A home in a land far, far away.
BBC news: “Astronomers have discovered a planetary system orbiting a distant star which looks much like our own.”
read onWann ist der Mann ein Mann?
Interessante Artikelsammlung der ZEIT über die zunehmend öffentlich geführte Debatte über die “neue Männlichkeit”. Via genderblog.
read onThe digital divides.
The internet is certainly bringing people closer together. But it’s really more – some people than all people. Digital Inspiration has a couple of interesting visualisations of the current (well, recent) global digital divide. It’s also quite interesting to see which parts of the world are using which social networking service (add. diagram by LeMonde)
read onAgeismus? Anti-Ageismus?
Spiegel Online: Betagte Schönheiten: Schweiz kürt Miss Altersheim Von wegen Jugendwahn – in der Schweiz wurde zum ersten Mal der Titel “Miss Altersheim” verliehen. Die Kriterien waren nicht annähernd so streng wie bei den jungen Kolleginnen: Die Schönheiten mussten über 70 sein und alleine gehen können.
read onShining Beauty, II
Karl Lagerfeld allegedly is a great designer. Who knows. But he does have an eye for beauty, as this myspace video of a private photoshoot with Nicole Kidman clearly shows. I wonder if my ability to express myself in her presence would be as limited as Mr Lagerfeld’s, who is clearly at a loss for [...]
read ongoogle-esque
I’m not sure if you noticed, but google ad-words seems to be particularly attentive to certain keywords. A single “quicklink” mentioning the generous HIV-related policies of a German company in AIDS-ridden South Africa led to a constant display of HIV related ads for several weeks now. Hmm, it may also have something to do with [...]
read onIs Clark human?
Salon.com can’t help but wonder. Read all about the politics of blinking in the US Presidential Campaign. And yes, this is seriously weird – either way.
read onCorporate Social Responsibility
Talk about Corporate Social Responsibility. Not that I don’t think big business often deserves a slap for it’s behavior in struggling economies, but when the opposite is true, it also deserves to be mentioned: Reuters reports that “German auto makers with assembly plants in South Africa are spending “big money” on antiretroviral drugs, treatment and [...]
read onToo Sad.
OK, for once here’s a quicklink without a link. I briefly considered publishing and linking Michael Jackson’s police booking photos but then I figured that it would be inappropriate, even though it would look good on any plastic surgeon’s brochure – as a before pic. The man looks barely human on the picture. Anyway – [...]
read onFace/Off?
Today, two teams of doctors in London will explain that – with some psychological and moral issues pending – face transplants are now possible. And no, there doesn’t seem to be any connection to President Bush’s state visit to the UK… Sueddeutsche Zeitung outlines some of thequestions involved.
read onWilliam Safire, once again.
I should really stop reading William Safire’s columns, I suppose. Yesterday, the Ny Times provided the world with another marvel. He’s writing about “The Age Of Liberty”, the new Bush foreign policy theme song, after ensuring the reader that he has indeed read, and re-read “the serious speech in its entirety.” That’s good news, I [...]
read onGeorge Soros
finally found a reason to live after making money. Not surprisingly, this development involves politics – today he told the Washington Post that defeating President Bush in the 2004 Presidential elections has become “the central focus of [his] life”, as those elections were “a matter of life and death.” So in order to put his [...]
read onChaos Theory Field Study.
“The very technology that has for years allowed fire trucks, ambulances and police cars to reach emergencies faster – a remote control that changes traffic signals – is now much cheaper and potentially accessible to civilians.” (from autonet.ca)
read onEmancipation.
Talk about supression of women in Islamic countries… “A Turkish woman locked her rich industrialist husband naked in the bathroom for three years, claiming he was mentally disturbed, press reports said after the man was released.” (via Drudge report)
read onGirl Power.
Ladies, remember that guy you met last weekend? The disgusting one that drooled in your décolletée while trying to impress you by pretending not to stare too much? Turns out, he wasn’t that guilty after all – according to a study conducted at the University of Chicago and published in the journal Evolution And Human [...]
read onAfghani Draft Constitution.
Check out the Afghani Draft Constitution to read a paper that is hopelessly trying to balance the demands of an essentially tribally organised country with those of a concerned international community. Words do matter, and so do constitutions. But there’s no way 46 pages of good intentions can speed a development that will take decades [...]
read onSue Britney!
All of you who still had some doubts regarding the insanity of the American legal system, get this: A Japanese business man, and a stalker of Ms Spears, is suing her for – get this – emotional cruelty in New York. And the lawsuit was apparently accepted by the court. Why? Because her bodyguards did [...]
read onKaraoke. With A Twist.
Don’t we all know that a trend is born when two journalists happen to meet at a particular place? Well, I guess that’s how AFP came up with this report about Porn Karaoke becoming a “trend” in Germany. But then again, I guesss I know what most people over here would do when asked to [...]
read onStupidity.
If you ever wondered why crime doesn’t pay, read this: “Police in Germany are searching for a burglar who they say is the most stupid they have ever come across.” (from Ananova)
read onOlfactory Pleasures
are more likely for those who engage in regular sexual intercourse, according to a study that has been published in the British Medical journal, reports Forbes.com’s Alan Farnham. And better sense of smell is only a small part of it: “Having regular and enthusiastic sex … confers a host of measurable physiological advantages, be you [...]
read onNo Speed Limits
on the information superhighway: Reuters reports that European Nuclear Research Institution “CERN, whose laboratories straddle the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, said it had sent 1.1 Terabytes of data at 5.44 gigabits a second (Gbps) to a lab at the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, on October 1.” And I thought my DSL connection was [...]
read onFrauenparkplatz
is German for one of the usually well lit and extremely conveniently placed discriminatory parking spots in car parks reserved for female use. A few weeks ago, I saw a comedy programme on German tv take the word literally: Husbands about to run errants parked their wifes on a “Frauenparkplatz”, leaving them holding the parking [...]
read onGeorgy Update
The Ventura County Star thinks George may have stolen Georgy’s votes. Not that George (W.) though, who is probably innocent, for once. Here’s what the newspaper’s Colleen Cason believes: “A heretofore unknown candidate named George Schwartzman placed ninth statewide. Although the San Diego County businessman insists his fresh ideas won him those 11,000 votes, his [...]
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