Soiree Croque Monsieur

"Soiree Croque Monsieur"

sounds so much nicer than

"Ya'll want some grilled cheese?"

Graphing the Last 200 Years

Now, this is the way to learn and think about things!  My father-in-law sent me this link and I shared it with my brother who then found the original web app:  http://www.gapminder.org/world/  
where you can slice and dice the data yourself anyway you want.  Every time I watch it, I notice something new!

Flukes, Flounder, and Handedness

You'd rather "flounder" around (right eye fish) than simply be a "fluke"  (left-eye fish), correct?  Or, should I say "right?"

You'd rather be adroit and dextrous (french and italian for right) than gauche and sinister (french and italian for left), wouldn't you?

In many cultures, you only shake hands with your right hand (the left being reserved for "dirty" jobs (see bullet point #4 here)).

How about that poor minority group, the lefties:  forever being thwarted by the placement of handles and utensils? 

I'd rather be your "right hand man" than "out in left field"!

It turns out that life on Earth is left-handed!  So maybe all this bias against leftness is just our attempt to make up for the gross imbalance at the molecular level.  No one knows for sure the reason life chose left-handed DNA over right-handed, but then again - no one knows why the universe chose matter over antimatter.  No only is life not fair and balanced, but the universe itself is not.  I should forgive these cultural biases, all left already!

Sueing and Sewing

We are reading out way through the Little House books at the Riddy household and today I had a little trouble with this line "...we setted by the fire and did some sewing and crocheting."

Now I know what crocheting is, but I said crotcheting instead.  Irene looks up with a "Are you kidding?" look and I (realizing my mistake) respond "What, you think they can't sit around and complain while sewing away their afternoon in the middle of the prarie?" 

According to Chongers:

"Mark, get sick - GO!"

Loveys and Ether

I have always been a little creeped out by the attachment my kids have to their loveys.  Sebastien has taken to sometimes wearing it over his face and he inhales it deeply as if partaking of some illicit drug. 

It turns out, he is self-medicating!  The infant sense of smell is very strong and they draw comfort from the familiar scents trapped in the loveys.  Isabelle. at five, is just imitating her younger brother though for this picture.   I think she now keeps her lovey around more as a psychological crutch (as opposed to an olfactory one).

The thing is, I keep remembering those pictures of ether-users in the 1800's who drew comfort from inhaling ether from a soaked towel placed on their face (or used it to pass out for surgery).

Now, am I right to be creeped out or what?

Moyers, Zinn, and the Plutocracy

This chart shows something that has been bothering me for years:

How can one person be worth 800 other workers at the same company?  Just doesn't seem possible.  Another way of looking at it is to imagine what minimum wage would be if it had tracked CEO pay:

Which brings me to a really great lecture given at BU recently (thanks for bringing it to my attention, CES).  Bill Moyers is delivering the first annual Howard Zinn memorial lecture.  The speech starts 7 minutes in:

http://www.bu.edu/buniverse/view/?v=20ZaW9PO