dietsch ::

"Evolution" removed from Georgia's science standards

A proposed biology curriculum for the State of Georgia removes the word evolution, replacing it with biological change over time. The New York Times also reports that the curriculum fudges on the age of Earth, removing the word long from the phrase long history of the Earth. Some see this as a sop to creationists, many of whom believe Earth to be a mere four to eight thousand years old. The state's schools superintendent, Kathy Cox, said in a news conference Thursday that the word evolution causes "a lot of negative reaction" and distracts people from the ideas being taught. Cox argues that people get so worked up about the "monkeys-to-man thing" that they lose sight of the larger ideas of evolution. Cox states that textbooks may still use the word evolution, and that teachers will still be able to use it and to teach related concepts. Some teachers and scientists, however, oppose the changes, arguing they will provide teachers an excuse for glossing over evolutionary concepts; this, they say, will weaken biology teaching in the state and hinder students who go on to study biology in college. These changes, though, are part of an ongoing process to overhaul Georgia's curriculum, and they could be overturned or modified with enough public support. More: Forgetting Darwin: Georgia's proposed science curriculum protects children from the "e' word Georgia may shun 'evolution' in schools Cox: 'Evolution' a negative buzzword Proposed Georgia curriculum Science benchmarks from American Association for the Advancement of Science

Just plain stupid

From today's NY Times comes an analysis of the "crisis" in intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The piece examines options the Bush Administration might explore in responding to the problem. Buried in the piece is this choice quote from an unnamed senior Republican:

"They wove this giant story, based on intelligence assessments that in hindsight — and this is hindsight, remember — were wrong. It's exposed a huge problem in our intelligence gathering. But who wants to take that on in an election year? Or while you are fighting terrorists?"

Let me get this straight: Who wants to take on problems with intelligence when you're fighting terrorists? Jesus.

My U.S. / My World

A new travel site allows you to map the U.S. states or other countries you've visited. My state map is bad enough, but my world map is embarrassing. (I do, however, like the code CAFRUKUS that the script passes to the server to generate the map; in terms of curse words, Cafrukus is the new douchebag.)

Are you ready, boots? Start walking.

rion snaps the squirrels

Cuter than an opossum.

No one had called...

Dead in a lake for nearly a week, and no one has called to report him missing.

R.I.P. Captain Kangaroo

Rhododendron

I don't cover politics in this blog, but tonight Diane Sawyer interviewed Howard Dean and Judith Steinberg Dean, and she asked Mrs. Dr. Dean about her 50th birthday. I don't have the transcript, but I'll paraphrase. Diane: "For your 50th birthday, he bought you a rhododendron. That's not exactly hearts and flowers." Excuse me, Diane. What's not hearts and flowers? Also, Judith Steinberg Dean is a woman with a successful medical practice, and Diane quoted the Deans' critics, saying Judith Dean should put all that on hold to traipse around the country on her husband's coattails because that's what wives do. I'm sorry, is this the twenty-first century, or is my watch running fast again? This is why I pay little attention to television's coverage of politics. It's all so fucking vapid, it's just never worth the time.

High Line update

From the latest newsletter comes this update on the High Line project. In brief, the newsletter states that despite the earlier appeals-court ruling, the High Line is in no immediate jeopardy. Friends of the High Line reasserts that the Bloomberg administration supports turning the structure into a linear park.

Psy.Geo.Conflux Call for Proposals

"Psy.Geo.Conflux is an annual event featuring current artistic and social investigations in psychogeography. Part festival and part conference, it brings visual and sound artists, writers, urban adventurers, and the public together in New York to engage in walks, presentations, installations and other events with the purpose of exploring the physical and psychological landscape of the city." [more | What is psychogeography? | 2003 events]

Morality test

Check out my Morality! 77% liberal, 23% conservative The Morality Test takes about 15 minutes, and I think its results for me are generally accurate.

Rip up your books?

Via Maud Newton comes this article by Christopher Howse, in which he confesses to ripping out finished pages from cheap paperbacks while traveling. About a year ago, I started reading Gotham, a 1,424-page history of New York City. Unfortunately, my prime-time for reading is during my commute, and I found that carrying around such a large brick makes for uncomfortable travel. One solution would be to rip out about 100 pages at a time and just carry those sheaves around, but I still can't quite allow myself to rip up a book, even for the purpose of easier reading.

Cheap Chinatown buses up ante

Investigators probing the Chinatown bus company wars will present evidence this week to a grand jury weighing possible indictments, the Daily News has learned.

Mixmaster

Mix it up, baby (and make sure to click around inside each link): YahooBlossom Merry News Network dahlbergforamerica Kelly Sue in Babeland

Subway Train

The beat poetry musical. I'm not really sure what to think of this idea.

Fire

It's not what you think.

Mayor can demolish High Line

A state appellate court has ruled that the city can demolish the High Line elevated railway without first seeking outside approval. The High Line was built in the 1930s to move food and merchandise through lower Manhattan. It fell into disuse in the 1960s and 1970s as trucking replaced rail freight as the primary means of moving goods into and out of the city. Some local residents believe the structure is unsafe and an eyesore. They want the city to demolish it and turn over air rights to local property owners who hold land underneath the elevated structure. The High Line runs through the popular Chelsea neighborhood, and demolishing the structure could raise property values in the area. High Line proponents would like to build a linear park atop the elevated structure. They argue that the old rail line is well-designed, stable, and historically valuable; they also say that a linear park would be a unique addition to New York's green spaces. They sued to stop demolition. This Appellate Court ruling puts the decision into the hands of the mayor. Current mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the concept of a High Line park, but his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, argued for demolition. [Gothamist on this ruling. Dietsch on walking the High Line.]

Possum!

An opossum struck fear into the heart of Murray Hill yesterday. No one knows exactly where it came from, but I'm amused by how confused everyone was by it.

For nearly eight hours, a quiet corner in Murray Hill was transformed into a kind of temporary zoo, as passers-by stopped to gawk and guess the identity of the long-snouted cat-size animal that paced along a narrow stone ledge about nine feet over a brownstone garden, sniffing, shaking and yawning.

I used to see these damn creatures all the time, but that was in Indiana. I drove home late one night and saw one in the garage, its long pink tail glistening in the headlights, its beady eyes blinking at me.

Michael Powell is really, really fucking brilliant

Reuters reports that FCC chair Michael Powell wants to overturn an earlier FCC ruling permitting the word fuck in some contexts. Powell is pushing to ban the word from nearly all broadcasts and in nearly all contexts. [via Politechbot and Metafilter]

Restaurant ick

Never send your food back ... unless you have a good attorney.

Is it a bar?

How to tell if you're in a bar or a restaurant A few of my favorites: "If the waiter challenges your choice of wines, it’s a restaurant. If the waiter challenges you to a fist fight over the Miami-Virginia Tech score, it’s a bar. If the waiter recommends a dish made famous in Tuscany, it’s a restaurant. If the waiter recommends a dish made famous in Buffalo, it’s a bar. If the Friday Night Special is advertised as a “pasta toss,” it’s a restaurant. If the Friday Night Special is advertised as a “midget toss,” it’s a bar." [via Fark]

Merry Christmas to me!

The girl bought me these: She's all right, that girl.

Subtle censorship

Kids' books face censorship over gay characters

Martha Freeman got the bad news at lunch from her publisher and literary agent. Although "The Trouble With Babies" had received good reviews, the sales of her children's book about a young San Francisco girl were poor compared with the first title in her series, and the paperback rights would not be sold.

The reason: A brief passage...about two gay fathers and their adopted son apparently had discouraged many librarians across the United States from buying the title....

Freeman's publisher now wants her to write a third book in the series, but that leaves her with a question: Fight the censorship and retain the gay characters, or leave them out in the hopes of selling more books? [via ArtsJournal]

Colon: Punctuation of Doom, Helpful Mark, or Publishing Wankery?

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the use of colons and subtitles in academic publishing. Some editors and authors argue that university publishers have overused the "title: subtitle" format in an attempt to make book titles either more descriptive or catchier. Some examples from the Chronicle piece: With All, and for the Good of All: The Emergence of Popular Nationalism in the Cuban Communities of the United States, 1848-1898 (Duke University Press); Essential Subtleties on the Silver Sea: The Yin-Hai Jing-Wei: A Chinese Classic on Ophthalmology (University of California Press); Edwin J. Cohn and the Development of Protein Chemistry: With a Detailed Account of His Work on the Fractionation of Blood During and After World War II (Harvard University Press); and (my own favorite example) My Story as Told by Water: Confessions, Druidic Rants, Reflections, Bird-Watchings, Fish-Stalkings, Visions, Songs and Prayers Refracting Light, From Living Rivers, in the Age of the Industrial Dark (University of California Press). [via Arts & Letters Daily]

Last Feininger picture

The Playmakers

The Playmakers is an upcoming book about toys and games; it looks just beautiful and sounds like a helluva lot of fun. [via Foreword: The Book Design Blog]

One more from Feininger

Pimpin'

Satan's Laundromat gets the mad pimpin', yo.

Typography and design at the Economist

I'm a little behind on this, I know....

Jon Coltz examines the history of the typography and design of the Economist in this interesting piece.

I've been considering a subscription.

Another Feininger photo

Feininger photographs

Gothamist this morning linked to a digital archive of 130 black-and-white photos of Andreas Feininger, from the Eastman collection.

To Merry:

Thanks, sweetie. Can't wait to see you in New York again!

Johnny of the Cross

"Johnny could sing about murder and God in the same song and with the same voice because to do otherwise would have been dishonest. At the same time, he let that despair, agony, and rejection stand on their own—he lent them integrity." [via Arts & Letters Daily]