their attacker currently have a time limit to do so. If they find the smoking gun on their forty-ninth birthday, they are a year too late, and the one who abused them is off the hook.
That is one of the big problems when dealing with child molesters, especially the priests that are so often in the news. They are secretive, quiet, careful, and in many cases, someone the child trusts, making it all the more difficult for the victim to come forward. And in the cases of the priests, the accused have the machinery of the Catholic Church working hard to help them keep things quiet.
The Church argues that extending the statute of limitations will bankrupt them. If they think that older civil cases will force the closure of churches and the loss of assets, they must think they are going to lose a lot of cases brought against them. Why would they think that?
As in the case of murder, there should be no statute limiting civil action in child sexual abuse cases. The damage is permanent, and so should the justice be.
It is a sure bet that the victims’ memories have not faded. Not one bit.
Child molestation victims who look for evidence that would help them bring a civil suit against their attacker currently have a time limit to do so. If they find the smoking gun on their forty-ninth birthday, they are a year too late, and the one who abused them is off the hook.
That is one of the big problems when dealing with child molesters, especially the priests that are so often in the news. They are secretive, quiet, careful, and in many cases, someone the child trusts, making it all the more difficult for the victim to come forward. And in the cases of the priests, the accused have the machinery of the Catholic Church working hard to help them keep things quiet.
The Church argues that extending the statute of limitations will bankrupt them. If they think that older civil cases will force the closure of churches and the loss of assets, they must think they are going to lose a lot of cases brought against them. Why would they think that?
As in the case of murder, there should be no statute limiting civil action in child sexual abuse cases. The damage is permanent, and so should the justice be.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
My Coffee Beans Came From Where?
This is a civet.
According to the New York Times, this cat-like monkey-ish thing is a real coffee snob. The folks at Starbucks have nothing on this furry guy. Civets seek out and eat only the very best of the best coffee cherries in their Indonesian and Philippine habitats.
And then for whatever insane reason, Indonesians and Filipinos collect the partially digested coffee beans that the civets excrete in their dung so as to bring the world a great new high end beverage.
This has to be pretty close to the most revolting thing I've ever heard.
According to the New York Times, this cat-like monkey-ish thing is a real coffee snob. The folks at Starbucks have nothing on this furry guy. Civets seek out and eat only the very best of the best coffee cherries in their Indonesian and Philippine habitats.
And then for whatever insane reason, Indonesians and Filipinos collect the partially digested coffee beans that the civets excrete in their dung so as to bring the world a great new high end beverage.
This has to be pretty close to the most revolting thing I've ever heard.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Up, Up, and Away...
When I was five or six years old, I wanted to be an astronaut. Space:1999 was the coolest TV show ever in my book (yeah, well, the taste of a six year old is never to be underestimated). I used to read, and re-read, articles on Apollo 17 and the Skylab missions in a couple of old National Geographic magazines. Pop-Tarts never tasted so good as when eaten at 5 a.m. while watching the rockets launch for the Apollo-Soyuz mission.
Those were the waning days of America's outer space heroes, just a few years after Armstrong set foot on the moon.
Today, President Obama outlined a dream for sending astronauts to Mars and to the asteroids beyond, making up for his cancellation of President Bush's dream of sending men back to the moon and the Constellation project.
Those were the waning days of America's outer space heroes, just a few years after Armstrong set foot on the moon.
Today, President Obama outlined a dream for sending astronauts to Mars and to the asteroids beyond, making up for his cancellation of President Bush's dream of sending men back to the moon and the Constellation project.
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